By Angela Abrahão – Last spring the Applied Sustainable Ranching Program ventured into the world of tourism. Program director Gillian Watt explains, “I was happy to bring together the Faculty of Tourism, with the Faculty of Science, and the Williams Lake Campus to help develop and deliver this course as part of the Applied Sustainable Ranching diploma program.” Students have the opportunity to witness how different disciplines come together in complementary ways. Instructor Peter Larose delivers the six-week ASUR 2040 Soft Adventure and Agri-Tourism course with passion and enthusiasm. Many ranches already incorporate a tourism diversification strategy into their ranching…
Author: thegreengazette
Herb Hammond is the premier eco-system based forester in BC and probably the world. He has for years been director of the Silva Forest Foundation (www.Silvafor.org). In October of 2017, after the new NDP government came into office, Hammond wrote a letter to Premier Horgan; Doug Donaldson, Minister of Forest, Lands and Natural Resources Operations; George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy; Katrine Conroy, Minister of Children and Family Development; and Andrew Weaver, Green Party Leader. With the author’s permission, I have lightly edited the contents and converted this letter into a sort of essay without sacrificing essentials.…
By Jasmin Schellenberg – HEALTHY SNACKS AND WHY Kefir-oat cookies Ingredients ¼ cup coconut oil, melted ¼ cup honey, melted 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 ¾ cups rolled oats ¼ cup each of kefir ¼ cup peanut or almond butter pinch of sea salt Method Combine all ingredients. Scoop with a small spoon onto parchment paper and cool in the fridge for a few minutes. Keeps well in the fridge in a sealed container for a week. This is a great way to get some cultured food and high-quality oils into kids’ diets. NUTRIENT DENSE MEAL Bulgogi (Korean stir-fry) Serves…
By Sage Birchwater – A group of Williams Lake residents is continuing the fight to prevent Atlantic Power Corporation from burning railway ties in its 600,000-tonne capacity biomass-fuelled energy plant in Williams Lake. Since the Boston-based Atlantic Power Corporation announced its intention in June 2015 to seek permission from the British Columbia government for a ten-fold increase in the volume of railway ties it is allowed to burn in its Williams Lake power plant, this proposal has been met by a groundswell of outrage from the local population. Despite keeping a low profile in the past several months, the ad…
By David Suzuki – Angel Gurria sounds like the leader of an environmental or social justice group. In a recent University of Toronto lecture, “Climate Action: Time for Implementation,” he stressed that climate change is a public health issue “disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable as well as those least responsible for anthropogenic warming.” Gurria is secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a group representing some of the richest, most industrialized nations on Earth. He said the Toronto lecture was his third climate talk in recent years. In the first, he argued that fossil fuel emissions to the…
By Terri Smith – arcadian – adjective: rural, rustic, or pastoral, especially suggesting simple, innocent contentment. Off-grid living isn’t always easy. That may be an understatement; let me rephrase it: Off-grid living often isn’t easy. Too cumbersome? How about: Off-grid living is hard. Yes. I think that about sums it up. Don’t get me wrong; given the choice, I wouldn’t trade this lifestyle for a place in town with cell reception, unlimited internet, and central heating. Though central heating does sound wonderful right now. As we move into winter, I find myself reflecting, as I often do this time of…
By Lisa Bland, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief – Dear Readers, Winter forces us inside on many levels—cushioned inside layers of wool and down clothing to brave the elements; inside our warm homes with creative projects, soups, and teas brewing; or into a natural connection with the silence of our inner being. This season can be a time of withdrawal from the pace of busier times. With less to reflect upon externally, our attention can be drawn inside, into silence. And what of silence? “Silence is golden,” it is said, translated by poet Thomas Carlyle, in 1831 in Sartor Resartus. The Swiss inscription actually…
The wildness of the Northwest coast of British Columbia and a lineage full of prolific artists provided the soil in which the seeds of Christina Mary’s own creativity could sprout. Her childhood was spent roaming beaches and exploring the coast’s inlets, crisscrossing rivers and bay hopping, discovering the texture of the natural world. Her father’s family homesteaded on north Vancouver Island, and in her very early years, she describes the wonder of this place, where the forest was full of magic, goats roamed the yard, and art happened all around her. She speaks to her talented aunts as having a…
By Olga Sheean – When wisely applied and when based on empirical research, science helps keep us safe. Science makes sense of things and helps us understand how things work. It stops us from sticking our fingers in electrical sockets or from thinking we can fly if we jump off a high building, in defiance of the law of gravity. It provides us with a solid, reliable, fact-based foundation and a better awareness of the laws of physics and nature that govern our existence. And it enables us to make informed choices that are healthy and sustainable for people and…
By Sandra K. Klassen – This year’s snowfall will bring welcome relief to those in the Cariboo who want to know the wildfires are out for sure. And a snowfall will have many locals dusting off their cross-country skis and readying them for this winter’s cross-country ski season, usually from November to April. Cross-country skiing in the Cariboo is like skiing in a Christmas card: sparkling snow, snow-white forest, friendly faces, goodwill among skiers, the great outdoors. Many are aware of the healthful spin-offs (think gifts) from this growing sport in Canada: a sport that improves cardio-vascular fitness, is pleasing…
By Ryan Elizabeth Cope – Considering the oceans in our day-to-day lives is easiest done when you live right next to the ocean, the source, that big blue body of water spanning as far as the eye can see. When a problem is right in front of you, it’s hard to ignore and you usually address that problem fairly quickly. Issues arise, however, in the unseen: as you travel away from the ocean, tracing the water’s path from the shore, upstream to the tiniest stream trickle, you might almost forget that that water is still connected to the great expanses…
By Angela Gutzer – It is inevitable. We all will die. It part of the beautiful cycle of life. Although we can not change the fact that we will die, we can make decisions that may alter how we die. “WHY CLING” Why cling to one life till it is soiled and ragged? The sun dies and dies squandering a hundred lived every instant God has decreed life for you and He will give another and another and another (translated by Daniel Liebert) Mathnawi V. 411-414 (translated by Kabir Helminski) The Rumi Collection, edited by Kabir Helminski A recent study…
By Melinda Mckinnon – The voice of the Town Crier carries over the assembled crowd, who shuffle their feet trying to dispel the seasonal chill from their bones. As the Crier unfurls his scroll, his voice can be heard announcing, “Hear ye, hear ye… come one, come all… to the now open Medieval Market.” The townsfolk who have gathered shift in anticipation. Some are at the market to find the perfect Christmas gift for a special someone. Others are looking for a special something for themselves, the ultimate self-indulgence. Still others are at the market simply because it is tradition…
By Guy Dauncey – Let me be blunt: the terrible forest fires we experienced this summer have the footprint of climate change all over them. It’s just as the climate models predicted: less winter snowfall, more summer drought, more summer heat, more forest fires. The dead pine trees that provided so much fuel for the fires are also climate victims: the pine beetle used to be killed off by winter temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius. The dead trees also reduce forest evaporation, increasing the forest air temperature by 1 degree C. So, what’s to be done? I have been absorbed…
By Angela Abrahão – In January, the Ranching program welcomes the third cohort of students and the ranching community has stepped up with some generous donations for student awards. Applications for the entrance awards are open now and close on December 20. These major awards are The Bill Freding Memorial Award for $6,000 ($1,000 of this from Doug Haughton in memory of Bill) and the Cariboo GMC 4-H Award for $5,200 that is open to 4-H members or 4-H Alumni. TRU Grit also offers awards for students enrolled on the Williams Lake campus. Recognizing how important education was to the…
By LeRae Haynes – For more than 10 years the community has rallied to support a truly faith-driven program through Cariboo Bethel Church in Williams Lake. Every year, between 3,000–5,000 shoeboxes containing gifts for children are sent to places around the world through Operation Christmas Child. “I’ve stepped into some really big shoes,” explained Cariboo Bethel Church office administrator Jasmine Alexander, who helps run Operation Christmas Child. She explained that Operation Christmas Child, which is evangelism and gospel-focused, is run as an extension of Samaritan’s Purse, which was in Williams Lake offering relief during the wildfire season. “This year the…
By Jessica Kirby, Senior Editor of TheGreenGazette – Christmas time is on the way and despite individual feelings about it, green thinkers, earth lovers, planet healers, and community champions all feel the pressure this time of year. We love bringing people together, enjoying beautiful food, getting outside in the wintry landscape, and enjoying the quiet darkness—at the same time, another kind of darkness is waving at us from the corners of every shopping mall and billboard from here to Tuktoyaktuk: consumerism. Gift exchanging is part of the holiday, and has been since St. Nick first appeared in early European folklore.…
By Al-Lisa Tresierra McKay – A creaking, much like a tired bow dragging across a worn violin shifts back and forth, singing a familiar equable lullaby. As noisy as it is, the old rocking chair is a welcome sound on any given night. The children scurry to find their places on the grey and tattered knit rug, eyes bright with anticipation, bodies quiet and still. While outside the snowflakes continue to fall, also seemingly to each choose a destination. Grandpa is shifting his gaze from the patterns on the frosted window pane and deep into the fire. One long deep…
By Jasmin Schellenberg – HEALTHY SNACKS AND WHY Beautiful Crystal Jellies Ingredients 1 litre Kiju brand grape apple juice 5 T grass-fed gelatin from www.greatlakesgelatin.com or Kinikinik 3 T trumarine collagen from www.withinus.ca or Kinikinik Method Heat 3.5 cups of juice. In a shallow bowl sprinkle gelatin and collagen on a half cup of juice, wait until soft, then stir into hot liquid. Set in a deep dish for two hours. Cut into squares (or with cookie cutters, melt the left overs, and set again and cut into squares). This is a great way to get your kids to eat…