The Community Edition: May 2016

VOLUME 4, ISSUE 8 • MAY 2016

IF STREETS COULD TALK PAGES 8-9

AGNES MAKES

PAGE 11

BIRDS IN THE CITY PAGE 7

SLEEPING GIANT PAGE 10

MAY 2016 // @THECOMMUNITYED

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Volume 4, Issue 8 Next issue: June 1, 2016 75 University Ave. W Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5 519-884-0710 x3564 Advertising All advertising inquiries should be directed to Care Schummer at 519-884-0710 x3560 care.schummer@wlusp.com THE COMMUNITY EDITION TEAM Editor in Chief Jesse Bauman jesse.bauman@wlusp.com

General Inquiries info@communityedition.ca

Publisher Lakyn Barton lakyn.barton@wlusp.com

Steel Rails steelrails@communityedition.ca

Social Media Manager Megan Nourse CONTRIBUTORS Anna Beard Alexandra Bissley Christopher Cryne Christopher Emory-Moore Marika Galadza David Gascoigne Kristy Guthrie-Roth Nancy Hutcheson Kerri Hutchinson Stacey Jacobs Jon Johnson Allison Leonard Jennifer Marshman

David Michaels Kathy Mostardi Jessica O’Connell Zainab Ramahi Seth Ratzlaff John Roche Eva Rucki Dylan Siebert Matt Smith Steph Smith Dave Thomas Cara Vandermey Brent Wettlaufer

WLUSP ADMINISTRATION President Executive Director Advertising Manager Treasurer Vice-Chair Director Director Director Director Corporate Secretary

Meghan Roach Lakyn Barton Care Schummer John Pehar Abdiasis Issa Mynt Marsellus Maddy Cutts Fred Kuntz Gary Doyle Taylor Berzins

The Community Edition is an alternative monthly intended to engage and inform the community.

Started in 2012, the Community Edition is an editorially independent newspaper published by Wilfrid Laurier University Student Publications, Waterloo, a corporation without share capital. WLUSP is governed by its board of directors.

Opinions expressed within the Community Edition are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board, The Cord, WLUSP, WLU or Canweb Printing. All content appearing in the Community Edition bears the copyright expressly of their creator(s) and may not be used without written consent.

The Community Edition is created using Macintosh computers running Mac OS X Yosemite using Adobe Creative Cloud. Canon cameras are used for principal photography.

The Community Edition’s flag font is Lobster, an open source font created by HVD Fonts. We also use Brandon Grotesque and Petrona.

The Community Edition is a member of the Ontario Press Council, which is an independent ethical organization established to deal with editorial concerns. For additional information or to file a complaint, contact info@ontpress.com or call 416-340-1981.

The Community Edition circulates monthly. Normal circulation is 6,000. The Community Edition subscription rates are $20.00 per term for addresses within Canada.

Preamble to the Community Edition Constitution The Community Edition will keep faith with its readers by presenting news and expressions of opinions comprehensively, accurately and fairly. The Community Edition believes in a balanced and impartial presentation of all relevant facts in a news report, and of all substantial opinions in a matter of controversy.

The staff of the Community Edition shall uphold all commonly held ethical conventions of journalism. When an error of omission or of commission has occurred, that error shall be acknowledged promptly. When statements are made that are critical of an individual, or an organization, we shall give those affected the opportunity to reply at the earliest time possible. Ethical journalism requires impartiality, and consequently conflicts of interest and the appearance of conflicts of interest will be avoided by all staff. The only limits of any newspaper are those of the world around it, and so the Community Edition will attempt to cover its world with a special focus on the community of Waterloo Region. Ultimately, the Community Edition will be bound by neither philosophy nor geography in its mandate.

The Community Edition has an obligation to foster freedom of the press and freedom of speech. This obligation is best fulfilled when debate and dissent are encouraged, both in the internal workings of the paper, and through the Community Edition’s contact with the community. The Community Edition will always attempt to do what is right, with fear of neither repercussions, nor retaliation. The purpose of community press is to act as an agent of social awareness, and so shall conduct the affairs of our magazine.

King Street used to be a main thoroughfare - the corduroy road, uptown. CRISTOPHER CRYNE PHOTO

FEATURE

8-9 IF STREETS COULD TALK: HALLS LANE WHAT WAS ONCE A CATTLE PATH NOW HOSTS BIKE SHARE STATIONS AND TECH START-UPS

3 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 12 13 14 14 15

IN BRIEF LOST IN TRANSITION DANGER: MOMS AT WORK REFLECTIONS ON SPONSORSHIP GARDENING 101 + ILLUSTRATION UNDERSTANDING WR’S OPIOID USE SAHAJA YOGA IN WATERLOO BIRD IS THE WORD SLEEPING GIANT MOVIE REVIEW FIVE THINGS ABOUT FEELINGS IDLING GETS YOU NOWHERE MAKERS GONNA MAKE MAY IS MASTURBATION MONTH HOMESTEADING OFF THE GRID STUDENT ART IN K-W EXPERT LONGEVITY ADVICE BRFC ON SESSION BEERS WALKING WITH JANE PURSUING DIVERSITY IN WR ENERGY ON ENERGY

COVER IMAGES (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP): “Halls Lane” by Matt Smith; “Agnes Niewiadomski” by Brent Wettlaufer; “Sleeping Giant” courtesy Andrew Cividino; and “Uptown Goose” by Matt Smith.

MAY 2016 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

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IN BRIEF

About 150 people gathered on April 28 for the National Day of Mourning, an annual event that grieves workers injured or killed on the job. Different speakers honoured two local men, Nick Lalonde, 23, and Chris Crawford, 33, who died at work in the last year. According to Elizabeth Witmer, chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, 243 people were killed at work or died from occupational diseases in Ontario in 2013. NANCY HUTCHESON PHOTO

NEWS

ARTS

URBAN

KW IS OUT FOR BLOOD

OPEN YER DAMN EARS WR

GREEN BEER ALL YEAR ROUND

To meet Waterloo Region’s needs this summer Canadian Blood Services needs 5,000 donations before July. Outbreaks of the Zika virus led to a 21-day ban on blood donations from Canadians who recently visited certain countries. Donation bans are also applied to men who have had sex with another man in the last five years.

The annual Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound will feature local, national and international artists and sound installations.

Open Ears makes use of concert halls, downtown Kitchener, parking garages and abandoned buildings. The festival will kick off May 26 with the performance piece The Yellow Wallpaper.

The Brick Brewery’s new facility is the “greenest” brewery in North America. Last fall the company consolidated their facilities, upgrading to state-ofthe-art equipment, opting for technology that reduces their operation’s environmental impact. They now use 32 per cent less electricity and produce 80 per cent less wastewater.

BUDGET WOES FOR THE WPL

GENERATION NOW! IS BACK

COUNT YOUR CHICKENS?

The Waterloo Public Library is facing a $300,000 deficit. Earlier in the year city council gave permission for the library to use three years of funding in one year.

That will allow the library more time to alter budgets and reach a new funding deal with the city.

The rising US dollar and high utility costs have contributed to the deficit. Most new books purchased come from US publishers.

Back for a third year, Generation Now! will exhibit the work of young (under 29) and emerging artists in Waterloo Region at Open Sesame May 21. The exhibit is intended to support local artists as well as inspire others to pursue their own artistic interests. The event will feature music, visual art, performance and literature.

See Generation Now’s online gallery at gen-now.org.

The City of Kitchener has launched a survey collecting public feedback on potential changes to the bylaw banning backyard chickens. Should residents be allowed to raise chickens in their backyards? What kind of restrictions should be in place? Should residents be permitted to butcher chickens at home? Have your say by filling out the survey at kitchener.ca by June 17.

PARTY LIKE IT’S TIME TO FIX PATCHY EI SYSTEM? CAFKA.16

FORMERLY KNOWN AS PP

Only 4,800 of the 17,400 unemployed people in Waterloo Region are collecting EI benefits, according to a recent news release from the Waterloo Region Labour Council. Cambridge MP Bryan May is chairing a parliamentary committee on the issue. The Labour Council says the issue is systemic and especially impacts women, who are less likely to be eligible for EI.

CAFKA.16: Contemporary Art in the Public Space will kick off with a party May 28 at Centre in the Square. CAFKA is currently looking for volunteers (who get to go to the party for free!) for the biennial exhibit. Earlier in the day CAFKA will host a walking tour of exhibits in downtown Kitchener.

There will also be a tour offered in French. Check out CAFKA’s website for a fuller summer schedule.

Planned Parenthood Waterloo Region officially rebranded to SHORE. The new name stands for Sexual Health Options, Resources and Education. The organization also moved to a more central downtown Kitchener office. The new name better reflects the organization’s mission and purpose, according to executive director Lyndsey Butcher. Learn more at shorecentre.ca.

SO, WHAT IS DARK MATTER?

NOSTALGIC ART COMING TO ION

PREVENTING SHELTER STAYS

Asimina Arvanitaki, one of the world’s leading theoretical particle physicists, is getting an $8 million boost to study dark matter thanks to a partnership between the Perimeter Institute and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

Arvanitaki has been with Perimeter since 2014. Dark matter is super complicated and believed to make up 85 per cent of matter in the universe.

The Waterloo Region council has selected Ken Hall’s pin art as the public art installation for the Cambridge Centre Transit Terminal. Hall’s work is a giant version of the pin toys you smushed your face in as a kid.

Transit users will be able to play with the pin art for nostalgic feels. The Region is commissioning art for seven ION stops across the region.

The number of families living in shelters doubled in 2013, following the recession. In response Lutherwood, Cambridge Shelter and YWCA K-W piloted a “Family Shelter Diversion” program. The program is now permanent, meaning staff can keep focusing on early intervention and temporary support to keep families out of shelters. This approach is more cost-effective.

COMPILED BY MEGAN NOURSE

MAY 2016 // @THECOMMUNITYED

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LOST IN TRANSITION?

NEW RULES DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE HEALTH CARE ACCESS FOR TRANS PEOPLE IN ONTARIO, BUT THERE ARE STILL NOT ENOUGH CARE PROVIDERS WILLING TO TAKE ON TRANS PATIENTS

JESSE BAUMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF After decades of trans activism, last fall Ontario’s Minister of Health Eric Hoskins announced massive changes to the way that trans patients could access transition-related surgery referrals. Until Hoskins’s announcement, every trans person seeking surgery required a referral from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, whose waiting list was many years long. But, Hoskins announced that, starting in March of this year, “transgender patients [can] access referrals for gender confirming surgery in their own communities from their existing circle of care.”

Referrals are now determined by “qualified primary-care providers across the province,” meaning physicians or nurse practitioners who feel competent.

Hoskins also announced a $2 million investment in trans health care services, to focus on training health care providers, creating a post-operative recovery hub in Toronto and planning for a new surgical program. These sweeping regulatory changes unplug the huge referral bottleneck at CAMH and improve access to transition-related surgery referrals for trans patients in Ontario, whose health outcomes have historically been much worse than average.

“There are now endless additional referral points wherever physicians and nurse practitioners are willing to take on that work,” says Jordan Zaitow, trans health connection coordinator for Rainbow Health Ontario, the provincially funded program tasked with educating and training medical health professionals to provide high-quality care to trans communities. A survey of providers in the region suggests, however, that many health professionals seem uncomfortable taking on trans patients.

Isaak Haig started his transition in 2013, when all referrals for surgery had to go through CAMH. When he was 18 years-old he told his family doctor that he felt uncomfortable with the gender he was assigned at birth, but was told by his doctor that it was “just a phase” and that he “just needed time.” At one point he says that his doctor suggested he read the Bible to “sort himself out.” After many years of using and abusing substances as “a way to cope,” in 2013 he connected with a counselor at CAMH. As a 32 year-old he received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, which refers to the distress or discomfort caused by a discrepancy between a person’s birth-assigned sex and that person’s gender identity.

“I went to rehab as Chris, and came home as Isaak,” Haig says, explaining that his counselling at CAMH helped him to accept that the ways he’d been thinking about himself were normal and OK. Until he was connected with a counsellor at CAMH, Haig says he was “on the road” to suicide. “I wasn’t happy in my old body. That wasn’t me,” he says.

According to Trans PULSE, an ongoing community based research

project, over half of trans people in Ontario “have levels of depressive symptoms consistent with clinical depression,” and close to half have “a history of attempting suicide.” One in five trans Ontarians has been physically or sexually assaulted for being trans.

These numbers are higher still for trans people of colour.

When we spoke on the phone Haig was recovering from the “top” surgery – a general term that for femaleto-male trans people can include bilateral mastectomy and male chest reconstruction, or for male-to-female people breast augmentation – that he received in March, more than two years after his diagnosis. According to 2015 research, about 75 per cent of trans people need to transition medically, with some combination of hormones and/or surgery. This summer Haig starts the process of receiving “bottom” surgery to complete his physical transition.

“The first thing I did when I got home [from rehab] was find a new doctor,” Haig says, though he is quick to point out that he is “one of the lucky ones.” In 2013 it seemed like “nobody in the area was taking on trans folks,” but his CAMH counsellor connected him with a doctor at Lang’s Community Health Centre, where he has received primary care since.

In the new regulatory regime, Haig’s doctor – or a nurse practitioner – at Lang’s could coordinate his referral(s) for surgery. However, many of the primary care providers, health care administrators and trans folk I spoke with pointed out that trans people still struggle to find a primary care provider who is comfortable supporting them through a gender transition or on other non-trans specific health issues.

In a 2016 academic survey of 433 trans adults, 356 of whom had a family physician, a team of researchers from Ontario concluded that within the sample population “discomfort in discussing trans health issues with a family physician was common, presenting a barrier to accessing primary care.”

Langs CHC in Cambridge and the ARCH Clinic in Guelph are two of the main clinics in this region with significant numbers of trans patients obtaining support for gender transition – about 15 and 140, respectively – but staff from both clinics are concerned about trans peoples’ access to care.

About one and a half years ago, ARCH – which stands for HIV/AIDS Resources and Community Health – conducted a needs assessment and determined that there might be about 50 trans people in their catchment area – Guelph-Wellington-Dufferin, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo and Grey-Bruce Counties – who needed primary care, says Deanna Clatworthy, who is a registered practical nurse and ARCH’s clinic manager.

“But we’re already at 140 patients, and have turned people away from the Caribbean, Morocco and western Canada who found out about ARCH’s services and were willing to fly in,” says Clatworthy.

“I have to turn down two to three people every week, because they’re outside of our funded catchment area.

If we could take them here our clinic would be ridiculously big.”

ARCH recently suspended accepting

new patients until the fall, so that they can catch up with and better understand the recent changes to the referral system. Nancy DiPietro, Director of Clinical Services at Langs CHC, says they’ve also had to turn away many patients who couldn’t find a doctor in their own community.

Allisa Scott says that medical professionals are often “uncomfortable or worried” about their ability to support trans patients, whose problems appear “complex,” which they said has more to do with doctor’s lack of training than trans patients health needs.

Scott uses the gender neutral pronoun singular they and identifies under the trans umbrella as non-binary and genderqueer. These identities recognize that gender, like sexuality is a spectrum. Scott is also a social worker with close to 20 years of experience working in and with LGBTQ+ communities across Ontario. About 80 per cent of their clients are transgender.

“More than once I’ve been contacted by an agency [for consultation, support or training] because they don’t know where to start with supporting transgender patients and they want to ensure that they are offering them proper care. They can also be terrified to offend,” says Scott.

Clatworthy similarly argues that many providers are unnecessarily concerned about treating trans patients.

There are internationally recognized treatment guidelines, she says, and “it’s a simple, straightforward approach available to all doctors.”

Erica Roebbelen is a recent graduate of McMaster’s Michael DeGroote School of Medicine (and my close friend). She did the bulk of her training in Hamilton, where she now works as a family doctor, and says that “one three-hour session of our ‘Professional Competencies’ curriculum [was] dedicated to trans health issues.” A trans physician from the community gives this lesson to each class of students, she says, and “it is really informative and always very well received by the learners.”

“I don’t think our medical school training would be enough to equip students to really support the health needs of the trans community, but then again there are many special populations that our training doesn’t address very thoroughly,” she adds, explaining that students are given a broad training and then, given their interests and the kind of populations they’ve already interacted with, choose specific elective opportunities.

“Providing comprehensive care to trans patients requires time, knowledge and skill about their important health issues. Understanding their needs requires on-going learning for many providers who did not receive this education during their formal training in medical school,” DiPietro adds.

Rainbow Health, the coordinating training body, is doing its best to meet growing demands for training.

“At this point, I can’t keep up with the requests for training and education. It’s an invigorating and busy time to be doing this work,” says Zaitzow.

“At the same time, I do think there is still this block to offering trans care for health care providers generally... our bottom line has always been that trans care is not specialized care.”

“A lot of the training and education

is really around de-stigmatizing trans bodies and working through transphobia,” he adds.

A number of the providers I spoke with acknowledged that doctors are not and cannot be experts about every population that might walk into their practice. While doctors are expected to do a great deal, including staying up to date on all relevant medical developments, when they choose to pursue extra-curricular trainings they are likely to focus on conditions like hypertension or colon cancer that affect a great proportion of their patients. In general, talking with patients, getting to know them as whole people with complicated histories, is not lucrative (and might feel like inefficient) medicine. Doctors must also balance obligations to individual patients and to a public health care system that requires them to do their fair share.

In short, many questions remain about how medical professionals should be trained to better support trans patients – or any minority population. While those debates continue, many local organizations are working to fill service gaps.

Lang’s runs a program called “gender journeys,” which provides support and information to trans folks locally. According to DiPietro, many participants arrive having never met other trans people in real life, and one participant recently described the group as “lifesaving.” SPECTRUM, “Waterloo region’s rainbow community space,” regularly hosts trans peer support groups and KW Counselling Services runs the OK2BEME program, which provides free supportive services for LGBTQ+ identified children, teens and their families.

Pretty much everyone I spoke with pointed me towards the detailed, comprehensive and heartbreaking research about transphobia in Ontario and beyond, including about suicide and unemployment and social isolation and our confused notions about binary gender identities. For trans folks, more than one person reminded me, these are issues of “life and death.”

But then pretty much everyone I spoke with also reminded me – sometimes in the same breath – that these are deeply resilient communities and individuals who together or alone have shouldered the burden of educating their care providers and their friends and their teachers and their neighbours.

“You do not come out only once, you come out over and over again,” says Scott.

The recent regulatory changes to transition-related surgery referrals are the result of decades of committed trans activism, including the kind of community organizing Issak Haig is doing in Waterloo. Good Laughs is the monthly get-together that he convenes in Waterloo, “a safe space for trans people to explore their identity however they choose.”

“It’s a very lonely journey for some of us, and bonding and companionship and being around people who know what you’re going through is so important,” he says. “It’s a great community that I’m proud to be a part of,” he adds.

“People around me say they really like this new me.”

MAY 2016 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

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DANGER: MOTHERS AT WORK IN K-W

JUST IN TIME FOR MOTHER’S DAY, TCE CHATS WITH FOUR WORKING MOMS ABOUT CAREERS AND KIDS

MARIKA GALADZA CONTRIBUTOR Lyndsey Butcher showed up for her job interview seven months pregnant, but what might have been a liability was not a problem where she was interviewing. In fact, her pregnancy did not come up in the interview until she raised it, and she got the job: executive director at SHORE Centre (formerly Planned Parenthood) in downtown Kitchener.

“We’re a feminist organization,” Butcher explains. “One of our founding values is that women should be able to make decisions for themselves, especially around their families, and need support from their communities to make those decisions work.”

For Butcher that meant, flexible work hours, more time to respond to e-mails and eventually bringing her son Henry to work with her.

But Butcher’s situation is not representative of what most women who parent go through in the workplace.

In many professions, being a working mom is viewed as a liability. You’re more likely to be absent due to an illness of a child; maternity leave is an ever looming possibility and travel for conferences or business becomes complicated. After work professional development and attending networking events ? Not easy, unless you’ve got an on-call nanny — a prohibitive expense for many moms. And even within double parent households, the

burden (or blessing) of primary child care often falls on the mom.

Louise Lambert, single mom of four and currently working contract to contract, recalls her former boss stating, “I won’t hire anyone in their childbearing years, because I’m not prepared to give them a year off, and have to train somebody else,” a blatant breach of the Ontario Human Rights Code. Jokes about “going off and getting pregnant” are still common says Butcher.

Monika Rivas is mom of two year old Marie-Eve. Rivas just completed her masters in social work and is currently looking for work. At her last job interview her interviewer subtly tried to find out whether she was imminently planning to have more kids.

They asked things like “what do the next five years look like for you in terms of work-life balance?” Rivas didn’t get the job, and shared that in an ideal world “there would be more permanent part-time jobs available” for moms like her, who want to work and take an active role in the care of their children.

Subtle discrimination aside, the high cost of childcare coupled with the wage gap in earning potential for women adds insult to injury for (especially single) moms. In a 2015 report, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that 16.5 per cent of women in Waterloo Region live below the poverty line, compared to 11 per cent of men, and that women earn 66 cents for every dollar earned by a man. Relatively few women occupy leadership positions. The gap widens for women of colour, trans and indigenous women.

“If you want a promotion at your job” says Lambert, “they expect you to stay longer, come in earlier, work harder. As a single parent, you need that raise to stretch your dollars, but you can’t because you can’t put in the hours.”

Lambert and Marjorie Knight both expressed that many jobs that required travel, or evening and weekend work were out of the question without consistent, flexible and affordable childcare.

Knight is a single parent of twin, now adult, girls. She became pregnant during her undergraduate degree, and she says “the whole university rallied around me.”

“The student council bought me a rocking chair, everyone was invested in supporting my pregnancy.” But once her twins were born and she moved to Toronto to find work, she couldn’t find anything that paid enough to keep them in daycare.

Almost 30 years later, Butcher’s experience has been similar to Knight’s, as she says it was impossible to find centre-based childcare for her son.

“I was on every waitlist in the region,” she says, “and I was pretty much told I won’t get a call-back until he turns 18 months.” A 2015 CBC report puts the median cost of childcare for infants 18 months and under at $933 per month in Kitchener, compared to $174 across cities in Quebec.

When Knight couldn’t find affordable childcare, and had no family to turn to in Canada, she moved home to Jamaica.

“I could afford childcare in Jamaica, a third world country, but I couldn’t afford it in Canada... what does that

say about our values?”

“Caring for a child has got to be the hardest job in the world – yet we don’t value it, ….we don’t seem to value anything around nurturing and growing,” Knight adds.

While childcare is proportionately quite expensive in Ontario, those who work in childcare don’t see those returns. In “Closing the Gender Wage Gap” a 2015 report issued by the Ministry of Labour, researchers reported that “feminine,” female-dominated careers are paid substantially less than “masculine,” male-dominated careers”.

Caring professions such as early childhood education, nursing and personal support work are just some examples of the kinds of jobs that demand much, but pay little. But while the gendered wage-gap has received some media attention, there’s been little interrogation of how workplace cultures keep women and mothers from even getting in the door.

Rivas recalls a helpful policy at the Region of Waterloo, where she did her MSW placement.

“They had a breastfeeding room at my office” she says.

“My supervisor was very understanding when I had to take a break to pump. I didn’t have to choose between taking a lunch break or pumping.”

Butcher was able to bring baby Henry to work, even setting up a crib for him in her office. “I would strap him on to me and attend board meetings... if I needed to pump I would just put a sign on my door”.

“Our office is very family friendly,” she explains. “If school is cancelled, our office is closed.” As executive director, Butcher gets to set a tone that

accommodates, rather than ostracizes parents at work.

Accommodations like these could have lead to very different career trajectories for Lambert or Knight.

Lambert recalls that when her children were sick, or school was closed, her employer required that she take a vacation day to stay home with them.

After Knight moved back from Jamaica when her children were 13, she couldn’t find a suitable job in Waterloo Region because of “lack of Canadian experience.” Today, she works as a clerk at a furniture store and after eight years of service is still not salaried and earns less than Waterloo Region’s recommended living wage.

“Mom’s are essential. As a human race — we need them,” says Knight.

And yet, we make it difficult for them to enter the workforce, to earn for their families and achieve the balance they need to be able to do both well.

“I want my daughters to have a good career... but I also don’t want them to feel they have to choose between a career or family.”

Not all moms have the option of working at an organization like SHORE, but we do, as a community, have the ability to demand changes in government and in our workplaces that could, for example, provide better subsidized day care, flexible work schedules and parental leave allowances. That seems a more meaningful way to honour our moms than a bouquet of flowers and brunch this mother’s day.

In time for Mother’s Day, TCE chatted with (from left to right) Lyndsey Butcher, Louise Lambert, Marjorie Knight and Monika Rivas about motherhood and their working lives. MARIKA GALADZA PHOTOS

CELEBRATING REFUGEE SPONSORSHIP, BUT WHY? WE SHOULD TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE CONDITIONS THAT FORCE MIGRATION AND ADVOCATE FOR PEACE

ZAINAB RAMAHI COLUMNIST Canadians can be a pretty self-congratulatory bunch.

Yes, in stark contrast to the virulently racist rhetoric that is increasingly normal in public debate south of the border, Justin Trudeau learned enough Arabic to welcome the first plane of Syrian refugees to Canada – and melted the hearts of millions of people around the world in the well-publicized spectacle of finding the right

sized coat for a young Syrian girl at the airport.

It’s good, it truly is. Messages like these set the tone for the rest of the country and, some suggest, have even helped to shift Canadian public opinion in ever-increasing favour of the Liberal government’s plan to re-settle Syrian refugees in Canada.

Locally, K-W has received almost 1,200 Syrian government assisted and privately sponsored refugees. Kitchener is one of six main resettlement sites in Ontario, and 575 to 700 more refugees from Syria are still expected to arrive.

As coordinator of a local social service agency that offers support to newcomers, many questions have

swirled in my head since last fall.

As we continue welcoming our new neighbours while taking pride in how Trudeau compares to Trump, to what standard of friendship are we holding ourselves? What are our responsibilities to our new community members and to our “old” ones? How might this region’s experience of welcoming Syrian refugees prompt us to re-think settler relationships with indigenous peoples and the land?

Our community is diverse. I have heard hesitation about the idea of inviting “potential terrorists” into our communities, and I have seen predatory church congregations hoping to increase their membership. But I have also seen groups eager to spend their

Saturday afternoon in a crash course in conversational Arabic so that they might better welcome and support the family they have sponsored.

I’ve also heard sponsoring individuals talk about their side of the journey as “cool” or “profoundly moving” or “perspective shifting.” This is not a problem, but it becomes problematic when we forget or ignore the lived realities of our new neighbours and, furthermore, our government’s role in creating the conditions for the conflicts that continue to displace people.

This is where I derive some of my cynicism for Trudeau’s rhetoric. If we truly respect the dignity of all people and are concerned about forced migration, then let us also advocate for our

government to become a leader in ending conflict. Let us also remember that Syrians are not the first, nor the only refugees our region has welcomed.

Every week I work with people forced to leave their homes in Iraq, Burma, Afghanistan, Palestine and Somalia.

We are phenomenally privileged to live in a place where we have little reason to wonder whether or not our home will still be standing when we return from work or if our children’s school might be destroyed. Most of us feel that we can advocate and lobby our government without fear of persecution. What then is privilege, if not responsibility?

MAY 2016 // @THECOMMUNITYED

6

GREEN THUMB 101

TCE HELPS YOU START A NEW GARDEN

ANNA BEARD CONTRIBUTOR The idea of planting and tending a garden often brings to mind middle-aged folks on their hands and knees, with Tilly hats and soil smudged noses. Reactions from there tend to go in one of two directions: disdain or envy. But even if you tend to think the former, keep reading – you might just find your new favourite hobby.

Gardening can promote general wellness, increase hand strength and dexterity, reduce stroke risk and increase heart health, act as a stress reliever and increase self-esteem.

You’ll be sweating by the end of it.

So, you’re convinced? Lucky for you, May is generally a good time to start putting your garden together. Let’s get to work! (And remember skin cancer is legit, y’all. Take precautions.)

STEP ONE Figure out what you’re working with.

The foundation to any good garden is good soil. A garden that has soil high in organic content will encourage the growth of healthy roots that can access nutrients and water leading to better growth above ground. If you’re starting from scratch with no area set for gardening or creating a raised garden box, start off on the right foot by going to a greenhouse or garden centre and picking up bags of triple mix – a type of soil made up of three equal parts of topsoil, peat and compost.

Garden centre staff should be able to tell you whether you need mulch in addition to the compost included in the triple mix. Mulch helps suppress weed germination, retains moisture, insulates the soil and reduces erosion.

STEP TWO Clear the area of twigs and other debris.

STEP THREE Check your soil to make sure it isn’t too wet. It should crumble easily, not form a ball. If it’s too wet, you may

compromise the soil structure and kill your plants before they’ve had a chance. If you’re planting right into the ground, you’ll want to dig down and clear away any grass or weeds. If you’re planting into a box, be sure to set up the boundaries of your planting area and clear the area completely.

STEP FOUR Get your soil ready. In a large bucket mix together your triple mix, shredded leaves, manure and other sources of organic matter. Start filling your garden, making sure the soil is spread evenly in your garden bed. If you’ve chosen to plant on top of the ground in a garden box, be sure to fill the box at least 25 to 30 cm to allow for proper root establishment and drainage.

STEP FIVE Pick – not harvest – your flowers or vegetables. Be sure that you take into account sun exposure and water availability. Is your garden in shade all day?

Do you have a hose or will you need to water with a bucket or watering can?

Most plants and seed packets will have sun exposure and water needs written right on the package. If in doubt, ask someone at the garden centre. If you’re looking to build a bee friendly garden, be sure to do it in a low traffic area where the garden will be undisturbed and the risk of small children running through it is small.

Do busy squirrels, raccoons and rabbits surround your house? If so, you may need to take a few extra steps to protect your flowers and veggies.

STEP SIX Once the risk of frost has gone, get busy planting!

AND A FEW PRO TIPS: Worms and bugs in your garden are a sign of healthy ecological activity, and create passages for nutrient mixing and soil oxygenation.

Water your plants first thing in the morning. Watering plants during the day is not ideal since the sun generally burns any moisture off before plants can absorb it. Watering at the end of the day can cause root rot.

Have fun with it! Gardening isn’t supposed to be stressful or a burden.

If things die, they die. If they live, they live. Try to enjoy the process.

CARA VANDERMEY ILLUSTRATION

WHILE OPIOID USE GROWS, DATA REMAINS SPARSE REGION FIRST IN PROVINCE TO INTRODUCE OVERDOSE MONITORING SYSTEM TO ADDRESS “PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS”

ALEXANDRA BISSLEY CONTRIBUTOR When flu season hits each year it takes a few clicks of a mouse to find out how many people have been affected and how many people have died.

When a higher-than-average number of drug overdoses occur in a community, healthcare providers, police and social service agencies scramble to get a hold on what’s happening, and how to alert and protect people using drugs.

“It’s a health equity issue,” Michael Parkinson, community engagement co-ordinator with the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council tells me, and given the dramatically climbing rates of opioid deaths “we should be responding as we would to any other public health crisis.”

In January of this year, after the Waterloo Region Integrated Drug Strategy

was informed of six drug overdoses in three days in Waterloo Region, they issued an alert announcing the launch of the community-based Overdose Monitoring, Alert and Response System, the first of its kind in Ontario. The timing is apt, as a surge of overdoses is sweeping across Canada. Bootlegged fentanyl, a synthetic opioid (the same drug class as heroin and morphine; a lot of prescribed pain-management drugs are also opioids) that is 10 times more toxic than morphine and indistinguishable when cut into or passed off for other drugs, has played no small part in the trend.

With drug-related death the second leading cause of death in Ontario, the problem of opioid overdose is “quite serious,” Parkinson says.

“We know [fentanyl] is here,” he says, but the degree to which tainted drugs are affecting users in the community is hard to understand without real time monitoring. OMARS aims to serve as “a barometer on the community,” WRIDS co-ordinator Paul Gregory tells me.

“We need to be able to know what’s happening on the ground to be able to respond, and to alert people.”

Until now, WRIDS, a community-based initiative with over 20 member organizations, had been getting their overdose stats from incoming 911 calls. But when it comes to drug use there are significant barriers to calling 911; what about people who go straight to the ER, call for an ambulance citing other reasons, or don’t seek any assistance after a non-fatal overdose?

The perimeters of ‘overdose’ here are broad and not insignificant. They may be accidental, intentional or undetermined.

“People using [opioids] exactly as prescribed by a physician are dying,” Parkinson reminds me.

Opioid overdose crosses socio-economic status and afflicts both regular and occasional drug users. When cut into cocaine, bootlegged synthetic opioids like fentanyl don’t discriminate between someone who uses on a monthly versus daily basis. Non-fatal overdoses count too, as they can also

indicate tainted drugs.

OMARS launched in February, with the intent to glean a “clearer picture” of what’s going on. Through their outreach van and other community connections, Sanguen Health Centre is collecting tips on overdoses and tainted drugs, and social service agencies are asked to submit information about overdoses to which they are privy through their respective clientele.

Individuals are encouraged to anonymously submit overdose information online (www.whatsyourrole.org).

OMARS then sends out alerts, like they did in January, via Twitter and group emails.

“The implementation is in its infancy,” Gregory says, but word is already getting around. Individuals are submitting overdose tips online, and already several community organizations have requested for overdose training, provided by Sanguen and Waterloo Region Public Health, so that they can better support and educate drug users they work with.

“The knowledge, education, aware-

ness piece is huge,” Gregory stresses.

On an individual level, OMARS can inform users of “bad drugs” and how they might practice harm reduction, including how they can access Naloxone, a short-term antidote to opioid overdose akin to an Epi-pen in response to anaphylaxis. In the region, Public Health and Emergency Services and Sanguen distribute Naloxone and train residents in its use.

Parkinson and Gregory are hopeful that knowledge and awareness can extend into policy and practice as well.

To be able to respond effectively to the presence of dangerous opioids in our community, Parkinson says, means wide spread availability of Naloxone, rapid access to treatment and smarter opioid prescribing. “That would go a long way to reducing the death rate.”

It’s estimated that in Ontario there is one opioid-related death every 14 hours, he tells me.

“By the time this article comes out we will have lost a few more people.”

MAY 2016 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

7

SEEKING: CLEAN ENERGY AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH

SAHAJA YOGIS TELL NEW PRACTITIONERS: “TO MEDITATE, JUST SIT WITH THE WISH TO MEDITATE...DON’T TRY”

CHRISTOPHER EMORY-MOORE COLUMNIST The production of clean energy may be the biggest challenge of our time, but it has been a spiritual ambition of yogis for at least 2,500 years. Today in Waterloo region “outer” energy scouts conduct well-funded research in state of the art labs at our local institutions of higher learning. Meanwhile, a small group of “inner” energy scouts offer free Monday night meditation classes in a rented room at the Button Factory.

The latter are devotees of Sahaja Yoga, a global religious movement founded in the 1970s by the Indian guru, Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. The energy they aim to cultivate is not solar or geothermal but kundalini, a primal power believed to lie latent at the sacrum in every individual’s subtle energy body.

At a meeting in mid-April, a Sahaja yogi welcomed newcomers one by one before briefing our group of about 15 on the basics of the Sahaja method.

“Kundalini energy rises up from our sacrum and sucks in our thoughts from past and present, producing a thoughtless space that grows with practice. It’s pretty complicated, but actually kind of simple, so let’s just try it.”

With that, instrumental music started playing through the speakers as our guide led us through a seated meditation, moving our awareness

and our hands over our body’s various energy centres (chakras) while mentally reciting specific prayers and affirmations.

“Am I the spirit?”

“O divine, I am the divine spirit.”

“O divine, I forgive everyone.”

“O divine, please give me my self-realization.”

Following the meditation one beginner asked, “What should I focus on?”

Our guide responded, “To meditate, just sit with the wish to meditate. You don’t have to do anything. Your kundalini and the divine will interact, and your energy will rise. Think whatever, it doesn’t matter. Don’t try. The energy wants to rise.”

Even so, senior Sahaja practitioners happily helped newcomers initiate kundalini’s flow in a one-to-one five-minute “workshop.” Seated with palms upward in my lap and gazing at a candlelit photo of Shri Mataji, a senior practitioner stood behind my chair encouraging my kundalini through his directed attention and hand movements in the air around me. The group then viewed a short video of Shri Mataji explaining the significance of the heart chakra, the “seat of creation.”

It was only at the meeting’s end, when I was given a pamphlet containing a black and white photo of Shri Mataji, that I discerned the intended significance of my encounter with her through the chakra prayers, energy workshop and video teaching. The pamphlet explains, “Tonight you have gained Self-Realization from Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. What does this mean? Simply, that the mothering,

healing energy called kundalini has been awakened inside you.”

Although the overall design and purpose of these initiatory steps were not easy to identify or understand as they unfolded, each was offered up with a kind of spiritual empiricism: Try this. See if you feel a difference.

This was also the explicit context of receiving the guru’s photo from our meditation guide after the meeting: “Try meditating with palms up in front of her image. Experiment. See if it works for you.”

Comparing the experimental energy work of Sahaja yogis and UW engineers, the inner/outer distinction seems apt. Scientists’ formulas “work” if they can be relied on to produce visible physical change; Sahaja’s formulas work if they can be relied on to produce felt psychological change.

Unlike the publicly falsifiable formulas of chemistry, testing the formulas of a particular religious tradition like Sahaja Yoga takes practice. While I cannot attest to their efficacy after just one meeting, I can convey the experience of one practitioner who assured me that “all life’s details would start to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle after some committed practice experience.”

Emory-Moore is a PhD student in religious studies. Through Seeker’s Corner he shares his experiences interacting with the many faiths of Waterloo Region. TCE recognizes that faith and religion are complex, and that a series can’t fully capture the depth or diversity of a belief system.

We’d love for you to add to the discussion: info@communityedition.ca.

PHOTO COURTESY FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

LISTEN TO THE BIRDS AND SEE NATURE IN THE CITY

NOTHING IN NATURE IS RANDOM: EVERYTHING BIRDS AND OTHER ANIMALS DO HAS SOME SIGNIFICANCE

DYLAN SIEBERT CONTRIBUTOR

A chickadee and a cardinal. Tweet tweet. DAVID GASCOIGNE PHOTOS

As a resident of downtown Kitchener without a car, I sympathize with those of my neighbours who long for more access to nature. What many downtowners might not realize, though, is that the city is actually teeming with wildlife, who bring their own form of natural beauty to our streets and parks. For me, the key to unlocking this hidden world has been understanding the language of birds.

It might sound like something out of a fairy tale, but it's plain scientific fact that birds communicate with each other through song. The tweets and chirrups you hear when you leave your house in the morning are actually coded messages about courtship, social boundaries and hidden enemies moving across the landscape. Our heavy-footed human world is overlaid by a taut, invisible web of awareness and ever-shifting conversation. If you can tune into that conversation, you'll find out a lot about your neighbourhood that's otherwise out of view.

Understanding bird language is a basic skillset in cultures around the world that have traditionally lived close to the land. The first time I enthused about the five basic bird vocalizations to an acquaintance who was born in Kenya, she looked at me like I was teaching her the first five letters of the alphabet. "Well, yeah,”

she said, “that's how you know where the animals are."

For the open-eared bird watcher, that's the payoff. Songbirds like robins, cardinals and chickadees can tell you with their calls, their movements and their body language whether the latest newsflash is an incoming ground predator like a fox or an aerial intruder like a hawk. Crows and seagulls aren't as revealing; these birds are larger, more confident and generally more interested in humans and human garbage.

My understanding of birds and their ways got a huge boost a couple of years ago when I attended a weekendlong intensive workshop near Collingwood with Jon Young, master tracker and bird language enthusiast.

It was fall migration season, and about forty of us rose from our tents before dawn to crouch in a misty meadow edged with forest, taking notes on the bird sounds and movements we observed.

After about an hour we gathered to compare notes. Several people had seen a northern harrier, a large bird of prey, swoop by and startle some robins. Young posed a few precise questions about the robins’ alarm calls and positioning, then asked whether anyone had seen the cooper’s hawk hunting in the wake of the harrier, using the disturbance caused by the bigger bird to conceal its own movements. None of us had.

It wasn’t long after that that I had my first encounter with a cooper’s hawk. I was walking slowly down the Iron Horse Trail, deep in thought. Suddenly I was struck by how deafening the silence was — no

songbirds were singing out anywhere nearby, or even sounding their distinctive alarms. I stopped, looked up, and saw the hawk preening its feathers on a low branch, not 30 feet in front of me.

Kitchener and Waterloo are packed with hawks and other birds of prey.

Finding them in the city is actually much easier than in the countryside, where hiding places are more plentiful and the birds are sneakier. Since that first encounter I've become attached to a pair of cooper’s hawks that nest near the train tracks in Victoria Park.

I’ve seen these cunning hunters use passing humans, passing crows and even passing trains as cover for their stealth attacks. When I hear the cardinals sounding their unmistakable ‘chik! chik!’ alarm, and see the robins and chickadees dive into the nearest thicket, I smile and look around for my friends.

The greatest lesson I’ve learned from studying bird language is that nothing in nature is random; everything birds and other animals do has a meaning. If you can learn to quiet yourself and pay attention to their signals, not only will you be able to see and hear the wildness in the heart of the city, you'll be able to read powerful meaning where before you may have perceived only chaos.

Jon Young has an excellent book on bird language called What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World, which can be found at the Kitchener Public Library.

As the weather warms and nesting season gets into full swing, I’ll be found more and more often along the wild creeks and trails of Kitchener.

IF STREETS C

HALLS

DOWNTOWN SETH RATZLAFF CONTRIBUTOR

The Star Theatre, behind the Walper Hotel on Queen Street South, Berlin Ontario, 1918. COURTESY THE GRACE SCHMIDT ROOM, KPL

Halls Lane is a hidden laneway that runs parallel to King Street through downtown Kitchener. A great way to get through downtown on bike or foot, the Lane also presents passers-by with a curious view of Kitchener’s history.

I recently had the chance to chat with local history buff Joe Mancini about Halls Lane. Mancini and his wife Stephanie are the founders of The Working Centre, which has purchased and revitalized three old buildings on Queen Street beside Halls Lane to house some its many social initiatives.

We started our tour looking at a poster located inside the Queen Street Commons Cafe, a project of The Working Centre at 43 Queen Street South. (If you happen to be reading this edition of TCE at the Commons, you can follow along by checking out the local history posters at the front and back of the Cafe.)

“It might be best to start with the Kitchener Opera,” said Mancini. “Halls Lane used to lead there.”

The Kitchener Opera House first opened to the public in September 1896. Financed by Abel Walper, who owned The Walper Hotel, it sat up to 600 theatre-goers at one time.

The Opera House was located at the back of The Walper, facing Queen Street, where it became a central node in what was then called Berlin. Weekly performances cost anywhere from 15 cents to a full dollar. As other theatres appeared in the city, the Opera House was converted into a film theatre called Star Theatre. But ultimately it couldn’t keep up with bigger venues and was forced to close down. An extended section of the Walper Hotel now sits on its foundations.

Walking to the back of the Cafe, Mancini pointed to a picture on another poster. It depicts a building that no longer exists but would have been right beside Halls Lane, on the south side of Queen Street.

Users of Community Access Bikeshare (another Working Centre initiative) might recognize this spot behind the CIBC building as a place to

borrow and return a to be the home of the Printing Company. T produced a weekly G called the Berliner, fo a partnership made u and Frederick Ritting “So this was kind o Berlin,” Mancini said German news press.

However, as the fir began, popular opini gion’s German reside In 1916 the city’s nam to Kitchener, named lonial administrator died in the war. The n was an undemocratic it did not have popul when the referendum through it did not inc to keep Berlin.

“After the war, wit language on the defe explained, “the Motz Journal with the loca which ultimately bec er-Waterloo Record,” Region Record.

We went out the b Cafe and made our w wards Halls Lane. “Pe stuff in small buildin the back here,” Manc “There was a little buggy and car indust At the place where es Queen Street, Man into the history of th “You have to start perspective that it wa the 1850s, the first pl pretty sure. Essential the cattle path.”

Mancini pointed n Street: “That was the Hamilton, or Dundas way from Niagara.” H south, towards the Jo Haus museum.

“Joseph Schneider a path to King Street to go somewhere, yo to King Street.” That became Queen Stree “There were Germ living on [Queen Stre was named Nahrgang whom married Josep daughter. I’m pretty return for marrying t [Nahrgang] got a big

COULD TALK:

S LANE

N KITCHENER

bicycle, but it used e Berliner Journal The Company German newspaper ounded in 1859 by up of John Motz ger. of the hub of d about the old

rst world war ion about the reents grew negative. me was changed after a British cowho had recently name change itself c process because lar support, and m was pushed clude the option

th the German ensive,” Mancini z’s combined the al English paper, came The Kitchen” now the Waterloo

back door of the way to the left toeople were making ngs and shacks in cini mentioned. bit of a fledgling try.” e Halls Lane crossncini launched he intersection. t by putting into as only laid out in lan was 1854, I’m lly [Halls Lane] was

north to King e main street to s, coming all the He then faced oseph Schneider

r basically cleared t. If you needed ou needed to get clearing is what et. man immigrants eet], one family g, and one of ph Schneider’s sure that, in the daughter, chunk of land.”

That piece of land is called the Nahrgang Survey. A man named Aaron Brickers later purchased the block and eventually built the three buildings located there now. Those buildings are 46-62 Queen Street South, housing Queen Street Yoga, ABC Military Surplus, Black Arrow Cycles, Downtown Kitchener BIA and The Working Centre.

“I like this guy,” Mancini said of Aaron Brickers. The first business he established there along with his brother Ephraim was a blacksmith in 1880, but he shortly thereafter started a livery, or stable, where owners could pay to park their horses.

“I like the image of the livery,” Mancini said, before referencing the dramatic changeover from horse to cars during the turn of the 20th century.

“Brickers is running a livery from the 1880’s to 1905 and he thinks, ‘Well, the livery is not going to be here forever.’ He starts building new buildings. In 1907, he gets rid of his livery. So he was kind of ahead of it. There’s that sense of innovation.”

By this point in our conversation we were on Halls Lane, facing the back of The Working Centre. During a lull in his storytelling, I asked Mancini what he thought of the view from where we stood.

“No so good. Pretty ugly. No, it doesn’t look great,” Joe acknowledged candidly. He remarked that it’s hard to believe the building there now is the same pristine building that is pictured on the poster at the back of the Cafe.

Years have taken their toll, and by-law regulations have made the exterior less minimalist than its original expression.

And yet, despite the less-polished view, Halls Lane embodies a trend of Kitchener’s industrial history: buildings built by people appreciative of the place they lived and used for a variety of different purposes. It is something that the tech industry has really engaged with, and the resulting architectural dynamic fits with this notion of innovation. So while these buildings are raw, faded by the elements, rusty and stained, they are also the sturdy homes to many stories. It’s good to be reminded every now and then.

Up, down, in and around Halls Lane, 2016. MATT SMITH PHOTOS

MAY 2016 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

10

FIVE THINGS ABOUT FEELINGS

FILM REVIEW

Riley, Nate and Adam propel Andrew Cividino’s excellent feature debut, Sleeping Giant.

PHOTO COURTESY ANDREW CIVIDINO

A SLEEPING GIANT NO MORE

CAN-CON OR NOT, THIS COMING OF AGE MOVIE IS BRILLIANT

JESSE BAUMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF The Canadian director Andrew Cividino’s feature debut Sleeping Giant is proof that a story well told, even if similar to many others, is worth telling.

Sleeping Giant is about three 15-year-old boys spending a summer in northern Ontario. It’s simple, intimate and so beautiful that I could suspend disbelief – really, another young-men-coming-of-age movie!?

– and immerse myself, because like Richard Linklater’s excellent Boyhood, it is an immersive movie, propelled by convincing human interactions more than plot.

Two of the film’s three leads had never acted before (they are cousins, in real life, and Cividino found one on kijiji in Thunder Bay), and Cividino has said that he aimed for something that “felt more like eavesdropping and being along [for] the journey with the boys.” The film has this quality, and Cividino’s depiction of teenagers’ mundane troublemaking feels less like a depiction than a documentary, surrounding you in ways that feel personal.

The boys are Adam, Nate and Riley.

Adam is quiet and watchful, “up north” because it’s where his parents recently bought a cottage. Nate is from the north and the most abrasive of the three. He lives with his grandmother,

around whom he can smoke but not say “fuck.” Riley is Nate’s tall cousin, also from somewhere else, also staying with grandma and the gravitational centre of the group. Adam is unique in that his clothes fit and that he has nice teeth.

As we eavesdrop on these boys we are quickly introduced to the various terrible ways that 15-year-olds can behave towards each other. While they swing sticks and throw rocks in increasingly aggressive ways at a dead seagull, Nate and Riley awkwardly practice misogynistic ways of talking about Adam’s crush — we learn ways of being before we know what they mean. When Adam hits his head on a rock, Nate tells him not to be a “pussy” – though later, after a game of Settlers of Catan erupts violently, Nate’s grandma pinches his bloody nose and offers similar advice. And as a surprising love triangle develops with a girl we don’t learn much about – though to be fair, we don’t learn much about any of the women – Adam betrays Riley and propels the film to its vertiginous conclusion.

Different viewers will surely alight upon different moments in this film.

An early scene of father and son playing catch struck me. Adam’s I’m-cool-I-say-chillax dad encourages him to “really have fun this summer.”

“Don’t do what I did,” he continues, without explanation. A bit later he says the same thing to Adam, but more strenuously, and this time the suggestion sounds at once threatening and desperate. A father projecting his frustrations upon a son he is strug-

GOT A STORY FOR US? INFO@COMMUNITYEDITION.CA @THECOMMUNITYED

gling to understand?

I remember the same conversation with an adult in my life (thankfully not my dad) when I was Adam’s age; I remember resenting that man for his projections, but also because his words were terrifying for what they implied.

Was he really once like me? Would I be old and bitter like him? There are many of these adolescent moments of becoming in the film.

So if this is a movie about masculinity and male relationships it is also about class, though not in a straightforward way. There is no less love in Nate’s family than Adam’s. I was charmed by Nate’s back and forth with his grandma, about putting her in a home and about who would wipe her bum when she was old. Adam’s dad is sleeping with the woman from the fish market.

Finally, this is a film about nature, though I don’t honestly know quite what that means. The film starts and finishes with staggering shots of northern Ontario – thanks to James Klopko’s superb cinematography – but the boys’ interactions with nature have a jagged, violent edge. Nature is where they damage each other, physically and psychically: wrestling on a beach, tormenting animals and challenging each other’s manhood at the top of jump-into-water cliffs.

This is prehistoric nature, here before us and here after, and in this way the backdrop punctuates a point Cividino never wavers from: we were once (perhaps) young and innocent, and now we are not. Sometimes this happens with a big splash, and there’s no going back.

JOHN ROCHE COLUMNIST Relax: I’m not writing this to make you join hands with your friends and sing “Kumbaya.” I’m writing this because we have a problem: most of us don’t really know what feelings are, or how to deal with them. That ignorance has a tendency to really fuck up our lives.

When it comes to emotional intelligence, ignorance is definitely not bliss, so here are five things everyone should know about feelings.

ONE: Feelings are like a flowing river. T Swift and the Buddha agree: nothing lasts forever. Feelings are especially impermanent: they float into consciousness, and then they float on – unless we resist them, in which case they stick around longer than they should. Although most people can only identify a few major ones, there are as many different feelings as there are notes in a symphony.

TWO: Saying “I feel” doesn’t make something a feeling. Frustration is a feeling. “I feel that you’re being a dick,” on the other hand, is an interpretation of someone’s behaviour, not a feeling.

Starting a sentence with “I feel that” is a pretty good indication that what you’re about to share isn’t actually a feeling.

THREE: Feelings are part of being human. Both the hyper masculine bodybuilder who thinks real men don’t cry and the ultra spiritual yogi who believes meditation will lead to permanent happiness have been misinformed. Emotions are a totally natural and totally unavoidable response

to the very real shit that happens to us humans. As long as you occupy a body, the only thing you control is how to respond to feelings, not whether or not they arise in the first place.

FOUR: Avoiding feelings leads to problems. Carl Jung once said that “neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering.” What he meant is that underneath depression, anxiety, disordered eating, codependence, rage and so on tends to be pain that we were unwilling or – more likely – unable to face when it arose. Rather than disappearing, feelings that get swept under the rug just come out in weird ways down the road. Sometimes disowned feelings even come out physically, like with ulcers, headaches or back pain. Whether physical or psychological, these symptoms are like crying babies that just get louder and louder until we finally start taking care of them.

FIVE: Feelings communicate important messages. Even if we could get rid of feelings, we probably wouldn’t want to. The reason feelings exist in the first place is to provide us with information. Anger, for instance, almost always tells us that one of our needs isn’t being met. Sadness signals to us that we need to be especially gentle and compassionate with ourselves.

And anxiety often indicates that we’re trying to live up to someone else’s standards.

Whether or not you choose to join hands around a campfire, developing emotional intelligence requires a certain amount of commitment and practice. At the end of the day, though, it’s still a hell of a lot easier than living at the mercy of your feelings.

John is a therapist who practices in Waterloo.

IDLING GETS YOU NOWHERE

KATHY MOSTARDI COLUMNIST One of my pet peeves is how simple, everyday solutions to lowering our carbon emissions aren’t regularly practiced by many people. These include easy actions like eliminating bottled water and plastic bag use and reducing our speed on the road.

But the behavior that truly gets my ire up is seeing trucks and cars idling needlessly, spewing out both smog related and carbon emissions. Why do we do this?

A number of reasons keep this bad habit alive, including lack of awareness of idling’s impact, the convenience of drive-through service and sometimes sheer laziness.

Natural Resources Canada has put together some great information about idling that can help raise awareness.

The average car with a three litre engine wastes one quarter of a litre of fuel for each 10 minutes of idling – double that amount for a car with a larger engine, like most SUVs and trucks. If each Canadian reduced idling for three minutes a day, we would also reduce carbon emissions by 250,000 tonnes a year. This is the same as taking 320,000 cars off the road for one year.

You might have heard about how turning your car off and on can cause it harm, but this is simply not true.

Extensive research has shown that if you idle your car for more than 10 seconds, it’s better to turn the engine off. This conserves fuel, reduces air pollution and protects engine components.

And limiting idling can save you money – between $100 and $200 a year in fuel costs.

School drop-off zones are primary hot spots for idling. Increasingly, school staff and municipalities are seeing the importance of protecting air quality for children, and some schools are experimenting with ‘walking school buses’ to encourage children to walk to school in groups instead of being driven.

In the US, it is estimated that one billion car minutes are used at fast food line-ups each year.

A few municipalities including the cities of Cambridge and Waterloo have enacted “anti-idling” by-laws. In Waterloo, idling is restricted to three minutes with exceptions for emergency and transit vehicles, and when it is very hot or cold.

Shayne Turner, director of municipal enforcement services for the City of Waterloo, notes that the city’s anti-idling by-law serves more as a preventative measure and has not involved significant ticketing. While there is a $75 fine if caught, few tickets are given out.

The 2009 by-law was enacted due to issues identified by Public Health at the time. Turner feels that, due to the broader public health issues around air pollutants and other emissions, idling bylaws would be “more effective if regulated at the Regional level”.

Car idling is a public health issue in addition to an environmental one. It might be time for the Region to consider a widespread by-law and public education campaign. Increasing public awareness and promoting a true change in attitude and behaviors could bring enormous positive results. And it’s one of the simplest steps in lowering our carbon emissions.

MAY 2016 // @THECOMMUNITYED

11

SEXPLANATIONS

STACEY JACOBS CONTRIBUTOR

Agnes Niewiadomski is arguably K-W’s most prolific female maker. PHOTOS COURTESY AGNES NIEWIADOMSKI AND STEPH SMITH (TOP RIGHT)

MAKERS GON’ MAKE

ARTIN’ AROUND WITH AGNES NIEWIADOMSKI

MARIKA GALADZA CONTRIBUTOR Print-making, sewing, 3D printing, plaster casting – you name the trade, and Agnes Niewiadomski (pronounced Nev-ya-dom-ski) has probably tried and mastered it. Niewiadomski is the region’s foremost female maker and one of the masterminds behind Kitchener’s yearly Maker Expo.

So what exactly is a maker? Niewiadomski has given this some thought, and when I met up with her for a coffee to discuss her inspirations and upcoming projects she took me on a verbal tour of KW’s maker scene.

According to Niewiadomski, makers are folks that embrace a do-it-yourself work ethic. Knowledge of materials and a deep curiosity for how things work are all a part of what it takes to be a maker. While some makers might refer to themselves as artists as well, Niewiadomski pointed out that a distinction between the two might be that makers typically have a plan and vision for their end product, while artwork is usually more emergent and process oriented.

Niewiadomski is a graduate of OCAD University’s sculpture and installation program, but as she explains, “I didn’t want to be a gallery artist. My work didn’t really fit.”

Rather, Niewiadomski’s passion is site specific installation. For her thesis, she created a series of installations that responded to physical spaces in the school buildings where she spent most of her time. Her work included installing cushions and curtains in a hallway windowsill, and a faux pantry cabinet in a nook in a stairwell.

“I realized I was trying to re-create home away from home” says Niewiadomski, who grew up in Hamilton.

Some of her first works were an outlet for a difficult emotional situation at home, and expressed nostalgia for a less complicated past.

“My father was in an accident where he sustained a brain injury – he wasn’t able to talk or feed himself and needed 24 hour care.” Because of his situation, Niewiadomski’s family moved homes.

“It was a paradigm shift” she says.

Niewiadomski’s father passed away last October, signaling a new chapter in her life where she is able to commit herself to work in KW and start a new business.

As a freelance maker, Niewiadomski faces the struggle of many creative millennials — consistent, paid work.

But for all the cautionary tales about going into art, Niewiadomski’s entrepreneurial spirit has done well for her.

Her work fills the niche of animating public spaces with functional objects, an important feature in any vibrant city.

If you’ve ever checked out “Funtario Friday” – a street fest on Ontario street in Kitchener in the summer – you’ve probably glimpsed her enormous light bright. Or maybe you picked up a clear tape hand mould while gallivanting around Night/Shift last October – Niewiadomski made those too. Just recently, the City of Kitchener commissioned her to create a giant connect-four game, to be unveiled this June.

Niewiadomski’s next project is a mindful makers day-camp for kids based out of Westminster United Church in Waterloo.

“I’m basically bringing a university education to a kids level,” she says. The camp is inspired by MIT’s “How To Make (Almost) Anything” course and involves combining highly technical skills like soldering and vector design with some all but forgotten home economics classics like felting and sewing.

If this sounds as cool to you as it did to me, take note, an adult camp might be in the works in the future.

For now, Niewiadomski is focusing on kids because (a) parents need childcare yo!, and (b) kids are way more capable of creating functional objects than we think. In our risk-phobic society, they are rarely given the opportunity to experiment with “big kid” tools.

Niewiadomski assured me that safety is a high priority in any of her work with the public, but that given rules, skills and tools, kids are capable of way more than stenciled hand turkeys and macaroni covered Kleenex boxes. Besides, those types of crafts are disposable.

“I want to give kids the opportunity to make something mindfully that they can keep and be proud of.”

So how does Niewiadomski recharge between projects? When I asked, she looked at me and paused – for the first time in our two hour chat.

“I make other stuff” she shrugged. I guess when work is what you love, you’re re-charging your batteries every damn day.

Learn more about Niewiadomski’s passions and current projects at www. agnesmakes.com or www.mindfulmakers.ca.

Niewiadomski has created an eight foot wide “light bright” and a five foot tall “kerplunk” game. PHOTOS COURTESY AGNES NIEWIADOMSKI

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and patio weather has arrived.

May is one of my favourite months of the year, not only because May is Masturbation Month, but because it is a positive time of year. People are happier, more relaxed. More willing to open their minds to ideas. Ideas such as, it is healthy and common for children to masturbate.

Many children, of all ages and genders, touch themselves. Why? Because it is soothing, relaxing, fun to explore, helps them fall asleep and because it feels good.

Before children begin puberty, masturbation is not a sexual behaviour.

It is not driven by sexual needs, wants or fantasies, the way it often is for adults.

If your child touches themselves it does not mean they are developing in a sexually unhealthy way. This behaviour is not harmful to your child. In fact, it is often a healthy behaviour. Exploring and getting to know one’s own body is important.

As children age and become teenagers and adults it is important they are comfortable with their bodies. This allows them to talk to their parents and health care providers as soon as they notice something that may be problematic, such as a rash, lump or swelling. Comfort with their body could save their life.

Depending on a person’s religious or other cultural values, they may be more or less comfortable with talking about masturbation — or the activity itself.

In these cases it’s important to share values without shaming children, who don’t typically understand the social implications of their actions. Often self-exploration is simply curiosity, and touching or rubbing themselves is a way to self-sooth. By yelling or physically making a child stop you will increase their anxiety and possibly instill feelings of guilt or self-hatred.

Although masturbation is a healthy behaviour it is important to teach children that it is a private behaviour done alone in places such as a bedroom or bathroom. It is important to mention to the child that the bathroom cannot be a public bathroom. I have heard stories where this was not made clear and shenanigans ensued. It is also not safe for a child to be masturbating in public bathrooms.

If your child is too young to understand the difference between private and public behaviour and they are touching themselves in public, give them something to hold that requires both their hands or distract them in some other way. Do this nonchalantly without upsetting them. If your child is old enough to understand the difference between private and public, gently remind them that they are in public where people do not touch themselves and that they can continue in private when they get home.

People of all ages, genders, orientations, abilities, cultures and religions enjoy masturbation. It is easier to enjoy masturbation as an adult if you had positive experiences with touching yourself as a child — experiences without shame, guilt and negativity. So think of your child’s present and future and allow them the positive experiences that touching themselves can bring.

MAY 2016 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

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STUDENT ART IN K-W NO MFA, NO PROBLEM: KIDS ARE CREATIVE EVA RUCKI CONTRIBUTOR Student art exhibits can be more unique, creative, open and powerful than professional exhibitions, because their artists have (probably) not spent years in art school, where they have been told what is – or is not – or does – or does not – count as art. From that perspective, “Expressions 41: Our Place In The World,” a collection of student art from the region at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, does not disappoint.

Fun, fantastical and Faustian, the exhibit includes pieces of art in many different forms to capture everyone’s attention, including digitally altered photography, portraits, comic book pages, paintings, sculptures, collages and masks. For example, a senior kindergartener from Forest Hill Public School painted his family on the North Pole, including their two pet frogs, one of which looks like a groovy jazz horn player. Don’t miss the sculpture of a rhino-bunny by a wonderfully creative grade nine student from Bluevale. (Participating school boards asked we not identify individual students.)

Expressions 41 clearly relates many sincere messages and stories.

Many of the pieces are powerful and

thought-provoking. The painting “Upon Reflection,” by a grade 12 from Eastwood, includes an artist statement: “This piece is a self-portrait reflecting on how I perceive myself, my emotions, thoughts, and beliefs. Sometimes the most difficult place to belong is within yourself. However once you do, you may find your place in the world is closer than you thought.”

A collaged mannequin with a video monitor for a head, called “Stand up!,” invites you to put on headphones, watch a video, and immerse yourself in palpable memories of what seems like a never-ending cycle of childhood name-calling and stone-throwing. Derek Elworthy, a communications teacher at St. David’s, worked with students from grades 10, 11 and 12, combining their skills and passions to create the mannequin. The result is a compelling visual and audio statement about the harmfully negative effects of being isolated, pressured, misunderstood and uncared for, as well as the impact it has on who you become when you grow up.

These exciting creations and important stories are being displayed at the KWAG until May 22.

Clockwise from right: “Stand up!,” “Upon reflection” and “Inner battle: lion vs girl.” EVA RUCKI PHOTOS

HOMESTEADIN’ OFF THE GRID EXPERTLY HEALTHY ON PURSUING SELF-SUFFICIENCY IN THE LAND OF PLENTY

JENNIFER MARSHMAN CONTRIBUTOR Urban homesteading is a growing national trend promoting sustainable self-sufficiency in an urban environment, and Waterloo Region is no exception. But why? Posing this question to some of the region’s homesteaders, I heard many responses, and in every instance noticed that homesteading is about starting something; a move towards personal and environmental health by way of simplifying and becoming more self-sufficient.

For some people who grew up in the 1960s, the things we call “homesteading” skills were normal activities.

“It was much more common back then to do handiwork, sewing, knitting, etc. It wasn’t seen as radical because it was commonplace,” said Kathy, who has a huge organic vegetable garden at her New Hamburg home.

If in our recent past these skills of self-sufficiency were considered normal, what has changed?

The shift has been multi-faceted.

First, there was a move away from manual, home-based work. As more women moved into the formal work force, “big food” cashed in on the convenience and fast food trend. These foods weren’t seen as problematic as they often are today. Instead, they were seen as de-gendering the work place and marking class boundaries.

Staying in the home and reproducing the manual labours of the previous generation was considered tedious and old fashioned.

Now, another shift is taking place – alongside the people who maintained skills from childhood is a new genera-

tion of DIY’ers who grow and preserve food at home. Often these homesteaders have simple, practical reasons for growing their own food.

“If everyone knew how much they pay for each square foot of lawn, I think there might be more gardens,” said Michelle from Kitchener.

Michelle’s family uses permaculture principles on their extensive urban vegetable garden and is part of a growing community of urban dwellers keeping chickens and bees. They did the cost calculations when they moved into their home, and decided to make the most out of every inch by making it as productive as possible.

Another self-sufficiency advocate considers her actions to be an investment in the future.

“I consider these activities to be an inheritance for my children rather than just leaving them money when I pass,” said Nicola from Kitchener, who has built an off-grid backyard shelter.

Kim, also from Kitchener, has a home garden and a community garden plot. She shared that the act of growing one’s own food is more than just a hobby, it’s a way to “keep [her] connected to the natural world,” an idea that Kathy echoed: “I need to feel connected with the Earth and being ‘co-creative’ with the Earth through nurturing plant life and providing sustenance for myself and others.”

Building and connecting to a larger community is also key, for many of the homesteaders I spoke with. Siobhan, a local food activist from Cambridge, said that “while we all need to be sustainable, we cannot exist on our own entirely. The things that sustain us are a group effort – we are connected.”

In some ways, home food growing is practiced as a radical expression of resistance to a dominant – and environmentally unsustainable – lifestyle.

This form of self-sufficiency is similar

to “prepsteading,” which combines homesteading with the concept of disaster or survival planning as a way to prepare for future shocks and disasters (like food shortages and zombies).

“It is integral that more people try to be self-sufficient as we move into an uncertain future regarding food and the access to healthy foods, not to mention the decline of fossil fuels,” said Nicola.

According to Kathy, “I think that given the coming impacts of climate change, the world needs to become smaller in terms of its footprint.

Learning to be more self-sufficient generally has less impact on the world in terms of fewer carbon emissions… and it would prepare us as a society to become less dependent on goods from afar if transportation and supply routes collapse in the future.”

Perhaps the most radical of all is the idea that homesteading skills are useful beyond fears of peak oil and the zombie apocalypse. Learning to grow, cook or preserve food, mend a shirt, make the most out of what you have and consume less – these are useful tools for everyone.

According to Susan from Kitchener who grows food at home, these “important life skills” can provide “a great deal of satisfaction.” Everything else aside, once you taste a tomato grown in your own garden, freshly picked and warmed by the sun, you will never look at a store-bought tomato the same way again.

Will growing a tomato plant or two make you self-sufficient if all else fails? Probably not, but in the darkest, coldest hours of the longest storm, knowing how to stoke the fire and proof the bread can go a long way.

OR, WHAT TO DO TO LIVE LONG AND WELL

KRISTY GUTHRIE-ROTH COLUMNIST Santé! Prost! Sei gesund! Gesondheid!

Around the world, we toast each other’s health. Our universal goal seems to be living long and healthy lives. But how exactly do we achieve that? With the rise of heart disease, cancer and obesity-related diseases cutting life expectancies shorter, what are the secrets to longevity?

I turned to the most qualified people I know to get the answers: The Naturopath – It Takes A Village Dr. Melissa Willms, a naturopathic doctor at Sanas Health Practice, says the keys to health are multifaceted and tied to one’s community. She recommends first creating an expert health and lifestyle team (hers includes a naturopathic doctor, GP, chiropractor, massage therapist, osteopath, counsellor and yoga instructor). This team advises you on daily lifestyle practices, nutrition, mental/emotional health and proactively screens for disease or health risk factors.

Second, it’s all about attitude.

Research shows that having a positive outlook improves health outcomes and lengthens life.

Third, being healthy also depends on building meaningful relationships with family and friends. People who surround themselves with a community or village live longer and healthier lives.

The Family Physician – Prevention Is The Best Medicine Dr. Nathan Roth, a family medicine resident practicing at The Centre for Family Medicine, says that an apple a day really does keep the doctor away.

True health comes from good old fashioned diet, exercise and sleep.

Medical studies have long shown

the link between diet and longevity. A healthy diet, abundant in vitamin- and nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables leads to better health.

Moderate exercise for 150 minutes a week has also been scientifically proven to improve cardiovascular health and overall well-being. That’s 30 minutes a day, five days a week, of walking, running, swimming, etc.

And sleep! You need it. Experts, including scientists at The Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, have found that sleep plays a “critical role in immune function, metabolism, memory, learning, and other vital functions.” You should be getting between seven to nine hours a night.

The Almost-Centenarian – Use It Or Lose It Lola, a 99-years-young great-grandmother, and the oldest, happiest person I know, shared her secrets with me: First and foremost, don’t stress! She’s focused on being happy with what she has, and making choices that limit the amount of stress she invites into her life. She’s learned that money isn’t everything and problems are never as big as they seem.

Second, keep moving. Every morning before rising, Lola does stretching and exercises in bed. Studies support her experience, saying seniors who stay active and mobile live longer.

Third, keep close. She’s made a point of nurturing her relationships. When her husband died at age 75, she maintained close ties with the community.

Instead of living alone, she has always had a companion and stayed close to family.

Many of these “secrets” to good health are common knowledge, and backed by years of scientific research – but knowing and walking the path are two different things. Perhaps the most important factor to consider is how to hold oneself accountable to actually follow through and incorporate these healthy practices in our lives.

MAY 2016 // @THECOMMUNITYED

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BRFC ON BEER

STEEL RAILS IS NEXT MONTH. JUNE 24.

SERIOUSLY. THAT’S ALL WE ARE GOING TO TELL YOU.

JON JOHNSON COLUMNIST After last month’s discussion of saison beers, a friend suggested I discuss another type of beer you’re likely to see a lot of on shelves this summer: session beers. Session beers are not a style on their own, but rather a variation on different styles.

A typical American adjunct lager that many people pound back on hot summer days, like Molson Canadian, usually has five per cent or lower alcohol by volume. By contrast, typical American-style IPAs (and most other flavourful beers) start around six per cent ABV. As the amount of grain in a brew increases to add flavour, so too do the sugars that ultimately ferment to make a beer that, while tasty, with an higher ABV is decidedly less crushable on a hot day.

Session beers are a solution to that problem, as they usually come in around three to four per cent ABV. Yes, that could theoretically include the American adjunct lager I mentioned before, but the term is most often applied to lower-alcohol variations on more flavourful styles. Essentially, these are variations that you can sit down and drink a few of at one time while still being able to carry a conversation with your friends at the end of the day. One or two per cent lower ABV can make a pretty significant difference over a couple of beers.

The most common session beers are probably IPAs. This is likely due to the overall popularity of IPAs, but also due to the fact that bold hop characteristics can be utilized to add a lot of flavour while not adding to the sugars being fermented. Flavour is added without increasing the alcohol content.

My favourite readily available session IPA is not quite an IPA: the Red Racer ISA. The standard Red Racer IPA is fantastic, but at 6.5 per cent it can be a little strong after you’ve had a few. The ISA is a lot lighter and cleaner, but still packs a lot of flavour at only four per cent. Muskoka’s Detour is a popular session IPA that’s available year round, and Wellington’s Kickin’ Back session IPA is back out at their brewery store.

Of course, the session doesn’t stop there. You can find plenty of different beers from different breweries available in lower alcohol with flavourful variations. Block 3 released a 4.6 per cent session Frankenstout last year, and surprised me with the amount of flavour they packed into it.

So the good news is, just because you want to knock back a number of beers over the course of a day on a patio, you don’t necessarily have to drink bad tasting beer to do it.

MAY 2016 // COMMUNITYEDITION.CA

14

PURSUING DIVERSITY IN WR

ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD REFLECT THE COMMUNITY THEY SERVE

SEE JANE WALK KEEP ON WALKIN’ IN THE FREE WORLD

KERRI HUTCHINSON CONTRIBUTOR Jane’s Walks are free, locally organized, citizen-led walking tours that encourage people to observe, reflect on and re-imagine the places in which they live, work and play.

Jane’s Walks take place in more than 100 cities world-wide. The first walk was organized in 2007 to honour the legacy of Jane Jacobs, an urbanist and activist who advocated for a community-based approach to city building. Jacobs was instrumental in stopping the expansion of highways in New York City and Toronto.

In her 1961 book The Death and Life of Great American Cities Jacobs reacted to the urban revitalization movement of the 1950s that gave rise to the demolition of historic city centres to make way for new infrastructure. Jacobs opposed this form of urban planning and became an advocate for cities. For Jacobs, successful city planning and design featured mixed use space, older buildings, smaller blocks and higher population density.

Jane’s Walks are not traditional walking tours. They are about storytelling, conversation and community. Some of this year’s walks in the region are titled “Secrets of Amos Weber,” “Rock around Kitchener (with Peter Russell),” a “Fairy Walk on Brubacher Street” and “Growing Up in West Galt.”

Tricia Siemens, former co-owner of Words Worth Books, is leading her walk “Waterloo’s First Neighbourhood” for the third time this year. When asked how she became involved with Jane’s Walk, Siemens cites Jacobs’ influence on her life.

“Jacobs’ ideas have shaped the kind of person I have become,” says Siemens.

“The impact of her vision can be seen worldwide, not just in my little corner of Waterloo, but in countless other cities around the world.”

On a cold and rainy Saturday in 2014, 45 people attended Siemens’ walk.

Last year the number jumped to 67 attendees.

“People are keenly interested in finding out about their community.”

I also spoke with first-time walk leaders Susan Koswan, Nicola Whiting, and Doug McKlusky, who together are leading the “Edible Forest Heights” walk.

In June of last year, a food forest was planted at the Forest Heights Community Centre. Leading a Jane’s Walk was a natural next step for the Forest Heights Neighbourhood Association to help raise awareness about their neighbourhood and permaculture. In a suburban neighbourhood like Forest Heights walking is usually recreational but it is still an important tool to build community.

Speaking about the food forest, McKlusky said that “the city buy-in has been great, they’ve been super supportive but we want to get people out and see what we’re doing. This is just the beginning.”

Starting at the Forest Heights Community Centre the walk culminates with attendees planting a pollinator fedge – don’t worry, that’s not a typo. A fedge is a hedge that produces food for native pollinating insects.

A Jane’s Walk is intended to be a conversation about your community, not a lecture. Whether you’re a walk leader or an attendee, you are being brought together by your shared passion for your community, and the idea that you never truly know your community until you get your feet on the street and start walking. Jane’s Walks celebrate walkable communities and champion the idea that one’s sense of community and belonging is strengthened by walking.

Walking through your neighbourhood gives you a different perspective. You get to know your neighbours, their habits and rituals. You start to share little pieces of your life with your neighbours, like the woman and her dog ‘Banjo’ that I greet every morning on my way to work.

The Region of Waterloo determines walkability scores based on residential density, the number of intersections, variety of places to visit, and the design of retail stores. While neighbourhoods like uptown Waterloo, downtown Kitchener and Galt are the most walkable, no matter where you live you can enjoy the benefits of walking. Whether you start walking your kids to school, go for a walk after dinner or take a new route with your dog, there’s plenty to explore in every community.

Walkers gonna walk: folks meander around Waterloo, 2015. MATT SMITH PHOTO

DAVE THOMAS CONTRIBUTOR Organizations should reflect the diversity of the community they serve, and their staffing practices should be inclusive.

That is the goal of many agencies as they strive for equity. It’s not always an easy road, but there has been progress, as community representatives discussed at a recent forum in Kitchener.

“Diversity Drives Inclusion,” held April 7, was a collective effort by Family and Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region, Carizon Family and Community Services, Waterloo Regional Police Service, Canadian Mental Health Association Waterloo Wellington Dufferin and White Owl Native Ancestry Association.

As recently as 2008, a Canada-wide survey by the HR Council for the Non-Profit Sector showed that almost 90 per cent of respondents identified as white, and only six per cent were

from a visible minority.

“This topic is now public. It became so big that leadership cannot ignore it anymore,” says Jill Stoddart of FACS, one of the event moderators. “Some of our organizations now have an inclusion and diversity committee in place working as a consultative body for the agency.”

One of the main challenges, she says, “is to have dedicated people who have the mandate and time to look at these issues. It also means revamping, sometimes, the entire HR process [and] getting everyone on board. At the agency level, it takes a leader who is really committed.”

The organizations behind the forum have been working collaboratively to learn together, share best practices and chart a new course.

A topic that received a lot of attention at the forum is implicit or invisible bias, the phenomenon of treating people differently, though not intentionally.

“Research indicates that invisible bias is very prevalent and it is not just against a particular group,” says Kathryn Brillinger, a teacher and learning consultant at Conestoga College. She delivered a presentation on the topic

at the forum.

“One can also be totally unaware of bias that advantages people who are similar to oneself,” she says. “Those hiring use terms such as, ‘we need a good fit.’ And if you ask what that means to them and deconstruct, they describe someone very similar to themselves.”

There are steps that organizations can take to reduce and minimize such bias, such as removing identifying information from applicants’ resumes.

Supports to integrate new hires – such as a buddy system, mentoring and intercultural training for all staff – also contribute to success.

Though there are still many challenges ahead, there has been progress, and there’s a more conscientious commitment on the part of many organizations to succeed.

“I think we have good energy in this region, and many people are striving to be inclusive,” says Brillinger.

“Everyone can share stories about the wonderful working side-byside that occurs when people have done the hard work that exchanging knowledge and ideas across cultures requires. The reward is so worth it.”

MAY 2016 // @THECOMMUNITYED

HOW TO PROVIDE ENERGY FOR ALL? NO COOKIE-CUTTER SOLUTIONS TO ENERGY DEFICITS IN GLOBAL SOUTH

JESSICA O’CONNELL CONTRIBUTOR At the end of April, Perimeter Institute and the University of Waterloo’s brainchild, the Waterloo Global Science Initiative, hosted over one hundred experts, advisors and young leaders to develop strategies to deal with a global problem: how to provide energy for the 1.5 billion people current living without; and how to make energy more affordable and sustainable within other energy impoverished regions of the world.

Along with hosting three public lectures, Steve Paikin engaged audiences at PI with a series of “The Agenda” forums discussing energy access and energy impoverishment in Canada. Since global energy poverty is easier to visualize, but harder for us living in Canada to imagine, the Summit invited indigenous leaders to discuss what energy poverty looks and feels like in their Canadian communities.

The public lectures featured success stories. During the first talk, a young man from Malawi talked about upcycling old parts from his local junkyard to create a windmill that could pump water from the ground to water crops. At the age of 15 he changed the face of agriculture in his village.

The second lecture featured a Danish man who was able to get the hippies and the farmers to agree, with the help of a $100 million investment from his government, to power their

island of 4,000 people with 100 per cent renewable energy. This lecture was introduced by Sustainable Waterloo Region’s sustainability specialist David Roewade.

Roewade was in attendance to speak about Waterloo Region’s sustainability plan. Recently the group released their year-end report, which basically brings to light Regional Carbon Initiative leaders in upgrading, retrofitting and shifting the behaviour of business leadership in the tri-cities. For example, the 2015 Report features Adrian Conrad from the Cora Group Inc., and details their partnership aiming to build Canada’s largest net-positive, multi-tenant project, in the region, by 2025.

Roewade also announced that the region plans to partner with the five utility energy supplying companies to develop a Community Energy Investment Strategy. Their cooperation will be revealed in a report released in 2017.

Asked what Waterloo can learn from the Danish island of Samsø or a man capable of upcycling to provide a cheap form of energy, Roewade said “there is not a cookie cutter approach to effectively plan a community’s energy future, local customization is necessary.”

The Summit wrapped itself up with a Communiqué, which will be turned into WGSI’s science report, “The Blueprint”, to be released in the upcoming months.

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ARTS & CULTURE EVENT LISTINGS WEDNESDAY, MAY 4

THURSDAY, MAY 12

MAY THE FOURTH STAR WARS PARTY

ADVENTURERS GUILD CAFE & TAVERN

PUB, PARK & PADDLE: A PLUGIN HAPPENING

THE BOATHOUSE

Get your nerd on and celebrate all things Star Wars... yes all things.

Including Jar Jar Binks.

Canoes, music, food and drink all in one place! Celebrate the awesome local culture, with all proceeds going to Big Brothers, Big Sisters WR.

Fun • Free • 6pm-11pm

Music • $20 • 6pm-10pm

HAND PAINTED FABRIC WORKSHOP

THURSDAY, MAY 5

CINCO DE MAYO

KITCHENER CITY HALL

Observed in honour of the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, Cinco de Mayo at City Hall will celebrate with food, music and entertainment.

Fun • Culture • Free • 11:30am-2:30pm

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

LOOKIN’ FOR HEROES & CARRY ON COMICS & MORE

Fun • Free • Check your local store for hours

SHINRIN-YOKU GUIDED WALK

HURON NATURAL AREA

Spend some time connecting with nature and learn how to de-stress using Japanese practices.

Fun • Outdoors • $20 • 10am-12pm

SLAM & OPEN MIC

CAFE PYRUS

Join KW Poetry Slam to listen and share stories, poems and songs. Got your own piece to share? Now is the time!

Fun • Poetry • $5 • 7pm

OUT IN SPACE: KW QUEER ZINE FAIR

KITCHENER PUBLIC LIBRARY

In partnership with the Rainbow Reels Film Festival, check out unique hand-crafted zines. Check out the full Rainbow Reels Festival lineup May 5-7 online.

Fun • Free • 12pm-5pm

FRIENDZONE PRESENTS: ZONES, BAD CHANNELS, AND BEATRIX!

OPEN SESAME

Three live performances, a paywhat-you-can policy, and as always, friendship.

Music • Suggested $10 • 8pm-11:30pm

TUESDAY, MAY 10

MAKER MEET-UP

Crafts • $60 • 6pm-9pm

Fun • Free • 6:30pm-8pm

SATURDAY, MAY 14 HURON NATURAL AREA Local author Carrie Snyder will be leading a writing exercise in the great outdoors to spark your imagination.

COMEDY NIGHT

PRINCESS CAFE

Featuring comedians Amanda Brook Perrin, Nick Flanagan, Aisha Brown and Tom Henry. Get there early to ensure seats and be prepared to laugh.

Comedy • Fun • suggested $10 • 9pm

SUNDAY, MAY 15

ROYCE DA 5’9

Fun • Free • 6:30pm-8:30pm

Rock out with Sloan during their 20th anniversary of “One Chord to Another.”

Music • $25 • 7:30pm • 19+

Fun • Food • 5pm-8pm

TAPLESS TAKEOVER: SHAUN OF THE DEAD

APOLLO CINEMA

Beer, food and a great movie, all in one place. Enjoy a selection of brews from Abe Erb and watch some zombies on the big screen.

Film • Beer • $15 • Doors at 5pm, film at 7pm

INTRO TO WEAVING

Learn the basics of weaving to create a beautiful, modern wall hanging or tapestry.

Music • $35 • 8pm • 19+

HERVANA UNPLUGGED

PRINCESS CAFE

Hervana, a Toronto-based Nirvana cover band, will be playing the entire Unplugged in New York album. Get your cozy sweaters / flanel ready Hervana is going full on acoustic.

Music • $35 • 8pm • 19+

TUESDAY, MAY 17

JASON COLLETT

STARLIGHT

Music • $15 in advance • 8pm • 19+

THURSDAY, MAY 19

IMAGINE: THE MUSIC OF JOHN LENNON

CENTRE IN THE SQUARE

Experience the music that John Lennon brought alive, performed by the Jeans ‘n Classics band.

CARMINE IOANNA TRIO

THE JAZZ ROOM

Ever wanted to listen to an Italian jazz accordion player? Now’s your chance!

ANNUAL SEEDLING SALE

MAXWELL’S

AMBROSIA PASTRY CO. Stop by 150 Roger St. to get some food from Fo’ Cheezy Food Truck, and a second Mystery Mobile!

Detroit rapper Royce da 5’9” is stopping by KW on his new tour.

Meet and greet tickets are also available!

SATURDAY, MAY 21

SLOAN

TRUCK EATS COOL TREATS

KWAG

Music • $20 • 8:30pm-11:30pm

WEDNESDAY, MAY 11

THURSDAY, MAY 26

STARLIGHT

FRIDAY, MAY 20

Come meet fellow makers and talk about all your awesome DIY projects.

Get inspired and get collaborative!

UKULELE JAM NIGHT

Every freaking Wednesday until the end of time play ukulele with other ukulele enthusiasts. Ukulele.

Music • $35 • 8pm

KITCHENER PUBLIC LIBRARY

WEDNESDAY, MAY 25

Unleash your inner creativity and make your own custom stamp to decorate a pillow or scarf!

The Broken Social Scene artist plays his solo jams. With Kalle Mattson.

SUNDAY, MAY 8

Theatre • Admission by donation • 8pm

IDEA EXCHANGE

Writing • $18 • 1pm -3pm

What’s better than getting some free comic books? Stop by your local comic book store and show them some love. And get a free comic while you are there!

KW LITTLE THEATRE

Staged readings are a great way to dip your toes into the theatre! Email organizers to participate or just watch the performances on May 21. More information online.

KW ART GALLERY

WORDS IN THE WOODS

SATURDAY, MAY 7

MAY STAGED READING: THE CIRCLE

LITTLE CITY FARMS

Get ready to start your garden by getting some seeds and plants! Prices vary by products.

Fun • $60+HST • 6pm-9pm

SATURDAY, MAY 28

KITCHENER FOOD TRUCKS

ST. GEORGES OF FOREST HILL ANGLICAN CHURCH Warm weather is here and that means food trucks are out! Stop by throughout the day to grab some grub from a cornucopia of local food trucks.

Food • 11am-7pm

CAFKA ARTIST PARTY

CENTRE IN THE SQUARE Celebrate CAFKA’s biennial with DJs and “interactive art happenings.”

Art • $20 • 9pm-3am

SUNDAY, MAY 29

KING CREOSOTE + MICHAEL JOHNSTON

JANE BOND

Mercury-Prize nominee King Creosote and Skydiggers’ Michael Johnston make songs that “stand out like beams of light on a misty dark night.” With Norman Blake.

Music • $14 in advance • 8pm • 19+

TUESDAY, MAY 31

PUBLIT BOOK DISCUSSION CLUB

THE FIRKIN AT THE TANNERY

Attention bibliophiles! Come talk about whatever you’ve been reading lately, join in conversations to get new recommendations to add to the book pile, and meet other book lovers.

Literature • Fun • Free • 7pm-9pm

Outdoors • 9am-12pm

COMMUNITYEDITION.CA @THECOMMUNITYED

In concert June 2 // 8 PM

Sean Michaels (author)

Conducting the Ether

Carolina Eyck (theremin)

Penderecki String Quartet Sean Michaels (author)

May 26-June 4 Info and tickets at openears.ca

Summer Lights Movie Under the Stars is brought to you by Apollo Cinema, Community Edition & Downtown Kitchener.

Note: severe weather would result in event being cancelled. Follow @SLFMovies for updates

SUMMERLIGHTS.CA @SLFMovies

DOWNTOWNKITCHENER.CA @ DTKITCHENER • #DTKLOVE