Getting to know your neighbours seemed to be the theme of the day when the Red Willow Cougars – one of Beaverlodge’s local Alberta Junior Forest Warden groups – set out to deliver CFLs throughout the town on January 26th.
Group leader and club coordinator Trisha MacKay was excited to involve her junior wardens in Project Porchlight because it fit perfectly with the club’s mandate of stewardship and giving back to the community. “One of the things we try and do is go out and help the community, whether it’s planting trees or picking up garbage or any other kind of project,” says Trisha. “So (Project Porchlight) was great.”
Trisha and her group, including two of her own children, trundled out to brave the elements on a day that was forecast to be -32 degrees Celsius with the wind chill. But fortune – and Mother Nature – smiled on them. “It ended up being plus 2 degrees,” says Trisha.
The junior wardens made their way from one door to the next, chatting with their neighbours and handing out free light bulbs. They were greeted warmly by the residents. But the best response came when Shannon Obst – mother to one of the wardens – and her group stopped at a house toward the end of the day. Who should open the door but one of Shannon’s dearest, long-lost family friends who had recently moved to Beaverlodge.
“She was so excited to meet up with Shannon,’ says Trisha. “It had been over two years since they’d seen each other. They’ve been talking ever since!”
Shannon’s friend was also pretty excited about our campaign; she immediately replaced the incandescent bulb in her porch light with our free CFL.
