Water

This is what one congregation at Fifth Avenue Memorial United Church in Medicine Hat, Alberta did about water in 2007:

1. We used the Waters of Life study binder for four one-hour sessions in Lent 2007.
2. We put up a large bulletin board display about water in the gym where we have our social times. The display also included a three-litre Caroma toilet, rain barrels, and downspout extensions.
3. We registered with Alberta Environment Week (the first week in June) as a Green Stop,* and displayed outdoor posters about water conservation. A Green Stop banner was provided by Alberta Environment Week and was prominently mounted outside our church.
4. We have stopped using chemicals on the lawn and gardens. We are cutting the lawn at two-and-a-half inches instead of the shortest possible (about one inch) to conserve moisture.
5. About 10 people have been involved in planting bedding plants, digging dandelions, and trimming hedges.
6. While we do have a water cooler in the meeting room, it is refilled at the church with tap water.
7. About three people came to the Green Stop presentations on composting and zeriscaping. One person came to the film on water ordered from The United Church of Canada. (Not a great turnout! But it kept water discussions open in the church).
8. We put a timer on the outside tap to limit watering time of lawns and gardens (otherwise it's easy to forget that it is on).
9. The board passed a motion to order eight new three-litre Caroma toilets to replace the old water guzzlers. At current utility rates, and with installation done by a volunteer, it was estimated that the cost of the toilets would be recovered in three years with lower water and sewage bills.
10. In the fall perhaps we will learn more about naturalizing our garden techniques, and keeping the roof run-off on the property for use on lawns and gardens.