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Thanksgiving week
Diocesan Environment Network
October 15, 2024
Municipal Elections this coming Sat. Oct. 19th
The Ecology Action Centre has produced toolkits for each area of the province to help you determine your vote. If you live in the HRM, there are survey answers from each candidate on key environmental and social issues.
It’s your Future and those who come behind you! Please Vote!
Let’s Celebrate in Thanksgiving
all those who work tirelessly to save Nature for future generations.
We give thanks for all the dedicated warriors who set up camps to stop the spraying of glyphosate on our forests. To quote the authors:
“ When we save old forests for the lichen, we are saving habitat for all the other creatures”
Read more here about the efforts of volunteers at Goldsmith Lake.
We give thanks for the Annapolis Waterkeepers who work tirelessly to raise public awareness about the illegal dumping of toxic autoshredder residue at the Arlington Heights C&D dump.
We give thanks for the No Spray Bear River Group Community working together to end the aerial spraying of glyphosate in L'Sitkuk/Bear River, Nova Scotia
We give thanks for members of the Allen Hill Anti-spray Coalition in Cumberland County who stopped the spray in their community.
We give thanks for the Arlington Forest Protection Society whose goal is to protect and conserve forests along the North Mountain of the Annapolis Valley.
We give thanks for all those who planted trees, prayed for creation and carried out other environmental-care activities during the Season of Creation.
We give thanks for the Bridgewater Watershed Protection Alliance for their concern for logging in the Bridgewater watershed.
We give thanks for the Healthy Forest Coalition who raise public awareness of the critical state of our forests and the need for fundamental reform of forest policy.
We give thanks for the Nova Scotia Nature Trust who protected the Blanche Peninsula; the last highly biodiverse and intact coastal lands of its size in Nova Scotia. With the help from many, a large property covering the majority of the peninsula as well as a large beach section on the southwest coast (1,772 acres) of this ecological treasure will be protected – forever.
We give thanks for all the volunteers with Save Our Old Forests Their community building events are raising public awareness about the importance of forests over 80 years old.
We give thanks for Citizen Scientists everywhere, for researchers,for each and every environment group, for all who held education days, field trips, special courses, all in an effort to educate and make you fall in love with our precious planet.
We give thanks for members of the Hammond River Angling Association who are testing glyphosate levels in the Shepody area, including Big Salmon River, Little Salmon River, and Walton Glen Brook. Every bit of evidence adds to the total picture.
We give thanks for all who march in climate strikes/ attend rallies.
So many people working so hard across the province and the above is just a sampling. We give thanks for all for your dedication and love for our earth.
In Thanksgiving for Nature and it’s Restorative Power
Take a Hike and Call Me in the Morning
– a study of the health benefits of walking in nature
You are invited to join a study of physiological and emotional responses to a guided hike in a park.
Participants need to meet study criteria, go to Sandy Lake Regional Park (Bedford) on Oct. 27th, participate in a 1-hour hike, and submit a saliva sample (painless) and questionnaire before and after the hike.
To see participant eligibility criteria and other study & hike details, go to:
https://forms.gle/Pwe5vo3v9g6dcweJA
In conjunction with Dalhousie University, Ecology Action Centre and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
Thanks Giving is wonderful but must also be followed with Action like the incredible people and groups mentioned in this enews edition. Hope & Action are not just Season of Creation buzz words. They are an action plan for each day. The following are things each of us can do.
From November 11-22, world leaders, civil society, Indigenous peoples, and others will gather at the COP29 conference in Baku, Azerbaijan to advance action on addressing the climate emergency. I n recognition of the need for change, For the Love of Creation invites groups across Canada to host candlelight vigils in their own communities on the weekend of November 15-17, 2024. This will be a time to reflect and share our love for our planet, our concern for ourselves, humanity and all our non-human relations at risk from climate change. It is also a time to share hopes for truly transformative action to happen at COP and through each other.
As recently as the early 2000s, Alberta relied on coal for up to 80% of its energy. Despite vocal critics who argued a phase-out was impossible, tireless advocacy by dedicated citizens and organizations led to a groundbreaking commitment in 2015 by Alberta’s NDP government to phase out coal by 2030. This policy victory paved the way for a rapid decline in coal generation, and on June 16, 2024, Alberta’s last remaining coal plant shut down six years ahead of schedule, marking the first time the province has been coal-free in 150 years.
with thanks to Eva Evans & Jesse Hamilton
Extreme heat, wildfires, and floods are hurting Canadians, while the fossil fuel corporations that created the climate crisis rake in record profits.
Climate disasters take lives, harm communities, and cost us billions each year. It’s time to make polluters pay up. That means immediate relief and direct support for communities affected by climate disasters, along with decisive action to get at the root cause of wildfires and extreme heat by speeding up the transition to renewable energy.
More than 2,000 have been killed in recent years for standing up to ranchers, loggers and miners invading their land for profit. Science shows that Indigenous Peoples territories are the best conserved of all. But they lack legal title to many of the lands they safeguard. This huge gap is driving biodiversity loss in the Amazon and around the world - and it leaves Indigenous Peoples terribly unprotected. Governments can help fix this by giving Indigenous Peoples legal title to their territories so they can protect our planet’s vital ecosystems without being murdered. Let’s be one million voices standing with them before world leaders gather this month at the UN Biodiversity Summit in Colombia (COP 16)to discuss the future of our forests!
The Gulf of California is a fragile ecosystem and a home for whales, dolphins, and thousands of other species. It also supports the livelihoods of millions of people. This area is often called the “Aquarium of the World” due to having more than 15 species of whales and dolphins, including the majestic blue and humpback whales. They have been coming here to breed and feed for countless centuries. Now fossil fuel giants are pushing Mexico’s president to allow huge gas tankers to cut through these waters. The stakes are high for all marine life here if this happens. Take a moment to sign the petition asking the Mexican government to choose marine protection over destruction.
There are communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon where climate-destroying gas flares create sacrifice zones which force people to breathe toxic gases daily. The flares emit huge quantities of gases that contribute to global warming and cause serious consequences for human rights. In villages devastated by cancer and contamination, nine courageous girls filed a lawsuit to defend the right to a healthy environment. With support, they won their case! The court ruled that Ecuador must stop gas flaring, but instead of complying, the number of flares has increased. Some of them are operating less than 5 kilometres from populated areas. This petition is gathering global support to call on Ecuador to stop climate and life-destroying gas flares.
Coalpsur is a mining company pursuing major expansion plans while steamrolling past a key phase in federal oversight. It wants to make its Vista coal mine the largest thermal coal mine in Canadian history. This is only an hour north of where climate-fuelled wildfires tore through the town of Jasper. In addition to producing one of the dirtiest fossil fuels in the world, Coalspur’s unprecedented expansion would imperil two already at-risk fish species — the iconic Bull Trout and Athabasca Rainbow Trout. This mine has slipped through the cracks by evading any federal impact assessment. Add your name to say it’s high time the federal government conducted an impact assessment on Vista’s proposed expansion.
with thanks to Claudia Zinck
Free Chickens in Belgium Households
When I first heard this story, I didn’t quite believe it. (Grandma had 17 varieties of fancy feathers at one point). I agreed with the waste reduction numbers but didn’t believe so many people would take up chicken raising. In this case, I love being wrong.
The story started in Limberg, Belgium in 2010. The town would give away three free chickens to town residents. Two thousand people wanted them. In the first month, the landfill waste was reduced by 100 tonnes of waste. That sounds good so far.
It wasn’t just Limberg. Town names of Diest, Mouscron, and a few others decided to try this program.
Chickens pecking and scratching dug up the ground. Their waste makes an excellent fertilizer for growing the garden. Then there also are the eggs.
It sounds nice but chickens are work. Those eggs aren’t really free. Still, a bag of scratch feed isn’t very expensive. Making a warm spot for them to live during winter isn’t that hard. Grandma was having difficulty believing that town folk would keep at such a project, year after year.
Fast forward to 2024. What info is there on how this program continued? Very little. Chickens are still encouraged. Children’s chores include feeding them, gathering eggs, letting them out and shutting up the coop at night. Gardens and lawns grow better. Organic waste going to the landfill is reduced.
All the information is positive, yet it seems that thousands of townsfolk aren’t raising chickens now. Many still do but not the numbers that were expected. At least these towns allow chickens. I believe Halifax still won’t allow backyard chickens.
Reducing the waste going to the municipal facilities while improving the soil in backyards appear to be a win. How could we encourage chickens or rabbits in our back yards?
Gardening
We know it as “rooting stuff” although the store-bought variety has many names. It helps your plant cuttings develop roots. Want to make a bottle of homemade Rotting Stuff. Here’s the recipe
Rooting Stuff
1 cup water
1 spoon sugar
1 spoon soda
1 spoon vinegar
Let it ferment 48 hours before using it. Keep in a covered bottle for the season and make more when needed.
Happy Gardening!
Sustainable Magazine Christmas Tree
This craft is the perfect end of life for glossy magazines that otherwise might at best be put in a paper recycling bag. So simple but time-consuming. This is perfect for Grandma’s TV time.
My apologies that Grandma does not have a picture of her tree to send. I have the two magazines folded but not glued together (so the top is tight) It was a fun project to make.
Open to the first page of the magazine. Fold the top right corner to the middle of the book Crease the fold. I find it best to fold a speck out from the middle so as the pages build up the book isn’t so tight in the middle.
Next, take the outside of that fold and bring it to the first edge in the middle.
Turn the page over and insert the tail into the folded pages.
Repeat for the entire magazine. If your magazine was a small publication, you may need two magazines to make it big enough.
Glue or staple the books or the covers together. The tops do not like to stay together. After glueing the sides together use a clothes pin or clamp to pin the top and let dry for an hour.
