Geocaching - Get Active Spring!

Despite the snow that is currently falling outside my window, I heard that there are only 15 days until Spring! That's wonderful news for a Monday isn't it?
Once the weather warms up a bit, it's natural for families to want to get outside and enjoy it after the winter season. We have very mild winters here in BC, but that still tends to keep people inside. I know spring is on the way because, just this weekend, I saw several people out walking or riding their bikes in the sun!
One way families can get out in the spring (or summer or fall, really) is by geocaching.

Geocaching.com: Geocaching is a treasure hunting game where you use a GPS to hide and seek containers with other participants in the activity.

Geocaching

You may not have heard of it yet, but it's gaining popularity worldwide, and there are a reported 1.6 million caches hidden around the globe. You'd be surprised, but I'm sure there are at least 10 hidden treasures near you! Most geocachers use a handheld GPS device that they load with coordinates from the geocaching.com website, but you can also use your smartphone.
It's essentially a high-tech treasure hunt for plastic containers with small prizes in it. You go for a walk, hunt for the cache and (hopefully) find it, log your visit, trade some items, and replace it exactly as fond. Once you're home, login to your account and record your find and share your story. Some are very easy, others are VERY hard!
Go take a look at your area on their website, and give it a try! We like to leave stickers, erasers, small toys, pens, and the like. It's a great way to pass along the small toys the kids get and no longer play with. If you leave something, you can take something that someone else has left, and pass it along to the next cache.
We wrote a blog way long ago about geocaching when we first started... go to http://canadiannanny.ca/index.php?p=3_6&nid=96 to read!
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Founder of CanadianNanny.ca, Martha Scully and her team have helped thousands of parents find childcare across Canada for over 10 years. In 2011 she added Adult/Senior/Elder Care, Housekeeping and Pet Care services to Canadiannanny.ca, giving families one place to find all their care needs. Just like other moms, in her spare time she is a taxi driver, teacher, cook and housekeeper to her two daughters, Sophie and Charlotte. She has been featured on CanadaAM, in Today’s Parent, the Globe & Mail, as well as being selected as the 2008 SavvyMom Entrepreneur of the Year. For more information, please visit www.canadiannanny.ca. To contact Martha, please email martha@canadiansitter.ca or phone 1-866-221-7918.

Earth Day

Earth day is an important event that all Canadians should take part in one way or another. I would love to use this blog to create a list of things that parents and nannies across Canada do to help the environment. Here are a few things that my staff and I have done:

1) I now send all my kids lunches in Tupperware containers. At first, I was having difficulty getting the containers back and having to replace them all the time. So I purchased labels from www.mabel.ca and put labels on all of the containers that leave our home. Their labels are fantastic and they have not faded and are completely dishwasher proof. Just putting labels on lunch things has saved us time and money. And is really a unique way to be environmental!

2) I always bring re-useable bags on every grocery trip. We actually try and to keep them in our car so we do not forget them. Really, these bags hold more than plastic ones and are easier to carry. We also use them for other things, like beach days, soccer gear, etc. They're so durable and strong! The kind that I have are actually made from old plastic bags, and they are completely washable!

3) For the business, we turn everything off at the end of the day: computers, radios, space heaters (which also cut the energy bill), and lights. We also re-use paper wherever we can, and recycle what we can't.

4) My family has our own herb and vegetable garden in the back yard. We have a small backyard, but we are making a larger space for a vegetable garden this year. Hey if the Obama’s can do it why not us! The kids also love helping with the gardening and get a real kick out of it when we pick lettuce and make a salad with it right away!

5) Garburtors are not actually environmentally friendly; despite what I previously thought. I didn't know that until this year. Since garburators need a considerable amount of water to run properly, they place a strain on treatment plants and negatively impact aquatic life. Before we were using the garburtor serval times a day, now we have greatly decreased that.

Well parents and nannies what about you? What have you done this year to improve the environment? What are you planing to do?

~ Remember: Earth Hour 2009 is this Saturday, March 28th. Turn out the lights for one hour at 8:30pm local time, and join millions of people worldwide in saving the planet! ~