Earth Day is every day in Caledon
By Karen Hutchinson Caledon Countryside Alliance

Another Earth Day has passed, and this year you have made a resolution to do more for the planet. It seems hard to ignore this year with the environmental news on TV and in the papers on what seems to be a daily basis. Then there is all the fuss about Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth (which you should see if you haven't already).

Well the news is good for all Caledon residents and businesses, volunteer and non-profit groups, the Town and the Region have been hard a work for a number of years developing programs to encourage environmental action - we didn't get the Greenest Town in Ontario Award for just looking pretty.

We do have a spectacular natural landscape with a total of 700 hundred square kilometres of space including the Niagara Escarpment, the Oak Ridges Moraine, the Peel Plain, river valleys (Credit, Humber and Nottawasaga), creeks (Etobicoke and Mimico), forests, farms, trails and great views with charming villages and urban centres (Bolton, Caledon East and Valleywood) nestled into the landscape.

So what can you do in Caledon to help save the planet and keep your resolution? Future columns will explore many of these opportunities and others in detail, but here is a quick summary to get you started:

* Reduce, reuse and recycle at the Great Big Garage Sale as a shopper or dropper, Ontario's largest indoor garage sale Saturday, April 28 at Someday Farms (west side of Caledon, for more information go to: www.coalitioncaledon.com).

* Reduce you garbage by using recycling and organics green bins and help keep Caledon's reputation as the best recyclers in the Region (visit the Web site, www.peelregion.ca/pw/wast e/.

* Recycle batteries with the Citizens for a Clean Caledon (see http://www.citizensforaclean caledon.org for local drop off locations).

* Buy local made rain barrels for only $50 from Citizens for a Clean Caledon ( s e e http://www.citizensforaclean caledon.org for purchase locations).

* Eat locally grown food (for farm locations, see Grown in Peel map and guide at www.peelregion.ca/planning /gip/).

* Book a personal lawn and garden home with Caledon's award winning Weedgee Kidz™ - this youth based program has been running since 2002 and has provided 1,300 Caledon households with visits (www.caledoncountryside.or g or call 905-584-6221).

* For renewable energy options get involved with Windy Hills Caledon Renewable Energy (www.windyhillscaledon.org /) or sign up with Bullfrog Power to buy renewable e n e r g y (www.bullfrogpower.com).

* To reduce home energy costs book an ecoENERGY e v a l u a t i o n (http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca or call 905.584.6221).

* Check out Environmental Action Report 2007 to the Town of Caledon's actions action the Town has been taking (www.caledon.ca and click on icon at the bottom).