Moving Forward Creatively & United! |
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Please note there will not be a webinar this Wednesday,
November 11th, in observance of Remembrance Day |
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A Zero Waste Response
for Regional Tree Protection The CRD currently plans to cut down 73 acres of trees in the Mount Work area to expand the Hartland Landfill.
Please join Creatively United for the Planet and the Mount Work Coalition to be part of the discussion to explore a zero-waste and tree-retaining response, online tonight, Monday, November 9th, from 7:30-9 pm. Please register here to receive the Zoom link.
GOAL: To learn about, strategize and brainstorm how a variety of groups can work together to make zero waste and tree protection a reality. Overview: An opportunity exists to enhance regional climate change policies; protect and preserve hundreds of acres of trees; adopt new and affordable technologies to reduce landfill waste to zero waste; and create affordable, clean, renewable energy. Expansion of Hartland Landfill and Zero Waste
The CRD are revising its Solid Waste Management Plan with a proposal to expand the footprint of the landfill by 73 acres of forested lands before 2045. The loss of these trees will result in an increase of 9000 metric tonnes of carbon currently sequestered which is totally contrary to the region becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
The Municipality of Esquimalt is exploring the feasibility of a gasifier which will thermally convert non recyclable waste into a synthesis gas used to power the gasifier and provide carbon free energy for space heating. This proposal is the centrepiece of Esquimalt’s pledge to meet the goal of zero waste become carbon neutral by 2050. Creatively United and other community groups are joining forces with the Mount Work Coalition which is taking the lead on challenging the need for landfill expansion and have produced a video explaining the waste to energy gasifier system to encourage the support of other municipalities, individuals and groups. The Conversations for a One Planet Region encourages the region to reduce it's overall footprint by 75% by 2050 to be in keeping with living with the capacity of One Planet. The generation of waste past 2050 is incompatible with this goal on a number of fronts: continuing a consumer society; disposing waste instead of totally reusing it; loss of natural habitat and carbon storage. We urge One Planet Saanich, individuals and groups to support the initiative to shift more quickly to zero waste and to support the Municipality of Esquimalt to complete its detailed feasibility study for the waste to energy system so it is assured to be in the public interest and can lead to a circular economy where all waste is reused. Time is of the essence. On November 16, Esquimalt Council is set to discuss the feasibility of the waste to energy gasifier. Please write the following people about preventing tree loss and the need to mitigate climate change by supporting the waste to energy model currently being considered, and send it as soon as possible to: Barb Desjardins <Barbara.Desjardins@esquimalt.ca>
Mayor and Council <mayorandcouncil@esquimalt.ca>
Tricia de Macedo <Tricia.deMacedo@esquimalt.ca> |
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Restoring & Monitoring Ecosystem Health |
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Next week, on Wednesday, November 18th from 11 am to noon PT, learn from two members of one of Canada’s leading international river basin negotiating teams how they are working to restore ecosystem health in the Canadian portion of the Columbia Basin following the damming of the River in the 1960s. Also learn how a grass roots group is monitoring water quality, training both indigenous and non indigenous communities and sharing all data on an open source data hub. Kathy Eichenberger is the senior negotiator for the BC Government for modernizing the US Canada Columbia River Treaty originally signed on 1964. She has worked in the BC Provincial Government for over 20 years both with the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. As Chief of the Secwepemc First Nations community for over 20 years, Nathan Matthew has supported and led many community-building initiatives in strategic planning, schooling, economic development, health and social development and governance. He has been a leader in the local, provincial, and national dialogue on self-determination for Indigenous education. Kat Harwig has been involved in international, national and regional environmental advocacy issues relating to sustainable tourism, endangered species, corporate social responsibility and water based ecosystem health since 1983. Kat advocates for land and water policy and protection mechanisms necessary to support biodiversity, source water protection and climate resilient communities. She is an advisor for: the Lake Windermere Ambassadors; BC Water Leaders Consortium; Small Change Fund; Vancouver Foundation Environmental Advisory; Canadian Freshwater Alliance advisory and the Columbia Basin Trust Climate Resilience Advisory. Kat is currently on the board of The Keepers of the Water, the Columbia Basin Water Stewardship Network and Global Nature Fund. She facilitates cross sector-corporate, academic, government and NGO partnerships and collaborations for water stewardship. |
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Last week, leading US political commentator and Washington DC lawyer, Mace Rosenstein, returned to distill the US election results. Mace was joined by Tom Axworthy, a senior policy advisor to the Canadian Federal government, and Bob Sandford, Global Water Futures Chair in Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. Our partner, Jon O'Riordan's closing comments and additional Q&As can be found on our website. "Congratulations on the session this morning. Two dynamite presenters and good questioner. What I particularly found useful about the session was the broad nature of the discussion, including perspectives on what needed doing in the U.S. about the growing divisions, and what needed doing in Canada to stop divisions growing here. Lots of food for thought and action! I can safely say that this session was the best extended commentary on the election and its ramifications that I have either seen or read." - Dr. Chris Bullock |
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Celebrating Eight Years of CommUNITY Eight years ago today, Creatively United for the Planet became a non-profit society. So much has happened since we incorporated, including: eight zero-waste festivals and dozens of events with hundreds of musicians, artists, speakers, authors and non-profit exhibitors and thousands of attendees; published two books: Stepping Into Nature and Higher Ground, a cartoon colouring book, plus a Solutions Guide - 58 Ways to Lighter and Healthier Living; produced numerous videos and films, including The Harmless Home, Awaken, TEDx Countdown, plus a free webinar series with a multitude of world-class presenters; created a free community solutions and sharing hub complete with a Pair Up Directory of over 176 non-profits; and collaborate with numerous groups, including One Planet Saanich, BC Drawdown, Climate and the Arts, Conversations for a One Planet Region, the Mount Work Coalition, Community Trees Matter Network and many others. Please be sure to also subscribe to our Creatively United YouTube channel so you will be the first to know of new video releases. We welcome donations and invite you if you feel inclined to help us continue doing this work. |
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About Creatively United & Our Partners The Creatively United for the Planet Society is a registered non-profit society. Since 2012, we have brought together more than 10,000 people from throughout the region who care about happy, healthy, and resilient communities. We have done so through seven zero-waste sustainability showcases, numerous community events and educational talks, collaborative partnerships, a video series, and the CreativelyUnited.org free community information network, resource and solutions sharing hub. The Gail O'Riordan Climate and the Arts Legacy Fund, supported by The Victoria Foundation, is dedicated to changing human consciousness towards global environmental change by combining science with the creativity of the performing arts. The Ecoforestry Institute Society (EIS) is a registered non-profit, charitable society comprised of a volunteer Board and a strong core of community volunteers. They are dedicated to the principles and practices of ecoforestry – demonstrating that we can harvest trees and plants from the forest while maintaining healthy and integrated ecological systems. |
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