DEN Enews

Hope you get a chance to forest-bathe on these hot days. While enjoying the coolness under trees, give thanks to their ability to hold water in and hold it back. As Rob Bright wrote on FB : Flash floods are increasing in Nova Scotia in both number and severity. It's important to acknowledge that clear cutting forests contributes significantly to flooding. Drying out the soil, removing vegetation that holds water and holds soil together, means water moves quickly down slope causing serious flooding. Damage to roads and other infrastructure are significant costs to municipal tax payers, not to mention the risk to human safety, private property, and small businesses.

Three great resolutions coming out of our General Synod for the National Anglican Church of Canada:

*Resolution A122 adopted the Feast of the Creator as a major feast within the Anglican Church of Canada’s liturgical calendar, to be celebrated on Sept. 1 or a Sunday within the Season of Creation. This feast Day is an excellent kick-off to the season of Creation. Find this year’s celebration guide in the link below.

Two other motions passed which encourage the church to further action on climate change:

*The first of these motions requested the primate of the Anglican Church of Canada to sign a letter from the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, a nonprofit that aims to rally civil society around the world to phase out fossil fuels

*The second resolution began as a motion encouraging the Anglican Church of Canada to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its buildings to zero as quickly as possible, with a deadline of 2035 at the latest. Following some amendments, it passed.

This wilderness area has been targeted for “high production forestry”. It means the areas targeted will be slated to be clearcut, over and over again, in short rotations, forever. Please click on the link above for more info.

The Nova Scotia Environmental Network recently held an online discussion called Mining Critical Minerals in Nova Scotia. The link below will take you to this recorded discussion as well as a link to questions answered by the panel:

Our country is making rapid policy shifts that endanger environment, Indigenous rights, safety, democracy, and future. Both Bill 5 in Ontario and Bill C-5 nationally are now law. Bill 5 creates “special economic zones” exempt from regulatory requirements. For the environment, Ontario’s Endangered Species Act is getting gutted and nearly any project can be authorized to begin development with just an online registration. Bill C-5 passed through Parliament at breakneck speed, taking only three weeks between its tabling in the House of Commons and its passing in the Senate. It encourages the fast-tracking of “national interest” projects without safeguarding Indigenous Peoples’ right to free, prior, and informed consent over development proposals affecting their territories. Our strength doesn’t lie in fossil fuels but in protecting people and nature and in fighting against climate change. There are people, communities, and organizations across our country who are standing up for Indigenous rights, democracy, and the nature we love. Join in the fight to repeal or amend these Bills with the collection of petitions below:

Bill 5

The fight’s not over: Repeal Bill 5 - David Suzuki Foundation

https://naturesdefence.ca/2025/06/10/send-a-message-tell-ontario-to-repeal-bill-5/

https://wwf.ca/endangered-species-are-not-red-tape/

https://ontarionature.good.do/repeal-bill-5/petition/

https://act.greenpeace.ca/en-ca/ontario-stop-bill-5-petition

Bill C-5

Tell the Senate to Amend Bill C-5! - Sierra Club Canada | Sierra Club Canada

Bill C-5: Climate Action IS Nation Building! | Environmental Defence Canada

Stop the Carney government’s risky, anti-democratic Bill C-5 | West Coast Environmental Law

Fast-track climate solutions, not fossil fuels

 Donations - Gratitude Beyond the Grant

Projects need funding and likely always will. After completing four parish environmental initiatives this year, we’ve discovered that while money matters, it’s only one (and perhaps the smallest) reason we’re feeling thankful.

When you apply for and receive a grant to support environmental work, you know there will be a final report involved. Yes, part of that includes accounting for how the funds were spent. Grandma sees it as an opportunity to brag a little.

Our treasurer reminds me not to worry too much if we go a few dollars over budget — “just make sure it all gets spent.” Well, I listened. We went over by $2.47 on one project and $2.32 on another. One miraculously balanced to the penny. The fourth? Well, I still have some spending to do… poor me! (Now, what can I buy that will help next year’s work?)

Of course, support doesn’t always come in dollars. Sometimes it arrives in the form of generous donations. We received wonderful seed boxes from McKenzie Seeds, West Coast Seeds, and Tourne Sol Seed Company. Even covering the price of shipping, receiving hundreds of seed packets was truly a gift worth celebrating.

Sometimes, support comes in the form of materials—like the two post spikes a nearby parishioner, Brian Mosher, unearthed from his basement. They were just right for our fog fence. It wasn’t just a cost-saver; it was a heartening reminder that others truly care about the work we’re doing

And perhaps most meaningfully, donations came in the form of time and hands. A neighbour, Erica, brought her battery-operated drill to help where no power outlets existed. My nimble friend Bob climbed atop garden boxes to staple netting to tall poles. Trucks appeared to transport soil; volunteers appeared to unload it. And just like that, the garden space was cleaned up, grass trimmed, and ready for growing.

Soon, the cooler months will come and I’ll sit down to write those applications, reports, and budgets by the woodstove. But today, we’re rolling up our sleeves, digging in the dirt, and counting our blessings. We are so thankful for the grants, but just as thankful for the people who make our projects possible.

Thanks be to God, and thanks to all of you.

Mound Gardens

Mound gardens are just what they sound to be, a pile of ground. The idea is to grow a high mound of dirt in time to give more space to plant. Older mound gardens in Europe resemble more of a hedge with sloping sides.

They all start the same way with a pile of logs that will make fertiliser as they decompose. Grandma had older campfire wood from clearing trees a decade ago.

Although mound gardens are supposed to eliminate the need for box gardening, Grandma had the base of an old woodshed to try this experiment.

Logs were laid down inside that frame. Smaller sticks and stalks were put atop the logs. Grass clippings were dumped there last year.

Recently, I added mulch and topsoil to make the beginning of my “garden hill”. I planted the three sisters: corn. beans, and squash. Each year, more topsoil is added until your mound is the size you want.

These beds have better drainage. The rain runs off causing less chance of mold or rot. Elevated beds warm up quicker in spring allowing a longer growing season. Loose soil encourages root growth.

Artistically, mound gardens can be circular or spiral; any shape that fits the area. They can house vegetables or flowers. Grandma wants another in a corner filled with wildflowers, another year.

No matter if you are just trying to maximise space in the back yard, fight soggy soil or simply grow plants in a new way, these mound or hill gardens rise to the occasion (literally).

Mine isn’t much of a mound yet but this is my beginning of the future “hill” garden.

At this point I apologize folks. Summer articles will probably be shorter. I promise something every week but not necessarily my four-part column. Since retirement I value my summer and intend to spend a bit more time out under the sun shelter keeping my better half company. Wishing you all a great summer.

 From A post shared by Bishop Sandra written by Katie Sherrod:

If you are someone who prays, this prayer, adapted from the New Zealand Prayer Book, may be helpful:

God of this moment, when the water has taken too much and the silence feels heavy, be near. For those who are grieving, bring steady breath. For those still searching, bring strength that holds. For all of us, bring the kind of courage that stays when answers do not come. Help us face what is here and what is still unknown. Be in the waiting. Be in the heartbreak. Be in the hands that hold each other now. We need you.