Earth Briefs

Trash Bash is Back: May 13th

– Ingalisa Burns

After a three-year pause, Trash Bash is returning. The annual volunteer-powered clean up of illegally dumped trash from our backwoods, alleys and shorelines has been enthusiastically supported by residents and local businesses since its inception in 2008.

Trash Bash is hosted by the qathet Regional District in collaboration with the City of Powell River and collects between six and 17 tonnes of illegally dumped trash annually. The most common items found being tires, scrap metal, appliances, mattresses, foam floats from docks and aquaculture, and yard and garden waste. All of these items have free recycling programs that are available locally which makes their disposal all the more needless.

Residents are invited to clean up the illegal dump site of their choice at anytime and to bring the collected materials to the staging grounds on Saturday, May 13th at the Willingdon Beach gravel field between 9:30 and 3 pm. You can also help the community prepare for this event by downloading the Trash Out app and adding to the illegal dumping map of the area when you’re out enjoying our trails and beaches.

Contact info@LetsTalkTrash.ca for more information. No registration is needed to participate.

Biochar Potential in qathet

– Jan Slakov

We have some problems (no kidding!); GHG (greenhouse gas) concentrations are rising, there’s an overabundance of slash and dead biomass (especially “ladder” fuels), and our summers are getting hotter. The fire danger is acute, and insect infestations, land use such as clearcutting and converting forested areas for other uses, as well as forest fires have become so extensive in recent years that BC’s forests, which were once important carbon sinks, now have become net emitters of carbon to the atmosphere.

One option to help address some of these problems is to use pyrolysis (burning in low oxygen, high heat environments) to produce biochar.

Ron Berezan has been producing biochar for use in enriching soil for many years (see Ron’s site, thegoodearth.co for lots more info on biochar.)

Another qathet resident who is excited to produce biochar is Laural Gagnon, who emphasizes the potential for biochar to sequester carbon for thousands of years. Together with her husband, she built a basic double retort biochar kiln, in hopes of helping people in their neighbourhood dispose of woody waste in this eco-friendly manner.

There are different ways to produce biochar, ranging from simply burning woody biomass in pits or trenches to municipal generators that produce syn gas and possibly even electricity, as well as biochar.

Members of the qathet Climate Alliance board are convinced that biochar production and use can achieve important benefits such as increasing retention of water and nutrients in the soil, reducing soil acidity; hosting beneficial soil biology; improving the physical structure of soil; uses in soil and water decontamination; contributing to lowering GHG emissions and preventing the release of toxic pollutants in smoke.

We encourage the forest industry to explore its potential. We hope those responsible for dealing with municipal waste will look into options for converting woody waste to biochar. We encourage local residents to avoid open burning as it often produces toxic smoke, including carcinogenic (cancer-causing) compounds.

There is some good “how to” information on the internet. qCA member Jan Slakov has experience converting woody debris that was a fire hazard into biochar and is happy to share what she knows. You can reach her at janslakov@proton.me or 604-223-9328.

Resource Recovery Centre: Opening Summer 2024

– Tai Uhlmann

The Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) has entered its final phase – civil works and construction of the facility. The qathet Regional District’s soon to be one-stop-drop recycling depot and transfer station will feature the region’s Ocean Plastic Depot, a free store, and an education centre.

This innovative facility is part of the qathet Regional District’s ‘Working Towards Zero Waste’ philosophy which informs its plan for local waste reduction and management, as outlined in the Provincially approved Solid Waste Management Plan.

Located at the newly remediated ‘old incinerator’ site on Marine Avenue across from the Willingdon Beach campgrounds, the site will also offer public amenities and green space.

The RRC will be the hub for recycling and waste collection in the region and is anticipated to open in the summer of 2024.

Waste diversion for local reuse will be key to the facility’s purpose and operations. Waste separation, sorting and diversion create green jobs and grow the local economy by preparing reusable and recyclable materials for reuse and repurposing. The RRC is intended to provide lower cost tipping fees for source separated materials (i.e., clean wood waste) and facilitate access to these valuable resources to support a local circular economy – increasing social, environmental, and economic opportunities.

OCEAN PLASTICS MAKE CRABS CRABBY: Pencil Crab (2022) mural by qathet artist Luke Ramsey. Artist statement: “This kelp/spider crab mural speaks to how there are creatures of the sea that may appear scary, but as we understand their place and importance to the environment, we can appreciate their beauty and significance. To look at what they pick up and give back. The pencil legs represent writing/drawing about the consumer impact on oceans. Sharpening such tools, and using them to create visions for a more ecological relationship with nature and environment. This mural was commissioned by the Let’s Talk Trash team. It is located at the qathet Regional District Ocean Plastic Depot, Sunshine Coast, BC. Painted with discarded/ left-over paint. Funding made possible through the Ocean Legacy Foundation and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Photo courtesy of the Let’s Talk Trash Team.

From Ocean Plastic into Park Benches

– Abby McLennan

The qathet Regional District opened Canada’s first ocean plastic recycling depot in October of 2020. This exciting addition to our shoreline community was made possible through a partnership with the Ocean Legacy Foundation and funding from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Since opening its doors, this depot has diverted over 100,000 kg (100 tonnes) of reusable and recyclable marine debris and used marine gear that would otherwise have gone to a landfill.

Much of the material received at the ocean plastic depot was once used in the aquaculture industry, including styrofoam flotation blocks, tires filled with foam, buoys, hard plastics, rope and netting. All material that is collected at the qathet depot is consolidated and shipped to Ocean Legacy’s Plastic Pollution Emergency Response Facility – the first centre of its kind in Canada to be designed specifically for processing and recycling marine debris from shoreline cleanups.

A new chapter in this story is the creation of Legacy Plastic – plastic pellets made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic recovered during ocean, shoreline, and marine equipment cleanups. When you participate in cleaning up shorelines and use the ocean plastic depot, your collected and diverted materials are being re-manufactured into durable non-structural plastic lumber, benches, fence posts, park benches, patio furniture, kayak rudders, and more.

Transforming what some might consider garbage into a durable product made entirely from recovered marine plastic is an inspiring way to deal with the realities of ocean pollution and participate in the plastic circular economy while educating consumers about the impacts of plastics on our environment.

To become an ocean plastic depot member and receive your orientation, contact Let’s Talk Trash by emailing info@LetsTalkTrash.ca or calling 604-485-2260.

Moving the (Salmon) Stakes

– Chantal Dunning

Pacific Salmon and their supporters are at another crossroads, and if the push for preservation isn’t forward, we are moving backwards. The Powell River Salmon Society has been working tirelessly over the past 40 years to ensure a healthy salmon ecosystem and viable fishing opportunities, frequently against strong headwinds. Some of their hard work and collaborations are now paying off.

The PRSS is excited to share the incoming of their new Education Coordinator. This position has been made possible by Work BC’s Job Creation Program. This will help the PRSS put a stronger focus towards Education, a key component in ensuring strong salmon returns and a generation of salmon champions. These education efforts will expand upon SalmonEducation.org as well as other educational events, such as the Salmon Education Expo and incorporating their Willingdon Creek Enhancement efforts into Earth Day through a Fry Day event where the public is invited to release salmon fry back into the wild.

These educational efforts are continued in the local schools where PRSS has again teamed up with several teachers, adding incubation tanks into their classrooms for their students to follow the salmon’s life cycle. This development can also be viewed on the salmoneducation.org livestream. The livestream is the only one of its kind where you can see salmon egg and alevin development in real time.

Classes who took part in the life cycle incubation tanks will come together in April to release their tank’s salmon fry back into their spawning creeks. This will coincide with Earth Month which houses a number of exciting events for the Salmon Society, such as an event in connection with the Public Library where children are invited to learn about salmon as an important keystone species and create an earth friendly craft while doing so.

This leads into the Salmon Society’s big Fry Day Event (Friday, April 21st from 3:30 to 5 pm at Willingdon Beach Park) where the community is invited to join in celebrating Earth Day by releasing salmon fry into Willingdon Creek.

Several other organizations will also be attending and setting up booths in celebration of this important day. There will be activities for children and interesting informative booths for people of all ages to enjoy. Make sure to come on down to Willingdon Beach on Friday, April 21st from 3:30 pm-5 pm to celebrate Earth Day with the Powell River Salmon Society!