Nature Principle.I was recently reminded of a memory from my childhood. Some good family friends had taken me mini-golfing with their grandma. It was a gorgeous day outside; some might say it was the perfect weather for golfing. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, I was more interested in the grasshoppers than I was in following a golf ball around the artificial turf. I remember my friend’s slightly annoyed grandmother having a conversation with my parents about what a “daydreamer” I was.

Perhaps author Richard Louv would argue that my early interest in entomology was a good thing.

In his best-seller Last Child in the Woods - Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, Louv makes a strong case for children to get outside – and not just for organized sports and activities either. Louv compiles facts and studies and makes the argument that what many children are missing in their childhood today is the simple opportunity to go outside and have free, unstructured play.

Free, unstructured play could be building a stick hut, discovering swamp creatures, finding a special hiding place, climbing trees, playing in the mud and getting your hands dirty…and making mysterious mud creatures while you're at it too. What unstructured play does, among other things, is allows for problem solving and engagement with the imagination.

Yes, as a society in general when we think of dirt we think of germs, and we live in a world where it seems we have to protect ourselves from everything, especially when it comes to the outdoors. If you think of the typical arsenal of sunblock and bug spray that many people use just to go for a walk outside, it seems like we always have to arm ourselves from nature.

Yet in his most recent work, The Nature Principle - Reconnecting with Life in a Virtual Age, Louv makes a strong case for adults to do the same as kids, and to get outside just for the case of being outside in nature…to get some fresh air, to give yourself the time and space to focus on the little details around you (again I think of those grasshoppers and how they crawled on the turf and how infinately more fascinating they were than golf was), to connect with other species, as well as an inner sense of peace. This is what Louv ultimately boils down to something he calls “Vitamin N,” something he argues we can all benefit from.

And the weather is getting warmer. And Turdus migratorius, our American robins, are officially here. So the question is: have you been outside today?

I have always loved the mix of ingenuity and practicality found in things created from other things. I am talking about art, clothes, jewellery, household objects, furniture - you name it; anything designed using unexpected salvaged or recycled materials.

Reclaiming style : using salvaged materials to create an elegant home is a great new addition to our library collection. It features the work of Retrouvius, a design and architectural salvage business, and demonstrates the potential in designing with salvage in the home. The photographs are beautiful, inspiring, and have given me a serious case of "I could do that!".

If you are interested in this topic and want to explore more we have a wealth of books full of examples and projects for practically everyone. The Design District blog even featured another salvage design book Recycled Home recently. Check their post out out here. Terms to get you started include: creative reuse (or misuse if you have a penchant for mischief), salvage, upcycling, refuse as art, trashion, refashion, and found objects.

The following are a few of my favorites followed by two websites:

1000 ideas for creative reuse is the perfect introduction to this topic as it covers so many different styles and approaches. Also available as an e-book.

Unscrewed : salvage and reuse motors, gears, switches, and more from your old electronics is for the mechanically gifted interested in geekcraft. Also available as an e-book.

Building with secondhand stuff : how to re-claim, re-vamp, re-purpose & re-use salvaged & leftover building materials an overview of types of salvaged materials including how to work with them. Also available as an e-book.

Cut-up couture : [edgy upcycled garments to sew] for fashion lovers.

Playing with books : the art of upcycling, deconstructing, & reimagining the book a complete guide to altered books including materials, techniques, projects, and a gallery of examples.

Superuse is a website showcasing contributions from artists, designers, architects, and those interested in the topic of reuse. I encourage you to check it out. You can view projects from around the world and filter them by type. This is how I recently came across a great initiative from the Canadian Wood Pallet and Container Association called repallet. They provide the blue-prints and background info (where to find them, which to use) and the rest is up to you!

We love hearing from you so please contact us with your creative reuse project or recommended reuse resource.

-Chelsea

A blog post by library Eco-champion Dave

Raise your hand if you have grown up with plastic, e.g., Lego, IKEA tables, Styrofoam coffee cups and the like. This material is gradually replacing cardboard, wood, metal, glass, ceramic, natural fibres, etc. It’s even in chewing gum! Do you ever give it a second thought? Could you imagine living without it? One woman has and did, and writes about this iconoclastic stance in her new book: Plastic-free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and You Can Too.

Beth Terry was a carefree plastic consumer until she learned about No Impact Man and saw what it can do to wildlife. Now she had a goal, started a blog and wrote this book. It gives you the lowdown on plastic: what’s in it, and the harm it can do—in short, why you might want to limit your use of it.

Plastic is a durable material, but is so often used for short term applications: It’s made to last forever but designed to be thrown away. (In effect, it’s overqualified). It is inexpensive but hard to recycle or compost, and so ends up buried in landfills or collecting elsewhere, like in the oceans.

The author’s big beef is with single-use plastic (not durable goods) but she does show how you can remove plastic from every part of your life.

This is a positive primer on how to live more sustainably. The author looks at plastic and asks, given the downside, how can we do without, or how can we do better. She also profiles other inspiring individuals who are also doing their bit for the common good.

Terry includes chapters on the major offenders, including plastic bags, food containers and beverage bottles. She gives the straight goods on recycling (it’s the last and least of the 3 Rs). There is information on natural fabrics, growing your own food, and saving money by making your own cleaners. Part of the problem is consumerism. The less you buy, the less packaging you have to deal with.

And, if the reader is overwhelmed by the scope of the problem, there is a chapter with advice to help you cope.

This is a book to inform, inspire and incite for every level of organic enthusiasm. Reading this book might add another R to your vocabulary: R for Refusing single use plastic!

Also check out the No Impact Man book and DVD at the library.

With the holidays over and the New Year begun, many of us are looking to clean house, which at this time of year means getting rid of Christmas trees and wrapping paper and clearing out the old electronics—televisions, computers, gaming consoles, phones—that were replaced with new ones. Here's how to handle your old stuff in a greener way:

Wrapping paper and cards

Any wrapping paper, cards and bubble wrap can be put into your Blue Cart to be recycled.

Old Christmas Trees

If you had a real Christmas tree, remember to remove all decorations and tinsel and don't wrap the tree in plastic before recycling. Then you have two options to take part in the City of Calgary Christmas Tree Recycling Program:

For pick-up

Have your tree out beside your City of Calgary Black Cart by 7:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 8, 2013 and your tree will be picked up within three weeks.

For drop-off

If you've missed the pick-up in your community, you can drop your trees off at one of the eight temporary Christmas tree drop-off locations until January 27, 2013:

• Fire Hall #15 - 6358 35 Avenue NW
• Prairie Winds Park - 223 Castleridge Blvd NE
• Bottomlands Park - St. George's Drive and 7 Avenue NE
• Marda Loop Communities Association - 3130 16 Street SW
• Parks Compound - 10312 Sacremento Drive SW
• Spyhill Landfill - 69 Street and 112 Avenue NW
• East Calgary Landfill - 17 Avenue and 68 Street SE
• Shepard Landfill - 114 Avenue and 68 Street SE

Note that Christmas trees cannot be put into your Blue Cart (even if they're cut into pieces).

Christmas trees that are part of the recycling program (40,000 last year) are saved from the landfills and turned into mulch (that you can go pick up for free to use in your own garden!)

Used Electronics

If you have electronics that are in good working condition, you may be able to donate them (contact the Electronics Recycling Association) or sell them (or give them away) on Kijiji. Otherwise, certain electronics can be dropped off, at no cost, at any of the City of Calgary's electronics recycling locations.

Examples of the types of electronics that are accepted for recycling include:

• TVs (all sizes)
• Laptops
• Desktop computers
• Printers
• Computer monitors (some restrictions apply)

So what is an environment-minded person to do at this time of year?

We turn up our furnaces, idle our car engines and use our ovens, stoves and clothes dryers more and for longer times. Holiday season means more purchasing and wrapping. Winter weather means no outdoor gardens and often less composting.

This season can be a challenging time for those trying to respect the Earth, but we can do many small things, which added up can make a significant difference in how much energy we use and how much garbage we produce.

Below are some sites with smart, easy ideas on how each one of us can be a little greener during winter:

EarthShare Winter Green Tips covers everything from green holidays, conserving energy in your home (while still staying warm!).

Washington State Winter Tips divides their green winter advice into four areas: holidays, at home, yard & garden and at play.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Winter Tips includes good reminders, including advice on recycling electronics and conserving water in winter.

We also have many books on how to be greener anytime of the year: