Tuesday 31 December 2013

EcoSask News, December 31, 2013

half moon over the trees

Events
Beaver Creek
Beaver Creek Conservation Area is open year-round. Don’t miss the nature walks each Sunday at 2:30 pm.

Organized groups (schools, churches) can obtain cross-country ski equipment and interpretive resources. Contact Gillian at Meewasin for more information – 306.665.6887.

Birding in January
Join the Saskatoon Nature Society on one of their upcoming walks:
January 12 – Sanatorium and River Bank Bird Walk
January 25 – Weir and City Park Birding

EcoFriendly Action Grant Recipients
Carrot River Valley Watershed Association - $500 to provide area schools with mini watershed models and educational books so that learning continues after the Association’s presentations

Outdoor School, Saskatoon Public Schools - $500 to travel to Yoho National Park and discuss the impacts of climate change on the South Saskatchewan watershed

Take Action
We can make a difference. We just need to take action. Here are a couple of ideas:
Green your classroom

Volunteer your time to care for one of Saskatoon’s naturalized parks

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2013 was a very good year for solar energy in the United States [infographic]

Top 5 stories on the circular economy (mushrooms replace plastic, secret repair manuals, sustainable smart phones)

Native bees – an insurance policy for future food security

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Fashion: Do we care more about animal rights than the environment?

EcoSask News is a weekly round-up of local news and events. Email us if you have items you would like us to include. Additional upcoming events can be found on our Calendar.

You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or by email (top right corner).

Tuesday 24 December 2013

Christmas Greetings

Wishing you a very Green Christmas 
and a 
Sustainable New Year

Untitled

Andrew, Shelley & Penny McKinlay
EcoFriendly Sask

Thursday 19 December 2013

"We Ride With Pride!" The Garden Patch Acquires a Cargo Bike


The Garden Patch is a community-driven urban agriculture project sponsored by the Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre. Four years ago, the Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre was granted access to a 1.5 acre vacant city-owned lot on the 900 block of 3rd Avenue North, just south of 33rd Street. Each year this lot is transformed into a vibrant garden. Food is grown by volunteers and all produce is distributed through the Saskatoon Food Bank. In just four years, the Garden Patch has produced approximately 75,000 pounds of food.

One of the logistical issues we face at the Garden Patch is the problem of how to transport the produce from the garden to the Food Bank. For many of the vegetables, it is imperative that they are not kept in the hot sun once harvested. In the past we have had to rely on the Food Bank Hino truck to transport the produce. When the amount of food harvested is significant, the use of the truck is very helpful, but for the most part the amount we need to transport is just one or two garbage bag-sized sacks of produce a couple of times each week. The practice of using the truck to transport such a small amount of food is very inefficient and costly in terms of environmental impact and the staff and monetary resources it requires.

In the spring [2013] we applied to EcoFriendly Sask for funds to purchase a cargo bike to enable us to transport the produce more efficiently. We were thrilled by the quick response and enthusiastic support we received from EcoFriendly Sask! We were pleased to share the news on our website and with social media followers (Facebook and Twitter). We were able to purchase a suitable bike from Escape Sports and work with Core Neighbourhood Youth Coop (CNYC) to retrofit it to suit our purposes.

The Garden Patch cargo bike was used for the transport of fresh produce from the garden to the Food Bank where it could be distributed to the community. It allowed us to eliminate car transport for smaller daily harvests. It also allowed our staff to have quick transport between the Food Bank and the Garden Patch. 

The common reaction from the community is surprise, followed by a smile, and appreciation for the utility of pedal-powered transport. We see bicycle transport playing a critical role in our promotional goals as well as a vegetable transport system for many years. Cargo bike transport continues to be a growing trend among food gardens in cities across the continent, and we are happy to be part of this eco-friendly movement.

It has been an empowering experience to become independently mobile at the Garden Patch. We ride with pride!

Alison Robertson
Director of Community Development
Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre

Further Information 
Fresh Produce: The Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre isn’t alone in its desire to provide fresh produce to food bank users:

The Ottawa Food Bank has growing projects on several local farms. They also glean crops that will not be commercially harvested

Calgary volunteers established a vegetable garden to benefit Calgary’s food bank in spring 2013

Cargo Bikes: Cargo bikes are increasingly popular in Europe and North America:

CycleLogistics: flooding EU cities with cargo bike goodness (check out the DHL cargo bike in the photograph!)

The cargo bike – somewhere inbetween the courier and the truck

For cycling families, cargo bikes become the mode of transportation

EcoFriendly Action Grants

Tuesday 17 December 2013

EcoSask News, December 17, 2013


Native Plant Society Conference, Feb. 14-15
The Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan will be holding their annual conference on February 14 and 15 in Regina. This year's theme is Creating Linkages and will look at the topic of landscape ecology and how we as a society fit into it.

Golden Eagles 
The Golden Eagles, a sub-group of the Saskatoon Nature Society, invites retirees and partners to join their monthly local winter outings. Participants should be members of the Saskatoon Nature Society and consider becoming members of Nature Saskatchewan.

Take Action 
We can make a difference. We just need to take action. Here are a couple of ideas:

Six surprising ways to lower your energy bill

Buy local – individually or as an institution

Thought-Provoking 
The pros and cons of trying to bring about change by taking small, incremental steps:
‘Every little helps’ is a dangerous mantra for climate change

The power of small: why ‘incremental’ steps can lead to big change

The Canada Pension Plan launched an agricultural investment program last year and recently purchased Assiniboia Farmland. Trevor Herriot wonders if they will be prepared to protect and improve the habitat as part of their investment.

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Tools for sustainable water management on prairie farmlands

Grounds for sustainability: coffee for energy, fuel, and a cleaner world

A solar alternative to gas-powered patio heaters provides a sustainable way to promote year-long outdoor activities

Geese in Winter 
Today’s photograph can be downloaded as a desktop background wallpaper.

EcoSask News is a weekly round-up of local news and events. Email us if you have items you would like us to include. Additional upcoming events can be found on our Calendar.

You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or by email (top right corner).

Tuesday 10 December 2013

EcoSask News, December 10, 2013


Environmental Film Fest
What films would you like to see at the Saskatchewan Eco Network’s 2014 Environmental Film Festival? Send in your suggestions by February 4, 2014.

Bert Weichel
Congratulations to Bert Weichel who has received the 2013 Meewasin Conservation Award. Bert is an environmental consultant and has been an active volunteer in the field of environmental sustainability for the past three decades. He was a founding member of the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council and recently built his own straw bale house.

Take Action
We can make a difference. We just need to take action. Here are a couple of ideas:

Throw seed bombs not snow balls (Lumsden High School students collected wildflower seeds in the fall, made seed bombs, and are now launching them. The spring melt will dissolve the dirt and germinate the seeds.)

Plan a Waste-Less Holidays contest

Thought-Provoking
“Let's imagine the rebirth of urban, local economies of maintenance and repair where libraries, community centres, markets, churches, galleries and pubs are used to combat a throw-away culture and fix electronics.”

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The federal government has taken some initial steps to protect the Greater Sage-Grouse’s habitat but more still needs to be done

Ecosia, a new search engine, donates 80% of its income to a tree-planting program in Brazil

149 UK car parks are switching to LED lighting and anticipate a 65% energy reduction

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“extremely high annual per capita [GHG] emissions of 65 tonnes in Alberta and 70 tonnes in Saskatchewan stem, in part, from oil and gas production, but also from the two provinces’ continued reliance on coal-fired electrical generation

EcoSask News is a weekly round-up of local news and events. Email us if you have items you would like us to include. Additional upcoming events can be found on our Calendar.

You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or by email (top right corner).

Tuesday 3 December 2013

EcoSask News, December 3, 2013

sunrise

Events
Rise & Fall of Prairie Wetlands, Dec. 12 
Kevin Shook will discuss the fickle role that wetlands play in directing and redirecting the flow of water across the prairie and the factors that control the water level in sloughs at the Saskatoon Nature Society’s meeting at 7:30 pm, December 12, in Room 106, Biology Building, U of S.

Christmas Bird Counts 
We've posted all the local Christmas Bird Counts, along with contact information, on our Calendar. Here are the dates. (via Saskatoon Nature Society)
December 14 – Clark’s Crossing
December 15 – Elbow
December 16 – Gardiner Dam
December 17 – Radisson/Borden
December 18 - Harris
December 26 – Saskatoon
December 27 – Biggar
January 4 – Pike Lake

Take Action 
We can make a difference. We just need to take action. Here are a couple of ideas:
Show your support for a Wallace Stegner National Wildlife Area

Plan an outdoor winter event: check out Edmonton's Winter City Strategy

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A bicycle ad that’s as sexy as a car ad 

5 solutions for a kinder cellphone

Community energy resilience creates greater local economic opportunities

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"Everything we do, everything we use and discard, every action we take [that] results in waste being generated" - it doesn't just go "away"

Oilsands development - even when rules exist, they aren't enforced

EcoSask News is a weekly round-up of local news and events. Email us if you have items you would like us to include. Additional upcoming events can be found on our Calendar.

You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or by email (top right corner).