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Members stood their ground at W.E. Hamilton Park at 565 Scottsdale Dr., beside Stone Road Mall against the blowing winds. To celebrate Earth Day on April 22, they picked up garbage accumulated during the winter months and also promoted their upcoming Green Health Day event.

On Earth Day, the FHT will be wearing green shirts and talking about climate change and initiatives in health care.

Lee Kapuscinski, chief executive officer of the ���߲ݴ�ýFamily Health Team, said climate change has been recognized as the most important health concern for us.

“We’ve all seen the news and experienced the impact of fires happening in the west and our air quality and just the health in our communities,” she said. “Health care is a major contributor to carbon emissions, so we have chosen to integrate sustainable practices in primary care here in Guelph.”

They have identified green initiatives health-care providers and others can focus on and participate in and are collaborating with other teams in Ontario.

“We’ve chosen to focus on five core initiatives, which include things like mask recycling, virtual care options for patients, using rechargeable batteries in some of our medical equipment, reducing the use of exam table paper and actively looking to switch patients from using traditional puffers or inhalers to more economically and environmentally friendly ones,” Kapuscinski said.

Some things we can all do are: green your office or home, eat plant-rich foods, go electric, speak to elected leaders and spread the word.

She said the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care has put together a green office tool kit, which provides all kinds of ideas. A lot of the time they are cost-neutral or cost-saving actions so there is also an economic benefit.

Kapuscinski said it was great to see the team out at the park taking action.

“It’s something we’re very much committed to,” she said. “Being green is so core to the ���߲ݴ�ýcommunity and culture that we have here and it’s nice to be able to integrate that into how we do things on a daily basis.”

For more information about the FHT and their green initiatives, visit .