The Green Gazette June/July/August 2020

June/July/August 2020

FREE Green Business | Environment & Ecology | Country Living | Arts & Culture | Sustainability | Natural Health & Wellness

Finding Unity Farmers’ Markets Supporting Local Biz Food Security Planet of the Humans Eco Stories Pandemic Gardening Trash Talk Tuesdays Rainbow Foods Pause to Feathers More Bread, Less Yeast COVID Awakening Food in Esk’etemc Thou Art Mortal Wildlife Trade Good Green News Something Magical

www.thegreengazette.ca

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Walking your way through Colourful Cariboo Culture!

2  |  June/July/August 2020

Contents Features

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Long Table Grocery: Supporting Local Business

By Amy Quarry

Local Eco Stories: In Search of Sustainability

June/July/August 2020 l Issue #56

Publisher / Lisa Bland Editor-in-Chief

By Sasha Makhneva

Senior Editor Jessica Kirby

Food Security Raised to a New Level of Concern as COVID-19 Continues

Contributors Erin Hitchcock, Barb Scharf, LeRae

By Erin Hitchcock

New Michael Moore Film Planet of the Humans–Friend or Diabolical Foe?

By Sage Birchwater

Who Are We, Where Are We Going?

By Guy Dauncey

Haynes, Jessica Kirby, Terri Smith, Lisa Bland, Dr. Chris R. Shepherd, Sasha Makhneva, Amber Gregg, Ron Young, Oliver Berger, Guy Dauncey, Ryan Elizabeth Cope, Danielle Goward, Pat Teti, Margaret-Anne Enders, Tera Grady, David Suzuki, Bill Irwin, Nicola Finch, Amy Quarry, Jim Cooperman, Sage Birchwater, Jordan Davis, Jonathan Hand

Advertising Lisa Bland

Growing into the Future: Reconnecting with Food in Esk’etemc

Creative Director Stacey Smith

By Jonathan Hand

Monitor and the Wildlife Trade

By Chris R. Shepherd

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: 4. Publisher's Letter: Finding Unity 5. New Fall Releases: Rocky Mountain Books

Ad Design Jill Schick / Stacey Smith Published by Earthwild Consulting Printing International Web exPress Inc. Website Design / Stacey Smith Technical Support Cover Photo Shutterstock photo by Tatevosian Yana

7. Rebuilding BC: A Portfolio of Possibilities 8. Farmers' Markets in the Cariboo in 2020 12. Conservation Conversation: What We Can Do for Our World 16. Guardian of the Vegetables: Gardening Through the Pandemic 17. No Time Left to Waste: #TrashtalkTuesdays 18. Healthy Living: A Rainbow of Food Choices 20. Pause to Feathers Creations

Paper Rolland Enviro Satin, 100% Post

Consumer Waste, Acid Free.

Ink Novavit 950 Plus Bio is a vegetable

based ink made from renewable raw materials with high colour.

21. Recipe: Vegan Street Tacos 22. Science Matters: Giving Nature a Chance Improves Our Chances of Well-being 25. Recipe: Wheatberry Salad 26. Becoming Waste Wise: Composting 27. Williams Lake Gardening Club: Bi-annual Garden Tour Going Ahead July 11 28. A Time to Review 29. New Strategies are Needed to Recover from the Pandemic 30. Entwined Liberation: A COVID Awakening 32. Green Business Quesnel: Something Magical 35. Good Green News 36. Downtown Williams Lake Businesses Adapting to Change

www.thegreengazette.ca info@thegreengazette.ca The Green Gazette is published by Earthwild Consulting.

To subscribe email info@thegreengazette.ca or visit our website at www.thegreengazette.ca © 2020 all rights reserved. Opinions and perspectives expressed in the magazine are those of authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the ownership or management. Reproduction in whole or part without the publisher’s consent is strictly prohibited.

38. Berkey Water Filters: Water, Water Everywhere… but Nary a Drop to Drink 40. Skywatch with Bill Irwin 41. Reclaiming Death as an Honoured Part of Life: Memento Mori–“Remember, Thou art Mortal” 44. Keeping Wildlife Wild and our Communities Safe in the Summer

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 3

—

PUBLISHER'S LETTER —

Finding Unity

By Lisa Bland

Dear Readers,

W

hat a crazy past few months we’ve been through! The collective landscape is dramatically different than it was when the spring Green Gazette went to press in early March.

Like many people and businesses, at first, we weren’t sure how to proceed. Once the initial chaos and letting go of the old way of doing things passed—along with a time of adjustment and reflection—a path tentatively emerged as we got on top of COVID-19 cases and BC gradually re-opened. Here at The Green Gazette, we’re pleased to be back with a summer issue to support and promote Cariboo communities and businesses as they adapt, transform, and re-engage with the collective.

Now more than ever, it is time to dig deep, connect, and unite with the network of people we hold dear—our families, communities, and region. Together, we can create positive change and forward movement in our lives.

Our world is in upheaval, there is no doubt.

In addition to the global response to COVID19, every other issue that has been pushed aside or hidden underground has come up for review. In the news and social media, it is as though the lid flew off of Pandora’s box, and we’re facing at once many of the personal, political, and collective problems unravelling in society’s fabric. At the time of going to press, the death of George Floyd has ignited global protests and riots against racial injustice.

Things need to change, this is certain.

Humanity is being forced to look at how we conduct human enterprise on a finite planet.

What is truly essential? How might we live

LISA BLAND Publisher/Editor-in-Chief The Green Gazette

4 | June/July/August 2020

within our means and create sustainable local networks? Who is privileged and included (or absent from) the conversation? Do we want to act individually or collectively, and are we in a position to help others? Do we want to work within or outside of societal structures to push for change? How might we attempt to fix what is broken, and how much do we trust a process led by leaders, scientists, experts, or corporations vs. our instincts for a life of our own design? Add to the mix the co-opting of conversations by those who seek to advance personal, corporate, or political platforms during crises, and the waters get muddy. If history has anything to say, times of crisis are times of danger... and opportunity.

In light of the overload we’re collectively carrying, personal, community-based stories and perspectives provide a valuable context in which we may find meaning and a sense of belonging.

In my own confusion and solitude, I drew on strength gained from my experience living on Haida Gwaii, where I felt part of a larger, caring collective. I watched a few webinars (okay, dozens of webinars in March and April), including a regular Islands’ online community forum led by Haida and community leaders to help Islanders connect and navigate changes in the community related to COVID-19. I was reminded of the value of creating unity and respect within a community.

Although there is no perfect world and many have and will continue to suffer losses and hardships, witnessing communities come together and build strategies to protect the elderly and immune-compromised, weighing in with and respecting Indigenous communities and elders, and trusting community leaders to act on behalf of the whole, can bring calm

and balance to a time when some feel they are facing a threat alone. In the Cariboo, there are many examples and reminders of the way communities and individuals are coming together to support one another, and they include businesses, organizations, health and service workers, families, and neighbours.

With this in mind, our summer issue is filled with articles written by community voices— thoughtful, kind, and engaged people who might be your neighbour, weighing in with what this new reality looks and feels like and how they are finding hope, meaning, and purpose. Rather than wade into heavier topics of the day, we wanted to focus on positive themes such as local food security, supporting farmers’ markets and local businesses, trying out new recipes, home gardening, healthy food choices, getting outside, reflecting on what is essential, and remembering that we are all in this together.

We’re also excited to announce a new (ad) venture and transformation of The Green Gazette website this June, with our brand new, local and green business directory listings where businesses across the Cariboo Region can promote and sell products and increase their reach and visibility. As we navigate the unknown, including new distancing measures, businesses are increasingly moving online, and the timing is right to build and strengthen our community networks and local economy. For more info or to sign up for a business or organization listing, visit www. thegreengazette.ca or www.greenlisted.ca.

In these uncertain times, I’ve found it helpful to ask, “Where is my agency?” Seeking and finding unity keeps me inspired, and remembering to think globally and act local keeps my feet on the ground. -GG

www.thegreengazette.ca

New Fall Releases: Rocky Mountain Books Rocky Mountain Books is pleased to announce its new titles for Fall 2020, featuring Canadian stories covering a broad spectrum of nature, storytelling, and outdoor adventure. RMB is proud to offer a diverse list of titles by authors creating memorable books that captivate readers and inspire us all to “Think Outside.”

Takaya: Lone Wolf

By Cheryl Alexander

An enchanting and evocative look at the unique relationship between a solitary, island-dwelling wolf and a renowned wildlife photographer.

Through journal entries, interviews, and a stunning collection of photography, Takaya: Lone Wolf addresses a number of profound questions and tells a story that is certain to inspire, enlighten, and touch the heart. It is the story of a wild animal, alone yet at peace.

What Bears Teach Us

Text by Sarah Elmeligi; Photography by John E. Marriott A lavishly illustrated book that explores the complex behavioural characteristics of North America’s largest land carnivores by examining the bear–human relationship from the bear’s perspective. Join Elmeligi and Marriott on a journey that examines and shares the behaviour of black, grizzly, and polar bears in North America in a way you’ve never seen before.

Out Here: Wisdom from the Wilderness

By Carolyn Highland

Out Here is a collection of essays that explores what the wilderness has to teach us about the human experience, using outdoor endeavours as extended metaphors for greater truths. Highland’s book inspires a deeper connection to the wilderness and a deeper connection to ourselves and will leave readers wanting more from this fresh new voice in mountain writing.

Paradise Won: The Struggle to Create Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve

By Elizabeth May

Originally published in 1990, Paradise Won has been updated and details the epic 12-year struggle to stop logging in the unique global ecosystem referred to as “Canada’s Galapagos.” This updated edition of Paradise Won includes a new foreword by the author and will bring back into focus this remarkable story of the power and importance of Indigenous rights and how activism can spur average citizens to action in order to fight climate change and protect fragile ecosystems everywhere.

A Story of Karma: Finding Love and Truth in the Lost Valley of the Himalaya

By Michael Schauch

A deeply personal travel memoir that combines alpine adventure, family connections, and spiritual encounters in two very different worlds: a Himalayan village and Vancouver, Canada. What unfolded in the Himalaya forced him to question his values and his own identity, and eventually resulted in meeting a little girl, which was the most profound encounter of his life. A Story of Karma recounts this journey, and the years that follow as Karma (the little girl), and Michael and Chantal grow their lives together amidst the confusing dichotomies and backdrop of Karma’s 17th-century Himalayan village, the impoverished and polluted Kathmandu, and the modern world of Vancouver, Canada.

Our Trip Around the World

By Renate Belczyk

A spirited 1950s travelogue that takes the reader around the world during a time when two independent young women travelling alone was considered almost revolutionary. Our Trip Around the World is an endearing snapshot of the post-war era when adventure trave— mountaineering, hiking, hitchhiking, and cycling—was enticing those with adventurous spirits to experience the world like never before.

The Third Dive: An Investigation into the Death of Rob Stewart

By Robert Osborne

Based on the provocative film documentary of the same name, The Third Dive investigates the shocking death of a world-renowned conservation activist. Through interviews and investigative reporting, The Third Dive is a compelling read that attempts to uncover the mysterious and disturbing circumstances surrounding Rob Stewart’s untimely death.

Turn the page and take your first step into the wild with award-winning outdoor, adventure, and travel books by RMB rmbooks.com. All RMB titles will be available this fall through local, independent bookstore, The Open Book in Williams Lake. Visit the online store to place your order at www.theopenbook.ca, call (250) 392-2665, or visit The Open Book on Facebook. -GG The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 5

Original artwork by Marcela Bodorikova.

Long Table Grocery:

Supporting Local Business Article by Amy Quarry, Owner, Long Table Grocery If we want a garden We’re gonna have to sow the seed Plant a little happiness Let the roots run deep.

If it’s love that we give Then it’s love that we reap If we want a garden We’re gonna have to sow the seed.

Lyrics from "Crowded Table" by The Highwomen

A

few weeks ago at our weekly Zoom jam night, a friend played this gorgeous song by The Highwomen, and it resonated so deeply with me. During these new and wild times we find ourselves in, I think it is interesting how many of us are being drawn to connect with our community in new ways, despite needing to be physically apart. We are all missing the connections we took for granted in our day to day—the casual dinners with friends and family, quick chit chat with our neighbourhood barista, visits with other parents or teachers at our kid’s school, office banter with our work pals. These moments add up to help us feel grounded, connected, and secure. Now that so many of these touchpoints have been taken from us, it leaves us a bit unsteady, waiting for the next steps to be made clear.

One of the things we are left with in this new reality is our connection to our food and where it comes from, and here at Long Table we have seen a swell of interest in locally grown food. Local food and strong food systems have always mattered, but these times have exposed even more our current unhealthy dependency on a corporate system that is rife with vulnerability to challenges like COVID-19.

We have also noticed a swell of support and appreciation for local food, farmers, small business owners, and the roles they all play in healthy communities, and it is at least a silver lining in the midst of this.

6 | June/July/August 2020

Witnessing this time in history, it is clear that if we want a new and better future after this, “We’re gonna have to sow the seed,” investing in the deep roots that will support our communities through these uncertain times.

With that in mind, here are some suggestions of things we can all do to help build our local business community in the midst of chaos.

1. When shopping, choose local businesses or locally-owned franchises over large chains or box stores whenever possible.

Walmart will never go under, but your favourite small shop might. If you don’t see what you want, or the price you were hoping for, ask. You never know what they might be able to do for you.

2. Think about all the gifts you are going to need for holidays and birthdays in the next three months. If you can afford to, go buy them now from a local business.

3. You can help without spending money.

Share posts of local businesses on social media and encourage family and friends to support local when they can.

4. Do as much of your grocery shopping as you can at the farmers’ market and local grocery stores or purchase directly from farmers or producers.

5. If you can afford it, order take-out for one more meal than you normally would from a locally-owned restaurant.

6. If you have a business that is unaffected by the current economic challenges, look over your purchasing choices and see if there is anywhere you can localize your supply chain for the next few months.

Who knows—you might realize you want to do that permanently.

7. Were you planning to buy a vehicle in the next six months? Do it now, if at all possible/affordable, and buy it from a local dealership. It might not seem like the

right time to purchase, but it is critical to them surviving this, and I would bet you will have amazing service.

8. Make a list of all the appointments you have been putting off at places that are still open—change the oil, dry-cleaning, shoe repair, etc.—and make those appointments as soon as you can.

9. Show emotional support to local business owners—in addition to facing intense business stress, many of them may also be facing all the personal challenges that come with keeping a business afloat. Ask what they need, ask what you can do. Be kind to the staff in these businesses, too.

We all know that retail service is a tough job, and this season is especially intense.

10. Spread the word! Many well-meaning people don’t know the potential impact their purchases can have at local businesses. Tell people about your favourite local shops and services and share your good experiences in reviews and social media posts.

11. Put aside bias. If you have a negative belief or assumption about local businesses, put it aside for just this month and give them a chance to win your business or win it back.

Many small businesses are the victim of a belief that bigger is better, that chains are always cheaper, and that is just not true.

Give them a chance to compete. Show them your support. At the end of the day, as everyone keeps saying, we are all in this together. -GG Amy Quarry is an entrepreneur, communitybuilder, maker, graphic designer, and localist.

She loves her small town and strongly believes in the resilience of a community built together.

Long Table Grocery is a locally-owned independent food hub providing good food that is sustainably sourced and locally-rooted in the Cariboo region of BC.

Rebuilding BC:

A Portfolio of Possibilities

V

ancouver’s Green Technology Education Centre (GTEC) is releasing its Rebuilding BC report to the BC government.

Rebuilding BC is the work of a group of prominent environmentalists and economists in consultation with community leaders such as Ted Sheldon and Coro Strandberg.

The report makes 24 recommendations to guide recovery in areas of the economy ranging from affordable housing to forestry.

The report’s primary recommendation is the formation of a Resilient Recovery Action Team charged with developing stimulus measures that move BC in the direction of a more sustainable, just, and resilient economy.

Rebuilding BC’s key recommendations also include: • Employ up to 30,000 young people as Recovery Rangers to help BC’s recovery • Secure BC’s food supply by supporting farm employment and increasing land use • Create jobs and reduce carbon emissions by large scale retrofitting of buildings • Generate employment through construction of affordable housing

“When we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, we can’t afford to go back to business-as-usual,” notes the report lead author Guy Dauncey, BC author and founder of the BC Sustainable Energy Association.

GTEC Board Chair and lead author, Arden Henley emphasizes, “COVID-19 is a foretaste of the devastation we and future generations will experience should our response to creating a socially and economically sustainable way of life be anything less than robust.”

Rebuilding BC’s findings are supported by extensive data showing that, compared to traditional stimulus measures, projects such as improving energy efficiency create more jobs, deliver higher short-term returns, and lead to increased long-term cost savings.

Rebuilding BC incorporates key factors that combine economic benefits and carbon emission reductions based on a survey of banks, finance ministry officials, and economic experts from G20 countries. The survey was conducted at the University of Oxford by scholars including Sir Nicholas Stern and Joseph Stiglitz in 2020.

“British Columbia has emerged as a leader in managing the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The current BC government now has the

opportunity to become an international leader by putting in place a recovery that results in a sustainable future,” says Arden Henley, co-author.

Rebuilding BC is available on GTEC’s website at https://www.gteccanada.ca/rebuilding-bca-portfolio-of-possibilities/ -GG The Green Technology Education Centre (GTEC) https://www.gteccanada.ca/ is a Vancouver based non-profit whose mission is to inform, support, and activate communities in responding to the climate crisis.

strong,

Helping to support a and local economy in the Cariboo.

sustainable

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The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 7

Farmers’ Markets in the Cariboo in 2020 Article and Photos by Barb Scharf

“

What is happening with Farmers’ Markets in the Cariboo this COVID-19 year?”

The short answer is: “Markets are continuing on!” but the reality is a little more complex than that.

Four Cariboo farmers’ markets—Williams Lake, McLeese Lake, South Cariboo (100 Mile House), and Harvest (Quesnel)—are members of the B.C. Association of Farmers’ Markets (BCAFM) and as such are under the guidance and regulation of this provincial organization.

The BCAFM has worked closely with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control in developing guidelines for the safe operation of farmers’ markets throughout the province. Here are the considerations that markets are operating under this year: • As food outlets, farmers’ markets are an essential service and are a key component in maintaining and strengthening local food security • Only food and food-producing items (for example, vegetable starts and culinary herb plants) may be offered at farmers’ markets, though this ruling may change to allow other types of products as the season progresses • No vendor or customer may attend while ill or if they have been in recent contact (14 days) with anyone who is a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case • Markets must allow space for recommended physical distancing to take place between all participants • Hand cleaning stations must be available • Customers may not handle merchandise • No sampling of items, no eating or drinking in the market area, and all readyto-eat foods and beverages must be packaged for take-away • Frequent-touch surfaces are cleaned as needed and vendors must provide clean new wrappings or bags for all food products • No live music or other activities that might encourage assembly or excessive mingling • Customers are asked to attend with as

8 | June/July/August 2020

few family members as possible and to move through the market as quickly as is practical: “Shop, don’t stop!” being a suggested slogan this season Market organizers in our sister communities have been networking constantly and reports are identical—people appreciate the opportunity to acquire local food in a safe, outdoor setting. Vendors are already reporting record sales and anticipate a strong season ahead.

Initially artisan and craft vendors were excluded from the new COVID market regulations, but as of June 5, we recieved provincial permission to begin adding some back. Fortunately, the BCAFM organized an "online market" sales platform through Canadian company Local Line earlier in the market season, which is open to all types of vendors. Weblinks may be found on the various market websites and Facebook pages.

Line-ups will be expanding as more vendors get their virtual booths up and running—it’s a good idea to check back often. Customers can pre-order and make various contactfree payment and delivery arrangements with vendors.

Another thing we’re missing is live entertainment. 2020 was shaping up to be a stellar year for local and visiting musician and buskers. It has been disappointing to all concerned to have to postpone all those market gigs, but everyone understands the reason for the restriction, which is to prevent gatherings of spectators. We do anticipate enthusiastic performances when some sort of normal returns.

What we do have is an abundant array of top-quality local food items. You will find freshly harvested market garden produce, B.C. orchard fruit in season, local meat products, farm eggs, all sorts of canning, pickles, and preserves, teas, coffees, breads, sweet and savory baking, prepared frozen meals, readyto-eat takeout food, and more.

Our farmers’ markets continue to epitomize the “Shop Local” theme. Customer dollars stay in our local communities and support other local businesses, while keeping our farmers and food producers financially viable. Good things happen when we all come together, even while staying a certain “social distance” apart! -GG

A wide variety of Okanagan orchard fruit is available from a grower collective's fruit truck at the summer markets.

Market customers line up for certified organic vegetables from the Bird family's Slow Train Farm riverside market garden on West Fraser Road.

Regular market vendor Donna Patterson of Redneck Gardens makes several varieties of fermented sauerkraut from cabbage she grows at her off-grid farm in Horsefly, as well as pickles, relishes, jams, jellies, syrups, canned BC fruit, and apple cider vinegar.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 8

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 9

Local Eco Stories:

In Search of Sustainability Article by Sasha Makhneva

Sasha Makhneva looking at the stunning view of beautiful Mount Shuksan, in Washington, USA, near Mount Baker. She remembers looking up at the Lower Curtis Glacier near Mount Shuksan from the base of the mountain five years prior where she swam in a refreshing lake, enjoyed wildflowers in the meadows, and appreciated the massive geological features of the mountains. Sasha's memorable journeys hiking and camping inspire her to share her experiences about the wondrous world found in nature. Photo: Jeffrey Du

I

worked hard for four years and received my bachelor’s degree in environmental science in the spring of 2019. But the week after graduation, I began a new stage of life that I call my ‘post graduate depression.’

After graduation, I wasn’t sure what kind of jobs I could find with my degree. All I knew was that I enjoyed variety. For about half a year, I stayed with my five part-time jobs: bartending, banquet serving, background acting, promoting brands, and assisting with events.

Having a bachelor’s degree gave me an environmental perspective on the event industry. The environmental issues that bothered me the most were food waste, compostable plastics, paper waste, decorative plastic, and the disposal of hazardous materials.

As a banquet server, I was forced to throw away full bags of untouched food, including lobsters, perfectly crafted deserts, salmon, chicken, and beef. I generally poured out 20 half-filled bottles of wine per event. One of the most heart-breaking experiences was being forced to throw away hotel food, and in the meantime, 30 other temporary staff were running around hungry during their eight hour shift. I feel deeply that it is unethical to force hungry people to throw away food.

Compostable plastics were another issue.

Many hotels adapted to the plastic pollution problem by using PLA compostable straws.

PLA straws look like plastic but are made of plant material. However, hospitality workers do not know that these straws must be sent to a special facility that uses specific amounts of heat and moisture to compost the straws.

Many staff are confused and confidently throw “compostable” straws in the compost, contaminating the compost stream. I often saw the straws end up in the garbage, as well.

10 | June/July/August 2020

Beyond the problem with compostable straws, there is also compostable packaging.

After one event, I composted 4,000 compostable containers. I cannot say for sure, but I hope the packaging was properly composting at an industrial composting facility—4,000 is a massive number.

On one occasion, I was reduced to tears after being forced to throw 20 chafing fuel canisters into the garbage. Chafing fuel is for warming food at banquets and is considered hazardous waste. I worried that the fuel would leach into ground water sources.

I also picked up and threw away thousands of paper booklets and tiny plastic decorations, such as tiny spoons, cocktail decorations, or gift wrappers, after each major company event.

In each situation, I couldn’t help but see the bigger picture. Let’s do the math. I typically worked five shifts per week, serving 500 to 4000 people each. Let’s say “a bin” is the size of a common curbside garbage bin. Just imagine, if at each event the waste generated amounts to 20 chafing fuel canisters, a full bin of paper, and three bins of food waste, how much waste is created in my one week of work? This is, unfortunately, an underestimate of how much is wasted.

“Enough is enough,” I finally said to myself. I made the decision to find jobs that support the environment. I decided to try to find companies where the environment is considered in their business practices. I began to look for sustainability in both environmental and financial terms.

During the course of my degree, I barely learned about financial sustainability. It seems to me there are two types of people arguing all the time. One perspective says, “We need to pollute to create jobs, for people to feed themselves.” The other says, “Stop damaging the planet, we need it to take care

of us by providing clean water and food.” Both perspectives are valid. Without well-being, we also don’t have the capacity to think about the environment.

Here is what I decided: it is possible to be environmentally friendly and make money. So, I found a job promoting electric vehicles and tap water as an alternative to bottled water in the city of Vancouver. I became a hiking guide. I worked at creating environmental youth programming. I am developing my skills as a storyteller/filmmaker to promote environmentally friendly organizations.

Since making this decision, I have also been gathering data on ways to make income with minimal harm to the environment. I’ve compiled the info into a podcast forum called Local Eco Stories. My goal with this project is to show the world that people care about the environment. I want to show youth that there are others like them who want to make a change and are taking action. I am normalizing environmental action. Our world has changed, and it’s time. I think people are ready to make money and support ourselves in a way that allows us to go hiking in the forests, drink clean water, and enjoy salmon in our future.

You can find my platform “Local Eco Stories” on YouTube and Facebook. https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UChNjZUi9IJ8DoXuFPPXbw8A https://www.facebook.com/ localecostories/ -GG Sasha Makhneva is a 23-year-old nature activist who encourages the world to fall in love with nature through the art of her films, photographs, drawings, and blogs. She hopes to inspire youth to notice the circular economy of nature and be inspired by nature to adopt circular economy into the modern society.

Food Security Raised to New Level of Concern as COVID-19 Continues Article by Erin Hitchcock

T

Lucien O’Connor, 4, helps water his family’s garden box at the Memory Garden Community Garden this spring. Community gardens help families and individuals access local, nutritious food while also increasing food security and additional urban green spaces. Photo: Jolene O’Connor

he COVID-19 pandemic has threatened our lives and transformed how we live. It also places our economic security at risk, especially for those most vulnerable. As a result, food security is increasingly becoming that much more important.

Outbreaks at meat processing facilities in Alberta and the United States, at an Okanagan farm, and at a Saskatchewan grocery store have pushed the issue of food security front and centre—if COVID-19 continues to affect the places we currently rely on for food, it will dramatically disturb the food supply chain for all of us. The virus is a reminder of how critical it is for communities to become resilient to food shortages, not just in the face of this pandemic but in the long term as well.

Governments and organizations are responding toCOVID-19-related food security issues by allocating federal and provincial funding to relief efforts.

The Williams Lake Food Policy Council (WLFPC) has also responded by convening regular virtual meetings with representatives from local government and community organizations to coordinate a local food security response.

“Communities are facing an unprecedented challenge in managing the human impact of the pandemic, so there’s no better time to work together on innovative ways to make sure our community stays fed, our local food system is bolstered, and systems are put in place to make sure food security is a priority in our region over the long-term,” says Megan Dark, Williams Lake Food Policy Council cochair. “Local governments and community agencies are stepping up in a big way to do this important work, and we’re glad we can play a role by bringing everyone together.”

These calls have focused on areas such as coordinating emergency food distribution,

recovering good quality un-sold food from stores and restaurants for organizations providing emergency food, creating more opportunities for people to access spaces to grow food, and supporting local farmers and food producers.

Pre-COVID-19, when schools were in session, many students relied on school-based meal programs. After the schools closed, they were no longer able to access those programs.

School District 27, Daybreak Rotary, and the Boys and Girls Club, along with some other helpful people, began distributing care kits containing food and personal care items to the youth the district identified most vulnerable.

Farmers markets and community gardens have been deemed essential services. The Williams Lake Farmers Market is up and running—Initially COVID-19 regulations specified that only food items could be sold at markets, but since June 5, the provincial regulations allowed some artisans and craft vendors back. An online platform for food and other market vendors was created and is another way to access products online.

Visit https://www.localline.ca/williamslake-farmers-market. The WLFPC is also considering other online platforms to connect food producers with consumers.

The Memory Garden on Carson Drive and the Potato House provide garden boxes to individuals and families in Williams Lake.

Working groups are currently trying to identify possible public and private spaces to build more garden beds. Schools may also be able to allocate space—150 Mile Elementary School is currently working to build garden boxes at the school that will help teach youth about growing food, while also providing them with healthy snacks.

Anyone interested in freeing up some yard space for community garden boxes or volunteering at existing gardens can contact

A large cabbage grows at the Memory Garden Community Garden last summer. Earlier this year, the B.C. government declared both community gardens and farmers markets essential services. Photo: Erin Hitchcock

the WLFPC. WLFPC can also help connect new gardeners with some basic gardening skills to help them grow their own food.

“COVID-19 has raised the stakes when it comes to food security for all of us, but especially the many people in our region who were struggling to make ends meet before the pandemic,” Dark says.“The Food Policy Council’s initial focus has been to coordinate emergency food efforts to prevent a worsening of hunger issues. We have incredible community agencies in the area that are working tirelessly to keep people fed.”

The Williams Lake Food Policy Council would like to thank all of those who have taken part in food security calls and for those individuals’ heart-felt efforts to help increase access to food in the community. These include representatives from the City of Williams Lake, the Cariboo Regional District, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training, Tsilhqot’in National Government, Cariboo Chilcotin Tribal Council, School District 27, the Salvation Army, Daybreak Rotary, Social Planning Council Thrive Poverty Reduction Initiative, the Boys and Girls Club of Williams Lake & District, the CaribooChilcotin Conservation Society, Potato House Sustainable Community Society, Cariboo Friendship Society, the Williams Lake Garden Club, Interior Health, Pregnancy Outreach, the Cariboo-Chilcotin Child Development Centre, Williams Lake & District Seniors Activity Centre Society, Puddle Produce, the Williams Lake Farmers Market, and the Williams Lake & District Chamber of Commerce. -GG Erin Hitchcock is the Food Action Coordinator with the Williams Lake Food Policy Council.

She can be reached at foodpolicycouncil@ hotmail.com

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 11

Conservation Conversation What We Can Do for Our World Article by Amber Gregg

I

am writing this in spring 2020, amid the COVID-19 craziness. I don’t know where we will be by the summer when this article is published. Maybe by then we will have put terms like quarantine and social distancing behind us and resumed our normal lives, or perhaps we are adjusting to a new way of life.

I am very aware that for many people, this pandemic has caused both mental and physical challenges, and possibly financial hardship and increased food security concerns. That said, I have been impressed by what I have witnessed from family, friends, coworkers, businesses, and neighbours during this time.

Online communities have been popping up to offer support and alternative virtual options for everything from fitness to arts and entertainment to content for kids of all ages. Businesses and organizations in our community have come together to provide resources for those that need it. I see my neighbours cleaning up their yards or walking and biking while following appropriate social distancing. On Earth Day, my kids and I saw many other families out picking up garbage while maintaining appropriate physical distancing guidelines. When I check in with friends and family, they are trying new things (how did everyone make out with their sourdough recipes?) or finishing up previously abandoned projects.

At the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society (CCCS), our educators spend much of their time delivering presentations in classrooms. In April, we would have held our popular Earth Challenge, a jeopardy style quiz for grade 7 students held on or around Earth Day. When it became apparent that schools would be closed indefinitely, rather than throw in the towel, our team brought ideas forward to provide an online, virtual version of the challenge, set for mid-May. CCCS team members are often a constant presence at community events, providing

12 | June/July/August 2020

zero waste coaching and shining a unique and entertaining light on waste diversion.

With event cancellations, our team has had to consider alternate ways to provide waste diversion education to the community at large. Without hesitation, they jumped into creating a video series about composting and recycling, including a tour of our recycling facilities. Check out our Facebook and Instagram for #trashtalktTuesdays” and get all your questions answered.

If we look at this from the mindset, ‘What can I do? What fits into my life?’ and start there, we may not be perfect, but we will make progress.

When asked to completely upend our lives for the sake of the vulnerable and to conserve resources, the world has found ways to continue to be there for one another and focus on what we can do. If we were to apply this type of thinking to making sustainable choices, imagine the results. I hear from people that it is hard to keep up with recycle guidelines.

What goes where? What doesn’t get recycled?

It’s so confusing. Why bother recycling when that process also uses up resources?

If we look at this from the mindset, ‘What can I do? What fits into my life?’ and start there, we may not be perfect, but we will make progress. Maybe joining a climate action group is not your thing and attending litter pick-ups and clean up days is too much of a stretch for you. It is possible that trying to only use local, homemade products seems a daunting task. Perhaps the thought of taking a shorter shower or having a golden lawn is not something you are willing to do.

Climate change has become like a dark

cloud looming above our heads and moving in a positive direction may seem impossible.

Scientific data and reports can put a real damper on even the most enthusiastic conservationist and make you feel like there is no point in even trying. If we shift our focus from the problem to the solution, we start to forget that it seems impossible and see some positive results.

Our efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 have had a positive impact on the Earth and many cities around the world are using this information to move forward into a greener, more sustainable future. More bike paths and walking areas are being created to offer safer options for alternatives to travel by fossil fuels.

Some cities are even turning full auto travel routes into bike routes.

I understand that we each have our own lifestyle and the freedom to make choices that suit that lifestyle. I think most of us recognize that these choices impact the world we live in. As the lockdown becomes less strict and you are able to resume your normal, everyday activities, I urge you to look at how you might adopt one new footprint reduction habit into your routine, or leave a less sustainable one in the past. Whatever that means to you, the hard part has already been done. You have already had to change your entire lifestyle for over a month—I know you can do it!

If you need any support or have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to the team at CCCS. We are always happy to help share our thoughts and ideas and answer your questions. -GG Amber is the Coordinator for the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society. When she is not working on spreadsheets or supporting the CCCS team, she enjoys getting outdoors with her husband and two boys. Visit CCCS at https://www.ccconserv.org to learn more about our education programs or community projects.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 13

New Michael Moore Film Planet of the Humans—Friend or Diabolical Foe? Article by Sage Birchwater

H

as filmmaker Michael Moore, the darling of the progressive left, gone rogue? His Earth Day, April 22, 2020, release of Planet of the Humans received immediate backlash from the global environmental community. Many were furious at his trashing of the decadeslong efforts by the climate change activists to move away from fossil fuel dependency and into more earth-friendly renewable energy sources.

The film, directed by Jeff Gibbs and produced

by Ozzie Zehner, suggests that green energy is a scam. This message stood the alternative energy movement on its ear. Maybe that was the filmmakers’ intention.

Unlike his previous films, like Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine, and Sicko, Moore makes no cameo appearance in Planet of the Humans. He leaves the narration and talking head action to Gibbs and Zehner. But his role as executive producer wasn’t lost on his base of supporters chomping on the bit for his next evisceration of the system.

Most weren’t prepared for what they got.

Moore, in iconoclastic high gear, defrocked and vilified the efforts of green movement activists like Bill McKibben, Al Gore, and Robert Kennedy Jr., exposing inconsistencies, hypocrisies, and subversive links between Big Green and Big Money. The film makes the claim that renewables are not sustainable and ultimately are dependent on Big Oil, coal, and gas.

Canada’s Green Party Leader Elizabeth May waded into the debate, calling the film “dreadful, ill-informed, and unhelpful.” She said it could set climate action back.

She criticized the film’s assessment of renewable energy technology as outdated by at least a decade.

Energy specialist Ketan Joshi calls the film “toxic misinformation on par with the worst climate change deniers.”

Rock icon and environmental crusader Neil Young says the film destroys Moore’s credibility. He is confident whatever damage this film caused in the short term will ultimately bring to light the real facts, “which are turning up everywhere.”

Some activists called for an outright ban of the film because it promotes lies and misrepresentation of the current state of the alternative energy movement.

Tim Hjersted, director and co-founder of www.filmsforaction.org, took a different tact.

14 | June/July/August 2020

He supports critical engagement with the film “through the lens of media literacy.”

What does that mean, exactly?

Simply said, it’s about acknowledging the film’s merits as well as its flaws and not being too quick to shoot the messenger.

For example, he says the film gets it right saying that humanity needs to get rid of its delusion that renewables will be able to power our industrial society at its current levels of production and consumption. Raw materials feeding society’s insatiable appetite is unsustainable. Period.

According to Hjersted, civilization needs to power down as well as switch to renewables.

“Renewables plus dramatically reduced consumption of energy and resources is the solution,” he says.

“That’s the most important takeaway from the film.”

Hjersted begins his review of the film with a quote from master of etiquette, Arthur Martine: “In disputes upon moral or scientific points, let your aim be to come at truth, not to conquer your opponent. So, you never shall be at a loss in losing the argument and gaining a new discovery.”

Despite its many flawed details, Hjersted says the film is asking us to come to terms with some difficult realities we are avoiding.

“Sustaining industrial civilization’s infinite growth on renewables is neither desirable nor possible,” he says. “There’s a need to power down and for ‘degrowth’.” But how do we get there?

I first learned of Planet of the Humans from a trusted friend in Ottawa Valley who sent us a link to the film by email. Initially,I was in shock after watching it. Then I was outraged.

After taking a deep breath, I started checking out the reviews and commentary by other trusted sources.

There’s a poignant section in the film about biofuel energy production, and I sent a link to the film to members of our local group Rail Ties Be Wise. For the past four years we have been working together to oppose Atlantic Power Corporation’s plan to burn rail ties in its biofuels plant in Williams Lake.

Initial reaction from our group was predictable. Anger, disgust, and disillusionment.

Michael Moore has a recklessness similar to Donald Trump’s in his use of distorted facts to get his point across. This can work against him and cause critics to throw the baby out with the bathwater and distrust everything he has to say.

The film gets one thing right: we can’t continue on the way we are going. The green movement crawling into bed with Wall Street, which demands ever-increasing profits and consumption to survive, just continues our spiral to oblivion.

So how do we move forward in this age of coronavirus to keep the earth habitable? Can we rein ourselves in? If so, how?

By all means check out Planet of the Humans, but also log on to Tim Hjersted’s review of the film and follow some of the various links he provides to learn more about “power down” and “degrowth.” Also, check out other films he has highlighted that offer hope in a positive green direction. https://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/ thoughts-about-planet-of-the-humans/ Planet of the Humans can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk11vI7czE -GG Sage is a freelance writer and lives in Williams Lake with his partner, Caterina. He has been enjoying the rich cultural life of the CaribooChilcotin Coast since 1973.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 15

—

LOCAL FOOD QUESNEL —

Guardian of the Vegetables: Gardening Through the Pandemic Article by Terri Smith

A

few months ago, our world still felt ‘normal.’

My poignant ‘before’ moment happened the weekend before spring break at a show our performance art group was putting on in Prince George. We were in the dressing room of the PG Playhouse putting on our costumes. I remember looking around at our troupe, these people I love so much, and feeling so grateful for the life I was living. I thought back to four years ago when I first began performing and how it had felt like I had run away to join the circus. I loved how it still seemed like that, but how it was now so familiar. Scarlet asked me to help pin her costume ears, and as I wove hair and bobby pins over her headband she said with a laugh, “It’s going to be such a crazy week for teaching: we have a time change tomorrow, then it’s a full moon, and then Friday the 13th, and it all happens the week before spring break!” I was also working in the schools, and in the coming week we all kept counting down the days till the weekend. “Everything will be fine,” we told ourselves and each other. “We just have to make it through this week.”

How wrong we were.

During the first two weeks of isolation I felt anxious, trapped, weirdly happy, scared, sad, angry, excited, confused, sleepy, weepy, giggly, in despair…sometimes all in the same hour!

There was still over two feet of snow here.

The days when I had enough energy to crawl and swim through the snow and into the forest I felt better. I hugged trees. I petted moss. I slid down banks and giggled when I just missed landing in the devil’s club at the bottom. I would feel like I had done something, accomplished something. I would have a bath when I got back, and I would write until the water was cold and my toes wrinkled.

But other days I would fall into the internet for hours and emerge feeling drained and sad.

I would sit outside with my tea and look up at the stars. In these moments I would sometimes feel better. I would listen to the wind in the trees and admire my beautiful garden gate, half buried in snow, and it all felt so peaceful. I would think about what I had heard about the pollution clearing over L.A. and about the sky in China being visible for the first time in ages, and I would feel grateful that, in spite of the hardships we were all facing, the Earth was getting a needed rest.

16 | June/July/August 2020

But other times I would not feel better. I would feel trapped, almost claustrophobic. I would feel my heartbeat rise. I would fight panic and wonder how everything here could look the same and yet I could feel so different. I would struggle to breathe, and I would cry, and I would feel ashamed for how I felt, and I would feel afraid and sad for everyone.

And then spring began to arrive, and I began to spend hours digging quack grass out of the soil in the greenhouse.

I planted a few radish seeds every week to check when the soil was warm enough for germination. With my hands in the earth, I felt fine.

Some days I didn’t want to drag myself out there.

But eventually I would, and the minute I would step into the comforting warmth of the greenhouse I would feel better.

When the first radishes finally sprouted, I lay down on the soil so I could examine them at eye level.Each perfect leaf filled me with joy! I felt such relief that spring was truly coming. I had almost been unable to believe it really would. The world was still turning, and even though everything else felt so out-ofcontrol and overwhelming, growing food was something I could do.

I can nurture tiny seeds and help them grow into beautiful and vibrant plants that will provide us with food.

The garden has saved me. It gives me a focus, and the act of gardening calms my mind. The physical labour of gardening is good for my body. The orderliness of watering and turning seedlings, of opening and closing the greenhouse provides structure in a time when I have no idea what day it is.

There is also the food. Even before the garden grows, I dig dandelions from the

Terri Smith wrapped in gardening cover row.

The first Saturday of May is World Naked Gardening Day (and it's always so cold here!

Photo: Mark Rupp

beds where I will plant the potatoes. I clip garlic chives and pull small bulbs of garlic.

I pick young dandelion greens and lamb’s quarter and stinging nettle and make myself a breakfast of sautéed dandelion root and garlic, poached eggs, and wild greens.

I do not know what is to come. But I do know I will be okay, as long as I can garden. -GG Terri Smith is an artist, educator, gardener, burlesque performer, and sometimes reluctant writer living in Quesnel, BC. She teaches workshops on gardening and needle felting and can be found on Facebook at Road’s End Vegetable Company, or Something Magical.

—

NO TIME LEFT TO WASTE —

#TrashtalkTuesdays Article by Oliver Berger

W

ow, what a crazy past few months!

At first, I was sad to see our Share Sheds close, along with the best Salvation Army (Williams Lake) in British Columbia—a serious gold mine for reusables. Then, all my class presentations got cancelled as schools closed their doors to students. No more garbage talks with the kids.

Ugh, what was happening around me? I could not even take my reusable mug to get a to-go coffee anymore!

Many efforts to curb single-use products and promote sharing with reusing and repurposing came to a grinding halt. What was a waste educator to do?

It does not matter whether there is a fire, a flood, or a pandemic, there is one thing in life we can always rely upon, other than dishes, and that my friends, is garbage.

Just as doctors and nurses keep on helping humans, food continues to be served and gas keeps on getting pumped, and you might not always notice, but garbage keeps on moving.

Out the door it goes from your home to the garbage can, to the depot, to the truck, and finally, to the landfill. The leftovers do not really lay to rest here, either—they begin to degrade or ferment and compact, releasing leachates and methane gas. However, we will save that topic for another day.

How am I adapting?

Just like many other educators out there have done, Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society waste educator Mary Forbes and I have taken to the World Wide Web to spread our message. We adapted our message from talking in front of large groups of people to video-educating via phone through social

Shovels ready.... Mary and Oliver begin delivering waste education online!

See the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society Facebook page for the next #trashtalktuesdays.

Photo: Project Alchemist

media. We just imagine a small phone is you, the public, and roll with it.

With spring clean up on our minds, we initially talked about properly recycling all the built-up packaging and why it is so important to sort your materials accurately. After showing you how easy it is to build your own wastediversion station at home, we showcased different categories for plastics recycling, from stretchy to crinkly, bubbly, crunchy, rigid, and bendy.

Later, we live-streamed from the main transfer station in Williams Lake, explaining the influx of traffic. The yard and garden waste section saw a large increase in tonnage so far this season due to the extra time people have to play in their gardens and because many folks are hard at work fire-proofing their properties.

There was a traffic jam at the dump!

These discussions led us into International Composting Awareness Week, which ran from May 3–9. We wanted to teach how to manage your yard and kitchen waste at home. The Potato House Project in Williams Lake experienced record interest in its ‘Black Gold’ soil amendment and was inundated with inquiries about gardening and composting. We took advantage of the hype and made some videos on how to compost at home, giving away some of our trade secrets and covering every aspect of food waste recovery from Bokashi, to vermi-composting, to using animals, and the different backyard composters you can build yourself.

The feedback so far has been wonderful!

Everyone is keen on learning so much more during these interesting times. We have a perfect chance to look inside our homes and ourselves with new eyes. Asking questions

such as, “How can I improve this? How can I improve myself?” Maybe you want to learn how to bake or cook healthier. Perhaps you are finally going to fix that bike in your backyard.

Or even better, maybe you have now decided to craft some items from your leftovers bin into something wonderful for your new garden.

Our educating has shifted right back to where it has always been. Repairing is reusing, composting is recycling food waste energy into soil, and cooking for yourself is reducing the energy it takes to make the food when you eat out.

Speaking of eating out, we are once again dealing with extra take-out containers.

Not being able to bring our own take-out containers is super frustrating; however, I challenge you to say no to the cutlery, at least.

You have these at home; bring them with you.

Refuse the plastic bag at the grocery store, use the cart you already have, and unload those items into your vehicle, as is. The other day I brought my plastic coffee cup lid back with me and reused it on my next cup. We can and will adapt around these new protocols.

Keep on tagging along as Mary Forbes and I show you more tips. Tune into the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society’s facebook page every Tuesday for our next Trash Talk #trashtalktuesdays, or to see our previous talks, or check us out on Instagram @ccc_ society. -GG Oliver Berger has a 38-year degree in life, enjoying school from birth to the present in the Cariboo area. Constantly venturing around this Earth on a quest to learn new skills, Oliver’s priorities include dedication to and education about the management of society’s leftovers.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 17

Healthy Living

A Rainbow of Food Choices Article by Danielle Goward, R.H.N & C.P.T & P.P.N.S

D

uring this global pandemic, our health has become a huge concern and a hot topic. This has led to some people panic-buying natural health products and supplements and home gym equipment, creating a record-breaking boom in the health and fitness industry.

As a registered holistic nutritionist and certified personal trainer, I have been advising my clients to keep it simple and get creative with their food and activity. Eating a rainbow every day is one way to ensure that your body is receiving immune boosting antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Here in the Cariboo, our growing season and climate provide a beautiful palette of vibrant fresh fruits and vegetables. These foods aren’t coloured just to be aesthetically pleasing; they also represent their nutrient profiles.

Red: tomatoes, bell peppers, red grapes, strawberries, rhubarb—high in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant for heart health, cancer prevention, and men’s health.

Yellow and Orange: carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, corn, squash, apricots, peaches— high in carotenoids. You may have heard of beta-carotene. It is converted to vitamin A and is responsible for maintaining healthy eyesight and mucous membranes. Lutein is also type of carotenoid, which prevents cataracts and agerelated macular degeneration.

Green: spinach, broccoli, kale, asparagus, arugula, green grapes, green beans, cucumber, lettuce, cabbage, celery, herbs—vibrantly

Crea

m us

my

Beetroot Hum

18 | June/July/August 2020

packed with chlorophyll, a phytonutrient that is essentially plant blood and carries all the necessary nutrients for plants to grow and survive. For humans, it helps purify our blood and detoxify our body. Phytonutrients/ phytochemicals contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, just like a multi-vitamin.

Blue and Violet: beets, blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes, purple cabbage, red onion, plums, purple asparagus—super packed with antioxidants, particularly anthocyanin, responsible for protecting cells from oxidation (damage) and reducing risk for heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

A fun family activity that both adults and children will enjoy is to make a colourful rainbow chart and post it on the fridge. This activity naturally introduces new foods, recipes, and creativity to your meals and snacks.

Head over to www.lahealthboutique.com/ shop to download a free Rainbow Chart.

Health Canada recommends getting at least 30 minutes of activity every day. What does that look like? It means family walks or hikes, bike riding, swimming in local lakes, yard work, gardening, home workouts, and any other movement that gets your heart rate up.

I suggest getting 30 minutes of activity and at least 30 minutes of being outside. Vitamin D plays a vital role for our immune system. It is known as the “sunshine” vitamin because our skin synthesizes vitamin D from sunlight.

Research has also shown that it may play a role regulating mood and warding off depression.

During this pandemic we need to take care of ourselves through a holistic approach that includes our mental and emotional health. -GG

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

1

15 oz 15 oz

2 Tbsp 3 Tbsp 3 1/4 cup

1 pinch

1. Dice roasted beet into large chunks and add to food processor, blender, or hand emulsifier.

medium roasted organic beetroot (boiled will work, too) can organic chickpeas, drained can organic cannellini or white kidney beans, drained and rinsed organic tahini organic lemon juice organic garlic cloves organic avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil) pink Himalayan sea salt

Here is an example of an isolation workout that you can do outside with a set of stairs.

Repeat 3–5 times.

Stair “ISO” Workout • Jog up the stairs  20 Jumping Jacks  Jog/Walk back down • Jog up the stairs  20 Reverse Lunges (10 each leg)  Jog/ Walk back down • Jog up the stairs  20 Squats  Jog/Walk back down • Jog up the stairs  20 Push Ups  Jog/Walk back down • Jog up the stairs  20 Bicycle Crunches  Jog/Walk back down Danielle Goward is a registered holistic nutritionist, certified personal trainer, and a pre- and postnatal fitness specialist. She specializes in women’s health and hormones, sports nutrition, and digestive health, and operates La Health Boutique in Williams Lake.

Contact her at danielle@lahealthboutique.com for more info.

2. Add remaining ingredients, except avocado oil, and blend until it has a smooth, creamy texture. Scrape with spatula periodically.

3. Drizzle in avocado oil and keep mixing until thoroughly blended.

4. For an extra zing, add more lemon juice or zest and adjust seasonings to preference. If it is too thick, thin with water.

5. Keep in a sealed jar for up to one week.

Tel: 250-395-4545 Fax: 1-877-606-5385 spellizzari@telus.net

Stephen Pellizzari NOTARY PUBLIC

Cariboo Mall 575 Alder Avenue Box 2105, 100 Mile House, BC V0K 2E0

Stephen Pellizzari NOTARY PUBLIC

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 19

Pause to Feathers Creations:

Inspiration and Awareness from the Wild Article by LeRae Haynes | Photos by Grant Hill Keep your feeders full! Evening Grosbeaks can eat up to 46 black oil sunflower seeds per minute. This is the entry level Basic Bird Feeder. Cedar construction will last for years. Feeders start at $45

G

rant Hill from Pause to Feather Creations promotes wildlife awareness and conservation with passion, creativity, and a heartfelt belief that you should never, ever take the presence of wildlife for granted.

One of the ways he does this is by making bird houses, nature and wildlife prints with barn wood frames, bird feeders, bat houses, butterfly houses, lady bug houses, bee houses, squirrel feeders, saw whet owl houses, and suet feeders.

Three years ago, he left the corporate world of industrial cleaning supplies. There was a big conflict between that and what he believed, and he knew something had to change.

“I always had a love for nature, and about the time I knew a change was coming, I started making a few bird feeders,” he explains. “The first one was born from a lack of good bird feeders out there, and after I made it my wife said, ‘That’s nice. You should sell some.’”

The name Pause to Feathers is a play on words from a couple of sources, he explains.

“Getting out in nature is good for the soul,” Hill says. “It relaxes people and reduces your heart rate. It’s good to pause in your daily routine and take in nature around you. I often hike without worrying about how far I’m going, and it’s not uncommon for me to take three hours to travel two kilometres. It’s all about learning to pause.”

The other meaning is ‘paws’, as in animals, and ‘feathers’ refers to the bird-related nature of Hill’s products.

He says he has found a lot of like-minded people and organizations out there helping

20 | June/July/August 2020

Chickadee aka "Chicky bum bum"

wildlife, and that it’s important to him to recognize and support them. He does this through donations, consulting, fundraising, and raising awareness.

Hill supports PawPrint Ridge Pet Services and Rescue a local service that assists with feral cats and abused pets, as well as the organization, Stop the Spray B.C., (www. stopthespraybc.com) saying spraying logging cut blocks with glyphosate is the biggest holocaust we have going on right now.

Also on his list is Pacific Wild’s campaign, The Call, (www.pacificwild.org/make-a-difference/ join-the-call/) an organization working to stop the wolf cull in B.C. He explains that the group is well funded and does a fantastic job with legal and science based education and information from wolf biologists, and ecologists around the world. “The wolf cull is downright cruel, snaring and hunting from helicopters,” he says.

“I also support Project Bouchie Lake Bluebird by making relatively inexpensive bluebird boxes,” Hill says. “I sell them for $10 and half of the money goes to the Baker Creek Enhancement Society in Quesnel, with a focus on nature awareness and wildlife enhancement.”

Hill donates his exquisite wildlife photography to Quesnel Hospice’s fundraising auctions. “Fundraising for them really matters to me because their volunteers are amazing and also because I will be there one day,” he says.

Various community groups have benefitted from his knowledge and passion through his Power Point presentations on topics such as

"Hey fella's, over here!" All good bird feeding campaigns should have at least one of these. Ask me why!

bats, held in partnership with the Community Bat Program of B.C. “I also do a presentation on the decline of bird populations and bird feeding, and a ‘feel good’ nature presentation,” he says.

Building bat, bee, and bluebird boxes is another way Hill helps protect a range of species from declining populations. Bat populations, for example, are in worldwide decline.

“Bats have a slow reproductive rate and about 50 percent die off in the first year,” he says.“Their habitat is being destroyed, and the White Nose Syndrome (fungus) is now moving across North America, wiping them out.”

Hill has sold 235 bat houses so far, and says the smaller house size helps spread the bats out, hopefully reducing the spread of the fungus.

He brings a passion for wild animals and artistry together in his beautiful wildlife

photography, skillfully framed in barn wood.

He also does custom framing for people bringing the customer’s photo or picture to life.

“The pictures that people bring to me for framing are of extremely high sentimental value and it means the world that they entrust them to me,” he explains.

In all the jobs Hill has had in his life, he says there has never been a customer satisfaction element. Until now.

“It’s satisfying and encouraging to talk to people with similar interests, and it’s amazing to see changing perception in people who’ve never thought about bats or bees in a positive way,” he says.

“When people walk away from my booth, or from my presentations with new awareness

and inspiration, the feeling is unbelievable. I never dreamed this would ever happen.”

For more information on his products, phone (250) 255-8875, email granthillhome@ outlook.com or follow Pause to Feathers Creations on Facebook. To see his vast array of products available visit the Williams Lake Farmers’ Market online store at https://www. localline.ca/williams-lake-farmers-market -GG LeRae Haynes is a freelance writer, song writer, and instigator of lots of music with people of all ages in the community. She fearlessly owns 10 ukuleles, clinging to the belief that you’re not a hoarder if you play them all.

The Bat House. Cedar constructed, five chamber bat house and nursery box, holds up to 200 little brown bats. Pause to Feathers Creations works in partnership with the Community Bat Programs of BC. Note, Deluxe Bird Feeder on the chair.

Vegan Street Tacos Recipe by Jessica Kirby

If I could eat any one thing for the rest of my life it would be street tacos. I make them about a zillion different ways, but this is my favourite for impressing the veggies and meat lovers in my life.

FOR THE TACOS

FOR THE AVOCADO SAUCE

1 can 1 can 6-8 1 cup 1 cup

1/4 cup 1 Tbsp 1 tsp 1 tsp

2 1 tsp 1 tsp 1 1/4 cup

black beans corn (optional) street taco shells, warmed cheese, grated or feta, crumbled cauli crumble–make fresh (see diretions) or use Big Mountain Foods pre-seasoned ready to eat water or veggie broth chili powder garlic powder cumin

avocados cumin garlic lime, juiced cilantro salt and pepper to taste hot sauce or dried chilis, optional

METHOD 1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor, or vigorously by hand with a fork.

METHOD 1. Drain and rinse beans and place them in a pan with the element set to medium. Mash the beans roughly—you want some chunk left in the mixture.

2. Add your cauli crumble and broth or water and stir.

3. Add all spices, adjust to taste, and cook until thoroughly warmed.

4. Fill tacos with bean mix and top with pico de gallo, avocado dressing, and cheese. Optional toppings include avocado slices, lettuce, pickled cabbage, or anything else you love on tacos. Enjoy!

FOR THE PICO DE GALLO 1/4 cup 1/8 cup 1/2 1/2 tsp 1

purple onion, diced small cilantro, chopped red pepper, diced small cumin lime, juiced salt and pepper to taste

METHOD 1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stir to combine, and refrigerate until ready to use.

FOR THE CAULI CRUMBLE 1 cup 1/2 Tbsp 1 tsp

cauliflower, grated oil chili powder

1 tsp

garlic powder

METHOD 1. Grate 1 cup of fresh cauliflower using the medium grate on a box grater.

2. Warm a pan with 1/2 Tbsp of oil and add cauliflower, chili powder, garlic, and salt and pepper.

3. Cook on medium for 6–8 minutes, until lightly browned, set aside.

TheGreenGazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 21

—

SCIENCE MATTERS —

Giving Nature a Chance Improves Our Chances of Well-Being Article by David Suzuki

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n early 1995, eight grey wolves were transferred from Jasper National Park in Alberta to Yellowstone National Park in the Unites States. Within two years, 23 more were brought in. The last wolves in Yellowstone had been killed in the 1920s.

What happened next was remarkable. Over time, the wolves not only reduced rapidly increasing elk populations, but also caused elk and deer to move away from valley bottoms and riverbanks where they were easy prey.

Deer and elk populations levelled off, new growth came in along rivers and valleys— attracting a wide variety of wildlife—and rivers even changed as new, healthier vegetation stabilized slopes and banks. The wolves now number about 94 in eight packs.

This is one example of “rewilding,” trying to restore an ecosystem to a wilder state by reintroducing species that had been driven away or wiped out. It goes further than conservation, which is protecting and restoring habitats without necessarily reintroducing native plants and animals.

Rewilding comes in many forms, and it’s something almost anyone can become involved in. The David Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway Project is a simple, successful effort to reintroduce native plants that support a range of pollinators, including monarch and other butterflies. The intent is to create a habitat network that can support critters as they feed, breed, and migrate.

On a bigger scale, restoring and protecting habitat corridors for animals like caribou and grizzly bears that require large ranges ensures that they and the many species under their “umbrella” can survive and hopefully

22 | June/July/August 2020

thrive. (“Umbrella” species are those whose conservation also protects numerous other species that share their range. They are often indicators of ecosystem health.)

Whether it’s conservation or rewilding, we know that when we give nature a chance, it bounces back. Because we’re part of nature and rely on everything it provides, that’s to our benefit.

We can’t change the planet back to a wild paradise, but we can take steps to reverse some of the damage we’ve done. As the Butterflyway Project shows, efforts can start small, on your block or in your neighbourhood.

But don’t be surprised if people want to join in. (Keep in mind physical distancing and other health rules and recommendations.) The idea has been spreading as fast as milkweed in southern Ontario!

There are so many opportunities to bring nature back, from the many lawns that rarely get used to forests and wetlands taken over by resource development. Lawns could be “rewilded” or used to grow food. Cleaning up the many abandoned and orphaned oil wells and the roads and clearings around them would bring ecosystems and habitat back to health while providing good jobs.

A growing number of economists, ecologists, scientists, and planners are recognizing the value of “natural assets”—the many services and functions nature provides that often cost less and are more efficient than built infrastructure.

Research by the David Suzuki Foundation and the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative, in collaboration with a number of towns and cities in British Columbia, New Brunswick,

Photo by christels on Pixabay

and Ontario, found protecting or restoring ecosystems offers immense value in terms of water purity, flood control, storm protection, and more—without the expensive maintenance and limited shelf life of built infrastructure that provides similar services.

Beyond their local benefits, healthy, intact ecosystems do so much, from sequestering carbon to providing food. They can even prevent or at least reduce the number of deadly diseases that jump from animals to humans—60 per cent of new or re-emerging diseases since 1940, including HIV, Ebola, Zika, and a number of coronaviruses came from animals, wild and domestic, in part because of forest and habitat destruction.

We know when we give nature a chance to recover, it will, and when we work to restore it, amazing things can happen. We’re showing now that we’re capable of doing what’s needed to keep ourselves and each other safe and healthy. It’s a difficult time for so many people around the world. But we’ve come together, and we’ve slowed down. Let’s imagine a world where we recognize our interdependence with nature—that what we do to it, we do to ourselves.

Let’s give nature a chance and, in doing so, give our species a better chance for happier, healthier ways to live. -GG DAVID SUZUKI is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and cofounder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation senior editor, Ian Hanington.

Learn more at www.davidsuzuki.org

Who Are We, Where Are We Going?

Article by Guy Dauncey

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ho are we? And where are we going on this tiny planet of ours, this bright sparkle of life in a Universe so ridiculously vast? It’s a question worth exploring, if you have ten minutes in your busy COVID day.

Almost all scientists assume that the Universe is a solidly material realm, consisting of packages of atoms that have, by the happenstance of chance, turned themselves into polar bears and poets. We may have come from stardust, but we have no inherent direction or purpose. Where are we going?

You might as well ask what a stone wants for breakfast.

Furthermore, due to the implacable second law of thermodynamics, all heat must dissipate, everything organized must collapse, and the Universe must end up as a pile of disaggregated garbage awaiting the recycling truck from another Universe.

This conjecture can be blown away like thistledown in a breeze by one simple truth, however: that we have consciousness, even though most scientists haven’t a clue where it comes from. If you ask one, she may say it’s an expression of the brain’s neuro-complexity, even though no research backs this up. Or she may cough and try to change the subject.

A few scientists have come to another conclusion, however. They say that everything that exists possesses consciousness. Panpsychism, they call it. Strip away all thoughts, feelings, sounds, and sensations, and we are left with pure beingness. And having consciousness, we have the gift of agency.

So, let’s ask those questions again. Who are we? Where are we going? Our long evolutionary story, going back to that stardust, tells us that all units of existence seek to optimize their lived experience. For some

this means dedicating everything to raising healthy, happy children. For some it means seeking to dominate and defeat others. For some it means finding a quiet corner to live their life in peace.

Whenever danger has arisen, we—all conscious beings—dig deep into our inner resources and seek ways to survive. Atoms responded by self-organizing successively into molecules, organisms, multi-cellular organisms, plants, animals, and humans with highly complex brains. Today, we are self-organizing to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

When facing crisis, every unit of being, from rabbit to rattlesnake, faces a choice: “Should I be selfish, seeking primarily my own survival, or should I be wise and seek the collective survival of the group of which I am a part?” The first way leads the quest for domination over others; the second way leads to co-operation with others in pursuit of chosen goals.

We inherit genes and we acquire cultural habits for both sets of behaviour. Our primate ancestors lived in clans ruled by alphamales, using domination and hierarchy.

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors chose to resist domination, living in egalitarian clans shaped by co-operation. With the development of agriculture, most human settlements returned to cultures of domination, which have shaped most of our history.

The choice is playing out today right before our eyes. On the one hand there are people seeking to survive the pandemic by acting co-operatively, following the recommended guidelines and being very cautious about re-opening the economy. On the other hand, there are those angry that their personal rights are being trampled and searching under every stone for an alternative explanation for

the pandemic that might justify their anger.

Who are we? Where are we going? From a co-operative perspective, we are organizing to defeat the pandemic. We could go on to overcome the climate emergency, retool our economies with renewable energy and organic farming, work to heal Nature’s multitudinous wounds, and develop ways to live within the ecological limits of the Earth, seeking social and collective well-being rather than yet more economic growth. We could learn to live in harmony with Nature. We could craft ourselves a new ecological civilization. That should keep us busy for the next few hundred years. Beyond that, who knows?

Alas, this is only half the story. While most people want to co-operate to build a better future for all, Nature included, others want to live in a world in which they and their families dominate, along, perhaps, with the race or religion they have embraced, to the exclusion of others.

So, who are we? We are co-operators or dominators: take your pick. And where are we going? If the co-operators fail to overthrow the machinations and desires of the dominators, we’re heading for civilizational and ecological collapse. If the co-operators can work together with sufficient strength to overcome the dominators, however, we could be going somewhere truly amazing, of which the stardust would be proud. -GG Guy Dauncey is the author of ten books, including The Climate Challenge: 101 Solutions to Global Warming and an ecotopian novel set in the year 2032: Journey to the Future: A Better World is Possible. His website is www. thepracticalutopian.ca

TheGreenGazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 23

Left to Right: Robert Johnson and Jonathan Hand smile as they finish building 15 new garden boxes for the Community Garden site.

Photo: Jonathan Hand

Mary Daniels makes a plan to plant seeds at the Esk’etemc Community Garden site. Photo: Jonathan Hand

Growing into the Future:

Reconnecting with Food in Esk’etemc Article by Jonathan Hand

S

pringtime this year arrived unlike most, flooding our lives with uncertainty as we rallied to mitigate the risks of a global pandemic. While overcoming the many hardships created by COVID-19, we have also begun to see the seeds sowed for the better. Just as winter fades to the promise of spring, adversity is often the starting point for growth and newness. We can understand this same lesson from watching fire sweep the land and create balance in the ecosystem, or fasting in the sweat lodge to pray for clarity and guidance—suffering can bring about a lasting imprint as we learn to move forward.

One of the positive changes we are experiencing in Esk’etemc amidst the pandemic is a reconnection with our food. We were aware that we relied on outside sources of food as a community, but that fact is easy to take for granted when the grocery stores are fully stocked most of the time. With the food supply chain put into question by COVID-19, there is now a bottom-up movement in Esk’et towards reinvigorating our food culture and revisiting our history of food production.

Esk’etemc have a rich history of selfsufficiency and a deep understanding of how

24 | June/July/August 2020

to look after the land to receive a bounty from it. People here had the knowledge and skills to manage soil and livestock, grow food, and build and maintain root cellars, and a myriad of other abilities that allowed them to provide for themselves and their families. Many community members alive today remember the short summer months they spent at home while not in residential school, helping their families and elders prepare gardens and root cellars. Although residential school greatly impacted the passage of cultural and traditional knowledge for Esk’etemc and other First Nations, the knowledge to grow and store food has silently persisted. With pressure from the pandemic, that capacity for self-sufficiency has started to awaken once again.

In the early stages of the pandemic, I had a conversation with my good friend Robert Johnson about a vision for the community, where people were working the land again and inspiring others to do the same. Since then, the community has achieved more than I imagined. Many households in the community have taken it upon themselves to build garden boxes, the Sxoxomic School worked with students at home to plant seeds, and fields are being plowed and used for the first time

in years. The local community garden box area nearly doubled its number of garden boxes this year and will be growing food to sell through the local store at an affordable cost. Moreover, the Esk’etemc Band is supporting community members with garden box kits at an affordable price, with over 60 households signed up.

Robert and I became part of the movement ourselves, building a garden area in a shared space with Robert’s neighbour, bringing all of our families together in a collective effort. We used salvaged logs from the nearby Mayfield area that burned in 2019, local soil, and local manure, and we cleared the land with fire in the spring, making the process extremely rewarding on a personal and holistic level.

All of these efforts are part of a bigger vision that Esk’etemc has to become food resilient and self-governing. The unexpected hardship of COVID-19 propelled us forward and has given us a starting point to revisit our large-scale agriculture goals and how we can make agriculture programs thrive on our land base. Esk’etemc believe in using the land to protect and steward it for all walks of life, thus food production represents an immense opportunity to begin managing the land more sustainably while also creating meaningful

Log garden boxes all finished, lined up and ready to be filled with dirt at the family garden.

Photo: Jonathan Hand

employment opportunities in the food sector for our people.

While we are starting small with a household resurgence of gardening, I believe we are making a major step forward towards our overarching goals of being self-sufficient as a community. We are also seeing how food can bring our families and community members together to share knowledge and skills, and

simply enjoy time together. Even if large-scale plans are years away from being a reality, I feel in my heart that something deeply important is happening in Esk’etemc and that this time of adversity and uncertainty will be a pivotal moment in our story. -GG Jonathan Hand is a Newfoundlander who has been living and working in Esk’et since

2018. He has a degree in marine biology and sustainability from Dalhousie University, as well as a master’s degree in development practice from the University of Waterloo. He works in communications for Esk’etemc and is honoured to live, learn, and serve in the community.

Wheatberry Salad Recipe by Jessica Kirby

Wheatberries are a delicious, chewy, wholesome grain that make a hearty alternative to couscous or quinoa. They are fibrous and filling, but with a light dressing and some summer herbs can make a great side salad that doubles as a main dish. This recipe has dairy and vegan options and options for adding nuts versus seeds. In our home, serve this up with seasoned tofu or seitan chunks for the three vegetarians and broiled chicken for the meat lover. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

1 1/4 cup wheatberries, dry 3 1/2 cups water 1/4 cup green onions, chopped 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1 stick celery, diced 1/4 cup walnuts, pumpkin seeds, or

sunflower seeds 1/4-1/2 cup sour cream or full fat plain yogurt,

or 1/4 cup olive oil for vegan 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp garlic powder 2 tsp chili powder 1 pinch salt, generous

salt and pepper to taste

fresh herbs of choice—I usually

raid my herb garden for lemon

thyme, oregano, parsley,

pineapple sage, and/or garlic

chives but this part is totally up to

you and what you have on hand.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place raw wheatberries on a pan and roast in the oven until golden and fragrant, about 6-8 minutes.

2. Bring 3 1/2 cups of water to a boil with a generous pinch of salt. Add the wheatberries and reduce heat to medium. Stir occasionally and start checking for doneness around 25-30 minutes. When the wheatberries are soft and chewy, rinse in a strainer with cold water and cool.

3. When the berries are cool, at the onions, tomato, celery, and nuts or seeds. Mix thoroughly.

4. Make your dressing. If you are using the dairy option, mix your sour cream or yogurt into the salad ensuring all ingredients are coated. Add lemon juice and stir to combine.

Add seasoning, stir, and adjust to taste.

You can add a little spice—cayenne or hot sauce —at the end if that suits you. If using the vegan option, combine oil, lemon juice, garlic, chili powder, and salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix into salad.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 25

COMPOSTING

Part of the Cariboo Regional District’s Solid Waste Info Series: Becoming Waste Wise

S

pring is the perfect time to start composting or ramp up production of nutrient rich soil in your existing compost pile. A healthy compost pile will be moist, have a good balance of carbon to nitrogen, and have a regular supply of oxygen. If your compost isn’t breaking down, it’s because one or all of these things are missing. Compost piles should be layered with veggie/fruit waste and a carbon source, like leaves. The material should be aerated regularly—every week, ideally. This can be done with a shovel, but a soil turner is easier to use. If the compost seems too dry, you can add some water to it on a weekly basis, as well.

Why should you compost? Because leaving your veggie and fruit waste in the garbage creates methane gas, increases landfill leachate production, takes up space in the landfill, costs money to transport, and wastes the nutrient content of the food.

In the oxygen deprived environment of the landfill, organics don’t get a chance to break down into compost or soil; rather, they slowly decompose and release methane gas in the

26 | June/July/August 2020

Article by Tera Grady process, which is a greenhouse gas 21 times stronger than carbon dioxide when related to climate change.

All landfills create leachate, but leachate production can be limited by the amount of moisture present in the waste. Organics contain over 60 percent moisture (by weight), which turns into leachate as the organics decompose. The leachate travels through the other waste in the landfill and collects contaminants. If the landfill doesn’t have a leachate collection system, these contaminants could move into the land.If the landfill does have a leachate collection system, the contaminants must be managed or removed, which is a costly process.

The lifespan of a landfill is measured in volume by how many years of waste will fit into the existing landfill footprint. If we can reduce the amount of waste going into each of our landfills, it gives us more years of use—an excellent reason to divert as much as we can from our landfills.

Organic waste is heavy because of the moisture content, and waste disposed of at

transfer stations is hauled to a regional landfill, which is paid for by the tonne. This is another good incentive to divert the heavy organics out of our garbage and into our yards.

The nutrients from food waste cannot be harnessed if they are mixed up in landfill leachate, but they can in your compost. Even if you only turn your finished compost out onto your lawn or place it around the base of the trees or shrubs in your yard, the nutrients will be put to good use.

The CRD and its member municipalities want to help you change your food waste disposal habits and will be offering subsidized backyard composters and counter top containers in 2020. Email talktrash@cariboord.bc.ca to get the details, or call the CRD at (250) 392-3351 or toll-free 1-800-665-1636.

Learn more by following us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/caribooregion or visit us online at www.cariboord.ca. For more information on the Waste Wise Program, call (250) 398-7929. You can also find more details on Waste Wise activities and events at ccconserv.org. -GG

Williams Lake Garden Club

Bi-annual Garden Tour Going Ahead July 11

A

fter much discussion, the Williams Lake Garden Club has decided to go ahead with its bi-annual, self-guided garden tour. If you like flowers, mark July 11 (10 a.m.to 4 p.m.) on your calendar.

The tour showcases the region’s loveliest flower gardens in Russett Bluff and Williams Lake proper. Participation is by donation and jars will be available at each garden. Tickets are recommended and can be reserved by contacting Nola at (250) 392-6858. Tickets will be emailed or mailed and include a map showing the location and description of each garden. At each garden there will also be quilts, music, pottery, paintings, or garden art for your enjoyment.

Proceeds will go to a local charity.

The garden tour is taking a variety of safety measures to ensure visitors are safe. Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance to each garden.

Masks will be worn by the volunteers and visitors may wear masks at their discretion. The Williams Lake Garden Club will be ensuring that the appropriate number of people will be allowed into each garden, and a volunteer will be circulating to be sure social distancing is in effect.

The club is hosting its bi-annual garden tour thanks to the volunteer efforts of the tour co-ordinator, Deb Radolla. Thank you in advance to those wonderful gardeners who have agreed to open their gardens for viewing.

The Williams Lake Garden Club meets once a month and offers sessions that appeal to all gardeners, new and experienced. For more information about the Williams Lake Garden Club, including the tour, follow the group on Facebook and watch for posters about the event.

Hope to see you there! -GG

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 27

A Time to Review Article by Jessica Kirby

T

he talk of the town is isolation and restrictions. When will it end? What will new normal look like? Since no one really knows for sure, it might make better sense to stay present and see what we can learn. The most important thing that comes from this will be whether we— meaning governments, health authorities, the human race—take heed of the lessons that abound in this scenario and apply them in preparing for next time. Because there will be a next time. It might be another pandemic or a global catastrophe, or an environmental crisis, or an economic meltdown, but rest assured, it will be something.

So, what have we learned?

Isolation is having important climate effects, but whether they will last is up to us. About a third of the world’s population is in lockdown.

Goats are running through the streets in Wales, seals and dolphins are turning up in harbours where they haven’t been seen for decades, skies are clearing in big cities from Los Angeles to Venice, and overall pollution is down 25% in China alone.

Of course, there are adverse effects.

Medical supplies, such as face masks and gloves, are washing up on beaches around the world. Climate summits have been postponed. The trend moving forward will be video conferencing instead of face-toface conferences, and we all know how a screen between us dampens the impact of an interaction.

So, what have we learned? Use less, recycle more? Talk less, but make every word count?

Take small steps but take them relentlessly? If this pandemic has taught us anything it is that we are alone in nothing.

Families are exploring ways to work and learn from home, together, returning to the roots of humanity. Nearly 5 million Canadians are working from home right now and between 52% and 73%, depending on the

28 | June/July/August 2020

province, wish it to stay that way. How will that change the dynamic in the home, the way we choose our careers, and the metrics we use to evaluate the value of work? Children have only been educated in rows using standardized curriculum for the length of a heartbeat in the human story, but the habits are set and some families are struggling to balance educating their children, working, and household responsibilities. Members of families are learning to carve out their spaces, interact with one another, practice patience, and develop self-discipline but some feel they can’t move another step forward in the current status.

So, what have we learned? Make room for family time? Shed the unnecessary rushing?

Stop glorifying busy-ness? Love more and complain less? Remember, those kids won’t need you forever.

Since March, 2 million Canadians have lost their jobs and nine percent live below the poverty line. Nearly 12 percent have experienced a threat to their personal food security, and traffic at food banks is up 3 percent. Also since March, big box stores with the capacity to be deemed essential remain open while smaller “non-essential” local stores had to close their doors, some permanently.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business surveyed 10,969 Canadian small businesses and reported that 22 per cent of those had their revenue drop to $0 during the pandemic. Only half of those surveyed were confident their businesses would survive to the end of May. At the same time more than 6 million Canadians have applied for emergency income relief.

So, what have we learned? Is shopping local really more expensive? Should we value quality over quantity? Wants versus needs?

Is excessive shopping a productive form of recreation? When a local business fails, that’s your neighbour failing. Are you okay with that?

Since COVID, Canadians have spent roughly 32 percent more time than normal outdoors.

This number is an average since isolation in cities like Toronto and Vancouver saw more people stay completely in the house while smaller communities, such as Vancouver Island, saw people isolate outside on forested trails and in wild places. With nowhere to shop and no extracurricular activities, people looked within their homes for projects, crafts, and improvements, took up jogging or home gym workouts, and planned dreamy outdoor vacations in their own backyards.

So, what have we learned? Is it really that hard to stay in shape? Get fresh air? Unplug?

Learn to value wild spaces? When this is all over, we must remember that the woods were there for us when we needed them the most.

The number one factor in staying the course and changing our behaviours is going to be supporting the economy. We want to believe we are au naturale in our thinking and that we would die on the environmental sword at any cost, but most of us know that if it came down to supporting our families we would do nearly anything to make sure our future is secure.

Here’s the thing: we can support our families and livelihoods and the environment all at once. It doesn’t have to be a choice. The decisions we make about our spending habits, travel agendas, and recreational activities will have imperative effects on the economy, our health, and the environment, and we can reconcile peace and security if we take a moment to ask the important questions.

So, what have we learned? -GG Jessica Kirby is a freelance editor and writer covering the environment, lifestyles, and the built environment for publications across Canada and the United States. She can usually be found among piles of paper in her home office or in the Vancouver Island wilderness enjoying nature's incredible bounty.

New Strategies are Needed to Recover from the Pandemic Article by Jim Cooperman

T

he pandemic has been a massive shock to humanity, and as a result, there may never be a return to the same lifestyle we have always deemed normal. In fact, the disease has exposed all the flaws in our society, and thus, it could become a catalyst for the changes needed to improve our lives. While most of the key decisions are made in Ottawa and Victoria, there are ways that regions like the British Columbia interior can change for the better.

The goal posts are shifting. For too long the mantra of continuous growth has been the driving force in the economy, as if we lived on an infinite planet where more of everything could continue forever. As society slowly emerges into a post-COVID world, the new buzzword is resilience, which communities now desire as they grapple with all the threats to our normalized way of life.

First and foremost are the risks to our food supply since most of it is either imported from the United States and Mexico or is dependent on foreign temporary farm workers.

Fortunately, there is an abundant supply of quality arable land in much of the province that has the potential to feed all of us with ample more for export.

However, there are many obstacles that need to be addressed before sustainable agriculture can become a solution. Much of our farmland is underutilized and the costs are far too expensive for young people to purchase land. Solutions could include leaseto-purchase opportunities, cooperatives, and revising the rules to allow for large farms to be

subdivided into smaller acreages that would be farmed more intensively.

In addition to providing more opportunities for growing food, we need to revise our diets to include more of the types of food we can grow and store locally. A classic example is the standard head of lettuce, which is a basic staple for most families. While there is no shortage of greens during the growing season, throughout the winter fresh greens can only be grown here under lights. Cabbage is the ideal replacement in the winter, as it stores well under refrigeration and it is more nutritious and flavourful.

First and foremost are the risks to our food supply since most of it is either imported from the United States and Mexico or is dependent on foreign temporary farm workers.

In addition to food, fabulous trees also grow in the interior. As the forest industry continues to weaken due to a combination of a declining timber supply and job-killing mechanization, the need for seedlings increases. More tree nurseries are needed, given the demand due to forest fires, pests, and logging.

Tourism, which has long been a key part of the economy, is taking a hit from the pandemic and its recovery may be hampered for a few years until there are fewer risks from travel and more people can afford to enjoy a vacation

again. A mitigation strategy could be pursued that would help to expand the tourism season by promoting the many hiking and biking trails, as well as by building more trails.

With so many people now working from home, the nature of work will likely change for the better once we are free from the pandemic.

It is possible that many people will want to exit from the cities to live in rural communities, where they can enjoy a healthier lifestyle and more recreational opportunities, andstill be able to work remotely via the internet.

Many experts are calling for a green recovery that focuses on investments in technologies and infrastructure that help reduce carbon emissions. Ecosystem restoration is part of the federal plan, and it is possible that funding could be secured to restore more of the Salmon River riparian areas.

Achieving greater resilience would include improving our ability to cope with the stress from climate change and economic malaise, as well as from infectious diseases. Economic and social planning that encourages greater self-sufficiency, better food security, more affordable housing, and a higher level of social cohesiveness would help to ensure that British Columbia remains one of the best places in the world to live. -GG Jim Cooperman was a provincial forest activist with the BC Environmental Network during the turbulent 1990s. He now focuses on local issues in the Shuswap, where he has lived on a rural property for 50 years. His bioregional book, Everything Shuswap, is a local bestseller.

The Green Gazette  www.thegreengazette.ca | 29

Entwined Liberation: A COVID Awakening Article by Margaret-Anne Enders

I

’m sure you have heard it said at least once during the past couple of months of pandemic time—this is a time of great possibility. People say it with hope, with excitement, with the keenness of a new idea.

Let’s be honest, though. This is nothing new.

It has always been a time of great possibility.

It’s just that we can see it more clearly now that the “normal” lenses have been knocked off of our faces. People are open to both the possibility and the necessity of change.

There is no denying the need for change.

Climate change and the continued growth of the fossil fuel industry threaten the future of the planet and its inhabitants—including humans, to be clear. Here in Canada, the third best country in which to live, according to the 2019 Best Countries Report, 20 percent of children live in poverty, with the number rising to 47 percent for children living in First Nations communities. And, in a country that internationally prides itself on justice and fairness, our rates of incarceration, school suspensions, and children-in-care are skewed to the disadvantage of people of colour and Indigenous folks. We can do better, can’t we?

It is in this spirit of openness and desperation that I turn to the words of Lilla Watson, an Indigenous Australian artist and academic, and her activist community: “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time.

But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

While the context is somewhat different, the COVID-19 pandemic wakes us up to the fact that we are, in a sense, all in this together.

It is clear that our individual health and safety is bound together with the health and safety of all. Of course, it’s not that simple. Economically marginalized groups are harder hit by the virus.

Isolation is not so easy or even achievable in crowded housing, care centres, and prisons.

The economic downturn will adversely affect

30 | June/July/August 2020

those with fewer financial resources. But the fact remains—going forward, we will all be safer if everyone is taken care of. And indeed, that has been the call all along. The major world religions, standing the test of time, all advocate for some form of the law of reciprocity: treat others as you would like to be treated. Basically, take care of one another, respect each other, work for the good of all.

And we have seen, when there is political and social will, there are money and resources available to take care of everyone.

So, what if we took seriously the idea that our liberation is a collective endeavour, that none of us will truly be free, fed, educated, safe, and healthy until we all are free, fed, educated, safe, and healthy? Imagine: not that we must work together out of guilt or fear of dire consequences, but that we wanted to work together, out of desire for new relationships and learning, for the thriving and health of all cultures, beings, and the planet.

This is an opportunity for those of us with different sorts of privilege (economic, racial, gender, etc.) to amplify the voices of those on the margins. We can even begin to sacrifice a little for the sake of all—things like decreasing our carbon footprint by limiting non-essential air travel and giving our time to learn about issues of inequity in our community and then working for change.

As we move through this challenging and chaotic time, there are signs that spark great hope within my soul: • Indigenous wisdom from all parts of the globe coming to the forefront • Financial support available to most people in need • Lower levels of factory emissions and decreased transportation leading to cleaner air and reduced pollution

• Widespread conversations about universal basic income • Increased government and community support of small businesses • Creative connections in social, spiritual, and economic realms: virtual powwows, Zoom weddings, the return of the drive-in • Innovations in medicine and health care • The realization that we can clearly use fewer fossil fuels • The possibility of smaller class sizes and more opportunities for outdoor learning • Imaginative policy ideas like the Green New Deal • The words of the president of the European Commission, “As we come out of the crisis, we must not fall into old habits. We must not hold onto yesterday’s economy as we rebuild.”

The collective consciousness is active and ripe for change. There are challenges, to be sure, and positive change is not inevitable— so let’s keep dreaming and advocating.

Possibilities need champions to become realities. Pick a passion, even one, and put in some time and energy to help bring it to fruition in our changing world. As Lilla Watson urges, “Let us work together.” -GG Margaret-Anne Enders is a parent, a homegardener, and a lover of peaceful spaces in nature. She works in the areas of racial justice, reconciliation, and community development.

Margaret-Anne lives on traditional unceded Secwepemc territory and is thankful for the presence and teachings of the local and surrounding Secwepemc, Tsilhqot’in, and Dakelh-Dene people.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 31

—

GREEN BUSINESS QUESNEL —

Something Magical Article by Terri Smith

Magical Unicorn.

Photo: Terri Smith

Fairy mushroom house.

Photo: Terri Smith

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believe creativity is important. When we are creating, we are living in the moment. The worries and cares of life can be set aside, and we can allow ourselves to be captivated by a sense of wonder and excitement. I believed this was important even before the world as we knew it came to a standstill. Now that so much is so uncertain, I believe it is still important, perhaps now more than ever.

I have been teaching needle-felting classes for over two years and have been felting for a little over a decade. I love the immediacy of working with fibres. I love the textures and the colours, and even the smell of the wool. I love to create magical creatures and landscapes, and I love to help others create their own magical works of art. I especially love the moment when someone’s eyes light up with joy over what they have created, and to hear someone exclaim: “I never knew I was creative!”

32 | June/July/August 2020

When I began teaching workshops a few years ago I purchased supplies locally until our local wool shop closed. After ordering online from a few Canadian companies I realized most of them were ordering from overseas anyway so I went further up the supply chain and now order most of my wool and fibres from a family-run business in Italy called DHG that carries a beautiful selection of mulesingfree wool. I didn’t even know what this meant until I found this company. ‘Mulesing’ is the removal of strips of wool-bearing skin from around the buttocks of a lamb to prevent flystrike. Flystrike is also a terrible thing, but there are other ways to prevent it.

Once I began ordering large quantities of wool, I began selling felting supplies, and it makes me so happy to be able to share my love of fibres.

In every aspect of my new business I am striving to be as sustainable as possible. I order my wool in large quantities to reduce

packaging, and I seek out Canadian and local fibres wherever possible. When I teach local classes, I package supplies in repurposed containers, mostly plastic clamshells that formerly held organic vegetables. I reuse the thick plastic that my wool arrives in by cutting it into smaller pieces and sewing it into smaller bags to contain the felting kits that I sell.

I am sourcing recycled packaging for online orders, and I am looking into imaginative box designs that could double as playsets or display units. I enjoy the challenge of thinking about how every bit of what someone orders can be used and reused. While at first I gave out cleaning sponges to use as cheap felting pads, I have now begun sewing my own felting pads from premade felt I order from the same company. These last for years and are not made from plastic—and they are also beautiful!

There are cheaper and easier ways to begin a business, but I am trying to build a business

Turtles. Photo: Jesaja Class

Felted red panda.

Photo: Terri Smith

A suitcase full of wool.

Photo: Terri Smith

with a conscience. I want to be able to feel good about what I am selling, and I want people to feel good about ordering from me.

Now that the world has changed so much, I believe that creative play can help us more than ever. I am now learning how to make videos so I can teach workshops online.

Making a small, magical sculpture from wool may not seem like an important thing to do. But what I have noticed repeatedly as we have moved through this difficult time, is that creativity is what keeps us going. Online, there are so many articles and memes that fill us with dread, with fear, and even anger—but the things that bring us hope and make us feel good are often examples of people being creative.

I also love to be able to make the gifts I give to people. Something you have taken the time to make yourself is an extra special gift to give someone.

Terri hugging her felted slug. Photo: Mark Rupp

I struggled with what to call my new business. I had all sorts of ideas, but none seemed right. I only knew that the name needed to be something magical as so much of what inspires me is the magical world of nature and fairy tales. A friend of mine was trying to help me decide on a name and said, “Because it’s you, I really feel like it needs to be something magical” and suddenly we both heard it: Something Magical. And who doesn’t like a good pun?

I believe everyone really does need something magical in their life. I hope I can help you with that!

If you want to find me, my website is under construction, but will soon be found at www. somethingmagical.ca. In the meantime, I am on Facebook and Instagram both at: SomethingMagicalByTerri. -GG Terri Smith is an artist, educator, gardener, burlesque performer, and sometimes reluctant writer living in Quesnel, BC. She teaches workshops on gardening and needle felting and can be found on Facebook at Road’s End Vegetable Company or Something Magical.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 33

Ground pangolins are one of four species of pangolins native to Africa, and all are threatened by the illegal trade in their scales, used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Photo: Chris R. Shepherd / Monitor

Owls are heavily traded in many countries as pets and for their parts used in traditional medicines. These owls are illegally, yet openly, for sale in an Indonesian bird market. Photo: Monitor

Monitor and the Wildlife Trade

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llegal and unsustainable wildlife trade poses an urgent threat to an increasingly long list of animal species around the world. In many cases, it is the primary threat, though this is often not recognized or addressed. Trafficking, in combination with habitat loss and other threats, has led to population declines for a variety of species, and sadly, the extinction of some. Many more will become extinct soon if current trends continue.

Few people realize the scale of the illegal trade—it is comparable to the global trade in drugs, arms, and humans, and worth billions of dollars annually. Animals are sourced, often in enormous volumes, to supply demand for wildlife used for meat, in medicines, as ornamental and luxury goods, and as pets. While some are sourced in a legal and sustainable manner, many are not.

Unfortunately, the consumer is often unaware that their purchase and use of animals, or the parts and products derived from animals, may be supporting organized crime activities and contributing to the decimation of wild populations. This means the pet turtle you bought may have been falsely declared as being captive bred and was laundered into the global pet market. It means the marine fish you have in your tank may have been captured using cyanide. It means the ivory trinket you bought while on holiday might be from a poached elephant and you may have violated national and international laws while bringing it home. A lack of transparency and traceability systems means you would most likely not be able to determine if your python skin purse or shoes came from a legally or illegally sourced snake.

Many species are often traded openly in the now-famous wet markets in Asia, with some suspected to be linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. These wet markets are filled with live animals that are slaughtered on the spot, and with raw meat lying on counter tops or on plastic laid on the ground. Animals from near and far are packed into small cages or stacked in tubs and containers, still alive. In markets like these, stress levels are high and immunity levels are low, providing ideal conditions for the transfer of viruses, parasites, and more.

Wild meat is sold and consumed around the world, and while the latest pandemic may have come from China, the next could come from

34 | June/July/August 2020

Article by Chris R. Shepherd anywhere—and there will be a next time, as long as wildlife trade is permitted in the manner it is now.

While the trade in some species is regulated by domestic legislation, and some, though far fewer, by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), many are not, and trade in these is largely a free-for-all. The main reason behind this lack of legal protection from overexploitation is a sheer lack of knowledge and information.

Corruption, complacency, and lack of general awareness and concern are among the greatest hurdles in reducing levels of illegal and unsustainable trade. Low levels of political will, weak legislation, and ineffective enforcement efforts hamper efforts to stem this trade. A lack of support for efforts to tackle the illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade is a further impediment. Increasing affluence and easy access to global markets, including the rapidly growing online trade in wildlife, is exerting more pressure on these species. While the plight of some species is well-documented, for instance that of tigers and black rhinos, the declines of lesser-known species, such as the Sumatran serow, pig-nosed turtle, and hairy-nosed otter–species most have never heard of–occurs largely unnoticed.

For the little-known species, the dearth of evidence continues to impede conservation efforts, enables illegal trade, and undermines efforts to achieve sustainable trade in species that may be suitable for harvest and commercial trade.

It is because of the urgent need for action to protect these lesser-known species that the Monitor Conservation Research Society (Monitor) came to be. Monitor was established in 2017 to focus especially on lesser-known species (standing up for the underdogs!) and issues in wildlife trade. We believe that sound research, strong policies, and effective enforcement efforts at national and international levels are essential to achieving our primary goal: the reduction of illegal and unsustainable wildlife trade.

Monitor aims to fill information voids related to poaching and trafficking and to catalyze evidence-based conservation interventions, policy changes, and enforcement actions.

We also strive to find ways in which (CITES) can be of more benefit to these lesser-known

species. Through the provision of sound research, useful recommendations, and effective conservation interventions, we believe we can affect positive change for these species.

Among the species currently included in Monitor’s portfolio of work are the many Asian songbird species threatened by the insatiable demand for their song, plumage, and perceived rarity, such as the straw-headed bulbul and the Sumatran taughing thrush (http://www.thegreengazette.ca/silencingthe-songbirds-southeast-asias-illegal-andunsustainable-trade-is-pushing-a-multitudeof-songbird-species-towards-extinction/).

Our work on the live reptile trade includes pig-nosed turtles, Indian star tortoises (http:// www.thegreengazette.ca/the-tortoise-andfreshwater-turtle-trade-crisis-one-morespecies-receives-increased-internationalprotection/), pit-vipers, crocodile skinks, and more, traded in the millions for the pet trade. Our work on mammals includes bears (http://www.thegreengazette.ca/unbearablethe-illegal-trade-in-asian-bear-species/), serow, clouded leopards, pangolins, and otters (http://www.thegreengazette.ca/ilegaland-unsustainable-trade-threatens-otters/), all traded for their parts used in traditional medicines, for their meat, and in some cases, as trophies.

Monitor is made up of a small team of dedicated experts with decades of experience in researching, analysing data, and publishing peer-reviewed papers on the global wildlife trade. We believe in making our findings public and seeing these findings put to good use. We believe that evidence and information is key to informing policy changes, catalyzing enforcement actions, guiding conservation efforts, and raising concern among the public.

-GG Chris R. Shepherd is the executive director of the Monitor Conservation Research Society (Monitor).To learn more about Monitor’s work and to read our publications, follow our campaigns, or financially support Monitor’s efforts, please check out our website at https:// mcrsociety.org/ or Facebook page at www. facebook.com/mcrsociety/

An added benefit to having backyard chickens: adorable, feathered companions. Photo: Ryan Elizabeth Cope

Good Green News

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SERVES 4 AS A SIDE

By Ryan Elizabeth Cope

he coronavirus pandemic came at everyone like a freak storm arising out of nothing. Even for those self-reliant with backyard or terrace gardens, the DIYers of the world, or the homesteading types, physical distancing rules and myriad restrictions and shortages threw everybody for a loop. Although we have fared better than some places, here in BC, we have not been without our share of illness and tragedy.

With spring and summer come themes of renewal, rejuvenation, and new life. These past few months have been fraught with anxiety, uncertainty, and lots of unease, but we’ve also welcomed many positives and what amounts to something of a culture shift. Read on about five success themes that showcase our collective ability to rally, persevere, and innovate in times of crisis. The true test will be our willingness to hold onto these “new norms” as we venture out of our physically and socially isolated environments.

1. The Rise of Sourdough Culture Take a look on any social media platform, or simply poll ten of your friends. Chances are good that someone you know is mixing flour and water together and letting it sit on their counter, hoping to capture wild yeasts out of the air. With commercial yeast shortages across the province, people are finding ways to continue their baking by cheaper, more magical means.

2. Hatch a Plan for Success The pandemic threw into sharp relief the pitfalls of our cumbersome, globalized food system. Outbreaks of the virus ballooned at meat-packing plants and there were runs on staple foods like eggs. Many consumers took matters into their own hands and are investing in small flocks of backyard hens, making the distance between producer and consumer that much shorter.

3. Grow Where You Are Planted Similar to the influx of newbie backyard chicken owners and the rise of sourdough

Adapted from Thug Kitchen

by Ryan Elizabeth Cope

culture, consumers are also taking back their lawns, terraces, and kitchen counters with plants. This pandemic made it clear that consumers really do care about where their food comes from, the safety of it, and how it’s produced. For many, it’s easier and less stressful to #GrowYourOwn.

This fresh, vibrant potato salad is the perfect accompaniment to any summertime meal gathering. Gather fresh herbs from your own herb garden or pick some up at your local farmer’s market. By early fall, new potatoes will become available along with fresh carrots making this dish a locavore’s dream. Happy eating!

INGREDIENTS

4. Nature Nurtures Being in nature is profoundly healing and calming for our frenzied, anxious minds, now more than ever. But travel restrictions and social distancing measures have hindered our ability to really get out and explore. The rise of “staycations” in our own backyards is ensuring we find peace of mind and discover something new (locally)… without the need for airplanes.

5. Meditate on This So much has changed in our physical world in such a short time that it can seem incredibly overwhelming and hopeless. However, this has given rise to a new generation of meditation practitioners, since finding peace within is the only real tool we have at combatting a world of uncertainty. This is the kind of mental calm we need to cultivate new ways of being.

There are many other positive stories coming out of such a dark time in our history.

Some of those include communities finding ways to connect despite physical distancing requirements; families spending more time together than ever before (even if it is over Zoom); the “Buy Local” movement seeing a massive influx; and increased interest in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiatives and farmers markets across the province. The pandemic has been bittersweet, but ultimately, it has taught us that when we bring our efforts closer to home and focus on building up our communities, we can create our own resilience. -GG Ryan Elizabeth Cope is a Kelowna, BC-based advocate for plastic-less, healthful living.

She blogs at Seven in the Ocean (www. sevenintheocean.com/) where she marries her love of food with her disdain for plasticwrapped garbage.

1 1/2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes 2 cloves garlic 1 tsp dijon mustard 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 2 Tbsp lemon juice 1/4 Cup walnuts, pumpkin seeds, orc sunflower seeds 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup carrot, shredded 1/4 red onion, sliced thin (optional) 1/4 cup chives, chopped*

salt and pepper to taste *feel free to add/omit fresh herbs to your liking! Parsley, cilantro, or basil would all work

METHOD 1. Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes. Place them in a sauce pot and just cover with cold water.

Sprinkle in a generous portion of salt, stir, and bring to a boil.

2. Once boiling, reduce heat slightly and cover with a lid (leaving ajar for steam to escape).

Cook until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork (10-15 minutes).

3. While the potatoes cook, assemble the vinaigrette. Mince garlic (or use a press) and combine in a small mason jar with mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and oil. Screw on the lid and shake, shake, shake!

4. Drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Add the dressing and gently toss with a rubber spatula.

5. Add shredded carrot, onion (if using), chives, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.

Mix thoroughly.

6. Cover with a lid, beeswax wrap, or plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator to sit for at least 30 minutes, allowing the potatoes to soak up all the vinaigrette goodness.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 35

Downtown Williams Lake Businesses Adapting to Change

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By Jordan Davis, Executive Director, Downtown Williams Lake BIA

here are many things I have been thinking of over the past months of dealing with COVID-19.

First of all, I am very proud of our downtown business community. In BC, and particularly in our area, we didn’t have the same strict shut down of non-essential businesses that happened in other regions. While some local business operations unfortunately were deeply affected or closed their doors this spring, many others found creative ways to adapt to the crisis. With circumstances everchanging, we don’t know how the business landscape will evolve as we progress into the summer, but we are hopeful that since May 19 when many businesses opened up again, that with protective measures in place, we can continue to support and maintain our local business economy.

Here are a few examples of how Williams Lake businesses adapted to the new reality in the earlier stages.

In the earlier stages of the pandemic this spring, the local bookstore, The Open Book, closed its doors to customers, but offered flexible options, including free local deliveries, an increased variety of products online, curb side pick-up, and adjusted hours. On May 25 they reopened the store for browsing with a minimum of six customers at a time.

Mint and Lime Catering owners, Jenn Brown and Mindy Johnson, opened up mainly as a catering company last year, and in mid-March, due to the COVID-19 regulations, they quickly shifted gears to offer more in-store quantities of their waste-free meals in a jar as well as more Jar Meal catering options. With social distancing measures in place and cleaning and sanitizing in between, customers can stop by one at a time for meal pick-up. They also partnered with South Broadway Liquor Store to offer Fresh Jar Meals on Fridays. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, they maintained their waste-free approach with everything from the use of wooden cutlery and compostable containers to partnering with the Cariboo Chilcotin Conservation Society and sending kitchen scraps to a local farmer for their animals.

Taylor Made Cakes also adapted their way of doing business. Customers can visit the shop and see Dayle Taylor’s smiling (masked) face at the front of the newly arranged storefront.

Customers now form a line outside of the shop and are served individually, keeping social distancing measures in place. By the end of June they will be open Wednesdays to Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Mantel home decor adapted to the changes by adjusting their hours and reducing the number of customers in their store at a

36 | June/July/August 2020

Staff at Downtown Williams Lake Business Improvement Association. (L. to R) Jasmine Alexander, events coordinator; Jordan Davis, executive director; and Brent Dafoe, business coordinator pose with their window character doubles by Dwayne Davis of @Davis Arts Business Portrait Project. Photo: Lisa Bland

time. If you’re looking for somewhere to share a warm smile and some much-needed human interaction, and you’re hoping to find a special gift or cherished item, this is the place! As of May 25, their store hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m Monday to Saturday.

The Realm of Toys adjusted their hours of operation and number of people in the store along with offering many of their best-selling items for sale online and via their responsive and interactive Facebook page to a wide local following. They also offer curbside pickup.

Bean Counter Bistro now has a fabulous new, fire engine red take-out window, and many of their regular customers are ecstatic to have them back in operation in the downtown core.

I am overjoyed by how many business adapted and continue to adapt in our community, including many more I can't possibly mention.

While this spring was difficult for everyone, I feel encouraged and hopeful with the easing of restrictions as the summer advances. It is heartwarming to see people downtown again,

walking and driving, smiling and saying hello and enjoying the beauty of summer.

Many people have reached out in our community to ask how they can help, and we encourage them to support local businesses and keep their purchases in Williams Lake. We have made it through difficult times, such as the 2017 wildfires, and we have managed to come out on the other side, even stronger. The importance of supporting our local economies and food systems is now more glaringly clear than ever, and I think we are now actually understanding this at a practical level.

I continue to be hopeful that we will grow and adapt to these changes, and I hope our businesses continue to thrive. At the end of the day, humans need each other, and this means supporting that which supports us close to home.

Our focus at Downtown Williams Lake during this time and into the future will continue to be Local Food and Local Goods. Please support our local businesses and keep your dollars local. Our community needs us.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 37

Berkey Water Filters:

Water, Water Everywhere… but Nary a Drop to Drink

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ritish Berkefeld or “Berkey” water systems have been around since the 1890s and are commonly used as the water purification system of choice by first responders to disaster areas where clean water and power are unavailable.

One of the many advantages of the Berkey systems is they work without power because they use gravity to deliver the purified water from the top canister to the bottom canister.

Notice I am saying purified water, and not just filtered water. There is an important difference. You can filter water just putting it through a coffee filter, but purified water has a legal definition and must meet very stringent guidelines to allow the use of the term. Many of the commercially available water filters do little more than remove taste and odour but leave bacteria, cysts, viruses, pesticide residues, heavy metals, and volatile organic compounds behind.

Water treated by reverse osmosis filtration or distillation is purified, but many of the beneficial components of water—the minerals

38 | June/July/August 2020

Article by Ron Young such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium— are removed in the process. Reverse osmosis water becomes mildly acidic (hypotonic) and can actually strip out valuable minerals from your blood and lymphatic system to get flushed out of your body. Over time, your body will begin to rob your organs and bones of these minerals. Reverse osmosis will also not remove pathogenic bacteria like E-coli and giardia.

Berkey water filters remove pathogenic bacteria to a log 7 degree. Log 7 equates to a 99.99999 percent bacteria removal rate.

The cost of producing purified water with a Berkey system is less than 2 cents per gallon versus 35–50 cents for distilled and 20–65 cents for reverse osmosis.

Bacteria, parasites, inorganic minerals, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals are removed or reduced by up to 98 percent by the Berkey purification elements.

See detailed information on our website at www.solareagle.com/berkefeld1.html or email info@solareagle.com.

earthRight has sold Berkey systems since 1999 and have many satisfied users throughout the Cariboo. If you are on a stream, a well, or even on city water, you should consider the health benefits of a British Berkefeld water purifier. There’s a reason why they say water is life. -GG Ron Young is a renewable energy professional that designs and sells solar, wind, and microhydro systems. He operates the earthRight store in Williams Lake, BC and can be reached at info@solareagle.com

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 39

Skywatch with Bill Irwin

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here are four general ways we can observe the stars. Ideally, starting with your naked eye. In the Cariboo, when it’s good, it’s good, and we can easily get to a dark place where stars of 6th magnitude, unheard of in the city or suburbs, are visible. Next up is binoculars, where an order of magnitude more stars are visible and faint fuzzy objects can reveal some detail. Then we can graduate to using a telescope. Following the above progression is the best approach and would allow you to get the most out of using a scope.

There is another step, however, which is what the big boys do, and that is imaging.

At least half of people involved in amateur astronomy image in some manner.

The camera can absorb light for much longer than an eye and this allows you to see much fainter objects and things that would otherwise be invisible. My 5” refractor would enable me to see faint objects a 20” telescope would reveal to the naked eye.

I still prefer the sharpness of bright objects visually, but the advantages of photography are many. And people love screens!

40 | June/July/August 2020

These COVID-ridden times have had many event casualties. Unfortunately, star parties are one of them. Almost all the big parties in North America have been cancelled this summer, including BC’s Mt Kobau. Me, disappointed? Oh, yeah!

This does leave room for some small informal events if things continue to improve.

Prime time for most people is late July thru early September, when nights are still warm and it gets dark earlier.

This will be the season to catch Mars as it approaches a favourable opposition in October. There will be a spectacular close pairing of Jupiter and Saturn this fall, as well.

We might just do some kind of small, informal start party ourselves, if things continue to improve into August. Afterall, Dr. Bonnie Henry says to get outside, and she didn’t specify day or night. Email me for details and updates.

It might well be that stargazing turns out to give immunity to COVID. The lone, solitary, late-night observer would turn in a rock star.

The daily briefings would be about how many stars you counted. Skywatch would be more

popular than The Far Side or Mad Magazine.

All the Starlink satellites would fall from the night sky as people rediscover the power of the ancient photons.

Well, there is some reason to hope after all!

As usual, I can be reached at irwin8sound@ gmail.com or (250) 620-0596. The stars aren’t going anywhere fast! -GG

Advertise with us!

www.thegreengazette.ca

Reclaiming Death as an Honoured Part of Life

Memento Mori: “Remember, Thou art Mortal” Article by Nicola Finch, Cariboo Community Natural Burial Association

One of my chickadee friends on a walkabout on our homestead. I’m wearing my Touch Wood Memorial Ring that is inlaid with my brother Michael’s ashes. @memorialrings Photo: Nicola Finch

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n many respects, our new reality feels like a return to an old way of being with a slower, gentler focus on family and community and on the world under our feet—the natural, physical world. We have seen a swift shift back to basics, working with our hands, growing and preparing our own food, mending our own clothes, offering what we have to those who need it, reaching out with our hearts, and pressing in on what really matters.

We are being encouraged to stay home. We are being asked to limit gatherings to no more than 50 well-spaced people and to keep our small get togethers to no more than six. We are expected to avoid crowds and encouraged to meet out of doors whenever possible. From what I’ve seen in our own community, we have all been doing everything we can to be caring, helpful, and compassionate.

And we have been brought face to face with death. I wager that every one of us has had a memento mori moment: “remember, thou art mortal”. It is a humbling thing to sit with death, real or imagined. We have watched whole cities succumb to our worst nightmares: loved ones dying alone in nursing homes and ICUs, bodies stacked in refrigerated trailers, funerals and memorials postponed or cancelled. Grieving alone.

Contemplating our own mortality and the deaths of those we love tends to shift our focus

to what really matters. Will our collective and individual meditations on death allow us to live more generously? Can we do with less?

Can we be kinder?

We now know it is essential to be there when someone we love is dying, holding their hands, touching their face. It is essential to be with our dying loved ones whenever possible, to have a community to hold us in our dying time and in our grief, and to care for our dead.

Community deathcaring is the old way. It is about deep and honest connections with the people we love. It is about our own loving circles, our own small communities caring for each other, and when there is distance and aloneness, creating new rituals and ceremonies that serve us in these times. It is about allowing the reality of death to bring our lives into focus.

There is another way of being. Slowing down and touching the ground. Planting our gardens and burying our dead gently in the earth. Naturally, simply, and with a deep sigh of gratitude. Gathering with our beloveds in forested burial grounds where we dig the grave and lay our loved ones on a bed of moss and branches and cover them. Where we can grieve together in the open air and walk among the trees. Where the earth is replenished by our bodies and we are in step with the natural world. Here, we send them home.

While we minimize physical contact and

reach out to stay socially connected, most of us are virtually connected to the whole wide world. There are more online offerings than we have ever seen. There are children’s story hours, craft workshops, grief counselling, museum tours, courses, webinars, and Zoom gatherings on every imaginable subject. We literally have the world at our fingertips.

It is my hope going forward that our time at the keyboard is met with dirt under our fingernails, with a deeper connection to the world right in front of us. The fir and the spruce and the stands of aspen, the spiders who make their homes on our stairwells, the mosses, the mountain chickadees, and the sandhill cranes in our meadows. We have been ordered home. We have slowed down.

Let us linger here. And while we are here, let us ‘reclaim death as an honoured part of life’.

(Quote by Judith McGill).

Memento mori, my friends. -GG Nicola Finch volunteers with two local nonprofits: the Cariboo Community Deathcaring Network, offering resources and education on Community Deathcaring, and Cariboo Community Natural Burial Association, which is working to establish a natural burial sanctuary in the Cariboo. For more information visit www.ccdcnetwork.com and www. cariboonaturalburialsanctuary.ca.

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 41

More Bread Less Yeast Article by Pat Teti

Ultragrain bread.

Photo: Pat Teti

sourdough baker, you might recognize option 1 as being similar to how you make bread already.

In fact, I don’t need to tell you how to make bread. However, if you’re new to sourdough baking or if you are wondering about the viability of your starter, then I suggest that you try making sourdough using option 1 and save a jar of the three-day old poolish as your new starter. Just take it before adding the rest of the dry ingredients. A half pint is plenty. Even if you start with a pinch of commercial yeast, it will “go wild” over time due to the diversity of yeast and bacteria that are present in grains and in the air. Many websites describe how to work with sourdough, but I just keep my starter in a jar and freeze it if I’m not going to use it within a week.

Option 3 - Unyeasted quick bread

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ho would have thought that toilet paper and baking yeast would be two of the most talked about items in short supply during a pandemic? The surge in home baking has been a positive outcome during an otherwise grim situation, but the difficulty of finding yeast seems to have thwarted some baking plans.

This got me thinking about ways of using less commercial yeast and inspired me to review my favourite recipes and experiment with new ones. In this article, I describe four strategies for being less dependent on commercial baking yeast while also expanding your creative options. They include yeasted bread using a fraction of the normal amount of yeast, using sourdough starter, quick bread, and unleavened bread.

Option 1 - Start bread with a pinch of yeast You might be surprised that you can make an oven full of yeasted bread starting with only a pinch of instant yeast. I use this technique to make my favourite every-day bread, which I call “fermented ultragrain” (https://iberianpixels.blogspot.com/2019/07/

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whole-grain-bread-can-be-ultra-delicious. html) but it can be used for almost any yeasted bread. The key is to make a “pre-ferment” consisting of all the water in the recipe, half of the flour, and a pinch of instant yeast. Let it sit covered at room temperature for a few days and then follow the rest of the recipe. I use only 1/8th of a teaspoon of yeast to make four large loaves. Another recipe is in one of my previous Green Gazette articles, http://www. thegreengazette.ca/recipes-squashed-bread/ The pre-ferment, known as a “poolish” or “bigaliquida,” develops a wonderful fermented aroma. In fact, it becomes a sourdough and a portion can be saved as a starter. Multi-day fermentation improves the digestibility, flavour, and keeping qualities of bread. If you use this method, you don’t need to maintain a starter, and it’s more predictable than sourdough. A 100 gram jar of instant yeast is sufficient to make hundreds of batches of bread and keeps for years if stored in the refrigerator.

Option 2 - Sourdough from a starter Sourdough baking produces yeasted bread without packaged yeast, and if you’re a

Quick breads don’t require any yeast because they use baking soda or baking powder, which release CO2 gas during baking.

They’re also fast because they don’t have to be given time to ferment or rise—just mix and bake. I prefer baking soda over baking powder because it has fewer chemicals. There are hundreds of quick bread recipes online, but my current favourite is a whole grain quick bread with dates, nuts, and no refined sugar.

You can read about it in my blog here:https:// iberianpixels.blogspot.com/2020/03/a-quickand-healthy-bread.html Option 4 - Unleavened baking It’s easy to overlook unleavened baking but there are many delicious recipes, especially for flatbreads and thin cakes. I’ll never forget the first time I had “torta di cecci” in Italy. It’s a thin cake made from garbanzo bean flour, olive oil, and rosemary. I would never have thought that something that good could be made with bean flour. It’s easy to make, and the Williams Lake Bulk Barn carries bean, chick pea, and lentil flours. Watch for a future article on torta di cecci. -GG Pat Teti was a research scientist with the BC government for 18 years and has always enjoyed making things.

?Esdilagh First Nation (Alexandria First Nation) Enacts Historic ?Elhdaqox Dechen Ts’edilhtan (“Sturgeon River Law”)

Signing ceremony on May 27, 2020 with Chief Roy Stump, Councillor Chad Stump, and Councillor Howard Johnny.

Photo: Tŝilhoqt’in National Government

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n ?EsdilaghTŝilhqot’in Territory, the ʔEsdilagh First Nation (Alexandria First Nation) has enacted the historic ʔElhdaqox Dechen Ts’edilhtan (“Sturgeon River Law”) exercising their governance over stewardship and management over the waters that flow throughout the whole of its caretaker area.

The law, originating from Tŝilhqot’in inherent teachings, has been unveiled in its written form.

The ʔElhdaqox Dechen Ts’edilhtan is a component of the broader Tŝilhqot’in laws governing lands and water. The waters are vital to the Nation and the law articulates the time-honoured customs to ensure water will remain safe and clean for current and future generations.

“The Nation is currently appealing a BC Ministry of Environment permit amendment, which allows the Gibraltar Mine to increase the rate of its effluent discharge by 50%, sending tailings effluent straight from its tailings pond to the Fraser River,” says Nits’ilʔin (Chief) Joe Alphonse, Tribal Chair, Tŝilhqot’in National Government.

“Despite years of requests to seek alternate water management treatment solutions, this permit was approved. By obligation of our Elders and historical teachings the Nation is united to uphold this law—water is essential to our existence. Documenting our traditional laws and having them recognized is a vital component of implementing our rights and title. We’re excited to see this law come into effect, and the Nation will continue to develop

our laws to ensure we move forward in a way that is sustainable.”

On June 26, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada declared Aboriginal title for the first time in Canadian history, in the homeland of the Tŝilhqot’in people. The community of ʔEsdilagh is one of six communities that comprise the Tŝilhqot’in Nation, and as such has rights and title over the territory, including the waters in the territory, which connect the entire Nation and sustain the culture, wildlife, fisheries, and livelihoods that exist there.

The ʔElhdaqox Dechen Ts’edilhtan was enacted by the ʔEsdilagh First Nation on May 27, 2020, and was endorsed by all six Tŝilhoqt’in Chiefs on May 28, 2020. The law applies to all waters in ʔEsdilagh territory.

Awareness of and compliance with the law is sought from both existing and proposed projects, and all other users who may impact the waters throughout the territory.

Nits’ilʔinYaz (Councillor) Chad Stump, ʔEsdilagh First Nation says any proposed activities within the territory and those which could impact the ʔElhdaqox (“Sturgeon River”), must have ʔEsdilagh First Nation’s consent.

“Our people have always relied on water from ʔElhdaqox to meet our basic needs, and for cultural and spiritual purposes,” he says.“We recognize the importance of protecting and preserving the ʔElhaaqox from degradation, including discharging effluent or dilution of discharge.”

The community has witnessed the destructive impacts of irresponsible government and industry, and its members are exercising their rights to ensure that the destruction of the territory lands and waters does not continue.

“Those who wish to pursue projects on our lands must ensure they seek consent from our Chief and Council, and ensure they are following the law,” says Nits’ilʔinYaz Stump.

-GG

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 43

Keeping Wildlife Wild and our Communities Safe in the Summer WildSafeBC file photo.

Credit: Jitze Couperus

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ildSafeBC is the provincial leader in preventing conflict with wildlife through collaboration, education, and community solutions, and it is delivered by the BC Conservation Foundation in communities across BC. Mareike Moore is the new WildSafeBC Cariboo Coordinator and is excited to be delivering WildSafeBC’s program initiatives in new and innovative ways during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These programs include door-to-door information delivery campaigns, garbage tagging, and webinar delivery of the highly requested WildSafe Ranger Program for school-aged children and Wildlife Awareness and Safety Education sessions.

While the weather is getting better and people are spending more time outside, it is also fawning season for deer. It is important for pet owners to keep dogs on leash during this time as does may see pets as predators

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or threats to their newborns. If a dog comes too close, the doe may become aggressive and attack the dog. WildSafeBC would like to remind people that if they find a fawn, it should be left alone and that picking up any wildlife is illegal under the Wildlife Act and could result in a fine.

We frequently see bears in our communities.

A habituated bear, one that has become food conditioned through foraging an area for human-provided foods, tolerates humans in much closer proximity than what is safe for both bears and humans. This increases the potential for dangerous interactions between bears and humans. Some simple solutions to help avoid these conflicts include storing garbage in a secure building until collection day, harvesting fruit trees early to let the fruit ripen inside, or picking fruit daily as it ripens.

Please report wildlife in conflict to the Conservation Officer Service 24/7 at 1-877952-7277. Residents can also report sightings

of bear, cougar, coyote, or wolf in an urban area. These reports are uploaded daily to WildSafeBC’s Wildlife Alert Reporting Program (WARP), available at www.wildsafebc.com/ warp. This program allows the public to see what wildlife has been reported in various neighbourhoods and to be alerted of new sightings.

For further information on wildlife and how to reduce human-wildlife conflict or more information on WildSafeBC’s free programs in the Cariboo, please email Mareike at cariboo@ wildsafebc.com, follow its local Facebook page @WildSafeBCCariboo, or visit www. wildsafe.com.

WildSafeBC Cariboo is grateful for the generous support the program receives from its funders, including the Cariboo Regional District, the British Columbia Conservation Foundation, and the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. -GG

The Green Gazette www.thegreengazette.ca | 45

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We invite you to shop local.

The character of our region is largely shaped by the unique businesses and entrepreneurs that are at the heart of our vibrant communities.

Visit our community webpages to enjoy all the Cariboo has to offer by discovering our small independent businesses.

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