go green ~ earth day 2017
EARTH DAY
EVENTS Earth Day Fun and Festivities
Earth Day Fernie celebrations are back and with this amazing day comes an awesome line-up of environmental activities for all ages! Join us at the Fernie Community Centre as we share earth friendly ideas and create fun crafts and more to take home. Piles of fun heading your way…. #Trashbashchallenge Kick off your day with the ‘Trash Bash Challenge’. Find an outdoor area that you love and take initiative to clean up your neighbourhood. Grab your friends and family and get outside to make a difference. Take a photo and post it to the Earth Day Fernie Facebook page, facebook.com/ earthdayfernie with hashtag #TrashBashChallenge or post it on Instagram @elkvalleywildsight. With your post, include how many bags, how many people and how much time you spend cleaning up your neighbourhood.
Soil Secrets
#Getwildchallenge
Apple Capture / Tool Share
Grab your camera or cell phone and become part of the ‘Get Wild Challenge’. Get outside, take some deep breaths, see the beauty and snap some photos. Share your great photo-ops on facebook.com/earthdayfernie with the hashtag #GetWildChallenge or share it on Instagram to @elkvalleywildsight. Let us know why you love spending time in nature on Earth Day. Tell us how much time you spent outside and what you did. At the end of the day, visit our Facebook page to discover what others have done! You might get some great ideas – it’s all good clean fun!
Seed Swap
Get ready to garden with the EcoGarden’s Seed Swap. Bring your own locally grown seeds to swap or bring money to donate for seeds that you take home. The Seed Swap will offer information about Seeds of Diversity, a resource of locally grown seeds and local growing information. 4-6pm at the festivities. At this table you can also learn more about our newest program, ‘Keeping Food Real’, a how-to on cold climate gardening.
Recycling Sorting Challenge
Think you are good with your throwing arm? See how quickly you can separate and sort your paper from your plastics in this fun and interactive sorting challenge. Think of it as a bean bag toss with tin cans….
Paper Doll Dress-Up
Trace your own body and then choose from a myriad of reused, recycled or found materials to decorate yourself ! Be as imaginative as you can be in the creative chaos! Maybe even be inspired to take part in the next Trashy but Flashy event!
Learn the five secrets to soil in the Elk Valley. Discover unique soil characteristics through hands on activities and ‘dirty facts’!
Electric Vehicles
Curious about Electric Vehicles? Can they really work in the Elk Valley? Thanks to Megan Lohmann and the vehicles’ proud owners, we will have a few on display for you to look and explore. Come and learn about how you could ‘become electric’ in Fernie! Did you know that Wildsight Elk Valley has a Tool Library that allows you to pick, process and even dehydrate the fruit from your apple trees? Or that the Tool Library also has dishes, recycling bins and other goodies that you can check out and use for your next event? For a complete list of available tools and how to access them please visit the Tool Share page at wildsight.ca/elkvalley. Also, as you know, Fernie is home to many fruit trees. When the fruit is left to fall off the trees, it attracts local wildlife—including deer and bears. Our Apple Capture Program is here to help you keep up with your fruit harvest or to share it with someone who can. Together, we can turn a wildlife attractant into healthy local food. Learn about both of these great initiatives on Earth Day at the Fernie Community Centre!
Sp eci Fe a atu l re Welcome to Earth Day 2017
O
n behalf of Wildsight Elk Valley I extend a warm welcome to Earth Day Fernie 2017. In Fernie we are so fortunate to be in nature every time we walk out our door. Earth Day Fernie challenges all of us to keep our stewardship of the environment at the forefront of our daily living. Join us at the Community Centre on April 22nd starting at 3:30pm for an event designed to educate and inspire good environmental habits, and get your creativity flowing. There are always so many innovative ideas that go into the planning of Earth Day. I would like to take the time to thank this year’s Earth Day Committee for the many hours that they put into creating this offering to our community. This year the Trashy but Flashy Fashion Show is back on the runway which makes for such great fun! It is truly amazing to see what can be made out of trash, recycled, or reused materials. There will be a display of past winners of the fashion show along with a display of Lindsay Vallance’s upcycled mask collection. Swap your seeds to make ready for the planting season, you never know we may have an early start to our gardening season this year. Get involved with all of the three Eco Challenges, the Trash Bash Challenge, Eat Local Challenge, and Get Wild Challenge as a family, a classroom, or an individual. All the info for these challenges can be found at wildsight.ca/earthdayfernie. Think ahead and nominate someone for a Green Award, presentation will be made before the Fashion Show. There will be lots of interactive kids crafts and games and don’t forget $8 eats will be available throughout the day. On behalf of the Board of Wildsight Elk Valley and the Earth Day Committee I invite you to join us for this worthwhile community event to celebrate our Stewardship of the planet we live on. Sharon Switzer/President Wildsight Elk Valley
Trashy But Flashy Fashion Show
The always anticipated Trashy but Flashy Fashion show only happens if Earth Day falls on a Saturday and luckily for us, this year it does! Starting at 6pm, this exciting perennial favourite will be sure to induce awe and inspiration. Come and see the most amazing fusions of trash and flash! Bragging rights and cash prizes are ready to be bestowed!
Green Awards
Fernie is home to some pretty amazing people and businesses who go out of their way to help the environment. The Green Awards categories include: greenest classroom, greenest family, greenest coffee shop, greenest restaurant, greenest initiative, greenest shopper (that person who NEVER forgets their bags!) and greenest business. Show some love for the people who show the earth some love every day! Awards will be given immediately before the fashion show begins.
Earth Day 2017 fun is not limited to what is listed above so make sure you come to the Community Centre to see what is on offer! For more info about these or any other Wildsight activities please contact us at elkvalley@wildsight.ca or call 250.423-3322.
Diversity is important It makes living things adaptable. It allows wild and domesticated species to withstand threats like diseases, climate changes, pests, and other unpredictable conditions. With enough variation in a group, there will always be some individuals that are naturally suited to survive and can thrive under any changing situation. Diversity in plants also gives us a “treasure chest” of options for raising the healthiest and most productive crops. No matter what changes happen in our food system, we will always be able to adapt if we have enough genetic diversity.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Kootenays to become host of first community-driven electric vehicle charging network
Tools on Loan = Apples for All! By Courtney Baker
By Megan Lohmann
O
n April 6th, an exciting new project launched in Cranbrook, B.C. Accelerate Kootenays is Canada’s first communitydriven collaborative strategy to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in a rural context. Over the past decade, Kootenay local governments have been engaged in energy and emissions planning: measuring, monitoring and addressing GHG emissions at the community and corporate scale. All are signatories to the BC Climate Action Charter and have a mandate to explore opportunities for corporate and community-wide emission reductions. In a rural setting like the Kootenays, transportation related emissions are higher than in urban centres, where population density can support a more robust public transit system. Further, in rural areas, services tend to be centralized, requiring travel between communities. Our reliance on vehicles to travel throughout the region limits the options available for significant emission reductions. Through broad energy planning initiatives, and the innovative goals set by the Highway 3 Mayors’ and Chairs’ Coalition, a transition to clean energy vehicles was identified as a rural priority to address transportation related greenhouse gas emissions, drive electric vehicle tourism and close the charging infrastructure gap across the region. Over the course of two years, Accelerate Kootenays will install 13 direct current fast-charging (DCFC) stations along Highways 3, 95 and 1 as well as 40 Level 2 stations in communities across the region. DCFC stations provide an opportunity for ‘on-the-go’ charging and quick stops en route, while Level 2 charging provides a slower charge and opportunity for exploring local communities and attractions. Over the past year, the network has been designed by taking technical and community criteria into account. Local geographical challenges were considered in the design, including terrain and climate, both of which can affect battery range. A computer-based model was used to identify the general locations for charging stations, and then social considerations such as community co-benefits, tourism and economic development opportunities were used to inform further discussion with host communities, who were tasked with identifying three possible locations based on the technical and social criteria. With the first DCFC operational in downtown Cranbrook, the rest of the network is set to roll-out over the next 18 months. This initiative will accelerate electric vehicle adoption locally, and provide opportunity for tourism by electric vehicle drivers outside of the region. This $1.5 million project is funded through an unprecedented collaboration between: Regional Districts of East Kootenay, Kootenay Boundary and Central Kootenay, Columbia Basin Trust, Ministry of Energy and Mines, FortisBC, Federation of Canadian Municipalities and with implementation support from BC Hydro and Powertech Labs.
Keepers of the Seeds: the EcoGarden Seed Swaps By Mary Cosman
S
ince 2006, Fernie Community EcoGarden members have presented annual Seed Swaps at Fernie’s Earth Day celebrations. Running seed swaps and establishing seed libraries represent a growing trend of sharing seeds in many gardening communities across Canada. Besides offering opportunities for gardeners to meet and to share seeds and gardening tips, these seed-sharing initiatives support the deeply vital issue of preserving genetic diversity and the security of our human food supply. It is estimated that farmers produced about 80,000 species of plants before the advent of industrialized agriculture; now they rely on about 150. Since the beginning of the 20th century, about 75 per cent of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost worldwide. This loss of biodiversity in our food crops has resulted from a number of factors but, over the last few decades, there is one which may pose the greatest threat to our food supply. Multinational companies have been pursuing policies of buying out competitors and marketing their own patented seeds in place of the variety of seeds once offered by small seed companies. For us, this means future gardeners and farmers may be faced with dependence on these companies. Moreover, if forced to purchase patented seed every year, our gardeners and farmers would be at risk of losing the knowledge of traditional seed saving and plant propagation. The marked loss of diversity tracked over the last century may be slowing down, due in large part to the rise of expert seed saving organizations, public seed banks, and small regional seed companies dedicated to saving vegetable varieties. With the dedication of individual farmers and gardeners – people like our gardeners here in the Elk Valley – it is possible to keep the seeds in the hands of the people. With seed swaps and workshops in seed-saving, the Fernie Community EcoGarden provides support to gardeners who want to contribute to local, sustainable food production by growing varieties that have adapted to our climate. A new initiative being developed in Fernie is the establishment of a seed library to make our locally grown seeds easily available to more gardeners here. The resulting benefits of these programs are enormous to our community.
D
id you know that for the last few years Wildsight Elk Valley has operated a Tool Share and Apple Capture Program? All of these great community cooperative programs are by donation and available to anyone in the Elk Valley – registration and tool booking is quick, painless and done online at wildsight.ca/branches/ elkvalley/toolshare. Why do we operate these programs you ask? Tool libraries have been around since the 1970s as a way for communities to share resources specific to a task. By providing access to tools, these libraries help to build resilient communities, empower their users, lessen neighbourhoods’ ecological footprints and help to beautify areas. The Wildsight Elk Valley Tool Share is stocked with everything you need to pick, grind, press, juice, can, smoke and dehydrate apples and other tree fruits as well as host a fantastic backyard event with a gas canning/cooking stove, recycling containers, dishes, juice and water jugs and more! We are looking to expand our offerings though to include everyday items required for daily tasks and basic handy person projects so if you have something you would like to donate or are looking for something please do not hesitate to contact us at elkvalley@wildsight.ca. Our Tool Share currently has a specific focus on picking and preserving apples and other tree fruits. This food source is both a blessing and a curse as it is a fantastic bounty of local and nutritious food but can also serve as a wildlife attractant endangering the lives of bears and ungulates like deer. If tree fruits are left on the tree to rot they become an easy urban food source for forest dwelling animals and increase the chances of negative human encounters that unfortunately all too often end in death or relocation for the animal. This is not their fault but rather ours as having a fruit tree on your property comes with the responsibility of harvesting and maintaining it. If you are unable to harvest your tree or would prefer not to we also have a Tree Sharing Program. This means that if you register your tree with Wildsight Elk Valley we will ensure that the fruit is harvested, removed and prepared for consumption. Once picked or prepared we stress that it is good practice to ensure that the tree owner receives some of the delicious bounty so have no fear of missing out! As an added bonus to picking, preparing and prepping your fruit nothing goes to waste! Once you have finished grinding and pressing your apples and fruit the remains can be used for animal feed or composted. The less fruit that remains on the tree or the ground the better. Bears and other wildlife are spared and people are fed and hydrated. Win-win all around! Wildsight’s Apple Capture and Tool Share helps you keep up with your fruit harvest or share it with someone who can use it. Together, we can turn a wildlife attractant into a locally sourced, nutritious food.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Why Not Try the Rot? A Different Look on Decay for Those Coy to Compost by Ashley Taylor
A
re you new to gardening or shy to try composting? Don’t worry it’s nothing scary, really! Composting practices have been around longer than the wheel and you don’t need to make it complicated. As noted by Stu Campbell, the first people to discover composting were simply observing their environment and “whoever they were, they were artists, not scientists.” Composting doesn’t need to be a lost art; all you need is willingness and resiliency to learn to make luscious, nutrient-rich soil. It’s easy to get bogged down in blogs and articles that make composting look like rocket science. Don’t get me wrong, there has been immense research put into modern composting but for small-scale users the process of trial and error will do just fine. Even if your methods are far from perfect you’ll probably end up with decent compost; just let Mother Nature do her thing! So take a deep breath and remember that rot and decay are naturally occurring processes and your job is to just help it along the way. Learning to compost is a creative process; a little effort and a little artistry will go a long way. Why are we composting again? Oh yes! As any experienced gardener will tell you, excellent soil quality can only be sustained using some form of composting. Unhealthy soil equals unhealthy plants and no amount of fertilizer is going to change that! Composting provides the essential nutrients plants require at a steady rate they can absorb, provides soil stability and structure, creates space for oxygen which is essential in the growth of roots, and increases the soils capacity to hold water. Last but not least, composting can potentially divert tons of organic waste from landfills. What about the creepy crawlies that live in compost piles? Well, they’re actually the stars of the show and are vital in the health of your garden or lawn. Especially the ones that are too small to even see! These are called micro organisms (bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes) and they’re essential to the vitality of all growing things. Compost provides the ideal environment for these little guys to thrive and therefore improve the health of the soil and plants. But what do I put in to the compost? To be honest, there is very little organic matter you can’t compost but for those starting out I would recommend sticking to vegetable matter and leave out any meat or dairy. For those who are compost shy, the following guidelines can help you get started: 1. 50 per cent Greens and 50 per cent Browns: This is easiest way to balance your compost when you’re first starting out. “Greens” are your cutting board leftovers such as apple cores, soggy spinach, celery ends, and other vegetable scraps. Your “Browns” are fibre rich with low moisture content and include unbleached paper, non-waxed cardboard, left over rice, and wood ashes. If your compost smells quite foul you probably aren’t adding enough Browns! 2. Bit-by-Bit: Chopping up your left overs into small chunks and shredding paper will provide more surface area for microorganisms to do their work! The pulp from juicing is excellent compost content. 3. Let it breathe: Make sure that your compost pile is aerated by either turning over your compost frequently or using a container that allows good ventilation. 4. Compost Super Foods: The following are exceptional material to add to you compost: coffee grounds, crushed eggshells, hops (brewing waste), peat moss, and even some dog food! If you’re still not stoked on the idea of a pile of rotting veggies then perhaps starting with vermicomposting is the path for you. Vermicomposting uses various species of worms to help with the composting process; this is a great way to start composting on a smaller scale. You can either make or purchase ‘worm-homes’ that can be kept indoors. This is ideal for beginners as this small-scale system allows you to keep a close eye on the health of your worms and compost. So have no fear! Just get dirty and you might learn to love the rot along the way!
Apple Varieties Of 7,098 apple varieties documented as having been in use between 1804 and 1904, about 86 per cent have been lost. Similarly, 95 per cent of the cabbage, 91 per cent of the field corn, 94 per cent of the pea, and 81 per cent of the tomato varieties apparently no longer exist.
Keeping Food Real By Michelle Chevalier
I
n our busy lives, many of us have the luxury of not thinking too much about food. You know, one of those key elements for survival? Many of us can walk into a grocery store and be met with an endless selection of foods from all over the world. Shockingly, we can do this without really knowing where, how, and by whom these foods were produced, processed, packaged, and transported. By growing some of your own food, or supporting those who grow food locally, you are re-establishing a lost connection between food production and food consumption. Knowing exactly where your food came from, how it was grown, and that there are no harmful toxins on it, especially if you grew it yourself, increase your appreciation for your food, too. It might even inspire you to get your kids involved, and teach them about growing food going forward. Across B.C. this year, the Ministry of Agriculture provided grants to 10 organizations with the objective of increasing British Columbians ability to grow food locally and upping local food supply security. Wildsight’s Elk Valley Branch was among ten organizations province-wide that received funding, and has since been developing their Keeping Food Real Programs as a result. The BC Grow Local program endeavours to provide educational resources and hands on practical advice on growing your own produce and creating stronger value and connection for locally grown food. According to Program Developer Dawn Deydey, “Keeping Food Real aims to support the citizens and communities of the Elk Valley in growing their own food by providing online cold climate educational resources and hands-on practical workshops that support both novice and intermediate gardeners.” In 2017 during the first year of Keeping Food Real programming, seven handson workshops will be offered, the first aimed at those who have limited gardening experience and the rest building on previous knowledge as well as touching on topics such as maximizing gardening yields in our cold climate and short growing season, composting and saving your own seeds. In 2018, in addition to hands-on workshops, Keeping Food Real will launch an e-learning platform that will be accessible regardless of a student’s location, and provide a wealth of applicable information and resources on cold climate gardening. This Earth Day, let’s think about where our food comes from, how far it often travels to get to us, and the resulting footprint of this process. We can likely all agree that it is unrealistic to think this model of food consumption is sustainable, and as we move away from reliance on fossil fuels, transporting food around the globe will become less and less feasible. We will have no choice but to grow more and more of our food closer to where we live, work, play and go to school. With this in mind, why not start now? Even if you lack extensive outdoor growing space, there are still options. Pair up and share a garden with someone who has more room. Join a community garden. Help someone garden who is less mobile than they used to be and share the crops. You can even start growing inside, or in containers on your balcony. There are very few drawbacks to growing your own food. It takes a lot work? You’re likely to improve your fitness. It costs a little money initially? You’ll spend less once you start harvesting crops and saving your own seeds. It’s time consuming? You do not need to do it all at once. Start small by planting and growing just a few crops. It means getting your hands dirty? You’ll be taking an active role in ensuring cleaner air by reducing the amount of kilometres food travels to reach your plate, and all of the resulting harmful emissions. It’s overwhelming and hard to know where to start? Come check out one of our workshops in your community and throughout the Elk Valley! Regardless of your gardening experience, the Keeping Food Real team looks forward to seeing you at some of our upcoming events this year, as well as hearing about your successes growing food this season. Find out more at http://wildsight.ca/programs/keepingfoodreal/ or give us a like on Facebook @keepingfoodreal
Make Every Day Earth Day Earth Day Fun Trivia Earth Day was first celebrated in: A) 1960 B) 1965
C) 1970 D) 1975
Which household appliance uses the most energy? A) Refrigerator C) Dishwasher B) Toaster D) Washing machine Recycling 1,000 kg of aluminum saves enough energy to heat a/an ____________ for 10 years. A) Typical home C) Corner store B) Elementary school D) Restaurant What household appliance uses the second most amount of energy (the first is the refrigerator)? A) Hair dryer C) Microwave B) Clothes Dryer D) Computer The average Canadian home is illuminated by ___ light bulbs: A) 31 C) 51 B) 41 D) 61 The average Canadian uses 36,000 L of water each year for: A) Showers C) Laundry B) Dish Washing D) Toilet Flushing Composting can reduce your household waste by: A) 10% B) 25%
C) 50% D) 75%
Batteries & Cellphones
Recycling 101 - The Basics
Medications Return
You can use ANY yellow bin in the East Kootenay. Here are some quick tips to remember when recycling in the yellow bins or the Fernie or Invermere blue bag curbside program: • All plastics MUST be clean and have a number between 1 and 6. That number must be in the triangular recycling symbol. If there is no number, it should go to the Cranbrook Bottle Depot for the Multi Materials of BC program or in the garbage if it can’t be reused. • All plastic grocery/shopping bags can be recycled -- even if they don’t have a number on them. This is the only item that can be recycled if it doesn’t have a number. All other plastics must be numbered • Styrofoam CANNOT be recycled in the yellow bins/blue bags -- even if it is marked with a number 6. The only depot for styrofoam is Cranbrook Bottle Depot. • Tin cans should be well rinsed with labels removed, if possible. • Cardboard should be flattened to save bin space. • All paper products can go in the yellow bins (and Fernie and Invermere’s blue bag program) -- including hard and soft cover books. Foil covered or waxy papers (like milk cartons or foil greeting cards) cannot be recycled.
Unused and expired medicines can be returned to pharmacies participating in the Health Products Stewardship Association.
Both your alkaline and rechargeable batteries are recyclable, as are cellphones.
What’s accepted: All prescription drugs Non-prescription medication Herbal products Vitamin and mineral supplements Throat lozenges
The drop off locations for old batteries and cellphones in the Elk Valley include:
Paper, cardboard, tin cans, grocery bags and plastics #1 - #6 go in the yellow bins in the RDEK and the City of Fernie
Answers: C; A – Refrigerators use about 11% of a household’s total energy consumption; A - Recycling 1,000 kg of aluminum saves the equivalent of 10,000 L of gasoline; B; B; D - the average toilet uses about 19 litres per flush; C.
blue bag program.
What to do with Packaging Multi-Materials BC is a non-profit stewardship organization that oversees the new product stewardship program for printed paper and packaging. Their only depot in the East Kootenay is the Cranbrook Bottle Depot. They take paper/cardboard products, aluminum and tin*,glass, styrofoam*, and plastic packaging (including film/wrap*). *Some items in these categories are not accepted in RDEK yellow bin program
Visit http://recyclinginbc.ca/program/can-recycled
Where to Take Used Paint All paint and aerosol paints in Cranbrook can be taken to the Bottle Depot and in Kimberley they can be dropped off at New & Nearly New. In the Elk Valley, these products can be taken to the Fernie Bottle Depot. Paint containers must be sealed and clearly labeled. If paint cans are dried out and there is no liquid left, the cans can go in the garbage. More info at: www.regeneration.ca
In BC, over 50,000 kg of unused or expired medicines are
What’s NOT accepted: Cosmetics, skin care products Disinfectants/cleaners Contact lens solutions Sunscreen/suntan lotion Mouthwashes and toothpastes
collected each year
Cranbrook Bottle Depot Cranbrook Staples City of Fernie
Fernie Aquatic Centre Canadian Tire & The Source Fernie/Cranbrook
For more information, visit www.call2recycle.ca
Proper disposal of medicines is important. Check dates on medications today - and call your local pharmacy to see if they are participating in the Return Program. For more information visit www.healthsteward.ca.
Recycling Your Old Electronics The “environmental handling fee” you pay on electronics in BC are managed by Encorp and a wide range of electronics are accepted for recycling.
Fluorescent Lights Can Be Recycled LightRecycle is the BC residential light recycling program. Accepted products include incandescent lights, LED’s, compact fluorescent and tube fluorescent light bulbs. The recycling program is for residentially generated lights only. LightRecycle Depots in the East Kootenay/Columbia Valley : Cranbrook Home Hardware 1901 McPhee Road Cranbrook - Skyway Distributors Ltd 304 NW Slater Road
The electronics recycling depots are: Cranbrook Bottle Depot Fernie Bottle Depot They accept a wide range of electronics, including: • Televisions • Computers & peripherals (keyboard, mouse) • Monitors • Fax machines • DVD/VHS players • Scanners • Stereos, MP3 players & docking stations
From AAA to odd size batteries (like the ones in your portable phone), batteries can be recycled in many communities around the region.
Fernie Home Building Centre 300 Manitou Road • • • • • • • •
Speakers Earphones Microphones Telephones Discman, walkman Radios Cable, satellite and PVR boxes Vehicle audio and video systems
Small Appliance Recycling The Cranbrook & Fernie Bottle Depot also accepts small appliances for recycling, including: • Blenders • Bathroom scales • Microwaves • Ironing boards & irons • Food Processors & mixers • Portable fans & heaters • Bread Makers • Automatic toothbrushes • Coffee Grinders • Electric razors • Clocks & timers Find complete list and more info at: www.regeneration.ca
For more information, visit www.regeneration.ca
Learn More About Earth Day Earth Week is a great time to think about what each of us can do to make a positive difference. Reducing, reusing and recycling really add up. This year’s Earth Day campaign is dedicated to outdoor play. Share photos of yourself growing up enjoying the outdoors and post on social media using #PLAYmemory and #ED2017 Join Participaction 150 Playlist, register and check off as many activities off the list as possible before the end of 2017 and have the opportunity to win prizes! Sign up at www.participaction.com and get moving today! www.earthday.ca
For more information, contact the RDEK at 250-489-2791 or 1-888-478-7335