After five years of helping Red Deerians make the switch to greener Christmas lights, the LED Christmas Light Exchange program is coming to an end.
The Kerry Wood Nature Centre and the City of Red Deer are partnering for the final year of the program, which encourages residents to exchange incandescent exterior Christmas lights for new energy-efficient ones.
“The community has contributed to a very successful program,” said Katina Tam, Environmental Program Specialist with the City of Red Deer. “We feel that residents have gotten the message and the majority have made the switch, so it’s now time to refocus our efforts on new ways to encourage the public to conserve energy and reduce their environmental impact.”
While supplies last, residents can bring in at least two strings of incandescent lights to the Kerry Wood Nature Centre and receive one free box of multi-coloured LED lights in return.
Supply this year is very limited, and there is a limit of one box of free LED lights per household. Adults must be present to claim the lights.
Since 2009, Red Deer residents have recycled 14,700 incandescent strings of Christmas lights in exchange for over 4,600 energy-efficient LED strings. More than 1 million kWh has been saved, which is enough energy to power 144 homes.
“Red Deerians have saved money and reduced their environmental footprint through this program,” said Todd Nivens, programs coordinator at the Kerry Wood Nature Centre. “We are pleased with the success of the light exchange and look forward to partnering with the City on other environmental initiatives in future.”
For more information about this and other environmental education programs, call the Kerry Wood Nature Centre at 403-346-2010 or the City of Red Deer Environmental Initiatives Section at 403-342-8750 or visit www.reddeer.ca/environment.
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