Green Living Inspiration from Dad: Tell Us Yours!

Father's Day is next Sunday, June 20, so to honor dads everywhere please share your green living inspiration learned from your father, grandfather, or any dad that you know. I’ve shared a few things learned from my own dad below.

"Camping is a vacation, camping near the ocean is four-star luxury." When my siblings and I were kids my dad took the family to many of the most beautiful natural places in British Columbia. The photo above shows him and I on the deck of a seaside cottage on BC’s Sunshine Coast that was shared by our family, we would often camp there if someone was staying inside. This location was a rugged quarter mile drive off of the highway through the woods to the cottage perched on a cliff that overlooked the ocean. It was isolated in nature and unforgettable.

"If something is broken or missing a part, you can probably fix it or fashion a replacement from something you already have." Years ago the timing belt on my classic 1986 Honda Civic snapped, most mechanics would have walked away and called the car a write-off due to engine damage. My dad simply purchased a new timing belt and spent a lot of hours repairing the car, including grafting metal sheets and hammering the engine back into shape. He saved one car from the wrecking yard for at least another 25,000 km.

"Nothing beats a push mower." He’s a fan of push mowers for lots of reasons, certainly because they don’t require any fuel or energy and apparently are actually better for lawn growth.

"Swingsets are made of wood from the hardware store, not from plastic and aluminum kits from the department store that are shipped across the ocean." He made us a swingset entirely from wood and hardware from the hardware store. It lasted for about 14 years with minimal wear. It was eventually taken down only because we were teenagers.

Happy early-Father’s Day, Dad, and thanks for everything you have taught me!

Please share things you’ve learned from dad below.

(Image: Teresa Wright)

Comments (4)

My dad simply didn't waste ANYTHING, nor did he buy new that what could fashion himself from the miscellaneous odds & ends he squirreled away over the years. If something broke, he fixed it. He also rode his bicycle to work almost every day, sometimes over 20 miles one-way. After his death a couple years ago, the company that he worked for organized an annual "ride your bike to work day" in his honor.

I miss him immensely, and it helps me to feel closer to him to follow his lead whenever I can.

Every other night, my father would stomp around the house, flipping off light switches and yelling "close the lights! This place is lit up like LaGuardia!"

I love my dad.

I am fortunate enough to have a father and grandfathers who have always approached projects with the care and deliberation of craftsmen. Through the years I've seen them take such time and effort to lovingly make old things new and beautiful again, instead of just throwing them away, and it has made such an impression on me. I don't think there's anything more green than building things well with your own hands and taking care of them so they can be passed on, except perhaps teaching your own kids to appreciate the value of such a thing.

My father is a hunter and gardener, and always proved through his patience and willingness to take risks, that the best meals are those in which you can see your food from beginning to end. If that wasn't his greenest lesson to date, I'd be at a loss to think of another.