Green Neighbour Program

A serendipitous event introduced me to EcoSource Mississauga. I received an email from Jen Turgeon inquiring about using some of my Port Credit nature photos in materials EcoSource was preparing for their Youth Program. Jen was, at the time, EcoSource's Youth Education Coordinator.

My curiousity was piqued. Just as Marion and I had decided to focus on 'green living', here was an organization devoted to the cause, and based right in our village, in walking distance. I called Jen and while discussing the photos, asked more about EcoSource. We arranged a meeting to discuss photography and to answer some of my questions about composting.

I came away from the meeting highly impressed. EcoSource Mississauga is doing wonderful work in the community. In their own words:

EcoSource Mississauga is a leader in grassroots environmental education, delivering hands-on interactive educational programs to youth and adults, promoting responsible personal environmental actions. We are working to involve Mississauga residents to create positive changes in the health of the planet and our city.

They have three major programs under way: a 'Green Schools' Program to work with the schools in educating students about environmental issues and waste reduction, a 'Green Community' Program aligned with Evergreen to help naturalize Mississauga parks, campuses and school yards, and start community gardens, and a 'Green Neighbour' Program to encourage and assist the community of Mississauga in 'growing a green community'. The Green Neighbour Program intrigued me:

The Green Neighbour Program is an exciting initiative designed to engage the people of Mississauga in truly “Growing a Green Community”.

We are all Neighbours, so anyone can be a Green Neighbour!

It just means that you’re putting some effort into making choices and changes that are good for your health, your wallet, your community and your environment!

Being a Green Neighbour includes Greening your Home, Greening your Garden, Greening your Car and more.

It means having a beautiful garden or lawn without the use of pesticides.

It means saving money on your energy bills and cutting back on heating and cooling needs.

It means putting a sticker on your mailbox to limit the amount of junk mail you get. It means taking a cloth bag to the grocery store and avoiding plastic bags.

It means thinking about the products you buy—where they come from and how they’re packaged.

You can be a Green Neighbour by doing just one of these things, or you can do them all and more! Be yourself, start with the changes that work for you and your family, and be a part of growing your own green community.

As EcoSource helped me with my questions about composting and organic yard care, it became apparent that Marion and I were potential candidates for their Green Neighbour Program pilot, about to start. We met with Martha Norman and Nada Sutic to discuss where we were going with our plans and to see if they fit with the EcoSource pilot. Our interests lay in eliminating pesticides, reducing waste, focusing on native plants, and planting to attract birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects. We were also willing to talk to others in the community and to communicate freely about our efforts.

The match was made and Martha and Nada then arranged a broader meeting that included EcoSource staff, Marion and me, and two extraordinary individuals who had agreed to donate their services to the Green Neighbour pilot: Gabriele Davies, a landscape designer who specializes in native plants, and Michael Chudy, who operates an organic lawn care service.

The next steps were for Gabriele and Mike to work with Marion and me on getting the Green Neighbour pilot going. It's a big step for all of us -- working together as a team to realize a shared dream. To say the least, we were all excited and eager to get started.