By LeRae Haynes – You don’t have to be an astonishingly accomplished gardener to join the Williams Lake Garden Club, but with all the sharing of ideas, resources, inspiration, and expertise, you may turn into one. The group encourages and supports the horticultural interests of local residents through educational sessions that appeal to both experienced and new gardeners. The monthly meetings include keynote speakers, networking, and contests and they collaborate with like-minded groups in the area to enhance their gardening knowledge. Chris Coates has been with the Williams Lake Garden Club for several years, serving on the executive and recently…
Author: thegreengazette
By Kaitlyn Berry, WLFPC Food Action Coordinator – “And the Spring arose on the garden fair, like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere; And each flower and herb on Earth’s dark breast Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.” “The Sensitive Plant” ~ by Percy Bysshe Shelley Spring is such a welcome season after the prolonged northern winter and the hibernation that accompanies it. As the seasonal cycle turns toward warmth, melt, and growth, we are roused into activity, and begin anew the projects stalled by winter’s hand. Our energies having been renewed, we are not easily taxed by…
By Brianna van de Wijngaard, Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society – Lawns are funny: they are high-maintenance, water-intensive, and not all that great to look at, really. But the pursuit persists, and we spend a lot of time and resources on this landscape because it is not actually suitable for our climate at all. Let’s look at the upkeep requirements of an average lawn. Let’s assume it’s 3,000 square feet. It takes approximately 2.36 litres to water one square foot of turf, one inch deep. Kentucky bluegrass (one of the most common lawn grass varieties in North America) is not drought-resistant.…
By Sara Fulton, Certified Organic Master Gardener – A luscious, green, weed-free lawn. Perfection in the eyes of the modern-day home owner. However, how much environmental impact has occurred to get your grass so green, full, and weed-free, and why do you have to repeatedly fertilize it over the course of a growing season? What is a “weed”? It is a plant, just like any other, that is growing in that spot for a reason. Either the soil is lacking in nutrients and the weed is trying to balance it naturally, or the surrounding plants are not healthy and it…
By LeRae Haynes – Cool Clear Water provides a high quality, healthy product and stellar customer service, helps protect the environment, and builds community connections. Cool Clear Water is 25 years old, and those principles are the business’s cornerstones. “The very first time someone comes in the door, we find out what they need and show them what we’ve got,” said store manager Cathy Rosner, adding that in the end, Cool Clear Water owner Bob Kjelsrud’s big goal is to 100 per cent build a relationship with that person. Rosner has been Cool Clear Water’s store manager for nearly five…
By Sage Birchwater – History was made on March 26, 2018 in the House of Commons in Ottawa when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau exonerated six Tŝilhqot’in war chiefs who were hanged in 1864 and 1865. It was a long time coming. Nearly 154 years ago British Columbia colonial forces freewheeled into the Chilcotin and tricked Tŝilhqot’in War Chief LhaTŝ’aŝʔin and seven of his followers into putting down their weapons to end the bloody conflict known as the Chilcotin War. Instead of promised peace talks, the colonial militia, led by William Cox and Chartres Brew, arrested Chief LhaTŝ’aŝʔin and his party…
By Tera Grady – Part of the Cariboo Regional District’s Solid Waste Info Series: Becoming Waste Wise In 2017, China implemented its National Sword initiative, which has drastically reduced the amount of contamination permitted in recyclables sent to China. This change has brought about some impacts on Cariboo Regional District residents that you should know about. These changes have been minor, since all the curbside and the majority of the depot recycling services available in the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) are funded by Recycle BC. However, many other jurisdictions in BC are not partnered with Recycle BC and are struggling…
By Angela Gutzer – It has been close to one year since my mother died (March 18, 2017). Our family has had our first summer at the cabin without her. We had our first Christmas without her. Of course, these milestones were difficult. There are also the day-by-day markers of time where you are suddenly aware that your mother is gone forever. For me, it was just a few days ago in Prince Rupert walking on a warm and surprisingly sunny day. Spring was in the air and teenagers were playing basketball in a cul de sac as I lived…
By LeRae Haynes – When it comes to celebrating children in a beautiful green space, no one does it better than Women’s Contact Society at the Children’s Festival in Boitanio Park. For more than 20 years the event, known first as the Teddy Bear Picnic, continues to attract and delight youngsters and families, with more than 1,000 people attending the event. Over 30 vendors are on site with information about services available to children and families. This event brings service providers, business owners, and community clubs together showcasing their organizations and engaging children and families with exciting activities throughout the…
By LeRae Haynes – An innovative blend of nature and technology has arrived in the form of an app on your phone, and it is here because of the hard work and vision of Scout Island nature educator Sue Hemphill and Suzanne Cochrane, recreation programmer for the City of Williams Lake. “The idea behind bringing Agents of Discovery here is to get people outside enjoying nature, learning as they go, throwing in the element of technology that enhances the experience,” Cochrane explained. The Agents of Discovery mobile app game is downloaded free from the App Store or Google Play, and…
By Terri Smith – Amadeus is very excited about the coming spring and the disappearance of all this snow. Amadeus doesn’t get around very well in the snow. When it snows he just stays in his house until I shovel a path out to him. Even with shoveled paths, he would probably end up with atrophied limbs if left to his own devices since he seems to think hibernating till spring would be a fine thing to do. But his weakness for sunflower seeds keeps him going. Every day we go for a walk. Some days he doesn’t want to…
By Bernie Littlejohn – Life continues to become more complex in our search to stop destroying our planet. Despite the few focused totally on profit regardless of environmental damage, most us focus on ways of saving the planet and our descendants. Some have already moved to alternative energy, regardless of the cost and complications. But the rest of us keep waiting for something more effective and affordable. We need a better way of storing energy, on small and large scales. And global multi-billionaire Bill Gates believes gravity batteries are a major component of that solution. If you have ever seriously…
By Dr. Adam McLeod, Former ND – Everyone experiences and processes stressful situations differently. Some people tend to internalize these emotions and make a consistent effort to conceal them from the outside world. Others are very expressive and make it clear to everyone around them how they are feeling. Not only do people express their feelings differently, everyone tends to store these emotions in different parts of their body. At first this may seem like an odd and unscientific statement, that people store emotions in different parts of their body. It is true that it is challenging to quantify and…
By Sandra K. Klassen – We often associate the ukulele with Hawaiian culture and we are right to do so. An early version of the ukulele was introduced to the gentle Hawaiian Islands by Portuguese immigrants who came to work the sugar cane fields in the late 1800s. The Hawaiian’s soon developed a fondness for this small, versatile instrument and it became the preferred instrument for the gentle Hawaiian musical vibe that many of us are familiar with today. Over time, the fondness for this soothing, rhythmical instrument spilled over to mainland North America and beyond. When I tell people…
By Guy Dauncey – Our deep history is so astonishing that we rarely pause to think of it. We may be curious about our immediate ancestors – did they come from Italy? Russia? –but beyond that we mostly draw a veil. We have to make dinner. We have relatives coming at the weekend. How often do we pause to acknowledge that for hundreds of thousands of years our ancestors were hunter-gatherers? And that further back, we share a common ancestor with chimpanzees and gorillas? These thoughts have recently become important for me, as I am in the midst of the…
By Ryan Elizabeth Cope – When you begin to declutter and move towards a waste-free lifestyle, you automatically begin walking a different path, and it is life-altering. It is in the choices you make every day. It’s something we can all be involved in, especially with Earth Day just around the bend on April 22 (if you’re reading this, though, you’re likely living with awareness of your impact every day). Just as graphic designers are cursed with knowing and then seeing bad fonts and kerning everywhere, so too are eco-warriors cursed (or perhaps blessed?) with becoming aware of how much…
Submitted by Rivershed Society of BC – Two women who travelled the length of the Fraser River together in 2016 as part of the Sustainable Living Leadership Program (SLLP) have joined forces to design, develop, and deliver a new experiential learning program this year on the Lower Fraser River. Petra Markova and Megan Rempel are from Port Coquitlam, BC and are passionate about sustainability in their community. While paddling on the river, they had an idea that a similar but more accessible trip should be held to engage more people in outdoor education. Little did they know, the Rivershed Society…
By Jasmin Schellenberg – HEALTHY SNACKS AND WHY Polenta bars with bacon and cheese Ingredients 4 Tablespoons lard 4 gloves garlic, finely chopped 1 medium onion, finely chopped 4 cups broth 2 cups organic corn grits (from Bob’s Red Mill, no GMO) 2 teaspoon sea salt ½ teaspoon black pepper ¼ teaspoon nutmeg ½ cup parmesan or grated cheese ½ cup bacon, sliced and diced 2 eggs Olive oil for brushing Method Fry garlic and onions in a pan with lard until soft. Add broth, bacon, and spices, and heat up to a simmer. In a thin stream, whisk in…
By Paul Héroux, Ph.D.,Professor of Electromagnetic Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University – The wireless industry dreams of deploying its new 5G (fifth generation) infrastructure in your neighbourhood soon, as it has begun doing in California. Boxes the size of a PC could be placed every 150 meters or so on utility poles, sometimes with small-refrigerator-sized boxes on the ground. 5G technology uses pulsed, millimeter-sized microwaves that are easily blocked by obstacles such as leaves, hence the need to install millions of cell signal boosters near homes. The telecoms say this is the most efficient way to ease the digital…