Earth Month in R+T Park

A four week challenge that aims to help us think about sustainable living

The University of Waterloo Sustainability Office is hosting Earth Month 2021! This is an awesome virtual event to help us collectively build a more sustainable community from home.

So we thought we’d extend the challenge to the R+T Park community and encourage you to take action on four different weekly themes: Sustainable Food, Waste Reduction, Connecting with Nature, and Promoting Wellness. 

How does it work?

Each week we’ll put a list of Five (5) simple sustainability actions in the R+T Park Life newsletter. We encourage you to take as many as you can. The list will be also shared via social media and is listed below.

At the end of each week, complete the weekly check in to let us know what actions you took on the challenge submission form to be entered into our prize draw. You can submit once per week during the four-week challenge, for a total of four submissions.

We’ll share an update on our collective impact each week and at the end of the challenge. It’s so important to remember what we can accomplish when we work together!

Prizes

Each week, everyone who completes the check in survey will be entered to win one of five $50 gift cards that support local businesses.

Winners will have a choice of one of the following:

• $50 gift card to Four All Ice Cream
• $50 gift card to Gifted
• $50 gift card to Zero Waste Bulk
• $50 gift card to Words Worth Books

WEEK 1: SUSTAINABLE FOOD (MARCH 29 – APRIL 2)

This week, we encourage you to look for opportunities to support sustainable food systems.

• Eat a plant-based meal
• Purchase a local food product to support a local farmer or local grocer
• Use leftover food bits or food scraps in a meal or repurpose into a non-food use
• Try regrowing produce from food scraps
• Look for food with a sustainable certification (e.g. Fair Trade, MSC Seafood, or Organic)

You are welcome and encouraged to take other actions that support sustainable food choices as well!

WEEK 2: WASTE REDUCTION (APRIL 5 – 9)

This week, we encourage you to look for opportunities to reduce your waste.

• Use reusable items to avoid disposable waste (e.g. containers/bags/straws/beeswax wrap)
• Look for an item second-hand instead of buying new
• Repair damaged items/clothing instead of buying new
• Put organic material into an organics/compost bin
• Check sorting rules in your area before you throw away waste

You are welcome and encouraged to take other actions that help to reduce waste as well!

WEEK 3: CONNECTING WITH NATURE (APRIL 12 – 16)

This week, we encourage you to look for opportunities to connect with nature.

• Explore a local trail or park
• Help clean up litter in your community (*safely following COVID-19 guidelines)
• Use pollinator-friendly plants when planning your garden (yard or container!)
• Take care of an indoor plant
• Make your own cleaning products with non-toxic, natural materials

You are welcome and encouraged to take other actions that help you connect with nature as well!

WEEK 4: PROMOTING WELLNESS (APRIL 19 – 23)

This week, we encourage you to look for opportunities to promote your wellness.

• Make a DIY sustainable self-care product (e.g. body scrub, lip balm)
• Exercise outdoors
• Take an hour (or more) to unplug – literally!
• Eat fruits and/or vegetables and drink water every day
• Educate yourself on local sustainability issues

You are welcome and encouraged to take other actions that support your personal wellness as well!

Eligibility

You must be a existing employee at a company that is currently located in R+T Park, aged 18 years or older and residing in Ontario to be eligible for the prize draw.

University of Waterloo Employees are not eligible. However, University of Waterloo employees can choose to register for the Campus Earth Month Challenge run by the Sustainability Office.

Please register with your corporate email address to validate entry. Registrations from generic or personal accounts, such as Gmail or Yahoo, will be discarded.

Challenge Details

• The challenge starts on Monday, March 29 and runs until Friday, April 23, 2021. (Registration will open on Monday, March 25, 2021 at 8:00am.)
• The challenge submission form will be open until Friday, April 30, 2021 at 5:00pm.
• Completion of both the registration form and challenge submission form will enter participants into the prize draw.
• Maximum One (1) entry per person per week, for a total of Four (4) entries.
• No purchase is necessary. Participation is voluntary and may be withdrawn at any time.
• Alternate entry can be arranged by emailing Mike Pereira at mike.pereira@uwaterloo.ca

Winner Selection

• The winners will be selected by random draw and notified by Wednesday, May 5, 2021.
• The selected winner must answer a skill testing question correctly before obtaining the prize and being declared winner. If incorrectly answered, another entrant will be selected randomly.
• Selection of winners is randomized, where chances of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.