ReThink Red Deer hosted their annual Eco-Living Fair, dedicated to sharing information on environmentally friendly practices at Red Deer College on March 24th.
“The Eco-Living Fair brings together all of these organizations and groups that are working on sustainable living, zero waste, renewable energy and all of these things that are good for the environment,” said Sarah Grass, project lead at ReThink Red Deer.
The non-profit society focuses on environmentally conscious living and educating the public about how to reduce their footprint.
Grass said there are opportunities to learn why lowering your impact is important and seeing how other people are involved, as well as hands on workshops so people can actually put sustainability into practice in their lives.
The event showcased locally crafted, eco-friendly products and organizations raising awareness about environmental issues as well as companies with innovative solutions for Central Albertans.
The event gets a mix of people each year—those actively engaged in eco-living and those who are just curious.
Part of the draw for the diverse crowd is that there are so many different things happening.
The Eco-Living Fair started out as a seed exchange, so they always maintain those roots with the annual heirloom unmodified seed swap.
Some presentations this year included how to ‘Grow and Sell Cannabis’ and Renee McLeod from the new local business Bummin’ Around Cloth Diaper Service, who talked on the environmental impact of diapers.
Grass was also enthusiastic about the talk on ‘Identifying Fake News’ presented by the Digital Literacy Library from Red Deer Public Library.
“I think it is important to discern what’s out there because there is just so much information out there, learning how to discern the truth from the rest,” Grass said.
For the first time this year, the Fair had live Blacksmith and Foundry demonstrations in the courtyard given by Rocky Turel of Illicit Metalworks.
There was also an e-Bus tour given by Jeremy Kureluk through Western Canada’s first 100 per cent electric bus.
Back by popular demand the Fair also saw a Repair Café running in the Makerspace where people could bring in their broken items to get help fixing them.
Grass said the event is a great way to meet like-minded people, learn from experts and network.
There were also opportunities to sign up for memberships with associations, as well as find volunteer opportunities.
ReThink Red Deer runs the fair in partnership with the RDC green campus.
