It's one of the most exciting times of the year for green thumbs - planting season! But you don't need to live in the country or have a ton of space to grow your own food garden. Join us over the next two weeks as we explore options that will lead to a yummy, healthy harvest of locally-grown food.
This week, in partnership with Global News, we are pleased to present 5 Ways to Grow Food in the City.
Can't wait to get started? Check out our Get Growing Toronto guide for all the details you need to create your own urban food oasis.
It's time to rethink our relationship with food: when we cut food waste, grow our own food, and eat locally-grown and organic food we benefit our health as well as the environment. Visit livegreentoronto.ca to find out more.
by: Sophie Plottel, Project Lead, Policy & Research, Environment & Energy Division
The City of Toronto is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations. In 2016, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with City operations accounted for 10% of the overall emissions across Toronto. Through TransformTO, the city's climate action plan, the City has committed to leading by example on actions to reduce emissions associated with its buildings, vehicles, and waste.
In addition to its goal to reduce community-wide emissions by 80% by 2050, TransformTO also set a series of corporate leadership goals to reduce the environmental impact and costs associated with City operations. This includes a goal to retrofit and improve energy efficiency of all City owned buildings by 2040. Buildings currently generate about half of the greenhouse gas emissions in Toronto, primarily due to space and water heating with natural gas.
The Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre at Queen’s Quay and Bathurst Street is one building that is currently undergoing a deep retrofit to reduce energy consumption and improve building resilience. The project includes replacement of lighting with energy efficient LED lights, and updating the building automation system to optimize the performance of the building’s heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration.
The project will also install a state-of-the-art geothermal heating and cooling system that uses water from Lake Ontario to heat and cool the building. The building will also be outfitted with an innovative combined solar and storage system that generates power through rooftop solar panels and stores the energy in batteries. This will ensure the centre's supply and security of energy is reliable in blackouts, giving the community a reliable and safe place in times of extreme weather.
YOUR TURN
Curious about installing renewable energy technologies in your home? Click on the image to view four ideas, developed in partnership with Global News.
Toronto is home to hundreds of species of pollinators, including over 360 species of bees and 112 species of butterflies. And they need our help.
Pollinators are in decline due to habitat loss, climate change and other stressors. Some are even endangered and at risk of extinction – like the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee and the Monarch butterfly.
STARK CONTRAST: What your grocery store looks like with (top) and without (bottom) pollinators. Source: Whole Foods
So what can we do? Plant pollinator gardens! Yes, the easiest and most effective way to help pollinators is to create much-needed habitat. The simple act of planting native plants, trees and shrubs will have positive benefits for all pollinators in Toronto.
Fortunately, many of the places to create pollinator gardens already exist – in our yards, school grounds, church properties, and parks. Our city with patches of parkland, ravines, urban gardens and green roofs, can provide an abundance of potential pollinator habitat.
In our last Rethink Food post, we explored the benefits of a plant-based diets, which include better health and a lower impact on the environment.
In this post, we share some tips to help you transition to a "planetary health diet" – that is, cutting meat and sugar consumption in half, while eating more plant-based proteins. For many, this might seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be.
In the video below, we talked to Torontonians who have or are making the switch to find out about the challenges they faced and tips for success.
1. Start slow. Why not start out by either removing meat from your diet one day a week (for example, by joining the Meatless Monday movement), the same meal every day of the week (e.g. breakfast), or removing one type of meat (such as red meat) entirely?
2. Ease into a plant-based diet by starting with foods you already love. You might already be eating vegetarian proteins such as veggie burritos and falafel wraps. A lot of people think that going plant-based means a completely new food vocabulary, but you can start by eating meals you're already familiar with.
3. Pack in the protein. One of the biggest concerns for moving toward a plant-based diet is where to find your protein, or worrying about a lack of diversity in your meals. However, there are a wide variety of plant-based protein options: legumes, grains, nuts, processed proteins like tofu and much more.
4. Picky kids? No problem. If you're worried about transitioning your kids to a plant-based diet – do not fear! While kids are notoriously picky eaters, if you involve them in meal prep, or in growing a garden, they will be more willing to eat new foods. The more diversity you introduce them to, the more their palate will develop, and the less they'll be afraid of new foods. Hungry for more? Watch Eric's Story, part of our Rethink Food video series, as he talks about including more plant-based proteins in his family's diet.
5. Make sure you get the essential nutrients. Protein, iron, calcium, vitamins and other minerals are all important for a healthy body - and there are no shortage of plant-based sources of these. Meal planning is a great way to ensure you're getting everything you need.
We hope these tips are helpful, and are excited for you to begin your new journey!
YOUR TURN
1. Participate in a live-stream of Food Planet Health: Toronto responds to a global call to action on Monday March 25 at 6pm. Follow the link and click "interested" or "attending" so you can get a reminder.
2. Join the conversation: share your tips for incorporating more plant-based proteins into your diet on Twitter by using the hashtag #RethinkFood.
It's time to rethink our relationship with food – visit livegreentoronto.ca to find out how.
In February, the
City of Toronto released its 2016greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory showing that local GHG
emissions were 33 per centlower in 2016
than in 1990.The good news is, we're half-way to our 2030 target of a 65 per
cent reduction. And, we have already exceeded our 2020 target of a 30 per cent reduction.The not-so-good news is that we’ve already taken many of the incremental, easy actions, so we've got
a lot of work ahead of us. And, only 11 years to reach our next target. Read on
to learn more about why counting GHG emissions matters and how it's done.
What is a GHG inventory?
A
greenhouse gas inventory measures the emissions in a given city or region using
data from energy use in buildings, vehicles, waste and industry. City staff use data from utility
consumption in Toronto – electricity and natural gas bills – and add
information about travel patterns and waste disposal to calculate the overall
GHG emissions generated in Toronto in a calendar year.
Inventories
are released annually, however, it can take up to two years for data collection
and verification, which is why the City’s 2016 inventory was just released. Toronto's
GHG reporting follows the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for community-scale GHG inventories.
Toronto's inventory is also shared via the C40 Cities Network, a network of the
cities committed to addressing climate change. You can explore Toronto's data, and
other cities, on the C40 website.
What does Toronto’s inventory
show?
Glad you asked! The key
findingsare:
Major progress has been made towards Toronto's GHG goals with our 33 per cent reduction, but it's not all good news as much of the reduction came from the province ending coal-fired power generation, and many of the easier actions have already been taken.
45 per cent of GHG emissions in Toronto comes from homes and buildings, primarily from burning natural gas to heat indoor spaces and water, so making our homes and buildings energy efficient is a top priority.
35 per cent of GHG emissions in Toronto are generated by transportation, with 80 per cent of that attributed to personal vehicles, so our daily choices about how we move around the city are critically important.
20 per cent of GHG emissions in Toronto are generated by waste, so recycling and composting are very important, but even more important is reducing the waste we generate.
Is Toronto on the right
track?
Yes!
According to this latest inventory, GHG emissions in Toronto are 33 per cent
lower in 2016 than in 1990.
TransformTO,
which is Toronto's Climate Action Plan till 2050, lays out clear and specific
goals and GHG reduction targets, based on 1990 levels.
There is lots to be done! While great progress
has been made, we need totransformhow we live, work,
build and commute to continue to achieve our targets.
We
can all play a part in reducing emissions. Learn about how we can #TransformTO together.
