Green Bin Audit For Faith Group

 By Volunteer Enid Maria

My project investigated which places of worship in Hamilton were actively greening. I created a variety of lists based on contact information available from Environment Hamilton, as well as those within the Municipal database. I surveyed these institutions by asking them three questions. These included:

1.      Do you use the Green Cart?

a.       If no, would you be interested in using green carts?

2.      How many green carts do you use on a weekly basis?

3.      How many years have you been conducting this program within your institution.

I then presented the information which I collected into two accurately labeled excel files. One labeled as institutions that were already taking part in the program and the second labeled as places of worship that were interested in beginning the program and what resources they required. I processed these requests by inputting them into our municipal asset tracking database, which would ensure the delivery of these resources within three to five weeks.

By conducting this survey and creating these files, I was able to provide an asset tracking database for Environment Hamilton. This project conclusively demonstrated how productive these institutions were in actively greening. The result varied between those that were actively greening, those which were interested, and unfortunately those that were not interested at all.

The final results demonstrated that 58 % of faith groups and churches surveyed were actively greening, 40% were enthusiastic to start the program, and unfortunately 2% of faith groups and churches were not interested at all. Furthermore, results revealed that an average of one green cart per week for two years or more was used within institutions that were actively greening.

Twisted Cistern: Rain Barrel Making Workshop

Volunteer Sean Burak is hosting a hands-on barrel workshop on Sunday April 24 at 1pm. It will run till about 2pm and will go forward rain or shine.

The location is in downtown Hamilton - within walking distance to the Hunter Street GO Station.

Sean writes:

We will start by briefly discussing water conservation and rainwater collection and then we’ll get down to business.

I will have all of the parts and tools on hand, and together we will build a batch of rain barrels.

The workshop is free to watch. If you want to participate in building, the cost is $50 and you get to take your barrel home with you.

Due to the limited number of barrels and the limited space in my yard, RSVPs are required!

Please reserve your place by emailing me through the contact form and be sure to indicate whether you want to build a barrel to take home or whether you just want to watch. I will reply with confirmation of your spot as well as directions to my yard.

If you plan to take a barrel home, be sure you have a vehicle with enough space – the barrels are about 2 feet in diameter and 3 – 3.5 feet tall.

Thanks for your interest in rainwater collection!

Tree Lichen Monitoring - The Quick How-To Video

Thanks to Environment Hamilton staffer Katie Stiel for making this video on how to track air quality in your neighbourhood simply by tracking lichen quantity on the trees.

Fair Trade Hamilton

Free Fair Trade Coffee!

As part of our efforts to raise awareness about Fair Trade in Hamilton, we’ll be in the lobby of the Central Library from April 18 – April 20th, from 12 noon to 2pm, handing out information on Fair Trade along with free samples of fairly traded coffee.



Wednesday, April 20th - 7pm - Fireplace area - Central Branch - Hamilton Public Library

NiCHE (Network in Canadian History & Environment) presents:

Dr. Ken Cruikshank from McMaster University will be giving a presentation entitled,
"Clear Hamilton Of Pollution (CHOP): Environmentalism in the Era of the First Earth Day"

and Dr. Jim Clifford from York University will be presenting,
"From a Pastoral Wetland to an Industrial Wasteland, and Back Again? An Environmental History of the Lower Lea River
Valley, the Site of the 2012 London Olympics"

EH Executive Director Dr. Lynda Lukasik will also be there to say a few words about Fair Trade Hamilton, a new
initiative focused on getting Hamilton officially certified as a 'Fair Trade Town'. Free fairly traded coffee will be served, compliments of 10,000 Villages

Dundas Walkability Committee

Photo by Randy Kay

Our Intern Adam Pallett reports:

            

 In connection with the Dundas Eco-Motion Project, the Dundas Walkability Committee had their first meeting on Monday April 11^th, 2011 at the Dundas Town Hall. The meeting was attended by a very committed and enthusiastic group of Dundasians who engaged in some very helpful discussions regarding the current walkability issues in Dundas, and how they will proceed with the prioritized concerns. The group concluded that upon meeting with Russ Powers/City Staff, they would like to utilize the ‘Complete Streets’ framework and terminology when presenting discussing walkability concerns and potential solutions for them – for those who are not familiar with ‘Complete Streets’ please visit: http://www.completestreets.org/. 

All of the walkability concerns that the committee will work with will stem from the need for a more liveable/walkable Dundas that has ‘Complete Streets’.  The committee would very much like to advocate and work towards a ‘Complete Streets’ policy in Hamilton.

Thoughts of a Co founder by Marilyn Ronald-Volunteer

Brian McHattie, one of the founders of Environment Hamilton a decade ago, ranks the adoption of an environmental justice approach as its major achievement.

Environmental groups working in the city 10 years ago, “tended to be fairly low key. They weren’t as in your face as might be required.

A justice approach, “made the link that a lot of bad air quality, bad water, existed in areas of the city where there were also poverty and low income issues, areas where people didn’t have the same tools to fight Stelco and Dofasco. “It was giving these people the tools to record what they wee seeing and then gauge the legal process through the ministry of the environment to seek charge,” the Ward One councillor said.

 “To be frank, we needed an organization that would call a spade a spade and say that the air and water pollution that was occurring was unacceptable . . . Environment Hamilton took a bit more of a combative role. To me, that was the departure point from other environmental groups in town.”

He also recalls the Red Hill Expressway as a pivotal turning point. The work of environmental groups meant the highway was, “the most environmentally friendly road you could have got,” citing ecological monitoring, tree planting and natural stream channel design. “They spent many more millions of dollars on it than they otherwise would have.”

As Environment Hamilton enters its second decade, longstanding problems remain with some having the potential to become more acute. ‘A lot of the pollution issues are still there, the kind of stuff that’s been worked on for many decades. Lynda and EH are still having challenges with Dofasco, for example. There are various emissions they’re still not dealing with.

“On the land use side, there’s the urban boundary extension and potential loss of farmland.

“The other issue I think is important is biodiversity, the loss of species in the Hamilton area due to the loss of habitat, largely, or the quality of habitat. It’s an incremental loss, but nobody’s really doing a cumulative assessment on that . . . There is loss related to habitat, climate change, and air and water quality.

“I think we need to develop a big picture strategy on that. From a strategic perspective, we need to decide who plays what role on the activist side, the NGO side, and how do you get the city to raise its game and the Conservation Authority to do something a bit more activist than they are.

“For example, we’re going to build a housing development and there is a 15-metre buffer to the forest. Is that adequate? I would suggest definitely not, but that tends to be the standard comment of conservation authorities. How do you get them to take a more scientific examination on what that buffer should be?

McHattie believes the future will see continued expansion of grassroots citizen environmental involvement. “There’s increased awareness amongst the population. The children going through school are much ore aware of these issues, but it’s not a given that governments will be more responsive.

“Here, we will do stuff that’s easy to do, like energy conservation because there’s a financial benefit. But questions like the housing buffer issue, for example, are the real tests. Are we really serious about this stuff? I think we have a long way to go.

“I’m clearly in the minority on council. For whatever reason, progressive people or environmentalists, whatever you want to call them, aren’t running for council and if they are, they aren’t being effective. That’s my frustration as one of 16 members of council.”

"Heritage Trees: Preserving Our Natural Roots" talk

UN has declared 2011 as International Year of Forests.

Join the Dundas Valley Tree Keepers (DVTK) for a heritage tree talk with guest speaker Edith George, adviser to the Ontario Urban Forest Council.

Tuesday April 12, 2011
7:30pm
201 Governors Road, Dundas (Dundas Baptist Church)
For more information: www.dundastrees.ca

Environment Hamilton is a proud partner of DVTK.

Bus The Change (from our vounteers)

Kusuma Tiffany, a fellow Hamiltonian, has left Canada on a mission to join a project called 'Bus the Change' where she will assist in the creation of an Environmentally Sustainable, Socially Just and Spiritually Fulfilling existence on earth. Find out more about this exceptional project and see how you can help to make a difference by visiting her website at www.naturallynudenutrition.com. See more about the Bus the Change project at www.busthechange.org. Learn about the pachamama alliance, an organization geared towards empowering Indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest to preserve their land and culture at http://www.pachamama.org/

Victory Gardens to Fight Poverty in Hamilton

Our volunteer Bill Wilcox is out to fight poverty in Hamilton. How is he doing it? By planting victory gardens of course!
Here's what he writes (in edited form):

We know of some individuals and/or families of Hamilton's marginalized community, wherein one (1) in four (4) children live at or below the poverty line, compared to the national average of one (1) in nine (9) children. 

I am sure you have heard of the upcoming explosion in food prices have affected others globally and that is expected here in Canada over the next few months. Those who will be affected the most by these price hikes are the folks who are having difficulty making ends meet at the present time. Christ called us “to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  (Acts 1:8)....

 I am proposing a new opportunity for us to be witnesses to the marginalized community in our area---our own "Jerusalem”--in a way which will help to provide fresh produce at a time when the need for food is increasing daily.

After receiving the Lord’s vision of a mission in Hamilton (our Jerusalem), I spent time, over the past four summers, helping to organize and manage the West Highland Baptist Church’s “Victory Garden” – a ministry wherein fresh produce is grown and harvested by a group of volunteers, and then donated to the numerous food banks and soup kitchens in the Hamilton area.

I believe that now is the time to “grow” (pun intended!) this concept – via what I call “Hamilton Victory Gardens”. This is envisioned to be a number of Victory Gardens throughout Hamilton and area which will be developed over the next few years in order to expand the availability of fresh produce to the numerous food banks and soup kitchens in operation.  These gardens would be operated by groups of volunteers from the churches, the general community and, hopefully and most importantly, by folks from the marginalized community (the ultimate produce consumers).

I am proposing an initial organizing meeting to take place on Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at James Street Baptist Church at 96 James Street South here in Hamilton. 

Bill Wilcox

for Hamilton Victory Gardens