The Elora Environment Centre (EEC), a member of Green Communities Canada, has announced the launching of a new Green Hotline.

Many people are becoming increasingly concerned about and invested in issues that relate to our environment. Issues and questions such as water safety, non-toxic garden maintenance, "green" cleaning products, air quality, real vs. artificial Christmas trees and methods of composting are all coming more and more into people's consciousness.

People need a place where they can go to ask questions, to wade through the plethora of information bombarding them, and/or be directed to existing resources.

The Green Hotline promises to be a relevant, unique, and timely environment resource to answer just these kinds of questions for those living in Wellington and Dufferin counties. It will be a central place people can call with questions on a wide variety of environmental topics. The Hotline will be staffed by knowledgeable people, and this knowledge base will be supplemented by volunteers - students and other people - who will do research to ensure we are delivering the most sound and helpful information available. EEC will also post the answers to the most commonly asked questions on their website in an FAQ format.

In addition, the outreach programs will be a dynamic forum for participants to learn, to discuss with others who bring their own questions as well as knowledge, and to be connected with existing resources in their communities. The topics covered through the outreach programs will be relevant as they will be based on the data analyzed from the Green Hotline. These outreach programs will be a wonderful way for people to become more engaged and empowered, and to enhance their knowledge about how best to act in an environmentally conscious way that best takes care of the soil, plants and animals, their local communities and families, as well as the global community.

The outreach programs will be an impetus for people to understand the interconnectedness of all things, and will show people practical ways to put environmental knowledge into practice. The new Hotline will provide the forum to invite and address these questions adequately.

The Green Hotline will benefit all 140,000 residents of Wellington and Dufferin who are interested in getting more information about how to make good environmental choices. This hotline will also benefit organizations and agencies whose programs promote, for example, solid waste services for recycling.

"This environmental resource will also assist Canadian companies market green products because we'll be helping build demand for their products, e.g. composters and rainbarrels, and we'll provide a list of Ontario made products," said Elora Environmental Centre Project Manager Lynda Bausinger. "Finally, the Green Hotline will benefit the environment, because we'll be helping consumers to make green choices."

The new Green Hotline Kick-Off celebration is scheduled for next Thursday, June 11, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the Elora Centre for the Arts, Harris Room, located at 75 Melville St., Elora. Anyone wishing to attend the kick-off should call 1- 888-380-7337.

County officials, Ontario Trillium Foundation representative, the business community and residents will be in attendance.

This environmental initiative has been made possible through a grant by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, support from the Centre for Applied Renewable Energy and by Green Communities Canada. The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario.