How the Bergeron family teams up for the planet

Three children. Three sports. The Bergeron family is busy. But they still find ways to do their part for the environment. 

Between baseball, soccer and figure skating, this Boucherville family devotes about ten hours a week to extracurriculars. Dad even coaches the baseball team. 

What motivates them to do their part for the environment? In some cases, it is because of the side benefits:

• it saves time
• it saves money
• it can even build team spirit

One of the best things the Bergerons do for the environment is reuse sports equipment:

• Figure skating can be an expensive sport. To save money, the Bergerons rent their daughter's figure skating dresses for competitions. 
• Baseball and soccer require less equipment, but the Bergerons still try to buy used. They even manage to outfit their leftie with used gloves. Outgrown soccer equipment is shared with other families or given to charity.

According to Dad, their baseball league encourages players to reuse equipment. The league lends out jerseys, ensuring reuse. The league also holds an equipment exchange at the beginning of each season.

Another way that the Bergeron family does their part for the environment? By making wise transportation choices.

With so many activities, you can easily imagine Mom and Dad turning into chauffeurs for their children. Not so!

• The Bergeron family uses active transportation whenever possible. Their young figure skater is rightly proud of the fact that she walks herself to the arena for practice. 
• The Bergeron family are also big fans of carpooling. This is a great tool for parents. It helps keep cars off the road, and allows you to get to know the families of your children's teammates. Dad points out that the coaches in their baseball league believe in carpooling as a way to increase accessibility to sport.

By reusing equipment and choosing active transportation and carpooling, the Bergerons are showing that they have a true team spirit. What does your family do to limit the environmental impact of your children's extracurricular activities? Let us know at transport@equiterre.org.