DEN Enews

Welcome to the DEN Enews

What’s Coming up?

• Climate cafe - this Thursday night

• People’s Parade - this coming Saturday ( rain date Sunday)

• SOOF Earth Day Schedule

• Grandma’s Planting Kits

• Important Petitions for your advocacy

Read more at: https://mailchi.mp/2919bf3a8b20/soof-newsletter-sunday-april-276?e=fbcc1c5e66

_{In February 2023, a tanker ran aground in the waters between Sumatra and Nias Island. The ship was carrying 3,600 tons of bitumen – a thick, sticky byproduct of crude oil. Thus bitumen has been left leaking from the wreck into the sea and onto nearby shorelines. A 70 km radius has been impacted by the pollution. The crew was rescued, but the Indonesian government turned a blind eye to the disaster and the shipowners are keeping a low profile. In the meantime, a year has passed and no one has salvaged the wreck or cleaned the spill. The coral reefs and mangroves have been devastated. Mangrove roots are caked with tar, their leaves look scorched, and the aquatic life in the mangroves – the nursery of many fish species – is dying off. It shouldn’t take international pressure for companies, industry, or government to take responsibility and action, but that is what is needed and being asked for. Please join in showing the world sees what is happening and demands that effective measures against the spill be finally taken}

_{Nearly 90% of plastic waste in Canada ends up in landfills, incinerators, lakes, parks, and oceans. Not only that, but plastics are a significant source of carbon emissions, most of them generated when plastics are produced and converted from fossil fuels. Plastic pollution hurts the wildlife we love, the planet we live on and, ultimately, us. These clear and significant harms need a solution that comes from our world taking action to address this constantly growing problem. Canada has banned some non-essential, single-use plastics. While it’s a good start, it is by no means the end. With UN-led negotiations underway in Ottawa this month, we have a chance to show our support for capping global plastic production. The fossil fuel industry, which benefits from plastic production, is exerting powerful opposition. Canada supports a treaty to end plastic pollution, but we have yet to take a stand on limiting global production. Let’s show that Canadians support our planet and want action to stop it from being flooded with toxic plastic.}

Editor’s Note: Wonder what the church can do? Check out this resource

_{This petition is asking the U.S. government to prohibit destructive bottom trawling and protect our oceans! Bottom trawling is a method of fishing that uses a net pulled throughout the lower layers of the ocean via wires connected to the boat, as well as weights dragged along the ocean floor connected to both the net and the boat. This type of fishing ends up with a lot of bycatch and leaves many fish dead or severely injured. It kills vast numbers of corals and sponges, and satellite images show the spreading clouds of mud remain suspended in the sea long after the trawler has passed. In the U.S., only 3% of waters are classified as "no-catch" zones. Add your name to call for a complete ban on the use of bottom trawling that makes contact with the ocean floor.}

_{Have you heard this good news? A group of older Swiss women have won the first ever climate case victory in the European Court of Human Rights. The women, mostly in their 70s, said that their age and gender made them particularly vulnerable to the effects of heatwaves linked to climate change. The court said Switzerland's efforts to meet its emission reduction targets had been woefully inadequate. It is the first time the powerful court has ruled on global warming.}

Earth Day

_{It’s just around the corner! Next Monday is Earth Day! It feels like Christmas to environmentalists.}

_{I like the word environmentalist. According to Dictionary.com, it means “a person who is concerned with or advocates for the protection of the environment”.}

_{Environmentalists do not need to have a fancy degree. They do not need to work or volunteer for organised community or ecology groups. They don’t need to be at a dozen planet events during the year or even write for local church e-news.}

_{All an environmentalist needs to do to earn that title is to be interested in helping our planet.}

_{The fact that you are reading (or being read) my ramblings, gives you the title of environmentalist. If the word weren’t so long, I would suggest we all get t-shirts saying, “I am an environmentalist!”}

_{I like this label being attached to me. When I see things, I don’t like happening on our planet, my nose can get in the air. I can have the attitude that “I can help or teach here”. There is no concern if I could or should do this or suggest that. As long as my thoughts and actions do not harm anyone or anything, I have every right to act as the local and loud environmentalist.}

_{In the Parish of Blandford, we act with Planting Kts.}

_{Back in January, I spent my time printing off, cutting out, glueing and filling seed packets. Over at the Hubbards Area Lions Club, Deanna Bellefontaine is starting her part for assembly day. I do seeds, packets, plant markers and the tags for the bags. She is getting the soil and the planting pots.}

_{On the afternoon of Friday, April 12^th we meet at the Hubbards Area Lions Club. All the parts will be laid out on tables. Whoever can turn out that day will start a line and put together the kits, all 250 of them.}

_{Every one of those helpers is an environmentalist. Together we will teach and assist 250 people to have a small garden. Happy Earth Day.}

Gardening

_{It is starting to get busy in the yard. Grandma has been putting together another waist-high garden.}

_{I cleaned my sheds of all the decomposable materials for the base of the garden. I then added seaweed and a few buckets of sand before putting in the topsoil. I have it all documented in pictures to show in a few weeks.}

_{I wanted to remind people it is time to plant our peas and carrots.}

_{Peas can tolerate a bit of frost and even a layer of snow. Some people feel they can plant at the end of March whereas I prefer at least a week into April. Peas grow fast and give hope for a great year of gardening}.

_{Peas can be planted every two weeks for a few months to ensure you always have fresh peas for meals. I like to leave space for a row of peas in each garden box. One small row every two weeks may be more useful than long rows at one time. If peas are hardy in the spring, they will last into the fall from an August plant.}

_{Carrots need the long sunny days we have in April. If planted late in the season they won’t have as much sunlight to turn into big vegetables.}

_{Carrots send down one long root until they hit something solid like a rock. Keep your carrot garden filled with loose or loamy soil. The deeper that first root goes, the bigger the carrots.}

_{In case you haven’t done this already, keep a paper bag somewhere to drop in your eggshells. Eggshells are 96% calcium. Although this gives the plants nutrients, it also moderates soil acidity.}

_{Do not put eggshells around your bleeding heart or rhododendrons. They like the acid in soils.}

Send any gardening tips to [email protected]

 Craft

_{Some of you may have heard of our 3-kid-Sunday School. A family moved to the village and wanted to come to church. To make it easier we are trying to keep the kids occupied during service. The six-year-old loves dinosaurs, the 4-year-old likes to do ANY craft and the “baby” (getting close to 18 months) is just happy with anything.}

_{The hardest part of this craft was the prep. I painted the paper plates (paint the BACK of a paper plate as pieces will glue better to the front).}

_{Paint the toilet tissue tubes and cut them in half. Cut two vertical slits across from each other. The paper plate will slide in the slits and stand upright.}

_{The spikes work quite well on copy paper. If the kids are old enough for scissors just trace them out and let them colour, cut and glue.}

_{The head and tail I first made on green copy paper but then glued them to a light card stock. The kids glued them in place.}

_{I had googly eyes to finish our dinosaur. When put together the boys happily played all morning.  I may need to time the crafts around Eucharist a bit better (they didn’t want to leave to go to the rail).}

_{Our newest baptised members left church that day with smiles. That is the feeling about church I want them to remember when they are adults. Next week we are weaving crosses but the paper dinos just glued spirit together that day.}

Something to eat

_{I am always looking for a way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. I adapted a new recipe this week from the “One Pan Wonder” book by Wanda Brunstetter. It is a great book and can be brought in by your local library or Bookmobile. I used Italian “big” sausage, but any sausage meat would work}

Sausage Pie

_{Sausage (3-4 big links)}

_{3 or more cups of mashed potatoes}

_{1 chopped onion}

_{1 cup shredded cheese}

_{1 cup milk}

_{2 eggs}

_{Salt and pepper}

_{Remove sausage from links and fry till cook}

_{In a bowl mix meat, onion, potatoes and cheese together and place in a casserole dish. Mix the milk and eggs and pour on top. Place in a 350 oven for 30-40 minutes until the egg and milk mixture is cooked on top.}