Permaculture Project

We thought it would be interesting to take the Principles of Permaculture and apply those principles to how we would like to see the newly annexed lands in Barrie developed.  With the help of Steve Dearlove, a local architect, we formed a group of interested people and got together to see what we could come up with. 

We have had several meetings now and are making great progress.  Lots of grand ideas are immerging from the group to show how we would like to incorporate these principles and also LEED principles into the official plans.  We have looked at Active Transportation, using designs that connect with nature, energy efficiency, diversity and waste management and using slow and small solutions.  It has been a fun project so far and we will continue into the fall with our classes. 

“Backyard Bounty”

Another learning curve!  We have lots of fresh local food and are wondering what to do with it all.  Ruth and I decided to hold a class called “What to do with all the stuff from the garden”  The teacher we choose for the class is Louise Gravelle.  She is amazing and really knows her stuff.  Our first class was held July 18th.  We will run the classes until the end of September.  Here are some photos of the event.

Gardening 101 Project

With my involvement with Transition Barrie, one of the things we teach people is how to grow their own food in an urban setting. I thought I had better practice what I preached.  My husband and I decided to get rid of all of our grass and grow food in our back and side yard.  We had inherited a green house from someone that did not want it. It was old and needed work but eventually we got it up and functional.  We did not have it up in time to start our crops but it is currently full of the tomatoes that we started in the house. 

To make the project more fun, my business partner Ruth Blaicher and I decided to run a gardening class.  Kim Keckes from Moondance Organic Gardens came to show us the ropes.  Our class learned how to order seeds, what the difference was in where they were purchased and whether they were heritage seeds or came from a large company.  We learned how to start our seedlings, problems with germinating and tips on keeping these little sprouts alive. We found out how to prepare the land and how and where to plant.  We worked outside in the new garden in the cold and rain and finally experienced little shoots of green peaking through the ground. That was very exciting and rewarding.  We continued on with Kim as the harvest matured and we Kim taught us about weed control, pest control and general gardening concerns.  

Finally we had a wonderful productive garden and we finished the course with a Harvest Dinner at Moondance Organic Gardens.  Much more fun than going to a grocery store and buying food that has been shipped from the other side of the world.

Water and Cleaning products

Water

Of all the water on our planet Earth, 97% is salt water.  Only 3% is fresh water and most of that is frozen in the polar ice caps.  Less than 1% of the Earth’s water is available for our use. 

Just a Thought:  What if we had water meters beside our kitchen sink?  What if they read in dollars and cents instead of gallons or liters? 

Tips:

1. Install water saving shower heads.  Fix dripping taps
2. Showers use less water than running a bath.  Those large corner soaker tubs use too much water.  Often the wall is not well insulated behind the tub.  If building a home, make sure you ask for extra insulation in the wall behind your tub.
3. Turn off the shower while you lather your hair and body.  Turn back on. Take a shorter shower.
4. Change you toilets to ones that use less water or change to a dual flush toilet.  There are rebates offered by the City of Barrie that will make your new purchase very reasonable. Rebates of $50.00 are currently available when you purchase a 6 Liter or less toilets to replace one that uses more water.
5. Get one or more rain barrels.  Use this water to water your gardens and wash your car.
6. Turn the tap on briefly to wet your toothbrush then turn it off until it’s time to rinse.
7. Turn the cold tap on to wash your hands instead of waiting for the water to get hot.
8. Fill your coffee pot up at night instead of letting water run to clear the lines in the morning
9. Keep a bottle of water in the fridge instead of running the tap until its cold.
10. Drink tap water.  Our Barrie water is very safe and good to drink
11. Wash Laundry in off peak times and use cold water. 
12. Do a full load or set the machine for a small load
13. Use only products that do not have phosphates.  Algae feed on phosphates when they hit our rivers & lakes and phosphates use up the oxygen in the water, suffocating plants & animal life.
14. Use your dishwasher only when you have a full load. 
15. Consider a grey water recapture system that uses your bath and sink water to flush your toilets and cuts water usage substantially.
16. Consider a hot water on demand system

Cleaning Products Cleaning products end up down the drain or in the air you breath.  Use non-toxic products. 

Just a Thought: Would you consider swimming in the liquids that you allow to go down your drain or that you dump in the storm sewers.  Paint spills, gas, de-Greasers and other toxic materials should not be washed into our storm sewers.

Tips:

1. Use Borax or Washing Soda instead of bleach.  Use washing soda and hot water to clean your drain.
2. Avoid detergents.  They are petroleum based and break down slowly if at all.  Do not use products that will add pollution to our Lakes and Rivers.
3. Use Borax to disinfect the toilet and sprinkle baking soda on your toilet brush to clean the toilet
4. Clean sinks and appliances with baking soda; mix your own all purpose cleaner. 
5. Ask me for recipes for silver polish, furniture polish, copper cleaner and other cleaners.
6. Use unscented soap, there are fewer chemicals used to make it.
7. Avoid excessive packaging.  Re-Use spray bottles.  Do not throw plastic into our waste systems if you can avoid doing so.
8. Try water first.  You do not always need strong cleaning products
9. There are a lot of green products available for sale now in our grocery or hardware stores.  Seek them out and read the ingredients.  Not everything that claims to be a green product is good for our environment.  The term Green Washing refers to those who jump on the green bandwagon and claim to be sustainable.
10. Wear your clothes more than one.  You do not have to wash your clothing every time you where them.
11. Use one or more rain barrels.  Water your garden or wash your car with this water.
12. Water should be the basic right of every person on the planet.  Do not waste it.

Eco Fest Barrie 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barrie Eco Fest held on June 11th and 12th was a great success.  There was a wide variety of vendors showing their eco friendly products.  One notable participant was Andrew Miller from Back to Basics with his Eco-Pod.  This was an example of a self-sustaining home made from an old shipping container.  The Pods can be built 10 stories high at a cost of $50 a sq. ft. The pod at Eco Fest had solar panels, a brac, grey water recovery system, energy saving lighting and recycled blue-jean insulation.

There was fun for everyone with music, products for sale and great food. 

The Root of the Idea panel was made up of six speakers: Mayor Jeff Lehman, Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux PH. D from Chippewa’s of Georgian Island, Patrick Brown MP, Gayle Wood from Ladies of the Lake, Andrew Miller from Back to Basics and Mike Fox from Transition Barrie.  The Panel discussed a wide range of environmental issues pertaining to our community.

Go Green Staples Event June 25th 2011

STOP BY STAPLES BAYFIELD STREET AS COMPANIES ‘GO GREEN’

Staples Canada has partnered with Transition Barrie to display healthy sustainable living concepts and enhance the awareness of public recycling practices.

Staples Canada is happy to welcome organizations, small businesses, and eco-solutions companies from across the region for “Go Green Barrie”.  The event focuses on informing customers about sustainable living options and to showcase the values of reduce, reuse and recycle.  There will be onsite opportunities to recycle everything from batteries to blouses to building materials.

 When:      Saturday, June 25, 2011 – 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

 Where:     Staples Canada – Parking Lot

                        561 Bayfield Street Barrie
           

                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transition Barrie Monthly Meet Up June 15th 2011

June 15 Meet Up, City Hall, 2nd Floor Huronia Room.

Measuring What Matters: The Canadian Index of Well Being
Listen to the radio, read the paper, watch the news on television, and one thing becomes quite apparent: Canadians are largely having the quality of their lives defined by such crude economic measures as the Gross Domestic Product.
This is significant, because in the words of the renowned, John Kenneth Galbraith, senior economic advisor to several US Presidents including JFK, “if you don’t count it, it doesn’t count’. Hence, the importance of measuring what matters.
In this monthly meet up, to be held on June 15 at City Hall in the Huronia Room upstairs at 7:00pm, you are invited to listen to 2nd Stage of Medicare award winner, Gary Machan, discuss the Canadian Index of Well Being, and its most recent report on the Environment & Well Being.
Also, joining Mr. Machan will be Brenda Armstrong from the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit where she will provide some local information relating to the national findings specific to air quality, premature hospital admissions and asthma rates.
Following these presentations, several policy recommendations will be identified for the members of Transition Barrie to consider and hopefully bring forward within the City of Barrie for enactment that will result in a more resilient community.