i s s u e sB E T W E E N T H EB E T W E E N T H E COV E R S :

Good Cat Bad Cat

Creative Activism

a n e c o l o g y a c t i o n c e n t r e p u b l i c a t i o n w w w . e c o l o g y a c t i o n . c a

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Between the Issues is published three times a year by the Ecology Action Centre, a charitable organization (PM Registration # 40050204). The Ecology Action Centre’s vision is of a society in NS which respects and protects nature and provides environmentally and economically sustainable solutions for its citizens. The EAC is a founding member of the Canadian and Nova Scotia Environmental Networks. Views expressed in BTI are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent EAC or its supporters.

Ecology Action Centre 2705 Fern Lane Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 4L3 p. (902) 429-2202 f. (902) 405-3716 www.ecologyaction.ca Become a fan on Facebook ~ www.facebook.com/EcologyActionCentreSubscribe to our Twitter feed: EcologyAction

table of contentsAction is Our Middle NameEco Briefs By Mike RuxtonDartmouth High Students Clean Up By Rosa Poirier McKigganCreative Activism By Sam FraserAsk EcoHeadGood Cat Bad Cat By Tiffany MacDonald and Michael RuxtonGreat Meals for a Change By Heather HunterInroads to Abundance By Stephanie HughesBreaking the Commodity Curse By Sadie Beaton Being Green By Jonathan RotsztainSeasonal Gourmet By Ruth Lapp Hot Off the ModemLa Vie en Vert

B E T W E E N T H Ei s s u e sa n e c o l o g y a c t i o n c e n t r e p u b l i c a t i o n VOL. 31 NO. 1

CONTRIBUTORS: EAC staff, Sadie Beaton, Emma Boardman, Sam Fraser, Louise Hanavan, Stephanie Hughes, Heather Hunter, Tiffany MacDonald, Rosa Poirier McKiggan, Jonathan Rotsztain, Mike Ruxton

CONTENT EDITORS: Emma Boardman, Erin Burbidge, Maggy Burns, Sam Fraser, Louise Hanavan, Heather Hunter, Tim Roberts, Jonathan Rotsztain, Mike Ruxton

COPY EDITORS: Louise Hanavan, Tiffany MacDonald, Tim Roberts, Mike Ruxton ADVERTISING: Kate Chisholm

ILLUSTRATIONS: Sarah Burwash PHOTOGRAPHERS: Mat Barkley, Christine Boardman, Becky Cliche, Louise Hanavan, Silas Magee Hanavan, Heather Holm, Ray Plourde, Puppets Et Cetera, Alan Warner

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION: Aaron Harpell, Hammerhead Design

DISTRIBUTION: EAC staff, members and volunteers

COVER: Aaron Harpell

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Creative Activism / 10

Features

letter to the centreCoastal Kudos

Greetings,

After an animated informative and valuable presentation by EAC’s Ashley Sprague, I feel compelled and perhaps obligated to take out a family membership. Your work on coastal erosion is extremely valuable and timely. The April 3 event at Fables in Tatamagouche should be repeated and covered by the local media.

Best regards,

- Trish Rubin

Correction

This photograph was taken by Alison Smith. The photographer was misidentified in the Nov 2012 issue of BTI (Being Green - Rosmarie Lohnes: Help-ing Nature Heal, p. 19). Our apologies.

EVENTS

For more information, visit www.ecologyaction.ca

Online Yard SaleOngoing

Sell your clutter and get a tax receipt!

www.ecologyaction.ca/content/join-our-virtual-yard-sale

Nova Scotia Public Lands Consultations

Ongoing until May 1www.novascotia.ca/parksandprotectedareas/get-involved/

Earth DayApril 22nd

Green Avengers in the Blue Nose Marathon

Join or pledge now! Race on May 19

www.ecologyaction.ca/bluenose

HRM Bike WeekMay 31st – June 9th

Annual Garden PartySunday, June 2nd

St Mary’s Boat Club

Annual General MeetingJune 25th, 6pm

Bloomfield Centre

Join the EAC Board

Are you familiar with the EAC and our work?  Do you have experience as a non-profit Board member?

If so, this might be the role for you!

We are accepting expressions of interest to join our Board of Directors until April 30.

The position will begin in June. Estimated time commitment is 4-5 hours per month including monthly Board meetings (4th Monday of every month at 7pm).

To learn more about the application process and the role contact Maggy: 429-5287 or centre@ecologyaction.ca. This is a great opportunity to work with a superb team of people and contribute to the direction and vibrancy of a wonderful organization!

pagethree

As Between the Issues makes its way to the printer, Nova Scotia seems to be stalled in winter, unwilling to accept the calendar’s insistence it’s springtime.

This struggle to shift seasonal gears is reminiscent of a recurring theme in this issue of BTI: shifting values and the struggle sometimes involved in doing so.

Two articles in particular illustrate how shifting values can prove especial-ly difficult when matters we think we know intimately well are involved.

Nova Scotians are as familiar with oceans and the life teeming within as anyone, but Sadie Beaton (“Breaking the Commodity Curse”, p 17) argues we simply must change how we buy and sell fish if we want a sustainable Atlantic fishery.

And Tiffany MacDonald and Mike Ruxton team up (“Good Cat Bad Cat”, p 12) to discuss the toll free-roaming cats have on our ecosystem. It’s quite possible we’re collectively overdue to keep house cats in the house.

Take heart, though - other articles re-veal novel ways to spark discussions that might lead to change.

Sam Fraser (“Creative Activism”, p 10) examines how our natural resis-tance to new ideas can be overcome with

creativity and theatrics. Not making your value-shifting point with the same old dry material? Let puppets make the point for you!

Heather Hunter’s “Great Meals for Change” (p 13) explores another fun manner in which we can shift how we value our food and its suppliers: over a delicious meal in the company of friends and family.

Jonathan Rotsztain’s “Being Green” (p 19) profiles a renewable energy proj-ect that achieved success by empowering kitchen table dreamers to trust their own skills and “just do it” for themselves.

Finally, two more articles stress that our most significant values can shift permanently to the foreground of con-versations through a new generation of voices.

Steph Hughes applies her certifica-tion in permaculture design to her writ-ing in “Inroads to Abundance” (p 15). Permaculture’s three ethical pillars pro-vide a foundation from which we can shift our value toward conserving and maximizing our resources.

And Rosa Poirier McKiggan (“Dart-mouth High Student Clean Up”, p 9) peeks at the growth of a school’s Eco Club as a sign of future trend-setters get-ting a green start.

Loyal BTI readers, however, likely don’t want too much change. Happily, regular BTI favourites such as Ask Eco-Head, Action is our Middle Name, Sea-sonal Gourmet, Eco Briefs (and more!) appear as we hope they would.

Hopefully by the time you’re reading this, springtime in Nova Scotia will also have appeared as we’d hoped.

- The Editors

letter from the centreShifting into Spring

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action is our middle name

transporting active ideas (Transportation Issues Committee) Communities across the province plan to start Active Transportation (AT) committees after our latest round of AT work-shops, which reached over 200 participants. We helped organize an HRM working group to examine how pedestrians, cyclists, and other AT users can cross the harbour while the Macdonald Bridge is redecked in 2015. We also supported the 50 kph Is Too Fast campaign aimed at reducing speeds on streets, and supported the creation of the Crosstown Connector bike lane in Halifax. We also called on HRM and the Province to examine pedestrian safety in light of recent injuries and deaths. We completed an update to the Green Mobility Strategy for Nova Scotia, and we have started a new project called “Go Maritimes” to provide better information to the public about bus, shuttle and train transportation options.

greenbelt packs a punch (Built Environment Committee) The Morris House gained plenty of media attention as it was moved from its temporary home on Hollis Street to its permanent home at Charles and Creighton over two nights on a frigid weekend in January. Much of the con-struction work needed for the new foundation has been donated. Thank you to all who contributed. The historic 249-year-old house will be turned into energy-efficient, affordable housing for young adults. The Our HRM Al-liance is still working to make the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) more liveable and more sustainable. HRM has agreed to put the term “greenbelt-ing” into its Open Space Functional Plan. Now the Alliance must work to ensure that the term maintains its integrity. The final draft of the revised Regional Municipal Planning Strategy is due to be delivered in March 2013. The last round of consultations will follow in April. 

speak up for nature! (Wilderness Committee) Finally, after more than a decade, the legislation we have been campaigning for may come into effect. But only if the voice of Nova Scotians comes through loud and clear in favour of nature conservation. On February 28, the Nova Scotia government an-nounced a new Parks and Protected Areas Plan. This plan could protect up to 13.7% of Nova Scotian public land, surpassing the Province’s minimum target of 12% and capturing a few more of the last remaining truly wild natural areas left in Nova Scotia. Currently about 9.3% of it is protected. The plan also calls for the creation of four new Provincial Parks. This is a strong plan, but it needs public support to be carried through to the end. Show your support for conservation before May 1, either on-line or at one of the public meetings the province has set up http://www.novascotia.ca/parksandprotectedareas/get-involved/

the ground beneath our feet (Coastal and Water Is-sues Committee) Over 100 dynamic people attended our “Living Shore-lines: An applied workshop on Managing Coastal Erosion” event on

March 18 to learn about living shorelines and managing coastal erosion. We will be actively managing coastal change us-

ing vegetation at our three demonstration sites on the Northumberland Strait. Sadly, our two-year project on

climate change adaptation in Cheticamp is drawing to a close. Check out www.cccheticamp.ca for an information kit outlining the tools, successes and challenges of that project. We also take action in the ground beneath our feet. We’ve recently trans-formed the position of Groundwater Coordina-

tor into Geoscience Coordinator. The new position comes with some super-powers including the ability

to deliver earthshattering presentations about mining issues and the upcoming review of the provincial Min-

eral Act to municipalities. On top of all this, the Groundswell community-based monitoring project is going strong under the care

of an active team of volunteer monitoring and management.

four years of food (Food Action Committee) We were re-cently awarded four years of funding for the Our Food Project: Recon-necting Food and Community (Phase 2)!  The project will allow us to expand our work in Halifax, and start satellite projects in Cumberland County, Cape Breton and New Brunswick throughout the life of the project.  The overarching goal of Our Food is to strengthen communi-ties’ relationships to food. We believe that everyone should be able to enjoy and access good, local food.  Project activities include shar-ing our gardening, cooking and preserving skills, building community greenhouses and root cellars, helping communities engage in food policy, and generally connecting communities to resources and sup-port. Stay tuned for lots more updates as the project gets underway!

from local shrimp to international policy (Marine Issues Committee) We’re putting our (rural economic devel-opment) money where our (seafood-loving) mouths are by diving head first into changing the way we catch, sell and eat seafood on the Atlantic coast! We’re bringing Chedabucto Bay Trap-Caught Shrimp to hungry foodies in Halifax and beyond. Cape Breton native and Marine Coordinator, Susanna Fuller, is taking off her EAC hat and sitting on the Nova Scotia Commission on Building Our New Economy. We’re diving head first into changing the way we catch, sell and eat seafood on the Atlantic coast. We’ve joined the board of Food Secure Canada - Jor-dan Nikoloyuk has taken on this task! We continue to work at the local scale all the way to the international, and are focusing on upcoming negotiations at the Food and Agriculture Organization on small scale fisheries, as well as Canada’s role at ICCAT and NAFO – where fisheries on the high seas are managed. We’re learning that good policy can get us good seafood, and that we are in desperate need of more of both. Our monthly meetings now have guest speakers on a range of topics; join us on the last Tuesday of each month at 5:30!

sustainably lit future (Energy Issues Committee) Energy is once again a hot button is-sue as Nova Scotia’s political parties gear up for the pending election. We’re working to steer the conversation from short-term debate to long-term strategizing. It’s critical that Nova Scotia plans for its energy future now as we strive to transition away from crippling fossil fuel dependence, develop our re-newable energy resources, and ensure equal and affordable access to energy services. Energy efficiency is one of the most powerful tools we have to guide us into that bright future. We’re partnering with Efficiency Nova Scotia, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia municipalities, and fellow non-profits to help grow a culture of energy efficiency in the province. Solar PV can also illu-minate our path, as evidenced by the research we’ve completed with the Department of Energy. And innovative transportation solutions, fueled by sustainable energy, will take us the distance!

The Mission Continues The   Landsat satellite program was presaged by photos from space, the most famous being the Blue Marble, taken in December 1972, from Apollo 17. Pho-tos taken during Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions prompted U.S. Geo-logical Survey (USGS) director William Pecora to propose in 1965 a satellite program to gather data on the earth’s natural resources via remote sensing. Eventually Pecora’s proposal led to the NASA launch of Landsat-1 on July 23, 1972. Landsat-1 carried a camera and an experimental multispectral scanner. Among many scientific achievements, Landsat-1 led to the discovery of a small island 20 kilometres off Canada’s Labra-dor coast, now known as Landsat Island. Starting with Landsat-4, the camera was replaced with the Thematic Map-per, an instrument with several spectral bands and a typical resolution of 30 me-tres. In 1984, privatization of Landsat services to the commercial enterprise Earth Observation Satellite Company (EOSAT) began. EOSAT raised data prices 6-fold, and the strictly commer-cial focus led to gaps in the data record. USGS responsibility was re-established with the launch of Landsat-7, and the USGS currently allows free access to Landsat data. Landsat-7 imagery is used in diverse applications such as agriculture, forestry, global climate change research, ocean management, and water quality. If you use Google Earth, you are using Land-sat data. Landsat-8, also known as the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, was launched on February 11, 2013, and be-sides measurement continuity with pre-vious data, will provide improved heat measurements due to cirrus cloud obser-vations, and improved coastal zone im-age resolution. The satellite is expected to be fully operational in April. Land-sat-8 is designed to last five years, with the hope that it will be operational for at least ten.

NASA Landsat Data Continuity Mission brochure (2012)

http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/history.html

Blood and Ivory

At the March 2013 session of the 178-nation Convention on Internation-al Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Bangkok, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra agreed to cease Thailand’s ivory trade. How enabling legislation will be implemented remains to be seen. Within Thailand a possible move would be to add African elephants to Thai-land’s list of protected species, allowing sanctions on smugglers and traders. A 1989 CITES ban on trading of elephant ivory led to a rapid decline in ivory markets, but in 1997 CITES approved sale of stockpiled ivory from Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe to Japan. Poaching escalated. In 2000, CITES agreed to no more trade, but in 2002 allowed Botswana, Namibia and South Africa to sell stockpiled ivory, subject to conditions. By 2008 Zimba-bwe had joined the group, the condi-tions had been met, and they sold over 100,000 kg of ivory to China and Japan. Wildlife poaching – not just el-ephant, rhino and tiger – is organized crime, run internationally by crime syn-dicates. Legal ivory markets are used as a front to launder illegal ivory. Demand for ivory is still growing in China, apace with household incomes.The average weight of an adult African elephant tusk today is 3.7 kilograms. Fe-male Asian elephants don’t have tusks, and not all male Asian elephants have tusks. Asian elephants are IUCN Red Listed as endangered, African elephants are Red Listed as vulnerable as of 2004, previously endangered. The African el-ephant is actually two species, the sa-vanna elephant and the forest elephant. In Gabon, home to about 40,000 forest elephants, more than 11,000 elephants have been killed by poachers since 2004.www.cites.org/eng/news/pr/2008/081107_ivory.

shtmlwww.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/06/

poachers-kill-gabon-elephantswww.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/thai-pm-pledges-end-to-ivory-trade-offers-no-timeline-for-

ban/article9245706/CITES, 7 November 2008

The Guardian, 6 February 2013The Globe & Mail, 3 March 2013

Fatal Reflections

The Yonge Corporate Centre (YCC) in Toronto isn’t a towering office com-plex, three buildings of six stories each, and its design seems to fit well with its environment. Owned and managed by the Cadillac Fairview Corporation, and surrounded by the trees of the local ra-vine, the YCC has won design awards, and meets various environmental stan-dards for energy efficiency. The YCC has also developed a working relationship with the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP), a Toronto-based bird advocacy group, who, along with the World Wild-life Fund, awarded each of the three buildings a “Bird Friendly Building” certificate in 1996, and over the next several years. FLAP has worked with Toronto City Council to reduce avoidable bird deaths, and monitors bird strikes at many build-ings in the Greater Toronto Area. The YCC worked with FLAP volunteers to gather bird strike data, and in 2010, FLAP volunteers recorded over 800 col-

eco briefs

By Mike Ruxton

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lisions at the YCC, approximately two-thirds of which proved fatal. Among the birds FLAP collected at the YCC in 2010 were a number of Canada Warblers and an Olive-sided Flycatcher. Both the flycatcher and the warbler are listed as threatened by the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). Michael Mesure of FLAP became aware in the mid-1990s that collisions at the YCC were more frequent during daytime than at night. Mesure began working with the YCC to reduce, if not eliminate, bird collisions on site. Win-dow film was tried at the YCC in 2007. Although somewhat effective, the film’s opaqueness led to tenant dissatisfaction, and was removed. A second generation product was tried in August 2010. This film was not at all effective, and the product developers (the Convenience Group) were encouraged to develop a film with greater contrast. In March 2011, using data provided by FLAP, the environmental legal group Ecojustice served the YCC with several summonses under SARA, an exceed-ingly uncommon litigation. This was quite a surprise to the YCC and Cadil-lac Fairview. In late March, the Conve-nience Group reported to the YCC that they had an improved Feather Friendly technology. A detailed proposal for the full YCC complex was quoted at $1.2 million, and Cadillac Fairview negoti-ated installation on the north face of one building with an October comple-tion date. Problems with the product led to a delay of installation, which finally started in April 2012, but was not com-pleted until August because of weather. Cadillac Fairview has approved, condi-tional on effectiveness, installation on all of the YCC. The Ecojustice litigation charged YCC/Cadillac Fairview with three of-fences: causing distress, injury or death of birds, contrary to the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ani-mals Act; permitting discharge of con-taminant radiation from reflective glass windows that caused death or injury to birds, contrary to the Environmental Protection Act; and killing or harming birds listed as threatened, contrary to the Species At Risk Act. Provincial Court Justice Melvyn Green, decided that one charge was not

applicable, because the affected birds were wildlife in the wild. He did find that the reflected light was a problem known to the owners for over a decade, and the owners knew that without pro-active measures, birds would likely die. Justice Green also found that SARA was applicable under the facts. The defense argued that they had acted with due diligence, as detailed above. The judge wielded the sword of justice, and gave both sides half a victory. Guilty act, due to the facts; not guilty mind, as per due diligence. Liat Podolsky (“EcoJustice”) v. Ca-dillac Fairview Corp. et al. Reasons for Judgement – Justice Melvyn Green, February 11, 2013

www.thestar.com/news/gta/2012/04/03/building_draws_birds_to_their_death_trial_

told.htmlToronto Star, April 3, 2012, Josh Tapper, staff

reporter

Thirsty Trees

Do trees have time to adapt to climate change? Unlike the Ents in Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings, trees can’t just pull up their roots and move to more favourable climes. Drought is the most obvious threat, and trees need to keep themselves hydrated. They suck water up through a part of their vascular system, the xy-lem, much like drinking water through a straw.  They transpire through their leaves or needles. During a drought, the rate of transpiration goes up, increasing the suction, while the amount of water available at the roots goes down. They have to work harder to get their water. The extra suction can pull air into the xylem, and with too many air bubbles, the channels become clogged. This is called “hydraulic failure”. A recent study by an international team of 24 plant scientists found that tree vascular systems in about 70 percent of species are already stressed, and they don’t have a safety margin adequate for droughts. Led by Brendan Choat of the University of Western Sydney in Aus-tralia, and Steven Jansen of Ulm Uni-versity in Germany, the team compiled data from 226 forest species at 81 sites worldwide. Trees adapted to dry areas do have better tolerance to drought than those

in wetter areas, but they still operate on the edge of tolerance. If changes in rainfall and soil moisture occur as many climate scientists expect, the result could be large scale diebacks, and major shifts in forest composition.

www.nature.com/nature/journal/v491/n7426/full/nature11688.html

www.climatecentral.org/news/drought-puts-trees-the-world-over-at-the-edge-15274

Minamata Convention on Mercury

Four years of negotiations have led to a treaty to limit mercury use. The treaty bans production, export and import of a range of mercury containing products by 2020. Exceptions to the ban are bat-teries used in implantable medical devic-es and vaccines where mercury is used as a preservative. Mercury amalgam den-tal fillings will be phased out. Affected products include batteries, switches and relays; fluorescent lamps; soaps and cos-metics; and medical devices such as ther-mometers and blood pressure devices. Coal-fired power plants and artisanal and small scale gold mining opera-tions are major current sources of mer-cury emissions. The treaty covers emis-sions from large industrial facilities such as coal-fired power stations, boilers and certain types of smelters. Nations agreed to install best available technology on new facilities, and plans to cut emissions from existing ones.

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Leonard Preyra, MLA Halifax Citadel- Sable Islandpreyra.ca 444-3238

Maureen MacDonald, MLA Halifax Needhammaureenmacdonald.ca 455-2926

Howard Epstein, MLA Halifax Chebuctohowardepstein.ca 425-8521

A strong voice for sustainability and the environment.

Are you interested in your province doing its part to fight climate change? Nova Scotia has increased its renewable energy goal for electricity to 40% by 2020 and put hard caps on greenhouse gas emissions.

Action on renewable energy, climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, pesticides, wilderness protection, bike safety, energy efficiency and buying local.

This move was recognized by The David Suzuki Foundation as one of the top five best moves on climate change in Canada.

For information on steps you can take in HRM or across the province to help, visit www.gov.ns.ca/nse

Most human exposure to mercury is through the consumption of contami-nated fish. Mercury in the top 100 me-tres of the world’s oceans has doubled in the last 100 years, and concentrations in deeper waters have increased substan-tially as well. Some environmental groups note several weaknesses in the treaty. Small scale gold mining is designated as an ac-cepted use; action is required only if the mining is more than insignificant, but significance isn’t defined. The treaty will be opened for signature at a meeting in Japan in October. www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2013/01/

mercury-limits-global-treaty-minamata-convention

Global convention to limit mercury – Chemistry World – 21 January 2013

– Maria Burke

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Dartmouth High Students Clean UpBy Rosa Poirier McKiggan

interactive activities. This year we hope to reach 500 students with our Earth Day assembly that will be followed by a week of activities to promote environmental sustainability (Earth Week).

Fundraising

Over the past three years we have fundraised nearly $1000 to donate to lo-cal and international wildlife conserva-tion groups, Hope for Wildlife and the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF). This year we organised a Hope for Wild-life assembly to raise awareness about wildlife rehabilitation and conservation. Eco Club visited Hope for Wildlife for our second time this month for a tour and to give our donation. Over the past three years we have participated in multiple events to im-prove the state of the natural space in our community. We have transformed our school garden, participated in community tree planting events and we have conducted multiple cleans ups and participated in Clean Across Nova Scotia, and the Great Canadian Shore-line Clean Up. Our efforts have created a ripple ef-fect in our school community. Students are developing stewardship and citizen-ship and taking steps towards a sustain-able future. Kelly Borkowski from Clean Nova Scotia’s Green School’s Program states “The DHS Eco Club is the gold standard of Eco Clubs within the Green Schools NS program. These young and driven students are true leaders and work hard to achieve their goals. They work to make living sustainably a part of their school culture. Green Schools NS and Clean Nova Scotia are truly lucky to have these wonderful youth leaders as a part of our team.” Rosa is a grade 12 student at Dart-mouth High School and the co-founder and co-president of Dartmouth High’s Eco Club. She is also a member of Ecology Ac-tion Centre’s youth committee and helped to organise the EAC’s “Start Something Big” youth environmental conference that took place in the fall.

Over the last three years Dartmouth High’s Eco Club has become a force for change within the school and the com-munity. Our club has grown from 4 members in 2010 to 35 members in 2013. Our main goal is to create con-sciousness around the environmental im-pacts of our day to day behaviours and we are changing the ethics and culture in the school and broader community around environmental sustainability.

Ban the Bottle

We have more than 10 ongoing ini-tiatives, including “Ban the Bottle,” a campaign to stop the sale of bottled water in the Halifax Regional School Board. To strengthen the campaign, our Eco Club teamed up with multiple schools in the Halifax Regional Mu-nicipality through Engaged Youth for Environmental Sustainability (EYES). We presented this issue to the school board twice in the past year and we have their support to ban bottled water on an individual school basis. Eco Club is currently working on a proposal to Dartmouth High’s administration to end their contracts with bottled water suppliers. We have also recently been given a grant to carry out a water bottle rally to inform the school community about the health and environmental impacts of bottled water. This rally will consist of various games and activities to engage the student body. We will

also be selling reusable water bottles, at a price lower or equivalent to the cost of a plastic water bottle, to encourage a sustainable alternative.

Waste Education

Throughout the past three years we have been working towards improving waste disposal behaviours in our school. We have organised several presentations with a Waste Resource Educational Of-ficer from Halifax Regional Municipal-ity, to educate the school community about the fundamentals of the 3 R’s and their implications on the environment. We have ensured that no garbage can stands alone and each disposal station has the proper bins and signage. We are currently organising interactive grade ten classroom presentations and creat-ing our own signage for the bins that are clear, informative and catchy.

Events

This year we held our first “Green Halloween,” a contest in which students had the opportunity to use their creativ-ity and make their own Halloween cos-tumes out of 100 per cent recycled and recyclable material. Last April we held our first Earth Day assembly with over 200 student participants. This event in-cluded speakers on proper waste disposal, the significance of Earth Day and the is-sues surrounding bottled water, as well as

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Dartmouth High’s Eco Club.

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Creative ActivismBy Sam Fraser

requires spending time and energy to adapt, resources we cannot always spare. Riley believes theatrical activism and other forms of creative activism can get through that guard to generate dialogue and create motion in people’s minds. “Spectacle plus Intrigue leads to a Switch,” says Riley. People are drawn in by the spectacle, and the intrigue creates movement of thought. If the piece is well done, they may leave with a new perspective. Both Bread & Pup-pet Theatre and Puppets Et Cetera use puppets to generate spectacle. “Puppets become archetypes,” says  Sebastien La-belle, leading member of Puppets Et Cetera. “They are giant, large, and awe-inspiring. They can’t be ignored. They capture attention and amaze, and open up a channel to the audience.” Puppets pull people in and create a sense of ex-pectation. Kids, who haven’t yet built up a guard against new ideas, are naturally drawn to puppet theatre. Using public spaces is an important strategy. In the street, people unwit-tingly become an audience to a show they didn’t buy tickets for. Those with their guard up have entered the theatre. “[Theatre can distill] the essence of a message to make it very accessible to a large audience, even across generations,” says Labelle.

A street parade in Glover, Vermont, in the summer of 2012. After ordi-nary floats comes something unusual: a cacophonous troupe of musicians and dancers. Some carry signs and colourful banners. Others walk on stilts, dressed in fine clothes, towering above the pa-rade-goers. Teenagers on bicycles wheel around in figure eights. Periodically, young women run around the whole affair crashing cymbals together while everyone wails and moans. This is the Bread & Puppet Theatre, and they have a message. The first spectacle is a large mock boat. People on deck hold sails bearing the words “We’re All in the Same Boat”, while others outside resemble fish, or waves. A storm comes. Cymbals crash together to make lightning and thunder. The boat shivers, then sinks. A moment passes, then a song starts, somewhere on the deck of the boat. Others pick up the tune. The mast lifts, bearing an image of a strong tree, then the sails are raised again, and the boat floats on. After the boat comes the 1% Band. Musicians on stilts, dressed up as bank-ers and CEOs, play a Dixieland tune on trombones and trumpets. A speech bubble sign next to the band proclaims, “Not Us!” Others without instruments, dressed in fine clothes, bend over the people lining the streets and beg for handouts. “I’m down to my last mil-lion!”, one would cry, or “Please, just one more bailout!”

The parade-goers in Vermont that day were not sure how to interpret this bit of theatrical activism, says Brian Ri-ley, a Haligonian who participated in the project and who is a member of the local activist group Puppets Et Cetera. They weren’t expecting any kind of po-litical message when they came to the parade, but they got one. Riley recalls a particular moment when he, as a mem-ber of the 1% Band, looked into the eyes of an audience member, a mother with her son beside her. Pretending to be a bigwig CEO, he asks for a handout. She laughs and says, “No way!”, for why would she give a rich CEO any money?

But then she realizes that through the $700 billion government bailout, we’ve already given them a handout. Riley says that in her eyes he saw that switch happen. They shared a knowing smile. As he moves along he hears her son ask, “Mommy, what does the 1% mean?” Creating that switch experience is hard to do. As adults in a world of me-dia, we have our guard up against unfa-miliar ideas, and for good reason. We are biologically resistant to new ideas, since any change in our habits or thoughts

Papier-mâché moai.

The provincial premiers in their Sunday best.

Puppets Et Cetera reach out to the community.

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Another strategy is displaying oppo-sites. By showing two polar opposites in one piece, the audience is forced to find a middle ground. For example an audience member viewing the parade in Vermont, on first seeing the sinking Boat, might think, “No it’s not like that, I haven’t lost my job, I’m not sinking.” But then the opposite image comes along, the 1% Band, and they might think, “But this is not me either, I’m not a fat cat getting bailouts from the government.” The theatre piece puts the audience somewhere in the middle, and they are challenged to identify with one or other of them, possibly switching their alignment. To make their point, theatrical ac-tivists will often disguise themselves as someone to make fun of or mock, ex-aggerating their weakness. The audience then immediately and naturally feels a sense of power or superiority over that character. When that weak character is put up against an authority figure, the power of the authority is also exagger-ated. The audience may start to question their own feelings of strength and au-thority, and switch their support to the weaker character. In the minds of many, traditional activism is about waving placards and chanting slogans - directing anger and frustration outward, hoping to break through the guard of policy makers or the media. Theatrical activism and other forms of creative activism are al-ternatives to these traditional methods, instead communicating through song, drama or storytelling. According to La-belle, “Creative activism is a celebration of critical thinking and of questioning our assumptions.” It seeks to create movement in the minds of the audience from one perspective to another, rather than forcing a new perspective on them. As climate instability increases and our leadership continues to falter, I predict we will see more of this kind of activism on our streets. Sam Fraser is a member at large with the EAC’s board of directors. He designs and publishes storytelling games through his company, Grow Giant Games.

live in Halifax, you have many choic-es for delivery dates and times, while those living in some other areas of the province may only have one or two op-tions. Some farms may also be open to a new delivery location – such as your workplace – if enough people would be interested in it.

How much do you and your family usually eat in a week? Realistically, will you eat or preserve everything in your box? Some farms offer half-shares, or you can share with a friend or neighbour who is also interested in a partial share of a box.

For how long do you want to get a food box delivery? Some farms offer a food box year-round, while others have a set season. Farms also vary in how long of a commitment they ask you to make.

What will you find in your box? Most farms will tell you the types of things you are likely to find in your box. Some offer only fruit and vegetables, while others offer meat and eggs as well. There are also a few bakeries that offer a weekly delivery option, and Off The Hook of-fers fresh, local fish deliveries. Some farms have newsletters that they send out to their CSA members, and some have information on their website about on what is in season on their farm.

Now what? Our Food Action Com-mittee’s blog at www.adventuresin- localfood.wordpress.com/ has a lot of ex-cellent information about CSAs, along with a list of Nova Scotian farms offer-ing CSAs this year (adventuresinlocal-food.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/2013-csa-list/) and tons of recipes that use the items you are likely to find in your food box. This is very handy for those times when you may open your food box to find a vegetable you have never cooked before! They’d also be interested in hear-ing how you fare with your food box, and what you do with the items you find in it.

DearEcoHead

I really want to get a CSA box this summer. How do I know which farm is the right one for me?

-Excited about Local Veggies

DearExcited

Community Supported Agricul-ture (CSA) boxes are awesome. You’ll get fresh, local veggies each week (and perhaps even taste some that are new to you), while the farmer you choose to buy from gets a solid customer base, and can plan accordingly. You might even feel like a small child on her birthday each week as you open up your box to find tasty surprises!

It sounds like you’ve already weighed the pros and cons of signing up for a CSA, but just in case, it helps to think first about how well one will fit into your lifestyle. If it turns out a CSA doesn’t work for your needs, remember that you can still buy your food directly from local organic farmers at Farm-ers Markets throughout the province. So, if you are picky or unadventurous about the vegetables you eat, allergic to some locally grown foods, or aren’t sure whether you and your family can con-sume a whole box (or even a half share) in one week, don’t fret. In fact, “just as CSAs aren’t the right fit for every cus-tomer, they aren’t the right fit for every farmer. Farmers markets provide more flexibility for certain farmers - not every farmer wants to grow the wide variety of vegetables needed for a CSA,” says our Food Coordinator, Marla MacLeod.

Still interested in signing up for a CSA? Which one is right for you? Here are some things to think about.

Does the farm deliver to a spot con-venient to you, and which day of the week do they deliver? After all, there is no point mulling over which farm pro-duces the tastiest squash or the most abundant blueberries, if you can’t pick up your box in the first place. If you

ask ecoheadpageeleven

Good Cat Bad CatBy Tiffany MacDonald, Veronica Sherwood and Michael Ruxton

pet, and it is just as easy to abandon that pet once it becomes an inconvenience. There are many ways we could tackle this issue head-on as a society. Increased funding for shelters and for the spaying and neutering of cats would be highly beneficial, as would education programs about the realities of owning a pet. But the greatest impact could be via tighter social controls on the process of getting a pet. Initiatives such as education pro-grams, micro-chipping, and spaying and neutering could be integrated into the process from the beginning. Michael tries to keep a low profile, but has been a volunteer at the EAC since the mid 1980s. Tiffany is a new writer and editor on the BTI team. Veronica is a long-time EAC volunteer and a member of the EAC’s Bird Conservation Committee.

“Cats are doing us a favour by killing off rats and mice. The rodent population would be out of control if it weren’t for cats.” “Why are we worried about cats? Other human-made causes kill so many more birds. Why aren’t we banning windmills and high-rise buildings?” “Cats have killer instincts. If we keep them inside and prevent them from killing other animals, they won’t be following the laws of nature.”

Cats make pretty good pets. They are quiet, fastidious, and easy to take care of. They are adorable as kittens, lovable as adults, graceful, fascinating, and play-ful. Cats also prey on birds, rodents and other small animals. I expect we agree that cats killing birds is a concern, but how big is the problem? And what can we do about it? Scott Loss and Tom Will of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Peter Marra of the Smithsonian Conserva-tion Institute, in research published in Nature Communications, estimate that in North America, free-ranging domes-tic cats, both owned and feral, are re-sponsible on average for 2 billion bird deaths a year, and 12.3 billion mammal deaths. Free-roaming house cats are re-sponsible for approximately a third of those numbers. This fact is all too real to Dr. Ian MacLaren of the Nova Scotia Bird Society. “Many people may be tempted to shrug off cats killing birds, but cats are one of the top three causes of songbird

decline in North America,” says Dr. McLaren. “We need people to keep their cats inside and to prevent others from disposing unwanted animals in the wild – it is inhumane to both the cat and other forms of wildlife.” Other studies put the number of deaths caused by domestic cats at a sig-nificantly higher echelon on the threat-to-birds scale than anthropogenic causes such as windmills, skyscrapers, pesti-cides and automobile strikes. Peter Mar-ra says the mortality figures are “shock-ingly high.” A recent project at the University of Georgia in Athens fitted free-roaming cats with videocams and monitored them for several days. Slightly less than half of the cats hunted wildlife. Of those, only 23 per cent returned home with their prey, 49 per cent left the prey at the capture site, and 28 per cent ate their prey. More than half of the captures were reptiles or amphibians, including frogs; mammals captured included chip-munks; one fifth of captures were inver-tebrates; one eighth were birds. Dr. Helene VanDonick of Nova Sco-tia’s Cobequid Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre sees this type of damage regular-ly. “We treat hundreds of birds that have been attacked by cats. Often they have to be euthanized,” says Dr. VanDonick. “The irony in this is that cats on aver-age live 7 times longer if they are kept inside.” Why should we be concerned about birds? Our ecosystem thrives because of the roles that different native spe-cies play. In a balanced ecosystem, birds play an essential role in the pollination of flora and pest control of insects. Cats are not an indigenous species in North America; their presence upsets the bal-ance of the ecosystem. What should we do about free-roam-ing cats? The Ecology Action Centre’s Bird Conservation Committee works to address this problem through a unique initiative. The Allied Cats Network edu-cates the public on the cat and bird issue by encouraging people to keep cats in-side. Volunteers in the network represent academics, cat owners, veterinarians and concerned citizens. All agree that the core issue is that it is very easy to get a

Indoor cat Chairman Meow watches birds from a safe distance, on his screened-in deck in Chester Basin.

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Take action:

• Keep your cats inside. Indoor cats lead healthier, longer lives. Frank Gray from the California Department of Fish and Game explains that indoor cats have an average lifespan of 12 years, whereas free-ranging outdoor cats live from three to five years. This is because outdoor cats are exposed to many more dangers and pathogens than indoor cats. If you are concerned about your cat’s killer instincts not being utilized, create an environment in your home in which cat play-time is a frequent occurrence.• If you want your cat to go out-side, create an enclosure in your yard for your cat. Provide your cat enclosure with a water bowl. Young cats and kittens can be trained to comfortably explore the outdoors when walked on leash. For more tips, please visit http://www.ecologyaction.ca/alliedcats• Have your cat spayed or neu-tered. This will help control the cat population in your area and support your local shelters and bird conservation groups.

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Take action:

To learn more, visit greatmealsforachange.ca You can download (for free!) · the Host’s Manual, · 6 ‘Sustainable Food Habit’ posters (11 by 14 inches) · 6 ‘Sustainable Food Steps’ sheets · 6 Postcards · 8 Menus - you can choose recipes from the website, customize the menu, download and print.

For extra support, you can also purchase the “Great Meals for a Change” toolkit ($72) which includes the following reusable pieces: · 1 host’s manual · 1 host’s cue cards (7 cards) · 1 puzzle in a cloth sack (48 pieces) · 1 set of apple cards (18 cards) · 1 deck of Story Sharing and Food Cards (24 cards) · 8 laminated placemats (11 by 17 inches) with core principles and action choices · ‘Great Meals for Change’ cloth bag to store all the parts

You can also inquire about borrowing a toolkit from the EAC.

Great Meals for a ChangeBy Heather Hunter

Do you have a passion for local, sustainable food? Are you looking for new and fun ways to share and dis-cuss food and food systems with your friends and neighbours?   “Great Meals for a Change” could be just what you’re looking for.  Developed locally through JUDES (Just Us! Development and Ed-ucation Society) and Acadia University, “Great Meals for a Change” is a party-style “sustainable meal” that aims to shift norms and share knowledge about sustainable food. “Great Meals for a Change” evolved from an action research project that aimed to promote more sustainable food purchasing and bring a deeper un-derstanding of sustainable food to con-sumers within Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley. Understanding that social expe-riences and personal relationships influ-ence how each of us makes decisions, “Great Meals for Change” was developed to be a social experience that provides people with information on sustainable food, raises awareness to help promote behaviour change, and identifies ways to overcome barriers to sustainable food purchasing.  On top of all this, it’s also a lot of fun! As described on the www.greatmeals-forachange.ca website, a “Great Meal for a Change” is...

a dialogue that helps people gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of sustainable food, and increase their sustainable food purchasing choices.

a delicious, sustainable meal with friends that educates and motivates positive choices with respect to sustain-able food. a fun series of educational activities that occur as part of the meal. They are enjoyable, simple to explain, and help guests learn about and appreciate the principles of sustainable food, and how to apply them in their own lives. hosted by anyone willing to invite 5-7 of their friends into their home for a meal, while facilitating the activities. Guests are selected and invited by the host. “passed forward” around a commu-nity with the opportunity for a person attending one meal to then host a meal for their friends. A local community or-ganization can sponsor and support the program by providing the Great Meals tool kit and manual.

If you were hosting the next “Great Meal” it could look a bit like this:  First you call up or email 5-7 friends to in-vite them to your house; with the invi-tation, you would share the menu (se-lected from the Great Meals website) and recipes. You could ask the invitees to prepare and bring one of the courses (potluck style) or you could prepare the meal together at your place.    Before eating, you and your guests could put together a “pre-meal puzzle game” picturing the five principles of sustainable food purchasing and dis-cuss how specific items and purchasing

Friends enjoying a ‘Great Meal for a Change’.

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strategies could be categorized accord-ing to the principles. In the dining area, you can place an attractive menu at each place setting (downloadable from the “Great Meals for a Change” website) that identifies the food being served and details where it can be bought, for how much, and the extent to which it meets the sustainable food principles. You can also purchase a

placemat from the “Great Meals” website that elaborates on the five principles. During the meal, you and your guests take turns selecting and reading Food Cards that provide intriguing questions and informa-tion about food issues and/or invite people to share experiences and stories about sustainable food. After dessert you would ask each person to identify and share with a partner one practical way to increase their consumption of sustainable food. They are invited to write their idea on a postcard that is sent to them several weeks later as a reminder. After the meal and discussion is over, each guest is given some take-away materials that include the menu, recipes/costs, a copy of the guest’s placemat with principles, “Sustainable Food Steps” Sheet and an invitation to host a similar meal with their friends. Hosting a “Great Meal for a Change” is just one of many ways that people can share their passion and enthusiasm for sustainable, delicious food with others.  It seems that all around us awareness of food and food systems is increasing; we want to know more about where and how our food is produced. “Great Meals for a Change” is a tool that taps into this energy and creates the space for friends and colleagues to have important discussions about food values and make plans for incorporating more socially and environmentally friendly foods into our daily lives. Heather Hunter is a regular contributor to Between the Issues.   She works at the Food Action Research Centre at MSVU, and is an enthu-siastic supporter of all the “food action” happening in Nova Scotia and beyond!

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Inroads to AbundanceBy Stephanie Hughes

another principle: apply self-regulation and accept feedback. Finally, use and value diversity. What could be simpler? The more diversity in our landscapes, the more opportunities for growing food and medicine, control-ling pests, and obtaining yields (yep, that’s another principle!) There are many applications for the principles and strategies that permac-ulturists use. And they’re not limited to what can be done on large tracts of land. Urban and social permaculture il-lustrate how the practice is effective in tiny spaces surrounded by concrete, and social spaces where people gather, work, and play. If a solar panel can catch and store the sun’s energy, an educator can catch and store a group’s energy to facilitate participatory learning. If a bicycle is a small, slow transportation solution, lis-tening is perhaps a small, slow solution for working with someone of a different culture. If valuing diversity is important in our natural environment... need I go on? The Blockhouse School Project, in Lunenburg, is putting some of these ideas to the test. Launched in February 2012, this project is transforming an abandoned school into a model for in-creased self-sufficiency in food, energy, and employment, as well as an educa-tion and cultural centre. Heather Holm, on the board of directors, had this to say about why they chose permaculture as their project model: “We want to show people that it’s possible to take degraded or non-agricultural land and make it into fertile, super abundant edible land-scapes. It’s not just about sustainability, it’s about abundance. Permaculture gives us the knowledge to do that.”

“Yeah... I think I’ve heard of that” is a response I often get when I talk to people about permaculture. And fair enough. While it was founded in the seventies, it takes time for global move-ments to develop. People’s increasingly familiar (if hesitant) responses to per-maculture are positive indications that the movement is steadily making in-roads here in Nova Scotia. Derived from the words “permanent” and “agriculture” permaculture captures the idea that no society can survive without a sustainable land use philoso-phy. It’s a practice that rests on three ethical pillars: people care, earth care, and fair share, or the redistribution of surplus.  All activities that follow these ethics can be considered permaculture, making it naturally eclectic - adopting ideas and techniques, old and new, from agriculture, science, and technology. To help me understand some of Per-maculture’s many defining principles, I talked to Alex DeNicola, founder of Motheroak Permaculture in Hants County. Alex turned to permaculture in 2008 “because it offers more solutions than any other system.” He now has a

working permaculture site and offers certifications and internships. The first principle we talked about was catch and store energy - to maximize incoming energy sources. At Mothero-ak, Alex does this through solar panels, rainwater catchment, thermal mass, and stewarding his land with horses. This principle is compatible with another: use and value renewable resources. Another principle is to use small and slow solutions. While not intuitive in a world organized around what’s big and fast, the idea is to use human-scale designs. According to Alex “a bicycle is a perfect example. It takes longer to get somewhere, and it’s an effective solution to a serious problem: climate change.” Small and slow solutions also act as buffers between human design-ers and their mistakes. This feeds into

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Take action:

• Sign up for Blockhouse School’s two-week intensive permaculture design certification this summer! www.theblockhouseschool.org • Contact Motheroak to take a tour, workshop, or find out more about the internship! www.novascotiapermaculture.net

Participants building an herb spiral at a permaculture workshop in Blockhouse, NS

But the project is about more than the land. “If we’re going to live on this land, in a re-localized way, we have to build community.” She adds “We want to cre-ate a vibrant, local community culture. We want to demonstrate good energy and food practices and show people how to do these things together, so we can all live well no matter what happens.” Perhaps the most important thing to remember about permaculture is that it’s a values-based practice, not just a collec-tion of techniques and strategies for con-serving and maximizing resources. When applied holistically, it’s a gamechanger because it supports us in caring for our human communities as an integral part of our natural world. It doesn’t accept the idea that we have to choose. Steph Hughes earned her Permaculture Design Certificate in 2012 from the Fin-ger Lakes Permaculture Institute in New York, after completing apprenticeships in Guatemala and Cuba. Steph is the At-lantic Region Coordinator of the Bauta Family Initiative on Seed Security, with ACORN in Sackville, New Brunswick. H

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Breaking the Commodity CurseBy Sadie Beaton 

the neighbourhood) and dump it onto the market while low-volume, low-im-pact gears get squeezed out. The curse of the seafood supply chain also drives most value-added processing to far-flung places. Regional process-ing of high-value seafood makes sense, but the incredible volume of cheap fish being landed makes our “high” labour costs uncompetitive. Consolidated lots of fish make local processing inefficient and these days, a haddock landed in the Bay of Fundy may have traveled all the way to China and back before it appears back at the Digby Superstore. Only a small part of our locally caught seafood makes the long trip back. This leaves us with supermarket seafood displays full of Vietnamese shrimp and local groundfish that have traveled far too far. Few of our Farmers’ Markets of-fer local seafood at all. Meanwhile our succulent Chedabucto Bay trap caught shrimp and dive-caught urchins are for the most part shipped directly to the premium Japanese markets, while the entire harpooned swordfish catch goes to the American Whole Foods chain. Another rub of this commodity curse is that it tends to corner fishermen as ‘price takers.’ Because the buyers and sellers along the supply chain rarely share information, fishermen rarely know what price the final consumer has paid for their catch. This makes it dif-ficult for fishermen to negotiate a fair price. Local prices are set with reference to Boston auctions and our fishermen feel the impact. If a forklift runs over a pallet of halibut in Boston, the wharf price in Yarmouth drops accordingly. To stay afloat and contribute to a regional food system, our small-scale fisheries need to break this ‘commodity curse.’ But of course, this kind of curse can’t be broken with chants, incanta-tions or positive thinking. Or even blog posts. Small-scale fishermen need a viable market alternative - namely, a regional value chain. In a value chain, seafood products don’t compete merely on price. Rather, their value is held by the sto-

Superstitions abound among At-lantic Canada’s small-scale fishermen. Whistling on board can bring on a gale, while a mere mention of pigs - let alone snacking on a pork product whilst at sea - threatens a trip to Davy Jones’ Locker. But only one bit of mojo really matters: It’s the commodity curse. And there’s only one way to break it. If we care about local seafood and healthy, resilient coastal communities, the way we buy and sell fish here has to change. Atlantic Canada is home to some of the world’s best sustainable seafood. We’ve got bottom long-lined haddock and halibut, trap-caught shrimp, har-pooned swordfish, dive-caught scallops, hand-dug clams, freshly jigged mackerel and so much more.  But in part because of perverse global economics - a.k.a. the commodity curse - you can find bet-ter seafood in Detroit than you can in Halifax. Worse, the small-scale fisheries that provide this incredible bounty don’t have access to a regional or local market, and independent fishermen are finding it harder and harder to stay in business. Fish has become a commodity. And to some, fishing has become a curse. In the old days, fishermen would

hold onto some of the choicest bits of the day’s catch to share, trade or sell within their immediate community. The rest of the catch would be scooped up by a local buyer who would offer pre-mium fresh fish to the local and regional markets and send salted and dried prod-ucts to distant markets. The two markets were separate - a drop in demand in the distant market would have no effect on the price of fish in the local one. Nowadays though, most Atlantic Canadian seafood becomes a global commodity the moment it comes out of the water (and in some case, before it is even caught). It slides right into the global seafood supply chain, a long, slippery trip that competes on low prices, requires large volumes, and breaks any meaningful connection be-tween the people who catch fish and the people who eat it. Until very recently, Chedabucto Bay trap-caught shrimp were simply lumped in with their more plentiful trawled counterparts and sold at commodity prices, despite superior quality and sustainability. With such low prices, the easy option is to ‘make it up on volume’ – draggers and seines scoop up enormous amounts of fish (and any-thing unlucky enough to get caught in

Tying up at a Bay of Fundy wharf.

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ries shared along the chain - of fishing families, communities and stewardship - along with the traceability and integrity of the chain itself.   Regional value chains create good mojo and help empower small-scale fisheries, bolster rural employment and support community development. Unfortunately, Ecology Action Centre’s recent assessment of Nova Scotia’s re-gional seafood value chain found that we simply don’t have one. Changing the way we buy and sell fish in Atlantic Canada is a real piece of

work. There’s no magic bullet answer, no one-size-fits-all solution, or catchy slo-gan that will build regional markets, dis-tribution, and processing infrastructure. Which means that for those of us who care about good, clean, fair seafood, we need to really put our heads together to figure out how to help build new region-al value chains. We need to pinpoint the best opportunities to push, invest in and develop regional seafood value chains in Atlantic Canada. Sadie Beaton has been working on fish-eries and coastal issues with the Ecology

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Take action:

• When buying seafood, ask these questions: Where was it caught? How was it caught? When was it caught? Who caught it? Where was it processed?

• Seek out sustainably harvested seafood, and be ready to pay a premium for it.

• Expect seasonality.

• Consider joining a Community Supported Fishery, or try to buy your seafood from the mobile fish vendors you see on the side of the road.

• Vist www.smallscales.ca to learn more about East Coast fisheries

Action Centre for something like a decade. She’s crazy for fresh mackerel, raw oysters, and hand dug clams... and spends a lot of time deejaying for a two-year-old.

Reprinted from Small Scales blog (www.smallscales.ca)

Graphic Design • Photography • Web • Illustration

Proud to work for progressives

www.hammerheaddesign.ca

“We built a community out of a tur-bine.” So says one of many participants of the Wind Turbine Project, an inspir-ing renewable energy collaboration that unfolded in Nova Scotia last year. The project was dreamed up one winter afternoon at the Tatamagouche kitchen table of entrepreneur and activ-ist Lil MacPherson. Her son Sam, Steve Thomas and two friends were over and Lil was exclaiming how much she want-ed a turbine. Steve said how much he wanted to build one. “We got very excited and I said to Steve ‘if you build it... I will fund it!’ MacPherson says. “No one knew anything about con-struction, electrical or mechanics nor did anyone have any real prior experi-ence in taking on a project like this.” says project member Andrew Boivin, Cole Harbour native and electrical wholesaler in Halifax. This didn’t discourage them from teaming up and succeeding. “We felt we were capable of doing so,” recalls fel-low participant Kurtis Anstey, a recent graduate of Saint Mary’s. Initially a small number of people were involved, but it soon grew bigger than anyone could have hoped. Almost 60 people had a hand in at least one part of the process during the 5 month proj-ect. “Everyone had something to con-tribute.” says Boivin.

“Each of us found that we had some bit of skill in this area or that, and to-gether it became obvious that we had somebody capable of handling each as-pect of the project,” Anstey says. “People realized that they learned some skills like carpentry or fibreglass work from their parents, or grinding from an old trade, electrical and logis-tics through their current engineering degrees, and much more, though each skill was based in a totally non-profes-sional source like a parent, interest, or experience,” Anstey elaborates. “It was surprising to find that just within our small community of friends and family we could pull off a build like this with no problems.” Together over five months, they built a Hugh Piggott 1000 watt (one kilo-watt) wood blade wind turbine from scratch. “I guess the short term goals were to build it, get it operational, draw power from it and for it to not fall over,” Boivin says, “Long term goals were real-ized after the fact.” “We had some friends shoot differ-ent scenes and conduct interviews to make a short documentary which has been very successful.” Boivin beams. The resulting documentary “If You Build It” won 5th place in a Seamins’ international film festival, and $2500 in prize money. The team is currently using the contest winnings, funds re-ceived from Awesome Halifax, and per-sonal donations from members to fund the If You Build It project. If You Build It is an egalitarian, community based group for anybody, regardless of their background. The not-for-profit is currently working on bicycle-portable solar units which can power high energy public events. They hold workshops called ‘builds’ every week or two where those who have been to a previous build pass on the knowl-edge they gained to the newest members of the group. “Anyone is welcome to join the com-munity and participate in the frequent weekend build parties where people can learn the process of creating renewable

being greenIf You Build It: Just Do It!

By Jonathan Rotsztainenergy and community engagement,” Boiven encourages. “We hope it inspires people to spur some real change in their communities and that it shows we were able to build something on this scale with little expe-rience and a very small budget.” “It shows that renewable energy is readily available to be tapped into, and that it is a very attainable goal to reach,” Boivin says. “Conversations sprung up between people in their twenties and eight-ies  and everywhere in-between. Every-one learned, shared and were inspired to take action to make positive change.” “I can honestly say it was the most fun project I have ever been involved in,” MacPherson says. The turbine was raised on April 28, 2012, which hap-pened to be her late brother Jimmy’s birthday. “The turbine is named after Jimmy and we are planning our first tur-bine party this April.” The wind turbine works beautifully in powering MacPhersons’ home and looks much better than project members thought it would too. The turbine cost about $2,400 and will pay for itself with consistent use over the next few years, at which point she will begin profiting through savings on her energy bill and experiencing the joys of clean, renewable energy. “The most important outcome of the project is to inspire others.” Anstey says. “The skills and resources required to complete these supposedly ‘profession-al’ projects are actually present in your friends and families. Any group of ‘ama-teur’ individuals can be self-sufficient in making environmental action a realistic presence in their communities.” Overall, what advice would members of the project give like-minded groups? “Just do it.” Watch “If You Build It: The Wind Turbine Project” at www.you-tube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9IIl_FBcBaE Jonathan is a freelance writer and graphic designer in North End Halifax.

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I recall my Nana hunting for dandelions every spring when I was a child. She had her preference for a particular kind of dandelion. She always said that the dandelions with white veins were more tender than those with the red, so preferred the white ones. Now, as an adult I collect both. Nana’s culinary traditions were informed, in large part by her Pennsylvania Dutch (German loyalist) background, and having grown up in a very large family of fourteen children. Nothing was wasted. Nana saved all her bacon and pork drippings in an old cof-fee mug she kept handy to her gas cookstove. Those drippings were also used for frying potatoes and eggs. I was privileged to grow up next door to my Nana and Papa, and had lots of opportunity to share meals with them. I recall that as a youngster, I always got invited to share more meals with my Nana and Papa than my sisters and brother. I think my special status was owing to the fact that I could consume, with relish, vast quantities of whatever food she prepared. I remember my Nana saying on more than one occasion “it gives me great pleasure to see you eat”. Making food and sharing it with her family was the activity that gave my Nana the most joy of all the things I can recall her doing when I was a child.

Colander full of dandelion greens collected just before blossoming

2 tablespoons of duck, goose, bacon or pork fat (vegetarians can substitute olive oil but it is not as good)

Early in the spring, just as the dandelions are starting to form their flower buds is the time to collect the greens for this recipe. The plant can be harvested by using a paring knife and cutting through the stem just below the soil surface then lifting the whole plant. Collect a colander full, discard dead and wilted leaves, wash very carefully.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat fat. Add chopped onion and sauté five to ten minutes until onion is slightly browned, but not crispy. Add one to two tablespoons of honey or sugar, mix thoroughly with the onions. Add the one to two tablespoons of cider vinegar, careful of splattering from the hot pan. Stir mixture until blended Turn heat to low then add washed dandelion greens and cover with a lid. Cook until greens are wilted and tender to eat. Some people prefer to wilt their greens only slightly while my Nan cooked hers for a longer period of time. This is a personal preference only.

reprinted from the EAC’s Eating by the Seasons cookbook

seasonal gourmetNana’sDandelionGreensBy Ruth Lapp

Check out the Ecology Action Centre’s most recent publications at www.ecologyaction.ca (click on “Publications + Resources”)

Blogs:

climatefishblog.comBe part of the discussion of our findings on fisheries adaptation to Climate Change

SmallScales.caThis blog posts on everything from the joys of prepar-ing shrimp, to the Nova Scotian roots of cold-water coral conservation, to small-scale fisheries connections with Idle No More.

Reports:

Nova Scotia Environmental Monitoring Program for Finfish Aquaculture - An Update (2006-2011)

hot off the modem

Towards a Housing Strategy: An Environmental Perspective

Adapting Atlantic Canadian Fisheries to climate changeComment adapter l’industrie des pêches de la région du Canada atlantique aux changements climatiques?

On Solid Ground: Community Voices for Changing Nova Scotia’s Mining Policies

La Vie en Vert Welcometoour“greensocietypage”whereweprovideyouwithaninspiring(andpleasantlygreentinged)viewofrecenthappeningsintheEACcommunity.

BigDay

Youth volunteers were instrumental in shaping and organiz-ing the EAC’s “Start Something Big” conference in November. Over 100 young environmental leaders came from as far as Cape Breton and Shelburne County for the fun day of work-shops on relationships with media and government, traditional knowledge, urban food issues, and more. The inspiring energy of the group was truly the start of something big—including a new eco-club at Citadel High School.

SmartCookies

EAC staffers opted to celebrate the holidays by baking over 500 cookies for the Parker Street Food & Furniture Bank’s holiday hampers. Great fun was had by all ages during the bake-a-thon party and potluck.

Loui

se H

anav

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EACCoreRetreat

The EAC’s operations staff enjoyed a productive day of planning in a cozy woodland yurt in the Gaspereau forest this February. Maggy Burns made a sneak pre-view appearance as co-facilitator in preparation for her return from sabbatical in April.

Sila

s M

agee

Han

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SAVE THEPLANET

1 KMAT ATIMEPLEDGE

THE GREENAVENGERS

IN THE

BLUE NOSE

CHARITY

CHALLENGE

BECOME AGREEN

AVENGERBeing part of the solution

to protect our planet

comes in many forms.

The Blue Nose Marathon

is a fun way to get active

and support EAC’s efforts.

LAST YEAR WE RAISED $10 000,

THIS YEAR’S GOAL IS $15 000.

It’s not too late to join the Green

Avengers or join our cause by pledging

online.

Cheer for us on race day May 19th.

Contact Tamar for more information and to sign up

442 0198 communications@ecologyaction.ca

Thanks to our Blue Nose Charity Challenge fundraising team, the …Green Avengers, 48 of us so far! Our extended community has been generous with us (thanks so) but we haven’t met our $15 000 goal yet.

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EAC CONTACT LIST

CoREStAff

Managing Director: Maggy Burns 429-5287 centre@ecologyaction.ca Policy Director: Mark Butler 429-5287 action@ecologyaction.caInternal Director: Louise Hanavan 429-5287 ecology@ecologyaction.caFinancial Director: Carla Vandenberg 442-0254 eac@ecologyaction.caMembership and Development Coordinator: Ryan O’Quinn 429-2202 ryan@ecologyaction.caOutreach Coordinator: Tamar Eylon 429-2202 communications@ecologyaction.ca    Office Coordinator: Julia McRae 429-2202 info@ecologyaction.caWeb Manager: Emma Boardman 429-2202 web@ecologyaction.caFinancial Assistant: Susan Johnstone 442-0254 susan@ecologyaction.caMembership Supervisor: Sylvia Dove 429-2202 sylvia@ecologyaction.caBetween the Issues: betweentheissues@ecologyaction.caMembership Renewals: Kate Chisholm advertising@ecologyaction.ca

CommittEES/PRojECtStAff

Built EnvironmEnt

Our HRM Coordinator: Jen Powley 429-0924 hrm@ecologyaction.ca

Coastal and WatEr issuEs

Coastal Coordinator: Jen Graham 442-5046 coastal@ecologyaction.caWater Coordinator: Jocelyne Rankin 442-5046 water@ecologyaction.caGeoscience Coordinator: Jennifer West 442-5046 groundwater@ecologyaction.caRestoration Coordinator: Ashley Sprague 442-5046 coastaloutreach@ecologyaction.ca Coastal Adaptation Coordinator: Veronika Brzeski (902) 929-2757 veronika@ecologyaction.ca Bird Conservation Coordinator: Mark Butler 429-5287 action@ecologyaction.ca

EnErgy issuEs

ACSEC Coordinator: Catherine Abreu 422-0199 acsec@ecologyaction.caRenewable Energy Coordinator: Wayne Groszko solargain@ecologyaction.caEnergy Efficiency Coordinator: Emma Norton 422-0199 efficiency@ecologyaction.ca

Food aCtion Our Food Coordinator: Marla MacLeod 442-1077 foodaction@ecologyaction.ca

marinE issuEs

Marine Conservation Coordinator: Susanna Fuller 446-4840 marine@ecologyaction.caMarine Campaign Coordinator: Kathryn Schleit 446-4840 kschleit@ecologyaction.caCommunications Coordinator: Sadie Beaton 446-4840 sadie@ecologyaction.caOff the Hook Coordinator: David Adler 442-0999 dadler@ecologyaction.ca Communications Coordinator: Jordan Nikoloyuk 446-4840 jordan@ecologyaction.caSeaChoice Atlantic Coordinator: Rob Johnson 446-4840 seachoiceatlantic@gmail.com Marine Intern: Heather Grant heatherg@ecologyaction.ca 446-4840

transportation issuEs

Active & Safe Routes to School Coordinator: Janet Barlow 442-5055 asrts@ecologyaction.caMaking Tracks and School Travel Planning Coordinator: Jennifer McGowan 442-5055 walk@ecologyaction.caYouth Active Transportation Coordinator, Cape Breton-Eastern NS: Jennifer Morrison stp-cb@ecologyaction.caTransportation Projects Officer: Emma Boardman 442-5055 pacecar@ecologyaction.caTravel Planning Contractor: Caroline King tinytravel@ecologyation.caBike Again: Jyelle Vogel 431-8215 bikeagain@hotmail.com

WildErnEss issuEs

Forestry Program: Matt Miller 429-1335 forests@ecologyaction.caWilderness & Public Lands: Raymond Plourde 442-5008 wilderness@ecologyaction.ca

StaffSnippets

EAC staff have been busy near and far – Mexico (Mark Butler), Europe (Susanna Fuller), Boston (Jocelyne Rankin), Alberta (Marla MacLeod and Jordan Nikoloyuk), and more! Coastal Restoration Coordinator Ashley Sprague returned from a six-month sabbatical in Jamaica this January. Congratu-lations to Membership and Development Coordina-tor Ryan O’Quinn, who made a trip to Taiwan for his wedding!

We had a proper send-off for Marine Coordinator Shannon Arnold, who now calls the Phillippines home (although she can’t help staying involved in the marine team’s work from afar). Best of luck, Shannon! Although Jen and David Greenberg end-ed their year-long Farm Efficiency project with the EAC, they’re still close by, growing tasty food on land that is protected under an EAC conservation easement. In Cape Breton, we saw the departure of transportation staffer Ellen Polegato, and said fare-well to Veronika Breski and Jillian Baker, who did amazing work on the impacts of climate change on fisheries and tourism in Cape Breton.

The Energy team has expanded with a new Energy Efficiency Coordinator Emma Norton, who may be a familiar face around town because of her previ-ous role on the EAC’s membership canvassing team. We are also very happy to welcome no fewer than FOUR new staff, who have recently joined the food team: Miranda Cobb, Su Morin, Georgia McNeil, Will Fawcett Hill and Aimee Carson. With the addi-tion of a new Jennifer, the EAC is proud to maintain its title as most enthusiastic employer of Jennifers in Nova Scotia. A happy hello to Jennifer Morrison, who joins the transportation team as Youth Active Transportation Coordinator in Cape Breton. Finally, we are very pleased that Kathryn Schleit has joined the marine team as Marine Campaign Coordinator. Welcome, Kathryn!

Warm welcome backs to Maggy Burns, who returns as Managing Director after a year-long working sab-batical at Phoenix Youth, and to Seachoice Coordi-nator Rob Johnson, who is back from an extended parental leave. Absence only makes the heart grow fonder!

2030: When the EAC believes Nova Scotia can be Fossil Free 25: Percentage of electricity from renewable sources NS hopes to achieve by 201540: Percentage of electricity from renewable sources NS hopes to achieve by 2020 17.3: Percentage of electricity generated by renewables in NS grid in 2012

56.6: Percentage of electricity currently generated in NS from coal and petcoke 500: Gigatons of CO2 the world can safely release –total – by 2050 before reaching our “safe” limit

31: Gigatons of CO2 released every year by human activity the world over 13: Years before we reach our CO2 limit based on current yearly emissions16,000: Number of homes that could be powered with the energy people saved through Efficiency Nova Scotia programs in 2012

2: Dollars saved for every dollar invested in energy efficiency 1000: The number of homes that could receive solar panels through the new HRM Solar City program57: The percent of energy lost as waste heat lost in Nova Scotia 9: Percent of a liter of gasoline that is used to actually move an automobile in city driving

16: Estimated average daily residential electricity use in homes without electric heat (kWh) 45: Estimated average daily residential electricity use in homes with electric heat (kWh) 1160: Number of kWh/year from a 1 kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) array in Toronto

850: Number of kWh/yeah from a 1 kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) array in Germany1140: Number of kWh of electricity you can obtain per year from a 1 kW solar PV array in Nova Scotia.

Recent EAC Successes:• The historic Morris House made an epic nighttime journey across Halifax to its new home on Charles and Creighton

• Chedabucto Bay trap-caught shrimp also journeyed to Halifax—to be enjoyed by local foodies

• The EAC’s popular Living Shorelines workshop enabled over 100 participants to plan for sustainable coastal protection

• Over 200 people across the province participated in active transportation workshops If sending a void cheque please sign above.