So I have now lived in Jasper for a little over a week, and have had many conversations with Jasperites. I am impressed by a common thread.

I am from Calgary, and just this last year we started a “Blue Cart Recycling” program. If you ask me it’s about time; however, I would like to see Calgarians have the sustainable outlook that I see in Jasper.

One example is the children of École Desrochers. When I heard they decided not to take the beaded bracelets they made at the museum on the grounds that they wanted them to be recycled for the next group, to me, it demonstrated a new mode of consciousness.

It’s so gratifying to hear that the younger generation is looking at the world and understanding their small deeds of non-wasting will amount to a great sum over the period of their lives. Way to go kids, that’s awesome.

That mentality was mimicked by ATCO Ltd. this week. On Connaught Drive the streetlights were out for several days due to old, corroded cables. Richard Kocon and his crew were fixing the streetlights when he said something interesting.

Kocon was untangling a nest of wire when he said usually the wire comes in a nice roll, but because this is Jasper, they were re-using old wire.

So after several days of being out of commission, the streetlights on Connaught are again in operation, and the temporary wire powering them has been reused.

At the Activity Centre, I noticed another example of reusing. A sign on the wall says the flooring outside the building is made of recycled tires. I have to say not only does this look good, but also it’s sustainable building products. Many recycled building materials exist and to see them in use is very cool.

To Jasper I say: Keep it up. Between young people taking such an interest in the sustaining of our resources, and older people acting on these ideas, I have great hope for the future.

I understand some feel that Jasper could be doing even more for recycling if the facilities existed, like in big cities, but I defend by saying that attitude is everything. The more aware people are of the issues the environment is facing, the better suited we will be to deal with these issues.