Ye Merrie Olde Low-Carbon Holiday Season!

Ye Merrie Olde Low-Carbon Holiday Season! - theHumm December 2021

By Chandler Swain

The holiday season is following hot on the heels of the final word from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP) in Glasgow. The final declaration was cobbled together and a tad disappointing to say the least. Young activists who know our futures depend on aggressive action on the climate crisis are telling the world that it’s up to each and every one of us to do our part since governments still aren’t acting sufficiently or quickly enough to keep the climate in a safe place for all of us.

Climate Network Lanark (CNL) is focused on helping local citizens wade through all the information to help us take responsibility for lowering our carbon footprint in all aspects of life. Currently CNL is collecting information from the responses to our community survey (if you haven’t filled it in, please do so at climatenetworklanark.ca) to be able to show our County Council that the community is expecting the Lanark County Climate Action Plan to have aggressive targets and actions. Lots of excellent suggestions are on the table that are do-able and will only make our county more prosperous and resilient.

But for the moment we turn to celebrating as best we can our second holiday season compromised by the pandemic. More than ever, we need fun, celebratory activities with our family and friends. Are you wondering how to stick to your climate goals? Maybe you are already opting out of much of the hype, paring down the stuff, ramping up the spirit and following the hierarchy in the graphic on this page.

CNL would like to offer some ideas that support local makers and growers so you can feel better about not adding to “one of the biggest annual environmental disasters in the world”. Here’s what the website telesurenglish.net has to say about Christmas’ carbon footprint and its irreversible consequences: “A study in the U.S. suggests that during the holiday season, each person produces an additional 1,400 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2). This is equivalent to about three weeks of driving or about 3.8 percent of an individual’s annual carbon footprint of 36,000lbs.” Holy holly, Rudolf!

O Tannenbaum!

Imagine this: there are estimated to be 30 million Christmas trees sold in the US each Christmas season. Evidence collected by Telesure reports that with all things considered, artificial trees are two times as carbon-intensive as a real tree! We asked local organic Christmas tree grower Grant Martin of Cedar Hill Christmas Tree Farm what he has to say about how his seasonal farm produce — trees — sequester carbon (aside from through their roots into the soil). “A good source of sequestering carbon is intensive managed pasture,” Grant replied. “While we don’t pasture animals between the trees, we do grow clovers and grasses. This keeps the ground covered and insulated which promotes diversity and helps form symbiotic relationships between tree and grass roots. The grass in the pathways is allowed to grow taller to maximize carbon sequestering, and all of the plant material is returned to the soil.”

Aside from the carbon benefits of getting a locally grown live tree, says Martin, “by choosing real trees, people help keep jobs, money and carbon in their community. We love to see families creating their own traditions here when finding their Christmas tree.”

Let There be Light!

In our rural county there is a magical sight in the darkest days of winter: cheerful Christmas lights! This may be one of the most heart-warming things about the season. It is pretty common now to use LED lights and there are tons on the market; but how about we take care of them in the off-season so we don’t need to deal with a huge tangle of lights each December, then give up and buy more. When you do need more, make use of the variety of used goods stores and centres in our region. Most of them have enormous collections of Christmas decorations that have been donated through the year, and now fill their aisles.

Buyest Thou Less Stuff

That is an interesting quandary, as our whole economy is fueled by us buying stuff. Of course, when buying holiday gifts you can choose to buy local and buy used. TheHumm’s Gift Giving Guide and thinklocallanark.com are two great places to start!

Another idea is to get creative about gifting a non-consumable. This is a service or an experience instead of an object — anything from making and hosting a special dinner to taking a grandchild on a special hike. How about a week’s worth of dog walking; a gift certificate for a massage, spa or haircut; some hours of a landscaper’s services or a monthly trial of a favourite craft beer?

Lanark County is so full of makers and growers of wonderful, imaginative stuff!

We offer up this Low Carbon Holiday Challenge and would love to hear if you were able to meet it! Let us know what you are doing for a low carbon holiday season by sharing your stories or pictures with Climate Network Lanark on instagram #cnlholidaychallenge or by email at info@climatenetworklanark.ca .

Can you get through this holiday season procuring everything you need for your celebration right here in Lanark County? Sourcing gifts that are produced and sold right in the county is very helpful in shrinking our collective carbon footprint. Personally, we are doing the really hard work of sampling wine, beer and spirits from Lanark and Ontario producers to choose as presents. It’s tough work, but somebody has to do it!

Driving to malls and shopping online doesn’t compare with being out and about in the community — meeting your neighbours and being inspired by our local creative spirit. Happy Low Carbon Holidays!

Showing the Local Love for the Holidays! - theHumm December 2021

By Kris and Rob Riendeau

Here at theHumm we’re big on local economies. The retail and service businesses in the small towns that we cover play a huge role in the cultural life of those towns. Each store, restaurant, or small enterprise attracts and serves a particular clientele — some inside the community, some from outside. Some businesses host their own special events; others join together with local festivals to make the whole experience more vibrant. Many provide support in cash or in kind to local initiatives. All of them add their own particular flavour to the delicious mix that is small-town Ottawa Valley.......

Ye Merrie Olde Low-Carbon Holiday Season! - theHumm December 2021