I was thrilled to hear that France Moore Lappé is coming to Ottawa, to give a talk about “The World We Want: Visionary Ideas for a Small Planet.”

Lappé is author of the groundbreaking Diet for a Small Planet (1971)—a book which had a big influence on how I think about food—and 16 other books on food, politics and the environment. She’ll be here to talk about her latest, titled EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want (2011).

EcoMind is about the “myths” we tell ourselves about the environment, the economy and humanity that stop us from changing things for the better. For example, says Lappé, when we tell ourselves that environmental problems stem from rampant economic “growth,” we see the solution as limiting growth. But Lappé says that growth is essential—for the plants and animals around us and for ourselves—and that we can redefine growth as not about amassing (or wasting) more but about enhancing our well-being.

According to Lappé, our beliefs that we’ve become disconnected from nature, for example, or that our “consumer society” is to blame, are “thought traps” that make us feel powerless to stop seemingly insurmountable problems like climate change or food “scarcity.” EcoMind says the way forward lies in reframing the problems in order to open up new possibilities for action that are in line with nature.

If you have the chance, head to “The World We Want.” It’s on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at St. Brigid’s Centre for the Arts, 310 St. Patrick St. at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.). Tickets are $10 in advance (available at USC Canada or Octopus Books) or $15 at the door.

Some additional links to check out:

Frances Moore Lappé’s bio: http://smallplanet.org/about/frances/bio

Article by Frances Moore Lappé in the Ottawa Citizen about the “myth” of food scarcity: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Food+scarcity+dangerous+myth/6033424/story.html?shr=f

Video of Frances Moore Lappé talking about EcoMind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs9RFkkxqDY

Want to know more about the pros and cons of raising chickens in the city, or have an opinion about it? Or interested in a thought-provoking evening out? The Canadian Agriculture Museum is holding a Café Scientifique on Raising Chickens in the City: Human Right or Health Risk? It’s at the Fox and Feather Pub, 283 Elgin St. on Tuesday, November 29 2011 at 6 p.m.

Current municipal by-laws don’t permit chicken-raising in urban Ottawa, but some people think changing the by-laws could be a sustainable way to support local food. Others have concerns about adverse effects like health risks or noise. The Canadian Agriculture Museum says the Café will “explore all perspectives” as well as being an opportunity for “drinks, discussion and debate.”

The Ottawa organization Just Food is made up of a hardworking group of people who’ve been gathering some innovative ideas about how to make Ottawa’s food system healthier, more sustainable and accessible to everyone.

Many of us are trying to eat food that’s more nutritious, more local or grown more sustainably. And many Ottawa families can’t afford healthy food, according to the City of Ottawa. The Ottawa Food Bank helps address the gap, serving about 43,000 people a month. But it’s not a long-term solution.

Just Food has spent the last couple of years talking with Ottawa residents and food experts of different backgrounds about ways to bring about “Food for All.” In June they announced a Food Action Plan for Ottawa. The Plan consists of proposals on a range of issues. Ideas include improving access to land for community gardens, encouraging public institutions to “buy local,” bringing healthy food to schools, corner stores and transportation hubs, strengthening Ottawa’s local food-processing and distribution infrastructure, and enhancing income supports for people who need them. (These and more proposals are on Just Food’s website.)

The proposals “aren’t set in stone,” says Just Food, and they’re hoping that people will comment, and participate in “Kitchen Table Talks” coming up January through March next year.

Just Food is currently looking for people to help run the Kitchen Table Talks, and is offering training sessions for prospective animators. Three training sessions are scheduled so far, on November 21 at the Sandy Hill Community Centre, November 29 at the Centretown Community Health Centre, or December 5 at the Nepean, Rideau, Osgoode Community Resource Centre. You can check out the Just Food website for details and how to register.

Stay tuned for announcements about the Kitchen Table Talks themselves, and do check out the Food Action Plan proposals online.

Judging by the number of food-related events that keep coming up in Ottawa, more and more people are interested in sustainable, local and healthy food options—and they have more support than ever. Here are some events taking place this week:

Sustainable Food for Thought

CUSO-VSO hosts a discussion on sustainable farming with panellists from Nigeria, Southeast Asia and Ottawa. It’s Tuesday, November 15, 7-9 p.m. at the Cube Gallery, 1285 Wellington St. W. Free (suggested donation $5). Information at http://www.cuso-vso.org/event/34054/sustainable-food-for-thought—-ottawa.

Resilient Kitchen Workshop

Also on Tuesday, November 15: a workshop on Kitchen Cupboard Medicine: Healing Herbs and Spices, with Transition Ottawa and Amber Westfall. Learn about treating minor ailments with common herbs and spices. 7-9 p.m. at the Beaver Barracks, 464 Metcalfe St. Free (but bring your own mug). RSVP; details at http://resilientkitchen.wordpress.com/workshops/.

Food for All – A Food Action Plan for Ottawa
Just Food has developed an exciting new community vision and plan for food in Ottawa, based on consultations about local food issues and concerns. The plan centres on building a sustainable local food system, ensuring everybody has access to good food and promoting health through food security and nutrition. Just Food and Transition Ottawa are inviting “everybody who eats” to a workshop to help make the plan a reality. It’s on Thursday November 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Ecclesiax Sanctuary, 2 Monk St. (one block from 5th Ave. and Bank St.) More information at http://transitionottawa.ning.com/events/food-for-all-a-food-action-plan-for-ottawa-justfood and http://justfood.ca.

The people at Apartment613 have lots of good ideas, but this time they’ve outdone themselves. They’re making November “Support Local” month in Ottawa. And they’re talking not just local food but also local musicians, artists, restaurants and businesses.

They’ve set up a series of events throughout the month—a list too long to replicate here but do check out their website. Some examples:

• The Ottawa Craft Crawl – a series of craft shows (various dates and locations) that include natural, hand-made and local crafts, starting with Urban Craft at the GCTC on Nov. 5;
• Homemade, all-natural ice cream by Pascale and watercolour art by Doug Wilkinson at Octopus Books, Nov. 10;
• Ef Magazine’s Swapalooza Clothing Swap at Bowich – Best Organic Sandwich, Nov. 18;
• Beer and ‘Za at Kichesippi Brewery with The Flatbread Pizza Company, Nov. 19;
• Postcards from Ottawa at Raw Sugar Café – write to your friends and family telling them how great Ottawa is, Nov. 26.

You can also let Apartment613 know if you have ideas for other events (email editors [at] apt613 [dot] ca with “Support Local” in the subject line).

Volunteers will be on hand to collect the e-waste in bins located at Osgoode Foodland on the Main Street in Osgoode.  Our hope is that people will go through their houses collecting computers, TVs and electronic items that are no longer working and bring them to be discarded. The school is paid for each bin they fill. This money will be used to help support programs at the school.

We look at it as an opportunity to clean the house, keep these often bulky items out of landfill and there is absolutely no fundraising required.

Osgoode Foodland: 5669 Main St, Osgoode, ON K0A 2W0

EwasteOPS poster

“What could the Peace and Environment Resource Centre become?”

It’s a question that Ottawa’s Peace and Environment Resource Centre (PERC) is asking. PERC is inviting anyone with an interest in the environment, peace and social justice to meet on Thursday, September 22 2011 to explore what PERC does – and what it could do. The session will take place from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at St. Giles Presbyterian Church, First Street at Bank.

PERC has been promoting social justice and the environment in Ottawa for years. It’s a volunteer-run, charitable organization that raises awareness, links groups and individuals working on similar issues, offers a resource library, and provides alternative media coverage of social and environmental matters. It publishes a print newspaper, the Peace and Environment News (PEN), 6 times a year – recent issues have covered sustainable energy, food, green business, mining and human rights, and more. The PERC website offers news, highlights from the PEN and links to other resources.

PERC provides a forum for groups and individuals to keep in touch and informed on important issues, thanks to a core of dedicated people who keep it going. Still, PERC’s board, staff and volunteers are thinking ahead. They’re opening up the discussion to get people’s thoughts on what PERC could be. The public meeting is a great opportunity to have some input. (They can always use volunteers year-round, too – see their website for details.)

There’s a cornucopia of events in Ottawa in late August – many to do with food – including several on Sunday, August 14. Let me know if you find a way to make it to all of them!

• The next Ottawa Urban Wild Tour is on Sunday, August 14 from 10 a.m.-12 noon. This one is on Urban Edible Tree Nuts in Centretown (meet at Ottawa City Hall, Lisgar Street entrance).
• Canadian Organic Growers-Ottawa is holding its Ottawa Garden Tour on Sunday, August 14. Activities include a tour at noon of the Organic Flower and Vegetable Garden on the Central Experimental Farm and a 2 p.m. visit to the Fletcher Wildlife Garden. Details on the COG-Ottawa website; contact Lloyd at 613-257-8362 or lw.strachan@bell.net to RSVP.
• Pinhey’s Point hosts Riverfest celebrating the history of the Ottawa River on Sunday, August 14. The event includes heritage demonstrations (sheepshearing or blacksmithing, anyone?), voyageur canoe rides, wagon rides, a canoe ballet, live music, a barbecue and more. Riverfest is 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at 270 Pinhey’s Point Road in Dunrobin. Admission $6 per person ($10 for two or $16 per family); see the City’s website for details.
• Also on Sunday, August 14, the National Capital Vegetarian Association has its first summer BBQ and potluck from 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at Vincent Massey Park. The event will feature vegan food and is free for kids, $1 for NCVA members and $3 for non-members. See their Facebook page for details.
• The Community Gardening Network of Ottawa has a couple of events coming up. On Tuesday, August 23 there’s a Seed Saving Workshop from 6-8 p.m. at the Centretown Community Health Centre, 420 Cooper Street. Greta from Greta’s Organic Seeds will explain how to save seeds from year to year. On Sunday, August 25, the Urban Agriculture Bike Tour starts at 11 a.m. The tour will pass through several of Ottawa’s community gardens; snacks will be provided. Contact cgnintern@justfood.ca or communitygardening@justfood.ca for information or to register.

This is also a great time to visit Ottawa’s farmers’ markets, as well as local museums, many of which have gardening and other eco-themed events this month.

Some upcoming events worth checking out:

Support the South March Highlands at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights monument (in front of City Hall on Elgin St.) on Thursday July 28 at noon. Speakers include Sierra Club of Canada President John Bennett and Kurtis Benedetti, a 23-year-old Ottawa resident who is arriving home after cycling from Cape Breton to Ottawa – 2100 km – to raise awareness about the South March Highlands. Organisers will also read messages from Order of Canada recipient Grandfather William Commanda, Greenpeace and other supporters. After the rally, people are welcome to ride with Kurtis for the last leg of his journey, to the South March Highlands (about 20 km).

From the event press release: “Ottawa is believed to be the only major urban city in the world to have such a biodiverse, old-growth forest harbouring large mammals and endangered species within its urban boundaries. (Vancouver, with Stanley Park, is a distant second.) The forest contains provincially significant wetlands and has two provincial nominations as an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI), putting it on a par with Algonquin Park. Archaeological artifacts have been found nearby showing evidence of pre-contact occupation, and the area is believed to have high potential as a

World Heritage Site. Algonquin Nations have been vocal in calling for a new comprehensive archaeological assessment of the area. Despite being officially declared as Environmental Area in 1970 and officially “protected” for more than two decades, only a third of the original South March Highlands remains….In 2011, the International Year of the Forest, with the blessing of the Ontario Municipal Board and Ottawa’s newly elected City Council, developers clear-cut a large portion of the area known at the Beaver Pond Forest. Despite the loss, some 15,000 Canadian citizens, First Nations and organizations vow to continue the fight to save the remaining South March Highlands.” For more information: http://www.union-algonquin-union.com/south-march-highlands/, http://southmarch.wordpress.com/ and http://www.ottawasgreatforest.com.

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The Rideau Canal Festival takes place July 28-August 1 at several spots along the canal including Confederation Park, the Ottawa Locks (at Bytown Museum), and Dows Lake Pavilion. The Festival is a celebration of the Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and features a range of activities. New this year are an art show and world heritage concerts (which include environmental storytelling for children), and a Bicycle Chic fashion show. Admission applies to some events.

As part of the Festival, the Energy Ottawa Ecosphere Environmental Fair takes place starting July 30. This “environmental and green building fair” is organised by Group Ecosphere, a non-profit organization, and includes exhibits from companies and organisations about green building, new technologies, organic farming, alternative medicines and other services. For more information: http://www.rideaucanalfestival.ca/index.html and http://www.projetecosphere.org/en/index-ottawa.php.

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Pinhey’s Point Historic Site has a Campfire and Storytelling event on July 29 at 7:00 p.m. Gather around the campfire, roast marshmallows and listen to First Nations stories and legends. Reservations required; cost is $6 per child, $10 for two or $16 per family. For more information on this and other great local museum programming: http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/heritage/museums/index_en.html.

Is Ottawa bike-friendly?

We have an enviable network of recreational pathways, and many other decent biking routes. We have Sunday Bikedays and Bixi bike rentals. We can transport our bikes if need be on the O-Train and some OC Transpo buses. And we now have a segregated bike lane on Laurier Avenue, launched on July 10.

The League of American Bicyclists and the Share the Road Cycling Coalition say we’re bike-friendly – to a point. They’ve awarded the City of Ottawa a Silver Bicycle Friendly Community Award for its cycling initiatives.

Silver is not the Award’s highest designation, and cycling in Ottawa is not always smooth sailing. Ottawa has far too many accidents involving bikes, and numerous problem areas, some documented on Ottawa Biking Problems, where people can report on challenges they encounter.

So we’re not Copenhagen, where over a third of people commute by bike every day; nor, fortunately, are we following Toronto’s example of removing cycling infrastructure.

We could do more as a city, but there are some signs that we’re gradually changing infrastructure and attitudes to make cycling safer and more convenient, so that biking becomes a real option for getting around, for more people.

Some of the recent changes in this direction include the NCC’s Park and Cycle pilot program, which provides parking lots for commuters to leave their cars and cycle the rest of the way downtown; the addition of cycling directions for Ottawa to Google Maps; and services like complementary Bluesfest bike parking offered by Citizens for Safe Cycling and Bluesfest.

Ottawa also has many resources for people looking for assistance or gear, like Can-Bike courses and Recycles and Recyclore bike shops. (See Ottawa Start for additional cycling links.) We’re also starting to see a slightly greater diversity of bikes available for people with a range of abilities.

Then there are the people and groups who are helping change our perceptions of what is “cycleable,” and encouraging us to see cycling as something that most people can do, whether it’s a commute to work, a leisurely outing on a bike path, a mountain bike ride or a quick trip to the grocery store. This includes bloggers like Andrea Grant’s Apartment 613 post about bike-accessible places to go swimming around Ottawa; Ottawa cycling advocate Kathleen Wilker’s family biking blog; and Ottawa Cycle Chic, which does as much for promoting cycling as an everyday activity as it does for bike fashion. (I have to say that I’m pro-helmet, myself). As well, the organisation Cycling Vision Ottawa aims to support people of all ages and abilities to feel comfortable on their bikes.

These developments are important for Ottawa. As cycling advocates point out, biking not only has environmental and health benefits but also gives us a connection that we wouldn’t otherwise have to nature, to the urban landscape and to each other. A recent Sustainable Cities Collective post states that “the most vital element for the future of our cities is that the bicycle is an instrument of experiential understanding” – i.e., a way to really get to know and connect with our communities and our city.

In other words, a bike-friendly city is also a friendly city. Sounds like a good idea for Ottawa.