What the heck is permaculture?
May 2010
By L. Sara Bysterveld
Permaculture – it’s a big, clunky sounding word that leaves one wondering what sort of permanent culture it’s referring to. According to Barb Hazenveld, permaculture instructor and owner of Gorgeous & Edible Landscaping Services, permaculture is a system of design which enables us to grow the maximum amount of food in a given area, employing techniques that promote efficiency and interconnectedness between humans and nature.
Developed by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison in the 1970s in Australia, permaculture design follows a number of basic principles to maximize energy efficiency and work with, rather
than against, nature. These principles include the following:
Sowing the Seeds of Community
March 2010
By Angus Macdonell
Last year, the Mid-Sun Community Association joined the
‘growing’ trend in Calgary to turn empty green spaces into gardens, attracting people wanting to plant and harvest their own food as well as fostering community spirit by mingling with like-minded neighbours.
The idea was conceived in June of 2008 and by the fall of that year, we’d assembled a team of volunteers to organize and implement the project. The Mid-Sun CA community centre had lots of green space on its north side that wasn’t being utilized so we applied to the City for a change of land usage. Our Community Recreation Coordinator was an invaluable liaison for the endeavour. One benefit of using the CA land is that the hall
draws lots of residential traffic thanks to the programming and
events it offers. A popular location like that is a great way to promote
a garden project to the CA board, find volunteers and have access to
necessities like water or tool storage.
Putting a Price on Alberta’s Water
March 2010
By Emma Gilchrist
Okotoks is a town shaped by one thing more than any other:
water – a lack of water, to be precise.
Spurred on by its limited water supply, in 1998 the town became one of the first municipalities in the world to establish growth targets linked to environmental carrying capacity. With a population cap of 30,000, Okotoks would be able to stay just inside of the licenced limits of the Sheep River aquifer – or so it was thought. There’s just one hitch: two decades before the community’s build-out date of 2030, the town has run dry.
“We’ll hit our water allocation license this year,” says Dawn Heffernan, environment and sustainability coordinator for the Town of Okotoks.
The Business of Food
January 2010
Film Review: Food, Inc.
By Chandra McDonald
Food, Inc., by filmmaker Robert Kenner, is a film that should be on every conscious consumer’s must-watch list. In a society where many people think that milk originates in the grocery store, Kenner reveals what’s behind the curtain between the consumer and the producer, showing us the truth about where our food comes from.
With the possible exception of water, nothing is more basic or more universal than the need for food. So, have you ever wondered why it’s cheaper to buy junk food – which is processed and packaged and shipped thousands of miles – than it is to buy fresh vegetables and fruit that are wholesome
and natural? Kenner provides a detailed answer.
Small Steps Can Make a Difference
November 2009
Web Review: www.ecôllo.com
By Chandra McDonald
One small step for man (or woman) kind – and we’re not talking about walking on the moon! Rather visit www.ecôllo.com – a website dedicated to reaching out to everyday eco-conscious people who just want to do a little something, each and every day to make a difference.
The site was launched in the Fall of 2007 and is maintained by three online personalities: Pinky Bean (the writer), Leafy Green (the eco-explorer), and CeeBee (the outdoors adventurist). The goal of Ecôllo is to be equal parts informative, entertaining, interesting, and funny all while helping the average, every-day consumer live their lives a little more eco-consciously.
From Ocean to Table: Smart Seafood Choices
August 2009
By Margaret Chandler
Three times daily we have the opportunity to put our environmental convictions into action through our food choices. What an opportunity to revitalize that worn cliché “Put your money where your mouth is”! The choices we make around seafood are particularly important to the health of our oceans and ultimately the health of our planet.
Three key environmental issues determine whether a fish is a good eco catch or not: overfishing, which is removing too many fish and not leaving enough; bycatch, which is removing animals that were not intended to be part of the catch; and habitat degradation, which is fishing or producing seafood in ways that
affect the quality of water, reefs and ocean habitats.
A New SPIN on Farming
June 2009
By Natasha Evdokimoff
The family farm is an idyllic notion that’s deeply ingrained in our collective social psyche. Acres and acres of open land, handed down from one generation to the next, stretching out to the horizon.
Romantic, sure. Sustainable? Maybe not. Traditional farms aren’t the bastion of abundance and prosperity they were in decades past, and certainly the vast majority of large country farms these days don’t follow organic practices.
Enter Wally Satzewich, an entrepreneur from Saskatoon with an idea and a green thumb.
Red, White and Green All Over
June 2009
By Natasha Evdokimoff
A couple of years ago, my husband and I were on a hedonistic, self-guided tour of the Napa Valley wine region. It was late August, sweltering, and the vines were all heavily laden with fruit that was nearly ripe for the picking.
The more we roamed around, the more impressed I became by the number of wineries that follow organic practices. I’ll never forget the words of one vineyard manager at a picturesque organic property we visited, as he leisurely guided us between rows of lovingly tended vines.
“One hundred years ago,” he said, with a hint of a wry grin, “this
wasn’t called organic farming – it was just called farming.”
