Press Release

Date: July 1, 2005

Fredericton Celebrates Canada Day in 'Green' Style

The past Canada Day in Fredericton was a sight to behold. Fredericton was the first city in Canada to have a "Green Parade" and the theme of this year's celebrations was "A Green City". The Kyoto Protocol and Canada's One-Tonne Challenge call for all Canadians to reduce their annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Participants in this year's parade did their part to help the environment. In order to keep this year's parade as environmentally friendly as possible, gas and diesel burning engines were not allowed to be driven but they could be pushed or pulled!

The creativity of Frederictonians sure shone through. Paul Wentzell, chair of Fredericton Civic Pride is thrilled with the response to the parade and has heard nothing but positive comments from the public. Wentzell explains, "Among the entries we had golf carts, skateboards, a horse drawn carriage, a hybrid car, shopping carts, and remote control toy cars complete with corporate logos".

The New Brunswick Lung Association and New Brunswick Climate Change Hub included a human float featuring people dressed in a variety of ways to conserve energy and reduce GHGs. These included human light bulbs, showers, thermostats, recycling bins, clotheslines, and people pulling composters and push-mowers.

The event was a huge success and was a wonderful demonstration of the importance Fredericton places on the issue of climate change. Fredericton's Canada Day certainly met its One-Tonne Challenge! Congrats!

 

View Pictures!