February 14th is a sweetheart (ahem) of a day at Green Action Centre. On that day, in 1985, the organization’s founders raced to the Companies Office to file the official papers of incorporation. Born out of the absence of coordinated recycling for households, the Recycling Council of Manitoba set up four collection depots around Winnipeg. The board and volunteers also worked on preparing and sharing reports and recommendations on waste reduction with the municipal and provincial governments.
Success! In 1995, the City of Winnipeg implemented a curbside recycling program, and the Province established the Manitoba Product Stewardship Corporation to “administer a sustainable waste reduction/prevention plan for disposable packaging and printed materials”.
Acting on gaps for other environmental issues, a new name and logo in 1998 reflected the organization’s broader mandate. The newly minted Resource Conservation Manitoba expanded its focus from recycling and backyard composting education to the promotion of sustainable transportation and classroom presentations on a wide range of environmental issues.
The Environmental Speakers Bureau presentation topics ranged from composting and water use, to our ecological footprint and climate change. The program reached over 152,000 school aged-children in Manitoba, including First Nation communities, from 1998 until its conclusion in 2020.
In 2000, the Commuter Challenge started in Winnipeg as part of the organization’s workplace-focused efforts to reduce commutes made by driving alone. This success led to province-wide expansion in 2004. Now reaching beyond the workplace commute to include all trips made by walking, cycling, transit or carpooling, the Challenge continues today. In 2015, the Jack Frost Challenge launched to encourage active modes in winter.
Several other sustainable transportation solutions launched in the early to mid 2000s, including the Active & Safe Routes to School program for elementary school children and the Manitoba Student Transportation Network for high school and post-secondary students.
Active & Safe Routes to School helps support schools to reduce barriers to active and sustainable school travel for children through events (such as Walktober, Bike to School Month, and Clean Air Day), school travel planning guidance, a wide variety of resources, data collection, and an innovative Bicycle Education and Skills Training (BEST) program.
In 2009, the Living Green Living Well program took a focused approach to outreach via public presentations and social media to reach Manitobans on a wide range of environmental topics. A vast repository of these Green Living Resources has been created, whether it’s for the workplace, school, community or in the home.
A year later, in 2010, Green Action Centre became the new moniker for the organization, to reflect the increasing urgent need for environmental action.
The last 15 years have been a particularly exciting and particularly hectic era for the organization. Here are some highlights (launch year in brackets):
- Compost Winnipeg (2016) – social enterprise of Green Action Centre collecting organic waste from commercial and household customers in Winnipeg
- GoManitoba (2017) – online trip planning tool for employers and all Manitobans
- First Nations Waste Minimization program (2017) – classroom presentations (started in 2013), community events, and hands-on support for landfill coordinators
- Manitoba’s Climate Action Team (2017/18) – in partnership with Climate Change Connection, Wilderness Committee Manitoba, the Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Manitoba, CAT works together to take collective climate action and advocate for a zero carbon province
- Green Audits (2020) – building upon Waste Audit services, this holistic sustainability audit assesses an organization’s climate impact and identifies opportunities to become more sustainable and climate resilient
- Sustainability skill-building workshops for newcomers (2021) – share knowledge, tools and practical skills that engage newcomers in climate action in partnership with the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM)
- Mobility Fairs (2023) – showcase a variety of transportation options for older adults, people with mobility challenges, and those who want to try using active transportation; offered in collaboration with the Transportation Options Network for Seniors (TONS) and the Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities
- Compost Winnipeg neighbourhood collection depots (2024) – organic waste pick up at 15 designated drop off locations in partnership with the City of Winnipeg
And so we come full circle. From establishing recycling collection depots in 1985 to picking up organic waste from neighbourhood depots in 2024, the organization now known as Green Action Centre continues to find gaps and provide solutions for a greener, healthier and more climate resilient future. Knowing the need is more urgent now than ever, Green Action Centre is committed to continuing this role for many more years to come.
