In this issue:

• The People’s Parade and link to register

• Kitchen Table Connections in Lunenburg

• Christians, Climate & our Culture

• a short video from Assisi

• Petitions

• Grandma’s take on Greenhouses and Earth Day

  DEN Lenten Examination - Return to the Garden Session 4: The Garden. This session harkens to the name of the study. It is primarily interested in gathering everything into a more serious theological reflection. At issue here is the relationship between Genesis and Revelation. The beginning and the ending. This week Thursday 430 pm in the Cathedral nursery room and on Zoom. Please email us for the link as it will change for this week only.

_{March 17, 2024 • 5^th Week of Lent}

_{March 22^nd is World Water Day. The average household in the United States uses more than 333 gallons of water a day, 70 percent for indoor use. This week, decrease your water usage. Reduce your shower length. Water indoor plants using collected rainwater. If possible, use a dishwasher and minimize rinsing/washing by hand. Don't wash clothing more frequently than necessary, and fill it instead of running half loads. If there is a dripping faucet in your house, call a plumber or take some time to fix the leak this week.}

_{March 24, 2024 • Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord / Holy Week}

_{“Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” –Mark 11:8-9. Poor people in Jesus’ time made do with the simple things available to them to celebrate and honor their teacher and Messiah. Why do we need to spend money or buy single-use and disposable items to celebrate or honor someone? Think about the next time you’re throwing a party or honoring someone; plan to celebrate without purchasing disposable items.}

© The Pastoral Center / PastoralCenter.com. All rights reserved.

_{Join DEN or enter as a parish/group for the Second Annual People’s Parade for the Earth, Saturday April 20th on the Halifax Waterfront. Click on the link above for more info.}

_{Click here for their newsletter: https://secure.kairoscanada.org/index.php?q=civicrm/mailing/view&reset=1&id=1777&cid=2015&cs=a5d5b10725fab830f1cc77ded89a6b9d_1710423668_168}

_{Highlights include Give it Up for the Earth, The Climate Virus Webinar TODAY, and Earth Week 2024.}

_{March 26, 7 pm Kitchen Table Connections: A Conversation with Local Food Producers}

_{mailchi.mp/725287e53d98/may-2021-newsletter-10406202?e=5f9a64b103}

The Feast of Creation and the Mystery of Creation

_{Mo. Marian Lucas-Jefferies was honoured to be invited to the seminar “The Feast of Creation and the Mystery of Creation” held in Assisi, Italy last week. The picture above shows the participants from around the world and this short video shows you a teaser of what it was about. You may recognize Marian’s long hair from the back in some of the group shots. Marian will definitely be sharing her experience once she gets home from the mountaintop.}

_{https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1PWLRnU4tc}

_{Take a moment to consider the risks involved in building the world’s longest heated crude oil pipeline through an active seismic zone. The East African Crude Oil Pipeline is a disaster in the making and for many reasons. Insuring it is a risk and its progression depends on finding insurers.  A list of those with a known track record of insuring oil pipelines have been asked to publicly commit to not supporting the EACOP. More than 20 of them have made clear that they won’t insure the pipeline, while others are still considering it. Let’s show them people around the world are watching and will expect them to steer clear of this reckless project.}

_{Canada committed to protecting 30% of the global oceans by 2030. This petition is about the need to make sure handshakes turn into real conservation action. A Global Ocean Treaty signed into law could pave the way for a network of ocean sanctuaries in the global oceans. This could enable governments to create protected areas, prevent harmful exploitation, and promote improved stewardship in ocean management. Ask our country to ratify the Global Ocean Treaty and to facilitate a brighter future for our shared blue planet.}

_{A dangerous bill for Florida black bears is on the table. Last week, the ‘Taking of Bears’ bill passed the final floor vote. If approved by the Governor, it will mean a person can kill a Florida Black Bear because they "feel" threatened. It also overrides local conservation authority to investigate crimes committed against this protected species (black bears) if the person claims they felt threatened. Updates have changed the verbiage of "feels threatened" to "reasonably believes one's life is in danger," but there is no burden of proof and it opens the door for people to claim self-defence where bears are not a threat. Provoked bear attacks are extremely rare and ecosystems depend upon the existence of bears. Add your voice saying to stop this Florida Bear Kill Bill!}

From the NS VOW - Voice of Women

Dear Fellow Nova Scotians,

We are writing with urgency about the Nova Scotia government’s Bill 404 Energy Reform (2024) Act which contains Clause 52 that would open the door to nuclear power in our province!  

Bill 404 had First Reading Feb. 27, 2024 and is on a rapid road to Third Reading and the Vote by the House. 

There is an opportunity this week to comment through the Legislative Council’s Office.  Please join us in this ACTION and feel free to forward the ACTION to others.

While there is much value in Bill 404 Energy Reform (2024) Act, to retain the current prohibition of nuclear power plants in NS the following Clause 52 of Bill 404 must be removed.   

CLAUSE 52: Clause 8(1)(a) of Chapter 8 of the Acts of 1992, the Nova Scotia Power Privatization Act, is amended by striking out "and the Company shall not construct a generating plant that utilizes nuclear energy to produce electricity".

ACTION  Please send an email this week to Legislative Counsel's Office

1. The title of your Email must be “Bill 404 Energy Reform (2024) Act”

2. Salutation: Dear Law Amendments Committee members

3. Send to [email protected] - the Legislative Counsel’s Office will forward Bill 404 emails to the Law Amendments Committee members

4. State in your words that you want the original prohibition of nuclear power to be retained. 

Please Email or phone MLAs 

Share your concerns about Bill 404 Clause 52 and ask them to support the removal of Clause 52 from the Energy Reform (2024) Act.

The list of MLAs and their contact information is available at https://nslegislature.ca/members/profiles/mailing-labels Note: email addresses are in the Microsoft Word and Excel files at this link

Greenhouses

Not too many years ago I heard of new greenhouses “up in the Valley, somewhere” (meaning the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia) that were able to grow cucumbers, tomatoes and even strawberries in winter.

It sounded wonderful. Local people would have jobs in winter. Local stores would have fresh produce. What could be better than growing our food in our province?

Even today I can not find a problem with those greenhouses. They aren’t hurting the land or the environment and are helping the local economy.

Greenhouses can be built where gardening is not suitable. The food is grown indoors so they need not worry about the weather; they make their environment. They often grow with a hydroponic system. If run properly, nutrient pollution isn’t hurting nearby rivers. Water can be recycled, re-circulated or reused.

The greenhouses I am concerned with are similar to the ones in Spain, China, Korea and Japan. In Almiria, a southern province of Spain, plastic greenhouses cover at least 150 square miles. From space, the area looks white.

There are social issues concerning low wages earned by workers, problems finding workers, work conditions, housing and more.  

Transportation and supply chain seems to work fine. Grandma just wanted you to see this 150-square-mile stretch of greenhouses.

My favourite greenhouse story comes from Montreal. Take 2 minutes to watch the video at

https://www.goodnet.org/articles/canadas-home-to-worlds-largest-rooftop-greenhouse#:~:text=This%20greenhouse%20that%20sits%20on,over%2010%2C000%20families%20per%20year.

This company took a former Sears warehouse building and built a greenhouse on top of it. The plants are grown hydroponically. The water used is collected rainfall that is stored in their basement. Ninety per cent of the water is recirculated through the plastic troughs where the plants grow. The other ten per cent either evaporates or is ingested in plant life.

This one facility can grow enough food to feed ten thousand families. It grows 25 thousand pounds of tomatoes weekly besides peppers, cucumbers, herbs, microgreens, and much more.

The company admits this one unit would only feed two per cent of Montreal. Food is grown within a few miles of consumption, reducing the carbon footprint of transport vehicles. Major cities across our country could have fresh veggies grown a few blocks away instead of a few hundred miles outside the city.

The last info I have from https://montreal.lufa.com/en/farms states they started their FIFTH greenhouse in May of 2023.

In a world of big cities, here are the farms of the future.

Vertical Gardening isn’t new to Nova Scotia. In 2009, Gregg Curwin was testing vertical gardening at Gold Leaf microgreens farm in Bible Hill, NS. In 2011 Curwin went to Japan to further study vertical farming before setting up more GoldLeaf farms in other provinces.

This week I saw Gold Leaf microgreens in my local grocery store. Take a look at their webpage.https://www.goodleaffarms.com/

EARTH DAY IS COMING!!!!

Have you thought of a project yet? It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture.

Besides running around assembling the planting kits, delivering the kits, and what seems like nonstop talking about planting kits, my Earth Day Project is at the community gardens behind the Blandford Community Centre. It’s clean-up day!

Grabbing a green bin from our kitchen waste area, I get rid of all the weeds. The big old washtub is pulled under a drain spout and a new clear (plastic) garbage bag is placed as a liner. The wash basin has many holes, but it is functional with the liner. The entire community gardens use ONE plastic bag a summer.

Flower seeds are planted as part of our butterfly pathway. This is when I plan what goes in my garden box that summer. I like a variety usually starting with peas along the back.

The morning is finished by adding deer deterrents to the trees. There are spiral-cut plastic bottles, (carefully saved through the year) and repurposed disposable pie plates waving in the wind from the corners of my garden box.

Luckily the days so far have been nice for Earth Day. Maybe it is cloudy and cold but usually, a great day to be outside.

Did I mention I am usually there ALONE?

The dog walkers and trail joggers stop by to say hello. By summer the gardens are filled and thriving and almost any day there are people “looking” at the gardens. Come fall, when the word goes out to come get whatever is available, many people are at the gardens, BUT, Earth Day is not widely celebrated on a local level.

Don’t let that discourage you.

I am perfectly happy, alone, back of the Blandford Community Centre, April 22^nd, shortly after 10 AM. It sounds like a perfect time for anyone to go to their garden in their backyard. Maybe they start seeds on a sunny window. Maybe they are doing a nature craft or just getting outside for 10 minutes.

Wherever you are on April 22^nd let’s make a date. Sometime between 10 AM and noon, we give a minute’s pause to wish the environment well. Just that! Nothing fancy. I believe in the power of one. One person hears or does one thing and tells one other person. Now two people are telling one more person and four people know something. It just keeps expanding. Let’s send some love for the environment to the heavens.

ODDITY

These are called morning glory clouds They can extend for hundreds of miles. They form when sea breezes and prevailing onshore winds twirl cloud formations in long cylinders. Although this can happen anywhere in the world near oceans they happen most often in Australia.

Something to eat

Grandma admits she overbuys sour cream. There are so many uses for it; I can’t pass up a good deal. Then comes the day when I clean the fridge and realise there is a tub too close to even its best before (but not bad after) date. What can I make? There is always room for a spicy sour cream cake. This cake is put together a bit differently than you may be used to, with sugar and flour mixed together. It is  a yummy quick cake.

 Sour Cream Cake

In one bowl add

1 ½ cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

¾ cup sugar

A dash of salt (if you can have it)

Next, I use a 2-cup measuring cup or put the following in a separate bowl

1 cup sour cream

½ cup oil

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

Mix and put in a round or square 8-inch pan Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

This is PLAIN Sour Cream Cake.

For SPICE Sour Cream Cake add cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger to the flour mixture

LEMON Sour Cream Cake uses lemon extract instead of vanilla or add ¼ cup lemon juice to the mix

CHOCOLATE Sour Cream Cake, add 4 tbsp cocoa to the flour mix.

Sour Cream Frosting

2 tbsp. butter or margarine

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ cup sour cream (about 3 tbsp.)

3-4 cups icing sugar

Mix up until stiff and frost the cake

 From the planning committee for the seminar in Assisi:

 O loving God, who spoke
   and all things were created –
O eternal Word made flesh,
   who became one with your creation –
O creator Spirit, who breathes in us,
   who renews the face of the earth –
O holy and glorious Trinity,
   we praise you and we pray to you
   with all our heart!

Inspire us with love and wisdom
   for the work that we will do together.
Bless us with clarity and courage
   for our mission to cherish and tend
   earth and air, seas and rivers,
   peoples and communities.
Guide your Church
   to the patterns of prayer that will form us
   to be good stewards
   of all that you have entrusted to us.

O holy and glorious Trinity, Creator God,
   we praise you and we pray to you
  with all our heart. Amen.

The Laudato Si’ Center Assisi team, on behalf of the Laudato Si’ Research Institute at Oxford and fellow event co-sponsors