How you can help water

Find creative ways to play with water that are less wasteful. (Credit: Lindsay Coulter)

March 22 is World Water Day!

But what can you really do for water?

During the 2015 summer drought, I created a list of five home watering-saving tips and wrote about how to get your yard off grass. And that summer of water restrictions inspired six more tips:

Save water from going down the drain. For example, after boiling a pot of corn on the cob or steaming veggies, let the water cool and then use it on indoor and outdoor plants.
Save bath or shower water. Use it to rinse toothpaste down the sink (unless it's my coconut oil toothpaste recipe which you should spit into the compost), wash floors, for water play (see below), etc.
Put a rinse basin in the sink. Collect water from rinsed dishes or running the tap to nourish plants. (And a few coffee grinds won't hurt!)
Wash other people's dishes. Hate to see water wasted? Don't preach. Offer to be the dishwasher at the next house party or BBQ.
Find other toys for toddlers. Water is the best toy -- pour it, splash in it, etc. -- but it's wasteful. My son lost his garden hose privileges. Find other ways to encourage water play, like using bath water outside for mud kitchen.
Encourage bumblebees. Bumblebees nesting in your yard increase water movement around plant roots, so on watering days it can get to plants easier and where it's needed most!

Thirsty to take a bigger step this World Water Day?

The David Suzuki Foundation's Blue Dot movement is helping communities across Canada to call on the federal government to make good on our human right to clean water by enacting a federal environmental bill of rights.

Did you know that Canada is the only G8 country and one of just two OECD countries without legally enforceable national drinking-water-quality standards?

Write a letter to the editor calling for water rights. We created a simple tool, so beginners are welcome.
Join our THUNDERCLAP for water rights! Thousands of Canadians are sending one unified message to the federal government on World Water Day.

Comment on this blog with one NEW action you'll adopt this World Water Day and be entered to win a reusable, glass straw donated by Aimee of the Glass Sipper (draw date: April 11, 2016).

Sincerely,

Lindsay Coulter, a fellow Queen of Green

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