DEN Enews

In this issue:

• Earth Day Parade pic…more on our FB page

• Be a Citizen Scientist - check out two opportunities this weekend

• Challenge yourself - how long can you go without waste?

• 5 petitions

• Coastal erosion

DEN’s presence at The People’s Parade for the Earth

Thought for Earth Week thanks to For the Love of Creation newsletter:

In Love Letter to the Earth, Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us that "when we come together as a group, with a common purpose and commitment to mindful action, we produce an energy of collective concentration far superior to our own individual concentration...Together, we can bring about real transformation for ourselves and for the world." _{https://mailchi.mp/c5ed6003f5a8/for-the-love-of-creation-update-may22-13773818?e=3bc85e8dd7}

With that thought in mind….

You can be a Citizen Scientist! Join the City Nature Challenge in HRM and in Cape Breton. “Download iNaturalist Canada and you're ready to go. Every observation of nature counts, and some observations will no doubt help scientists manage our biodiversity. But the real goal is to get outside and enjoy Nature with friends and family! #CityNatureChallenge”

For more info: https://www.facebook.com/CityNatureChallengeMaritimes

Lots of great opportunities to explore what Nova Scotia has to offer and what citizen scientists can offer. Please read Save Our Old Forests Newsletter to discover another opportunity for Citizen Scientists!

As world leaders meet in Ottawa to negotiate a global plastic treaty, Canada has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership and strong action to reduce plastic pollution. We produce millions of tonnes of plastic waste annually – half of that is single-use plastic. We can stop plastic at the source and keep it from ending up in landfills, incinerators, oceans, lakes, and our environment. Let's tell our leaders we need to phase out unnecessary single-use plastics, ban non-recyclable plastic packaging, ban burning plastic waste as a form of recycling, prioritize refillable and reusable packaging solutions, and mandate full transparency through the lifecycle of plastics! 

Amnesty International Canada has highlighted a series of actions and issues as part of an Earth Day activism package. This petition is a way to help the earth defenders in Colombia, one of the most dangerous countries in the world to do this work. Approximately every two days, someone fighting to protect our natural world is assassinated. Ensuring that land and water defenders can continue their important work without fear of violent reprisals requires government intervention and involvement. Use your voice to call on Colombia to coordinate with earth defenders and protect them from harm.

Premier Ford’s government wants to overrule a decision made by the independent energy regulator, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB). The OEB’s decision came in response to a request by Enbridge Gas to force current and future customers across Ontario to pay hundreds of millions of dollars each year (and many billions over the course of 40 years) for an expansion of its gas infrastructure - so Enbridge can connect new homes to unnecessary fossil gas lines and continue raking in profits. The OEB rightly concluded residents would be better off heating homes with electric heat pumps, which are less polluting and more affordable. Now Ford is looking to set a dangerous precedent. What is the point of having an independent regulator tasked with prioritizing the public interest if you intend to reverse any decision you don’t like? Help contain this direction by sending a message to key decision makers and make sure the Ford government doesn’t get away with this.

The fast fashion industry continues to cover our earth in numerous harms. Approximately 87% of garments made end up in landfills or incinerators and only 1% are recycled. The textile processing is toxic and pollutes our water systems and ecosystems. There are about 200 million trees felled each year for the process and this threatens biodiversity. 69% of clothes are made from crude oil. Washing them accounts for 35% of the ocean’s microplastics and ends up in our air, soil, bodies, and bloodstreams. For some reason, this $2.5 trillion industry is shockingly unregulated. Canadians can sign this petition calling on the Biden Administration and EPA to create regulations, protect the environment and the health of living things, and to hold the fashion industry responsible! 

_{Status quo logging practices disturb forest health. When a forest is logged, forest structure and composition are degraded by the removal of old growth, standing dead trees and fallen logs. Logging roads are incisions that fragment previously intact forest patches. These impacts lead to a significant decline in crucial forest functions, such as providing habitat for species like boreal woodland caribou, and storing carbon to reduce climate change. Canada and industry report on the amount of wood logged annually but fail to track the cumulative impacts of logging year after year, such as the loss of primary and old-growth forests. Canada also fails to report on whether or not logging is adequately upholding Indigenous rights, such as the right to free, prior and informed consent. Let’s make sure Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson knows we’re paying attention}

Erosion

Grandma reads enough to know that ocean levels are rising, and erosion exists on our shorelines. Erosion speed is determined by sediment type, the climate, the weather and the exposure to storms, besides the types of tides in the area.^.

Each year as storms arrive, our beloved Prince Edward Island is losing land to erosion.

It sounds terrible. Of course, erosion happens far, far away from us. “We” don’t have to worry about such things. Nothing is happening at home, right?

Ahh……

I walk Jazz across from our house on a little beach. This spring, the high tides on a full moon brought the water to the road. So close that with wind, a few waves were cresting on the road. That never happened before.  

After the last rainstorm, we found a ditch in the beach sand. The water had cut through the seaweed and then tore a wide ditch down to gravel. That never happened before.

It is noted that Nova Scotia Loses ten meters of land each year. Here is a good read for erosion.

https://novascotia.ca/natr/meb/DATA/pubs/20re02/08ROA_2020_Horne.pdf

In Nova Scotia and also in Newfoundland we have bedrock that slows erosion. It does not slow sea level rising. Mahone Bay isn’t that far from my community, By 2100 sea level could be up 157cm or 60 inches (5 feet). That is scary. https://ncceh.ca/resources/evidence-reviews/overview-canadian-communities-exposed-sea-level-rise

My erosion story has a good ending. The road was graded and made a bit higher against the tides. Nature cured that sand ditch. The tide came in and out a few times smoothing the beach back to normal.

Although it taught me how quickly erosion takes place, it was an easy fix, this time. What about the next?

https://www.csrpa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/coastal_erosion_and_climate_change_0.pdf

 My pictures can tell more than words.

Gardening

It is time for me to start plants indoors. There are plenty of folks to tell you that I am late or too early to start transplants. This is the right time for me on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. That is not the case in all growing zones. This allows me to be early enough to have something to share at the Rogation service but late enough so my tomatoes and peppers can go in the ground with the large water bottles over them for frost covers.

I am a fan of Nicki Jabbour who said in an article a few months back about a way she starts transplants. I have saved all the salad containers since Christmas. Her idea is to poke drain holes in the containers first. Then plant seeds in the salad containers as if they were mini greenhouses. Set the containers outside in a sheltered spot. Except for watering every so often, leave them alone. When the temperatures and sunlight are correct your transplants will grow. They will also be hardy to outdoor temperatures making the transition to a garden box easier.

My trial area for these salad boxes is on the side of the building where I grow my tomatoes each year. It is sheltered, it gets the early morning sun and is close by to check on the plants. Laying down a layer or two of old mats makes it a little warmer under the plastic. This also kills off any green plants to make gardening easier.

Then I thought of that first waist-high garden box, that has sunk a board’s depth. What if I used the salad containers inside the box? No harm in trying a few. Just plant that row of peas on another side.

I’ll let you know how it works out. I love experimenting. What is the worst I will lose? I may lose a few seeds but gain so much knowledge.

Sewing Pages

This was such a simple idea. My generation called them “sewing” boards but are now considered “lacing” boards.

It is cardboard with holes punched in them. Wrap a bit of tape around the ends of the yarn and let the children pull the yarn through the holes.

I could have used a cross image to lace but as we are close to Earth Day, they are lacing a tree after they colour it. Thanks to Nana Lorn for drawing the tree.

It kept our boys busy most of the sermon, especially with extra trees and different colours of strings.

 Something to eat

I seldom have extra “sweetened” condensed milk but as I was clearing out my tin cupboard, a tin from 2022 was hiding. This is the simplest square. It was called a Seven Layer Cookie, but they are more like squares

Seven Layer Cookie

½ cup butter

1 ½ cup graham cracker crumbs

1 cup coconut

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 cup nuts, they suggest pecans but I used almonds or walnuts

Mix butter and graham cracker crumbs and press into an 8 x 8 pan

Add the rest of the ingredients in order

Bake 25 minutes at 350

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