By Terri Smith – The theme for Quesnel’s Seedy Saturday event this year is “Growing Food in Changing Times.” Even a few years ago this may have seemed an almost hypothetical topic to many of us. Most people recognized climate change has been happening, but it hadn’t noticeably affected most of us in the Cariboo until the last few years. Now with fires and floods, sometimes both at once, along with increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather and temperatures, this topic is both immediately relevant and incredibly important. Join us on April 13 from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. in the college atrium…
Author: thegreengazette
By Terri Smith – Spring is almost here. But it may be a while yet before you are ready to plant your garden. While you are still dreaming and planning for summer abundance don’t forget that there is already excellent spring eating right outside your door. Part of the excitement of preparing the garden for spring can be harvesting the first salads of the year. If you have a greenhouse, you can find these delicacies even earlier. As soon as the ground thaws I like to bring a harvest basket or bowl out to the garden any time I visit.…
By Ryan Elizabeth Cope – Here in British Columbia, winter extends from mid-November to late-April, depending on the region. In some places, the snow never stays very long while in other far-flung regions the icy chill refuses to let go until well past May Day. Over the winter, we’ve retreated to our warm, indoor spaces and while all this cosiness has been a blessing, it has created a bit of a dust-bunny situation in our houses. As the days get longer and the Earth begins to thaw, let us finally stretch our legs, roll up our sleeves, and give our…
Part of the Cariboo Regional District’s Solid Waste Info Series: Becoming Waste Wise By Tera Grady – Ever wonder how much we have wasted? Since 2013, Cariboo Regional District residents have sent 267,000 tonnes of waste to the three regional landfill sites and, unfortunately, the amount of waste generated in the Cariboo region is going up. In fact, the amount we waste significantly started to increase in 2018, which is not good news. Based on the region’s total population and the waste data available, each CRD resident generated 703 kilograms of waste in 2017. That’s 703 kg for every baby,…
By Guy Dauncey – For 200 years, students have been urged to learn the 3 Rs of reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic. In recent years, thinkers of various political persuasions have proposed adding a fourth R including running, relationships, religion, race, ‘rithms (for algorithms), respect, road safety, Ritalin, rifle-shooting, revolvers, and (appropriately) resuscitation. There is another fourth R that should be considered essential if we are to survive the 21st century. It is the knowledge of ecology, and of how our planet works, and how to regenerate healthy ecosystems, from the atmosphere and the rainforests to the microbiomes in our own…
Stories from the magic canoe of Wa’xaid Rocky Mountain Books is also pleased to announce the release of Stories from the Magic Canoe of Wa’xaid—a remarkable and profound collection of reflections by one of North America’s most important Indigenous leaders. Who better to tell the narrative of our times about the restoration of land and culture than Wa’xaid (the good river), or Cecil Paul, a Xenaksiala elder who pursued both in his ancestral home, the Kitlope—now the largest protected unlogged temperate rainforest left on the planet? Paul’s cultural teachings are more relevant today than ever in the face of environmental…
By Lisa Bland, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief – Dear Readers, It’s almost spring, and it feels like time to re-energize and transform a winter’s worth of dreams into action! All winter long our team at The Green Gazette has been busy behind the scenes remodelling our format and expanding our reach throughout the Cariboo. We are excited to be releasing our first Green Gazette magazine, and we are thrilled about our new look. We hope you love it, too. Along with our amazing and talented team transitioning over–Senior Editor, Jessica Kirby; Web Design, Digital Media, and Admin, Rebecca Patenaude; and Graphic and Ad…
By Jim Hilton – In a recent BC government press release, the spraying of forests to control deciduous plants that interfere with conifers was reduced from 16,000 hectares to 10,000. Most of the herbicide treatment was taking place between Prince George and Quesnel, and the main reason for the reduced use of herbicides was concern about the impacts on wildlife, particularly relative to ongoing declines in moose populations. There has also been a concern over the reduction of biodiversity in a variety of areas—for example, growing concerns about the possible impact of glyphosate (the main constituent of Roundup) on frogs…
By Jessica Kirby, Senior Editor of TheGreenGazette – Sometimes success is a matter of perception. This January, when the fuss and bustle of the holidays has passed and you are left in the quiet (sometimes, too quiet) that follows, consider this a time to succeed at something that requires quiet and focus: decluttering. We strive for environmental wellness, personal and community health, and a general sense of clean living, yet we forget how important simplicity is in achieving these states of being. “Stuff” burdens the Earth, stifles our minds, restricts our mobility, and leaves us with a general sense of…
By Jessica Kirby – With the New Year comes myriad promises to turn over a new leaf, make important changes in our lives, and better ourselves in some way. You may vow to hit the gym, clean up your food choices, quit something unhealthy, or run 5 km a day—and I hope you do. But there is one, simple thing to which you can commit that will change your life and make these other tasks come easier: mindfulness. The art of mindfulness means staying in the moment, interrupting impulsivity with a deep breath and a moment’s pause, noticing distraction and…
The Fraser River is the most productive salmon producing watershed on the planet and one of the most biologically diverse in North America. It covers one quarter of British Columbia and has been the unceded, untreatied home to almost 100 Indigenous nations for over 12,000 years. Despite the watershed’s significance to communities, industry, and cultures, there is an ecological and economic crisis in BC’s interior forests. This summer we have seen this crisis surface again in catastrophic wildfires, with smoke from BC making its way across the continent. These fires, along with climate change, development, and other ecological impacts, are…
By Lisa Bland, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief – Well folks, we’ve finally made it to issue #50 of TheGreenGazette. If there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that each step was made possible through the support of the amazing people and businesses of the Cariboo Region, and many others from BC and beyond contributing to a monumental collective effort. Fifty is an epic number—it’s a halfway marker, half of a hundred, half a century, and a turning point. It is a lot of something, and it is significant. Coincidentally, it also happens that I’ll be turning 50 this December. As I reflect on what turning…
By Rebecca Patenaude – “Those who find beauty in all of nature will find themselves at one with the secrets of life itself” ~ L. Wolfe Gilbert Since I was a young child, I had a deep sense of connection and an inherent fascination with the manifestations of the natural world. The experience of external wilderness has gradually evolved into experiencing an internal wilderness of body, mind, and spirit. One of my deepest inspirations is the music and emotional journey of listening to the music of Nightwish, the most successful symphonic metal band from Finland. The music transports me far…
By Terri Smith – As I write this, Amadeus is dying. That’s not how I wanted to begin, but there it is. I just wanted you to know. If you are reading this, chances are he has touched your life in some way and it’s good to be able to say goodbye. He’s gone now. He left late last night. I stayed with him in his nest of hay and blankets and hot water bottles for two days. Our beloved dog, Kasha, stayed with him at night. He was never uncomfortable. He was warm and he slept a lot and…
By Jessica Kirby, Senior Editor of TheGreenGazette – Because languages matter in peace building, cultural preservation, development, and reconciliation the United Nations declared 2019 an International Year of Indigenous Languages. Languages are crucial to the daily lives of people as tools of communication, education, social integration, and development, and they function as ways to record and express individuals’ unique identity, cultural history, traditions, and memories. Languages are immensely valuable and irreplaceable, yet they continue to disappear at an alarming rate. Around 40 percent of the estimated 6,700 languages spoken globally are in danger of disappearing. Ninety-five per cent of the…
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, George Heyman, has tabled new legislation intended to improve regulation of the qualified professionals who make decisions about British Columbia’s natural resources. Bill 49 follows a public engagement process to review the Professional Reliance model of decision-making and an independent report and recommendations by noted environmental lawyer Mark Haddock. The government said the goal of the legislation is,“ to help strengthen public trust that the health and safety of their communities always come first.” Professional associations and industry and community groups involved in the review process were welcomed to Parliament for the first…
Submitted by the WLCCSC – The Williams Lake Cross-Country Ski Club is partnered with Recreation Sites and Trails BC (Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations) and maintains and operates the Bull Mountain Cross-Country Ski & Snowshoe area, which is located 16 km north of Williams Lake. The Bull Mountain trail network includes 28 km of well-groomed trails and cross trails. We groom a wide inside skating lane and two outside classic tracks. We have 3.5 km of lit trails for night skiing, 3km of designated dog trails, and 11 km of snowshoe trails. We offer a wide variety…
By Vanessa Moberg, Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society In August, my husband Robert and I were thrilled to receive an invitation from Adventure Canada to act as media team for the “Into the Northwest Passage” voyage. What an exquisite place the Arctic is! The vistas are infinitely stark, yet stunning at the same time. Upon first glance, the mountains and valleys seem equally devoid of all life. Yet, as we strolled through these valleys and bent down to look, we found lush, miniature worlds of diverse plant life – the tiniest lichens, flowers, and fungi – all of which persist despite…
By LeRae Haynes – Laketown Furnishings in Williams Lake represents the best of small-town businesses, providing stellar customer service, supporting a vibrant, diverse community, and working to protect the planet. The store opened its doors in Williams Lake in June 1971. Current owner Bob Sunner grew up in the store and said when he and his brother were very young they played tag in the store and a lamp got broken. “I’m still paying it off,” he said. After finishing school in Vancouver in 1991, Sunner returned to Williams Lake to work in the store to help out his dad,…