GREEN LIVING: It’s Pumpkin Spice Latte season! Here’s how to make good use of the gourd

The fall season is upon us, and with it comes a fall favorite—the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

To help you enjoy everything the season has to offer, the staff at EarthCare Sudbury have put together some great suggestions on how to get the most out of your pumpkins this fall, including delicious food and drink recipes, composting tips and essential foliage information and garden waste.

Healthy Recipes

Whether you’ve grown pumpkins in your own backyard, picked one up from a local farm, or joined a community garden, you probably need some good recipes to make the most of your harvest.

Foodland Ontario has these helpful tips for buying, storing and preparing squashes, plus a bunch of awesome recipes for you to try. This no-bake oat squash bite recipe from Canada’s Food Guide is easy to make and packed with several healthy ingredients.

Local fall fun

You don’t have to travel far to enjoy the best that fall has to offer. Create some family memories by celebrating Halloween at Dynamic Earth with Pumpkinferno. There will be several exciting activities including scary stories, a spooky science show, meet-and-greets with an owl, a hawk and a hawk, an animal show and more.

Hoping to visit a pumpkin patch? These Northwest Ontario options, plus Leisure Farms in Sturgeon Falls, offer fall fun with corn mazes, hay and pony rides, petting zoos, haunted houses, bonfires and recipe contests.

Donate your seeds

If you had a beautiful pumpkin this year, did you know it can contribute to next year’s harvest? Donate your pumpkin seeds to the Greater Sudbury Seed Library for others to grow next year.

Simply scoop out the seeds, rinse, and set out to dry for a couple of weeks. Once dry, remove the flat seeds that are not viable and save or donate the thick ones to grow! Label the type or variety of your pumpkin seeds and store in a cool, dry place.

Compost your pumpkins and crab apples

Did you know that unused pumpkins and crab apples should be composted? You’ll be amazed at how much of a difference you can make just by paying attention to the waste you create.

Place these items in a certified compostable bag, either in your green shopping cart or next to it. Broken pumpkins must be placed in certified compostable bags in your green cart, but intact pumpkins can be placed on the ground next to the cart.

For more information, download the Waste Wise app or use this online tool.

Compost your coffee cups

While pumpkin spice lattes taste best in a reusable travel mug, if you’re using a to-go mug, be sure to dispose of it properly. Once you’ve enjoyed your favorite hot beverage, compost all compostable paper coffee cups and recycle the plastic lid.

If you need a refresher on what’s going in your green shopping cart, consult this helpful fact sheet.

leaf and garden waste

There’s great news for those who don’t love raking leaves — according to the Nature Conservancy of Canada, leaving them on the ground is good for your soil. The natural decomposition of the leaves returns important nutrients to your lawn, contributes to biodiversity and creates habitats for insects and pollinators.

Garden waste such as twigs, branches, grass and yard waste can be placed in compostable paper bags for collection on your regular waste collection day. The paper bags create no additional waste as they decompose along with the plant matter.

A backyard composter is another way to break down leaf, garden, and fruit and vegetable waste. Composting can reduce your waste by up to 30 percent, and the compost you create can nourish your lawn and plants, eliminating the need for fertilizer. These EarthCare Minutes provide a wealth of additional information.

Learn about the City of Greater Sudbury’s composting policy and their commitment to helping the community reach its net zero goal by 2050.

If you have a project that would make the city stand out, contact Jennifer Babin-Fenske at [email protected].