TheGreenGazetteAprMay2015

05/ Letter from the Publisher: Plant Speak Plants have been around a lot longer than humans and created the context we emerged from millions of years ago. With such a longlived relationship, you would think we might sense these deep ties and view plants with awe, reverence, and gratitude ...

- by Lisa Bland 06/ International Migratory Bird Day A common sentiment among many awareness-day campaigners, the importance of celebrating a cause year round is not lost on migratory bird advocates who say habitats and subsequent species diversity is declining worldwide, mainly because of climate change and urbanization. - by Jessica Kirby 08/ Industrial Hemp Yes, it is Green, and you would be surprised what a positive impact this super plant is making in the world wherever it is allowed to be grown and processed into any of its 25,000 different end uses.

- by Darcy Benjamin 21/ Canada—Indonesia: Cross Cultural Youth Exchange and Community Development Our program, Youth Leaders in Action, is comprised of nine Indonesian youth under the age of 25, each paired with a Canadian counter-partner of a similar age. After spending three months in Nanaimo, B.C. we have come to the Indonesian region of Pulau Seribu (Thousand Islands), to live on Pulau Kelapa (Coconut Island). - by Cael Geier 22/ For Whom the Drum Tolls: Brent Morton Inspires a Generation Since arriving in Williams Lake from his hometown of Saskatoon in 2007, Morton has fashioned a vast musical legacy. His powerful voice and rolling anthemic sound clears the bleachers and gets everyone up dancing. His lyrics dissect issues that are difficult to grasp. - by Sage Birchwater 24/ Roundup: To Spray or not to Spray?

Beyond massive agricultural and garden usage to control weeds, glyphosate is used to accelerate maturing of crops. In Canada in 2011, glyphosate was applied above recommended levels by as many as 45 percent of producers, according to the manufacturer's own survey. - by Troy Forcier 26/ Mount Polley Update: Eight Months Later It‘s been eight months since the August 4 breach of Mount Polley Mine's tailings storage facility (TSF) spilled 25 million cubic metres of mining effluent and scour material into the pristine waters of Quesnel Lake. - by Sage Birchwater

Publisher / Editor-in-Chief Lisa Bland lisa@thegreengazette.ca Senior Editor Jessica Kirby Contributors David Suzuki, LeRae Haynes, Margaret-Anne Enders, Brianna van de Wijngaard, Cael Geier, Skye Forcier, Troy Forcier, Lisa Bland, Teena Clipston, Devon Chappell, Marg Evans, Jessica Knodel, Ron Young, Jasmin Schellenberg, Terri Smith, Jessica Kirby, Darcy Benjamin, Sage Birchwater, Erin Hitchcock Adam McLeod, Brent Morton, Dr. Devra Lee Davis, Thea Fast Advertising Lisa Bland Creative Directors Lisa Bland / Teena Clipston Ad Design Teena Clipston, Rebecca Patenaude, Leah Selk Published by Earthwild Consulting Printing Black Press Ltd. Cover Copyright: Poprugin Aleksey Index Photo Copyright: Alex Emanuel Koch

PO Box 164 Horsefly, BC, V0L 1L0 250-620-3419 www.thegreengazette.ca info@thegreengazette.ca TheGreenGazette is published by Earthwild Consulting. To subscribe call (250) 620-3419. To view the webs i t e and onl i ne fl i pbook, vi s it www.thegreengazette.ca © 2015 all rights reserved. Opinions and perspectives expressed in the magazine are those of authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the ownership or management. Reproduction in whole or part without the publisher‘s consent is strictly prohibited.

09/ Plastic Panties and Eyes Glued Shut I was walking along a stretch of rocky beach, away from the rich homes that line the coast, into an area left to its own devices—nothing but wind and waves to groom it. It was a beauty, I thought. Not a person around. I eagerly trekked on, ready to be swallowed in the splendor of the new discovery.

I approached. The plastic appeared first as a few remnants of garbage that perhaps had floated in from a near by vessel… - Teena Clipston

04/ Green Business Feature: Cariboo Auto Recyclers - by LeRae Haynes 07/ Humanity’s Fate and Biological Diversity - by Marg Evans 07/ Superfoods: Chlorella - by Devon Chappell 10/ Ciel Patenaude unveils ―The Knowing‖ - by Brent Morton 11/ Cariboo Regional District: Food Waste 12/ Science Matters: Bill C-51 - by David Suzuki 12/ Aliens Promise Clean Energy... - by Ron Young 14/ Medical Oncologists and Naturopathic Doctors Need to Work Together - by Adam McLeod, ND, BSc 15/ From Radicalization to Connection - by Margaret-Anne Enders 16/ Adventurous Change-Makers Wanted for Unique Fraser River Journey - Rivershed Society of BC

17/ Save the Girls. Make the Bra a No-Phone Zone - by Dr. Devra Lee Davis 18/ Raising Amadeus - by Terri Smith 19/ Eight Steps to Creating a Xeriscape - by CCCS 19/ Seedy Saturday and Cariboo Growers Coop - by Brianna van de Wijngaard 23/ Youth Perspectives: The Disappearing Family Farm - by Skye Forcier 25/ March Against Monsanto Williams Lake, May 23 - by Erin Hitchcock 25/ Spring in the Air - by Thea Fast 27/ Confessions of a Farmer: The hoarder and the minimalist- by Terri Smith 28/ Nourishing our Children - by Jasmin Schellenberg 28/ Calendar of Events 30/ The Green Collective 31/ Letters: Earth day & Invasive weeds

By LeRae Haynes

C

ariboo Auto Recyclers has changed with the times to keep up with and exceed environmental standards. For more than 60 years the company has provided a wide range of automotive services throughout the Cariboo-Chilcotin, helping people replace, reclaim, and recycle.

Today,, the company consistently receives gold- and platinum-level certification from the Automotive Recyclers Environmental Association, and has since its very first inspection. ―It‘s a far cry from the days when my dad used to use old oil to keep the dust down in the driveway,‖ explains owner Rennie Johnson . ―My generation doesn‘t come from recycling—I‘ve had to learn a lot and the changes are good. ―Every single battery and every tire is accounted for. We have containment within containment for oil and special containers for batteries and antifreeze. We recycle and buy damaged vehicles, sell used parts, and do repairs. We recycle everything: all metals, tires, fluids, and batteries. We take only three small bags of garbage to the dump every week. ―All paper is shredded and used to wrap parts for shopping. Every drop of fluid from every vehicle that comes in is drained and contained and mercury switches are pulled for recycling.‖ Cariboo Auto Recyclers started out as Lakeside Service and Auto, launched by

Nestor Johnson in 1954. Rennie and his younger brother Dean started working there as teens and are second generation owners. In 1965, the business was moved to its current location at 150 Mile House.

Cariboo Auto technician Matt Kennedy has been with the company for 16 years, ever since he started riding his bike there to work after school.

Cariboo Auto Recyclers does auto and auto parts supply and recycling, auto wrecking, and mechanical repairs.

Supporting the community is important at Cariboo Auto Recyclers. Its owners have donated to a wide range of organization including the Salvation Army, the 150 Mile Fire Department, Search and Rescue, 4-H, Dry Grad, and many more over the years. ―They were so helpful and supportive,‖ says Murray Hoffman, who built the façade of a red double-decker 1953 bus for Dry Grad that was used two years in a row. ―I went out there several times for axels, wheels, and a whole pile of lights, a license plate and steering wheel. Matt knew about the right backing plates and spindles—he knew exactly what I needed.‖ Johnson and Kennedy explain that customers come to them looking for everything from engine parts, heater control knobs, and seats, to an entire carpet or a whole vehicle that can be cut in half. ―We can find what people need, networking with auto wreckers across North America,‖ says Kennedy.

Technology changes but customer service stays the same, says Johnson.

Rennie Johnson, Matt Kennedy, and Dean Johnson from Cariboo Auto Recyclers represent 60 years of customer service, and the commitment to change with the times to protect the environment. Photo: LeRae Haynes ―Customer service really hasn‘t changed for us over the years. We have four licensed technicians and will still install any part people need. My dad always said if we don‘t have it, we can find it,‖ he says.

Kennedy notes previous generations have definitely left an environmental footprint with ozone-depleting substances. ―We‘re seeing the effects of it now,‖ he says. ―It‘s still in the air from the 70s.

There have been significant changes in recycling programs and regulations, and awareness and education has increased.

Today, manufacturers are being forced to produce more earth-friendly products. I think regulations are good; without them it

would be a free-for-all,‖ he says. ―The times they are a-changin and it‘s a good thing.‖ For more information about Cariboo Auto Recyclers phone (250) 296-3343, drop by the shop at 2995 Cariboo Hwy 97 in 150 Mile House, or visit www.cariboorautorecyclers.ca.

LeRae is a freelance writer, songwriter, coproducer of “Pursicles,” and the community co-ordinator for Success by 6. She is also the instigator of a lot of musical shenanigans in Williams Lake including “Borderband” with kids and is a member of the “Perfect Match” dance band.

Lisa Bland Publisher/ Editor-in-Chief

D

ear Readers, Spring is finally here! As the light and warmth increase with longer days, it feels natural to jump into action with the buzz of new growth and bursts of reviving energy all around us. Our long winter sleep is finally over, and everywhere life is busy emerging, growing, reproducing, and preparing for new beginnings.

Comprehending the amount of activity going on in spring is mind-boggling—plants shooting their roots down into the earth and photosynthesizing the sun‘s energy, bugs crawling through the soil, animals digging out of their burrows, the mating dance of almost every living creature, the search for food, the struggle to nourish fragile new life, defending territories against competitors, and avoiding being eaten, to name a few. In our modern lives, we take notice as the seasons change, but when we perceive our biological similarity and interrelatedness with plants and animals, we view our place among living things a bit differently.

In Western culture, the fact that we have a word for nature shows we see it as separate from humanity. In most Indigenous cultures of the world, the idea of humans as separate from nature and other living species seems ridiculous, and most cultures lack the terminology for such a concept.

In his fascinating talk titled, ―Intelligence in Nature,‖ presented at the 13th Annual Bioethics Forum, (https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKwzYQmOuY), anthropologist and writer Jeremy Narby describes living with the Ashaninca people in the Peruvian Amazon and suggests defining nature outside of us disengages us from the world and is purely a Western concept, lacking in intelligence.

Evolutionary biology‘s theory of common descent shows us all life originated from a common ancestor approximately 3.8 billion years ago. Geneticists have determined that humans share 80-90 per cent of genetic material with other mammals, 70 per cent with fish, around 50 per cent with fruit flies, and almost a quarter of our DNA is similar to that of plants.

Despite our genetic kinship with other species, our definitions of consciousness and intelligence are human-centered. In his talk, Narby describes a major shift that has taken place in academia over the past 10 years where not only is the definition of intelligence being redefined in how we view animals, it‘s also beginning to shift in relation to the plant world.

Although plants lack brains, they act like brains, says Narby. They use cell-to-cell communication, and have signals and receptors just like in our neurology. They have evolved more than 15 distinct senses such as sensitivity to gravity, humidity, water, and soil competition, and variations of our five senses such as perceiving sound and colour in the ultraviolet and infrared spectrum.

Scientists now recognize that plants are capable of complex behaviour and if our definitions weren‘t so limiting, could be considered minimally cognitive.

In a fascinating video showing time lapse photography of two bean plants in competition, Michael Pollan, bestselling author of The Botany of Desire and article, The Intelligent Plant, which appeared in The New Yorker, describes that when you look closely at the two plants competing to climb a single bean pole, when one plant reaches the pole first, the other plant flails around grasping to find another pole until it appears to give up hope and gradually withers away. (www.pri.org/stories/2014 -01-09/newresearch-plant-intelligence-may-foreverchange-how-you-think-about-plants) Beyond the science of our genetic relatedness, the fate of humans has always been tied to plants. At every level of society we ingest, trade, transport, grow, cultivate, surround ourselves with, desire, and depend on plants. Plants have been around a lot longer than humans and created the context we emerged from millions of years ago. With such a long-lived relationship, you would think we might sense these deep ties and view plants with awe, reverence, and gratitude—even just to appreciate that they absorb our carbon and supply us with the air we breathe.

Anyone who spends time gardening, admires the diversity of colour, fragrance, and form in flowering plants, walks in the cool shade of a forest, has taken consciousness-altering plant substances, or forages for wild plants and berries, senses there is a depth of relationship and connectedness to plants that reaches beyond the physical realm. It‘s more like a kinship.

It seems the scientific dialogue is beginning to consider plants not as merely passive objects but as capable of learning and communication and, by extension, a life form deserving of dignity and possessing intrinsic worth. In 2008, the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology issued a statement on the dignity of living beings which gives moral consideration of plants for their own sake.

The desire to understand and connect with plants in the local environment has called many to explore and learn to identify, gather, cultivate, and prepare wild plants for a sense of connection, well-being, and greater health. First Nations people have developed a complex understanding of plant medicines over centuries, as well as protocols around gathering that protect the resource, show gratitude and respect, and attempt to balance taking with giving.

Narby explains that among the Ashaninca Shamans of the Peruvian Amazon, the goal of shamanism is to see the point of view of other species. The Ashaninca believe that the plants teach a melody of their unique essence, the illnesses they cure, and how to prepare their medicine. They believe the teachings of the plant can be accessed by preparation and ceremony followed by the ingesting of powerful psychoactive plants such as ayahuasca, or by sitting for long periods near a plant absorbing its presence or sleeping next to it and studying one‘s dreams.

In his books, The Cosmic Serpent, and Intelligent by Design, Narby looks deeply into the nature of kinship between plants and humans and suggests that the transfer of

Top: Nootka lupine, Lupinus nootkasensis, Naikoon Provincial Park, Haida Gwaii.

Photo: Ted Campbell. Bottom: Locally harvested wild rose, Rosa acicularis, by Maggie Ranger, owner of Earth Dance Botanicals. Photo: Maggie Ranger

information occurs through the DNA‘s ability to transmit and receive messages at a the cellular level, and it is this level shamans are accessing when they receive messages from plants.

Maggie Ranger, chartered herbalist, owner of Earth Dance Botanicals, and founder of the Belles Lake Retreat and Wellness Center near Horsefly, has been following, educating, sharing, and exploring a life closely tied to plant medicines for decades.

Using local harvested plants, she prepares varieties of herbal tea mixes, healing salves, massage balms, infusions, and tinctures.

Along with receiving teachings from First Nations elders, Ranger has been working on her own and with the teachings of renowned author and herbalist, Susun Weed and founder of Wise Woman Center in New York. ―Susun‘s book, Healing Wise, about the medicinal usage of common wild plants and weeds is one of the first books I pick up when I need to treat someone,‖ says Ranger. ―I picked it up over 20 years ago, and it is like a familiar friend I‘ve known a long time. It‘s a lot of fun to use, and blends information about the chemical properties with the essence or personality of plants.‖ Ranger has integrated the use of plants into every aspect of her life, and uses them daily with family, friends, and her own health. ―My children only went to the medical system for diagnosing,‖ she says. ―If my grandson has a belly ache, I give him tea. If he has a cough I make him cold medicine.‖ ―I feel so blessed I have the opportunity to be out on the land, live on it, share the medicines, and make my living from it,‖ she

adds. ―The demand for this knowledge is growing as people realize that the modern medical system is not always working for them. I sit with the plants all the time. I sit with them before I pick them and take a deep breath. They remind me that nature is here to nourish and have a relationship with us.‖ In the early spring, Ranger picks cottonwood buds used for a skin medicine in her salves and baby creams. ―Spring is also the time to gather the tiny purple violets that peek out of the grass, and nettles—an amazing tonic full of vitamins and minerals than help build the immune system,‖ she says.

The plants are there year after year.

Ranger travels from Farwell Canyon, into the Horsefly and Likely Mountains, and down into the Lillooet and Yelakum Valley. ―My favourite is picking wild roses in June—there are so many in this area,‖ says Ranger. ―I love being with the bees and butterflies. The smell is enchanting.‖ ―The more you connect with the plants, the more you realize there‘s a subtle language going on. ―I truly believe that‘s why people are able to harm things. If you‘re disconnected, you‘re able to harm things.‖ Ranger is excited to announce that The Belles Lake Retreat and Wellness Center will be hosting a three-day herbal healing workshop with Susun Weed on October 16, 17, and 18. Spots are filling up fast, so be sure to register soon. Call Maggie Ranger at (250) 620-0596.

Whether you are walking in the forests, gardening, or appreciating the weeds at your feet, enjoy the beauty of this vibrant season.

By Jessica Kirby, Senior Editor of TheGreenGazette

O

ne of the first things Environment for the Americas (EFTA) will tell you about International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) is, “Bird Day is not just a day. Celebrate our migratory birds 365 days a year!”

A common sentiment among many awareness-day campaigners, the importance of celebrating a cause year round is not lost on migratory bird advocates who say habitats and subsequent species diversity is declining worldwide, mainly because of climate change and urbanization.

According to National Geographic, a National Audubon Society report titled, ―Common Birds in Decline,‖ indicates several widespread species generally thought to be secure in numbers have decreased as much as 80 per cent since 1967.

As many as 19 others have lost half their populations in the same time frame, says the report, and both sets of figures represent an array of threats faced by birds throughout North America.

The internationally recognized day, founded in 1993, celebrates bird migration and fosters bird conservation and education by introducing the public to the wild and fascinating world of migratory birds.

The event officially falls on the second Saturday in May for the US and Canada, and the second Saturday in October for Latin America and the Caribbean, but since birds don't migrate on a single day, IMBD activities take place year round, across the globe, in conjunction with times and places when the birds are present and in abundance. Typically, IMBD is celebrated at more than 700 sites.

The theme for the 2015 event is Restore Habitat, Restore Birds, focused on the importance of preserving habitat, threats to bird habitats, elements on habitat on which birds depend, and how habitat restoration benefits birds.

Ken Rosenberg, scientist with the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology says, ―The top three threats to birds overall are habitat loss, habitat loss, and habitat loss.

We‘re losing the battle acre by acre.‖ A series of reports from US Fish and Wildlife Service and conservation groups titled, ―State of the Birds,‖ indicate a downward trend for most natural bird habitats.

Grassland birds have declined approximately 40 per cent over the past four decades because of expansion of croplands, over grazing, and foreign species introduction. In the US, 13 per cent of grassland and pasture land is publicly owned, meaning a huge portion is under the control of private landowners, for whom conservation incentives are needed. The federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), for instance, pays farmers to set land aside from agricultural production and convert it to environmentally valuable uses. ―The biggest factor in agricultural systems is changing commodity prices,‖ says Rosenberg. ―With this big push to raise

Left: The Osprey is a migratory raptor. It nests throughout British Columbia and much of the rest of Canada, and winters from the extreme southern US to South America. It eats mainly fish, which it catches by diving into water. Osprey populations were severely affected by certain pesticides, but have made a strong comeback as use of these chemicals has been banned or more tightly controlled. Photo: Guy L. Monty. Right: The Say's Phoebe is a type of flycatcher that nests throughout the interior of British Columbia and winters in the southwestern US and Mexico. This is a beneficial bird, as it eats many species of flying insects, and favours barns, corrals, and pastures for feeding, often perching on fence posts. Photo: Guy L. Monty corn for ethanol production, just since 2008 we‘ve lost 23 million acres that were in CRP and other farm-bill programs and have been converted back to crop production.‖ In Canada, the trends are similar, but for different reasons. The ―State of Canada‘s Birds‖ report by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) draws on 40 years of data collected by professional and citizen scientists. The report says on average, Canadian bird populations have declined by 12 per cent since the 70s.

While some species are thriving in Canada, overall, 44 per cent are decreasing, compared with the 33 per cent that are increasing and 23 per cent showing little overall change. Grassland birds, migratory shorebirds, and aerial insectivores have all decreased by more than 40 per cent, and some individual species in these groups have declined by more than 90 per cent.

According to the report, ―Wetlands are being drained, forests are being cleared, and native grasslands converted to cultivated crops. The tundra is threatened by climate change. Urban and industrial developments are replacing natural habitats.

Roads, power lines, and pipelines dissect the landscape. Invasive species are spreading. Industrial chemicals and pesticides are released into the water and the air. Historically, excessive commercial harvest led to major declines in many bird populations: Passenger Pigeons, Great Auks, and Labrador Ducks all disappeared forever.‖ Though habitat destruction is the most common threat to migratory birds, between 1.4 and 37 billion each year lose their lives to domestic cats, and millions more to collisions with skyscrapers, radio towers, and clear glass windows.

Wind turbines are another problem, more difficult to address because of their value as clean energy producers. With 440,000 birds killed each year, according to a 2009 statistic, siting that minimizes collision potential becomes an important consideration that could mitigate the problem.

The American Bird Conservancy and other bird advocacy groups have proposed a series of recommendations that would keep wind turbines away from migration routes, wetlands, wildlife refuges, and other areas likely frequented by birds.

America‘s Federal Communications Commission and Federal Aviation Administration are currently studying the design of communication towers to avoid the estimated six million birds killed each year by these structures.

On the brighter side, the past century has also seen significant progress in bird conservation. The Migratory Birds Convention between Canada and the US in 1916 allowed many species to recover because of better hunting controls, and over the past four decades, single-species conservation efforts, such as those focused on Whooping cranes, several raptors, and other species have helped improve and increase numbers.

But we need more.

According to advocacy group Boreal Birds Need Half (BBNH), North America‘s boreal forests are the breeding ground for approximately three billion birds and most than 300 species between interior Alaska and the Atlantic Ocean.

Boreal Birds Need Half is founded on contemporary science that asserts at least half of an ecosystem should be protected from development to preserve its ecological health and biodiversity. The same science, recorded in a report by Boreal Songbird Initiative and Ducks Unlimited, recommends sustainable development in the remaining areas. ―Both protected areas and industrial activities should proceed only with the free, prior, and informed consent of affected Aboriginal communities,‖ says BBNH. Visit www.borealbirdsneedhalf.org to view the report and to sign an endorsement that would encourage Canadian and US governments to impelemtn large-scale forest conservation and sustainable development.

EFTA encourages local individual participation in IMBD events that share with participants the importance of habitat and explain and demonstrate examples of habitats in your community.

Consider viewing or otherwise studying birds in a diverse range of habitats and engage the public in a restoration project locally or abroad.

The Cariboo region is the meeting point for three of BC's distinct geographical landscapes depended upon by migratory birds and other wildlife. Lush temperate rainforests in valleys and fjords of the coastal mountains to the west the open up to alpine peaks and tundra.

Rounded mountains with thick, coniferous forested areas are spread out with deep lakes between. Between the mountain ranges, a plateau of dry Lodge-pole pine and Douglas-fir forests and extensive grasslands make up the Fraser and Chilcotin river valleys.

Spring and fall are the best times to view migratory bird species in the Cariboo region. Lake, pond, and wetland habitats are thriving in these times, with migrants appearing as soon as holes develop in the ice.

Southward migration of shorebirds can begin as early as July, while loons can usually be spotted well into October.

For a comprehensive list of easily accessible and more remote migratory bird viewing locations, please visit the Ministry of Water, Land, and Air Protection's 2012 brochure titled, ―Wildlife Viewing in the Cariboo Region ‖ on l in e at www. en v. gov. bc. ca/ wl d/docum ent s/ wvcariboo.pdf

Superfoods: Chlorella

By Devon Chappell

By Marg Evans Cariboo-Chilcotin Conservation Society

M

ay 22 is International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB), proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993 to place a spotlight on biodiversity and its significance to our survival. The concerns are fragmentation, degradation, and changes in the composition of many ecosystems due to various pressures, including loss of habitat often due to the pressures from urbanization and industrial activity.

This year's IDB theme is Sustainable Development Goals. Biodiversity assures healthy ecosystems, which means we have adequate food supplies, nutrients, fresh water, and clean air. Simply put, it is the variety of systems within nature such as the forests, grasslands, tundra, freshwater, and salt water ecosystems and all that live within. In BC, we can visit the ocean, an alpine meadow, and a rain forest, and then watch Bighorn sheep graze the grasslands in just a day or two of travel. In Williams Lake, a few hours drive in any direction may lead us to the grasslands, glaciers, ice caves, world class wildlife viewing, the world‘s deepest fjord lake, majestic forests, and rivers teaming with spawning salmon.

Maintaining healthy, biodiverse systems includes sustainable agriculture practices, restoring and managing our forests, watersheds, grasslands, species at risk, and alien species. All life relies on plentiful fresh supplies of water and healthy habitat.

With the best intentions, we often forget there is a balance and that all life systems are linked. Take one feature out of the system or add one in, as in the case of alien species, and chaos may reign.

In 1946 the Argentina government decided that the Canadian beaver might be a great industry for them to pursue. In Canada, the fur industry boon crashed in the mid-1800s when beaver fur hats when out of style and ended a period rather hazardous to the beaver. According to B. Winter's 2004 article in Reuters, sixty years and tens of thousands of beaver later, a beaver transplant was deemed an ecological disaster in Argentina since that country has no natural predators of the beaver.

There are countless stories of species transplanted for one reason or another; the well thought out ones have been credited with saving species from extinction. Others may well have hastened native species to become at risk, as is often the case with invasive plants and as in the case of the beaver in Argentina and the moose in Newfoundland. Often little-understood networks play a vital role in a species' survival. Take the tiny Rufous hummingbird, for example. It returns to the Cariboo in the early spring, well before the flowers that provide them with nectar bloom or the insects they feed on emerge, so how does it survive? Well, their network involves old Douglas fir snags and woodpeckers. The woodpeckers feed throughout the year by drilling holes in Douglas fir snags. In the spring, these drip with sap in which are trapped insects, which provide the hummingbird with its spring food source.

A Rufous hummingbird in the Cariboo.

Photo Kris Andrews, CCCS Park Guide.

The decline in pollinators in the past few years may be another indicator of our effects on biodiversity. The significance of this may not initially be realized as important to humans; however, if no fruit trees are pollinated, no apples, peaches, oranges, or berries—no raspberry jam, blueberry pie… you begin to realize the personal impact.

Recently, I went in search of a bucket of treasured local honey and was told, ―Sorry, no more honey until fall.‖ Why? A 75 per cent die-off of bees. On a global scale, the outcome is much more serious than my loss of honey for tea. Pollinators play a disproportionately large role in human nutrition and health, because pollinators support crops that deliver essential nutrients to those countries of the world where poverty and malnutrition are prevalent.

According to studies reported in Science AAAS in October, 2014, ―Vitamin A and iron deficiencies were three times more likely to occur in areas where nutrient production was most dependent upon pollinators.‖ These deficiencies are associated with vision loss and increased mortality. So what can we do? Avoid the use of known toxins in products you buy, including certain pyrethroid, neonicotinoid, organophosphate, and avermectin insecticides. As much as possible, just keep it natural.

Our planet has limited resources and many species needing to cohabitate. So join the United Nations in their Sustainable Development goals towards food security, the sustainable management of water and natural resources, and sustainable consumption and production, and therefore aim for a sustainable economy where people live healthy, fulfilling lives with sustainable livelihoods.

So, managing our sanitation, being dedicated to reduce-recycle-reuse where ever possible, choosing sustainable energy sources, developing sustainable industry and economic growth, keeping our watersheds contaminate-free and watching our water consumption, is all crucial. As well, by being very careful that our activities are not destroying other species' habitats, following healthy life choices, we contribute to the positive effect biodiversity plays in mitigating climate change.

For more information on the wonderfully biodiverse ecosystems of the CaribooChilcotin, visit www.ccconserv.org.

nd thus, we survive another roll around the galaxy as Earth orbits into a much-preferred angle with the sun. For those who suffer from winter blues, not to worry: we’ll soon find harmony under the glow of summer sunshine. Spring will soon be sprung and we’ll be able to enjoy the warm, peaceful embrace of a new day. With this new season, our surroundings are becoming alive, rising up once again from the frost. Time to rid ourselves of the old; it's another beginning.

Ever get that "spring cleaning" itch?

Have you sat back and allowed things to accumulate during your winter hibernation to the point of becoming a bit of a hoarder?

Rays from the sun just aren‘t enough of a natural purifier to disinfect dirt, grime, dust, and damp floors, leaving you feeling heavy with all your long winter "weight." Just as we can sometimes let the filth accumulate behind the couch, forgotten or ignored, so too can we humans let minor health problems accumulate. As spring arrives we should sweep up the dust bunnies behind the couch, and act similarly when it comes to what may potentially better our lives and bring about a cleaner state of mind and a better sense of well-being. Does your body feel like that dusty floor? Are you craving some internal spring-cleaning of your own?

Well then! One great way to flow into the sun with bright smiles and brilliant eyes is to detox the body from the built-up sludge of bacteria, toxins, viruses, illnesses, and foreign matter within and especially heavy metals. Don't be turned off by the term "detox" as there are many ways to calmly cleanse the body. Some people claim detox is a one-time deal: they‘ll buy a kit or torture themselves with a nasty concoction found on the net and figure once it‘s done, their body‘s all good, yet they then continue with the same old habits. Wrong!

Post-detox leaves your body vulnerable.

It takes a long time to fill the body with junk; therefore, it'll take awhile to rid it of all the little hidden pockets of toxins in the system.

So, if you‘re going to detox, ease into it gradually with a healthy lifestyle and strong head. Begin by choosing to eat veggies and fruit more often than never. On top of choosing healthy foods, a wonderful plant source to add to your daily routine would, could, and can be chlorella. An amazing discovery, often forgotten (as plant sources often are) has drawn the attention of people from all corners of the planet. Not only does chlorella act as a detoxifier, it also supports immune system and optimum liver function for whole -body rejuvenation.

Chlorella is a single-celled, water-grown algae primarily made up of a nucleus. It carries a rich quantity of directly available chlorophyll. Chlorella contains more chlorophyll per gram than any other plant, often ranging from 3 to 5 percent pure natural chlorophyll.

Naturally, all this chlorophyll is the reason for the name, ―Chlorella.‖ As a whole food, it is exceptionally rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids, polysaccharides, as well as a host of other beneficial

A microscopic view of the algae chlorella.

Photo: Vladi Damian compounds. A beautiful function of these algae is their ability to sustain life by using direct sunlight as a source for survival. Chlorophyll is vital to photosynthesis, which allows the absorption of energy from light.

This process is used by plants and other organisms to convert sunlight energy into chemical energy that can later be released to fuel the organism‘s activities. For more information about this amazing superfood check out David Wolfe‘s book: Superfoods.

Recipes: Cup-o-light 500 ml spring or purified water 1 teaspoon organic chlorella 1 teaspoon organic chia seeds 1/2 - 1 tablespoon raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar (I choose Bragg's) Stir and enjoy!

Great Green Smoothie At least 2 cups of your favourite fruit Handful of kale, frozen is best 1 tsp-Tbsp Organic cocao nibs/powder Palm full of hemp seeds 1 tsp-Tbsp chlorella Mix in a blender and enjoy. If it is too thick add some (real) fruit juice, herbal tea, or water a little at a time until it reaches desired consistency.

Salad Topper Chlorella is easy to add to food. It goes well in salad dressings or directly on top of the salad. And if you chose to use cilantro combined with chlorella in your salad, the duo team up to help each other in the process of eliminating heavy metals from the body, doing more together than either could do alone. Incredible! Chlorella acts as the wagon while cilantro is the horse power.

During my time spent doing hard labour, I found myself guzzling energy drinks or coffee to keep up the strength I needed to carry on throughout the day. In reality, all that caffeine worsened things when it came to sustaining my natural energy. That's when my discovery of chlorella came into play and, amazingly, after consumption, my energy lasted through rough hours of labour without a harsh burn-out. Not that the effect will be similar for everyone, but for me, this drink mixture is great to have with you when fatigued or whenever you feel like a double meatball sub sandwich with extra mayo.

Love and light, my beautiful friends.

Devon Chappell is something of an impressionist with therapeutic hands. He holds a focus on what is real when it comes to food.

He has a personal interest in nutrition and art and when he is in his element, Devon brings nature to the kitchen.

By Darcy Benjamin

Y

es, it is Green, and you would be surprised what a positive impact this super plant is making in the world wherever it is allowed to be grown and processed into any of its 25,000 different end uses.

No, this isn‘t medical marijuana or the kind some people recreationally smoke. You will not get high from smoking industrial hemp. The two are cousins of the cannabis plant, but the difference is in the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content—the psychoactive element. The government classes industrial hemp as cannabis with a THC content with less than 0.3 percent. Hemp has quite a long history; the cultivation of it going back over 5,000 years for its recognized textile applications and health benefits.

Finally, in 1998, it was legalized again to grow by farmers all across Canada under a licensing program, since the government prohibited it in 1937, just when synthetic fibers were being developed. It was even commercially grown here in BC up until 1938. Health Canada regulates it and issues licenses for free to farmers who want to grow it for processing its seed and / or fiber.

In BC, why haven‘t we heard anything in the mainstream media about this thriving, lucrative, Green industry going on in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and more recently, Alberta? The Canadian hemp industry is growing 20-25 percent a year, and creating a revenue of close to $1 billion a year projected for 2015. Farmers in the prairies are getting $250 USD / acre for just the hemp seed versus $50$100 USD / acre for wheat.

It also works great as a rotational crop with its excellent phytoremediation properties, which balance and stabilize the soil. It has 12inch long roots, which aerate the soil and choke weeds out, so no weed control is needed. That said, hemp won‘t grow well in compacted ground, and likes well-draining, loamy soil. Growing hemp also requires no pesticides, and hemp can be grown without using any agrochemicals, meaning it grows well organically (see SEI-Study).

Farmers in Ontario and the prairie provinces can‘t even keep up with demand, selling most of their seed crop to the US. The fiber side of the crop is still in the early stages of development in Canada, but has huge potential with so many different markets it can supply. This is still early days and we need to develop a model that will work for the smaller farms in BC, as well as more research and development to find the right seed cultivars for BC. We also need to finish developing the

Left photo: Field of industrial hemp. This plant is not a drug but a resource. It contains hardly any THC. Photo: David Maska Right photo: "Hempcrete" wall construction building course. Photo: Steve Allin (International Hemp Building Association) harvesting/processing machinery, so we can feed these exciting new markets. Many sustainable and much needed Green jobs could be created from all the value-added local industries to manufacture any of the plants‘ end use products.

Growing and processing hemp can help us transition away from fossil fuels and away from petrochemically-derived raw materials, and lower our carbon emissions at the same time. Processing natural fibers like hemp is much less energy intensive than creating synthetic fibers. As well, they are lighter in weight, which translates into increased fuel efficiency and fewer emissions into the atmosphere.

Hemp absorbs 10 tons of CO2 / acre on the field in its 100-day average growing cycle. Hemp also produces four times more fiber / acre than trees.

With hemp you can harvest the seed (seed oil and food) and/or the stalks (fiber).

The leaves go back into the soil, adding valuable nutrients. Either way the whole plant is used in a sustainable way. The seed cultivars are also a shorter plant variety (up to five feet tall) and the fiber cultivars are 8 feet to 12 feet tall, creating higher fiber yield.

In my opinion, the fiber end holds the most possibilities with value-adding, especially for BC. The outside long fiber, called the bast fiber, is separated from the inside woody core, which is called hurd. After processing it can be used for textiles, paper, clothing, geo-textiles and composite materials that can be used for machinery or automobile parts.

The hurd fiber is a valuable component used in making Hempcrete, a building material comprising hurd, water, and a lime binder. Hempcrete walls are structural, light-

weight, and cast somewhat like concrete in a formwork, 12‖-16‖ thick depending on the climate. They have a high R-value at 2.5/ inch, and hemp walls are fireproof, and breathe and filter the indoor air.

Currently hemp biodiesel can be made from the seed oil, but this method is expensive to process. Technology is being developed to use the stalks of the plant (the fiber) and harness the energy to produce biofuels.

It‘s just a matter of time and tractors will one day be able to run on hemp fuel to harvest hemp.

Still other uses are opening up through new technologies like nanotechnology. A new generation of energy storage called supercapacitors is being developed as we speak using crushed hemp in micro form on graphene sheets, which will revolutionize the battery industry, making them much cheaper, more powerful, and cleaner.

So, what could a BC hemp fiber model look like in the developing industry? It can‘t just grow viably anywhere due to specific soil and water requirements during the threemonth growing cycle. Unless you are on the coast, irrigation is likely needed, especially for the first six weeks because it grows so fast.

The Peace in Northeastern BC might be able to grow it with a land type similar to Alberta's. The rest of BC‘s suitable farming areas would likely be smaller, at 40-160 acres, but could still supply enough fiber to feed local value-adding businesses. This would boost local economies, provide Green jobs, and be good for the environment.

Growers could harvest the fibers or contract this work out to another local farmer.

Hemp is baled, depending on the processing system used, and gets transported to a

local fiber processing plant or is processed right on the farm with a mobile processor.

Transport costs are minimized and so are emissions. Hemp hurd is bagged and marketed mainly to the local construction industry for Hempcrete or animal bedding. The fiber, once decorticated and de-gummed, is ready to go to other local businesses for further refining.

Research and development should be subsidized in BC by the federal and provincial governments, as they have already helped the prairie provinces and Ontario get started. It might be less expensive to innovate, design, and build our own harvesting/ decorticating system than buying large, expensive systems from Europe. Regional area co-operatives could also be formed to help keep the ownership and control of the supply chain with the people.

The hemp industry has the ability to revitalize and empower the people in BC communities. It‘s important that hemp does not get hijacked by big corporations as they see its huge potential. Some type of a cooperative would help ensure this from happening.

For more info on hemp, visit these sites: C a na dia n Hemp Tra de A llia nc e http://www.hemptrade.ca/grow_hemp.php, Canadian Government site on Hemp http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/substancontrol/ hemp-chanvre/index-eng.php, Hemp Industries Association http://www.thehia.org/ education.html, Hemp Technologies http://www.hemp-technologies.com/.

Darcy Benjamin is a hemp advocate and homebuilder in the McLeese Lake area, living and sustainably farming with his wife Simone and all their animals on Dragonfly Farmz.

By Teena Clipston

T

he world is abundant in beauty, and I have been captivated by it’s intensity in many moments.

The Rockies of BC have taken my breath away with their majestic grandness that reaches into the heavens; the deserts of Arizona have captured my heart in tranquility; the Grand Canyon and Colorado River have left me in awe with their mystery, and the oceans have taken my heart with their duo personality—able to caress one softly and yet also fiercely take life away. Each of these places is different from the other and teeming with life that is just as spectacularly different and yet in some way or another each of these unique ecosystems is strongly influenced by the other. How horrid to see any of nature's beauty destroyed.

I was walking along a stretch of rocky beach, away from the rich homes that line the coast, into an area left to its own devices— nothing but wind and waves to groom it. It was a beauty, I thought. Not a person around.

I eagerly trekked on, ready to be swallowed in the splendor of the new discovery.

I approached. The plastic appeared first as a few remnants of garbage that perhaps had floated in from a near by vessel. A plastic bottle, a worn out blue flip flop, a white fork with one prong missing, a few plastic bags entwined among the seaweed. A few more steps into this paradise, and I was taken aback.

There was a trove of nondescript mounds of plastic in colours of all sorts and sizes, and a Walmart sidewalk sale of plastic crap. My heart sank.

There were long sticks of white things, round blue things, red oval parts, yellow doohickeys, green morsels, purple pieces every where I looked, covering every portion of the rocky floor, all polished by the sea from sitting and floating for many years.

They were now all just plastic coloured bits remaining, unrecognizable in their slow deterioration.

Joining the rainbow of bits, a newer collection: diapers, sunglasses, many, many plastic bottles, bottle caps, part of a lawn chair, a toothbrush, a lighter, a deflated air mattress, ropes, broken buckets, tattered nets, plastic cups, Tupperware, straws, and a million broken plastic toys.

I stood there with my horror. In every single piece of crap on that beach was a part of me, and my life on this planet. What have I done?

This is just one little deserted stretch of coast in the Riviera Maya.

I have also cut down the trees in the Amazon, spilled oil in the Gulf, killed coral reefs around Australia, sprayed pesticide on foods that killed the bees, and tossed mounds and mounds of garbage into landfills that polluted the soil. Yes, I am guilty. And so are you.

We are all guilty.

Many years back I decided to take a parttime job at a big local retailer, one of those places with bulk food, clothing, electronics, kitchen gadgets, and every single thing your home could desire. This store had decided they wanted to go green, support the environment, and do the right thing, so it started charging customers five cents a plastic bag to

encourage people to buy the sturdy cloth bags at about $2 a pop. Great idea right? Just think about how many plastic bags they were going to save! Not so much.

Unknown to the customers, in the back storage area, tons of merchandise arrived daily on pallets. Each pallet was wrapped in plastic, and contained several boxes, each box also wrapped individually in plastic.

Each item in each box was wrapped in plastic. All of this plastic, from every delivery, every day, went straight into the garbage.

Sometimes, as consumers, we don‘t realize the harm we cause the Earth. Did we let big business take over our souls for convenience? Have we turned into those three idiot monkeys… hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil? Does your five cent bag make you feel better inside? And are we all wearing polyester plastic panties without even realizing it?

We are killing our Planet. Ecosystems are dying. Wildlife is disappearing. Biodiversity is fading.

According to Population Action International out of Washington DC, human population size, growth, density, and migration are the underlying causes of biodiversity loss.

They have determined that the increased demand for goods and services, mostly resources such as food and fuel, to meet the needs of a growing population could mean the end of ecosystems, genes, and species.

The World Wide Fund for Nature agrees, that the earth is unable to keep up in the struggle to regenerate from the demands we place on it.

Jann Suurkula, M.D. and chairman of Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology, also states that the impact of human-caused global warming, large-scale agriculture, and industrialized fishing alone will create a large global extinction of species, having an unknown impact on the ecosystems and biodiversity of our Planet.

As you can see, there are many ways that humans are destroying the Earth—more ways than can be discussed in just this one article.

However, it was easy for me to relate to the plastic litter on the beach, as I could see it with my own eyes, I could touch it, and it destroyed my piece of paradise.

It‘s ugly, so we can just go clean it up?

Not so fast.

The plastic on the beaches is not just ugly. It is rapidly degrading the health of marine ecosystems around the world.

Fauna & Flora International gives us a break down of these problems in its fact sheet, found at http://www.fauna-flora.org/ wp-content/uploads/Fact-sheet-why-is-it-aproblem.pdf.

There is an estimated 100,000 tons of plastic in the world‘s oceans, with the North Atlantic and Caribbean having the highest concentrations of plastic debris exceeding 200,000 pieces per square kilometer.

Plastic pollution generally relates to large, visible pieces of debris. However, a less publicized but equally serious threat has emerged with microplastic (smaller than 5 mm) pollution. The surface of these microplastics often becomes colonized with microorganisms, causing it to become embedded in the seabed, shoreline, and in plant matter. Clean up operations are impossible.

These plastic particles obstruct the flow of

Death by Plastic. The Albatross of Midway, a remote and isolated island in the middle of the Pacific.

Photos: Chris Jordan www.chrisjordan.com oxygen through sediment and cause death in oxygen-dependent fauna and flora. It is also harmful to lugworms, mussels, seabirds, and a multitude of other marine animals. Fauna & Flora International says once consumed, these particles can lead to physical blockages, malnutrition, choking, and even starvation.

How do we prevent the destruction of our Planet?

As mentioned, according to most mainstream views, population growth seems to be the rationale for the crisis. Of course, population control and depopulation, is an extremist solution.

However, population may not be the main cause of the crisis. Waste, greenhouse gases, large-scale agriculture, and industrialized fishing may contribute on a scale relevant to the amount of population, but that is a narrow visualization.

In David Harvey‘s book, Space of Capital: Towards a Critical Geography, the overpopulation argument stands on three specific pillars—subsistence, resources, and scarcity.

Subsistence means the bare minimum people need to stay alive. Resources refers to ̒nature‘s supermarket‘ made available to humans, and scarcity is about what people want and can‘t have—societies‘ goals and their means to achieve them.

These three pillars are based on the way of life of societies today, mostly in the nonnegotiable American way of life. People want to live the way they want to live and they do not want to change.

What we need is a change in which we organize our societies, and base them on available natural resources instead of on monetary gain, greed, and gluttony. And I am certainly not talking about the average eyesglued-shut citizen of the world, but those who are leading the sheep to slaughter.

In reality, those who advocate population

control are usually acting as if to address climate change and your carbon footprint by avoiding the real problem of replacing fossil fuels 100 percent with renewable energy.

It is also important to note that most plastics are commonly derived from petrochemicals—commonly using petroleum gases and natural gases.

Hence, replacing fossil fuels should be the first step in cleansing our fuel-based diet as a society and getting rid of the plastics in our oceans.

Did you know in 1941 Henry Ford used hemp-and-sisal plastic to build car doors and fenders? In fact prior to the 1940s hemp was used to manufacture many plastic products.

Today, the basic building block of plastic is cellulose taken from petroleum, but plastics can be derived from plant cellulose as well… and hemp is the greatest cellulose producer on Earth.

However, the 1950s anti-drug legislation made it illegal to raise hemp, even though hemp does not have the THC content of its cousin marijuana.

Changing our plastic from fossil fuel back to hemp will help us rid our oceans once and for all of the poisonous plastic filling these beautiful ecosystems.

For more information on what we can do with hemp, contact the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance (CHTA). General Inquiries info@hemptrade.ca. phone: 204 326 9542.

In the mean, I have got to get back to the beach to clean up this mess.

Teena Clipston, has over 20 years experience as a publisher, journalist, and writer, with well over one hundred articles published online and in print. She is currently living in Playa del Carmen Mexico, working on her first fiction novel. www.teenaclipston.com

By Brent Morton

W

illiams Lake’s multitalented Ciel Patenaude, whose brand new exhibit opens on April 2 at the Station House Gallery, took a moment to sit down to discuss her epic new collection.

Ciel, imagine you‟re in an elevator, on the ground floor, and in walks the curator of a famous gallery. You have 30 seconds to tell her about your current art project before the 14th floor. What do you say?

The Knowing is a set of pen and ink prints that were created to help people reconnect with their intuition, personal truth, emotional experience, and internal intelligence system: their knowing. They are intended to reframe the relationship we have to nature so as to produce more connection and inner reflection.

Can you talk about your back-story as an artist? When did you start making art?

My mom has stuff from when I was two and three years old that is actually much better than anything I produce now, really—much freer in its expression.

I have always loved creating, but I suppose was hard hit by the fragility in one‘s sense of self that often comes with adolescence, and pretty much stopped all creative work from that time. It‘s a deeply

Ballpoint pen drawings by Ciel Patenaude. ―Raven‖ and ―Frog & Plantain‖ personal thing to put art out there, and this combined with the fear that it wouldn‘t be well received was just too much for my ego. It was much safer for me to focus on science and such logical things, and so I let my drawing and painting and everything else fall to the side in favour of the concrete.

I suppose it‘s a part of my nature that couldn‘t entirely be suppressed, however, as I would still spend the majority of my time in lecture hall drawing pictures of people in class or random imaginative objects, far more enthralled with the creative process than I was with organic chemistry.

It took a pretty intense depression for me to realize how far from my soul

path I had been wandering, and how lost I really was without a sense of my own creativity. After that I started to make art more frequently, but still riddled with intense self doubt, I found it too uncomfortable to put in out there for the world to see. It was only this past year that things have shifted for me, really, thanks to some on-going self work and the inspiring influence of this super human I know, and I find myself suddenly totally ready to declare myself an artist. It feels incredible.

Clearly, “the natural” is primary in this work. Is there any sort of environmental statement happening here?

I see enhanced environmental awareness as yet another natural outcome of people having contact with their own unique experience of truth (along with no longer fighting each other over religious ideology, no longer over-consuming, and generally just being way nicer people). I feel that if we start to view the natural world as a system that we are a part of (as the pieces request of us) and which is giving us feedback and insight all the time, environmental concerns change from ‗how do we save the planet?‘ to ‗what is needed to sustain and support this system that I see as not separate from me at all?‘ Describe the process of your work.

What is it about this seemingly painstaking process that attracts and holds your attention?

I see art as an opportunity for healing, both in the cathartic release experienced by the artist and in the inspiration to be found by those who view or interact with it. With that in mind, while I‘m draw-

ing I‘ll intentionally focus my thoughts and energies on a particular emotional experience – confidence, fearlessness, gratitude, peace, et cetera – intending to convey that particular emotion through the strokes on the page and the image itself.

That kind of focus keeps me really zoned in, and it‘s like dropping into some kind of cavernous space or floating in water for hours. But then sometimes I listen to the CBC and yell at people who I disagree with, and that helps focus, too.

Can you talk about the medium of this work and perhaps offer some insight into why you choose to work with these materials?

I generally draw in Bic pen. Not the best choice of medium, really, and I am planning – now that I am a serious artist – to take the plunge and start working in real art people‘s tools. I‘m hoping they have something not dissimilar to a Bic pen out there, but that might not leak all over my hand while I‘m drawing.

You are working on a deck of cards, yes? Are you planning to produce copies of these—like decks that are widely available? What will set these cards apart from others on the market?

That I am! I am intending for the deck – a set of 52 cards – to be released in the fall of this year, procrastination allowing. I may look into a crowdfunding event to get it going, hoping to have them available as widely as possible.

Compared to other ‗insight‘-type decks on the market, my style tends to be significantly ‗harder‘ than most spirituallyminded works: less colour and softness, more sharp lines. Also the basic premise: the deck will encompass the relationship that we have with our own bodies and what kind of intelligence we get from there, as well as with the elements of the world around us. It‘s going to be quite complex, I suppose, and will come with a guidebook so as to help navigate the process.

These are amazing pieces. Best of luck with the show and beyond. See you on April 2 at the Station House Gallery in Williams Lake. „The Knowing‟ opening reception will be on April 2, in the upstairs gallery at the Station House Gallery from 5 to 7 p.m.

H

Consider eating parts of fruit and vegow much of your garbage is gies that you usually don‘t. Did you know food? The average Canathat the inside and top portion of broccoli dian family wastes approxistems can be grated up and added to salads mately 275 kg of food every or coleslaws? Organic apples, carrot, poyear; for the Cariboo Regional District tato, and yam peels are all edible; wash this equates to over 6,800 tonnes of food them up and include the waste per year.

It is estimated that $27 vitamins and minerals billion in Canadian food is they contain in your annually disposed of in meals.

Part of the landfills and composters, If you find yourself creating methane and car- Cariboo Regional throwing away the same bon dioxide as it decomweek after week, District’s Solid items poses. Over 50 percent of stop buying them. Or buy this food waste is generated Waste Info smaller portions. Many by consumers in the home. purchase groceries by Series: Not only is the food itself habit, rather than by what being wasted, so is the enis needed; try making a Becoming ergy, water, packaging, and list at home to make sure Waste Wise human resources that were you know what you need. used in the production, Composing is better transportation, and storage of than landfilling, but comthe food. posing still creates carbon diOnly about one fifth of the food waste oxide, and should only be used for the disposed of in the home is made up of parts of fruit and veggies that are not edipeelings, cores, and bones. The rest is disble. Landfilling food waste creates methposed of because it has gone bad, too ane gas, increases landfill leachate producmuch was cooked or prepared, there is a tion, takes up space in the landfill, costs lack of confidence to use leftovers, or the money to transport, and wastes the nutrient expiry date has passed. content of the food.

What can you do to reduce the amount Waste wise education is delivered to of food waste in your home? students in the CRD, but the CRD would Planning ahead for meals will make a like to make waste education available to difference, as well as choosing to eat pereveryone, as we all have the ability to ishables that have the shortest shelf life change our waste handling habits for the first. Eat asparagus before broccoli, ripe better. For more info on Waste Wise call bananas before apples, and the lettuce and (250) 398-7929 or find details on Waste cucumber before the carrots and potatoes.

Wise acti vities and events at Did you know that tomatoes should not be www.ccconserv.org. stored in the fridge? But, if they ripen too Please join us this year to become fast you can put them in the fridge to slow waste wise and make a difference. For dithe ripening for a day or two, same with rect access to our monthly topics ―Like‖ us bananas. on fa cebook a t fa cebook. com / Use leftovers soon and try using them caribooregion, check outcariboord.bc.ca, or in a different dish like wraps, salads, or on look for our articles in your local paper. top of pizza. Freeze foods that you know you aren‘t going to eat in time and then use them in chilli, soup, or stew for vegetables and meats or in baking, deserts, or smoothies for fruits.

Science Matters:

By David Suzuki

A

scientist, or any knowledgeable person, will tell you climate change is a serious threat for Canada and the world. But the RCMP has a different take. A secret report by the national police force, obtained by Greenpeace, both minimizes the threat of global warming and conjures a spectre of threats posed by people who rightly call for sanity in dealing with problems caused by burning fossil fuels.

The RCMP report has come to light as federal politicians debate the ―antiterrorism‖ Bill C-51. Although the act wouldn‘t apply to ―lawful advocacy, protest, dissent, and artistic expression,‖ its language echoes the tone of the RCMP report.

It would give massive new powers to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to prevent any person or group from ―undermining the security of Canada,‖ including ―interference with critical infrastructure‖ and the ―economic or financial stability of Canada.‖ And it would seriously infringe on freedom of speech and expression.

By Ron Young

I

n a sinister plot to invade the planet, alien visitors demonstrated a remarkable form of blue energy they said was totally clean and so powerful that a single disc about the size of a dinner plate could power a large modern city. Once humans had converted all their energy sources to this new pure clean energy system the aliens shut it down. When they pulled the switch, or whatever they did to kill the power, it made a sound … kind of like a sniffle or like a baby’s cry ... that’s it… a whimper!

Worldwide chaos and disaster resulted and as civilization crumbled, the aliens took over the planet. I am scrawling this with a piece of charcoal by fire light from a cave deep in the…

Oh, never mind. I was just kidding. That was an idea for a sci-fi novel I was going to write.

But really, in our present day world, it isn‘t a big stretch of imagination to conceive of the power-grid going down and stranding us all in the cold, hungry dark. Our power generation is centralized and for the most part comes from single large power sources

Protest against C-51 in Vancouver, BC. Photo: Sally T. Buck The new CSIS powers would lack necessary public oversight.

The RCMP report specifically names Greenpeace, Tides Canada, and the Sierra Club as part of ―a growing, highly organized, and well-financed anti-Canada petroleum movement that consists of peaceful activists, militants, and violent extremists who are opposed to society‘s reliance on fossil fuels.‖ The report downplays climate change, calling it a ―perceived environmental threat‖ and saying members of the ―international anti-Canadian petroleum movement… claim that climate change is now the most serious global environmental threat and that climate change is a direct consequence of elevated anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions which, reportedly, are directly linked to the

Perovo's more than 440,000 crystalline solar PV modules can produce as much as 132.5 GWh) of electricity per year, enough to meet the needs of Simferopol. Photo: Activ Solar such as dams, nuclear power plants, and coal-fired generation. The way it‘s supposed to work is if some catastrophic event causes our local source to fail, another nearby source automatically fills in the demand.

Our electricity supply comes from networks or grids radiating out from each central power source. The power grid from a hydro electric dam in northern BC can be connected to a power grid from a coal-fired generating station in Alberta that is connected to other power generation stations throughout the continental grid. It is a vast, complex, and aging system that has rarely been put to a major test.

Truth be told there are many in the know who concern themselves with the very real possibility of cascading failures, which can happen when one power grid fails and causes an undue strain on an adjacent grid causing additional failures that cause additional failures and so on. While that is a vast oversimplification of how the electricity grid operates it works to explain why central distribution can be a very bad idea.

In one notable example, a simple alarm failure in a control room of First Energy

continued use of fossil fuels.‖ It also makes numerous references to anti-petroleum and indigenous ―extremists.‖ Language in the RCMP report and Bill C -51 leaves open the possibility that the act and increased police and CSIS powers could be used against First Nations and environmentalists engaging in non-violent protests against pipelines or other environmentally destructive projects.

As University of Ottawa law professor Craig Forcese points out, with its reference to ―foreign-influenced activities within or relating to Canada that are detrimental to the interests of Canada,‖ the anti-terrorism law could be used in the case of a ―foreign environmental foundation funding a Canadian environmental group‘s secret efforts to plan a protest (done without proper permits) in opposition to the Keystone Pipeline Project.‖ Considering that government ministers have already characterized anti-pipeline protesters as ―foreign-funded radicals,‖ that‘s not a stretch. The RCMP could consider my strong support for greenhouse gas emissions reductions and renewable energy as ―anti-petroleum.‖ Combatting terrorism is important, but Canada is not at war, and we already have many laws – and enhanced police powers – to deal with terrorist threats. More importantly, the RCMP report fuels the legitimate fear that the new law could be used to curtail important civil liberties, affecting everyone from religious minorities and organized labour to First Nations and environmentalists.

If, for any reason, someone causes another person harm or damages infrastructure

or property, that person should – and would, under current laws – face legal consequences. But the vast majority of people calling for rational discussion about fossil fuels and climate change – even those who engage in civil disobedience – aren‘t ―violent anti-petroleum extremists.‖ They‘re people from all walks of life and ages who care about our country, our world, our families and friends, and our future.

Canada is much more than a dirty energy ―superpower.‖ Many people from different cultures and backgrounds and with varying political perspectives have built a nation that is the envy of the world. We have a spectacular natural environment, enlightened laws on issues ranging from equal rights to freedom of speech, robust social programs, and a diverse, educated population. We mustn‘t sacrifice all we have gained out of fear, or give up our hard-won civil liberties for a vague and overreaching law that, as Forcese and University of Toronto law professor Kent Roach point out, ―undermines more promising avenues of addressing terrorism.‖ Pollution and climate change caused by excessive burning of fossil fuels are real threats, not the people who warn that we must take these threats seriously. And while we must also respond to terrorism with the strong tools already in place, we have to remember that our rights and freedoms, not fear, are what keep us strong.

Corp. in Ohio back in 2003 resulted in a cascading failure that caused a blackout for 55 million people in Canada and the US. This was caused when unpruned foliage hit an overloaded transmission line and an alarm didn‘t go off to tell the local operators to re-route power. The resulting blackout lasted for two days in many areas.

The opposite of centralized distribution is called distributed power and that is achieved by creating many smaller micro grids. With the refinement of solar and wind power technologies, distributed power is very much the future and takes the form of wind farms, solar farms, and individual smaller solar installations on roofs everywhere.

Many people are participating in the distributed power evolution by putting solar panels on their homes. The idea of generating your own power to feed back into the grid was a very strange concept just a few short years ago. Now it is a commonplace occurrence. Simply put, the way it works is you make power during the day, that power is fed directly to the grid by your grid-tied solar panels, and BC Hydro permits you to do that through a net metering agreement.

The amount of power you generate reduces your monthly power bill and if you make more power than you use the surplus is kept in your account. If you end up with a surplus at the end of the year (or the anniversary date of your installation) that surplus is paid out to you at the going rate. You can get details at BC Hydro‘s net metering page: http://tinyurl.com/k78xmch In the words of Don Petit, a resident of Dawson Creek who installed solar on his home several years ago: “… the investment now is so minimal.

This whole system on my roof cost $17,000.

Some people spend that much on a paved friggin‟ driveway, or granite countertops in

their kitchen with a few new cupboards. But this asset pays for itself—it‟s eliminating my electrical bills.”

It‘s possible to start with an even smaller investment, as low as about $3,500, to install a starter grid-tied system. My company will design the system, fill out the BC Hydro application, and arrange for an electrical permit. Once in place it is very easy to add to it over time; you can add one solar panel at a time if you like, and watch your electricity bill go down.

Ironically, the centralized electric grid in cities became commonplace right around the time T.S. Elliot wrote his poem, ―The Hollow Men.‖ The poem ends like this: “This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.”

Remember what happened when those aliens killed the power? You never can trust those aliens. So, if you want to be part of the distributed power evolution and move away from the archaic and dangerous central distribution method we now use, it‘s never been easier.

While you ponder that, here‘s a little prize for anyone who drops by our shop and says ―PV means solar.‖ PV is short for photovoltaic, which describes the process by which radiant energy (sunshine) is converted to electricity. Say ―PV means solar‖ and you‘ll get an awesome little LED flashlight.*

Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation senior editor Ian Hanington. Learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org .

*offer is limited to the first 25 people, one per family, expires May 15, 2015.

Ron Young is a renewable energy professional that designs and sells and installs solar, wind, and micro-hydro systems. He operates the earthRight store in Williams Lake, BC and can be reached at info@solareagle.com.

Copyright Ron Young 2015

By Adam McLeod, ND, BSc

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his year I had the privilege of attending the 4th annual ONCANP (Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians) conference where Naturopathic Oncologists from around the world gather to discuss the latest research and advances in integrative oncology. It is exciting to see how rapidly the field is advancing and the information that was presented can certainly be applied in a clinical setting to anyone battling cancer.

I was interested to learn at the conference that several cancer clinics in the United States have naturopathic doctors working at hospitals in collaboration with medical oncologists. The results from this collaboration are nothing short of incredible. When the data is compared to the national standards it is clear that the patients are living longer with an increased quality of life in this integrative cancer setting.

One stunning example was with Stage 3 Lung Adenocarcinoma patients where the overall survival was 36 months compared to the national average of around 12 months. Study after study showed that patients were responding more effectively to the chemotherapy and that they were having less side effects. I find it extremely frustrating that this integrative model is not universal given the abundance of evidence.

Major change is needed in the medical system to incorporate this integrative model because the bottom line is that it works. The problem at this point in time is that many medical oncologists refuse to work with naturopathic doctors at all. Instead, they tell their patients to avoid all natural supplements because they will interfere with the conventional treatments.

This is simply not true and it is very easy to find robust evidence supporting these integrative therapies.

Patients are not stupid. When they are given a serious diagnosis they turn to the Internet in search of answers, even if their

Photo courtesy of www.yaletownnaturopathic.com oncologist says they are wasting their time.

The problem is that patients do not have the medical knowledge to recognize which supplements are appropriate for them and which ones are completely contraindicated.

By telling patients to avoid all supplements and avoid all naturopathic doctors, patients are driven to doing their own research and taking supplements without informing their oncologist. The reality is that they need professional guidance from a naturopathic doctor to pick the right supplements, and the naturopathic doctor should then inform the oncologist about the patient's treatment plan. This creates a better healing environment for the patient and it ensures everyone is on the same page about the treatment plan.

In the past I have had oncologists scare patients about the most benign prescriptions or supplements. Patients have been told that omega-3s would accelerate tumor growth because they are ―antioxidants‖ or that EGCG ―protects cancer cells‖ in a patient not even on chemotherapy. These statements are simply untrue and a quick literature search would reveal dozens of references regarding the safety and effectiveness of these supplements. I have also had a number of patients who were told to discontinue a prescription of Metformin or Celebrex, only when the MD found out that a naturopathic doctor prescribed it. In these cases the patients were responding very well to the chemotherapy and they were taking these medications during this entire time period. The pharmacist who filled the prescription also didn‘t have a

problem with it and I am sure that had an MD prescribed the exact same thing they would have never recommended that the patient discontinue it.

Patients should not be put in a position where they are being forced to make decisions based on one health care practitioner putting fear into them about another health care practitioner. If the medical oncologist has a problem with a prescription that I write, then they should contact me about it.

Just as if I change a prescription from any medical doctor I will always make an effort to inform them of this change. It is not appropriate to put the patient in this position and scare them so significantly about something so minor.

Having said that, I also feel naturopathic doctors need to make more of an effort to reach out to medical doctors. We need to make more of an effort to act collaboratively for the benefit of the patient.

When I say that we need to move to an integrative model I am not suggesting that patients should avoid chemotherapy. What this means is that we use evidence-based treatment plans to work synergistically with conventional medicine. Very few of my patients are not doing chemotherapy or radiation because ultimately patients do best when they are adequately supported through these conventional therapies. What many medical oncologists do not realize is that very often naturopathic oncologists are encouraging patients to do the same plan that they recommended. Often the oncologist scared the patient away from the conventional therapy just based on how they

described the treatment. As naturopathic oncologists, we make an effort to educate the patient and give them the support they need through these conventional therapies.

When patients feel supported they are more likely to follow through with chemotherapy and they will respond better to treatment.

I have send out many letters to medical oncologists informing them of the treatment plan and many do not even reply to my letter. A handful of oncologists have replied and I have a good relationship with these doctors. Medical oncologists need to stop pretending like naturopathic doctors don‘t exist or that we have nothing to offer. For the benefit of the patient every medical oncologist should make an effort to establish a good relationship with a naturopathic doctor that they trust. Whether they like it or not, patients are seeking this integrative care and they should at least be directed to a naturopathic doctor that can collaborate with the medical oncologist.

We need to work together for the benefit of the patient.

Dr. Adam McLeod is a naturopathic doctor (ND), BSc. (Hon) molecular biology, First Nations healer, motivational speaker, and international best selling author www.dreamhealer.com. He currently practices at his clinic, Yaletown Naturopathic Clinic, in Vancouver, BC where he focuses on integrative oncology. www.yaletownnaturopathic.com

By Margaret-Anne Enders

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s this goes to print, the country is in distress over six young people from Quebec who have set out for the Middle East to fight with ISIS. There is much talk of the proposed legislation to prevent travel for such purposes and jail time for those returning home. People across the country fear for the safety of these young fighters, but also have come to fear for their own safety. The government’s proposed legislation and the language it uses when talking about safety, security, freedoms, and war are leading us even further down the path of fear. Once fear takes hold, it starts to spread: fear of the future, fear of change, fear of “the other.”

Fear leads us to draw inward, to put up walls, and to dampen curiosity. In the mythic land of emotions, fear is a trickster.

It whispers in our ears, ―What if… what if…‖ and tells tales that make us question reality and rational thought, leading to more fear and suspicion. It‘s cyclical. Fear begets fear. And it also begets the kind of disconnection and isolation that can lead to radicalization.

It is this climate of fear that is challenged and changed by the women involved with the Women‘s Spirituality Circle (WSC). The Women‘s Spirituality Circle, a program of the Canadian Mental Health Association Cariboo-Chilcotin Branch, is comprised of women throughout the Cariboo who hail from many different religious and spiritual traditions: Baha‘i, Buddhist, Christian, First Nations, Messianic Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Yogic, as well as many women whose spiritual lives and beliefs are less-defined. For the past year and a half, the WSC has been meeting to plan interfaith bridging events and to increase opportunities for women of diverse spiritual traditions to meet and grow in relationship.

Each month, we attend at least one ceremony or spiritual event celebrated by one of the faith groups or spiritual leaders in the area. We‘ve gone to Sikh celebrations, experienced connection with horses and in nature, walked the labyrinth at the United Church, paraded with lanterns on Winter Solstice, and joined with the Buddhist community for the Dalai Lama‘s birthday. Last March, we had a gathering attended by 130 women in our community. There were informative workshops on the basic tenets of various religions and experiential workshops sharing how women express their faith through yoga, meditation, dance, felting, and ceremony. The word repeated most often on the feedback forms for the weekend was ―connection.‖ Women said over and over that they felt connected to the women in their community in a way they hadn‘t before.

It is this connection that is the key to combating fear. It is connection that allows people to open up and take in new information, to challenge assumptions, and to nurture a sense of hope for our world. We are combating fear, not with more fear, but with relationships. One woman in our circle blessed us all by relaying that she used to be lonely in Williams Lake, but is not lonely any more. Other women have shared that they now have more confidence talking about their faith because they were treated with respect when they did. There is a

sense that, by reaching out, we can touch the sacred that is within.

In the Christian tradition, the cross is a symbol which carries great meaning. It is the symbol of Jesus‘ resurrection and thereby signifies hope and new life. There are many ways to articulate what that means for people. The image that I like best comes from Joerg Rieger‘s book, God and the Excluded. Rieger explores the cross as two pieces of wood—one horizontal, one vertical. While some view their relationship with God or Jesus as the most important part of their faith, Rieger suggests that the horizontal relationships that we have with fellow humans are just as important as the vertical relationship that we have with God. The gist is that I, as a Christian, can‘t have a strong relationship with God unless I have a strong relationship with my neighbours. Care for one‘s neighbours and reaching out to strangers are central themes in many religions.

On April 17 and 18, the WSC is hosting our second annual gathering in Williams Lake. The theme of this year‘s gathering is ―Making Peace.‖ Women have a long and strong tradition as peace-makers. In historical conflicts, in nurturing and raising families, in the women‘s and environmental movements, women have stood up to injustice, calmed ruffled feathers, kissed tears from skinned knees, and invoked their strong spirits in an effort to bring peace to our world and to their own lives.

We extend an invitation to all women to join us on April 17 and 18. Together we will learn about Making Peace—in our hearts, in our homes, with our environment, in our communities. We will share stories and experiences regarding spiritual practices that promote peace, women‘s roles in peace -making efforts, forgiveness, compassion, peace during dark times, and peace and environmental sustainability. The gathering is open to all women—those with a strong faith in an organized religion, those who would call themselves ―spiritual, but not religious,‖ those who are seeking, and those who have no spiritual path at all.

In the current climate of fear and uncertainty, we aim to support and inspire women with rich conversations, nourishing food, a good dose of laughter, and strong connections. Together we can nurture a community where the only kind of radicalization is radical connection.

For more information on the WSC Gathering, contact Margaret-Anne at (250) 3054426 or find us on FB at Women‘s Spirituality Circle in Williams Lake. Tickets can be purchased at CMHA, Smashin‘ Smoothies, and Dollar Dollar and are only available until April 10.

In her work with the Multicultural Program at Cariboo Mental Health Association, as well as in her life as a parent, partner, faithful seeker, left-leaning Christian, paddler, and gardener, Margaret-Anne Enders is thrilled to catch glimpses of the Divine in both the ordinary and the extraordinary. To find out more about the Women‟s Spirituality Circle, call her at (250) 305-4426 or visit: www.womenspiritualitycircle.wordpress.com or on Facebook at Women‟s Spirituality Circle in Williams Lake.

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he Rivershed Society of BC is looking for environmental leaders who are up for the trip—and the challenge—of a lifetime. The notfor-profit organization is inviting people who dream of starting, or who may already be working on sustainability initiatives to apply for the Sustainable Living Leadership Program (SLLP).

The SLLP is an eye-opening 25-day educational program that takes participants from the Fraser River‘s headwaters near Mount Robson, to where it meets the shores of Vancouver 1,400 kilometers downstream.

Traveling by canoe, raft, shuttle van, and on foot, you explore ‗off-the-beaten-track‘ parts of BC, learning about the geography, biology, and history of the landscape from skilled facilitators and guides.

In the river‘s upper reaches, participants hike through a 2,000-year-old ancient cedar grove and paddle through the Robson Valley. In the Fraser canyon, you ride whitewater rapids and observe traditional

First Nations fisheries. In the lower stretches, you visit a working organic farm and paddle past log booms and Big Box stores while learning about the impacts of urban and industrial development on salmon habitat.

Team-building, conflict resolution, communication, and critical thinking are important parts of the program. Throughout the journey, you discuss sustainability issues, identify and build upon your own talents, and develop a formal plan for your sustainability project.

Alex Ensworth, a 2014 SLLP participant, is almost finished his sustainability project, which he undertook with his partner Katie FurnessMoore. The pair are creating a photo-journal titled ―Faces of the Fraser‖ to profile people

who live, work, and depend upon the Fraser River. Their goal with the project is to raise awareness of the many and diverse uses of the Fraser River, and to show how residents, farmers, and many other British Columbians benefit from living near it.

Natalya Melnychuk, another 2014 SLLP participant, is creating ―Chase by Choice,‖ a promotional booklet highlighting the lives of individuals that have chosen to make Chase their home. The booklet will be used as part of the welcome package for newcomers to the area, to showcase the diversity of active and engaged community members from a range of backgrounds to promote rural living.

When asked about her experience on the SLLP, Melnychuk said, ―I would definitely recommend the SLLP to other people.

The SLLP has made me feel more intimately connected to my watershed. The trip has given me a greater appreciation of the diversity of people as well as flora and fauna that depend on the river system.‖ The SLLP, now in its 12th year, is seeking applicants for the 2015 trip. Anyone with an interest in sustainability or community development is encouraged to apply. To qualify, participants must be 19 years of age or older and physically fit. Community volunteer experience is an asset. The application deadline is April 30.

This summer, spend three weeks exploring and learning about parts of British Columbia most people never get to see—it will change the way you look at this province and its most spectacular river system.

For more information or to apply visit www.rivershed.com.

The Quesnel River Watershed Alliance and Dockside Haircuts of Williams Lake are working together to raise funds for this year's 2015 Sustainable Living Leadership Program (SLLP) trip down the Fraser River for a participant from the Cariboo Region.

This is Dockside Haircuts' fourth year anniversary, and the company is giving back to the community of Williams Lake by raffling a basket of men's/women's hair products by Goldwell valued at $175. Monies raised will help fund a local participant for the SLLP Program. Visit Dockside Haircuts today at 147C First Ave N, Williams Lake, BC, or contact (250) 392-6386 or chrissuzb@gmail.com for more info and to enter. Draw date is May 9.

If you or someone you know is adventurous and passionate about sustainable living in your community, be sure to register. The application deadline is May 31. Be one of 10 participants to journey a 1400-km trip down the Fraser River. Paddle the Quesnel River Watershed Alliance's 34-foot voyageur canoe Cedar Spirit and raft with Fraser River Rafting.

More information and registration for the SLLP journey can be found at www.rivershed.com.

By Dr. Devra Lee Davis

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large number of young women carry their cellphones in the bra unaware that they are exposing themselves directly to microwave radiation. That is not a good idea. In fact, the phones come with specific warnings from manufacturers not to do so.

Dr. John West and his colleagues at Breast Care in Southern California have been working with Dr. Lisa Bailey, former president of the American Cancer Society California and one of the nation's top breast surgeons. Together with Dr. Bailey and Dr. West's team, we have accumulated seven cases of young women with very unusual breast cancers, all of whom have no family history and no genetic risk factors for the disease.

Normally, breast cancer occurs in the upper outer quadrant of the breast, toward the armpit. These unusual cases have breast tumours that are barely under the skin and have multiple tumors at the centre of the chest right under the outline of where these women kept their cellphones.

Two of these cases are only 21 years old.

Breast cancer rarely occurs in 21 year olds. These women carried their cellphones in their bras from the time they were 13 years old for hours per day. Multiple primary breast cancer is not common, either. No more than 10 percent of all breast cancers present as multiple primary.

There has not been serious experimental or public health research on the relationship between cellphones and breast cancer in the United States. However, Turkey scientific publications report that breast cancer cell growth quadrupled when exposed them to cellphone radiation. In reviewing the 18-year-old approach to cellphone testing, the US Government Accounting Office noted that phones are not tested as used and recommended more realistic testing scenarios be developed.

Modelling studies indicate that phones kept close to the body in the shirt or pants pocket can produce two to six times more microwave radiation than recommended.

The warnings on an iPhone can be found under ―Settings‖ by selecting ―General>About>Legal>RF Exposure‖. It advises you to use a headset or a speakerphone during a call, to keep the phone at

Left photo: Dr. Devra Davis PhD MPH holding a plastic baby teething rattle case for iPhone. Photo courtesy of Maloka Science Museum Bogotá, Colombia. Right photo: www.ehtrust.org

least 10 mm away from the body at all times, and that cellphone cases (or holders) with metal parts may change the phone's compliance with RF exposure guidelines in a manner that has not been tested or certified. Unlike most other contents of the iPhone, the text of these RF Exposure warnings cannot be enlarged or copied. Most consumers are completely unaware of the existence of those warnings. Some women tuck cellphones into their bras or their headscarves, and men often carry cellphones in their pants pockets. In addition, some children and youth put cellphones or mobile devices in their chest pockets. BlackBerry and other smartphones have similar warnings, such as, ―Don't keep the phone in the pocket‖ and ―Keep the phone at least 2.54 cm away from the abdomen of pregnant women or teenagers.‖ Men who want to father healthy children have to be aware: if you take sperm from healthy men and put them in two test tubes, where one test tube gets exposed to cellphone radiation and the other does not, the sperm in the test tube exposed to cellphone radiation die three times faster and have three times more damage in their DNA than the unexposed sperm. There is a growing consensus in the medical community that cellphone radiation is a health problem.

According to Professor Stanton Glantz of the University of California, a well-known expert in biostatistics, cellphones clearly do damage sperm, but should not be considered a reliable form of birth control.

I was trained as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University in Cancer Epidemiology and I worked with the US National Academy of Sciences for 10 years directing environmental studies. As director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh cancer institute, I owned three cellphones and insisted that all the senior staff whom I was working with had to carry a

BlackBerry on their bodies so I could reach them when I needed them.

When my first grandchild was at nine months of age, he was able to take a cellphone, turn it on, find a game, and play it.

At first I was very proud of him. Inspired by my grandson's skills with cellphones, I began to look into what we knew about cellphones.

What I found shocked me.

I naively thought that all consumer goods had been adequately tested for safety.

However, I discovered that the so-called ―safety‖ of cellphones was based on an extremely outdated paradigm that contradicted cutting edge science. I further realized that the mobile industry used their financial advantage to ―war game‖ scientists whose research revealed that cellphone radiation was associated with increased risk to human health. While reviewing cellphones, I noted a serious problem looming—that there was no more unexposed control group, as most people in the world were using cellphones. I saw from my own research on environmental studies and my previous work on the war of cancer how long it took for us to take action against tobacco, asbestos, and other toxic substances. It took us far too long to reduce people's cigarette smoking. Although we have finally seen a decline in tobacco death, numerous lives have been sacrificed over decades while the problem was denied and the solution was delayed.

The public needs to understand that a cellphone is a two-way microwave radio. In order for it to receive information, it must send signals to the tower for the tower to send signals back to it. Whenever you are moving (e.g. in cars or on bikes) while you are on your phone, the phone operates at full power to maintain connection with one cell tower after another. That means continuous, maximum microwave radiation. On top of that, you have constant microwave radiation plumes generated by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

two-way transmissions as well as notifications and updates of numerous smartphone apps. The mobile industry euphemizes this radiation as ―radiofrequency energy,‖ because marketing cellphones as two-way microwave radios used next to the brain would not make them very popular.

To use a cellphone smartly, turn it on only when you need to use it. Otherwise, keep it on airplane mode because on airplane mode it cannot send microwave radiation to a cell tower or into you. In addition, distance is your friend. Keep your cellphone away from your body, use a wired headset or speakerphone. Keep the cellphone out of your pockets and your bra. Make the bra a no-phone zone.

Share this message with #savethegirls.

Visit ehtrust.org and showthefineprint.com for more information and for free cards to be copied and shared.

Dr. Devra Lee Davis, M.P.H., Ph.D, is recognized internationally for her work on environmental health and disease prevention. A presidential appointee who received bipartisan Senate confirmation, Dr. Davis was the founding director of the world‟s first Center for Environmental Oncology and currently serves as president of Environmental Health Trust. She lectures at universities around the world and was the recent winner of the Carnegie Science Medal in 2010 and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Green America in 2012. Her 2007 book, The Secret History of the War on Cancer, is being used at major schools of public health, including Harvard University. Her most recent book, Disconnect, was awarded the Silver Medal from Nautilus Books for Courageous Reporting and selected by TIME magazine and Amazon editors as a top pick. Dr. Davis' research has appeared in major scientific journals and has been featured on CNN, CSPAN, CBC, BBC, and public radio.

"Someone please let the human know this goat isn’t one of us!"

Photo: Terri Smith

By Terri Smith

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t first light I roll out of bed and into my work clothes and head outside to take the dogs for a walk. The exercise is good for all of us, and in spite of having never been a morning person I have come to look forward to my new routine.

I step outside, let the dogs off the balcony, fill two water buckets, and bring water to the ducks and goats while the dogs wrestle in the yard. Amadeus, normally chased from the hay by his goat family, becomes courageous at my side. He stays close, sometimes leaning right up against me or standing on my feet, and should any of the others come too near he tilts his head menacingly at them warning them to stay away from me. He‘s only brave when either the dogs or I am there to back him. As soon as I finish gathering an armful of hay from the bale he comes skipping along behind me back to his own private manger in the greenhouse. Usually he stays and eats while the dogs and I walk, but as the snow melts and more of the ground appears he decides to venture out with us a little further each day.

Today he comes right out to the garden with us then pauses as we head up the hill towards the forest. He hangs back, looking at the rest of the herd then back at us. He seems to be unsure whether or not the walk

is worth the effort. I sigh and remove Quoia‘s collar and leash. After making the dogs sit I walk back to Amadeus and fasten the collar around his neck. Soon he is bounding along beside me with the two dogs trying to simultaneously heel and stay out of his way.

Once in the forest I remove his collar and we walk single file along the mossy path and over the last remnants of snow.

The dogs accept Amadeus as if he were one of them, and I reflect that they have even learned to read each others‘ body language.

When Quoia, the youngest dog, becomes too rambunctious, Amadeus has only to tilt his head at her in warning and she will roll over in full submission. And while I have never seen the other goats back off from a head-butt they have committed to, he seems to know that when she rolls onto her back she is telling him he has won and surprisingly he will stand down. They can‘t always do everything together: Amadeus does not appreciate a half-chewed deer leg being thrust at him by Kasha in an attempt to play, and his pointy little hooves are pretty useless in the snow. But in spite of, or maybe because of their differences, it always makes me smile to be out for a walk with my three billy-dogs gruff.

Terri Smith is an organic vegetable farmer in the Cariboo with Road‟s End Vegetable Company. She has a Bachelor‟s degree in Literature and a diploma in Art.

By Brianna van de Wijngaard Food Action Co-ordinator, Williams Lake Food Policy Council

2 Xeriscape garden. Photo courtesy of: Owen Dell, Landscape Architect/Landscape Contractor. www.owendell.com

By the Cariboo-Chilcotin Conservation Society

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eriscaping is the process of choosing plants which are compatible with the water conditions of a given area.

Applying xeriscape principles to the landscape not only cuts down on water usage, but allows you to still enjoy a beautiful, low-maintenance yard and garden. It doesn’t get much better than that.

With a very dry summer forecast for the 2015 season, here are eight basic steps to get you started: 1. Planning and Design. The first step is to sketch out the yard area you want to xeriscape, and assess areas for sun, shade, and natural moisture so that you can plan plantings appropriately.

2. Improve the Soil. In our region, we tend to have either heavy clay or sandy soils, both of which need to have organic matter added to improve soil structure.

Consider adding compost, aged manure, or leaf mold.

3. Water Wise Lawns. Minimize your overall lawn area and choose droughthardy grass species. Or, let your lawn follow the natural weather cycles and allow it to ‗go gold‘ for the summer, greening again with fall rains.

4. Water Efficiently and Appropriately.

Xeriscaped gardens prefer deeper, lessfrequent watering. Use soaker hoses and drip lines as much as possible. Place lawns away from water-needy trees, and avoid sprinklers that throw water high into the air. Water early in the morning or later at night, and don‘t water when it is windy or raining.

5. Select Plants Appropriate for the Climate and Group according to Water Needs. Most of our local garden centres now carry drought-hardy plants. Not only do they need much less water, they also tend to start earlier in the spring and last longer into the fall. Group plants together

according to their water requirements so you can keep higher water users together and plant these in areas where there may be natural water drainage.

6. Mulch to Reduce Evaporation. This also cools the roots of your plants, reduces weed growth, slows erosion, and ‗finishes‘ your garden. Mulch is your gardening ally, and as it breaks down it will also improve the soil. There are many things you can use as mulch, such as straw, wood chips, leaves, grass clippings and compost. Mulch 7-10 cm deep, keep it away from tree bases and plant stems and top up regularly.

7. Rain Barrel. Even a xeriscape garden will need water in times of prolonged drought. Reduce your use of our limited town drinking water supply by collecting water in rain barrels for use in your garden.

8. Maintenance. No garden is maintenance -free, and although xeriscape maintenance chores are much like any other garden, you will find it takes significantly less time to keep things looking good. Good Luck and Happy Gardening!

For more information on xeriscape gardening, pick up a brochure at the CCCS office, at one of the local garden centres, or online at www.ccconserv.org in the Water Wise section. (250) 398-7929 and ccentre@ccconserv.org.

015 is a special year for local growing in Williams Lake, and beyond.

The Community Corner partnership at Oliver and 3rd, including the Cariboo Growers Coop store, is celebrating its fifth birthday this year. This is a huge achievement for this little local food retailer that could. As a business that relies on predominantly local, regional, and provincial products almost 365 days a year, it has survived thick and thin, especially when it comes to the slower months from November to March. But thanks to committed coop member producers, a dedicated team on the board directors, and customers that keep coming back to contribute their invaluable support – even when there is snow on the ground – Cariboo Growers has been able to maintain service, and supply Williams Lake with a local-first option for healthy food.

The Williams Lake Food Policy Council (WLFPC) – educational facilitator for all things local-food – is also celebrating its seventh year co-ordinating Williams Lake‘s Seedy Saturday event, scheduled for May 9, 2015. The WLFPC was instrumental in getting the Cariboo Growers Coop off the ground five years ago, and is so proud and excited for its success. These two initiatives are a marriage between local food education and action: why local food systems are important and how you can actively support them.

So we definitely want to celebrate these achievements, and we want to celebrate together. Cariboo Growers‘ 5 th Anniversary and the Williams Lake Food Policy Council‘s 7th Annual Seedy Saturday event will be partying together on May 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and we invite eve-

Seedling sales from a variety of growers at the Williams Lake Food Policy Council's 2014 Seedy Saturday event. Photo: Williams Lake Food Policy Council ryone to join in and congratulate yourselves! Expect to see the usual amazing features, such as seedlings, seed swaps, garden supplies, local food, kids‘ activities, prizes, food growing info, and music, to name a few.

Come celebrate, buy seedlings, learn local, and be merry, on Saturday, May 9, 10 a.m to 2 p.m.. at Herb Gardner Park, Williams Lake.

The Williams Lake Food Policy Council wants to take this opportunity to thank all of its many volunteers, funders, and supporters—we couldn‘t do it without you!

By Jessica Knodel I meant, need your help. You see, last year Cariboo Growers ran out of organic beets too soon, so this year Cariboo Farmers grew more... but we might have too many!

Hence, we "beet" your help to eat them all up. Together we can prevent wasting food while enjoying their sweet goodness.

Beets are low in saturated fat and cholesterol, high in vitamin C, magnesium, iron, potassium, and folate, and a great source of fibre. During the spring, every week in our email we will share more information about this versatile vegetable, offer delicious recipes (did you know you can make brownies with beets?), and share some interesting facts such as: Did you know... Beetroot was offered to the god Apollo at his temple in Delphi, in ancient Rome? The oracle at this temple claimed beetroot was second only to horseradish in its mystical properties, and that it was worth its weight in silver.

Photo: Jessica Knodel Let's all eat our beets! Find out more about who grew these beets at w w w .fa ceb ook.c om/pa ges /BI G - FIR EFARM/200468646782728 Visit w w w .ca rib oog r ow ers .ca , www.facebook.com/cariboo.growers, email admin@cariboogrowers.ca, or call 778-412COOP (2667) for more information.

By Cael Geier

T

he spirit of Indonesia is welcoming. In locals I have met, I find no trace of reluctance to see a foreigner walking the streets, nor do I feel harassed by vendors as I have in other developing countries. A simple greeting and smile are easily accepted everywhere, and returned in kind.

I feel extremely grateful, as my experience here has been enriched by the people I have come with—volunteers of Canada World Youth (CWY) and KEMENPORA. Our program, Youth Leaders in Action, is comprised of nine Indonesian youth under the age of 25, each paired with a Canadian counter-partner of a similar age. After spending three months in Nanaimo, B.C. we have come to the Indonesian region of Pulau Seribu (Thousand Islands), to live on Pulau Kelapa (Coconut Island).

Previously a youth program dedicated to cultural exchange, CWY has more recently changed its focus towards community work. This change came to be when the Canadian International Development Top: Cael Geier and Rifan Bachtiar Photo: Charlotte Garneau-Bertrand Agency revoked crucial funding for this Middle: The Canada World Youth group working together with local schoolchildren to program, forcing CWY to seek out new finish planting 3,000 mangrove trees. Caelhan Wood handing a tree to Ihram Ilhami in funds from sources dedicated to commuthe foreground. Photo: Cael Geier. nity development and foreign aid. Our Bottom: Garbage along a path at a tea plantation in Puncak, Bogor. Photo: Cael Geier goals now are laid out under four headings: environment, health, eco-tourism, and gender equality. Of the five youth volunteer programs taking place in Indonesia, three have been chosen to focus their efforts in the environmental sector, my program included.

For a country of 250 million people, Indonesia does not have much land. It is a very crowded country. For example, Pulau Kelapa is home to 7,000 people during the week and sleeps an additional 2,000 every weekend. Yet for me, it takes 15 minutes to walk end-to-end at an average pace.

With this in mind, I found that it is hard to detect environmental consciousness in the locals I have met. There simply is no room for it. Nature has made way for houses and streets so tightly built, that cars do not drive here and neighbours can hear each other snore at night.

It was quite a shock upon arrival to be thrusted into a completely different culture, which is built upon Islam as a foundation and has the security of a close knit community as its roof. Coming out of northern BC I had little to no knowledge of Islam. The little I did know came to me through the filters of news reports and an online presence, which did little justice to the people who practice as Muslims.

Over the past months I have learned much about how working class Indonesians value their religion and what it offers them. My learning greatly contrasts the ada. The singing of the Al ' Karran from Throughout our time in Indonesia, our terrifying persona that extremist jihadists megaphones atop the many mosques scat- projects have been designed to raise envihave been donned by media. I have shared tered throughout the chaotic streets can be ronmental awareness and spark interest in a bed with a young Indonesian man for two heard from anywhere on Pulau Kelapa. local youth who can build a more sustainmonths now, and every morning he wakes Evening prayer call is followed by Magrib, able future. To ensure CWY projects are at 5:30 a.m. to pray, the first of five times a a time in which all people are at home, and being carried out in a semi-uniform manday. This practice of self-discipline is one the streets are silent for roughly five min- ner, each volunteer group has been given of many that shows how devoted he is, utes. I find family gathering together once guidelines for approaching the community, putting me to shame, I feel, when I strug- a day is something to be valued and is less and quotas of community members to be gle to wake at 9:00 a.m. than uncommon in Canada. These prac- involved. The hopes of CWY are that our The call to pray five times a day is a tices of Islam were at one time shocking to projects will be continued by locals after daily reminder that I am no longer in Can- me, but no longer. we leave. Our projects include designing

and planting 25 environmental sign boards, planting 4,000 mangrove trees, creating an ecotourism presence for our island, and holding environmental workshops on cleanliness and proper recycling practices.

The first project our group decided to tackle was the environmental sign boards.

This presented a challenge for the team as the signs' messages need to be written in Bahasa Indonesia, but half of our group speaks English or French as their mother tongue. It required a lot of brainstorming and translation for us to agree upon 25 signs that had messages we thought locals would actually care about. Our goal was to place the signs in areas that are public, where people do not have the right to litter. At playgrounds we installed signs which read, "Play = Yes; Littering = No" and along paths beside the oceans are signs which remind people, "This view is more beautiful without garbage." With the aid of very willing locals, it took us two days before all of the signs were firmly planted in cement. We were pleased to see how eager people are to help us, but it will be even better if those people start to change their littering habits.

Upon arrival to Pulau Kelapa we realized that the people here are very familiar with mangrove trees. In years past, the community took initiative with the financial aid of CNOOC (Chinese National Offshore Oil Company) to plant 200,000 mangroves. It was clearly a successful project, because presently there are large areas of mangrove forest lying parallel to the coast line, 10-15 meters away from the land. These forests, in the future years, will offer shelter to fish nurseries and provide nutrients for sea life. In turn, it will help the local fishing industry, and prevent erosion of the coast line. In theory, the only downside of the mangrove forests is the loss of swimming area for island visitors, but in reality we hope it will offer a more sustainable tourist appeal: ecotourism. Overall, our mangrove planting experience helped us bond with community members and our group feels productive to have contributed to the islands' future.

With the program coming to a close, I have been reflecting on my past two months on Pulau Kelapa. There is no doubt that my experiences here have shaped my views of the world, but I also hope that our group's time here has had a positive influence on the locals. I truly hope that our efforts to promote cleanliness and sustainable living have not been lost in translation. As the first non-tourist residents from outside of Indonesia to live on this island, we have been treated unreasonably well. I look forward to returning in the future to see the smiles of the people I have come to know, despite the language barriers. One day I plan to return and see the mangrove forest we helped to plant.

Cael Geier is an aspiring world traveller from Terrace, BC and recently returned from a six-month youth exchange program. One year out of high school, he is currently working as a construction labourer with hopes of earning enough money to afford a higher education and see more of the world in his spare time.

By Sage Birchwater

N

obody fills a room quite like Brent Morton. Few musicians touch the heart of culture and the urgency of our times as deeply and vividly as he does.

Since arriving in Williams Lake from his hometown of Saskatoon in 2007, Morton has fashioned a vast musical legacy. His powerful voice and rolling anthemic sound clears the bleachers and gets everyone up dancing. His lyrics dissect issues that are difficult to grasp.

Inspired by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, and Sigur Ros, Morton‘s message is simple yet deeply introspective.

Political and prophetic.

He dares to question the big issues of politics and the environment. His words cut a swath through the jungle of confusion and despondency that often surround these weighty matters. He shines a light so others can make it through.

Until recently, Morton was strictly a solo act, creating his Drum and Bell Tower sound with a computer, drum set, guitar, and vocals.

With the release of his most recent album, Out of the Time, he toured it as a trio with Brandon Hoffman (bass, mandolin) and drummer Travis Challord.

Morton says he started performing music fairly late in life. ―I wasn‘t in a band until I was 21,‖ he says.

He spent two years cutting his teeth on the Saskatoon music scene playing in bands that in no way reflected what he was interested in. ―Then I locked in with a couple of guys and we put out three records of pretty aggressive, gnarly psychedelic rock,‖ he says.

Playing with other musicians had its challenges, and Morton found himself in a volatile situation. ―After that I said nuts to other people; I‘ll just record music on my own because I can do it.‖

Brent Morton, the man behind Drum and Bell Tower, is at home on percussion as well as guitar.

Photo: Sage Birchwater

Morton put out a number of selfproduced albums, occasionally getting a couple of friends to come in and guest on them.

That‘s where he was at when he came to Williams Lake eight years ago. ―At that point I was heavily invested in electronic sequencing beats, which makes a heck of a lot of sense for a solo artist,‖ says Morton.

He didn‘t know anybody at first, so he just stayed in his basement and worked on an album for six or seven months. The end result was a fairly polished, psychedelic electronic fusion album, The Black Need (2008). ―I didn‘t really tour that album very aggressively,‖ he says. ―I played it a little bit and it went over really well.‖ Morton says he got tired of hauling

around all his electronic fusion gear and drumset to play 15-minute tweener sets at music festivals. ―It was just a lot of work,‖ he says.

He had an epiphany watching Wax Mannequin and other acoustic one-man acts on stage at Arts Wells in 2009. ―You know what, that‘s what I‘m going to do,‖ he told himself. ―I‘m just going to write songs.‖ Brent was inspired. He experienced a massive outpouring of songwriting material and his 2009 album Scratch Out Your Name was born. He recorded it that winter in a decommissioned church in Wells. ―I wrote everything in a week or something like that, and discovered I was having way more fun doing that than I was with the other stuff,‖ he says. ―So I packed away the electronics forever.‖ Morton did a second Wells album, recording Burn Beneath the Water in 2011 in a different old church. The following year he recorded To Black Moon. ―I spent a little bit more time on a drum kit and played bass on these last two albums, and it transitioned to a fuller sound,‖ says Morton.

Meanwhile, he continued to attract a serious following at festivals like Arts-

Wells, Horsefly, Forest Grove, and beyond, rocking long into the night on the main stage.

For his latest album, Out of the Time, recorded at Jason and Pharis Romero‘s Horsefly studio in 2014 and released in March 2015, Morton abandoned his strictly solo act and brought in other musicians.

He invited Sam Tudor and Ciel Patenaude to come in for a song, and was accompanied by the banjo playing of Jason Romero on another piece. ―The album‘s got lots of stuff on it,‖ he says. ―Multiple guitar parts and multiple voices.‖ He says recording the album in Jason and Pharis‘s little cabin was amazing. ―I gave myself a very short schedule— seven days. It‘s a ton of pressure, really intense, recording two songs every day, but I‘m quite happy with the results.‖ Asked where he gets the inspiration for his music, Morton says some of it is a mystery even to him. ―Melodically, I can‘t even talk about where it comes from because I don‘t know,‖ he says. ―To me the melody is the primary thing. That‘s what happens first.‖ He says he often has to work hard on the lyrics to have something worth saying. ―The inspiration basically comes from knowing about the state of the world and having a response to it.‖ When he‘s stuck for lyrics he reads the news. ―Alternative news, independent sources and authors, that‘s kind of where I get informed. My fire in the belly comes from that.‖ For his day-job, Morton works as an educator in Williams Lake, teaching a high school alternative program. He fits in his music around that. Or is it the other way around?

Asked if his music is inspired or informed by his work as an educator, he says, yes. ―On my new album I‘ve got two songs inspired by interactions with my students,‖ he says. ‗Song for Teenage Girl‘ and ‗Song for Teenage Boy.‘ I work with a lot of atrisk youth, so you get very different stories from them than you get from regular mainstream kids… so it can be pretty intense.‖ Brent Morton‘s musical style is inspirational, haunting, and transformational. Listening is believing. He boldly steps into environmental issues like the Mount Polley Mine spill, or offers profound perspectives on the complexity of world politics.

For the first time ever, Morton has included the words for all 13 songs on the Out of the Time album cover. This is a welcome addition to his musicology. He really does have something to say! Reading the words helps you see that.

Morton‘s words of advice: ―Forget all you know; trust what you feel.‖ You can listen to Morton‘s music on his website: www.drumandbelltower.org or online on CBC music, http://music.cbc.ca/ #!/artists/drum-bell-tower.

Sage Birchwater moved to the CaribooChilcotin in 1973. He spends his time freelancing, authoring books, and with Caterina, hanging out with their dog and cat, gardening, and being part of the rich cultural life that is the Cariboo-Chilcotin Coast.

Walmart fortune.

Kroneke himself holds $3 billion in Wal-Mart stock. n the 21st The Douglas Lake century it is cattle company also only a fortuowns the Alkali Lake nate few who Ranch, Quilchena get to step outside Ranch, and the James their door on a warm Cattle company. So summer day and be essentially, Walmart met with a field of controls 565,000 acres gently grazing cattle in deeded ranch land and an eager cow dog and three or four times licking their hand. that in range ranch Fading are the times permit land. When when, after finishing one company domitheir chores, children Skye Forcier spending time with her dog and 4-H Steer at nates such a large porcould mosey down to home on the ranch in Miocene, BC. Photo: Troy Forcier tion of an industry, it the creek to catch has the ability to mafrogs and capture some mud to decorate their mother’s freshly nipulate the prices and rack them up once all the cleaned floors. I am very lucky to be one of those smaller business have sold or gone bankrupt.

There are benefits to large operations: the econfortunate few. Born on my family’s ranch and a 10year 4-H member I have fully experienced all the omy of scale in technological advances, marketing wonderful things that come with being a country efficiency, and labour resources, to name a few.

I heard it said recently that ranching is the only kid.

It‘s so rare for someone to have the genuine ex- profession that buys everything at retail and sells eveperience of farming. No, having a Farmville™ ac- rything at wholesale. Although there are many obstacount is not the same. The farming family is a disap- cles in small-scale agriculture, perhaps the rewards pearing breed, the reason being in this day and age it outnumber them. As Jacob C. Toews wisely pointed is becoming more and more popular for ranches to be out: ―in this technologically advanced world, most owned by corporate giants and the family owned are unaware that a prosperous society does not hinge operation is fading into the dust. This is due to a on acquiring gadgets, vehicles, or other luxury items. number of factors including: family dynamics, Rather, a significant indicator of a healthy society is younger generations fleeing the farm to escape the the stability of the family unit. As small farms vanish hard work, slim profits, having to compete with lar- from the countryside, with them disappears one of the ger outfits, and the expense of land and farm equip- best environments capable of producing strong, charment. acter-driven families. This – building strong character There are many challenges that families face – is the most tragic loss as family farming dies out.‖ when working together. Communication between Knowing you can wander over to your generations can sometime be strained due to tradi- neighbour‘s to borrow an egg or a cup of flour to tional vs. new age ideas. Family members may not complete the pancakes upon which you will slice a feel included. A study done by RJ Fetch from Colo- freshly picked strawberry is priceless. A recent British rado State University showed daughters- in-law and study found that the average child was better able to mothers commonly complained they were ―not part identify characters from the game of Pokémon than of the operation.‖ Machinery break downs, disease the plants and animals surrounding them. Knowing outbreaks, accidents, government regulations, and what Pikachu is isn‘t going to feed your family. fluctuating prices can make for a very stressful enviI believe 4-H to be part of the solution to this ronment. One third of farms do not have a desig- growing problem. One hundred and thirteen years nated successor in the family. ago, when the very first 4-H club was formed, the Those interested in becoming a new rancher or intent was to encourage youth to stay involved in agfarmer find it difficult due to how expensive it is. riculture and find new, innovative ways to adapt to Existing farms are often land-rich with much money changing conditions. For most rural kids, from the locked up in machinery. A small farm will have any- early 1900s all the way to the 90s, the options for where between $250,000 to $400,000 in equipment. entertainment were very limited. 4-H provided an The work is very hard; often ranchers will pull 100- opportunity for country kids to have an activity. The hour workweeks. A study done in 2005 showed goal was to connect public education to country comranchers made an average of $41,600 a year, and 75 munity clubs to solve agriculture challenges using a percent of that was from off-the-farm sources. Today, ―hands-on‖ method and hopefully the next generation the average age for a farmer is 53. The parents often would become more enthusiastic about inheriting run the land until they have to sell to retire. The deci- their family‘s ranch. sion to sell your family legacy can be a hard one.

Today, 4-H continues to produce agriculturallyBC holds some very historic farms and dude and minded adolescents who are independent, responsible, cattle ranches such as Chilicoh, Hat Creek, Diamond dedicated, hard-working, knowledgeable about family S, Gang, Alkali Lake, O‘Keeife, Quilchena, and values, and well-educated regarding animal husmany others. Only 12 ranches in BC run more than bandry. I hope there are enough of us to ensure the 1000 head; the majority of them are split between the family farm lives on for generations to come.

Thompson-Nicola and the Chilcotin regions. The Living on a farm has its hardships. Despite the 5 biggest working cattle ranch in Canada is BC‘s a.m. wake-up calls, no vacation time, loss of animals, Douglas Lake Ranch; currently it runs 20,000 head. and failed crops, I believe us farm kids really are the Previously, the half-million-acre ranch was owned by lucky ones.

Bernie Ebbers who had the largest personal bankruptcy ever with a debt of $11 billion. He was forced Skye Forcier is 16 and lives on her family ranch in to sell it to current billionaire owner Stan Kroneke. the Rose Lake/Miocene community. Along with 4-H Kroneke is married to Ann Walton, the heiress of the and ranching she also enjoys snowboarding, mountain biking, rugby and basketball.

By Skye Forcier

I

By Troy Forcier

H

ealth Canada states on its website, “the herbicide glyphosate and products containing glyphosate (e.g., Roundup) are registered pesticides in Canada supported by extensive scientific data that meet strict health and environmental standards.”

Glyphosate (C3H8NO5P), or Nphosphonomethyl glycine, is a systemic herbicide used in high volume in Canada (0.5-1 million kilograms in 1986 and over 2 million kilograms in 1990). Several staple food crops have been genetically engineered to be resistant to the application of this pesticide and this has allowed farmers more economical control over many weeds.

Beyond massive agricultural and garden usage to control weeds, glyphosate is used to accelerate maturing of crops. In Canada in 2011, glyphosate was applied above recommended levels by as many as 45 percent of producers, according to the manufacturer's own survey.

In forestry, Northern Woodland magazine pointed out in 2012 that test blocks treated with glyphosate saw 477 percent yield increases and that a ―separate study found that the cost of a cubic meter of wood tripled when conifers were released by workers with brush saws, rather than by the aerial application of herbicide.‖ This product has undeniable benefits, the economics of which can be debated, but here the focus will be on impacts on health.

There is significant disagreement about the safety of the usage of glyphosate and criticisms of the science on both sides.

In the USA, the National Pesticide Information Centre admits that glyphosate is not included in compounds tested in the FDA‘s agriculture pesticide data program.

Odd, considering that in 2007, 200 million pounds of this product were used in the U.S. Health Canada states glyphosate has not been detected in drinking water supplies, but admits this ―may be because of the lack of monitoring studies and technical difficulties with available analytical methods.‖ In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accepts the claims that glyphosate is non-toxic and there have been virtually no efforts to determine glyphosate levels in human blood or urine.

Dr. Keith Solomon, from the University of Guelph and co-author of the book Pesti-

Photo: flickr/jetsandzepplins cides and the Environment, seems to have confidence in current Canadian testing and assures that although our testing framework is not without controversy, it is practical and rests on precedent. ―The idea here is that the companies who make the profits – not the taxpayers – should be paying to test the products,‖ said Solomon. ―This is the same framework that‘s used in pharmaceutical testing because it provides a dependable funding source for the testing.‖ Currently in Canada, pesticide tests only focus on active ingredients and do not have to test the whole compound; furthermore, when a pesticide is reviewed, no tests are mandated for acute or chronic low dose exposure effects on humans.

There is a fairly convincing number of studies that question the safety of this product and some good reasons to take measures to limit exposure. Two case control studies conducted in Saskatchewan by Karunayake, Dosman and Pahwa in 2013 found that farmers exposed to pesticides had an increased risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

In 2013, Samsel and Seneff concluded, ―all of the known biological effects of glyphosate – cytochrome P450 inhibition, disruption of synthesis of aromatic amino acids, chelation of transition metals, and anti-

bacterial action – contribute to the pathology of celiac disease.‖ As Celiac disease is associated with reduced levels of Enterococcus, Bifidobacteria, and Lactobacillus in the gut and an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria, this correlation deserves more attention.

Overlaying graphs of historical application rates of glyphosate and rising rates of Celiac disease are strikingly identical, but so are those with rates of thyroid cancer and deaths due to intestinal infections. This is not proof of causality and there are, for certain, other factors at play, but again, worth more inquiry. Glyphosate has been implicated in the disruption of intestinal flora in animals, reducing beneficial bacteria, and fostering overgrowth of pathogens.

In another study by Jungun, Yanzhen, and Xioyu in 2014, glyophosate exposure caused immunotoxology and, ―remarkable histopathological damage including vacuolization of the renal parenchyma and intumescence of renal tubule in fish kidneys.‖ Industry-sponsored studies have concluded that glyphosate is safe for amphibians, but a 2010 study found a direct link between exposure to glyphosate and defects and craniofacial malformations in African clawed frogs, a finding replicated in poultry.

Pesticide fan Art Drysdale, in a blog piece equating ―environmental researcher ― to ―Anti-Pesticide Lunatic‖ and celebrating a 2011 federal court win for Monsanto, alluded to evidence in the case: ―These socalled risks to amphibians were based on a 2008 literature review by BRITISH COLUMBIA MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT, a government agency INFESTED with Anti-Pesticide Activists.‖ There are many studies linking the use of this pesticide to the chelation of essential minerals such as iron and cobalt, binding (and rendering unusable) of magnesium, reduction in plant calcium and manganese levels, and biological interference with vital enzymes such as P 540. There are concerning connections between levels of exposure to glyphosate in agriculture workers and sharp increases in kidney failure.

The manufacturer claims the product quickly dissipates, but a recent field test in the US found that lettuce, carrots, and barley contained glyphosate residues up to one year after the soil was treated with 3.71 lbs. of glyphosate per acre (4.15 kg per hectare).

An Ontario study by Savitz et al. in 1997 found a link in Ontario farmers between usage of glyphosate and increased miscarriages and premature births within their family. Furthermore, Savitz found that glyphosate disrupts oestrogen synthesis regulating hormones that impact bone growth and testicular function.

Evidence shows that some of the associated biological effects of this product, many not discussed here, question glyphosate as a valid tool in the fight against global famine, a favourite argument of fans. The Cornucopia Institute reported in 2013, plant pathologist Don Huber‘s findings that glyphosate alters soil ecology and renders plants susceptible to diseases that could ultimately impact humans. Huber has had some career issues because of his stance. Partial bans on glyphosate use in Holland, France, and Brazil and total bans in Sri Lanka, El Salvador, and a growing list of countries are certainly an indicator of change in the air. Localized bans on cosmetic use of glyphosate in Canada are small steps in the right direction, but for now the choice is left with the consumer.

Troy was born and raised in the Cariboo and enjoys raising cattle and tending to the soils and water on the ranch with his wife Ingrid when he's not working as a psychotherapist with youth in the city.

By Erin Hitchcock, Organizer

A

n upcoming march in Williams Lake will be held to raise awareness about genetically modified foods and to call on the federal government to require them to be labelled.

March Against Monsanto aims to inform the public, calling into question longterm health risks of genetically modified foods (commonly called GMOs) and demanding such products be labelled so consumers can make informed decisions.

Everyone should be concerned about GMOs—organisms that have had their DNA artificially altered.

By taking part in the march, participants will help protect our food supply and the environment, promote organic solutions, support local farms, and help bring corporate and government accountability to this critical issue that affects us all.

Numerous countries have GMO labelling or even bans in place, but Canada, the US, and Mexico are among those that don't.

Monsanto owns the majority of GMO seeds around the world. Other top GMO corporations include BASF, Bayer, DuPont, Dow Chemical Company, and Syngenta.

A statement signed by 300 scientists in the peer-reviewed journal, Environmental Sciences Europe, said there is no consensus that GMOs are safe: ―We feel com-

By Thea Fast

F

ebruary might seem a little early for a first spring ride but the ice had melted off the road, and the mud was soft.

I was just back from an Eponaquest Instructor update in Arizona. The Power of the Herd: A Nonpredatory Approach to Social Intelligence, Leadership and Innovation is the latest book by my mentor Linda Kohanov. Predatory Leadership is the old ―shit rolls downhill‖ model; NonPredatory Leadership is the ―support everybody dealing with their own shit so nobody has to eat it‖ model.

Linda outlines the guiding principles in the book and developed Equine Facilitated Wellness (EFW) exercises, so people can experience and practice their new skills and understandings with horses.

Through my experience learning to facilitate the exercises, I noticed that although I am comfortable with dominance, I am afraid of abusing it and can confuse it with fear aggression, especially if I‘m scared. There were more insights, but this is an article, not a book.

My fear came up when I finished tacking up my fussing horse Freya and put on my helmet. We were both definitely ―on our toes‖ as we rode off down the road.

The farther we went, the more excited she

was and the more I had to focus on deepening my seat and my breathing, and softening my hands and my eyes. When I‘m feeling anxious and getting aggressive, I can also end up curling slightly towards a fetal position.

We were doing just fine until the car went by. The driver very politely slowed right down as she passed us but when she stomped the gas pedal from what seemed a reasonable distance ahead of us, Freya dove into the mud with her front hooves like a fox after a mouse. The aforementioned tendency toward fetal position has led to inadvertent dismounts, when she‘s pulled this stunt in the past. She was pretty disappointed it didn‘t work this time—so she gave it a second try.

It wasn‘t until later, when we turned homeward, that we started to spend time on the vertical plane as well as the horizontal. She likes bunching herself up like a Lipizzaner to spring in the air, all 4 feet off the ground with a kick out flourish at the top. She‘s special that way.

For my part, I was pretty surprised not to be experiencing the fear aggression that I have experienced in the past. Sometimes I can get caught up feeding the resistance out of fear of the future, making it worse.

I just kept riding and breathing and keep-

pelled to issue this statement because the claimed consensus on GMO safety does not exist.‖ According to the Dietitians of Canada, since 1994, more than 80 GM foods have been approved in Canada, including canola, corn, lentils, potatoes, rice, soybeans, squash, tomatoes, and wheat.

In February, the US government approved a GMO non-browning apple.

Though sold by a Summerland, BC company, the ―Arctic Apple‖ hasn‘t yet received approval in Canada.

According to the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, numerous health risks may be associated with GM foods, including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signaling, protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen, and gastrointestinal system, among others.

Most GMOs are specifically engineered to either produce their own insecticide or to resist herbicides.

Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto‘s Round-Up, not only has serious human health concerns, but it may also be contributing to colony collapse disorder (CCD) in bees, according to Dr. Don Huber, emeritus professor of plant pathology at Purdue University, in a recent paper.

Syngenta and Bayer‘s neonicotinoidtreated corn may also be playing a role in CCD. As a result, the Ontario government plans to restrict the use of neonicotinoids—a type of synthetic pesticide and neurotoxin used on nearly all corn crops.

GMOs are also believed to be having dismal effects on farmers across the globe, in part because companies such as Monsanto – creator of Agent Orange and DDT – hold the patents to the seeds they engineer. In other words, farmers are not allowed to save patented seeds to plant the following year without paying a fee, even if their crops are inadvertently contaminated due to the seeds being carried there by the wind. Monsanto has successfully sued farmers for this accidental patent infringement.

The Williams Lake Food Policy Council and its partners have been doing tremendous work promoting and supporting local food and farmers. It‘s hoped the march will contribute to their efforts to increase access to local food and support sustainable and healthy farming practices.

The best ways to avoid GMOs are to buy organic, support local organic farms, and to look for the Non-GMO Project Verified symbol on packaged food.

You can also help make a difference by attending Williams Lake‘s March Against Monsanto, which starts from Cariboo Growers at 313 Oliver St. at noon on Saturday, May 23. Placards and costumes are welcome.

For more information and updates on the local march, including details of a possible pre-march film screening,

ing my hands still and soft. What was happening underneath me was an interesting challenge, but I felt very stable and was able to find things that worked and use them.

It was a big difference for me, which I can mostly attribute to the Eponaquest experience I‘d had, attending to my softness and breath while practicing dominance. Another contributing factor could be my body work with Dianne Noort of Horsefly Yoga over the winter. Either way, the combined self/body awareness (foundations of EFW) definitely transformed my experience of myself and of my world in that moment.

If anyone is curious to hear more, I‘ll be presenting a PowerPoint at the Women‘s Spirituality Circle in April in Williams Lake. See the accompanying ad for my 2015 Workshop Schedule. I would really like to offer this work to parents and youth, couples, or any family members together. If you‘re interested, please get in touch.

Visitfacebook.com/ MarchAgainstMonsantoWilliamsLake.

Thea Fast, Eponaquest Instructor theafast@xplornet.ca www.humanbeherd.com

By Sage Birchwater

I

t’s been eight months since the August 4 breach of Mount Polley Mine's tailings storage facility (TSF) spilled 25 million cubic metres of mining effluent and scour material into the pristine waters of Quesnel Lake.

The volume of the spill was so significant that it caused the level of the 266-square-kilometre (103-squaremile) Quesnel Lake to rise seven centimetres overnight.

The short- and long-term environmental impact of having this much toxic material dumped into one of the deepest and purest fjord lakes in the world has not yet been determined. Safe to say, this watershed has been changed forever.

At the end of January, 2015, an independent panel of mining engineers commissioned by the provincial government to assess the physical reasons for the spill, determined that a weakness in the foundation of the dam played a significant role in the breach. The panel said a layer of glacial silt or glaciolacustrine (GLU) beneath the TSF, made the impoundment unstable. It also found that outside slopes of the TSF dam were too narrow and steep, and that if the embankment had been widened by adding more rock buttressing to the perimeter, the breach would not have occurred.

Still to be determined are the human causes for the dam failure.

Both Premier Christy Clark and Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett have vowed they will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of why the breach occurred.

It‘s not clear how thoroughly the government will investigate its own role in the disaster.

Was there adequate government oversight? Had mine inspections become lax? Had government cutbacks inhibited the ability of regulators to perform their duties?

Equally concerning are questions around the management of Mount Polley Mine. Did the company put profits ahead of careful mining practices? Was the company deaf to warnings by employees and its professional experts?

Will anyone be held accountable for the dam failure?

Jacinda Mack, mining co-ordinator for the Northern Secwepemc Tribal Council (NStQ), says it will take a long time for the government and the mining industry to regain the public trust. ―The Mount Polley Mine disaster wasn‘t only a dam breach, it was a breach of trust as well,‖ she says.

Mack acknowledges that the mining company has worked tirelessly to repair the damage since the spill, but there is still a long, uphill battle ahead. With the spring freshet just around the corner, the challenge to reduce the amount of effluent flowing into Quesnel Lake will be difficult.

She says experts hired by the NStQ are working with experts hired by Mount Polley Mine to give a balanced approach to the cleanup. ―We‘re working with the mine to make sure they get the job done,‖ says Mack. ―We‘ve got our experts saying, how about this, or have you thought about that. Engineer to engineer, specialists of fish habitat talking shop to each other. We are coming up with the best solution together.‖ Another important partner in the disaster mitigation is the Quesnel River Research Centre (QRRC), located just downstream from Likely on the Quesnel River.

Sam Albers, who manages the Centre for the University of Northern BC, says it was fortunate the QRRC had equipment on site when the breach occurred on August 4. ―We were able to take water samples and tailings debris samples immediately,‖ he says. ―We observed the level of Quesnel Lake rise seven centimetres after the breach, once the lake sloshed back and forth for 12 to 14 hours.‖ With so much going on, Albers said it was a challenge to think coherently. ―Then we realized we were never going to get those early days back if we didn‘t start gathering data immediately,‖ he says.

One of the tasks of the QRRC was to track the behaviour of the sediment plume trapped beneath a layer of cold water known as a thermocline, 30 metres below the

Top photo: Dr. Phill Owens of University of Northern BC holding equipment for taking samples of mine sediment at the bottom of the lake, 140 metres deep. Photo: Sage Birchwater Bottom photo: Sam Albers, from the Quesnel River Research Centre holding equipment for taking water samples.

Photo: Sage Birchwater surface. They watched the plume spread eastward up the lake as far as the junction with the North Arm. Then in December as the surface temperature of the lake dropped, the sediment trapped beneath the thermocline was flushed out into Quesnel River.

Albers says the QRRC is tracking many unknowns, such as to what extent the breach will impact the food web. So far, he says, there are more questions than answers. ―How resilient is Quesnel Lake to this mine breach disturbance?‖ he says. ―How much can the lake take a kick? Food web analysis is not simple. How do particle size and metal concentrations interact with zooplankton?

How leachable are these materials?‖ Albers says the work being done by the QRRC is tiny compared to the gargantuan rehabilitation effort of Mount Polley Mine, but it‘s important none the less. ―We‘re putting together grants to attract folks who will ask the questions that are not conventional,‖ he says. ―We‘ve got students exploring uncharted territory.‖ Sage Birchwater moved to the Cariboo-Chilcotin in 1973.

He spends his time freelancing, authoring books, and with Caterina, hanging out with their dog and cat, gardening, and being part of the rich cultural life that is the Cariboo Chilcotin Coast.

By Terri Smith

R

ecycling is all well and good, but we’ve all learned by now that reducing and reusing are even better. I avoid buying products that come swaddled in layers of plastic. I never leave home without my travel mug and water bottle. When grocery shopping, I usually stick to unprocessed foods anyway—they’re cheaper and healthier, and when faced with a choice between a product that comes in a tin or jar that I know I will reuse or one that I’m going to have to recycle I will pay more for the product in the reusable container. I think it’s a good deal: a product I want plus a container I like for a dollar or so more than the product alone.

I also find it difficult to get rid of anything that is potentially useful.

There are three main reasons for this: first of all, I hate to waste anything. Recycling, after all, takes energy to accomplish and leaves a much bigger carbon footprint than reusing (or avoiding the product altogether). Second, I always see the creative potential in an object and if I see such potential, become loath to part with it. And third, I‘m lazy. I hate sorting the recycling and taking it to whatever facilities are operating at that moment (and if you manage to take in the recycling as rarely as I seem to chances are you have to bring it somewhere new each time and figure out how the rules about dealing with it have changed since last time).

To tell the truth, I find all the recycling facilities I‘ve ever been to intimidating.

Whenever I walk into a depot or recycling yard anywhere it always seems to be full of people who know exactly what they‘re doing. People who instinctively know which beer bottles can be grouped together or who can toss objects into bins with hardly a glance. And while I can never seem to find someone to help me before I begin sorting, you can bet that the moment I place something in the wrong bin someone will be there to chastise me. So rather than brave the wrath of the recycling sentinels any more than necessary, I do the more environmentally sound thing and reduce and reuse as much as possible.

Consequently, I have a lot of stuff. I try to keep everything organized, but I must admit I don‘t always succeed. There was a time when it was all stacked neatly behind

Three more tins to add to my collection!

Thanks Mom! PS: Don't tell Curtis!

Photo: Karen Thompson the woodshed and other outbuildings. But then I acquired goats. Being goats, they climbed every pile, turned anything they could walk under into a back-scratcher, and head-butted the rest until my once-neat piles of treasure became mounds of junk.

And it was at about this time that Curtis moved onto the farm.

Now, the first thing I learned about Curtis once he moved in is that he is remarkably good at de-cluttering, and prefers a rather minimalist lifestyle. I like the idea of minimalism, but have always found that the minute I part with something is the exact moment I find the perfect use for it. Almost immediately upon arrival he set to work cleaning up, clearing out, and taking loads of stuff to the dump and depot. And in that momentary lapse of personality that can happen when one is newly in love, I let him. Boxes of broken glass for making Christmas ornaments joined shards of pottery that I‘d hoped would one day would become a beautiful mosaic in the discard pile. Rubbermaid bins of old clothes for some future textile project (I don‘t really even sew, actually) and suitcases of clothing left behind by farm volunteers all found their way to the Salvation Army. I must admit that some of the ―treasures‖ he unearthed had depreciated in value. I couldn‘t always remember why something had

struck me as important to keep. Sometimes though, I would explain why I was keeping something and he would agree that it made sense and together we would find a goatfree storage location for it.

But the one thing we may never agree on is the lovely, green and yellow, rectangular, olive oil tins. I love these tins. It took me a few years to come up with a purpose for them, but by then I collected 25 and needed only five more. Opened and flattened they would make charming tin shingles for the duck house I was planning to build. Curtis found them one day when I was not at home. All 25 of them ended up in the back of my truck with the rest of the recycling and it wasn‘t until I reached the recycling yard that I discovered them. ―What are these doing back?‖ he asked a few days later. ―I thought I‘d gotten rid of them.‖ ―You tried,‖ I grinned. ―I brought them home again. I‘m going to use them to shingle the duck house.‖ ―What duck house?‖ ―The one I haven‘t built yet.‖ He just shook his head at me even as he smiled. ―Have you even thought about how long it will take you to get them ready to use?‖ he asked. ―It‘s fine.‖ I replied. ―It won‘t take long.

And I‘ll get the girls to do it.‖ We had two very industrious volunteers at the time. The next day I gave the girls a couple of can openers and the tin snips and explained what I wanted. They set to it with

alacrity, thinking it was a great idea, too. An hour and a half later they had finished with two tins. At this rate it was going to take three days for them to ready the 30 tins I would need to roof my as yet non-existent duck house. Curtis laughed when he returned from work. ―Now will you let me recycle them?‖ he asked.

But I can‘t give up so easily.

Perhaps the honeymoon‘s over, but I just can‘t let him get rid of such wonderful potential; there has to be a way. So I‘ve hidden them. In groups of five or ten all around the farm. Every so often he finds a stash and if I‘m not quick enough takes it to be recycled.

If he‘s not quick enough I rescue them again and hide them somewhere new. It‘s a game we play. I still don‘t have a duck house, but last month I was at Mom‘s and she gave me another to add to my collection and it turns out her electric can opener will open one tin in less than a minute! Some year soon, I will have that duck house!

Terri Smith is an organic vegetable farmer in the Cariboo with Road‟s End Vegetable Company. She has a Bachelor‟s degree in Literature and a diploma in Art.

By Jasmin Schellenberg

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NOURISHING OUR CHILDREN HEALTHY SNACKS AND WHY Yogurt & Dill Crackers (makes 5 dozen 1-1/2 inch crackers)  1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour  1/2 tsp sea salt  1 1/2 tsp dried dill  6 Tbsp butter, 4 Tbsp soft and 2 Tbsp melted  1/2 cup yogurt Mix all dry ingredients then add the soft butter and beat in the yogurt until it forms a thick dough. Cover in a bowl for 8-12 hours in a warm place. Preheat the oven to 230 degrees C. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Divide dough into four portions. Roll each portion out to 1/16-inch thick and cut into 1-1/2 inch squares. Place on a cookie sheet 1/2 inch apart. Brush them with the melted butter and prick each cracker with a fork to prevent puffing. Bake for 6-8 minutes until gold around the edges.

Crackers will store for two weeks in an airtight container.

carrots, peeled and diced stalks of celery, diced  1 large onion, peeled and diced  6 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced  1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil  1 sprig each of fresh rosemary and thyme  2 cups dry red wine, with a little extra  2 cups bone broth  2 bay leaves In a Dutch oven melt butter and crisp bacon. Remove bacon for later. Increase the heat to high and, in batches, brown the ribs for 1 minute each side. When all all ribs have been browned decrease the heat to medium, and put all the ribs on a plate. Add all vegetables, and if necessary, more butter, to the pot and fry veggies until softened— about 5 minutes. While the vegetables cook, process tomatoes and herbs in a food processor or with a mortar and pestle until a paste forms. Stir into vegetables, return ribs and bacon to the pot, add wine and broth, and drop in the bay leaves. Leave the pot in the preheated oven (120 degrees C) for 6 hours until the meat falls off the bones. This could also be done in slow cooker. Enjoy.

NUTRIENT DENSE MEAL Braised Short Ribs with Sun-dried Tomatoes (Serves 4)  8 lbs bone-in beef short ribs  1/2 tsp sea salt  1/2 tsp black pepper  1 Tbsp butter  4 slices bacon, finely chopped

MYTHS UNVEILED Is it possible to have our youngest generation growing up thinking their food comes in containers from the grocery store?

Imagine your children knowing where their food comes from, what it really should taste like, how it is grown, and that they can actually grow food themselves. Let‘s help them

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April 1 – May 22: Logo Design Competition. Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Williams Lake is calling for submissions for our official logo and a Youth Events logo. Deadline May 22, 2015. Prizes $100 for official logo and $50 for Youth Events logo. For official rules please visit www.williamslakecommunityartscouncil.co m. For more info email williamslakearts@gmail.com or contact Venta at (250) 790-2331.

April 3 – May 2: The Station House Gallery in Williams Lake presents ―The Macbeth Series‖ by Laurie Landry, in the Upper Gallery, featuring unique appreciation of Shakespeare‘s great theatre work. Artist Ciel Patenaude presents, ―The Knowing‖ in the Upper Gallery. This finely detailed series of pen and ink drawings explores animal wisdom, body-based wisdom, and elemental reminders. Call (250) 392-6113 or visit www.stationhousegallery.com for more info.

April 13: The Cariboo Hoofbeats Assisted Activity Program Society's (CHAAPS) therapeutic riding program is hosting a volunteer interest/orientation night at the College of New Caledonia, Quesnel, BC, 6:30 p.m. Volunteers are the essence of our program. Interested in being part of our team? Call (250) 983-4005 for more info or visit www.chaaps.ca.

April 17 – 18: 2nd Annual Women‘s Spirituality Circle Gathering, ―Making Peace.‖ Tickets available at Canadian Mental Health Association, Smashin‘ Smoothies, and Dollar Dollar, and must be purchased by April 10.

For more info call Marilyn Livingston at (250) 302-9119 or Margaret-Anne Enders at (250) 305-4426.

April 18: Worm composting workshop at Kinikinik Restaurant, Redstone, BC. 1 – 4 p.m. Call (250) 394-6000 or email kinikinik@pasturetoplate.ca for more info.

plan a garden this year, without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Growing your garden organically (without any chemical ―help‖) is possible.

The most important tip: rather than trying to suppress the bad we support the good health of the plants. If you already have a suitable garden patch you can plan some easy-to-grow crops for children. Berry bushes take a few years to establish, but they are easy to grow and fun for kids to pick. Radishes, lettuce, snap peas, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes would be my choices to grow with children. They are easy and harvested at different times to keep their interest up.

We go by the rules of the biodynamic calendar. There are root days for things like potatoes, carrots, beets, etc. You seed, transplant, weed, and harvest on root days only.

Then, on leaf days, lettuce, cabbage, leeks, etc. are seeded, transplanted, weeded, and harvested. On fruit days tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, apples, etc. are seeded, transplanted, weeded, and harvested. On flower days, broccoli and any flowers you have are seeded, weeded, transplanted, and harvested. You easily can find a biodynamic calendar online.

Keeping to these rules will bring you more success, yield, and plant health.

Also, you want to start adding some compost to your garden. Invest in a worm factory and use their castings as a natural fertilizer. Make a liquid tea from their castings and spray it onto your plants. Com-

panion planting, like planting garlic between your strawberries, will also help defend against pests. Read up on how biodynamics work. Grow chamomile and pick them on flower days early in the morning as well as dandelions (young flowers only) and dry them separately.

Imagine the deep satisfaction when your children pick their own strawberries or peas.

May 2. Contact sdoherty@telus.net or (250) 296-3630 for more info.

May 15: Handbags of Hope Auction at Signal Point Event Centre, Williams Lake. 6:00 p.m. Tickets $25 per person. Contact Ashlee Hyde at (250) 392-4118 for more information.

April 24: Williams Lake Field Naturalists' Annual Fundraising Banquet. Catered dinner followed by guest speaker Briony Penn. .

McKinnon Hall, St. Andrew's United Church, Williams Lake. Tickets at The Open Book, Scout Island Nature House (250) 3988532, and from WLFN members.

May 2: Moving into Harmony Rhythmic Meditations. Explore the inner & outer world through dance. Experience a harmonic sound healing meditation with a didjeridu & crystal bowl. 12:30 p.m to 2:30 p.m. $25 preregister, $30 at the door. Contact cariboochanti@care2.com or (250) 620-3592

April 25: Association for Community Living Murder Mystery Fundraiser Dinner at Signal Point Event Centre, Williams Lake. 6:00 p.m.

Limited tickets available. $60 per person.

Please contact Ashlee Hyde at (250) 3924118 for more information.

May 7 – 30: The Station House Gallery in Williams Lake presents the Cariboo Art Society‘s 71st Annual Show and Sale, ―Paint it Forward.‖ An ongoing theme connecting CAS projects this year is collaboration.

Through experimentation this will showcase the potential of our diverse arts community at play. Sponsored by Oliver and Co. C a l l ( 2 50 ) 3 9 2 - 6 1 13 or vi s i t www.stationhousegallery.com for more info.

April 25: Friends of the Churn Creek Protected Area Society AGM. A brief business session will be followed by lunch and an afternoon hike into the Churn Creek Protected Area. Meet at Dog Creek Community Gymnasium, 10 a.m. Contact Ordell Steen at oasteen@shaw.ca for info or if would like to become a director. To carpool, meet at the YMCA in the west parking lot across from A&W in Williams Lake at 8:30 a.m.

April 26: Busy Bee with Diane Dunaway, a free family explorer program at Scout Island Nature House in Williams Lake. 1 - 3 p.m.

All ages welcome and no registration required. Email themaryforbes@gmail.com for more information.

May 1 -- 7: It‘s Youth Week! All over Williams Lake, the Boys and Girls Club will be hosting a variety of activities for youth. For a schedule contact Linda at (250) 392-5730 ext.

201 or linda@bgcwilliamslake.com. Like us on Facebook for updates and info.

May 2: Authentic Indian Dinner and Art Auction in support of Gendun Drubpa Buddhist Center at the Seniors Activity Center, Williams Lake. Appy‘s 6 p.m., dinner 6:30 p.m. Adults $35, Children $17.50. View artwork at New World Café from April 25 to

May 9: Williams Lake Field Naturalists' Annual Plant Sale and Yard Sale at Scout Island Nature House, Williams Lake. 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donations welcome on Friday May 8.

Proceeds fund a bursary for a graduating science student.Contact (250) 398-8532 for info.

May 9: Williams Lake Food Policy‘s 7th Annual Seedy Saturday. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Herb Gardner Park, Williams Lake. Seed swap table, seedling sales, kids activities, gardening Q&A, Community Garden sign up, Cariboo Growers Coop 5th Birthday Celebration.

Email foodpolicycouncil@hotmail.com for more info.

May 9: Local Fundraiser draw for Sustainable Living Leadership Program down the Fraser River. Dockside Haircuts is raffling a basket of hair products valued at $175. Monies raised will help fund a local participant for the SLLP Program. Visit them today at 147C First Ave N, Williams Lake, BC, or contact (250) 392-6386 or chrissuzb@gmail.com for more info. Info about the SLLP journey can be found at www.rivershed.com.

A WALK THROUGH YOUR ―GARDEN‖ PANTRY: GET RID OF: All your chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.

REPLACE WITH: Natural compost.

Make compost teas and dried flower teas for strengthening the health of the plants. Use 1 gram each of chamomile, dandelion, Valerian, and yarrow. Steep for 15 minutes. Add to 10 litres of cold water per 1/2 acre (use less if you have a smaller garden). You can also add to this tea 1 gram horsetail and 5 grams oak bark, boiled for 15 minutes and cooled off. Spray with a hand or backpack sprayer over the entire garden. This will help your plants get strong and disease-resistant.

Brought to you by Jasmin Schellenberg. Inspired by and resourced from “Grasp the Nettle” by Peter Proctor and Maria Thun.

For “Nourishing our Children” newsletters of the past visit www.thegreengazette.ca,

May 23: March against Monsanto. Demand GMO products be labelled, and support local, organic food. March starts Saturday at 12 noon from Cariboo Growers Coop, Williams Lake. Costumes and placards welcome. Email wlmarchagainstmonsanto@gmail.com for info or go to www.facebook.com/ MarchAgainstMonstanto.

May 23: Biodynamic preparation workshop at Kinikinik Restaurant, Redstone, BC from 1 – 4 p.m. Call to register at (250) 394-6000 or email kinikinik@pasturetoplate.ca for more info.

May 23: Capital One Race for Kids in Williams Lake. Register your team NOW! Teams of four adults compete in a race described as the Amazing Race meets Minute-to-Win-It! All funds raised go directly towards the Boys and Girls Club of Williams Lake & District.

For more information contact us at (250) 392-5730 ext. 206 or raceforkids@bgcwilliamslake.com.

May 25 -- 31: Dust off your pedals and join avid Lakecity cyclists and the rest of the province for Bike to Work and School Week.

Register online at www.biketowork.ca to track your kilometers pedalled, emissions saved, and calories burned. Win great prizes.

Keep an eye on the website for local activities happening throughout the week for all ages. Ride on!

Contact: www.biketowork.ca/williams-lake or info@breatheasywilliamslake.org for more info.

May 31: Children's Festival at Boitanio Park 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Door prizes, fun, free family entertainment, and crafts. Contact Ashlee Hyde at (250) 392-4118 for more information.

Your Green Shopping Directory

Distribution Details

Green Locations TheGreenGazette can be found in print at the fine locations below, as well as online, or by subscription .

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Bean Counter Bistro & Coffee Bar, 250 305-2326 180B 3rd Ave. North, Williams Lake Organic Coffee, Fair Trade, Local Foods Canadian Tire, 250 392-3303 1050 South Lakeside Dr., Williams Lake Recycling Initiatives, Renewable Energy Solutions, Organic Cleaning Products: Blue Planet, Green Works, Method, Nature Clean, Seventh Generation Cariboo Growers Coop, 778 412-2667 3rd & Oliver St., Williams Lake. 100% Natural & Organic Foods, Non-Profit Farmer‟s Coop Cleanway Supply, 1-800-663-5181 275 South MacKenzie Ave., Williams Lake Organic Cleaning Products Dandelion Living, 778-412-9100 271 Oliver St., Williams Lake Local & Original, Reclaimed & Repurposed, Natural & Organic Products Day Spa Champagne, 250 305-1249 124A North Second Ave., Williams Lake Quiet, relaxing, personalized atmosphere. A Zen experience. Four Types Massage, Reflexology, Manicures/Pedicures & More.

Debbie Irvine B.Sc. (Agr.) RHN Registered Holistic Nutritionist 250-392-9418 or dirvine@thelakebc.ca SPRINGHOUSE GARDENS - Organically grown market garden veggies; Grass fed/finished beef - no hormones, no GMOs. Enquiries welcome. earthRight Solar, 1 877 925-2929 3rd & Borland, Williams Lake Renewable Energy Solutions, Eco-Friendly Products, Composting Toilets Flying Coyote Ranch, 250 296-4755 Ingrid Kallman and Troy Forcier Grass-fed Angus beef No shots, no hormones, organic fertilizer By the quarter or side, hamburger .

The Gecko Tree, 250 398-8983 54 N. MacKenzie Ave. Williams Lake Serving healthy, local foods Halls Organics, 250 398-2899 107 Falcon Rd. (North Lakeside), Williams Lake Indoor and Outdoor Organic Gardening Products, Alternative Traditional Products, Teas anHerbs, Hemp Body Products The Hobbit House, 250 392-7599 71 First Ave. South, Williams Lake Juice Bar, Natural Products, Essential Oils, Teas, Crystals, Gemstones, and more.

Potato House Sustainable Community Society 250 855-8443 or spuds@potatohouseproject.com In an age of apathy and a sense that change is all talk and no action, The Potato House Project is a friendly bastion of doing, sharing, learning and playing. Call us with your ideas and to find out ways to get involved.

Big Bear Ranch, 250 620-3353 Steffi, Florian and Rainer Krumsiek Grassf inished beef and lamb. Pasture raised pork and turkey. Certified organic since 2004. www.bigbearranch.com San Jose Cattle Company, 250 296-4592 Clint and Karen Thompson Sustainable Agriculture, Raised Naturally/Local Beef, No antibiotics, hormones, chemical fertilizers or herbicides.

Scout Island Nature Centre & Williams Lake Field Naturalists, 250 398-8532 www.scoutislandnaturecentre.ca www.williamslakefieldnaturalists.ca 1305A Borland Rd, Williams Lake Nature on the city‟s doorstep. Bird sanctuary, arboretum, trails, Nature House, natural history programs for children and adults.

Smashin’ Smoothies, 778-412-2112 102-41, 7th Ave North, Williams Lake Juice, Smoothies & Expresso Bar Fresh, Organic, Whole Food.

Sta-Well Health Foods, 250 392-7022 79D 3rd Ave. North, Williams Lake Organic Foods, Water Distillers, Natural Medicines, Emergency Freeze Dried Foods.

Williams Lake Food Policy Council 250-302-5010 GROWING THE SEEDS OF CHANGE! www.facebook.com/WLFPC foodpolicycouncil@hotmail.com. Building a strong local food economy and promoting a healthy and sustainable community Williams Lake Water Factory, 250 398-5201 Pure Bottled Water. Home & Office Delivery.

955 S. Mackenzie Ave, Williams Lake, BC. Come see us on Toonie Tuesday!

Zed-Tech Electric, 250-267-4868 For all your residential and commercial needs.

Joe Zombori zedtechelectric26@gmail.com Zirnhelt Ranch, 250 243-2243 www.zirnheltranch.ca or susanzirnhelt@yahoo.com Producers of Grassfed/Finished Beef. Pasture Raised Pork.

Contact us today to list your Green business - info@thegreengazette.ca or 250 620-3419

100 Mile House Donex Canadian 2 for 1 Pizza Chartreuse Moose Higher Ground Nat. Foods KFC Nuthatch Books One Another Coffee House Safeway Save-On-Foods A&W 108 Mile House 108 Mile Esso 108 Mile Mall 108 Mile Supermarket Hills Health & Guest Ranch 150 Mile House 150 Mile Mall Husky Station Marshall‘s 150 Mile Store Alexis Creek Alexis Creek General Store Anahim Lake Anahim Lake Trading Mclean Trading Bella Coola Coast Mountain Lodge Kopas Store Moore‘s Organic Market Valley Inn & Restaurant Big Lake Big Lake General Store Clinton Clinton Coffee House Dog Creek Mount View Handy Mart Red Dog Pub/Liquor Store Hanceville Lee‘s Corner Store Horsefly Clarke‘s General Store Post Office Horsefly Hardware Horsefly Service Station LacLaHache Race Trac Gas Lac La Hache Bakery Red Crow Cafe McLeese Lake Deep Creek Service Station The Oasis Motel Cafe Nimpo Lake Nimpo Lake General Store Prince George Ava Maria Gifts and Health Foods Books and Co. University of Northern BC College of New Caledonia Quesnel The Green Tree Barkerville Brewing Bliss Cafe Booster Juice Carryall Books Holistic Health Care Clinic Karin‘s European Deli Granville‘s Coffee Shop Quesnel Bakery Quiznos Safeway Save On Foods Tourism Info Center

Redstone Kinikinik Williams Lake Adorn Naturally A&W All-ways Travel Amanda Enterprises Barking Spider Mtn. Bikes Bean Counter Bistro Beaver Valley Feeds CanWest Propane Cariboo Growers Coop Cariboo Ski Concrete Fitness Conservation Society CJ‘s Restaurant CRD Library Creative Scissor Dairy Queen Dandelion Living Day Spa Champagne earthRight Elaine‘s Natural Foods 4 Sure Bistro Factory Direct Furniture Flavours & More Good Guys Gardening Greyhound Bus Stop Haines Office World Handi-Mart Joey‘s Grill KFC Halls Organics The Hobbit House Husky Restaurant Karamia‘s Donairs Kornak & Hamm Pharmacy

The Laughing Loon The Legion Manna Cafe Margetts Meats McDonalds New World Coffee Oliver‘s Bar & Grill Porky‘s Deli Quality Tax Solutions Red Shred‘s Bike & Board Shed Rona Home Centre Safeway Save-on-Foods SBL Liquor Store Scout Island Nature Center Senior Citizens ActivityCenter

Shopper‘s Drug Mart Spa Bella Station House Gallery Sta-Well Health Foods Subway Sutton Cariboo Realty Taylor Made Cakes The Gecko Tree The Open Book Tim Hortons Tourism Info Center Trattoria Pasta Shoppe TRU Tsilhqot'in National Gov`t Walmart Williams Lake Physio WL Veterinary Hospital Williams Lake Water Factory *please note that we are in the process of revamping our distribution process to better serve our clients. If TheGreenGazette is not being displayed at any of the above locations give us a call so that we may rectify the situation.

250 620-3419

Letters: Earth Day 2015: A tough conversation Let‘s get serious, Cariboo: the environment is a tough conversation to have in this region. Everyone has a strong opinion, and talk can get heated. ―The environment‖ is not just an abstract concept in our area. Forestry, mining, and ranching are an integral part of our community and thousands of jobs are dependent on these sectors. When activists or idealistic green politicians come around and start spouting rhetoric about ‗saving‘ our ‗environment‘ and ‗going green,‘ such talk can make many irate; job creation is the winning policy, and ‗the environment‘ as a concept in need of saving takes a backseat. With so many livelihoods resting on natural resource sectors it‘s hard to blame people for not placing much emphasis on a day like Earth Day. Earth Day, recognized by the United Nations as International Mother Earth Day, is observed in 170 countries. With its roots in the environmental movement of the late 60s and early 70s, Earth Day was intended to educate individuals on the ―imminent environmental crisis.‖ Now, more than four decades later, we Canadians are called to join together in a ―focused and united effort to live green on April 22,‖ says the Earth Day Canada website. As Canadians, who have a worldrenowned reputation not only for politeness but also for our abundance of natural beauty, I think we can do better than one day of living green.

Widespread scientific consensus is that climate change is a result of human activity.

Now if this is true (and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is very certain that it is), then we have a collective responsibility to act. Unfortunately, under our current government (the Conservative Party of Canada), my attempt to galvanize others into more than just simple acts of recycling and symbolic tree planting will more than likely be classified under the broad heading of ―environmentalism.‖ As of February, 2012 environmentalism was listed among ―issuebased domestic extremism,‖ and has been targeted for increased surveillance by CSIS. So, as this article – and most likely the entire publication – is under domestic surveillance, the tar sands should definitely be mentioned. Canadian‘s have enjoyed the economic boon associated with being the fifth largest oil producing country in the world, but recently we‘ve also felt the bust.

While consumers were enjoying a break at the pump over the past few months, we watched the price of oil fall and felt the rolling shock waves that fall produced in our economy and labour market. Recent layoffs at Gibraltar and Polley have left many families in our community in crisis. Recent graduates of trades programs are struggling to find employers willing to take them on, and consumers have less money to spend at local businesses.

The price of oil has dropped below the cost to extract oil sands bitumen. While this has been bad for those whose jobs depend on the tar sands, it also presents us with a historic opportunity—an opportunity to end the short-term economic thinking that enabled this method of oil extraction in the first place.

Rather than plant a tree this Earth Day, we need to send a call to the leaders of our country. With a federal election just around the corner, we need to find out who is ready

to have a tough conversation. Talking about the environment is difficult in the Cariboo, but it is even more difficult for our politicians, who dole out more in subsidies to the oil sands each year than the combined budgets of Environment Canada and Alberta Environment. It is our responsibility to carry the environmental awareness that Earth Day encourages in us into this next election, and to look for leadership that is willing to focus on job creation, but not at the expense of the natural beauty we are known for throughout the world. The tar sands only accounts for 2 percent of our GDP (and over 90 percent of the economic benefit goes to Alberta). That is two percent I am more than willing to divest from.

Maggie Pyper, Williams Lake, BC.

Invasive Weeds: Looking for solutions Weeds. They are a contentious issue here in the Cariboo and while being knowledgeable about not introducing or spreading them is important, there are other ways of dealing with them that don‘t include spraying. As an organic farmer, I really hope our herbicidal culture dies out before we do.

First things first: weeds are bad, right?

Well, that can be a bit of a tricky question.

Weeds are plants that are growing somewhere we don‘t want them. Because plants have adapted to specific environments, when a species that wouldn‘t otherwise be found in an area is introduced, it can sometimes get out of control. But an important thing to understand about weeds is that they are a symptom rather than the problem itself.

Weeds are pioneer plants. When soil is disturbed, eroded, or otherwise out-ofbalance, weeds appear first because they are

often the toughest plants around. Like pioneer humans, they start setting up an environment that will be more hospitable for those who come next. Fix the soil, help the balance of the eco-system, and you may not need to fight weeds in the first place. Not all weeds are the same, and they are not necessarily evil—just misplaced.

Second: spraying noxious weeds with herbicide is the only way to contain or eradicate them, right? No. Not right. And furthermore, if spraying them were so effective, they wouldn‘t have to be sprayed every year.

I grew up on a cattle ranch where we sprayed knapweed till the cows came home and then kept right on spraying till they went out again the next year and on and on and never was there any difference in the number of weeds from one year to the next. Fast forward a few decades and both my parents on their ranch and myself on my farm have come to some realizations about good soil management and how far it can go in preventing and avoiding troubles with weeds.

I have done two seasons of intensive rotational grazing of cattle on my property and the results I have seen from just that tiny experiment spoke for themselves. Where the fence divides my land from crown land the difference was clear. The crown land side was white as a snowdrift with daisies while my side was lush and green and thick with grass.

This only just grazes the surface of the topic of weeds (pun intended). I may not be making any friends by opening up this can of worms, but hopefully I‘ve made no new enemies either. In subsequent issues I would like to dig deeper and probe the roots of this debate.

Terri Smith,150 Mile House, BC