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JESSICA PETERS / OBSERVER
Those who attended the Seabird Island EcoStation Compost Centre on Friday were invited to take home a tree as a reminder that we all must care for the land.
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Compost facility helps create a better earth Seabird Island leading the way with local compost centre
Jessica Peters The Observer
What we take from the earth, we must give back. That was the lesson shared amongst those who attended the grand opening of the EcoStation Compost Centre on Seabird Island on Friday. "Understand that if we take care of Mother Earth, Mother Earth takes care of us," Chief Clem Seymour told the gathering, which included elected officials from Kent, Harrison and
Chilliwack, along with several Seabird band council members, community members, centre staff and elders. Seabird has been working on becoming kinder to the environment for many years, as part of a grander community plan, said Brian Jones, community economic development manager. Four years ago, Seabird applied for funding through the Dept. of Indian Affairs to begin a threeyear project to look at ways to recycle. The idea to begin
composting their own material was born out of this plan, when they began to look at the amount of waste being produced. Rather than sending food scraps from beneficial programming such as the culinary arts training centre and the school's breakfast program, they could return the waste to earth. Just in coffee grounds alone, he joked, the program is worth the effort. By composting that material, and offering the service to the wider community, they were
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reducing their effect on the landfill. And by not sending their compostable waste to the landfill in Chilliwack, they have lowered their tipping fees. Finally, the end result is wonderful compost, a material that is in great need on farms in the area. The centre is located across the tracks from the Seabird Island Gas Bar, on the site of a retired cattle farm. It's open for businesses and individuals, and Continued on 2