Brummet's Conscious Blog

Green Families  The Internet is a wonderful place and a powerful tool for today's society to teach children about the environment. There is no doubt that early influences can spark a lifetime of concern and participation throughout that person's life.  In today's schools and youth organizations, there are programs dealing with recycling, environmental health, litter awareness, gardening and ecology. Participating at home is possible too through  Social Science and Citizen Science projects that are offered through non-profits and educational institutions. For instance one program has volunteers going outside and counting how many of one species there are on a given day in a specific location. This information is valuable to ensuring their data is accurate.  There are plenty of other things we can do at home that can have an impact on our community - simply by looking at our "waste" as a resource.  Art classes make use of all kinds of materials that were formall...

 --  Gift Idea -- The holidays are fast approaching and now that people are spending a lot of time indoors it is, perhaps, a good time to consider giving books for Christmas and upcoming holidays over the winter season. As such I'd like to suggest this book below for several reasons. First of course, book purchases support our work. Second, this book will make a real and measurable difference for the recipient.  Rhythm & Rhyme - Poetry BrummetMedia.ca Dave and Lillian Brummet share their individual writing styles that express their passions and real life experiences. While Lillian experiments with various styles of poetry, most of Dave's poems in this book were in fact initially written as song lyrics. You'll find that the poetry in this book reflects on the emotional turmoil of ailing parents and the grief of their passing. Some will speak of the strange emptiness left behind when old wounds are healed and others celebrate life, love, animals and nature with a good s...

-- Green Holiday - Green Gift Ideas --  Holiday gift giving has changed quite a bit over the last few years, as people have less money to spend and are more aware of the impact their purchases have on both the environment and society… and there are a heck of a lot of holidays to consider from birthdays, secretary day, anniversaries, and Halloween to Valentines. The collective impact of these special days can be huge.  Christmas alone is responsible for 25% more waste being sent to landfills. By recognizing the incredible waste that is generated the urgency to do something becomes apparent. With this in mind, we are offering several Green Gift related and Green Events related articles (Look for them between: late Oct-mid-Dec). this is the 4th article in the series, so far.  People are now embracing practical, ecological gifts that can provide some form convenience or financial benefit. At the same time, it is nice to find ways to alleviate the guilt felt during special day...

-- Green Holiday - Green Gift Ideas --  Holiday gift giving has changed quite a bit over the last few years, as people have less money to spend and are more aware of the impact their purchases have on both the environment and society… and there are a heck of a lot of holidays to consider from birthdays, secretary day, anniversaries, and Halloween to Valentines. The collective impact of these special days can be huge.  Christmas alone is responsible for 25% more waste being sent to landfills. By recognizing the incredible waste that is generated the urgency to do something becomes apparent. With this in mind, we are offering several Green Gift related and Green Events related articles (Look for them between: late Oct-mid-Dec). this is the 3rd article in the series, so far.  People are now embracing practical, ecological gifts that can provide some form convenience or financial benefit. At the same time, it is nice to find ways to alleviate the guilt felt during special day...

Alternative Gift Ideas Looking for the perfect gift for an upcoming holiday?  Something useful, that will help reduce waste?   Consider purchasing a set of sturdy, square bottomed, reusable, washable shopping bags. There are a lot of varieties to choose from, including those that are created from recycled plastic bottles, coffee sack material, renewable crops such as bamboo or hemp, and many other environmentally friendly options.  Go a step further and purchase a set of smaller, fine-mesh produce bags – this gift will reduce, or eliminate, the need to use the clear bags offered in the grocery store’s fresh produce department. These are washable, see-through and made of a very fine mesh material, weighing next to nothing, so they will not affect the cost when scaled at the checkout. Just how many bags per recipient? Typically 12 bags will likely cover most of the shopping activities for a family of 2-3, while 6-8 bags is appropriate for an individual. Want another option ...

Alternative, Eco-friendly Gift Ideas Looking for the perfect gift for an upcoming holiday? Something useful, that will help reduce waste? Consider purchasing a set of sturdy, square bottomed, reusable, washable shopping bags as a gift item. There are a lot of varieties to choose from, including those that are created from recycled plastic bottles, coffee sack material, renewable crops such as bamboo or hemp, and many other environmentally friendly options. ... Just how many bags per recipient? Typically 12 bags will likely cover most of the shopping activities for a family of 2-3, while 6-8 bags is appropriate for an individual. Go a step further and purchase a set of mesh produce bags – this gift will reduce, or eliminate, the need to use the clear bags offered in the grocery store’s fresh produce department. These are washable, see-through and made of a very fine mesh material, weighing next to nothing, so they will not affect the cost when scaled a...

Beat the Blues  Many of us dream of attaining a simpler lifestyle and it is easy to feel helpless and overwhelmed in today’s world, but one sure way to break the blues is to make someone else's life a little brighter. Do you have a relative or neighbour that finds it difficult to wrap gifts? Help them with the task or purchase some reusable gift bags and boxes for them to use. Go a step further and volunteer around the community, if only for an afternoon; check with the local volunteer office if you are looking for places that need a hand. If you can’t find a resource for volunteers – make one. We created a page of non-profits in our area for volunteer enthusiasts, people with a little to donate, and for the non-profits to network with one another. You can find it here: https://consciousdiscussions.blogspot.com/p/creston-bc-orgs.html Families now are going back to earlier traditions of making gifts by hand rather than buying them (plates of goodies, crafts, art, dried arrangemen...

BrummetMedia.ca 5 Fun Eco-crafts The joy of the holidays makes its way into our homes and offices several times a year. From birthdays and anniversaries to Halloween we all want to make the most of them, but there are a lot of people out there on constrained budgets. Families are aching to spend time together, but sometimes, they just don't know what to do that would be fun for everyone.  Here are some tips that could help you accomplish all of these things: Save birthday and holiday cards - consider all the cards you've received or those that you've made wrong entries in and don't want to send it out looking used like that ... they are all useful. Start by sorting the cards into themes and then sort them from large to small in size. Those little bits of ribbons that you've been saving will come in handy now too. If you don't have any, visit your local wedding and flower shops to see if they have any bits and ends for your projects. Thrift stores will...