Previously, I posted regarding our membership in the VIATeC Sustainability Round Table. (post here) I thought after the last meeting on Thursday last week, it would be a good time to do an update. We have been humming along over the last 8 months with lots of visitors to the group to help inform those involved in the round table on different topics of interest. Some of the topics we heard about were:

• BC Hyrdo’s Green steps
• Pacific Carbon Trust – Carbon Offsets
• Hemlock Printings Zero program
• Carmanah’s zero waste initiative
• Backyard Chickens

We covered so much more than this small list, but I hope it gives you a taste of what topics we have been diving into. The conversations have been intellectual, informative and very helpful to our business, and my own personal knowledge. What would be a better next step than to host one of the meeting myself!

Back in May it was suggested that perhaps I could host a meeting at my house and show people what we do in our personal lives to be more sustainable. Back then I thought it was a great idea, I mean I didnt have to think about it for months! So I happily volunteered up my home and my wife’s fine cooking.

Fast forward 3.5 months and the week prior to the meeting I panicked. What can I tell these people, these Green Leaders in all of these companies about my home that they don’t already know or do? To be perfectly honest, I was quite concerned that I would make myself and my family look bad. My wife helped prop up my self depcricated ego and assured me that we are doing so much people would be thrilled. And I thought, “well, at the very least Liz will be able to make some amazing treats, maybe people wont notice…”

The day arrived, and a few hours before the meeting I put together a list of all the things that we do in our home and lives to be more sustainable. I will list those at the bottom of this post.

The meeting time came, everyone arrived and it went just great. Everyone seemed to have a fun time and was interested in what I had to say and what we do. A lot of questions were asked and I was thrilled to actually have the answers people were looking for. More importantly though, my wife’s food was whole heartily agreed to be just stunning. (Thanks Liz!).

The moral of this post? I dont think there is one. Other than this, trust in good cooking to cover your butt if you arent an interesting talker.

What we do at home:

Please feel free to ask questions on these items as I am happy to help!

• Have egg laying chickens and chickens for meat
• Do a weekly meal plan to limit food waste and money waste
• Breastfeeding our children while they were young
• Catch both fresh water and salt water fish whenever possible
• Crab off the pier in Sidney
• Bake our own bread
• Bake things like pancakes in bulk for the kids then freeze for meals later
• Recycle using curbside
• All other recycling comes to Smart Dolphins to be removed via at work recycling program
• Conserve water in our home (let it mellow)
• Compost
• Grow both food and fruit in our yard
• Bought a more fuel efficient vehicle and researched purchase based on that requirement first
• Use cloth diapers for our kids
• Have an active lifestyle (hiking, biking, daily work outs (Liz), walks)
• Consistent sleeping pattern (in bed and wake up close to the same time every day and at least 7 hrs of sleep per day
• Spend the majority of our personal time with our family members