Earth Day in Seguin

Seguin Township is committed to putting the environment first. We invite residents, business owners, schools and community groups to join us for a spring clean-up from April 19-30.

Clean-up kits are available at all Seguin Public Library branches, the Humphrey Community Centre and the Rosseau General Store. Participants are encouraged to share photos of their clean-up efforts on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #SpringCleanSeguin to be entered into a draw to win a green gift basket.

The Township will also host a BBQ to celebrate participants’ environmental efforts on Saturday April 30 from 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Visit our community calendar for details.

While Earth Day is a terrific time to go the extra mile for the environment, Seguin Township is committed to doing our utmost to protect our environment every day of the year.

Here are just a handful of the ways that Seguin Township exemplifies its environment-first principles.

Diverting organic waste from our landfills – Seguin Township encourages residents to compost organic waste through our Composter Rebate Program. New in 2022, our FoodCycler pilot program, led by Public Works, invites residents to transform food scraps into rich garden mulch using a closed-loop indoor compost alternative which speeds up the natural decomposition process through aerobic digestion of waste. Learn more here.

Joining an innovative wood ash disposal program – Responsible disposal of wood ash is critical to maintain Township infrastructure, resident and staff safety.  The Township will soon offer safe ash disposal as part of the ASH Muskoka program. This  incentive uses collected ash to replenish forest soils and watersheds with calcium (depleted by acid rain) to ensure and expedite environmental recovery. Learn more here.

Building key partnerships – Seguin Township is committed to establishing and enriching our relationships with environmental leaders, including the Georgian Bay Biosphere and the Integrated Community Energy & Climate Action Plans (ICECAP) to help inform and maximize our efforts.

Educating our staff – Staff are encouraged to keep up on environmental best practices. For example, Public Works staff will attend a species at risk educational session on Earth Day (April 22), led by experts at the Georgian Bay Biosphere. This session will ensure that crews who work in Seguin's delicate ecosystems are informed about the importance of protecting these plants and animals. Learn more about local species at risk here.

Following green office spaces – Staff are encouraged to use digital tools and avoid printing documents unless absolutely necessary. When we do use our printers, we return empty ink cartridges to be reused or recycled. Our Treasury Department offers paperless tax bills for ratepayers.

Installing energy efficient infrastructure – The Township has been tracking our energy use and taken several steps to reduce our footprint, from installing low-flow toilets to introducing more energy efficient temperature control. Seguin Township also uses LED light fixtures in most of our spaces.  Read more here.

Protecting our ecosystems – The Township is consistently reviewing our by-laws and regulations to ensure Seguin’s ecosystems are protected for generations to come. We will soon be inviting public input on our shoreline alteration by-laws on www.letsconnectseguin.ca. Stay tuned for details.

Reusing materials - Seguin Township Public Works reuses as many materials as possible from one year to the next, including our tarps, culverts, winter sand, etc. Staff reclaims sand from our roads in the spring, screens it and then adds it to the supply for the coming winter. If the reclaimed sand is not suitable for roads, we use it for fill.