Eat Local, Buy Local, Support Local

 

By Joy Liu-Youth group

At one of our first meetings, the members of the Environment Hamilton Youth group were all looking forward in the prospect of making a difference in the city.  

Our purpose was to reach out to our schoolmates and peers to encourage them to make greener choices.  We were all enthusiastic about the idea of creating videos.  Thus, our first project was born; a series of four short ‘commercials’ with the catchphrase, “Everything’s changing, what about you?”  We want to get across the idea of the ever growing green trend, focusing on the environmental movement in Hamilton. 

We were able to complete our first video with much hard work, dedication, and fun.  The co-op students at Bizclip also volunteered to help edit the video. We premiered at the Sir John A. Macdonald Environmental Film Night, which was focused on “Eating Local”.  Our video illustrated the nutritious value of local carrots versus the ‘exhausted’, nutrition depleted California carrots by making use of EH’s Climate Carrot costumes.  Two students adorned the costumes and competed against each other in jumping rope, pull-ups, push ups and a final race; all of which the California carrot was comically unsuccessful at.  We then showed clips of teenagers buying food from the Hamilton’s Farmer’s Market and working with urban farmer Russ Orht;digging a garden on the front lawn of city house.

Making the video was as entertaining as the finished product.  Next on our agenda is to create three more videos focused on clean transportation, “Refuse, Reuse, Remake”, and energy conservation and alternative energy.

From plastic bread bag to small money purse-May 19th 2011

 By Bronwyn Kay-youth

Diane Paquette is a highly skilled artisan and textile artist. She comes from a line of weavers originating in Quebec.

At a recent Environment Hamilton event people of all ages gathered together to learn the skill of weaving with plastic bags.

Diane talked about how she got started weaving plastics and gave us an overview about the different types of plastic bags.

Diane provided the participants with cardboard looms she had made and we learned how to make a change purse out of a wonder bread plastic bags.

They are very simple to make! As well as that it's a wonderful way of keeping plastic out of our seas and animals. We talked and laughed and had a wonderful time!

Wholesome Living at Whole Village

By Richard Reble, Volunteer and Member

    On Sat., Apr. 23, a group of seven hikers, including me, set out from the Credit River crossing on what was formerly called Hwy. 24 to hike a 7-km mix of country roads and woodland and wetland trails to a place called Whole Village.


Located on Shaw's Creek Rd. near Orangeville, Whole Village is an intentional community and eco-farm committed to sustainability, land stewardship, and harmonious communal relations.

    Unfortunately, our hiking group was an hour and a half late for our pre-scheduled visit, fatigued and famished, and my comrades had turned ugly because the leader, yours truly, had goofed in his calculation of the distance. A distance of five or six kilometres isn't a lot, but it is when it's unexpectedly added to what was supposed to be a total of eight or nine. Luckily, it was my first mistake in 2011 so I was able to readily forgive me, even if my fellow hikers couldn't.

    I was also lucky that it was Brenda Dolling who was our host and tour guide. This woman is a bundle of warmth, charm, energy, enthusiasm, knowledge, and experience. And she makes darn good brownies. As we ate our bagged lunches in the common area of Greenhaven, which is the name of Whole Village's eco-friendly, residential/meeting building, Brenda began our orientation session, during which the mood of the group gradually elevated, interest grew, and questions began to flow.

    What we learned is that Whole Village seeks to:
-be a welcoming, diverse community that celebrates what members share in common, always mindful of each other's individuality.
-balance mutual interdependence with the need for privacy and private ownership.
-foster shared leadership within the framework of a consensus model of governance.
-create a safe, supportive, and healthy place in which to raise children.
-be sustainable in all ways.
-integrate biodynamic, organic, permaculture and other ecologically sound farming principles in an economical manner.
-commit to the development of ties within the Village and with the local community and the world at large.

    What's not to like, I asked myself as we toured the property after Brenda's talk. Aren't these the principles preached by Environment Hamilton, the Dundas Transition Movement, and any number of other green organizations in our area? So why do I have reservations about joining their community? Partly because it would mean moving away from our children, grandchildren, and friends, but mostly, and frankly, because I'm not sure I could handle the communal, in-your-face part of the deal.

    Fortunately, it's not a decision that has to be made all at once, but only at the end of a process. Whole Village itself establishes the process by inviting interested parties to camp on site, stay at their b&b, or even rent a private suite for a longer term in order to get a feel for the lifestyle and participate in shared duties and events. The first step in the process is to go to Whole Village for the orientation session, as we did. If you and some others decide to take that first step, it could be arranged. In fact, don't be surprised if you soon see an invitation to join a bus tour.

    As we ended our tour of the property at the front door of Greenhaven, I thought that the only thing that would make the day perfect, apart from having made more precise measurements of the length our our hike, would be for Brenda to offer us a ride back to our cars. This was not a green wish, I know, but the road from "sinner" to "saint" has its ups and downs, so surely we can forgive ourselves the occasional one-foot slip downwards if it's followed by two-foot step upwards. And you know what? Brenda did just that. Perfect!  

Cheers, 
Richard Reble

P.S.  My wife and I are leaders of a local hiking club (no fees) callled Rebel Hikers. If you are interested in more information, write to us at therebels_rands@mountaincable.net
or call us at 905-560-9556 anytime before 9:00 p.m.

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.