Taking a look at your lifestyle can be the first step in helping the environment, says P.E.I. farmer and earth lover Karine Arsenault.
With Earth Day being celebrated on April 22, Arsenault shared some of her tips for living a more environmentally-friendly life with The Guardian.
“I recommend to observe and question what constructs your routine,” said the co-owner of Serendipity Patch Homestead, a duck farm in Westmoreland. “Take a look at your clothes differently, your body care routine, maybe your pet needs.”
Consumerism often leads to unnecessary garbage from packaging and wasting gas to drive to a store.
To help evaluate if she needs to buy something, Arsenault uses a system called the Buyerarchy chart, which was created by designer Sarah Lazarovic at Longliveirony.com.
The chart is a pyramid. You start at the bottom and make your way to the top.
The order of the chart is: use what you have, borrow, swap, thrift, make, and buy.
“Borrowing is something I think we need to rethink and be proud of doing,” said Arsenault.
Arsenault said there are also environmental factors in buying local.
“A lot of meat that comes back to us travels quite a way before it hits the plate,” she said. “If you shop local you avoid all that fossil fuel because those products didn’t have to travel to you, it’s right here.”
Arsenault said since it’s Earth Day, it may be a good day to start saving up to plant a tree when the ground is softer.
“We take some stuff from the earth and that’s one thing but if we put some effort into giving back that changes everything,” she said.
