By LeRae Haynes – When Bruce Mattson opened the doors of Sta-Well Health Foods in Williams Lake 38 years ago, people laughed at the health food industry and thought he was out of his mind. “This was a meat-and-potatoes town, and when I borrowed money and set up this store people thought I was crazy,” he said. Self-described as a stubborn retailer in a full-spectrum store, Mattson stocks things like bulk food, produce, a full line of supplements, backpacking and survival food, body care products, treats, good coffee, and more. People enjoy hearing his weather forecasts of the week and…
Author: thegreengazette
Bees are essential to human life. As pollinators of vital crops, they bring forth approximately 90 per cent of the world’s nutrition. Yet pesticides and other environmental stressors have destroyed more than 10 million hives to date, and populations continue to plummet. Victory Gardens for Bees is both a clarion call for protecting these vital creatures and an inspired vision for their future. Renowned bee expert, artist and garden educator Lori Weidenhammer investigates the bee crisis, offering a step-by-step guide for turning green spaces into sanctuaries where they can flourish. Drawing on decades of experience, Weidenhammer equips…
The summer of 2016 is an especially important year for summer water conservation, as we recover from low precipitation levels in the fall, winter, and spring. Outdoor water use can increase up to 50 per cent in the summer months, so the Cariboo-Chilcotin Conservation Society, in partnership with Highlands Irrigation, wants to encourage the Cariboo to limit their lawn and garden water consumption as much as possible. Join us for a free drip and micro-irrigation workshop on April 30 to learn more. We’ll also have some intro drip kits for sale at the workshop, in addition to on-site demos and…
By Terri Smith – Many people who call Williams Lake home have been concerned lately with what seems to be an alarming increase of violence in our town. People who were once comfortable walking alone here now find themselves nervous at times, even in the daylight. As I walk along Mackenzie Avenue at dusk on a Tuesday night I reflect that I used to be nervous walking alone here, too, but Aikido has changed that for me. Walking into the Dojo (training hall), several people greet me with, “Osu.”Pronounced, “Oh-sss,” this is a Japanese word that simultaneously means, “hello,” “goodbye,”…
By Tyler Shippit– Cariboo artist Blocktreat is releasing a new album at the end of April, Exciting New Ventures in F***ing Up. Imagine walking along a rocky trail to your private spot while listening to Exciting New Ventures as the album mirrors a self-reflection one often gets in those quiet moments of realization—realization that no matter how small or simple we are, we are still unique in our own distorted self-manipulations. Blocktreat is the brainchild of Williams Lake local, Brandon Hoffman. In September 2014, Hoffman moved back to his hometown of Williams Lake after living roughly ten years in…
By Terri Smith – Amadeus and I are moving to Quesnel (see my “Confessions of a Farmer” article in this issue for details). We’ll still be farming, but our days as market gardener and mascot appear to be behind us. Looking out the window at him dozing in the sun on the hill with the rest of the herd, I wonder how he will adjust to our new home. But then I think of all his public appearances, and how comfortable he is wherever we go, and my worries abate. Amadeus has been accompanying me to town, to market, and…
There’s a new face, a new name, and some exciting changes at Williams Lake Return-It Depot, formally Amanda Enterprises at 232 S. Mackenzie Avenue. New owner, Phil Jang, said they do more than take returnable cans and bottles. “We’re moving into more recycling, including electronics, and are working toward taking pesticide items and paint cans,” he said. “One of the changes we’ve made is a move to self-sorting—a change that should have happened a long time ago. We used to have five sorting tables with five staff helping five customers; this new way we have 12 tables and can…
By LeRae Haynes – In the four years he has worked at Central Cariboo Disposal Services (CCDS), Barkley Baird said he has seen an enormous and encouraging increase in recycling options, awareness, and participation. “Recycling is ten times better than it was four years ago when I started here—everybody’s doing such a great job recycling,” he said. He operates the big recycling baler at CCDS, using a John Deere and a forklift, baling five days a week, six to eight hours a day. The neatly stacked mountains of recycling bales are regularly trucked to the lower mainland and beyond for…
By Christa Mustard – You already know some of the benefits of using Share Sheds: donating reduces the amount of waste in our landfills, and taking items home can save you money. Here are a few other benefits you might not have considered. When you donate, you’re directly helping people in your own community, promoting goodwill and a standard of living that some of your neighbours might not be able to otherwise achieve. On the coldest day in December, I met a gentleman who was understandably grateful to find a pair of wool socks—not grateful to a corporation or a…
By Jacinta D’Andrea – We are all connected. People. Pets. The planet. Cows. Cats. Chickens. Songbirds and honey bees. Monarch butterflies. Old growth trees… I was eating an apple in first year biochemistry class, when I was taught one of the most relevant truths of my veterinary education: “We are what we eat.” The foods we consume literally become our physical bodies. Our dogs’ dinners become their teeth, joints, and bones and our cats’ kibbles are transformed into their skin, fur, and friskiness. While I clearly remember the great ‘aha’ that came with this understanding, my awareness of the impact…
By Phil Ranson – May 14 is International Migratory Bird Day, which I confess holds about as much significance for me as Red Tape Reduction Day, which, incidentally, was on March 2 and I missed it. Not that I don’t have a keen interest in migratory birds. In fact, much of my spring is devoted to the sheer joy of watching birds returning after a drab winter and noting their first arrival dates. I do, however, have a problem with the much overused proclamation of Days to draw attention to issues, which in the case of declining song bird populations,…
By Lisa Bland – Happy spring! One of the best things about this time of year, other than the increased sunshine, greenery, and birds, are vibrant spring foods. After a winter of eating warming soups, root vegetables, fats, and protein—salad greens, berries, and garden veggies are a sight for sore eyes. Springing into action in our lives just seems to be supported by the abundance of foods that appear this time of year. Although there are many philosophies around diet and food intake, I mostly trust how foods make me feel. Eating salads doesn’t appeal so much in the winter,…
The Williams Lake Garden Club is sowing seeds for a new season. The first meeting of the year was held at on Thursday, March 3. The club got off to a great start, with over 40 people purchasing annual memberships. The purpose of the Williams Lake Garden Club is to promote, encourage, and support the horticultural interests of local residents. We do this through educational sessions that appeal to both experienced and new gardeners. Our monthly meetings include keynote speakers, networking, and contests as well as sharing of ideas, expertise, and resources. The Williams Lake Gardening Club collaborates with…
By Margaret-Anne Enders – These days I count myself lucky. My family and I just returned from a backpacking trip in Nicaragua. Part of our adventures there included a home stay with a rural Nicaraguan family. Miriam, Samir, and Alina were warm and welcoming and graciously shared their culture, their food, and their small home with us. Their house was simple and rustic, with cinderblock and brick walls, only beds, a table, and chairs for furniture, and no indoor plumbing. Pigs, chickens, roosters, and dogs roamed the dusty yard. Once we got to know them, they told us they were…
By Ciel Patenaude – Spring has always been celebrated as a time of rebirth and renewal. From the Roman festival of Floralia, Imbolc day of the Celts, and Baisakh in Nepal–the traditional New Year celebrated in the month of April–spring is seen in cultures around the world as a time to begin again, to intentionally shift our attention and actions to what is new and being reborn, and align ourselves with a changed set of priorities than those which guided our past many aphotic months. These new priorities can take endless forms, of course, but underlying most spring-time action and…
By Oliver Berger – I am writing this column to you today from a beautiful island off the coast of Chile called Isle de Chiloé. It is one of Chile’s largest islands, and it is currently at the beginnings of becoming a popular tourist destination for travellers from all around the world, especially Chileans themselves. Boasting some unique features such as the home of many wooden churches now preserved as part of UNESCO World Heritage sites, it’s also one of the few places in Chile you can view the Humboldt and Magellanic penguins that migrate to this area for the mating…
By Sage Birchwater – Controversy is brewing over Atlantic Power Corporation’s bid to increase the volume of creosote-laden railway ties it is allowed to burn in its biomass-fired energy plant in Williams Lake. When the facility began operating in 1993 it signed a 25-year energy purchase agreement (EPA) with BC Hydro to provide 66 Megawatts of electricity to the energy grid. It was also granted permission by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) to burn up to five per cent of its fuel mix as rail ties. Now with the EPA about to expire in 2018, the company is seeking…
By Jessica Kirby – As a global community we are on the cusp of significant change in terms of the way we use and produce energy. International conflict, economic volatility, and environmental destruction are drawing attention to the myriad reasons dependence on fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas must change. Topping the list of clean energy sources are wind and solar, and as generation facilities and output technologies improve and become cost effective, these industries are generating new jobs and cleaner environmental potential. In fact, according to the David Suzuki Foundation, “the renewable energy sector generates more jobs per…
By Sharon Taylor- “The public support has been remarkable,” says Paola Konge, president of the Williams Lake Refugee Sponsorship Group (WLRSG) Organizing Committee. “So many people are asking how they can get involved.” More than 50 people have joined the newly-formed WLRSG, and are actively preparing for the next steps. Local organizations such as the CMHA – Cariboo-Chilcotin Branch Multiculturalism Program, the Women’s Contact Society, the Central Interior Community Services Co-op, Immigrant and Multicultural Services Society, and St Peter’s Anglican Church are providing practical support to the WLRSG, which has made some processes easier. The WLRSG operates as a…