The Green Gazette - March/April/May 2019 by TheGreenGazette

March/April/May 2019

Scout Island Birds Regeneration Earth Day Local Foods Tsilhqot’in Voices World Water Day Community HeART Guitar Seller Wild Weeds Solar Power BC Climate Commitment Lost in the Woods The Trash Man Swan Song Cost of Fashion Cleaning Green Dying Insects

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Contents Features

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Reading, Riting, Rithmetic—and Regeneration By Guy Dauncey

Earth Day

By Diana French

Three Paths to Solar Power

By Ron Young

Book Review: Tsilhqot'in Voices

Scout Island Supports Migratory Species and Bird Enthusiasts

Lost and Found on Quadra Island

By Jessica Kirby

The heART of the Matter: Celebrating 50 Years for Community Art Council

By Sage Birchwater

By Jessica Kirby

By Venta Rutkauskas

Also in this Issue: 4. Publisher’s Letter: New Beginnings 5. New Spring Releases from Rocky Mountain Books 7. Herbicide Use in the BC Interior 8. How Much Have We Wasted? Becoming Waste Wise 10. Green Up Your Spring-Cleaning Routine: Your Body (and the Planet!) Will Thank You 12. Wild Spring Eating 13. Seedy Saturday in Quesnel: Food in Changing Times 16. Smartphone Habits: Take Back Your Time 19. BC Set to Attract Investment, Build on Climate Commitments with Budget 2019 20. Conservation Conversation: World Water Day March 22 23. Shark Fin Import/Export Ban comes to Parliament for the Third Time 26. Local Food: Guardian of the Vegetables 27. Most Delicious Dressing

March/April/May 2019 l Issue #51

Publisher / Lisa Bland Editor-in-Chief Senior Editor Jessica Kirby Contributors David Suzuki, LeRae Haynes,

Jessica Kirby, Terri Smith, Lisa Bland, Guy Dauncey, Venta Rutkauskas, Sage Birchwater, Ryan Elizabeth Cope, Oliver Berger, Tera Grady, Nicola Finch, Bill Irwin, Barbara Schellenberg, Jim Hilton, Diana French, Ron Young, Jenny Howell, Erin Hitchcock, Angela Gutzer, Judy Hillaby

Advertising Lisa Bland Creative Lisa Bland / Stacey Smith / Directors Rebecca Patenaude Ad Design Jill Schick / Leah Selk / Stacey Smith Published by Earthwild Consulting Printing International Web exPress Inc. Website Design / Rebecca Patenaude Technical Support Cover Photo Northern Saw-whet owl at Scout Island.

Photo: Kris Andrews

www.thegreengazette.ca info@thegreengazette.ca The Green Gazette is published by Earthwild Consulting. To subscribe email info@thegreengazette.ca or visit our website at www.thegreengazette.ca © 2019 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.

28. Green Business: Guitar Seller - Selling Happiness Since 1978 30. Pachamama Works to ‘Awaken the Dreamer’ in the Community 34. Science Matters: You May Not Like Insects, But You Need Them 35. Williams Lake Gardening Club: Seedy Saturday 36. Dan the Trash Man: Reliable Recycling Assistance in Williams Lake 37. No Time Left to Waste: The Cost of Fashion 38. Swan Song Festival: A Nation-wide Festival Celebrating Life through Death 41. Skywatch 42. Streamkeepers in Horsefly 44. Nourishing our Children

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 3

—

Publisher's Letter —

New Beginnings By Lisa Bland | Photo by Lisa Bland

Dear Readers,

t’s almost spring, and it feels like time to re-energize and transform a winter’s worth of dreams into action! All winter long our team at The Green Gazette has been busy behind the scenes remodelling our format and expanding our reach throughout the Cariboo. We are excited to be releasing our first Green Gazette magazine, and we are thrilled about our new look. We hope you love it, too. Along with our amazing and talented team transitioning over– Senior Editor, Jessica Kirby; Web Design, Digital Media, and Admin, Rebecca Patenaude; and Graphic and Ad Designer, Jill Schick – and our dedicated local writers, columnists, and contributors, we would like to welcome Stacey Smith, Photographer and Graphic Designer from Quesnel, as our magazine’s new Creative Director. We would also like to thank Jennifer Reed of Quesnel for all her expertise in helping us create a new template for our full-colour, 100%-recycled-paper magazine, and we wish her well on her new creative projects. Our spring issue marks the first of four annual issues and highlights topics of renewal and regeneration as well as new ideas about greening up our daily lives. Our new format offers additional features, including beautifully displayed and tested recipes, new Green Gazette Directory Listings in-print and online, and content expanding into other Cariboo communities, including Quesnel and 100 Mile House. Businesses, groups, and individuals putting in the time and effort to promote awareness, celebrate creativity, reduce their eco-footprint, offer alternatives to wasteful practices, and contribute to health and well being help raise the quality of living for all. We’re blessed with abundant natural beauty and wildlife in our region, and with a backdrop of increasing political polarization and worrying changes to the ecosystems we depend on, it’s up to all of us to lend our voices if we want to preserve something for future generations. We can all help our communities thrive by generating excitement about gardening season, supporting local food initiatives and farmers' markets, and buying from local businesses. We all have a part to play! If you’re looking for a copy of the magazine, you can find it in local venues throughout the Cariboo Region and beyond, including Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Quesnel, Lac La Hache, Bella Coola, Horsefly, and many communities in between and beyond, including select locations in Prince George, along the Fraser Highway, and in northwestern BC. Find us on Facebook at The Green Gazette and find all our articles and Directory Listings on the web at www. thegreengazette.ca. Thank you to everyone that has supported us so far; we wouldn’t have made it without you. Happy Spring! -GG

Lisa Bland Publisher/Editor-in-Chief The Green Gazette

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New Spring Releases from Rocky Mountain Books As the snow melts and buds appear on the trees, Rocky Mountain Books has an incredible line-up of books coming out this May. Here are two books to add to your spring reading list.

Stories from the magic canoe of Wa'xaid

Rocky Mountain Books is also pleased to announce the release of Stories from the Magic Canoe of Wa’xaid—a remarkable and profound collection of reflections by one of North America’s most important Indigenous leaders. Who better to tell the narrative of our times about the restoration of land and culture than Wa’xaid (the good river), or Cecil Paul, a Xenaksiala elder who pursued both in his ancestral home, the Kitlope— now the largest protected unlogged temperate rainforest left on the planet? Paul’s cultural teachings are more relevant today than ever in the face of environmental threats, climate change, and social unrest, while his personal stories of loss from residential schools, industrialization, and theft of cultural property (the world-renowned Gps’golox pole) put a human face to the survivors of this particular brand of genocide. Told in Cecil Paul’s singular, vernacular voice, Stories from the Magic Canoe of Wa’xaid spans a lifetime of experience, suffering, and survival. This beautifully produced volume is in Cecil’s own words, as told to Briony Penn and other friends, and has been meticulously transcribed. Along with Penn’s forthcoming biography of Cecil Paul, Following the Good River (Fall 2019), Stories from the Magic Canoe of Wa’xaid provides a valuable documented history of a generation that continues to deal with the impacts of brutal colonization and environmental change at the hands of politicians, industrialists, and those who willingly ignore the power of ancestral lands and traditional knowledge. Now available for pre-order. Find out more at: www.rmbooks.com/book/stories-from-the-magic-canoe-of-waxaid

Bikepacking in the Canadian Rockies

Bikepacking in the Canadian Rockies is the first full-colour guidebook introducing backcountry cyclists to the exciting and increasingly popular world of bikepacking. Before his untimely death from cancer in 2018, veteran rider and passionate cyclist Ryan Correy (two-time finisher of the Tour Divide, founder of Bikepack Canada, and author of A Purpose Ridden) pedalled his way through the most popular national parks in the Canadian Rockies to complete his work on this unique guidebook. Featuring routes in Waterton, Kananaskis, Banff, Kootenay, Yoho, and Jasper, Bikepacking in the Canadian Rockies will take biking enthusiasts on beginner, intermediate, and expert journeys. The result of Correy’s remarkable dedication is an unparalleled collection of ten ambitious, multi-day routes complete with directional cues, detailed maps, a helpful Bikepacking 101 section, rich photography, and personal stories that will stoke the curiosity of both the beginner and the experienced backcountry rider. Now available for pre-order. Find out more at: www.rmbooks.com/book/bikepacking-in-the-canadian-rockies -GG

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Reading, Riting, Rithmetic–and Regeneration Article by Guy Dauncey

or 200 years, students have been urged to learn the 3 Rs of reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic. In recent years, thinkers of various political persuasions have proposed adding a fourth R including running, relationships, religion, race, ‘rithms (for algorithms), respect, road safety, Ritalin, rifle-shooting, revolvers, and (appropriately) resuscitation. There is another fourth R that should be considered essential if we are to survive the 21st century. It is the knowledge of ecology, and of how our planet works, and how to regenerate healthy ecosystems, from the atmosphere and the rainforests to the microbiomes in our own guts. Because of our profound ecological ignorance, coupled with simple greed, species are disappearing off the planet every day. Since 1970 the global populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles have declined by 58 per cent, and continue to decline. In Germany’s nature reserves almost 80 per cent of the flying insects have disappeared in just the last 25 years. In Puerto Rico’s rainforest 98 per cent of the ground insects and 80 per cent of the forest canopy insects have disappeared in the past 35 years, causing a collapse in bird populations. Globally, one in eight bird species is threatened with extinction, caused by the clearing of forests for farmland, the use of pesticides by farmers, and increases in local temperatures due to global warming. We are also in a global climate crisis. These crises are not ‘risks’—they are stark

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and dangerous realities. Hence my belief that every young person must be taught the basics of ecology and a good understanding of regenerative solutions. In the normal way, a proposal to require Ecology 101 in every school would be submitted to some committee and have to await the next major overhaul of the curriculum. In BC this has just been completed, so the next review may be decades away. Under BC’s new curriculum a student must obtain 80 credits to graduate including science, numeracy, and literacy—but no mention of ecology. The requirements are full of great intentions: “a collective mandate to develop the educated citizen,” which includes “the ability of students to analyze critically, reason and think independently, and acquire basic learning skills and bodies of knowledge”. But no mention of ecology. No need to understand how nature works or how we can solve the terrible crises we have created. The urgency is such that we cannot wait. We need a faster way to bring ecological literacy into the core curriculum—and I know of such a way. If Canada’s top-ranked universities for teaching environmental science – UBC, McGill, Toronto, Alberta, Waterloo, SFU, Guelph, Saskatchewan, Dalhousie, and Ottawa – were to agree that starting in two years time, every student applying for a place must have passed an approved course in Ecology and Climate Solutions, every high school in Canada would be forced to scramble, and so would schools in China and India, which sent 265,000 students to study in Canada in 2017.

Two years would allow a year for ecological and climate solutions experts to create such a course and for schools to incorporate it in the curriculum in year 2. There is no time for a multi-year consultation. The crises are on us now. The beauty of such a solution is that it sidesteps the lengthy process of curriculum development. It would push Canada into the global spotlight and put pressure on universities around the world to do the same. Once the course had been created, it could go further. It could raise the expectation that anyone running for public office might reasonably be expected to have passed it, and that anyone applying for a managerial job in a government, business, or bank might have done the same. We need to abolish ecological and climate ignorance once and for all. We need a clear understanding of how to achieve ecological regeneration. The younger generation is going to have to do the heavy lifting to solve these crises we have created, and they need to be equipped for the task. -GG Guy Dauncey is author of Journey to the Future: A Better World Is Possible, The Climate Challenge: 101 Solutions to Global Warming, and other books. His website is www. thepracticalutopian.ca

Herbicide Use in the BC Interior Article by Jim Hilton | Photos by Susan Woermke

n a recent BC government press release, the spraying of forests to control deciduous plants that interfere with conifers was reduced from 16,000 hectares to 10,000. Most of the herbicide treatment was taking place between Prince George and Quesnel, and the main reason for the reduced use of herbicides was concern about the impacts on wildlife, particularly relative to ongoing declines in moose populations. There has also been a concern over the reduction of biodiversity in a variety of areas—for example, growing concerns about the possible impact of glyphosate (the main constituent of Roundup) on frogs and other plants and animals, especially species in adjacent wetlands contaminated from aerial spraying. Personal communication with local silviculture specialists confirms that although herbicides are viewed as a quick, easy, costeffective means of establishing conifer trees, more and more research seems to show otherwise. Suzanne Simard, a forest science professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) says coniferous forests don’t do better when the broadleaf plants are killed off using herbicides. After more than two decades of studying the impacts of spraying it turns out that nature is more complicated than a lot of people thought

and herbicide application doesn’t help the conifers grow, which means amphibians and insects are being impacted needlessly. Susan Woermke has many years of silviculture experience in the interior of the province and has arrived at the following conclusion:�We do not need to use herbicides as there are other means of effective establishment: timely silviculture practices and site-specific prescriptions may be utilized as means of meeting legal obligations without undue cost.� In her experience, conifers may also suffer growth defects contrary to the claims of herbicide manufacturers. The attached photos taken by Susan Woermke were from a site treated with Roundup and show deformation of pine leaders. While the pine were not killed, the damage will certainly impact the rate of growth and quality of the trees. A study in eastern Canadian forests also described similar conclusions, noting that stocking commercial species without the use of herbicides is a superior solution. Another study recommended an end to government-funded herbicide use in Nova Scotia, and that the practice be banned on crown land. The assumption that herbicides are the quick and easy way to increase production needs to be challenged as pointed out in a study

done on canola production in the Peace River area. Author Mark Winston, in his book Bee Times, describes an experiment done by one of his graduate students comparing canola production on organic, conventional, and genetically modified fields. The conventional and genetically modified used insecticides, fungicides, and/or herbicides while the organic did not use any chemicals but maintained 30 percent of the surrounding land untreated to encourage wild bees. When all the costs were taken into account the organic area earned a profit of $65,000 compared to $27,000 in the 100% treated areas. The greater profit on the smaller land base was attributed to improved pollination and higher yields. The complete elimination of herbicides may be a problem for some forest companies who are required to meet a minimum conifer stock as prescribed by government regulations. Some silviculture research specialists have been looking at the stocking standards that deal with the level of deciduous plants and the associated free growing levels of conifers so forest companies can meet their commitments. Looking at recent wild fires, it has also been observed that aspen stands are much more resistant to wild fire spread and should be considered when implementing strategies for fire guards and fire prevention and control. With aspen being used for fibre in products like OSB, it is a good time to reconsider some socalled weed species as more useful in the mix of commercial forests. -GG Jim Hilton is a professional agrologist and forester who has lived and worked in the Cariboo Chilcotin for the past 40 years. Since his retirement he has been spending his time with a number of volunteer organizations, including community forests.

The top photo shows a normal lodgepole pine with straight, long leaders, while this second photo shows the twisting and distortion of leaders exposed to herbicides.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 7

How Much Have We Wasted?

Part of the Cariboo Regional District's Solid Waste Info Series: Becoming Waste Wise Article By Tera Grady

ver wonder how much we have wasted? Since 2013, Cariboo Regional District residents have sent 267,000 tonnes of waste to the three regional landfill sites and, unfortunately, the amount of waste generated in the Cariboo region is going up. In fact, the amount we waste significantly started to increase in 2018, which is not good news. Based on the region’s total population and the waste data available, each CRD resident generated 703 kilograms of waste in 2017.

That’s 703 kg for every baby, child, adult, and senior citizen in the region. For a household of four that equates to 2.8 tonnes! The Cariboo Regional District is a large area, over 80,000 square kilometres, with more than 30 different refuse sites spread across it. There is a fully engineered landfill located at Gibraltar mine, 15 other non-engineered landfills, and 18 transfer stations. The total amount of waste landfilled each year, including demolition and construction waste, can change depending on the economy

and building development. While new building development in 2018 has contributed to the spike in waste, “household waste” generated by residents, restaurants, grocery stores, and other businesses made a noticeable increase in 2018. Previously, household waste numbers had been going down since 2013. The graph below illustrates the amount of household waste landfilled at the 100 Mile House, Gibraltar (Williams Lake), and Quesnel landfills and the total from all three. The Quesnel landfill had a scale installed mid-2012, so only has accurate data since 2013, which is why the total line spikes up in 2013. The CRD’s current Solid Waste Management Plan aims at reducing the amount of waste going to landfills. But if the current programs and policies are not achieving this goal, alternative methods will have to be considered—including a “user pay” system in which residents are charged for all waste destined for the landfill. Each person can make a difference in the amount and types of waste the Region must manage. Please take responsibility for the waste you and your family generate by following the tips below. Learn more by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/caribooregion, or visit us online at cariboord.ca. For more information on the Waste Wise Program, call (250) 398-7929. You can also find more details on Waste Wise activities and events at ccconserv.org. -GG

Tips for Reducing Waste

CRD Communities: Household Waste Landfilled (tonnes) 40,000

Say no to single use items, plastic or otherwise.

35,000 30,000

Compost your food and yard waste, either at home or at a local community-run program.

25,000

Reduce what you consume, especially the amount of plastic packaging you purchase.

20,000 15,000

Reuse, repair, or re-purpose everything you can.

10,000 5,000

Recycle—call us for help if you are new to recycling and need some tips.

0 2009

2010

2011

Williams Lake Graphic : Tera Grady

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2012

2013 100 Mile

2014

2015

Quesnel

2016 Total

2017

2018

Donate or sell all reusable items you no longer need. Consider borrowing or renting items you only need for a short time.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 9

Green Up Your Spring-Cleaning Routine: Your Body (and the Planet!) Will Thank You Article By Ryan Elizabeth Cope

ere in British Columbia, winter extends from mid-November to late-April, depending on the region. In some places, the snow never stays very long while in other far-flung regions the icy chill refuses to let go until well past May Day. Over the winter, we’ve retreated to our warm, indoor spaces and while all this cosiness has been a blessing, it has created a bit of a dust-bunny situation in our houses. As the days get longer and the Earth begins to thaw, let us finally stretch our legs, roll up our sleeves, and give our dwellings (and bodies!) a nice, spring-cleaning. This year, however, take a good, hard look at your cleaning bucket. Certain lemonscented cleaners and that miracle streak-free blue liquid are popular options for sweeping the dust from countertops and making glass windows shine, streak-free. But as we become more aware of all the issues currently plaguing our environment, we must also become aware of the products potentially adding to the situation. Have you ever looked at your bottle of spray cleaner and wondered why there are no ingredients listed on the bottle? Why don’t companies list their ingredients? In short: because they are not required to. If they do, it is usually only the active ingredient. In some instances, companies will list their ingredients, but will hide behind misleading and generic terminology, like “fragrance.” Fragrance, as it turns out, is not regulated by any government agency and often comprises hundreds of chemicals combined to bring us the popular scents we’ve come to know and love in our household cleaners. Unfortunately for consumers, these chemical concoctions remain a mystery, shrouded under a veil of “proprietary” information, classified as trade secrets and hidden from public view. Because they remain hidden and because we are exposed to so many chemicals on a daily basis, there is almost no way of knowing what exactly is in our products, and how exactly it is

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impacting our health and the health of our families. A recent documentary called Stink! shines a light on the dirty side of chemical labelling. The film points out that as consumers we make a lot of assumptions when it comes to the products we buy. We assume that these products are safe; well, “that is a fundamentally inaccurate assumption,” notes Jeffrey Hollender in the film. There is currently no law on the books stating that household cleaners need to include a full list of their ingredients. Because we have no knowledge of what comes out of our spray nozzles, we have no way of preventing ourselves from overexposure to chemicals that may create chronic health risks. Our health (and our air quality) are areas of our lives that should never be compromised. The ultimate solution? Do It Yourself. The only way to know with absolute certainty what you’re spraying on your kitchen and bathroom

surfaces is to make it. DIY household cleaners have the benefit of being simple to make, often with materials you already have in your cupboards (and, they’re cheap!). Indeed, a quick Google search for “DIY household cleaner” yields over 45 million results, which is a sign that there is a sea of change happening with respect to the way we keep things clean. Sometimes, though, 45 million hits on Google can have the exact opposite effect: too many choices, overwhelm, and we’ve succumbed to a store-bought spray-cleaner. To save you time searching, the following recipe is an easy and inexpensive all-purpose spray cleaner. Cleaning can be a joy, and with the right products it can bring your home brightness, shine, and better air quality. Smells like spring to me! -GG Ryan Elizabeth Cope is a Kelowna, BC-based advocate for plastic-less, healthful living. She blogs at Seven in the Ocean (sevenintheocean. com) where she marries her love of food with her disdain for plastic-wrapped garbage.

Basic All-Purpose Spray Cleaner Ingredients: 1 cup white vinegar (or replace with infused vinegar—see below) 1 Tbsp baking soda 1 cup water 10 drops essential oil of your choosing (if not using infused vinegar)

Tools: 1 vessel to measure ingredients 1 32oz (946 ml) spray bottle—instead of buying new, wash and reuse an old bottle!

Instructions: 1. Add baking soda to your vessel. 2. Slowly pour vinegar into the cup, allowing the effervescence to settle in between pours. 3. Add in essential oils if not using infused vinegar and stir. 4. Carefully pour into spray bottle. 5. Spritz away! For the Infused Vinegar: In a large jar, stash orange peels until you have filled the jar. Fill to the brim with white vinegar and let steep in a dark place for up to four weeks. Strain the vinegar and use it in your all-purpose cleaner!

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Svenja and the goats gathering spring dandelions. Photo: Terri Smith

Wild Spring Eating

Article and Photo By Terri Smith

When they are about 8-10 inches tall, I begin When I’ve harvested a good amount of pring is almost here. But it may be to harvest their tops. I usually wear a pair of chickweed I move onto the young dandelions a while yet before you are ready to garden gloves, but sometimes I forget them (Taraxacumofficinale). The young leaves are plant your garden. While you are still and just harvest bare-handed. If you grasp not so bitter, and they are full of calcium and dreaming and planning for summer them firmly the tiny hairs containing formic vitamin C and are also high in potassium. My abundance don’t forget that there is already acid will be crushed and you are less likely to favourite tool for dandelion harvest and/or excellent spring eating right outside your door. be stung. Nettle is good for your whole body. I weeding is an old butter knife. I push the knife Part of the excitement of preparing the like to steam it and eat it as a side dish with a point into the soil close to the root and wiggle garden for spring can be harvesting the first bit of butter and lemon juice or add it to soups. it a little as I grasp the plant and pull. Usually I salads of the year. If you have a greenhouse, I also like to make wild-green spanakopita using pluck the youngest, tenderest leaves for salad you can find these delicacies even earlier. a combination of chickweed, nettle, and first and then harvest the rest. The roots can As soon as the ground thaws I like to bring a lamb’s quarter. be used the same way as carrots: boiled or harvest basket or bowl out to the garden any One of the great things about viewing native baked or diced and added to soups and stews. time I visit. “weeds” as food is that our attitudes Chickweed (Stellaria media) is prolific Even the flowers are great; the petals are toward them change. When you are and one of the tastiest greens out there. It has a flavour that reminds pretty sprinkled on top of a salad or use the harvesting a weed instead of just trying to eradicate it, you begin to feel happy me of baby corn. When I first visit the whole flower. They are delicious sautéed to see it instead of annoyed. Weeds are garden in spring, I pull it up by the resilient, and they have an important handful for a delicious spring salad. with garlic or even battered and fried. role to play in maintaining healthy I like to pull small handfuls at a time garden soil. Biodiversity can be about more We all know they can also be dried and used and then tear or cut all the roots where the than just planting many different varieties in as a “coffee substitute,” although I just like to dirt is clinging. By doing this you will save the garden; it can also be about establishing think of it as dandelion root tea. It is a poor yourself time washing it later. If you, like me, good relationships with the plants that are substitute for coffee, but it makes a lovely, are a conscientious harvester, you don’t even already there. I heartily recommend Beverley nutty tea. The roots contain an encyclopedia of need to worry about the usual rule of only Gray’s book, The Boreal Herbal, to anyone harvesting 10% because chickweed is incredibly essential minerals. Even the flowers are great; wishing to learn more about wild plants for the petals are pretty sprinkled on top of a salad resilient, and even if you think you’ve pulled food and health. -GG or use the whole flower. They are delicious it all, it will return with a vengeance. It’s good An erstwhile market gardener and mother of sautéed with garlic or even battered and fried. for digestion, weight loss, skin problems, and goat, Terri lives on a small farm near Quesnel, Every evening in spring, I like to walk a path inflammation, and is high in vitamins C and A BC. Here she gardens, makes art, writes about as well as protein, iron magnesium, and more. I that I think of as “nettle alley.” This is where my stinging nettles (Urticadioica) first appear in local food, teaches workshops, and works encourage you to read more about it, because at Long Table Grocery as Guardian of the it is truly amazing. Try it in a salad or pesto; you abundance. I get excited when I first see their Vegetables. purple-green shoots pushing through the soil. won’t be sorry.

12 | March/April/May 2019

Seedy Saturday in Quesnel: Food In Changing Times

By Terri Smith

he theme for Quesnel’s Seedy Saturday event this year is “Growing Food in Changing Times.” Even a few years ago this may have seemed an almost hypothetical topic to many of us. Most people recognized climate change has been happening, but it hadn’t noticeably affected most of us in the Cariboo until the last few years. Now with fires and floods, sometimes both at once, along with increasingly extreme and unpredictable weather and temperatures, this topic is both immediately relevant and incredibly important. Join us on April 13 from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. in the college atrium for a fun and informative day. Come meet and spend time with some of the people who work on the front lines of our local food movement. There will be some amazing vendors, entertaining kids’ activities, and great workshops. Jennifer Linnegar-Johnson of Petty Catwater will teach you the ins and outs of food preservation (she makes the most amazing food; you don’t want to miss this!)

and Terri Smith (that’s me!) of Road’s End Vegetable Company and Long Table Grocery will be teaching the ABCs of gardening—a workshop on how to get started with growing food for yourself on even the tiniest scale. There will also be a round-table discussion about climate adaptation hosted by Rob Borsato and including myself and other local farmers. This is an important topic because each season we are facing growing conditions that range from drought to flood and from below freezing temperatures up to plus 30, in even a single month. We’ll talk about ways to mitigate the effects of our ‘new normal’ that is anything but, and how to take advantage of some of the ways our changing climate can actually be helpful for growing. The Seedy Saturday committee would like to thank the Lions Club, the Farmers’ Market, and the Bouchie Lake Community Association for their generous donations that make this event possible. This is a free event, but donations are greatly appreciated. See you all there! -GG

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Earth Day April 22 Article by Diana French

On April 22, Earth Day will be celebrated by groups and individuals all around the world.

illiams Lake will mark the event with a rally sponsored by Cariboo Chilcotin for Planet Earth at Herb Gardner Park starting at 10:30 a.m. Everyone is welcome to attend. There are plenty of issues to rally around. Cariboo-Chilcotin for Planet Earth started as a Facebook group in November,

14 | Mar/Apr/May 2019

after the release of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) October report. The group helps local people connect and work together on global warming and other environmental issues at the grassroots level. Protect Our Species is the theme for this year’s Earth Day. Participants will call for a concentrated effort to raise awareness about

the threats to Earth’s millions of species (including humans) and the causes behind the threats. Almost 500 species have died off in the last 100 years (the natural rate is two every century), and the endangered list keeps growing. While climate change is certainly a factor in the loss, human actions take a heavy toll on the beasts, birds, bugs, and plants that live in our forest, grassland,

and water ecosystems. Here in the Cariboo, forest fires have had a devastating impact on the environment, but human activity—forestry practices, habitat loss, the use of herbicides and pesticides, etc.—is a major culprit in upsetting the balance of nature. The declining caribou herds in the interior and the endangered killer whales at the coast are high profile concerns, but few know or care about the small-mouth salamander, which also plays a role in the nature game. As Rachel Carson said in 1969, �In Nature, nothing exists alone.� Earth Day dates back to 1969. Gaylord Nelson, a Senator from Wisconsin, came up with the idea of having a special day to call attention to the state of the world after seeing the damage done by a huge oil spill off the California coast. He thought if people were better informed about air and water pollution, they could convince the government to do something to control it. He recruited some likeminded acquaintances and within a year they had the many diverse environmental groups in the country working together. On April 22, 1970, some 20 million Americans celebrated the first Earth Day with coast-to-coast rallies that called attention to human-made threats to the environment. They caught the federal government’s attention, and by year’s end the government had created the US Environmental Protection Agency and had passed the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts. The network continued to grow, and today Earth Day is the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by over a billion people who let the world powers know they want action on global warming and clean energy. Unfortunately, as the support for Earth Day

grew, so did the environmental issues, and the fight for a clean Earth continues. The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has gotten widespread attention. Prepared by the world’s leading scientists, it is the most up-to-date and comprehensive explanation of the science of climate change and the future of Earth. The alarming report was delivered to governments, policy-makers, and individuals in Korea in October 2018. The researchers found the Earth is warming faster than previously predicted and there is little time left (about 12 years) for remedial action. The report has no easy answers, but it gives governments information they need to make decisions for the future. The report has caused quite a stir, but so far there has been more talk than action. Some governments and many individuals pooh-pooh the findings. Others believe it’s better to be safe than sorry and are taking preventative measures to slow global warming. Back in 1969, Senator Nelson believed knowledge was the key to environmental action. He thought that when people realized what was happening to the world they lived in, they would be insisting governments take appropriate measures to make things better, and as individuals they would do their part. On Earth Day, 2019, the message is the same, but the need for the environment to be protected is greater than ever. -GG Diana is a freelance journalist and author. She has lived in the Cariboo-Chilcotin for many years, 49 of them in Williams Lake where she has been active in the community.

Peaceful Climate Change Rally on Earth Day, April 22, 2019 Let yourself be heard and lend your voice to the growing movement around the world to help stop global warming. A peaceful climate change rally will be held on Earth Day at 10:30 a.m. at the Herb Gardner Park in Williams Lake, between the MLA office and City Hall. There are solutions that can benefit every single one of us—we can choose to share a collective vision for the world that works in harmony with each other and the rest of the living planet. All levels of government must declare a climate emergency and swiftly take bold action to stop the global temperature from rising. Bring placards, and if you can, bring extras for others. Come as you are or with costumes or props, if you wish. Support for this gathering is heartfully appreciated. Email CCPlanetEarth@gmail. com to get involved in this and other related initiatives for positive change. Visit the Cariboo-Chilcotin for Planet Earth group on Facebook to join other community members fighting for a better world.

TheGreenGazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 15

Smartphone Habits: Take Back Your Time Submitted by The Rhythm Club Look to your left, or your right.

f your smartphone isn’t within a foot of you (assuming you’re not reading this on your mobile) you’re one in a million. It’s not news that smartphones have pervaded every area of our lives, but the stats on exactly how our compulsive use of these incredible contraptions is shaping our minds might surprise you. Comparison fatigue, sleep disruption, memory loss, depression, and anxiety are just the beginning of the challenges. Digital Information Overload (the constant influx of information) has been scientifically shown to change the neural pathways in our brains. But is the only option really to delete our favourite social apps forever, cast into the darkness of a disconnected life? Hardly. Here are our top four tips to re-center your social media life.

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Planning

Scheduling your social media time can seem daunting at first, but the results are well worth it. Eighty per cent of social media users check their phones when they first wake up. This lends itself to more compulsive behaviour with your phone throughout the day. Try setting an alarm for 30 minutes after you wake up and checking your phone only after the alarm goes off. You might be surprised at how your behaviour with social media changes throughout the day.

Change the Big Picture

If you’re serious about changing your social media habits, try creating a custom graphic that says, “Why am I picking this up?” (We always recommend Canva for easy design). Creating an interruption in your daily social media practice can create the space needed for powerful and healthy change.

Remember the Magic

Social media becomes a lot easier to handle when we take a moment to remember that people are sharing the best moments of their lives, not the mundane moments that take centerstage in our own lives.

Get Connected

Make a rule with yourself that you will only take out your phone around your friends if it adds to the conversation—for example, showing the photo of a recent vacation. See if this simple self-regulating rule helps to flip your perspective to focus on the real people in your life, instead of the likes on your phone. -GG Rhythm Club is a marketing education company that helps artists, musicians, and creative entrepreneurs create killer social media marketing campaigns without sacrificing their mental health. Learn with them @rhythmclubmarketing or www. rhythmclubmarketing.com.

Tel: 250-395-4545 Fax: 1-877-606-5385 spellizzari@telus.net

Stephen Pellizzari NOTARY PUBLIC

Cariboo Mall 575 Alder Avenue Box 2105, 100 Mile House, BC V0K 2E0

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 17

Three Paths to Solar Power Article and Photo by Ron Young

A recently completed 9.6 kW grid-tied solar system in the Cariboo by earthRight Solar. System will average 35 kW hours per day.

With an expanding presence worldwide, solar energy is becoming a viable low-cost option for your home, farm, lodge, or off-grid residence.

n much of the world solar energy is rapidly becoming mainstream power. In Germany, one of the world’s most industrialized nations, renewables overtook coal as the leading source of power and now account for 41 per cent of the country’s electricity. Germany recently announced that it will begin to shut down all 84 of its coal fired power plants. Germany gets less sun than many parts of Canada, including BC’s Cariboo, yet they’re planning to use the sun as their primary electricity source in years to come. With the legitimacy of solar power no longer in question and the dramatic cost reductions in recent years there is no good reason not to consider solar energy as a viable electricity source for your home, farm, lodge, or off-grid residence. There are three ways to implement solar energy as a power source for your household. The first thing to ask yourself is: Is there good southerly exposure to the sun during the primary solar radiation hours between 11 a.m.–3 p.m.? If the answer is yes and you can position solar panels either on a roof, a ground area, or pole mount without obstruction then consider the following scenarios and choose which one fits your circumstances. Here you have to make several key decisions about your objectives. In our first scenario you have decided you just want some power back up for those situations where the main grid power is down. Depending on where you live on the grid in the Cariboo, power outages can be either a

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minor inconvenience lasting no more than two or three hours or can potentially be a regular serious concern lasting many hours or even days. Power back-up systems for those two extremes look very different and costs can range from just a few hundred dollars to several thousand. In our second scenario you have decided you’ve simply had enough of high power bills and you want to reduce or even eliminate your monthly hydro bill but you’re not ready to go completely off the BC hydro grid. This plan involves harvesting your own electricity with solar panels, using your solar generated power in your household, and passing any extra into the grid for the benefit of others. Of course, you get credit for the surplus that you generate. The more solar panels you put up, the lower your power bill. It all depends on your budget. BC hydro calls this scenario “net-metering” and the application process is a simple one-page document. Cost can start from $2,500 to as much as $50,000. In our third scenario you want to live completely off the BC hydro electricity grid, somewhere –‘home…home on the range, where the deer and the caribou play...’ While living life large in the boonies you still want all the comforts of a modern electrical lifestyle including lights, TV, computer, internet, etc. It’s all possible using solar panels, battery storage, and appropriate devices that marry your ordinary appliances with the energy stored in your batteries. Costs are typically from $2,500 to $25,000, or more if you have larger demands like a ranch or lodge.

The important thing about any of these scenarios is that solar is a tool, or a set of keys if you will, to doors with many different outcomes depending on your passions, your budget, and your expectations. Once you have decided on one of the above scenarios or some variation, then you can proceed to the final consideration. Are you looking at a lifestyle choice, an investment, or a necessity? The answer will largely determine the budget you will set for your solar system. A very important consideration that goes hand in hand with renewable energy systems is the efficiency of your energy usage. How old are your appliances? How do they rate against the government Energy Star and Energuide ratings for efficiency? Is your home well insulated? Do you have double or triple glaze windows or LED lighting? What are your habits? Do you turn off lights, turn down the heat, turn off the TV, radio, coffee maker, or block heater? The answer to these questions also determines the size and thus the ultimate cost of your renewable system. In the end few things will give you as much satisfaction as operating your own power company on the free energy from the sun while increasing the value of your largest investment, your home. Solar energy is one of the few infrastructure improvements that will actually pay for itself over time. -GG Ron Young is a renewable energy professional operating the earthRight Store in Williams Lake since 1993. He can be reached at info@solareagle.com.

BC Set to Attract Investment, Build on Climate Commitments with Budget 2019

awyers with West Coast Environmental Law applauded BC’s Budget 2019 for delivering on funding promises to implement the government’s climate plan, CleanBC. The organization argued that funding aggressive climate action makes sense both economically and environmentally but cautioned that there needs to be greater urgency across government to achieve BC’s climate goals. “BC is a place that environmentallyminded businesses will want to invest because of our beautiful natural environment, plentiful resources, and renewable energy,” said Andrew Gage, staff lawyer. “Budget 2019 builds on that advantage by funding an aggressive path to further lower our provincial greenhouse gas pollution.” Highlights of the CleanBC plan include ensuring every new car sold in BC by 2040 will be a zero-emission vehicle, thanks to incentive programs and abundant charging stations. The Province is also speeding up the switch to cleaner fuels at the gas pump with further reductions to the carbon intensity of transportation fuels. Every new building constructed in BC will be “net-zero energy ready” by 2032, and in the meantime, the government is requiring new buildings to be more efficient and ramping up funding for renovations and energy retrofits to existing homes and offices. The plan was developed as a pathway to achieve the Province’s legislated climate targets of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 per cent by the year 2030, based on 2007 levels. The plan describes and quantifies measures that will eliminate 18.9 megatonnes (Mt) of its 2030 target. Remaining reduction initiatives will be quantified over the next 18 to 24 months. Training British Columbians to work in a low carbon economy, funding public transit, and retrofitting buildings are important ways Budget 2019 reasserts BC’s position as a North American leader on climate change, said Gage. “These initiatives are expected to create thousands of good paying jobs for British Columbians.” BC Premier John Horgan agreed, adding that more job opportunities in the low-carbon economy means people can live and work with greater security in the communities they call home. “By moving to clean, renewable energy – like our abundant supply of BC electricity–we can power our growing economy and make

Highlights of the CleanBC plan include ensuring every new car sold in BC by 2040 will be a zero-emission vehicle, thanks to incentive programs and abundant charging stations. life better and more affordable for British Columbians,” said Horgan. The premier said the government will first focus primarily on reducing climate pollution by shifting homes, vehicles, industry, and business off burning fossil fuels and toward greater use of electricity and other renewable energies; boosting energy-efficient solutions, like zero-emission vehicles and home heat pumps, by making them more affordable and available for British Columbians; and becoming a destination for new investment and industry looking to meet the growing global demand for low-carbon products, services, and pollutionreducing technologies. “With CleanBC, British Columbia is rising to the challenge of climate change,” Premier Horgan said. “Every year, we’re seeing the unprecedented wildfires and floods that hurt so many people, communities and businesses. We need to begin changing how we live, work, and commute to put BC on a cleaner, more sustainable path.” Gage said these initiatives are positive, but he cautioned that more needs to be done

to achieve the province’s climate goals and to ensure all ministries are treating climate change as an emergency. “Right now, some ministries and some parts of Budget 2019 are actively working against those goals—for example, with subsidies for liquefied natural gas projects,” Gage said. “All government ministries need to work together if BC is going to be a true climate leader.” Gage argued that commitments to ongoing auditing and planning in CleanBC, if implemented, could help ensure that all government ministries do their part to achieve the province’s climate goals. In addition to the CleanBC funding in Budget 2019, West Coast Environmental Law also applauds funding for environmental assessment revitalization; ensuring oversight of resource professions; increased environmental oversight in mining; and increased monitoring of polluting industries. -GG Learn more about West Coast Environmental Law at https://www.wcel.org/. Read the finer points of CleanBC at news.gov.bc.ca/ releases/2018PREM0088-002338.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 19

Conservation Conversation: World Water Day March 22 Article By Jenny Howell | Photo by Lisa Bland

have been teaching Water Wise classes to elementary kids for many years now. It is in many ways the ideal job with lots of variety and flexibility, including outdoor classes at Gavin Lake near Likely, BC in the fall and in February; in-class sessions through the winter months; special events such as the April grade 7 Earth Challenge; library art displays; our Earth Friendly event; and then outside with field trips through May and June. The other great part of my job is working with the other Conservation Society staff, planning projects and bouncing ideas off each other. We all work (quite) parttime, yet I feel we accomplish so much with our limited hours as our individual skills and strengths complement and intersect so well. It also helps that we all believe that what we are doing has meaning and purpose, which is apparently the single most important thing for job satisfaction— luckily for us, income and status have less impact. However, even the best jobs need renewal to keep them interesting. One of the easiest ways for me to freshen things up is to put together a new ‘module’. I get to research new material and then think of ways to present it to kids either in the classroom or at Gavin Lake. By the time kids reach the end of elementary school they have often had several Water Wise classes as well as a field trip or two, so I need to stay on top of new material for those older kids. It is also an age when kids are starting to get an

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Along the Fraser River in the Cariboo Region, BC.

awareness of the wider world and their place in it, so for one of my most recent creations, a World Water module seemed a good choice.

World Water Facts 2.3 billion people world-wide don’t have proper sanitation More people have a mobile phone than a toilet 31% of schools worldwide don’t have clean water 844,000,000 people worldwide don’t have clean water close to home Every two minutes a child dies from a water related disease

This module has had a few outings now, and like all my modules it grows and changes with each new class as I work out what is effective in engaging kids and what flops. It is not a module with easy content, although teachers assure me the kids are old enough and ready to deal with it. We talk about how important clean water and sanitation are and how many billions of people on the planet don’t have those things. We talk about what happens when you don’t have a toilet and how many deaths this causes every day. (I’m sure it’s an annoying part of the module when I point out to kids how lucky they are to have a toilet). We look at what the typhoid and cholera organisms actually look like. We talk about the women and children collecting the water, how

many hours that can take, how far they have to walk, and how they can face attacks just on their daily water run (I don’t mention the rapes that occur, but it is very common). I do talk about the back and neck injuries so many women and girls have from carrying 15-20 kg of water on their heads, and I have the kids try and carry a bucket with just 10 kg in for a few minutes, just to get a ‘taste’ of what that would be like. I then probably annoy them again by telling them how lucky they are to have safe, clean water in their homes. The Water Wise program was formed to educate area residents to conserve water when there was first concern about the sustainability of the Williams Lake aquifer, and it has since extended to include overall watershed health. I hope this module helps kids see the consequences of not having enough water, as well as what can happen if we don’t keep that water clean. This next generation has so many issues ahead they will be dealing with, and I am fully aware there is a fine line between educating them and causing anxiety about things they may have little or no influence over. I hope raising awareness of some of these issues and then equipping kids with actual strategies to conserve, but also avoid polluting, water will give them a sense of control as they navigate a future in which climate change and unpredictable water patterns will play an everincreasing role. -GG

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 21

—

Book Review —

Tsilhqot’in Voices

Totem gifted to the Tsilhqot’in by the Nuu-chah-nulth at Teztan Biny. Photo: Steve Monk

By Sage Birchwater

Tsilhqot’in leaders and supporters at Teztan Biny. Photo: Tsilhqot’in National Government

f a picture is worth a thousand words, then the recently released book Tsilhqot’in Voices: Our Place, Our People, Our Story is a veritable encyclopedia. Published in late 2018 by the Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG), the book’s 62 spectacular photographs and quotations from 18 Tsilhqot’in elders, leaders, and youth offer a fresh new look at the Tsilhqot’in people, their history, culture, and territory they have occupied for millennia. The book creates a unique sense of place and offers a concise historical perspective. Of particular interest is the map of the region with Tsilhqot’in place names. “For countless generations before the arrival of Europeans, our ancestors (the ?Esggidam) thrived as a powerful nation guided by the wisdom of our legends and the laws of our people,” the book begins. Most of the text is a composite of statements made by Tsilhqot’in speakers at the federal Environmental Review Panel hearings of 2010 and 2013. Tsilhqot’in citizens spoke eloquently against a proposal by Taseko Mines Ltd to build a copper/gold mine at Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) in the caretaker area of XeniGwet’in and Yunesit’in. Hearings were held in each of the six Tsilhqot’in communities of XeniGwet’in, TsiDeldel, Tl’etinqox, Yunesit’in, Tlesqox,and ?Esdilagh, as well as in Williams Lake. The book allows the Tsilhqot’in People to tell their story in their own words. Tl’etinqox Chief and Tribal Chair Joe Alphonse says it provides good insight into the Tsilhqot’in nation. “It’s important to capture the moment of where we’re at socially and culturally,” he says.“I’m excited the book came out the way that it has. I hope it’s well-appreciated by other people.” Alphonse says in 10 or 20 years’ time the book will take on greater significance as a record of Tsilhqot’in identity.

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The book opens with a dedication to Tsilhqot’in citizens, Elders, and ancestors whose testimonies at the decades-long Tsilhqot’in Supreme Court case and two Environmental Review Panel hearings were tantamount to the success of these efforts. Fittingly, the photograph shows a line of leaders facing Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) with the spectacular backdrop of Dasiqox Mountain reflecting in the water. The next page is equally significant with a map of Tsilhqot’in territory with place names of rivers, lakes, mountains, and important sites written in the Tsilhqot’in language. The book is about the unity of the Tsilhqot’in People. At the 2013 panel hearings Elder Angelina Stump stated that Tsilhqot’in territory extends from the little creeks feeding the Tsilhqox River system to its confluence with the ?Elhdaqox (Fraser River). “That whole area belongs to the Tsilhqot’in,” she says. “We are one.” At the 2013 panel hearing in Williams Lake, former XeniGwet’in Chief Roger William quoted Michelle Myers: “This land is our lifestyle, and if we keep it healthy, then it will keep us healthy.” Images throughout the book tell the story. Spectacular scenery, mountains, rushing water, placid lakes, and people engaged in the activities of survival off the land, fishing, hunting, preparing food, and enjoying fellowship together. On March 26, 2018 the Canadian government held a special day of exoneration in Ottawa for the six Tsilhqot’in war chiefs who were wrongfully put to death by the colonial government in 1864 and 1865. All sides in the House of Commons spoke as one articulating the innocence of the Tsilhqot’in leaders, affirming they were justified in defending their land and people. Then on November 2, 2018 Prime Minister Trudeau arrived in Nemiah Valley to deliver

the speech of exoneration directly to the Tsilhqot’in people on Tsilhqot’in title lands. A photo in the book shows the Prime Minister shaking hands with Chief Joe Alphonse, surrounded by other chiefs and elders. The event was choreographed so that Justin Trudeau and Chief Alphonse arrived at the staging area on horseback, Trudeau riding a black horse and Alphonse’s mount was white. Chief Alphonse explains the symbolism. After War Chief Lhatsassin had been hanged in Quesnel in 1864, his riderless black horse made it home to his family on its own. “It had to cross two major rivers,” says Alphonse. The black horse represented a dark period in our history. I told Justin he needed to get on the black horse as a sign of reconciliation and new hope.” Alphonse admits the Prime Minister has been subject to a lot of criticism lately. “But I admire the fact that he kept his promise and showed up,” he says. Tsilhqot’in Voices is available for sale at both TNG offices in Williams Lake and at the Open Book, Station House Gallery, and other book store outlets. Note: Several of the fallen warrior’s horses returned home to the Chilcotin after their owners were hanged in Quesnel. It is said the black stallion belonging to Chief Telad, swam across the Fraser River, and made his way back to Chezacut, which had been Telad’s home. -GG Sage is a freelance writer and lives in Williams Lake with his partner, Caterina. He has been enjoying the rich cultural life that is the CaribooChilcotin Coast since 1973.

Shark Fin Import/ Export Ban comes to Parliament for the Third Time

in Donnelly, Member of Parliament for Port-Moody-Coquitlam, is sponsoring Bill S-238, the Ban on Shark Fin Importation Act, which passed in the Senate late last year and will now be reviewed by the House of Commons. This bill, introduced by Senator Michael MacDonald, would prohibit the import and export of shark fins into and out of Canada. McDonald’s bill was based on Donnelly’s Private Member’s bill, which was narrowly defeated by five votes in the House of Commons in 2013. At the time, Donnelly’s bill had support from the NDP and Liberal caucuses. He hopes the Liberals, who now account for a majority in the House of Commons, will support the bill again. With a federal election expected October 21 it is imperative S-238 gets through debate and is reviewed by the Fisheries and Oceans standing committee before the House rises in June. The bill has also been widely supported by conservationists, marine scientists, animal welfare advocates, and the family of Canadian Filmmaker and shark advocate, Rob Stewart.

Senator Michael MacDonald and Fin Donnelly, MP Port Moody-Coquitlam. Photo: Oceana Canada, www.oceana.ca/en

Stewart is best known for his 2006 documentary film, Sharkwater, which focuses on global shark hunting and its impact on oceans. In 2017, he was actively filming a sequel called Sharkwater Extinction when he died at sea. The Stewart family also supports bill S-238 and the continued fight to protect sharks and conserve oceans. There is a crisis in oceans around the world with the rapid decline of sharks being killed for their fins. Scientists estimate 73 million sharks are killed each year to satisfy the global demand for shark fin soup. Most of these sharks will have their fins cut off at sea, usually while still alive, then be discarded overboard to drown or bleed to death. This horrific practice, known as ‘shark finning’, is devastating global shark populations. Scientific studies have shown many shark populations have declined by more than 80 per cent in only a few decades, with some declines as high as 99 per cent. Currently, 141 species of shark are listed as threatened or nearthreatened. Canada is contributing to these plummeting numbers. Although shark finning has been banned in Canada since 1994, the importation of shark fins is still permitted. It’s inconsistent and should stop.

In 2015, Canada imported over 144,000 kilograms of shark fin—a 36 per cent increase since 2012. Canada is a relatively small player in the world market compared to Hong Kong and mainland China, but Canada is the largest importer of shark fins outside East Asia, according to the United Nations. As apex predators, sharks play a critical role in maintaining the health of our oceans. Canadians expect us to do a better job protecting and preserving them. You can support Fin Donnelly’s Shark Fin bill, by writing to or calling your Member of Parliament and urging them to support S-238. Visit www.FinDonnelly.ca for more information. -GG

Rob Stewart’s parents, Brian & Sandy Stewart speaking at the Vancouver International Film Festival in recognition of Rob’s film, Sharkwater, www.sharkwater.com Photo: Fin Donnelly

Photo: Oceana Canada, www.oceana.ca/en Photo: Oceana Canada, www.oceana.ca/en

TheGreenGazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 23

Northern Saw-whet owls are cavity nesters and are often found at Scout Island in the winter.

Scout Island Supports Migratory Species and Bird Enthusiasts Article by Jessica Kirby: Senior Editor of The Green Gazette | Photos by Kris Andrews

irdwatching is turning heads among North American hobbyists. In fact, nature-based activities like wildlife viewing have grown exponentially in Western Canada over the past decade and the reasons are not a surprise: being in nature is exciting, educational, and healthy, and we all feel better for doing it. �Birding is detail oriented, requires time spent outdoors and in nature, and requires one to focus on the natural world and its different relationship to time,� says Bernard Schroeder, wildlife biologist and birding enthusiast.�Birding helps develop skills of observation, listening, pattern and sound recognition, and interpretation—all while looking at a beautifully coloured feathered flying dinosaur of sorts.� Schroeder says Williams Lake’s own Scout

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Island is a significant birding destination as it is an oasis of sorts, bridging the Interior Plateau and the Fraser Basin regions at the foot of Williams Lake and at the start of Williams Lake River. �It hosts a number of natural habitats that attract a wide variety of birds within, or adjacent to, an urban setting,� he says. �There is a sizeable lake for the area, a complex of wetlands, mixed forest, riparian shrubs and trees, mature mixed conifers, and deciduous trees and shrubs.� Lucky for birders in the region, the bird population in the Cariboo-Chilcotin is looking healthy. Phil Ranson created the Checklist for Cariboo-Chilcotin birds and completes an annual Christmas bird count (CBC) in Williams Lake. According to Ranson, Scout Island has long been recognized as a prominent bird watching site in BC and is mentioned in most, if

not all, bird finding site guides for the province. �The prominence is based on a high diversity of birds and habitat in a small and readily accessible location to both locals and travellers,� he says. �Its appeal to birders is also enhanced by its status as a nature reserve and the associated Scout Island Nature Centre.� Ranson also points to eBird, which is relatively new but lists Scout Island as a birding hot spot. �It currently has more species represented (203) and has more checklists submitted than any other location in the Cariboo Chilcotin (816), besides the bird banding site at Tatlayoko Lake,� says Ranson.�Many travelling birders consult these things prior to setting out, so it functions much the same way as a site guide.� Bird populations are changing in this region, in some ways noticeable and in some cases

perceived increases and decreases are not readily quantifiable without long-term study. �The Williams Lake Christmas bird count shows increases in winter of several species that are reliant on human settlement to get through the most severe part of winter such as Rock Dove, House Sparrow, Starling, American Crow, House Finch, and American Goldfinch, although in some of these cases populations appear to have levelled off or may be falling— partly explained by the closing of the Williams Lake landfill site,� says Ranson. In terms of range expansion, there are several migratory species that are at the periphery of their range and formerly occurred in restricted numbers that appear to be expanding their range northward. �American Goldfinch is a good example of a bird that did not appear on the Williams Lake CBC until 1989 and is now a fairly common winter species at lower elevations, particularly at feeders,� says Ranson.�Its range also appears to be increasing northward up the Fraser corridor as far as Prince George.� Although the scene is relatively stable in the Cariboo-Chilcotin, Schroeder is concerned about declining bird populations and threats to migratory bird habitats in general. �Many or most birds migrate twice annually—some from one end of the globe to the other with many variations in distances between—so birds are vulnerable to a variety of pressures and impacts,� he says. �They depend on healthy habitats and abundant food resources throughout all global terrestrial and marine systems to thrive.� Species of concern—swallows, swifts, Nightjars, Nighthawks, and other aerial insectivores—are declining due in part to widespread use of increasingly pervasive insecticides and pesticides (such as neonicotinoids) that are decimating key food resources, such as flying insects. �There has been a huge decline in shorebird populations in the last 100 years,� says Schroeder. �I’m concerned about many seabirds such as Albatross, petrels, and penguins, and other waterbirds such as ducks. These depend on healthy productive oceans with abundant food resources and are vulnerable to fishing bycatch, plastics, chronic oiling in shipping lanes, and hunting pressure.� As with most urban parks Scout Island is faced with balancing the needs of people and

nature—a balance that, in its particular setting, Ranson says is not likely to favour nature. The City purchased the land in 1966 from the Pacific Great Eastern Railway and constructed a tourist campsite and public beach on the main island. Next, the City wanted to fill in the adjacent marsh to create parking, but local resident Anna Roberts, plant pathologist and McGill University graduate, stepped in. �When I complained to council, they got someone from Victoria to come and have a look to see if the marsh was of any use,� she told The Williams Lake Tribune in a 2017 article. The Canadian Wildlife Service deemed the marsh important, and suggested it be preserved as a place of learning through help from the National Second Century Fund of BC (now the Nature Trust of BC) to establish a nature reserve. In 1973 the Fund bought the land and the City agreed to take down the campsite. Once the nature reserve was established, the Williams Lake Field Naturalists entered an agreement to collaborate with the what was then the Town of Williams Lake to operate the Scout Island Nature Centre. It has been providing nature education to countless visitors ever since. The Nature Centre is an asset to Williams Lake. In Canada, American and Canadian tourists spend about $12 billion on naturerelated activities each year, and in 2005, $900 million per year was spent on wildlife viewing activities in BC alone. These numbers are growing. In 2017, Global News reported one in five Canadians are birdwatching, and spending an average of 133 days in a year on the activity—more time than is spent on any other nature activity, including gardening. Saturday, May 11 is Migratory Bird Day in Canada. Be sure to spend some time in your region exploring the world of birding—if not as your new favourite hobby, then at least in terms of how to make your spaces friendlier for birds. �There is always something to learn and re-learn with birding,� says Schroeder.�Birds also occupy so many different niches in the environment; the search to view birds can take you anywhere on earth. Birds are also indicators of the health of the natural world.� -GG

Varied Thrushes come through Scout Island but go into the forests to breed.

This pair of wood ducks are cavity nesters or like to use the duck boxes around Scout Island, put up by the Williams Lake Field Naturalists.

American Goldfinches are common at feeders in Williams Lake during the winter. The male plumage turns much brighter in the breeding season.

If you enjoy Scout Island and the Nature Centre, why not join us? The Williams Lake Field Naturalists • Operate Scout Island Nature Centre • Create and maintain the trails, viewing platforms, and wildlife habitat • Sponsor education programs for all family members • Bring in excellent natural history speakers • Lead field trips to amazing local destinations from April to October • Do research and monitoring in the natural environment • Advocate for nature • Volunteer time and energy

As a Member You • Support all the activities and features you enjoy • Receive our lively and informative newsletter four times a year.

• • • • •

Automatically become a member of BC Nature Receive BC Nature’s newsletter and magazine Can participate in our field trips Can offer your ideas and share the vision Be a part of this dynamic and outgoing club

Membership Forms • Available through our website: www.williamslakefieldnaturalists.ca, at www.scoutisland. ca, or at the Nature House mid-week. Follow our Facebook page for updates:

Lincoln Sparrows can be found at Scout Island during spring migration and later may disperse to nearby grasslands.

TheGreenGazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 25

Local Food —

Guardian of the Vegetables —

Article by Terri Smith

ello, Everyone! I’m excited to begin this new column on local food. Local food has been my passion for over a decade, and my own journey of eating it, growing it, selling it, and teaching about it has been both fascinating and difficult, but always rewarding. While there are many parts to the story of local food in the Cariboo, I’m going to begin by talking about one that is dear to my heart. For almost a year now I have been working at Long Table Grocery in Quesnel, BC, and I’m very proud to be involved here. My background is in farming and at work I have been given the title, “Guardian of the Vegetables” because I am ridiculously protective of them. I take it personally any time a vegetable goes to waste, and I rejoice every time we find a new way to use up surplus veggies! If you have ever thought about coming in to Long Table and haven’t yet, please do. With any new retail business, every purchase counts, but with food it counts even more because

26 | March/April/May 2019

the mark-up on local food is so small and the food itself is perishable. In supermarkets the amount paid for food is pennies on the dollar. I have read that the mark-up on industrial food can be as high as 99%. This means that for a bunch of broccoli purchased for $5, the farmer might get five cents. This is why so much of the food we see in grocery stores comes from Mexico where labour is cheap, or from California where the workers are still from Mexico and the labour is cheap. As well, literally tons of food each year goes to waste when it is not purchased. At a small, local food store like Long Table, however, the mark-up is only 25%.If a head of broccoli at Long Table costs $5, the farmer gets $3.75. The rest goes back into running the store. We also do everything we can to use up our surplus veggies and any ‘waste’is composted. To put it a different way, for every $1000 in sales, only $250 of that goes to Long Table, and the rest goes to the farmers. I’m not saying this to try to have you feel bad for Long Table;

I want you to see what an awesome thing it is to support a business that supports other local businesses. The economic spin-offs of shopping here are huge. Because we live in a culture that doesn’t talk about money, we often don’t see how important our money choices are within our community. No one starts a local food business for fame and fortune. Places like this only happen because of people who want to help build community and grow a healthier food system. Because most of the money that comes in goes out again to pay the farmers, we must get very inventive in finding other ways to make money to grow the business. When I was first getting to know Amy Quarry who owns and operates Long Table, she told me about her ideas of applying permaculture principles to business. This idea intrigued me, and I have since come to really love and appreciate the wisdom behind it. The core tenets of permaculture are the core tenets that Amy has adopted for Long Table. If the following ideas, instead of the idea of

Most Delicious Dressing

maximizing profit, were at the core of every business, what a world we would live in.

1 Care for the Earth

Provision for all life systems to continue and multiply. This is the first principle because without a healthy earth, humans cannot flourish.

By Terri Smith

2 Care for the People

Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence.

3 Fair Share

By governing our own needs, we can set resources aside to further the above principles. This includes returning waste back into the system to recycle into usefulness. Some of the ways Long Table has diversified to both follow these tenets and grow the business include:

• Offering frozen, seasoned, mixed veggie packs that are made fresh with the surplus veggies. • Canning and preserving surplus veggies to sell. • Holding workshops on gardening, cooking, beekeeping, art classes, and more. • Setting up a café in the store. • Offering salad bar boxes: convenient, ready-toeat lunch veggies delivered to your workplace.

There are more projects constantly in the works, but this gives you an idea of just how many things we are working on at any given time. In the coming months I will probably write a lot more about Long Table. This place is much more than just a job for me; it is a passion and my second home. Come by and see us, and we can talk some more. -GG An erstwhile market gardener and mother of goat, Terri lives on a small farm near Quesnel, BC. Here she gardens, makes art, writes about local food, teaches workshops, and works at Long Table Grocery as Guardian of the Vegetables.

This dressing is often made at Long Table Grocery to dress up any vegetable dish and is a variation of one made by Martin Comtois in the ArtsWells kitchen. Through trial and error and guessing the ingredients we came up with our own version that we now use on everything. We haven’t yet found a vegetable this dressing doesn’t get along with, and it’s good for you! 1

garlic clove

2 Tbsp

Bragg's (or soy sauce)

3 Tbsp

lemon juice

4 Tbsp

nutritional yeast

3/4 cup olive oil 1. Whirl the garlic in a food processor or blender. 2. Add Bragg's (or soy sauce) and lemon juice and whirl again. 3. Add the oil in a thin stream with the blender running. If too thick, thin with water 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency. 4. Serve as a dressing for any salad or over any dish you like. To use as a sauce for a rice bowl, add: 2-3 Tbsp tahini (to taste) 1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (to taste) 1. Whirl in food processor until mixed. 2. Serve over a bowl of sautéed or steamed veggies and brown rice.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 27

—

Green Business —

Guitar Seller:

Selling Happiness Since 1978 Article & Photo by LeRae Haynes

egardless of your skill level or area of musical interest, The Guitar Seller in Williams Lake is a music lover’s music store where you are genuinely welcome to come hang out, be inspired, or fall in love with the perfect musical instrument. The personable, professional, and helpful staff is made up of Owner Brian Sawyer, Manager Rick Blackwood, and Musical Instructors Herb Pannekoek and Tyler Pollock, who teach individual guitar, bass, and ukulele lessons in two private teaching studios. Pannekoek also does stringed instrument repairs for the store. Well qualified and experienced, Pannekoek’s been teaching for over 30 years and is greatly respected by his students and by the music community. He began playing music when he was nine years old and started teaching music—a natural step for him—when he was 15. �My parents had an art/music studio in Abbotsford and were both music teachers,� he explained. “Dad taught a little brass and reed, but his main focus was his art work as a wood sculptor, and my mom was a conservatory teacher on piano, organ, and accordion. She was a teacher in their studio as well as at Toew’s Music.� Pannekoek played in a couple of different bands for about 15 years, in various places throughout BC and Alberta. Highlights for him include a dance at UBC in Vancouver and a three-night performance at Steam Clock Square in Gas Town. He said teaching has always been his love and after over 30 years that’s still true. �There is nothing like being there when all of a sudden the love of playing clicks with a student and they become infected with a

28 | March/April/May 2019

lifetime desire for playing and writing and perhaps performing music,� he says. �It has never felt like work!� Some of his students have gone on to attend the University of Victoria, and he is currently preparing another student, Ethan Schultz, to enroll. �A few of my students have become professional performers touring across Canada, US, and other places,” he says. “One of them, Lyndon Froese, has performed with his group as far away as Hawaii and Mexico.� At The Guitar Seller, instruments for sale include mandolins, electric and acoustic drums and guitars, electric pianos and keyboards, ukuleles, bass guitars, fiddles, hand-held percussion, harmonicas, and more. You can also find stands, amps, straps, pics, strings, and—new to the store—a complete selection of woodwind reeds. The store is starting a guitar rental program and even exploring one for ukuleles. �There’s so much potential for music in this town and we want to support that in any way we can,� Sawyer says. There is a great price range at The Guitar Seller from affordable to higher end. Prices for electric guitars go from under $200 to the sky’s the limit, and include makes such as Epiphone, Yamaha, Takamine, and Gibson. The store also rents and sells sound systems for all occasions, stages, and venues—from an event at the Stampede grounds to a family wedding reception in your back yard. �We’ll rent you what will work and even provide a sound man, if you need one,� Sawyer says. �We do sound for a lot of community events, such as the Indoor Rodeo, Performances in the Park, and events in the Gibraltar Room,� he adds. �We know the venues and the facilities and can always help you out.�

The Guitar Seller will match prices with larger stores like Long and McQuade. �We won’t sell junk,� Sawyer says. “Quality and affordability are both important, and customer service is king.� The Guitar Seller employees all love music and play music, and their passion shows in their commitment to their customers. “Our customers leave here happy and that’s important to us,� Sawyer says. “Music makes people happy, and it makes us happy, too. This is a thriving happy retail, and you look forward to coming to work every day. Music is therapy; that’s what we sell here.� This local business opened its doors as Audio Video Unlimited in May 1978. “We brought in our first musical instrument in 1980 and eventually opened a smaller version of The Guitar Seller in the lower level,” Sawyer says. �Two years ago, we closed Audio Video and became a full-time music store. It’s made a big difference going full-time. We more than doubled our selection and our inventory; we went from 15 guitars to 40, from one piano to five. I’ve been in a lot of small music stores, but none with this selection.” Although The Guitar Seller doesn’t stock everything, it can bring in most major brands and is committed to looking after nearly every musical inclination and taste. �We’re thrilled when people buy something and have a huge smile on their face, and we’ll go to any lengths to put it there,� Sawyer says. The Guitar Seller is located at 234 Borland Street, and can be reached at (250) 392-4027 and on Facebook. -GG LeRae Haynes is a freelance writer, song writer, member of Perfect Match dance band, and instigator of lots of music with kids.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 29

Pachamama Works to ‘Awaken the Dreamer’ in the Community Article by Erin Hitchcock

local group has started within the community to bring forth the Pachamama Alliance’s message. The vision that informs the Pachamama Alliance’s work is of a world that works for everyone: an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on this planet—a new dream for humanity. This non-profit organization based in San Francisco offers people the chance to learn, connect, engage, and cherish life, free of charge and from anywhere in the world, for the purpose of creating a sustainable, harmonious future that works for all people and all species. In 1995, the Achuar people, who live along the border of Peru and Ecuador, invited a small group of caring individuals to their community in the hopes of working in partnership to help preserve their land and culture, as well as bring their stories to the world. Upon the group’s return to the US, the Pachamama Alliance was formed to carry out their commitment to “change the dream of the modern world,” shifting from a culture of disconnection, greed, and overconsumption to one of sustainability. Joining a global network of communitybased groups, the Cariboo-Chilcotin Pachamama Alliance was formed earlier this year and has been working steadily to bring Pachamama’s vision and initiatives to others within our region. On February 16, community members attended a free introductory event of Pachamama’s two-hour Awakening the Dreamer film. Participants heard from some of the world’s leading experts on topics as diverse as the current state of the Earth’s biodiversity and the reality of the socio-economic disparity throughout the world. The local group has already gained sponsorship from local business Laketown Furnishings and is working on securing more. Huge steps are also being made to present

30 | March/April/May 2019

to children and youth a child-specific program called JumpUp. The root of the program is to value children as participants in bringing about a thriving, sustainable, and socially just world. Tailored for children eight years and up, it enlivens wonder, inspires action, and builds character. JumpUp highlights that children see what is happening in our world from their own perspectives, leading to creative and practical ideas on how to bring about change. By working with them to empower insight and possibility, we help build a lifetime of resilience that will benefit the whole community. The group is available to come to local schools, classrooms, and children’s programs, and plans to present more Awakening the Dreamer introductory sessions to interested individuals and organizations throughout the community before offering full symposiums. The idea to create a local Cariboo-Chilcotin Pachamama Alliance group arose after one of the organizers attended an Awakening the Dreamer Symposium at the Thompson Rivers University in Williams Lake in 2012. This enriching event led to the desire to bring Pachamama Alliance programs back into the community. Those interested in future introductory events can expect a two-hour, interactive viewing experience that is the first offering in the Pachamama Alliance’s Up to Us engagement pathway—a pathway that provides training and inspiration for participants via live in-person and online courses, local community groups, and game changing movements. After the two-hour session, participants have the option to take a free, online Game Changer intensive course and other in-depth lessons and workshops. In Game Changer, participants learn about how the game, or the system, is rigged through the institutionalization of oppression and social injustice systems that benefit the privileged and what we, as individuals, can

to do to change it. Among other areas, they also learn about our cultural stories and who benefits from them; what it means to be human and take responsibility for our role in shaping evolution of life on Earth; what becomes possible when we work together as “evolutionary activists”; the role of taking a stand; how democracy has been corrupted; addressing the urgent need to address climate change; and who we need to be and how to proceed with individual plans of action. Pachamama has also partnered with Paul Hawken, author of the book Drawdown, which presents the top 100 solutions to climate change. Instead of simply talking about the problems facing our planet, he and top scientists have identified very workable solutions to the climate crisis, with many that not only stop global warming but can actually reverse a large majority of its effects by 2050. To be kept uptodate on future CaribooChilcotin Pachamama Alliance offerings, to have the Awakening the Dreamer or JumpUp programs presented, or to become a sponsor, email cariboo.pachamama@gmail.com, or visit the Cariboo-Chilcotin Pachamama Alliance page and group page on Facebook. -GG Erin Hitchcock is a stay-at-home mom with a journalism diploma and 15 years of related experience. She is passionate about organic and plant-based diets, spirituality and reiki, and creating a better future for the Earth.

Keto Product Line Available at.. 436 Reid st.

Downtown Quesnel

250-992-7312

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 31

Lost and Found on Quadra Island Article By Jessica Kirby | Photo by Lisa Bland

It was an easy mistake, something any one of us could have done. But whether any one of us would have survived unscathed is a different question entirely.

t was mid-November 2018 when Roberta Robson (75) and Karen Talbot (69) left a home on the north end of Quadra Island to take the dog for a short trail hike to “Skinny Dip Lake” as it is called by the locals. Roberta, a fit and avid hiker, was leading the way, and she was confident she knew the directions to and from the lake. “I’d been on the trail before, but in summer and earlier in the day,” she says. “This time it was quite overgrown and looked different, and it had always been tricky.” The pair made it to the lake, and everything was great—until it wasn’t. “We just took a wrong turn coming out,” says Roberta. “It could have happened to anyone.” And it’s true—anyone who spends as much time in the wilderness as Roberta is bound to feel confident in their abilities, and at home in the lush, rainforest wilderness of BC’s west coast. But for how long? Roberta and Karen discovered their comfort level dropped off about two days later, when they still hadn’t found their way back. Paul Berry with Comox Search and Rescue told Chek News the duo had set out around 3:15 p.m. on what was meant to be an hourlong walk.

32 | March/April/May 2019

When they didn’t return, a search was called the following morning, with rescue volunteers amounting to about 90 people by day three. “It’s amazing,” says Michael Mascall, a friend of the missing women, in an interview with Chek News. “We had searchers here from Victoria, the Cowichan Valley, from Parksville, Campbell River, Port Alberni, and even the west coast. Their help was amazing, and they just went over the area thoroughly.” Roberta and Karen spent the first night on a mossy bluff, not sleeping but following sound wilderness practices by staying put since they had no light by which to make their way safely. “We cuddled for warmth, and we had no food,” says Roberta. “When it got light, we started walking.” Despite their best efforts, the pair couldn’t get their bearings. They followed a fast-flowing creek thinking it may lead to the ocean, but it just took them deeper inland and into a ravine near the bigger lakes on the island. The terrain was rough, threatening injury, and although the first day and night were dry, by morning on day two it was pouring rain. “I had a pretty good rain coat, a wool sweater, and a wool hat but no rain pants,” says Roberta.“I was soaking wet from the waist

down and water sloshed around in my shoes. Karen had a leaky rain jacket and rain pants.” Looking for shelter, they came across a beautiful stand of cedar trees that arced over the land like umbrellas. Roberta was in awe. “I’d never seen huge cedar trees like this before,” she said. “The next night we spent under one of those amazing trees.” The forest may have been beautiful, but it was cold—the pair spent the night huddled together, teeth chattering attempting to visualize fire and warmth to get them through the night. Suddenly, through the darkness, helicopters appeared, their noise and lights breaking through the trees. Then they disappeared. “I told Karen they were looking for us,” says Roberta. “The helicopters came back in the morning, but they couldn’t see us waving from the deep forest. We would have been more visible from the bluffs, but we would have frozen to death out there.” On the third day, the sun shone, its warm rays piercing the forest canopy and warming the two women, who were grateful for the heat, not sure they could bear a third night. By the afternoon the helicopters had not reappeared, and Roberta was once again

The Ten Essentials Heading out for a backcountry adventure? Never forget the Ten Essentials. Inclement weather, injury, and simple human error can change the course of any excursion, no matter how experienced of comfortable you are. Specific items used to fulfill navigation and clothing requirement will vary depending on the climate, location, and type of trip, but never forget they are called “essentials” for a reason—never leave home for the backcountry without them. 1. Navigation: Map, compass, altimeter, GPS device, personal locator beacon (PLB), or satellite messenger, depending on the length and type of trip

2. Headlamp: Plus extra batteries

3. Sun protection: Sunglasses, sun-protective clothes, and sunscreen

4. First aid: Including foot care and insect repellent (as needed)

5. Knife: Plus a gear repair kit

6. Fire: Matches, lighter, tinder and/or stove Roberta Robson enjoys the benefits of being outdoors in every season. Photo by Dani Riis

getting worried. Suddenly, she heard a whistle and knew the ground crews were close. “I started yelling for help,” says Roberta. “I saw the big grin on Karen’s face. We made our way over to where the voices were coming from and found locals Heather and Ben, who shared warm clothes, tea, and food.” The ground crew had climbed a high and narrow ridge from the big lakes and followed that ridge down to the low lands to find the lost women. They’d signalled Search and Rescue, which long-lined Roberta and Karen out of the woods and to BC Ambulance for assessment. “There were two hunky young men with us under the helicopter,” laughs Roberta. “When the helicopter landed, the two young men landed on their feet. Karen and I fell over backward. I looked over towards the community centre and there were all my friends and Karen’s family.” Mascall said once they discovered where the women had been found, friends and neighbours weren’t surprised. “We walked into the lake where they did their walk and

we could see how you could get disoriented, particularly late in the day when there’s not much light,” he says. “You can just lose the path and take the wrong one, and it’s not much at the time but it leads out to a totally different place.” Roberta’s fitness level, wilderness experience, and ability to stay bright in a dire situation all contributed to the women surviving the event unharmed. Because she’d planned to be out just an hour the pair hadn’t brought any supplies—a habit Roberta says she will be correcting. “I used to always bring supplies, but I hike all the time and am so comfortable, I just didn’t this time. It won’t happen again,” she says. “We were nobody special, but Search and Rescue and the community spared no resources to find us. I’m grateful for that. I don’t know how we would have survived the third night.” In retrospect, she says the forest and its bounty were quite beautiful and she would like to go back—better prepared, of course— to process the experience and reclaim her comfort in the wild. -GG

7. Shelter: Carried at all times (can be a light emergency bivy)

8. Extra food: Beyond the minimum expectation

9. Extra water: Beyond the minimum expectation

10. Extra clothes: Beyond the minimum expectation

Also, make sure you are prepared physically for the task at hand. Hiking is for everyone, but like any sport there are inherent risks. Work your way up to longer hikes, and make sure you are familiar with the type of terrain you’ll be encountering. Being prepared can be a game-changer in the wilderness. Happy trails.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 33

—

Science Matters —

You May Not Like Insects, But You Need Them Article by David Suzuki

An alarming scientific review has found human activity is driving insects to extinction. When the bottom of the food chain is endangered, so, too, is everything up the chain—including people.

nsect declines threaten birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians that eat insects, as well as the many plants that require them for pollination. Insects are also crucial to soil health, nutrient recycling, and ecosystem functioning. Habitat loss from intensive agriculture and urbanization is the main cause of the decline, according to the review, “Worldwide decline of the entomofauna: A review of its drivers,” published in Biological Conservation. Agricultural pesticide and fertilizer use, pathogens, invasive species, and climate change are also major factors. “If insect species losses cannot be halted, this will have catastrophic consequences for both the planet’s ecosystems and for the survival of mankind,” review co-author Francisco Sánchez-Bayo, from the University of Sydney, Australia, told The Guardian. Review authors Sánchez-Bayo and Kris Wyckhuys, from the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing, analyzed 73 scientific reports from around the world. Although the authors admit to some limitations with the study, the reports indicate that 40 per cent of insect species are declining, one-third are endangered, and the total mass of insects is dropping by 2.5 per cent a year. If these trends continue, most insects could be gone within a century—with severe consequences for all life. The planet is already headed into its sixth mass extinction. Humans—who make up just 0.01 per cent of Earth’s living biomass – are the major drivers of the current catastrophe. A World Wildlife Fund study concluded that we’ve wiped out 60 per cent of mammals, fish, birds, and reptiles since 1970. Another study found people have destroyed 83 per cent of wild mammals and half of all plants since the dawn of civilization. As frightening as that is, the rate of insect extinction is eight times that of mammals, birds, and reptiles.

Sánchez-Bayo said insect declines started at the beginning of the 20th century and accelerated in the 1950s and 1960s, reaching “alarming proportions” over the past two decades. He believes recent rapid declines are a result of increased use of new classes of insecticides like neonicotinoids and fipronil, which remain in land and water, sterilizing soils and killing beneficial insects. (Canada has delayed phasing out neonicotinoids.) Butterflies and moths are hardest hit, with bees and beetles also dramatically affected. The researchers found that a few adaptable species are increasing, but nowhere near enough to offset losses or replace services like pollination, animal nourishment, and soilhealth maintenance. People have made great advances over our short history, but we’ve often failed to apply our unique foresight to understand the consequences of our actions. Industrial agriculture increased our ability to produce more food, internal combustion engines and oil facilitated mobility and trade, and computer technologies brought about efficiencies in many areas, as well as enhanced social connection. But our lack of care in implementing these many “advances” has led to overpopulation, pollution, habitat loss, extinction, climate change, and more. If we’re capable of so much

innovation and technological prowess, surely we have what it takes to resolve the growing environmental crises we’ve caused. Some solutions can be implemented quickly and relatively easily, such as banning the worst pesticides, implementing the many available and emerging solutions to pollution and global warming, and examining better ways to grow, produce, and distribute food. Sánchez-Bayo argues that changes in agricultural methods are crucial, noting organic farms and farms that used limited pesticide amounts in the past had more insects. Research also shows organic farms maintain healthier soils, use less energy, emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and produce higher yields than conventional farms, especially during droughts. Improving soil health is also a way to sequester more carbon and help reduce the threat of global warming. Many people are repelled by insects or are frightened at the thought of bites and stings. No matter what you think of them, there’s no denying they’re essential to all life. If insects die out, we won’t survive. From banning destructive pesticides to reforming agricultural methods to planting insect- and pollinatorfriendly gardens in urban areas, there’s much we can and must do to help the critters survive and thrive. -GG

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation senior editor, Ian Hanington. Learn more at https://www.davidsuzuki.org

34 | March/April/May 2019

Williams Lake 11th Annual Seedy Saturday Come kick off the Cariboo garden season with the 11th Annual Seedy Saturday, hosted by the Williams Lake Food Policy Council. Also joining in will be the Williams Lake Farmers' Market, hosting its first market of the season. This collaborative event will be a fantastic opportunity to learn about growing your own food and stock up on locally grown seeds, seedlings, and handmade garden wares. Seedy Saturday will be held May 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kiwanis Park, next to the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex.

Williams Lake Gardening Club Speakers and Events Spring 2019 March 7 Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials for the Cariboo Roger Stratton, Horse Lake Garden Center April 4 Vegetable Gardening Bob and Linda Osmachenko, Williams Lake May 2 Container Gardening Don Bassermann, Prince George Come out and enjoy great discussions and ask questions about gardening over homemade snacks and coffee. Join anytime for $2 per presentation or sign up for a $10 membership, which includes discounts at local garden centres. Stay tuned for multiple events coming up in June, including a copper and cedar garden obelisk workshop and a garden tour. For more info contact Leanne (250) 398-8246 or visit the Williams Lake Garden Club Facebook page. TheGreenGazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 35

Kristy Novakowski from Purple Pansy and Dan the Trash Man talk about compost and recycling. Photo: LeRae Haynes.

Dan the Trash Man:

Reliable Recycling Assistance in Williams Lake

an the Trash Man in Williams Lake has taken customer service to new heights by adding another green feature to his business. Besides garbage, recycling, glass, and yard debris, he also picks up composting. Dan Wilkinson worked for the original Trash Man owner starting in 2001 and purchased the business four years ago. His customers are rural residents, people with mobility issues, business owners, and people with busy lives who appreciate being able to leave their garbage and recycling in his capable hands. “Recycling has become both more mainstream and more regulated,” he says. “When I first took over there wasn’t a lot of focus on recycling, but that has changed.” When the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) first put its recycling and compost programs in place, community focus—and business for the Trash Man—increased. “I picked up some more customers who realized the importance,” says Wilkinson. “It was a real learning curve for both the CRD and the public, and it’s come a long way.” Customer service is a priority for Wilkinson. “People appreciate me hauling their garbage, recycling, and yard debris away, giving them one less thing to worry about,” he says. “It’s important to me to do a good job for people. I want them to be happy.” One customer who deeply appreciates Wilkinson’s dedication and expanded services

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Article by LeRae Haynes is Purple Pansy owner Kristy Novakowski, known as the Eco-Chic Florist. “I’m a small business—only one person—and I get so busy sometimes, I had to find a way to make my life easier,” she says. “When you’re a small business, they say, ‘hire a bookkeeper,’ and ‘hire someone to do deliveries.’ I thought, why not hire someone to help with compost and recycling?” Compost is a top priority for Novakowski, and a fair amount is generated from her shop: clippings and trimmings and things like spent flowers and evergreen branches. The Purple Pansy has weekly compost and recycling pickup but has been working on the same small garbage bag since Christmas. Once a week Dan the Trash Man picks up a large box of compost and all the recycling: glass, cardboard from shipping boxes, and plastic.

“Protecting the environment is simply a responsibility we have as business owners and as human beings on the Earth.” Novakowski said she’d heard of the Trash Man years ago and would notice his little garbage can signs. “I phoned and asked if he could compost and he said yes,” she says. “I was so relieved. And he’s so reasonable,

honest, and reliable. It’s a relief not just to have it picked up but to have it dealt with responsibly.” She says she likes supporting the environment and supporting small business at the same time because small businesses need each other. Novakowski counts her delivery person, her bookkeeper, and Dan the Trash Man as part of her team. “Small businesses are the heart of the community—you definitely feel that you are part of something,” she says. “I feel it’s my responsibility to make the choice to recycle and to compost. Plus, I have children. We need to show them good choices and good practices, and not how to contribute to climate change.” Running a business and caring for the environment are not mutually exclusive, she adds. “Protecting the environment is simply a responsibility we have as business owners and as human beings on the Earth.” Dan the Trash Man covers the Williams Lake area, including outlying areas like Deep Creek, by the Fraser River on Highway 20, Pigeon Road near 150 Mile House, and Spokin Lake. He can be reached seven days a week and hauls Monday to Friday. You can reach him at (250) 302-8114 and on Facebook at Dan the Trash Man and Love Williams Lake. -GG LeRae Haynes is a freelance writer, song writer, member of Perfect Match dance band, and instigator of lots of music with kids.

—

No Time Left To Waste —

The Cost of Fashion

Article by Oliver Berger

hat goes through your mind when you open your closet? I will tell you what has been echoing in my brain lately… “The clothing industry is the second-largest polluter in the world, second only to the oil industry.” For the past decade companies have been mass producing more clothes than ever before. In an effort for us to buy more and keep shares high, fashion moguls create new season trends quicker and quicker. This makes us feel like the last clothes we bought are already out of style. To keep up with the competition, they make them cheap and of low quality in countries where labour and production costs are minimal. It is called “fast fashion”. So, what are the impacts? Water consumption is extreme when it comes to making clothes; cotton is a thirsty plant. They say it takes over 10,000 litres of water to make one pair of jeans. Of course, this considers the water necessary for growing the plant, as well as the dying and washing. Pesticides and fertilizers, especially GMO type applications, are rampant in cotton production. Crops are sprayed all over the world raising nitrogen levels in the soils and nearby water ways to toxic levels. Nitrogen can also enter the atmosphere as nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. Many clothes are manufactured in countries where work safety and environmental standards are sub-par. Waste water from these factories is contaminated with bleaches, acids, alkalis, dyes, solvents, resins, and even fluorocarbons. Next stop, the water sources nearby, and eventually down into the oceans we all share. Because the demand for new clothes is not in these developing countries where they are made, clothes are shipped all over the planet, contributing to our ever-growing emissions problem. Not only that, many fabrics we wear and use are synthetic, made from plastics and other non-organic materials. When we wash or put these items in the dryer, tiny microfibers are released into our drains and garbage cans. Once these microfibers make their way into nature they are consumed by a multitude of organisms and make their way up the food chain by way of biological magnification. Now it is easy to understand A UK survey found that, on average, a piece of clothing will be worn how the textile industry is one dirty only seven times before it’s thrown away. Photo (top) Artem Bali, laundry basket. Pixabay (bottom): Leanne Olson, Artist. www.leanneolson.com

This quote regarding the industry as the second largest industrial polluter in the world came from Eileen Fisher, a high-end retailer, during an award speech in 2016. It has been argued back and forth whether this industry truly is number two, but either way the phrase stuck, and she made an important point. Jason Kibbey, CEO of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, said, “It’s often quoted, and could theoretically be true, but at this point, I don’t have any credible facts to assess where the fashion industry would rank.” A Danish Fashion Institute is analyzing multitudes of data to see where this industry really ranks on a global-impact scale and should be publishing a report later this year. For now, they say, “Fashion is one of the most resource-intensive industries in the world, both in terms of natural resources and human resources.” Reuse, reuse, reuse is the most common theme for textiles. Wear the heck out of your favourite clothes then pass them onwards when they no longer bring you joy. Places like The Salvation Army, Value Village, and Big Brothers Big Sisters have been a great source for depositing our unwanted textiles. However, what you might not hear is that they are completely overwhelmed with the number of items dropped off and donated. Sorting through this mess is more than a full-time job. Volunteer for a day or two if you are curious. Repair. Learn how to fix and patch holes and rips. We have many talented seamsters in our area; take advantage of those skills. Repurpose. If clothes are beyond repair find a buddy who loves mechanics—they can use them as rags. Or take a quick look through Pinterest; I couldn’t believe the creations I discovered crafted out of old fabrics. When all else fails, recycle. Bag your nonstained, unreusable textiles with a label that says,“textile recycling” and drop them into your nearest clothing donation bin. Labelling the bags ensures it doesn’t get reopened for unnecessary resorting. The bags work their way to the right facility where the material is shredded for insulation or stuffing. If we truly want to make a difference, we must start with our consumption. Buy less. Refuse. Be happy with the clothes you have, do not judge others because of what they wear, and know that you are beautiful. The small changes do make a difference. -GG Oliver Berger has a 37-year degree in life, starting out in the Spokin Lake area, spending adolescence in Williams Lake, and then venturing throughout the world on a quest of always learning new things. His priorities include dedication to and education about waste management.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 37

Swan Song Festival:

A Nation-wide Festival Celebrating Life through Death Article by Angela Gutzer and Nicola Finch, Cariboo Community Deathcaring Network

Swan Song By Michael Ashby

The swan silently crossed the river No reflection, no ripple in her wake Lit by a moving sunbeam, she crossed the water, Just, for my sake I sat down aboard her back As her head turned to me And she looked into my eyes, asking, Are you really, really, ready? I nodded, as tears rained, from my face To join countless others in their river The swan started swimming and slowly singing, The most beautiful music I had ever heard in my life And then the swan suddenly changed From black into a dazzling white And I stopped crying and started smiling As together we crossed over Into the most brilliant of light. Photo: David Finch.

Support for Natural Burial in Williams Lake Natural burial is returning our bodies to the Earth in the least intrusive way so we benefit the Earth in our deaths as we strive to do in our lives. We are circulating petitions in Williams Lake and a Change.org petition online offering information and asking for expressions of interest from residents of Williams Lake and neighbouring communities in support of making natural burial options available in our municipal cemetery. This is the first step. We will be making a presentation to Williams Lake City Hall (hopefully this spring), requesting that local cemetery by-laws be amended to allow green burials. Our local funeral director’s words ring in my ears. When I asked why natural burial isn’t an option, his response was, “No one has asked”. This campaign is to make those asks known. To sign the petition and find out more visit:

https://www.ccdcnetwork.com

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he swan symbolizes grace, beauty, love, and transformation. She signifies beauty in the aging process—the shedding of our undesirable characteristics on the path to re-connecting to our eternal inner light. She teaches us to use courage as we hit the pitfalls of life and offers us her guiding intuition to see the bigger picture. Grace comes in when we allow the not-so-pretty parts of ourselves to be seen and acknowledged as a part of us. Her medicine is the surrender to the great unknown regardless of the outcome. She asks us to view our own duality: good/bad, ugly/ pretty, life/death with acceptance and humility. The medicine of the swan is compelling in understanding life and death. It represents the ultimate duality that we may acknowledge as we age, transform, let go, and ultimately heal. The swan song is a metaphorical phrase for a final performance or gesture prior to death based on the myth that the mostly mute swan sings a beautiful song just prior to dying. The Swan Song Festival is a nation-wide festival to celebrate death and its inherent invitation to live. It is the prayer we say to life to say our thanks. It is the recognition that this life we live comes to an end through death. It was initiated by Community Deathcare Canada (CDC), which “is a non-profit group coming together in response to the needs and interests of Canadians who seek to re-engage with the dying and deathcare in a more

meaningful, holistic, and environmentally sustainable ways”. The festival is being held across Canada October 19, 2019 and will be celebrated through art. The CDC suggests “a death parade, a death dinner, a death poetry night, a cemetery walk, death sidewalk graffiti cafes, death cinema night, a storytelling night of those dying and those grieving.” Nicola and I, founders of the Cariboo Community Deathcare Network, are excited to announce our alignment with the Swan Song Festival for the Cariboo. We hope to engage the community to create a day of celebration of all things death. The event will unfold over the spring and we will keep everyone updated through our Facebook site and website. Fall is a perfect time to reflect on the ending of cycles, change, and the inspiration to go inwards for reflection. We imagine this day to have multiple locations and events throughout the day. We welcome all people to contact us with your ideas, your support, and your email address if interested in participation. We will be having meetings soon and will be inviting anyone interested to join us to brainstorm. With love, Angela Gutzer angela@deathtalk.ca and Nicola Finch nicola@deathtalk.ca Reach the Cariboo Community Deathcaring Network @CCDCNetwork www.deathnews.strikingly.com -GG

The heART of the Matter

Celebrating 50 years for Community Arts Council. Art saved my life. How about you? Article by Venta Rutkauskas

Each artist’s journey is akin to their fingerprint. It’s why I adore interviewing them, searching the sands of their process for clues or pearls of insight that might decode the art they make. I do this, I chase the spark of inspiration in others towards its source, because I believe if I keep following it, the source’s warmth and passion will reveal its secrets to me. It is my own personal fairy tale, a heroine’s journey to soul and unveiling so that my own artistic endeavours deepen.

t’s easy to recall the year that my art saved me. It’s a year that defined me. I was 16, an awkward, impertinent theatre kid at Queen of Angels Academy in Montreal, treading water in a family struggling with addictions and religious beliefs that alienated me. I’d already battled with eating disorders and keeping friends, overwhelming my peers with the heaviness I carried in my heart. I’d not made any significant attachments to elders or mentors, leaving me to cope with my inner turmoil mostly alone. Finding theatre and literary arts at that time empowered me, strengthened my voice, and drew me out of sadness for the moments I was creative. It built a community of peers around me. It’s not that I escaped family trauma unscathed; I remain to this day a healing work in progress. What happened that year is that I anchored my identity into the creative process. The artistic practices were imbued with tools that relieved stress, challenged my mind, and made me unique. From then on, choices made for my future incorporated the arts, philosophy, and humanities, fields of study that lead us to explore, inquire, and create beauty. Honouring my creativity in those pivotal years led me away from self-destruction by awakening a sense of purpose in my life. We know that art is good for us. Still, there is a force in society that condemns art practices as frivolous, not worth pursuing unless you are a master and can make millions, perhaps a trivial hobby. This notion borders on the absurd for me, as most of my life has been spent working in the arts, surrounded by a profusion of artists and arts supporters who know what I know. Art changes lives, enhances

communities, and brings people to new places, materially and spiritually. Now, as a community arts organizer, I have a professional interest in arts advocacy. I’ve recently combed the office archives in anticipation of the 50th Anniversary of the Community Arts Council of Williams Lake (CACWL), who’s incorporation date sees it turn 50 on February 20, 2019. CACWL founders included playwright Gwen Ringwood, publisher Clive Stangoe, potter Anna Roberts, and Thespian Anne Hornby, passionate individuals who excelled personally in their arts, yet saw to it that the community would also benefit from creative practices. They envisioned a unified arts community with a dedicated arts centre and a society able to leverage funds to distribute to community groups, artists, and the public. It’s a legacy worth defending, especially because increasingly we see arts curriculum stripped from classrooms, while the busyness of modern life moves us away from ‘making’. Though we’re a small grassroots alliance, CACWL draws funds from BC Arts Council, Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society, and others to put artists in the schools, facilitate Art in the Park, and assist in the Earth Friendly Holiday Event and Pops in the Park, to name a few initiatives. Considering this 50th Anniversary and the work CACWL Board of Directors and I do to bring art into the community and classrooms in the Williams Lake area, I’ve decided to create something of a physical legacy to honour what CACWL founders built for us, and I hope you’ll help me do it. Has art had an influence on your life? Does the creative process benefit you? Will you

write me a postcard or letter about it, please? Snail mail is best, because I’d really like a paper trail to work with. If you’ll honour me with your story, I promise to turn it into something beautiful… A work of art in service to the creative source. Please mail your letters to CACWL, 90 North 4th Avenue, Williams Lake, BC, V2G 2C6. -GG Venta Rutkauskas is the co-ordinator for the Community Arts Council of Williams Lake (CACWL). She is an advocate and lover of the arts and has taught drama and written plays for young children. She is also passionate about the healing arts. Visit www. williamslakecommunityartscouncil.com to learn more about CACWL and local artists.

Children naturally gravitate to art and art making. Najma Holmes, 6, puts it simply: “I get happy when I make art.” Here, she is modelling at the Museum of Fine Arts (Musee des Beaux Arts) in Montreal, a visit she called an awesome experience.” Photo: Venta Rutkauskas

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 39

40 | March/April/May 2019

Skywatch with Bill Irwin

t the time of writing this we are having a real cold snap. Often it is clear at night during these Arctic outflows and if the moon isn’t interfering, those bright winter stars can be spectacular, with Orion the hunter leading the charge in his constant battle with Taurus the bull. Gemini the twins are riding high overhead, and the hunting dogs, Canis major and minor, follow the hunter’s path in the southeast. Sirius is the bright star in Canis major and is the brightest star in the night sky. Because of its low elevation and great brightness, Sirius is affected by atmospheric turbulence. It often twinkles and shows colours as refractive cells of air move in its light path. This is quite noticeable, and people often wonder what it is. At the observatory when it’s around -20 degrees C or more, I usually spend more time inside the warm room than out on the observing deck where the telescopes are. The grease starts getting stiff in the scope’s focuser, and cold eyepieces easily fog with your breath. I think about making a glassed-in dome at these times. You’re not supposed to look through a window with a telescope because it degrades the image, but I’m actually surprised how good it can be, especially with binoculars. But you don’t want to hear about winter anymore. As the evening wears on you will see the unmistakable reverse question mark of Leo

the lion rising in the east. Spring is on the way. Soon it will be time for the realm of galaxies, especially between Leo and Virgo. In spring and fall we look outward from the disc of the Milky Way galaxy, rather than through the thick part of it like in summer and winter. As a result, we can see much farther outside our own galaxy and find ourselves looking at other galaxies. Galaxies are faint looking smudges for the most part and require larger telescopes to see well visually. The more you look at them, the more you can see, and comments like,“I can’t believe I didn’t see that last night” are common. One of my favourites is the Sombrero in Virgo. It is very striking with its dark dust lane girdle. You have certainly seen it on TV if you watch old science fiction movies or The Outer Limits. The planets had a good showing last year and are taking a bit of a holiday this spring. Venus, which has been that spectacularly bright object in the early morning sky, is drawing closer to the sun and will be on the far side of it in superior conjunction before it reemerges into the evening sky later this year. Mars is also fading as it approaches conjunction low in the western sky at sunset. Last year’s opposition was a close one, but dust storms on the planet itself made the July 2018 opposition challenging as far as making out details on the planet’s surface. The opposition of 2020 looks to be a lot more promising, because Mars will be much higher in the sky

and we may escape the dust storms this time. No backyard observation of the planets can match what you can see on Hubble images or rover panoramas or simulated flyovers you can see on the internet. But only by getting out under the stars and trying to observe them can you get an actual sense of where they are and how they move. Then you have some place to put all the other data. Saturn and Jupiter are low in the southern sky in Scorpius and Sagittarius. They will be mostly visible in summer; that is, if we don’t have a mosquito season like last year. The full moon in spring is interesting. We all have visions of the Harvest Moon in fall. It appears to linger in the sky for several nights around the full moon. But the full moon in spring doesn’t elicit the same memories because it rises an hour and 20 minutes later each night versus the 20 minutes or so in the fall. So, if you are in the habit of looking at your usual time, the full moon only puts in a brief appearance. The moon is not moving significantly faster or slower in its monthly journey. It moves about 13 degrees a day. In the spring the path it takes at full moon is steeply inclined to the horizon, whereas in fall the full moon’s path is shallow. Since it can be cloudier in spring as well, that makes seeing the spring full moon’s romance more of a onenight stand. As usual, the Bells Lake Observatory, near Horsefly, BC can be reached at irwin8sound@ gmail.com. The galaxies are waiting. -GG

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 41

Streamkeepers in Horsefly Article by Judy Hillaby

The Cariboo is an exciting place to live and work and getting out in the lakes and streams is an important part of enjoying life here.

A pair of Sockeye salmon in the Horsefly River, identified by their bright red and green colouring that intensifies and then fades as they approach their spawning condition. However, salmon are not always so easy to spot. Streamkeepers will show you how to count adult fish in a stream. Photo: Ivan Hardwick

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treamkeepers helps with this—it is a volunteer organization that has existed in BC for 40 years and has over 100 member groups. Horsefly Streamkeepers is now among them, and we have a long list of go-to places to find and examine. The Pacific Streamkeepers Federation (www.pskf.ca) helps with science support, training and practical advice, liability insurance, mapping, data archiving, and an impressive network of watershed stewards that will help you see things with new eyes. For instance: see the beauty and intricacy around you. While the Horsefly Lake Provincial Park is closed, you can still get to nearby Dillabough Creek in November. It’s an interesting, lively, and productive place, with abundant vegetation and leaf litter, including beautiful lungwort growing on a log across the stream. Walk slowly up the creek and you will appreciate the complexity of pools and riffles, cut banks and overhanging logs, the predictable sinuosity of the stream channel, and the patterns of gravel and cobble within. Yes, fish are there, and in the spring we’ll lay out some traps and determine precisely what fish and invertebrates we have (note: you need a permit for this, Streamkeepers helps). Why not spend an afternoon with a few friends, having a picnic in a little glade and picking through a collection of stream insects? You will use hand magnifiers, a special capture net, a bucket or two, some ice cube trays, and a little gentle handling to look closely at mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, and other things. When you can spot some of the differences and make counts of what you have, you can also make some assumptions about the health of the stream and why that may be so. Appreciate our history. Cariboo streams may look pristine, but they’re usually not. Ernie Gruhs in Horsefly can tell you that he put in a fish habitat structure at the outlet of Nikwit Lake. It was mostly buried, but carefully situated—a weir with a v-notch in the centre. Twenty-odd years later, we found it, naturalized and invisible to everyone but Ernie. It was intended to scour a deeper stream channel to allow trout to move more freely in and out of the lake. It worked. Nice work, Ernie. This fall we ran several training courses delivered by PSKF members, including how to catch, handle, and identify juvenile fish. We also learned about water quality, invertebrate identification and capture, and how to survey a stream on different levels—the opportunities to learn and do things are impressive. If this sounds like something you’re interested in and you are the kind of person who likes to get out, get right into it, and get wet, call Judy Hillaby (250) 620-3495 or Ian Coates (250) 620-3495 to become involved. In April, May, and June we will work with the Horsefly School to collect fish and bug specimens and tell the kids a bit more about what lives in the streams. Spring fish capture, handling, and identification is now being planned, and we will soon be sorting out the best times and places for our outings. This is the beauty of Streamkeepers—having fun, but also applying a little science. We’ll keep you posted. -GG

mo s

mpkin u p

flower n r co

yarrow

e sunflow

Blu eberries

Plant These, Save the Bees

Cos

sq u a s h

Source: David Suzuki Foundation

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 43

Nourishing our Children

Nutrient Dense Meals by Barbara Schellenberg

avigating the school lunch: How to train picky eaters to eat the nourishing meals their bodies and minds need to grow and learn. Having a good supply of nutrients to sustain your child’s mind and body through the demanding school day will give them more tools for success. In the colder months a hot Thermos of pasta or chilli makes a great meal. You will need a decent quality 375–400 ml Thermos with a wide mouth to access easily

with a fork. It’s important to always properly heat the Thermos to make sure the lunches stay hot. To do this, boil water and fill the Thermos with it, and leave it there till you are ready to put the food in. The pasta: some types of pasta work better than others. I have had good success with thicker spaghetti, macaroni, and spirals. Besides nourishing your child’s brain and body, nutrient dense meals help keep their immune systems robust, lowering the chances

of sick days or falling behind in school. Happy Cooking! Brought to you by Barbara Schellenberg. For “Nourishing our Children” newsletters of the past visit www. thegreengazette.ca. -GG

Nutrient Dense Spaghetti (1 Serving)

Easy Nutrient Dense Chili (1 Serving)

80 g 1 cup 1 Tbsp 2 Tbsp ½ cup

spaghetti chicken or beef broth collagen butter, chicken fat, or other fat marinara or bolognese sauce

½ cup 1 cup 1 Tbsp 1 cup 50 g

marinara sauce broth collagen cooked beans landjaeger or other dried sausage or salami, chopped

¼ cup

white cheddar cheese, grated

1 Tbsp

butter or other fat

1. To a small pot add the broth, collagen, butter, and tomato sauce. 2. Bring to a boil and then add the uncooked spaghetti (I break the spaghetti in half to better fit a small pot). Stirring often, cook the noodles in the broth mixture until tender. It is the perfect amount of liquid to cook the noodles, and then, not needing straining, the sauce thickens around them. 3. Fill the heated Thermos in layers, alternating with the cheddar cheese.

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1. Combine tomato sauce, broth, collagen, sausage, and butter/fat in a small pot and bring to a boil. 2. Simmer until reduced to about 1/3 of the original volume. 3. Add the cooked beans and heat through. 4. Pour into the heated Thermos.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 45

Directory Listings Active Living

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Health / Wellness

Directory Listings

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 47

FESTIVAL OF ALL THINGS ART

www.artswells.com

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