Helene believes that "it takes all of us to make a difference." Greenhouse gases, climate change, and global warming are all terms we are familiar with from the media and the internet. Helene and city council have made environmental protection and reduction of our ecological footprint a major priority since our city is growing at an exponential rate.

Since it does take more than one person to make a difference, Helene believes that reduction of our ecological footprint needs to be a collaborative effort between the government and at the grassroots level. Helene supports government initiatives such as promoting compliance of environmental policies. Recently, Helene has made a notice of motion at city council to review the hazardous goods truck routes to ensure public safety and environmentally friendly goals are achieved (See Notice of Motion). Helene is also an active member of the Calgary Synergy Advisory Panel which aims to evaluate the social, economic, safety, public health and environmental factors in the rapid development of Calgary and surrounding area. It is extremely important for Helene to be on this panel as Ward 3 has the most sour gas wells in the city. Through Helene's involvement on this panel, Helene is able to ensure that environmental standards are followed for the many sour gas wells in the Ward.

Ward 3 also has the largest number of wetlands in the city of Calgary and as such, as alderman for the ward, Helene strictly ensures that the Wetland Policy is applicable in all development planning with the ward to ensure that these sacred wetlands are protected. Such plans can be seen within the Community "A"  Structure Plan. Other projects such as the Aurora Business Park also consult environmental stakeholder groups such as River Valleys Committee and the Nose Creek Watershed Protection Partnership.

To encourage the community to also take environmental action, Helene advocates for environmental education within schools and around the city. Recently Helene had the opportunity to meet with grade 3 students at the Mayor's Environment Expo 2007 and teach them about the importance of preserving and protecting our environment.

Some highlights of environmental icons within Ward 3 include Cardel Place, which is the first city of Calgary project to be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Accredited for energy efficient and environmentally sustainable architecture. In the near future, the new Fire Department Headquarter in Vista Heights as well as the North East Centre of Communities will also add to the list of environmentally friendly architectures in the ward.