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In honour of Earth Day (April 22), we've rounded up a list of ways you can make your world a little greener. From making your home or office more energy efficient to "greening" your commute, there are a lot of small ways in which you can start implementing green initiatives into your everyday. As a bonus, we've also included a list of BarterPay members who can help you get started!
 

Improving the energy efficiency of your home not only helps decrease your environmental footprint, but can also save you cash on heating and cooling costs and help stave-off long term home repairs. Ensuring that you have energy efficient appliances such as furnaces and air-conditioners can reduce your hydro and gas bill, and properly insulating your home/office with insulation and window treatments will keep all that air that you're paying to heat and cool right where it should be - inside. Another great way to reduce your carbon footprint is to ditch those single-use plastic waterbottles and instead, opt for an in-home/office water purification system to deliver filtered water straight from the tap.

 

InspireClean - house cleaning https://inspireclean.ca/

Niagara Duct Cleaning - https://www.niagaraductcleaning.com/

Enviro-Niagara Heating - air conditioning, fireplaces https://www.environiagara.com/

AV WAter Systems - water treatment solutions https://www.avwater.com/

Better Shade Co - window treatments https://interiorsbybettershade.com/

Moore Insulation - home insultation http://www.mooreinsulation.com/

 

Let your appreciation of the environment start right in your own backyard! Taking care of your plants and trees with proper landscaping and maintenance will ensure that your yard looks and functions beautifully all year long. Ensuring that your trees are properly trimmed, your soil is rich, and your lawn is properly cared for will prevent erosion, as will choosing the right kind of plants and vegetation for your property. Planting trees, polinator gardens, and vegetables, as well as composting and using mulch are all great ways to greenify your greenery. PRO-TIP: conserve municipal water by collecting rainwater in a barrel and using it to water your plants!

 

Element Landscape - lawncare, landscaping http://elementlandscapes.com/

Homefront Landscape - landscape & maintenance https://www.homefrontlandscaping.com/

Niagara Outdoor Landscaping - landscape design & construction https://www.niagaraoutdoor.com/site/home

Pineridge Tree Service - tree trimming and deep root fertilization https://www.pineridgetree.com/

Team Green Niagara - ecofriendly lawn care https://www.teamgreenniagara.com/

Weedman Lawncare - https://niagarafalls-region.weedman.com/

Willowbrook Nurseries - garden centre https://willowbrooknurseries.com/

Arborwood Tree Service - tree planting, care and removal https://arborwood.ca/

 

Ditch the car and opt for active transportation to reduce your carbon footprint! Niagara is full of beautiful trails, bike paths and places to explore - and it's always more of an adventure when you grab a bike. Rent a bike for a morning or afternoon and head over to Niagara-on-the-Lake to explore some of Canada's best wineries, and if you get really hooked on your two-weel exploration, you can always invest in a bike of your own! Cycling is a great low-impact way to stay active, save on gas and greenhouse gas emissions, and explore all of the places a car can't take you. Even biking to the train station instead of driving is an easy way to switch up your commute adn reap the benefits of fresh air.

 

Grape Escapes bike tours - https://www.tourniagarawineries.com/

Mountainview Cycle - bikes https://www.mountainviewcycle.ca/

NIagara Getaway Wine Tours - bike tours http://www.niagaragetaways.com/

 

While opting for an energy-efficient or electric vehicle is always a good choice for the environment, if you don't have an eco-friendly car, there are still a lot of things you can do make your car a little greener. Investing in fuel efficient tires and keeping those tires properly inflated, brakes gently, maintaining a steady speed, shifting easy and efficiently, avoiding unnecessary idling, and using the AC sparingly are all great ways to reduce the impact your car has on the environment. And of course, routine preventative maintenance is one of the most important things you can do. Having the oil changed regularly contributes to a greener, smoother-running engine, and a regular tune-up can include things like checking, cleaning, and/or replacing spark plugs and wires, fuel and air filters, the ignition system, emissions system, engine timing, and onboard computer control system, all of which will keep your vehicle running more efficiently.

 

Tempest Auto - keep your car in good working order https://tempestautorepair.com/

Lakeport Auto Electric - http://lakeportauto.ca/

Shawn's Auto Service - https://shawnsautoservice.ca/

 

If any of these have inspired you and you want to learn more about how BarterPay Niagara can help you become more environmentally friendly feel free to reach out to us and we can connect you with our members.