I knew of a few Toronto walking clubs before this weekend but found out about a bunch more this weekend as the city hosted the first ever "walking info fair" at the Todmorden Mills Heritage Museum and Arts Centre.

Despite competition from the various Jane's Walks and the annual Paddle the Don, turnout was surprisingly high as local clubs aimed to convince attendees that it was worth coming out to their upcoming events and become a member. Over 30 walking groups were on hand, many of which had a strong green bent. Some of my favourites included:

Sultry Suds was first brought to my attention as the host of a spring workshop focused on making your own environmentally friendly cleaning products. The owner, Jenna Scott, carries on obvious eco-ethic that shows through in her line of soaps, moisturizers, and all that sort of stuff that guys like me under appreciate.

For these types of products to be greener than the competition, they have to use cleaner ingredients (considering production and disposal) which are more often than not less harsh on the body. It's hard not to be skeptical of product line's like President's Choice "Green" label which often don't even list ingredients, but would have you take their word for it. So I thought I might learn a thing or two from a closer look at this small-scale local producer.

I stopped in on her at her at her studio space / store near Ossington & Dupont. Though she's been in business nearly five years, the space is new as she's finally at the point where she can work full time and out of her home. There were glass jars of oils infused with real, fresh herbs all over the place, and I quickly recognized some of the bulk oil containers as being quality brands such as Quebec's Soleil D'or olive oil. I'm told most of the products contain only Canadian ingredients.

I love Earth Day. While Toronto has no shortage of green events throughout the year, it's only during this week that there are so many of them that there is bound to be a few really good ones no matter where you find yourself.

Earth Day 2009 is quickly approaching - it falls on this coming Wednesday. And while there are event listings for across Canada such as on EarthDay.ca, the following three Toronto events are my favorite. And they're all at different times and locations spanning the city, so if you're so inclined you could check them all out.

Photographers out there (i.e. people with cameras) still have a chance to enter a commuter-themed photo contest that closes at the end of the month. It's being jointly run by Smart Commute Toronto (a great alternative transportation organization set up by the City) and Spacing Magazine.

Thanks to record government deficit spending, there is one economic sector that appears to be flush with money that needs to be spent: green projects.

This week Toronto Greenhouse aimed to bring together environment-focused entrepreneurs and investors. It was the first in a line of downtown events that will take place on the last Tuesday evening of every month. Kicking things off at the Steamwhistle Brewery, the place was packed (apparently sold out) as presenters pitched their ideas to a room full of potential investors (or lots of people with suits anyhow). The crowd was totally abuzz, with half the room content to focus on networking as opposed to what was going on up on the stage.

Getting a dose of news covering local environmental issues can be a real challenge. But in a convenient, downloadable, mp3 format? Come on.

They aren't exactly lining the airwaves but here are some great Toronto enrivo-related podcasts I've become aware of over the last few years.

1. The Green Majority

The Green Majority airs every Friday at 10am on UofT's CIUT for a full hour. It best fits the description of an "environmental podcast" as it covers Canadian and international environmental headlines, as well as a feature story (usually an interview with a Canadian subject expert). The show is produced and hosted by Jordan Poppenk, a UofT PhD Pyschology student, along with help from other qualified volunteers. Although the scope has broadened considerably, it was initially started to bring local environmental coverage to the Toronto area.

"As the nation's first and only all-environmental newshour, we strive to inform listeners about the environmental events that affect them, with emphasis on municipal, provincial and national issues, and to connect listeners to their environmental communities."

feed