5 Tips for An Eco-Friendly Pool

Julie Starr • June 11, 2024

Are you considering a pool for your property, looking to start a pool business, or managing a community pool? Incorporating water fun into your life can be a profitable venture, especially if there's a high demand for pools in your area. And here's the exciting part, by opting for eco-friendly pool construction and maintenance, you not only contribute to a sustainable future but also potentially save on long-term costs.


However, with more consumers than ever looking for more sustainable options for anything and everything and wanting sustainability built into everything they purchase, including pools, what are our options for creating a more eco-friendly pool?



Sustainable Materials

When it comes to the pool's construction, opting for sustainable materials is a key step. Consider using recycled wood, glass , stone, or tile in your pool's design. These materials are not only durable and long-lasting, but they also contribute to reducing the need for frequent repairs or even pool reconstruction. By choosing recycled materials, you're also making a positive environmental impact by reducing the use of new resources.


Water Conservation

Water conservation strategies for pools aren't a new thing. It can often be overlooked for clean, fresh water. You can use grey water, which is used water from the home, or fill your pool. Filtering grey waters removes the dirt and impurities, leaving it clean and fresh to use in a pool. You can do the same with rainwater, too, and you can also introduce evaporation-limiting techniques to help you reduce the amount of water lost via evaporation (e.g., using a solar or liquid pool cover can help reduce evaporation).


Use High-Quality Parts

Whether you're supplying a pool, building your own, or repairing existing pools, using the best quality parts for the job at hand means you get a better finish and longer lifespan than cheaper alternatives. If you want to reduce waste associated with pool use and repairs, finding a pool supply company that can source the best products for your pool can limit the number of repairs needed and the frequency with which they need to be carried out.


Regular Care and Maintenance

Having adequate, regular, ongoing, complete pool maintenance and cleaning can allow you to ensure that the pool is working as it needs to be and not consuming more resources than required. Be it heating, filtering, cleaning supplies, or chemicals. Using pool covering can let the debris that finds its way into the pool, requiring fewer resources and chemicals to clean the water, while using eco-friendly pool cleaners can help to limit the chemicals in the water.


Energy Saving Parts

Using energy savings parts of your pool means you can control the costs and the impact on the environment your pool has. An energy-saving heating system, pumps, and filters will mean you use less energy to power them, making it better for the environment.


Alternatively, you can switch to solar-powered options to reduce your reliance on fossil fuels and create a more sustainable and less energy-intensive option for your pool.

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.