GC 2020
45 results found
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Green Events Guide for all city and community events
Many cities have green guides for all events that take place within their boundaries. Some have embedded it into policy and groups running events must abide by the city requirements. Let's follow suit and get to zero waste.
1 voteHave a look at the City’s One Day calendar.
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Encourage Community Groups
Facilitate meetings at all community centres in the city that give neighbours an opportunity to meet and discuss topics relevant to their communities. This will support community involvement and decision making.
8 votesThis kind of work is already underway all over the City, much of which is led by community organisations. Find one in your neighbourhood, or one that works on issues that you care about, and join in. This action plan includes building supports (e.g. tools, resources) to support community groups in talking about, and working toward, the greenest city.
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Celebrate Sufficiency
Over-consumption is at the heart of many of our environmental problems. One way to induce a reduction in consumption is to celebrate our sufficiency. Sufficiency, in this case, refers to a sense of completeness or wholeness. If we feel complete, there is less of an inclination to fill our faces with stuff we don't really need.
7 votesThis idea will be considered in the framing of the ongoing engagement work on the greenest city.
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Support education funding so teachers have the resources to teach being green across the curriculum.
24 votesMembers of Vancouver City Council are supporting education funding.
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Educate young: Add agriculture, renewable energy, sustainable development to highschool ciriculum
Inspire the youth to take action and educate on the importance of sustainable living practices.
26 votesIdea shared with Vancouver School Board; will be considered in City of Vancouver’s ongoing engagement activities as well. Very important to engage all of our community’s diversity.
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Encourage Influential People such as James Cameron (Avatar), to disclose impact of big corporations
on the environment, and encourage change. James Cameron is the Director of the movie Avatar which had a message of how big corporations, Mining are affecting the environment and raping the earth.
4 votesThe Greenest City Action Team is our home-grown influential team, and others are always welcome: http://vancouver.ca/greenestcity/background.htm#team
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Playing Movies Like Avatar, in Major Public Places, showing the reality & impact of big corporations
Making the largest impact in the shortest time, can make the difference. Continue funding Movies like Avatar which expose corporate America's environmental habits, and showing them on large public movie screens and starting change from the top. Companies with thousands of employees and systems, should be forced to change there habits, to reduce there carbon footprint. Public awareness may force the change that might otherwise take years.
4 votesGreat idea, and you are encouraged to suggest it to Fresh Air Cinemas and all of the community organisations that sponsor outdoor movies in the summer, including many of the Business Improvement Associations: http://www.freshaircinema.ca/; http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/cityplans/bia/index.htm
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Create a Senior Citizen's Sustainability Advisory Panel to mobile seniors knowledge on sustainabilty
Not sure that more degrees/planners is gonna make much difference...need solutions now...I say learn from the Cuban urban food production experience - they turned to the knowledge of all the seniors in Havana who knew how to grow food as most grew up in rural areas prior to revolution and then migrated to cities. WIthin 6 months, local seniors were teaching ourses at universities while the food geneticists and experts were in teh classroom learning how to do things without oil/fertilizer. There are many seniors in Vancouver who know how to grow food, fix machinery and make the most of…
16 votesThe draft action plans have been informed by over 100 different organizations in the community, and this is a great idea to build on that engagement work by outreaching to a specific demographic in our community.
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Create a "Greenest Block in the City" award - winner gets a kickass prize!
Modelled after Greenest Block in Brooklyn, where every block in Brooklyn competes to have the best gardens and grow the most food - friends in Brooklyn go nuts for this - lots of fun - winning block gets a great prize like street improvements from city - see"http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/08/presenting_the.php
24 votesGreenest City awards are included in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
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Produce instead of consume
A friend of mine told me his version of eco-tourism: "stay home and shallow breath." Being green means producing more than we consume. We need to think about this at home, in our occupations and in the community. I have a hard time imagining how Vancouver can compete with poorer cities where the people cannot afford to buy stuff and therefore have a lighter footprint. Even the most conscientious Vancouve bike rider can have their carbon footprint skyrocket when their air travel is calculated. But we can always try and there are lots of great ideas being put forth here!
2 votesThis is an interesting take on reducing ecological footprint. Our research tells us that people respond better to positive messaging that activates and motivates them, and that is the likely tact we will take in our communications.
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Cultural Sustainability Ambassadors
Vancouver has one of the fastest growing immigrant populations in Canada. Each cultural population responds to municipally-led sustainability challenges or requirements differently. In some ways, different immigrant populations have more sustainable living knowledge and experience than the mainstream Vancouver culture, in some ways they have less.
The City needs to engage different cultural communities uniquely, determining which approaches work best for which cultures to ensure the uptake of sustainability initiatives -which approaches will be meaningful to which communities.
Examples of this include identify existing social leaders in cultural communities (ethnic, income, age, ability, gender, etc.) and support them in order…
24 votesThis idea is included in draft Greenest City Action Plan, as well as more generally as a Greenest City Ambassadors program.
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mindfullness in schools
Whereas Climate change requires individual behaviour change and
Wherease individual behaviour change is significantly enhanced by cultivating the ability for critical thought and the abilility to step back and question and
Wherease these abilities are proven to be enhanced by practicing mindfulness (aka meditation, centering prayer, and many other labels), and
Whereas some success has already been achieved by introducing mindfulness programs in Vancouver schools,
Collaborate with the vancouver school board to introduce mindfuflness training in all grade levels across the city. This may include providing a financial incentive for the VSB to fully roll out the program.15 votesInteresting idea, have shared this with the Vancouver School Board.
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printing
Green up the Citys Print Communications - we know the city needs to communicate, let's do it smarter. Ensure that any communication vendors have been pre-qualified with a number of Environmental and Social minimum standards. Ensure that any print is done with leading sustainable practices, Carbon Neutral, Recycled paper, Zero VOC inks, with companies that actively support the communities social and green needs. Print Less, Print smarter.
3 votesA corporate sustainability framework is currently being developed and implemented; this idea has been shared with that team, and zero waste is an aspect of their framework.
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Put a boom box on every corner
Cuba - one of a handful of countries living within its ecological means - is also one of the world's top producers of arts, music and culture. Is there a relationship between creative production, sustainability and happiness? We think so. Imagine a Vancouver where one's daily experience was one of engagement, creation and production rather than consumption.
2 votesThe Greenest City also needs to be the most Creative City – this is a great example of that.
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City university
Degree granting inter-institutional relationship between the regions post secondary education institutions and municipal governments to study, research and solve our pressing city and regional challenges.
732 votesThere is a Campus City Collaborative project in the early stages of planning, where all of the post-secondary institutions are working with the City and the VEDC to talk about movement toward the greenest city, with a focus on creation of green jobs.
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One city block: integrated waste pickup, resource sharing, back-alley commons, community building.
Turn the back alley into a place for community building and sharing.
-Consolidated garbage collection at each alley's intersection with main street, in order to reinhabit the space for different uses and minimize footprint of garbage pickup.
-Share a lawnmower, garden implements, internet, cup of sugar, spare bikes, dishes, pots, BBQs, spare cot or car with your neighbours!
-Provide a space for free exchange of goods.
-Comunity garden, common building (arts, cooking, celebrations, gatherings, etc.), energy resources (ie. geothermal or solar power), strom water collection, grey water filtration (ie. "ecocells" on the property)90 votesThis idea has been included in the Draft Greenest Ctiy Action Plan; we encourage neighbours to get together and develop project ideas.
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Community sharing
Provide infrastructure for equipment sharing amongst neighbours, such as tools, lawnmowers, and other device where we don't need one more per block.
55 votesThis idea has been included in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan. We encourage neighbours to get together and develop project ideas.
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Neighbourhood "de-car-missioning"
Neighbourhood collaboration to completely reclaim streets from cars to maximize existing space in support of community initiatives and collective resources; composting, gardens, water storage, outdoor ovens, etc. Encourages depaving and city beautification. Supports and encourages active modes of transportation.
28 votesThis idea has been included in the draft Greenest City Action Plan; we encourage neighbours to get together and develop project ideas.
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Subsidies for Veggie Dining
How about offering economic incentives for new vegetarian or vegan restaurants? Such as giving tax breaks, or subsidizing start up costs to encourage investment.
86 votesConsideration of ways to incentivise and encourage lower footprint dining are included in the plan.
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Create a 'Green Capitalist' campaign that lets Vancouverites proudly participate.
A simple modification of the 'Green Capital' logo lets individuals claim ownership. Offer free 'Green Capitalist' cycling vests to commuters during bike-to-work week. Have a secret shopper team give reusable coffee mugs or 'Green Capitalist' shopping bags to people who buy local, organic or free-trade. Give high-quality water bottles to every family that signs up for a water meter. Why should Green Capital just be for trade missions? Let every citizen wear their civic green pride!
6 votesInteresting ideas to encourage a connection to the Green Capital brand with specific activities
