Seneca College Alumni Magazine - Fall 2008 - (Page 16)

Kermit would be By Helena Moncrieff hen you recycle diapers for a 250-soul child care network, you’ve got to be committed. Karen Eilersen (ECE 1989) means business when it comes to the environment. She started Discovery Child Care Centres out of her home in Barrie, Ontario in 1990. Today, she runs five centres, all with a commitment to protecting the earth and its children. “About 12 years ago I went to a seminar on children’s health and the environment put on by the Sierra Club,” Karen says. “The connection between pesticides and health effects was big.” The session so impressed her, the mother of two then-young boys vowed to work green right off the bat. Two of Karen’s centres include several acres of land. True to her word, the properties are maintained without pesticides or herbicides. But she’s taken her environmentalism many steps beyond. Karen and her team are diligent about recycling and water conservation, and rain barrels and composters are features of the yard. It’s equally impressive inside. Anyone who’s done a shift at other child care centres will recognize the smell of bleach. You won’t find it at Discovery Child Care. “It’s a high-level disinfectant but a terrible chemical to use,” Karen insists, so only environmentally-friendly cleaning and sanitizing products are allowed. “We did some research and found that there are products approved by Health Canada and the Health Unit that are healthy but have a high level of disinfectant,” she says. Bleach is only W used if there’s an outbreak of stomach troubles. The environmental approach to the business has evolved. “We started with children’s health,” Karen explains, “but now it’s what we teach them.” The children help with the composting, work on the garden and eat much of their own bounty. Lunches and snacks include organic products whenever possible. Discovery Child Care Centres are the first in Ontario to be BullFrog powered, supporting green electricity. Karen’s efforts have been noticed. While a waiting list isn’t unusual at daycare centres today, her list includes many families who are looking specifically for her green approach. And she’s turned more than parents’ heads. The Centres won the 1998 City of Barrie, Business of the Year Award and the 2003 and 2007 Bell Canada Business Awards, Green Community Award. “From a business standpoint, that’s great,” Karen says, “but from an environmental standpoint, I wish everyone would be like us.” Karen will be sharing her experience and offering advice as a speaker at Growing Up Healthy and Green, a conference on environmental health and green practice in child care Seneca is hosting October 24 and 25. For more information about the conference, visit www.senecac.on.ca/ ece/conference. 16 w w w. s e n e c a a l u m n i . c a http://www.senecac.on.ca/ece/conference http://www.senecac.on.ca/ece/conference http://www.senecaalumni.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Seneca College Alumni Magazine - Fall 2008

Seneca College Alumni Magazine - Fall 2008
Contents
Team Makes a Difference on Campus
How Green is Your Workspace?
A New Approach to Environmentalism - the Revitalization Institute
Troy White Turns up the Heat with His Summer Job
Karen Eilersen Goes Beyond Recycling
Applied Research Solves Real Life Problems
Philip Sparks has it All Sewn Up
The Mehta Family Credits Seneca with Success
Diary of Desmond Duke’s Start Up
Support and Attitude Keep Visually-Impaired Student on Track
Honouring “the President”
New Grads Who Will Inspire You
What do the Argonauts and Mozilla have in Common?
Our Experts Show You How to Burn Calories and Shop While Going Green
Olympic Gold and Silver for Senecans
Boost Seneca’s Research Data Just by Saying “Yes”
Senecans Assessing on TV

Seneca College Alumni Magazine - Fall 2008

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