Spring is here!
We had a fantastic time at Seedy Saturday last weekend. Thank you to our dedicated volunteers Bernice, Cassidy, Lana and Paul who spent their entire day getting their hands dirty making seed balls, crafting newspaper planters and recycling toilet paper rolls to seed starters. Over 300 people stopped by our table and carried away spring in a ball or box.
Missed us on Saturday? Here is a video how to make seed balls. It’s a great spring break activity for your children!
And another one on how to make toilet paper roll seed starters:
Are you still full of energy? Try the newspaper planters too. Find the full description in our Green Challenge #3 – Newspaper planters.
Spooky Pesticide Roundup!
Guest post by Robin McLeod, Coalition for a Healthy Calgary
It’s official! Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba continue to lead the country in widespread urban use of pesticides and fertilizers according to Stats Canada’s (2011) survey of Households and the Environment 2009. The provinces of Quebec and Ontario with comprehensive pesticide legislation experienced the greatest decrease in pesticide and fertilizer use from 1994 to 2009. What does this mean? Pesticide legislation is effective in reducing the amount of unnecessary pesticide use in urban environments. In addition, Healthy Calgary spokesperson, Robin McLeod, states “pesticides are likely stored in many Calgary homes in kitchen cupboards, under the sink, and in the garage or garden shed. This is an accident waiting to happen.”
In Canada more than 6,000 cases of pesticide poisonings are reported annually. Children, under 6 years of age, account for approximately 46.5% of the cases. The experience is similar in Alberta. From April 2005 to April 2006 1,021 cases of pesticide poisoning were recorded of which 461 cases or 45.2% involved children under the age of six .
Be safe!
Make Calgary healthy! Drop off your spooky toxic pesticides at City of Calgary Fire Stations and Landfill sites.
City of Calgary Fire Stations
- Visa Heights Fire Station #4 (1991 – 18 Avenue NE)
- Varsity Fire Station #17 (3740 32 Avenue NW)
- Lincoln Park/Garrison Green Fire Station #20 (2800 Peacekeepers Way SW)
- Cedarbrae Fire Station #24 (2607 106 Avenue SW)
- Midnapore Fire Station #26 (450 Midpark Way SE)
City of Calgary Landfill sites
- East Calgary Landfill (68 Street and 17 Avenue SE)
- Shepard Landfill (68 Street and 114 Avenue SE)
- Spyhill Landfill (69 Street and 112 Avenue NW)
Sierra Speak Out!
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1019 17th Ave SW
Corner of 17th Ave & 9A St
Calgary, AB (map)
Sierra Speak Out! is an innovative regular event that introduces members and the general public to a stimulating series of discussions. Realizing that our members have a wide ranging breadth of knowledge on various environmental and ecological issues (but are not necessarily expert in a given field), Sierra Speak Out! lets you have your say.Each month, a member will speak briefly (maximum 15 minutes) on a topic that they are passionate about. We will then have a lively and respectful discussion, moderated by another member.
This is your chance to share some of your interests, concerns and knowledge with a like minded, respectful audience. Perhaps you have an organic garden (but aren’t a horticulturalist). Maybe you’re concerned about what’s going on in Fort McMurray (but aren’t a petroleum engineer). Or you’ve always wanted to tell someone about your experiences hiking in the back country. Sierra Speak Out! is your chance to share and shine.
Our next speaker is Ken Schmaltz. Ken is co-founder of CORA, where he leads hikes, scrambles, snowshoeing, backcountry skiing and–his favorite–kid’s hikes and snowshoeing. He is currently in the process of starting up Mountain Youth Experience, which will be a non-profit that provides opportunities for kids, teens and families to get into the mountains doing a variety of activities.
The title of Ken’s talk is going to be “If you want to save the earth, take a kid hiking”. He will talk about the benefits of getting kids out in nature (physical, emotional, intellectual), but also about its importance for the conservation movements. Everybody loves nature and mountains and forests and rivers, but how many people care enough about them to do anything meaningful to protect them? We only truly care about things that we understand, and understanding begins with experiencing.
Kids that get out into nature and experience it firsthand understand the importance of protecting it far more than adults who read about global warming or the decline of grizzlies in Banff or industrial pollution in the oilsands. Armed with that understanding, they’re the ones who will make the real changes in lifestyle and belief systems that will save the earth.
Welcome on board!
We did it! We held the first Annual General Meeting since our group had reformed last December. A big THANK YOU to our amazing volunteers Adrian, Alan, Bernice, Christopher, Darren, Kristin, Paul and Yulia who picked up the pieces and brought our group back to life! In the past seven months they invested a couple hundred hours to connect with members, establish the outings program, attend outreach events, recruit volunteers, collaborate with other groups and plan the next steps.
And now… *drumroll please* …welcome our new executive board that was elected at the AGM: Continue reading
Snakes ‘n Ladders
Our fantastic volunteers Paul and Bernice organized our first time at the Calgary Public Library’s Ecopalooza. It was a spectacularly beautiful day; warm and sunny. We attracted a wonderfully diverse crowd, roughly 125 people came to our table. Especially the younger visitors were enthusiastic and interested in our display. Bernice had created two environmental Snakes ‘n Ladders games that found a lot of fans. Visit us at one of our next events to let your inner child go wild!
If you would like to volunteer with us at events, please drop us a line at info@sierraclubchinook.org.
Playtime!
We will be part of the Calgary Public Library’s Ecopalooza in their new Saddletowne branch. It’s a family event where local organizations share what they’re doing to create a greener Calgary with hands on activities.
The program includes:
- Sierra Club: hear all about upcoming outings and campaigns, play entertaining environment board games and make your own buttons. 10am – 3pm
- Eco-Storytime: Fun stories with an eco-theme for kids aged 2 to 5. 11am – 11:30am
- Wildlife Talk with Lyn Hancock: The author and conservationist tells stories and shows pictures of her exciting adventures saving orphaned wildlife. 12pm –1: 30pm
- Alberta Sustainable Resource Development: Educational trailers “310-FIRE” and “Respect the Land”. 10am – 3pm
