By Ryan Elizabeth Cope – Sometimes in life, you just have to jump in the car and go where the wind blows you. Never is that truer than in the summertime… and this is where we get into trouble. Wait, trouble? Whaddyamean? Having adventures, being spontaneous, isn’t that the penultimate goal of summer?! Well, it is… except when we forget to pack enough food and water for our road trip and the only available options are gas station snacks, we have nothing to drink out of at the beach meet-up we decided to go to last-minute, and we’re left trying…
Author: thegreengazette
By Nicola Finch – How many of us have the ashes of a loved one in an urn, on a mantle, or packed away in a cupboard? Cremation has overtaken burial as the disposition of choice in British Columbia, so there is a lot of interest in doing something special with the ashes. Some families will scatter most of the ashes at a special location and save a little bit for each family member to keep. Most of us have seen the more common keepsake jewelry that holds a tiny bit of ashes. These are typically metal, mass-produced hearts or…
The City of Williams Lake in partnership with the Cariboo Regional District and Ministry of Forests Lands Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development are hosting a Wildfire (Community) Information Expo and Barbeque May 30th at the Cariboo Memorial Complex. The free event has a number of themes/goals that will be of interest to many members of the city and surrounding areas. The event will be an opportunity to: • Celebrate our ‘helping one another’ community spirit and resiliency – how everyone came together in responding to and recovering from the many effects of the 2017 wildfires and their aftermath •…
The Tŝilhqot’in National Government (TNG) applauds BC Hydro for its recent plan to pursue power purchase agreement negotiations with the Tŝilhqot’in Solar Farm (TSF). Located within the Tŝilhqot’in territory, once completed, the TSF will be the first large-scale solar power plant owned and operated by a First Nation in Western Canada. While producing power for BC, this 1.25 MWdc solar photovoltaic farm will help to enrich the local economy. There are numerous expected outcomes of the TSF. These include generation of clean energy, redevelopment of a closed sawmill and adjacent brownfield site, support to local communities, and creation of employment…
By Bettina Johnson – We recently wrapped up a two-week youth film documentary project, a mentoring program led by film-maker Jeremy Williams of River Voices Productions. This project was to engage our youth in the arts through film-making and help equip the next generation to grow in telling important Indigenous stories, of which there are so many. Esk’etemc, like all Indigenous communities, is a community full of stories, those that are traditional and ancestral (“stseptekwll” in Secwepemctsin) and passed on through oral history. Then there are those that are lived experiences (“slexéy̓em”). They are passed on as generational words of…
By Lisa Bland – Now that the long winter is over (we hope), the natural world comes alive and is interacting with us, full speed ahead. It’s beautiful to witness nature carrying on with the cycle of rebirth—birds and animals having their young and the busy interactions of all species moving forward with their lives into the season of abundance. In spring, especially, we witness the extent to which we share our habitat with other life. And while there are many forces that guide us to think all is well in the world beyond human concerns, the reality is we…
By Toby Mueller – On February 27, renowned mycologist Paul Stamets gave a presentation to a full hall at the P’egp’íg’lha Center, in the T’ít’q’et Community, Lillooet. Over 160 people came from all over St’át’imc Territory and beyond. Amlec, T’ít’q’et ‘s food security project, and Lillooet Food Matters, a local grass roots group, co-organized the event. As the crowd gathered, feelings of curiosity and excitement were building. St’át’imc drummers and singers brought our attention into focus and welcomed Paul to the Territory. T’ít’q’et Tribal Chief Shelly Leech offered a prayer and spoke about the importance of understanding the land and…
By The Raincoast Conservation Foundation – “We have a record number of grizzly bears in the province, a huge and growing population …” Christy Clark, then Premier of British Columbia, asserted in 2015, defending her government’s management of a controversial trophy hunt. This authoritative and optimistic statement, which lacked supporting evidence, inspired an international group of conservation scientists to investigate the potential for political interference in setting wildlife policy more broadly. Reporting in an open access paper in the journal, Conservation Biology, a team led by researchers from the Raincoast Conservation Foundation, the University of Victoria, and Simon Fraser University…
By LeRae Haynes – Making a very successful wilderness program even better in the Cariboo-Chilcotin is on the table, thanks to the creative insight of Patrick Lucas and Thomas Schoen. The focus is kids, mountain bikes, loving the wilderness, and supporting communities impacted by last summer’s wildfires. The Trails to Recovery and Resilience Training and Capacity Building program has been in place for about four years, and it is now poised to take on an even more meaningful vision. Thomas Schoen, trail builder and entrepreneurial tourism advisor, is a native of Germany. He immigrated to BC in 1993 and assisted…
By Cameron Thompson – BC’s resident killer whales are in real danger of extinction unless the government takes immediate steps to protect them, says Port-Moody Coquitlam MP Fin Donnelly, who is currently serving as NDP critic for fisheries and oceans. In parliament last week, Donnelly called upon the federal government to issue an emergency order for the protection of the killer whales. “With 76 southern resident killer whales remaining, people are worried they’ll be extinct unless this government takes immediate action,” Donnelly told parliament. Only 20 of those 76 resident whales are female, and the entire population is at further…
By Terri Smith – I have spent nearly two years trying to figure out the direction my new life here in Quesnel is to take. In the meantime, while waiting to figure it out, I have been building a lovely life for myself without even noticing. I have continued to write this column, rather guiltily these two years, as I’m not actually a farmer any more. But neither can I let go of being a farmer; growing food is one of my passions. When I moved back to Williams Lake in 2008, we threw ourselves into volunteering for all kinds…
Submitted by Zirnhelt Timber Frames – We recently had the privilege of working with Esk’etemc First Nation to design and build the Letwilc ten Semec, or “Healing My Spirit” Lodge. The lodge is part of the larger provincial effort to address addictions and an extension of the leadership Esk’etemc First Nation has demonstrated in this area for many decades. This project expresses many of the core values of our company. This was the first building in a northern climate and the first in an Indigenous community to receive a Net Zero Energy Ready (NZER) label administered by the Canadian Home…
By Al-Lisa McKay – “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” ~ Hippocrates Herbal medicine is an ancient medical system that has provided the world’s population with safe, effective, and affordable medicines for at least 60,000 years. Even today, the population of developing countries worldwide continues to rely heavily on plant medicines for their healthcare needs. Globally, there is now a general recognition that the medicines once described as primitive could be humankind’s saving grace and so within the past two decades, the views of herbs as medicines moved from “witches brew” to major medicine. Herbs are…
By Terri Smith – Being a sustainable or ‘green’ business is about more than just recycling. To borrow from the biodynamic agriculture ideal, true sustainability should be threefold. That is, you cannot consider yourself to be truly successful as a sustainable business unless you are economically, ecologically, and socially sustainable. Jas Sabbarwal of Bliss in Quesnel, manages to be all three. Sabbarwal worked in the forest industry for years, but when he was laid off in 2009, he saw it as an opportunity to realize the dream he had always had of opening a restaurant. He had no previous experience…
Submitted by Creative Therapy for Kids – The last year has been about transition, change, and opportunity, according to paediatric therapist and women’s health practitioner, Melissa LaPointe. For four years, she operated a part-time therapy practice called Strong Beginnings, where she provided occupational therapy services to children and families in Williams Lake. In the last two years, she’s also been growing a virtual business. Using primarily a laptop, iPhone, and online technology, LaPointe offers consulting and coaching services to other occupational therapists and business owners with an interest in family wellness. It was through online work she was able to…
By Venta Rutkauskas – Birdsong and snowmelt—true signs of spring have sprung. The season carries the energy of renewal and the completion of the dark interval, guiding us to sprout new perspectives based upon our wintry reflections. Under the weight of snow and ash, did you discover something about your wildfire experience that hadn’t had the time to develop in the heat of the moment? Each of us has a story to tell and countless approaches for telling it. When we gather together with family or friends, stories might spill out in their company, perhaps you journal or draw, quietly…
By David Suzuki – The fossil fuel era must end, or it will spell humanity’s end. The threat isn’t just from pollution and accelerating climate change. Rapid, wasteful exploitation of these valuable resources has also led to a world choked in plastic. Almost all plastics are made from fossil fuels, often by the same companies that produce oil and gas. Our profligate use of plastics has created swirling masses in ocean gyres. It’s worse than once thought. New research concludes that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is 16 times larger than previously estimated, with 79,000 tonnes of plastic churning through…
By Jessica Kirby – Canada’s National Wildlife Week has a terrific theme this year: Get Re-acquainted with the Awe #conservethewonder. Awe, of course, means “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder,” and “reverential” means “deep respect or worship”. In a recent article about humans’ relationship with nature, David Suzuki says he can’t help but feel like conversations about the “awe” one experiences in the face of nature’s limitless beauty should also include words like “humility” and “gratitude”. In a global context, Canada has an admirable relationship with its natural wildlife. Because of its wide-open spaces, incredible species…
By Jessica Kirby, Senior Editor of TheGreenGazette – We have an old house, on an old street. Our quiet cul de sac was constructed in 1972 and our house completed in 1975. By our neighbours’ standards, we are spring chickens, having resided here only since 2009, and our half-acre lots backing onto the forest are vast, wild spaces compared with the new developments surrounding our street. When we purchased our old house, we had high hopes of renovating, turning our stuccoed, south-west style rancher into some kind of trendy, rustic-themed sprawl of a home our friends would admire and through…