I wrote about great green gift ideas the other day, but I thought I should offer a few ideas for those truly last-minute gifts.
Better than that ill-fitting shirt or a box of stale chocolates, why not try a donation with lasting effect, such as to help plant trees, create wetlands, restock a river with fish or campaign against a strip mine?
But which charity should you choose? You could go with closest to home — I’d recommend your recipient’s home, and with a focus on what they love about it. Perhaps it’s a gift to a local tree-planting group, a trails organization, watershed protection charity or land trust. Your money could make the difference in rejuvinating or protecting an area your friend or family member holds dear.
Or you could go with some organizations that make a difference on the global scale, from WWF’s work on climate change to the Suzuki Foundation’s achievements in environmental education to the Nature Conservancy’s efforts to conserve habitat.
If you don’t know what that might be, have a look at the list of groups at Canadahelps.org. They make donating easy, and you can even let your recipient choose the charity!
What meaningful gifts would you like to give… or get?
