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Living sustainably in Yellowknife Wood pellets, homegrown food, energy-efficient appliances some of the optionsKevin Allerston Northern News Services Published Thursday, April 19, 2012
Some green-minded Yellowknifers do have some tips, however. Some simple ideas relate to how a person sets her thermostat. "Keeping your house at lower temperatures and putting on a sweater is one thing people can do," said Kate Thomson. "Also, turning up the thermostat does not make it heat up the house any faster. You should always just turn it up to the temperature that you want your house at." There are also different ways of heating a house besides using fossil fuels. One option that's been getting a lot of attention lately is switching from propane or diesel to wood pellets. Thomson installed a wood pellet stove in her home this year at the cost of about $4,000 – $700 of which was rebated by Arctic Energy Alliance. She said while it is costly up front, it's cheaper in the long run. "I spent $500 on pellets which should last me a while. Right now I'm putting in a bag every two days and it's $5 a bag. I'm also running my furnace a bit, but not as much," Thomson said. Of course, there is also the option of using traditional wood stoves with wood collected near Yellowknife. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources also provides rebates through its Energy Efficiency Incentive Program. Rebates include $75 for installing a low-flush toilet, $100 for installing a more efficient refrigerator and $1,000 for installing a wood-pellet boiler. One thing a person may notice when they walk into Thomson's home or the Arctic Energy Alliance headquarters is plastic on the windows to assist with insulation. Thomson said it cost her about $60 to cover the windows of her home with the commercially available window insulation. One thing she would like to see Yellowknifers do more of is reduce the distance their food travels from its source to the kitchen table. "Where does your food come from? Personally, I have a garden and I grow as much as I can. Buy local, eat local fish, meat, that sort of thing," said Thomson. "I mean, there's no reason for everybody not to have a small vegetable patch in their yard if they have the space," said Thomson. "This idea that everybody should have green grass, a front lawn and pour chemicals on it is a waste. It is a waste of water. If you're going to water a plant, shouldn't you be watering a plant that you can eat?" asked Thomson. According to Shannon Ripley of Ecology North and the Community Garden Collective, Yellowknife's community gardens produce about 8,000 pounds of food per year. For $20 a year, Yellowknifers can become a member of the collective to grow food for the city and themselves. She said even though Yellowknife is a Northern community, we still have a decent growing season when compared to our southern counterparts. "A lot of people here will plant here in the last day in May or the first week in June and back in southern Canada and in the Prairies it may be the May long weekend and maybe they have an extra week or so on us on either side of the season, but it's not such a remarkable difference," said Ripley. She said there are also some benefits to gardening in Yellowknife with longer hours of sunlight and fewer pests. "There are a lot fewer pests here. That's the advantage of our climate, because we are just far enough north that winters are traditionally cold enough that they kill off some of the pests that are pretty big problems in other parts of Canada and other parts of the world," said Ripley. This means community gardeners can grow food organically, without the use of pesticides. There are currently 160 community garden members using the collective's four gardens in Kam Lake, Weledeh School and in Old Town, with 15 more on the waiting list.
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