I was given a special sneak peek of the stage and what’s going on behind the scenes getting ready for the 2013 JUNO Awards CTV Broadcast by my new friend Ginny of Strategin Solutions. Ginny has been working with the JUNOS to make their sustainability efforts happen.

Ginny was part of the team that created the special exhibit at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum, The Power of Music: Sustainability and the JUNOS and she helps to make as much as possible green at the JUNOS. The best part of hanging out with her for the day as she showed us around, was how excited she was about all of the eco initiatives – it made me excited too. It was really cool to see the special attention to every detail when it comes to being green.

Here are some of the big things that I learned about what the JUNOS are doing this year.

All of the volunteers and people that are working at the JUNOS are using reusable water bottles and there are big water tanks everywhere so that they can refill them.

For all of the meals that are served as part of the JUNO Award events they are using real plates, glasses and silverware.

These efforts help to reduce waste.

For those that need to eat on the run, they have plates that are made out of sugar cane, cutlery that is made out of corn and is biodegradable and compostable.

All of the paper that is used at the JUNOS is made from 100% recycled content. No trees were cut down. And all signage/banner materials are biodegradable.

Some signs that they use backstage are special whiteboards that can be written on and wiped clean to use again and again, also reducing waste.

They even have bins in the office to recycle batteries.

Although most of the set/stage is reusable, the parts that aren’t are being left here in Regina where the Brandt Centre will reuse or recycle most of it. Also awesome.

Maybe the biggest thing with the biggest and most lasting impact here in Regina is that the JUNO Awards have helped Brandt Centre to expand their recycling program. Blue Bins are now everywhere throughout the bowl and building with signs on them to show what goes in them.

And of course, as with past JUNO Awards events, Bullfrog Power will provide clean energy and Carbonzero will help to reduce the carbon footprint of the event.

The JUNO Awards came to Regina and brought so much more than music, they have brought sustainability to the city that will have a lasting impact for years to come.

Hello from Regina! I’ve had an awesome and busy first full day in Regina for JUNO Weekend. I wanted to check in to share some of the highlights of my day – what I’ve seen, heard and experienced so far.

My first stop yesterday morning was the Royal Saskatchewan Museum to see The Power of Music Exhibit. It’s a special interactive exhibit that features the music and personal causes of Canadian music artist that includes both eco and social justice. The exhibit is made up of different stations each with an iPad and headphones. Each one has a different focus and theme and features music, videos and information about Canadian artists and their initiatives. I learned a lot and thought it was awesome.

Here are 5 cool things:

1. Nelly Furtado has taken up causes that are both about the environment and social justice. She was the first Canadian Earth Hour Ambassador and she is an Ambassador for Me to We.
2. The Barenaked Ladies created ‘Barenaked Planet’ a project that includes being eco when they’re on the road on tour and also hopes to inspire and motivate their fans to be more eco-friendly too.
3. Arcade Fire donates $1 from every concert ticket for relief efforts in Haiti.
4. Canadian musicians including Gord Downie, Great Lake Swimmers, Bruce Cockburn and Broken Social Scene have donated rare or unreleased songs to the Swim, Drink, Fish Music Club that works toward keeping our water clean.
5. Canadian artists are concerned about their footprint, musicians like Drake, Avril Lavigne and Barenaked Ladies are using bio-diesel to fuel their tour busses and are using only biodegradeable and recyclable supplies.

 Musicians use their music and influence and voice to share, teach and inspire their fans about the issues and causes that are important to them.  At the exhibit, I read this quote by Buffy Sainte-Marie that I really like, “It’s not enough to write a song: you have to DO something to make it better.” I really believe this, not just about song-writing, but about anything. It’s not enough just to say something, you have to DO something to make a difference.

 I was so happy to get a special look at The Power of Music Exhibit with Ginny Stratton, Principal Strategin Solutions. Ginny has been working with the JUNO Awards on their sustainability programs and efforts for the last five years. She was a part of the team that brought the exhibit to life and I got to go with her today when she saw it for the first time.  After Ginny and I went through the whole exhibit, I sat down and interviewed her about her and found out that we have a lot in common – starting with our passion for the environment.

Our second stop was a special tour with Ginny of the JUNO Awards set up, including the eco-initiatives at the stadium and all the special things that they do behind the scenes to support the JUNO commitment to sustainability. But more on this later today!

Hi, I’m Hannah Alper, I’m 10 years old and I am proud to be attending the JUNO Awards as their “on the ground” eco – blogger. On my blog www.callmehannah.caI write about the environment, inspiring things, people and social action and I love music! I’ve been to the JUNOS for the last two years and had so much fun! At the JUNOS I’m going to be learning and experiencing about the efforts, projects and partners of The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and the JUNO Awards to be more sustainable .

I am excited to share about Me to We Style and their partnership with CARAS and the JUNO Awards. Me to We is part of my favourite non-profit organization, Free The Children. Me to We Style partners with the JUNOS to sell limited edition Live.Music. t-shirts made in Canada of organic cotton and bamboo. For every shirt bought from Me to We Style a tree is planted. I can’t wait to buy a shirt!

I’m looking forward to learning about Bullfrog Power and Carbonzero. CARAS has partnered with them to help reduce the JUNOS impact on climate change.

I’m so excited to go to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum for the exhibit – “The Power of Music: Sustainability and the JUNOS”.  The exhibit will have four interactive listening and learning stations and each one will have a different sustainability theme featuring a Canadian musician and their cause.  It will be cool to learn about the causes that Canadian musicians care about.

The JUNO Awards are all about celebrating Canadian music. I not only love the environment, but I’m a huge fan of music! I’m excited to do it all – JUNO Fan Fare, be in the JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards media room and of course the big televised award show hosted by Michael Bublé. I hope to have the chance to meet, sit down with and interview some of the 2013 JUNO nominees and performers including Marianas Trench, Carly Rae Jepsen, Metric, Serena Ryder and Hedley.

See you in Regina!