Good Choice Initiative

Hi! My name's Noelle and I would consider myself an eco-citizen. I've spent most of my childhood living abroad in countries like Argentina and India, but Ottawa is and always has been home. Only a one hour drive away, our family cottage in La Pêche, Quebec is where I spent most of the day outside, swimming in the lake. Today, it is where I disconnect from the city and reconnect with nature. With a degree in Geography from Queen’s University, I’m passionate about sustainability and community development. I've studied tropical ecology in Costa Rica and benefited from an internship in environmental education in Honduras, working alongside local NGOs on conservation and environmental education projects. On the island of Utila, I learned to scuba dive and fell (more) in love with the ocean. My dream is to one day see a whale shark in its natural habitat... I even got a bamboo tattoo of this gentle giant in Thailand as a daily reminder of this personal lifetime goal. I&

Today is day #12 of my self-isolation time. I returned from my trip to Guatemala on March 17th, just in time before they closed their borders to incoming and outgoing flights. I'm glad I got to travel when I did, before all of this broke out. I got to experience the colonial city of Antigua and its landmark yellow Santa Catalina Arch, surrounded by volcanoes. At night, the Volcan del Fuego gushed glowing orange lava. I got to see the cloud forest and lush jungle, swim in the turquoise pools of the Cahabon River and got to witness the beauty of Atitlan lake and the richness of the Mayan culture in the towns nestled along the waterfront. Remembering the view below reminds me that my travels weren't so long ago and I know I'll have new adventures to look forward to. I am grateful to be home safely and close to family, and to be in good health. But I do miss the fresh air and the sunlight kissing my face, meeting up with friends and going dancing. I know I'm doing

As a new snowstorm is upon us, the thought of settling down into a coffee shop for a warm beverage to escape the cold can be comforting. Over the last few weeks, I have been exploring several coffee places across the city, with a particular interest in their 'bring your own mug/cup' policy (for research, you know). Below is the list of all the places that I found accept customers bringing their own, some of which even provide a discount or incentive for doing so. Not only can you feel good about bringing your own mug instead of using a takeaway for your coffee, but you can be rewarded for your efforts to be more sustainable! Read on to find out which coffee places recognize consumers that do their part for the environment... 1. Bridgehead Several locations across Ottawa. One of the original local coffee shops that serves Fairtrade coffee, they accept any mug (travel or ceramic) and give a $0.27 discount per drink purchase. I love this place because they serve delici

Ever wondered how to turn your food waste away from landfills and into healthy soil for your houseplants and/or garden? Look no further. This week, Good Choice Initiative met with Akil, Founder of The Box of Life , who explains the benefits of using vermicomposting in your home. What is vermicomposting and who is The Box of Life? We've all been there...a smelly or leaky garbage bin, that sometimes attracts flies, that your cat often knocks over, and that you have to take out to the kerb at -20 C in the winter, when you'd rather be doing anything else. This is how Akil, Founder of The Box of Life, felt a few years ago when he first started composting at home. He then decided to design a system for homes and businesses to help them transition towards zero waste while building healthy soil from their food waste. Akil admits that the reason he started composting was because he felt guilty that he couldn't compost, since where he was living in the U.S. didn't have

Monday, January 20th, was apparently the "most depressing day of the year", suggesting that many of us tend to be under the weather due to the cold, lack of sunlight and pending bills from our Christmas expenses. On the other hand, some of us may just be affected by the seasonal blues as a result of winter's cold weather and darker days. I sometimes dream of going traveling to get away from it all and start imagining the places I can escape to with warm weather and nice beaches. If you're like me, you're ready to go on your next holiday by now. Beach in Koh Lipe, Thailand I've compiled some tips on how to travel more sustainably based on my own travel experiences and lessons learned, so you can enjoy your trip without worrying about your impact on the environment. 1. Fly less, choose direct Depending on where you plan to go, not flying is the best way to reduce your carbon emissions. I suggest seeing if there is an alternative mode of transportation

Welcome to 2020! It's a new decade, and with it comes a whole new set of resolutions - and expectations - to live better. In the past, I've set ambitious resolutions to meditate daily or to stop eating dairy in the hopes that I could be motivated to change my ways. Knowing myself, these expectations were in fact unrealistic and I was inevitably disappointed when I couldn't stick to them. So, now I'm trying another approach - one where I set realistic goals considering my habits and I stick to them. I am committed to living by my values of minimizing my impact on the environment, supporting local businesses and doing my best to buy products from abroad that are sourced ethically and sustainably. As long as I live by my values, I can only win...right? Right 😉 For those of you who are making sustainability part of your New Year's resolutions, I've come up with a list of 5 tips that you can easily implement into your daily habits ( it may take some ti