#FriFotos: Earth Day

To be honest, I didn’t think I’d have enough material for this week’s Fri Fotos. I don’t work for a recognizable pro-environment company. I’m not one of those gung-ho enivronmental evangelists nor do I need to laud it over people’s heads. But I do what I can with what I’m aware of. (If that makes any grammatical sense whatsoever.)  My dad taught me to turn off the lights and he always used to chastise me about it and saving energy in that simple sense became a habit. Now when I see other people leave the lights on at unnecessary times, I get annoyed and always turn off the light. I recycle. I’m a good citizen. I won the environmental challenge in Grade 8. They even gave me a pretty certificate. Does this count?

But seriously, how in the h-e-to-double-hockey-sticks can I be a better traveler in that sense? Right now I don’t have the time to do a voluntourism type of vacation or take a few months to save the children in Africa. Sorry, not trying to sound sarcastic here but I would love to hear your tips. Here are a few photos I came up with.

I try to get back to nature when I can. I loved these lilly pads while canoeing in Algonquin Park.

And when you go back to nature, sometimes you might even see a moose! Good for the soul.

To me being environmentally conscious is shopping local. Granville Public Market, Vancouver.

And I try to stay in accommodations that are doing good things. In the Near Category, Planet Traveler Hostel (and it’s so much more than a hostel…think the flashpacker crowd) is Toronto’s foremost eco-accommodation and works on geothermal energy and has a solar panel-filled rooftop to conserve energy. Plus, popcorn. Popcorn, people!  More of my review on that is here.

And sometimes, it’s the little things that we can appreciate even if we can go out and “save the world.” Like literally stopping to smell the roses (I’m going to say flowers in this example). My mother kept a garden and grew her own vegetables when I was growing up and it really made me appreciate the simple things and the food we eat. Someone is growing it and it’s important to notice those little things that make the difference in our go-go gadget world.

To participate in Fri Fotos all you have to do is follow the twitter hashtag,#FriFotos. Each theme isannounced every Tuesday after noon. For full rules, click here.  P.S. Feel free to add me on Facebook for more chatter and photos.