3
May 14 – 28, 2015
HERE AND AWAY: Fertility Rates
IN REVIEW: Recent Events, Happenings and News
(average number of children born per woman)
By Emily Leeson Changes are underway in Wolfville’s Clock Park. Word has it that we can expect more trees, benches, an arbour and small fencing to better define the site, as well as landscaping around the clock itself. For a full park plan, visit: www.wolfville.ca/livingin-wolfville/think-wolfville/ clock-park. Local volunteers were recognized in Berwick on April 20. Among the many individuals and groups celebrated that day were the Volunteer Family of the Year - the Connell Family, and the Youth Volunteer of the Year - Sarah Henley. Headed Acadia’s way next September? Future students who’ve received Acadia t-shirts can now enter for a chance to win a $2500 tuition credit. Visit recruitment. acadiau.ca/t-shirt-challenge. html for more information, but then get outside and enjoy the sunshine. The fall will come soon enough. And then the snow. And we’re not really ready to talk about that yet. Kentville is about to get even more delicious. On May 5, the Kentville Community Garden Society, in partnership with Blomidon Nurseries, Harvest Land Design, and the Valley Community Learning
Association, launched a new program to enhance the downtown planter boxes. The program will establish community garden spaces to promote learning about small scale food production and the idea of growing food in public spaces. The first Authors for Indies Day in Wolfville on May 2 was a success. Kate Andrews-Day at the Box of Delights says, "All of us here at the Box of Delights would like to say a huge thank you to all the wonderful authors who joined us: Jan L Coates, Dean Jobb, Ron Lightburn, Ami McKay, Nancy Rose and Karolyn Smardz Frost. Thank you for volunteering in the shop, chatting to customers, reading from your works, and just hanging out with us! And thank YOU, our wonderful customers, for coming down and making the day such a great success." For photos, check out our page and/or the ‘Annapolis Valley Events’ page on Facebook. Sadly, Between the Bushes in Centreville won’t be re-opening as a full service restaurant this year. There is talk of a nice take-out for the blueberry u-pick season, and they’re looking for staff. For more information, visit www. betweenthebushes.ca.
The gardening season is now on! From the Wolfville Town blog, May 4: The Maple Avenue Compost site is now open on Saturdays from 1pm to 5pm until November. Residents can drop off leaves and yard waste and/or pick up a high organic content of compost that can be used as a soil amendment. All materials must be clean and free of garbage, household compost, plastic bags or other contaminants. On May 6, the Grapevine Facebook page became a bit of a lost pet poster board/pet sports channel. For a great photo of two unidentified dogs playing basketball at the Wolfville Elementary School, search ‘The Grapevine’ on Facebook. (Their owners were found.) On May 7, the East Coast Lifestyle Facebook page announced that founder, and recent Acadia graduate, Alex Maclean would be meeting US President Barak Obama on May 11 as part of #StartTheSpark, a global entrepreneurship program facilitating entrepreneurs to share ideas and resources, collaborate, and learn from each other, thereby maximizing their impact on the world.
by Pamela Swanigan Canadian figures are from a 2011 Statistics Canada census, among other sources. U.S. figures are chiefly from the U.S. census, with support from other agencies. International figures are 2014 estimates by various global agencies. The simplified definition of “fertility rate” is the number of children that a woman in a given country would give birth to if she lived to the end of her childbearing years, based on the actual fertility rates of women aged 15-49 in that country. A fertility rate of 2.1 is considered the “replacement rate” to keep a national population at equilibrium (independent of immigration). Most countries in the developed world have fallen below a 2.1 total fertility rate in recent decades.
Canada: 1.59
Russia: 1.61
Guatemala: 2.99
Malawi: 5.66
Singapore: 0.8
Sweden: 1.88
Iraq: 3.41
Afghanistan: 5.43
United States: 2.01
United Kingdom: 1.9
Gaza Strip: 4.24
Somalia: 6.08
Germany: 1.43
Mexico: 2.29
Chad: 4.68
Niger: 6.89
China: 1.55
Israel: 2.62
Ethiopia: 5.23
Sources: The Globe and Mail; Office for National Statistics (U.K.); United States Census; France diplomatie; OECD; Telegraph (U.K.); CIA World Factbook.
LOCAL BLOG ROLL
Do you live in the Annapolis Valley & write a blog? Send us your website & we’ll try to include it in the Local Blog Roll. grapevine.emily@gmail.com
valleyfamilyfun.ca/index.php/blog
May 4, 2015: Cleanup Time Now that the snow is almost all gone, we see what has been left behind – the mounds of garbage (not to mention dog poop!) Why not organize a spring cleanup with your organization, neighbourhood, or family?
www.5down.org
May 4, 2015: Financial Planning As I am, perhaps foolishly, still hoping to pay off my law school student loans some time before it’s time to retire, I do still read books about money on occasion. The latest such tome was hopefully called “The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think About the Rest of Your Life.” Interestingly, I finished the book without really being clear on how I was to think differently...
www.drwoodnd.com/blog
May 5, 2015: Stuffed Peppers, Stuffed Tummies Celebrating more beautiful weather with delicious food on our sunny back deck, life may not be any sweeter. Join in the celebrations with your own delicious, easy, nutritious stuffed peppers! We stuffed the peppers, chopped up some local potatoes from our Taproot CSA and used our vegetable spiralizer to spiral some beets and zucchini for a meal full of antioxidants and flavour...
www.confessionsofafitnessinstructor.com
May 5, 2015: Spring Cleaning: Your Body Now that we’ve learned how to do a little spring cleaning inside the ole cranium, let’s move on and give the rest of our body a little tidy shall we? Don’t worry, there is nothing drastic here, you won’t be trying to sustain life on nothing but apple cider vinegar and cayenne pepper or something crazy like that! In fact, the first three tips don’t have anything to do with the food you eat (yay!)...
SHOW ME YOUR INK Submitted by Donna Holmes
Tattoo Artist: The cute, ginger, Irish lad working at Adept Tattoo in Halifax Tattooee: Sean Dornan from Kingston, NS
The final results of the NS Electricity System Review are now available at
www.novascotia.ca/electricityfuture
or by calling my office.
Sean says one of the best parts about being a member of the LGBT family is truly understanding the word “reclamation”. Facing adversity with equal parts of ferocity and sweetness has been an intrinsic part of his character, influenced by the brave queer folk who came before him. This tattoo - a symbol that once stood for oppression & genocide and now represents love & community - fills him with a quiet contentment knowing that he will be comforted and understood as he conquers every day not only as an HIV+ man, but as a man who is HIV=. “My tattoo is my reclamation - what was once thought of as a burden upon my shoulders, is now the work of art that lifts it.”