Canada's Environmental Voice
How can contemporary design adapt to the unique physical climatic conditions, tectonic traditions and rich local cultures of Canada’s Arctic? And how can the fragile threads of indigenous knowledge and tradition entwine with our collective modern lust for seductive new technologies, shiny objects and addictive processed foods without long-term damage […]
Sustainable design is often narrowly construed as only the environmentally conscious design of objects. Broader considerations for what design can be should also embrace services, experiences and even behaviors. But it takes a large leap to get people to see examples of sustainable design beyond the typical re-usable shopping bags […]
Papermaking remains a thriving industry in parts of the non-Western world including India, Nepal and Egypt. In many of these locales there are efforts in place to maintain handmade paper as a viable local industry for both economic and cultural reasons. Handmade paper also often relies on local organic materials […]
For nearly five years, Sustainable Waterloo Region (SWR) has been convincing companies and organizations around Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge, Ontario, to instigate a cultural shift that would help sew environmental responsibility into the way Canada’s 10th most populated urban area grows and evolves.
This series was originally posted in five separate parts, now published here together for easier reading. This is a blog series about growth, sustainability and our planet. It is a thought experiment on whether or not the idea of a pro-growth environmentalist is an oxymoron.
Long before going green became a trend, luthiers were passionate seekers of prized pieces of reclaimed wood. A fallen tree in the forest was viewed as a creative opportunity and specific species of wood were sought out with the belief that they held magical tonal qualities within their very DNA.
The scene was absurd: four activists, each with a bundle of 75 black and gold helium-filled balloons, riding an escalator. As we reached the top, we clipped our banner to the bundles and let go, watching our work rise slowly toward the hundred-foot ceiling of the lobby of a downtown […]
Karen Eilerson founded the Discovery Child Care Centre 15 years ago in Barrie, Ontario, because she wanted to help heal the disconnect between kids and nature. She’s since become integral to nurturing her community by sticking to a simple equation: Less screen time and more green time.
Chocolate is one of life’s great pleasures. The perfect food, chocolate is fuel for flagging spirits, an inspiration, a temptation and, for some, a sacrament. Yet most consumers of mass-produced chocolate may be unaware of their beloved confection’s dark side. Child slave labour in West African cocoa plantations haunts the […]
The whole A\J gang came out to the Green Living Show this month.
