DEN Enews

It’s August and hopefully the “livin’ is easy" for you. Personally I hate to see August arrive because it always seems to speed up the slide to September exponentially faster than July. So while it is here, let’s celebrate the beauty of this province and its recreational resources. Let’s begin by celebrating a couple of parish gardens.

Thanks to the Rev. Katie Taylor Flynn for these photos from her parish of St. James Armdale. The raised beds were purchased, hoops installed to keep the deer away and the beds planted with onions and various herbs.

The following picture is the Butterfly Sanctuary garden at the Church of Saint Andrew in Cole Harbour, planted with Swamp Milkweed, native bee balms, Joe Pye Weed and lettuce that appeared out of nowhere and bolted before it could be harvested.

We would love you to send us pics of your parish garden. Imagine a special edition of the enews dedicated to just parish gardens inspiring others!

Speaking of appreciating this beautiful diocese and its resources, the Ecology Action Centre will be celebrating our wetlands and invite you to a host of activities for Wetlands Appreciation Week. Click on the link below for more info.

Appreciating water was the focus of a dedicated group walking in the Natal day Parade. This group is dedicated to saving our water resources from Uranium contamination. Our very own Rev. Lorraine Otto was a vital part of this action. Thanks so much Lorraine for the photos.

This photo below is from the press conference announcing the private prosecution of the owners of the Eisner Cove Wetlands to try and stop more development and restore what is left . Rev. Lorraine is DEN’s water representative and we are thrilled to have her engaging in this advocacy.

To learn more please click here:

Have you enjoyed time in our forests this summer? You might want to catch up on the report from the David Suzuki Foundation who write: 

Once again, the federal government released its annual State of Canada’s Forests report, and once again, it reads more like a promotional brochure for the logging industry than a comprehensive stock-taking assessment of what's happening in forests across Canada.

Read their counter-report here:

Proud and need the company of others on the water?

Before you know it, we may be scrambling for liturgy ideas for the Season of Creation. Why not enjoy a cup of something on your deck and browse the Celebration Guide.

DEN has been asked to share the following:

Decolonial Solidarity and Faith and Climate Action organizers have successfully gathered signatures from over 120 faith leaders from coast to coast on an open letter calling on Canadian financial institutions NOT to finance new Liquified Natural Gas pipelines on Indigenous territories. As federal and provincial governments pass sweeping legislation to restrict Indigenous rights and undermine environmental protection, this letter is more important than ever. It shows mass opposition to destructive projects that lack Indigenous consent, such as the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline, Ksi Lisims LNG Export Terminal and Coastal GasLink Phase 2

If you are a faith leader, you may be interested in signing here:

Equinox Gold is a Canadian mining giant devastating a community in Mexico by poisoning their land, water, and future. Premature births, miscarriages, respiratory issues, and eye damage are the most common health problems occurring from contaminated drinking water, mine-generated gasses, and the heavy metals coming from the mine’s dust. For generations, residents of the town of Carrizalillo worked the land and produced quality products like pumpkin seeds. Farming is now impossible due to the toxic soil and water. People here have been bullied and exploited by several Canadian mining companies, with Equinox Gold paving the way for the last 5 years. A few months ago, the land agreement allowing this company to operate the Los Filos open-pit mine expired. Instead of closing the mine and returning the land, Equinox is trying to intimidate, threaten, and force through a deal that serves only its profits. The community is fighting back, but they need Canadian and global support. Add your name to tell Equinox to close the Los Filos mine, clean up their mess, and return the land now!

This petition is asking Canada’s new federal environment to step up the fight against plastic pollution. People in Canada deserve more options to discard the plastic we use, and ultimately to use less plastic. Scaling up reuse and refill systems is a known solution. Cutting our reliance on plastic packaging and products, which are often imported, will allow us to better weather the current economic storm. It's a waste to import packaging just to use it briefly and throw it in the garbage. The impacts of plastic on our health, from reproductive to cardiovascular, are truly alarming. If we make, use, and throw away less plastic, we can stop the accumulation in our bodies and the environment. Tell our leaders it’s time to kick the plastic habit!

The ocean is not for sale. Canadian-based The Metals Company (TMC) is trying to mine the ocean’s deep sea, an uncharted and pristine territory, by any means necessary.  They are uniting with Trump to bypass the international community and unleash a new era of destructive extraction for profit. For the last decade, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) has worked to develop a set of rules, known as the Mining Code, that would legitimize deep-sea mining and unlock vast areas of the ocean for exploitation. In April, a reckless series of harmful executive orders allowed Trump to unilaterally fast-track deep-sea mining permits, without any global rules in place. This isn’t innovation, it’s looting the ocean floor, and we cannot let it happen. Our newly elected government has stayed dangerously silent, but now’s the time for Carney and new Foreign Minister Anand to lead the charge to protect the world’s oceans. Sign the petition to tell them to reinforce Canada's support for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining, to oppose a rushed Mining Code that would legalize seabed exploitation, and to stand up to Trump and The Metals Company’s corporate greed. 

Brazil's Congress just passed the most destructive anti-environmental bill in Brazilian history. 3,000 territories – including more than one third of all Indigenous lands – are losing the legal protections that have fended off full-scale exploitation for decades. The  Minister of the Environment herself said it's a 'death blow' to Brazil's climate ambitions. But President Lula can veto this 'devastation bill'. He is working to make Brazil a global leader, which means his international image matters – he will listen to our voices. He only has a few days to act. If he won't use his power, we lose one of the last remaining restraints on the full-scale destruction of the Amazon. Lula once committed to being a climate champion. A global outcry now can give him the backing he needs to stand up to Congress – and finally, truly become that champion.

Litterbugs

 Wherever I go in the summer, litter seems to be there first. Walking out of my driveway, I found a pop can and a coffee cup blowing in my yard. Well, let’s say Grandma was stomping her feet.

Litter doesn’t always come from people intentionally being careless. Sometimes, a recycling bin overflows, or a dog knocks over a garbage bag. Wind can carry light trash far from where it started.

We need litter bags back in our cars. Remember those plastic bags hanging from the window handle? Maybe you can’t remember cars with windows that rolled up and down with a crank? Has it been that long since we had that?

I agree with not using plastic. So, what could we use? I like the little handled shopping bags, but there is no place to hang them. Why not paper bags with a firm top or paper boxes to put on the floor?

They could be fancy with photos and advertising for sports teams or music people. How would we make that?

I found a great tutorial for trash bins or boxes at https://www.craftsuprint.com/projects/paper-craft/paper-box-crafts/how-to-fold-a-box-with-newspaper.cfmat

Better still, repurpose what is already here. Some people order groceries online. Their groceries delivered in larger paper bags (sometimes with handles). In our parish they are saved and given to the community centre so when anyone wants a take-out breakfast or supper, we have a bag to offer for transport.

Now maybe you have a youth group. Using the same handled grocery bags, decorate them and pass them out at a community event or even after service some Sunday. A gift of a litter bag for cars or trucks may raise awareness and start an entire new group prevented from being litterbugs.

Do you have youth who could read one line? Search for “reasons not to litter”.

Who can resist what a kid makes and gives away?

When communities work together, whether it’s by picking up trash or reminding each other to toss waste where it belongs, we send a powerful message: we care. We care about our environment, about our neighbours, and about the future.

Grandma made a dozen bags which disappeared after service. She could have used a few more. An easy but fun service work for youth groups.

`Cone Garden Trellis

Grandma’s trees are shading too much lawn. The flower gardens won’t grow without the sun. Down came some tall branches and the sun started to peek through. Now what do we do with these poles.

A cone trellis is an easy way to give climbing plants the support they need to grow tall and strong. You’ve probably seen these trellises in gardens before—like a mini teepee for plants! The best part? You can make one yourself in less than an hour using just a few supplies.

You will need stakes. They can be store-bought bamboo stakes or small tree branches.

Choose a spot. Cone trellises work great in raised beds, corners, or even right in the ground. Just make sure they get some sun.

Push the ends of your stakes into the soil in a circle, like the legs of a tripod or teepee. Leave a space of about 12–18 inches between each one. The more stakes you use, the sturdier your cone.

Gather all the poles together at the top and tie them securely with twine or garden wire. Wrap it around several times and knot it well. For extra strength, you could add a (plastic) zip tie underneath the twine.

Add support rings. Use twine to wrap around the poles at different heights—once near the bottom, then again halfway up, and maybe another near the top. You could also loosely weave some skinny branches. This gives your plants more places to cling to as they grow.

That sounds so easy till you have a bunch of poles, an empty space and a fabric container. This is what turns out. It will hold the scarlet runners but Grandma needs some more practise.

Plant inside the cone and watch it grow! Plant your seeds or seedlings at the base of each pole. As they grow, gently guide the vines to climb up the trellis.

Some of the best plants to grow in a cone are peas, beans, cucumbers, gourds or mini squash, morning glories, sweet peas and scarlet runners. Cones add vertical beauty and space to your garden. They are a fun family project to do. Remember they don’t need to be picture perfect. They just need to be fun to try.

Fog Fence Update

In previous years, the fog fence drained into a bucket, which made it easy to measure the collected water. This year, I’ve added perforated holes to let the water drip directly into the garden box below. That was great for watering, but harder to measure results.

Local interest is peeking. A neighbour had snow fence, supposedly a material that catches more fog. A retired teacher asked about post spacing. Someone else donated old gutters they were discarding. I’ve never seen such interest stirred up by a fog fence. It's wonderful how one project can spark so much community interest!

Then the latest. My car mechanic suggested a moisture meter to get “numbers” (scientific data) that could be used in reports. So far, I can say truthfully that the middle of the garden under the perforated trough has a higher moisture count than on the sides of the same garden box. My worry is that it isn’t a good large amount. Humm, might snow fencing equal more moisture? Stay tuned for the next episode of “Can Grandma make a fog fence work on the top of a community garden?”

 Something to eat

It was close to the first of July. Time for one last pulling of the rhubarb but what to make with it? Research suggested making a “slump”. The best way for me to describe a slump is only if you know what a blueberry “grunt” is.

Put rhubarb, sugar and water in a pot. Boil. Put dumplings on top and cook 5-20 minutes. Spoon up fruit and dumplings and pour generous streams of cream over the hot desert.

 Giving Thanks For Summer

God, Creator of all, thank You for summer!
Thank you for the warmth of the sun
and the increased daylight.
Thank You for the beauty I see all around me
and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy Your creation.
Thank You for the increased time I have to be with my friends and family,
and for the more casual pace of the summer season.
Draw me closer to You this summer.
Teach me how I can pray
no matter where I am or what I am doing.
Warm my soul with the awareness of Your presence
and light my path with Your Word and Counsel.
As I enjoy Your creation, create in me
a pure heart and a hunger and a thirst for You.

- Author Unknown