Den Enews

Welcome to the first week in Lent. My prayer was for this weeks Enews editorial to be reflective following in the heels of Nadia Bolz Weber’s suggestion that the world is nuts and we are tired of the negative stuff so maybe we could practice “40 days of Good S#@T” instead.

Well the ‘you-know-what’ hit the fan and it wasn’t good. The news is blowing up with Premier Houston’s latest move. The headline below says it all. It’s an excellent article to read if you missed what is happening. Also check out Nina Newington’s articles on our Facebook page. In her words, “Holy s%@t. This is scorched earth.”

If you need to follow only the good stuff for your sanity, scroll right down to Grandma’s Going Green for a great way to have a green week. Repeat and you have a very green Lent.

What can I do?

• Attend the Shoulder to Shoulder Rally on Tuesday March 3rd in front of the legislature.

• Bring signs, warm clothes, and your passion for protecting our land, waters, and wildlife.

• Show support to The Ingram Action Group which has registered to present at the public meeting of the HRM Environment and Sustainability Standing Committee on March 9th, from 1-3pm (1841 Argyle St. Halifax). They will be presenting alongside SMBSA, Nature NS, and Mi'kmaq land and water protectors Marian Nicholas, Darlene Gilbert, and Doreen Bernard. They have been told to recruit as many people to come to sit in the gallery that day.

• People not Plunder will be at the rally asking for signatures for their petition to be presented to the legislature as they work to reinstate the ban on uranium exploration and mining in NS.

• Get in touch with the Ecology Action Centre. Lindsay writes: The Ecology Action Centre and our allies are very concerned about the provincial government’s stagnant progress on protected areas, that citizen-proposed protected areas appear to be targeted for resource extraction, and that existing protected areas are at risk in the province. 
  In light of these obstacles, we're working to bring together groups from across the province to help provide support, coordination, and a stronger voice for nature conservation in Nova Scotia when it’s needed most.  We have a Coastal Coalition member who will act as a liaison, but if you’d like to get involved or learn more about our protected areas work, please feel free to email me anytime at [email protected].  It’s clear that the status quo isn’t working, and nature can’t wait. Being part of a larger movement for nature protection can help the Coastal Coalition build momentum for coastal conservation, expand our networks, and amplify the work that our member groups are doing. 

• Call or write your MLA. Check here for contact info. https://nslegislature.ca/members/profiles/contact

The purpose of this rally is to stand Shoulder-To-Shoulder in solidarity with land defenders and water protectors at Tqamuoweye'katick/Hunter's Mountain and ALL other resistance movements in Nova Scotia/Mi'kma'ki. This time, we are taking it to Tim Houston's Office - the Legislature building, during the spring sitting. Together, let's tell Tim Houston to STOP selling our futures, and demand that he respect the Treaties, our democratic rights, and our community voices!

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Join the Coastal Coalition TODAY at their Virtual CLIMATE CAFE at 7pm

Wil Brunner, a Greenwood NS nature-based wellness guide and Climate Cafe Facilitator, will lead a virtual Climate Cafe for folks concerned about recent changes to NS DNR Wildlife and management.

 The Climate Cafe sharing space model (created by Climate Psychology Alliance) helps participants communicate their experiences, thoughts and feelings regarding topics related to climate change, sustainability and impacts to the environment. Climate Cafes are empathetic sharing spaces to support navigating difficult times. The space is not intended for policy or climate debate, educational topics or disrespectful conservation.

Topic: Changes to DNR Climate Cafe Sharing Space
Date & Time: Feb 24, 2026 07:00 PM Halifax
Join Zoom Meeting  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84577462520

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Happening Tomorrow

The best way to break climate silence is with conversation, and we’re happy to be helping Seniors for Climate kick off their first big conversation of 2026 by promoting their new webinar – Where Do We Go Next? A Climate Conversation with Steven Guilbeault.  Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nCISYf9VT7KzrvzIhKKFkQ#/registration

Conversations about death are changing and so are the ways we care for the earth at the end of life. 

Whether you’re newly curious, actively planning, or professionally involved in end-of-life care, you are warmly invited to join us for our upcoming Green Burial Café, a welcoming online space for thoughtful dialogue, shared learning, and community connection around green burial practices.

📅 Date & Time
Wednesday, February 25 at 7:00 PM Atlantic Time
💻 Join Online
Google Meet link: https://meet.google.com/tqa-ttjq-tbv 

Or dial: ‪(CA)  +1 587-977-3335 and enter this PIN: 193 562 650# 

More phone numbers: https://tel.meet/tqa-ttjq-tbv?hs=5

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Concerned about pipelines? Take the next step by talking to your community about why new pipelines endanger our future. Click on the link below for a guide to help you navigate conversations with friends, families, and neighbours who are falling for the lie that pipelines would help in the face of geopolitical volatility. 350.org/canada/no-pipelines?akid=a32003597.5668392.Z8LN-h&aktmid=tm8832866.3Si0Tb&rd=1&source=conf&t=1&r=CA&c=NA#guide

Our planet is hitting record temperatures while coal, oil, and gas giants rake in billions. Join the call to break this cycle! Colombia and the Netherlands have announced plans to co-host the world’s first international conference focused exclusively on transitioning away from fossil fuels. The first-of-its-kind international summit will take place April 28-29, 2026, at a major coal export port in Colombia. The strategy is remedying the delay experienced in making fossil fuel deals during the COP meetings. We need world leaders on board, and public pressure makes a difference. Please add your name to support this push for concrete roadmaps that end fossil fuels for good.

The Nanticoke coal-fired power station was once Ontario’s biggest climate and air polluter. Now it is the site of a successful solar power facility built in partnership with First Nations. This former blight has transformed into a bright light, and it has the power to go further as solar could nearly triple here. Much of the site is still sitting empty, the land is there and the technology ready, but what is missing is political direction. Lets tell Ontario’s Energy Minister to turn a polluting past into a renewable future by directing Ontario Power Generation to triple solar electricity generation at Nanticoke in partnership with First Nations.

Join a global pledge to protect the Amazon rainforest by standing with Indigenous Peoples and allies in the movement to declare the Amazon an exclusion zone for any extraction. This would include oil, gas, mining, and agribusiness, and function by centering on Indigenous sovereignty, climate justice, and real transitions away from fossil fuels. Add your name to call on the U.N. and Amazonian governments to protect the Amazon by ending the extractive model destroying the Amazon and our collective future.

Family Green Week: Small Actions, Big Heart

This past week we celebrated Heritage Day. Some provinces call it Family Day, a rare gift of time when parents and children are off work and school together. It’s often a chance to slow down and find something simple to do as a family.

Well, Grandma can’t let that go to waste.

I put together a Seven-Day Family Green Week, (why just do a day?) They are gentle, doable ideas that invite us to notice the environment around us, without guilt or pressure. Feel free to copy this, share it, or use only the parts that fit your household. The goal is not perfection, just awareness.

Grandma sees the world changing, as it always does. At times, it can feel as though concern for the environment has slipped from the government spotlight. Yet, at the same time, the quiet green work of past years has taken root. Everyday people are far more aware of environmental issues than they once were.

What has changed is this: the environment is no longer only a business issue, it is a people issue. Environmental impact studies help keep businesses accountable and ensure that what is built follows environmental laws and standards. But it is people’s attitudes that will ultimately shape the future; the politicians we elect and the systems they oversee.

To grow those attitudes, we need to begin early. Environmental awareness takes root when children and young people are invited to learn, notice, and care.

That’s where Family Green Week fits in. So does packing pollinator seed envelopes. So does learning to make something with your hands. Cooking a meal, sewing a button, fixing a small thing, or learning just one of the million, no, maybe billion, wonders of our planet all help build that understanding.

Heritage Day? Family Day? They sound pretty much the same to Grandma; a gift of time, together, to grow something good.

 Family Green Week

Day 1 – Waste Watchers, Don’t judge. Just notice.

Pay attention to what goes into your garbage for one day

Choose one item that seems to be thrown out often

Think of one small way to reduce that waste, not eliminate it, just reduce it

Grandma’s note: I get a lot of plastic food trays. I wash them and reuse them to carry sweets or sandwiches to events. Some trays get used several times before they’re finally recycled at the community centre. Not perfect, just practical.

Day 2 – Power Down, Save energy where you can.

Turn off extra lights

Unplug unused chargers or appliances

Open curtains and let daylight do the work

Grandma’s note: I keep a solar flashlight charging on a sunny windowsill. It’s perfect for closets at night, because whatever light is installed in a closet is never quite enough.

Day 3 – Food Care, Honour the food you already have.

Clean out the fridge

Find leftovers and plan a simple meal

Check expiry dates, not just “best before” dates

Consider apps like Flashfood or Too Good To Go

Food saved is an extra meal or snack

Day 4 – Nature Noticing,

No fixing. Just noticing.

Go outside if you’re able, or look out a window

Sit quietly or take a short walk

Notice three living things: a tree, a bird, a plant, the sky

Yeah, those are the things we are working to protect

Day 5 – Water Wise, Care for our shared water.

Take a shorter shower

Turn off taps while brushing teeth

Reuse water, cooled herbal tea works nicely for houseplants

Grandma wonders if anyone teaches about underground aquifers and how they are drying up?

Day 6 – Share or Repair, Keep things in use.

Learn to fix something small

Donate or pass along an item

Share with a neighbour or a friend

Share and repair reduces waste.

Day 7 – Grow Something, Plant hope, now or later.

Plan where something might grow in spring

Plant a pot of herbs on a kitchen windowsill

Make seed balls now so they dry well for guerilla gardening.

Growing can be slow. That’s okay.

A Gentle Wrap-Up

What is one thing you’d do again, or let become a habit?

What are you planning to try when the weather permits?

Caring for Creation isn’t about doing everything.
It’s about doing something, preferably together and often.

Seed Share Reminder

One family event could be to come to Blandford, February 28th, 1-3:30PM to the Community Centre (side door) and pack some pollinator seeds for the coming spring. All welcome. Second seed packing looks like it may be March 28th

Something to eat

Grandma is forever scrolling food reels, always on the lookout for meals that are low-cost but high in nutrition. Nana, meanwhile, loves a bargain. Every time those ramen noodles go on sale, I’m instructed to “just grab two more.”

When we cleaned the dry cupboard last month, we counted eighteen packets of ramen.

“Let’s have them for lunch,” she said. So we did.

A month later, there were still sixteen packets in the pantry.

Yes, we’ll have another noodle lunch, but surely there had to be a better way. And there was.

Chicken Ramen Supper

Take out a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Break two squares of ramen noodles in half and spread them in the pan.

Pour over these 2 cups of broth, either boxed stock or water made with OXO cubes.

Add about 2 cups of cooked chicken.

Now for the vegetables. Use whatever you have: leftovers first (I had carrots), then frozen vegetables like broccoli or mixed veg. In my case, I added a tin of water chestnuts, plus bell peppers, onion, and garlic.

In a small bowl, mix:

ginger or ginger paste

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon brown sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Stir well and pour over the noodles, chicken, and vegetables.

Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes.

It made a hearty, comforting supper, and best of all, it finally started to bring down our ramen stockpile.

Nana was pleased. And that’s always a win.