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November 10, 2011

Tree-planting Ceremony for Wangari Mathaai

Posted by greenlivingottawa under climate change, flora and fauna, media, Ottawa, volunteering
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Written by guest blogger Denise Deby, who writes on local and global social and environmental issues.

In Minto Park, at the corner of Elgin and Gilmour Streets downtown, there’s a new sugar maple tree. It was planted this week to honour environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Muta Mathaai, who passed away on September 25, 2011.

Wangari Mathaai never lived in Ottawa, but her life’s work has influence and relevance here—and throughout the world. Dr. Mathaai was a Kenyan environmentalist, scientist, human and women’s rights advocate, political activist and parliamentarian.

Wangari Mathaai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 as a grassroots community-based tree-planting program to address environmental degradation and empower women; it’s become a global movement working for human rights, democracy, peace and climate justice as well. Her work was challenging, at times dangerous, but she persevered. “It is the people who must save the environment. It is the people who must make their leaders change,” she said, “So we must stand up for what we believe in.” Professor Mathaai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 and has received dozens of other awards and recognitions.

To celebrate Wangari Mathaai’s life and achievements, the Nobel Women’s Initiative, an organization based in Ottawa that Dr. Mathaai herself helped found in 2004, along with Ecology Ottawa, hosted the tree-planting ceremony on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at Minto Park, with the High Commissioner of Kenya, Simon Nabukwesi, the Ambassador of Norway, Else Eikeland, and Mayor Jim Watson attending.

For Wangari Mathaai, sustainability, human rights, peace and justice were interconnected. “She did not put women’s rights, democracy and the environment into separate boxes,” said Liz Bernstein, Executive Director of the Nobel Women’s Initiative, at the ceremony.

Mathaai also believed that every person could take action. Ecology Ottawa’s Trevor Haché summed it up this way: “May this tree that we will plant today in the ceremony serve as inspiration and an important reminder to all Ottawa citizens that we have the power to effect change and we will always encourage our elected officials to do more to protect the planet.”

 

Trailer “I will be a hummingbird”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGMW6YWjMxw&feature=player_embedded#! or

http://www.dirtthemovie.org/

 

Trailer for Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Mathaai http://greenbeltmovement.org/w.php?id=82

 

 

November 1, 2011

Apartment613’s Support Local Month in Ottawa

Posted by greenlivingottawa under 100-mile, arts and culture, Blogroll, books, clothing, food, household, media, organic, Ottawa
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Written by guest blogger Denise Deby, who writes on local and global social and environmental issues.

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:

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).

 

October 18, 2011

Green Living Ottawa’s 200th Post

Posted by greenlivingottawa under Blogroll, media, Ottawa
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Written by guest blogger Denise Deby, who writes on local and global social and environmental issues and was more surprised than anyone to realise she has just completed her 63rd guest post for Green Living Ottawa.

You’ll know if you read this blog that Alette Willis created Green Living Ottawa a few years ago as a way to share positive ways of living sustainably in Ottawa.

When Alette mentioned to me recently that this post would be Green Living Ottawa’s 200th, I couldn’t help but use it to say congratulations to her, and thanks – thanks for making this a space for information, conversations and inspiration on how we in Ottawa can live “green,” do what we can, and not feel alone in doing so.

Alette’s been living in Edinburgh, but had the idea to open up the blog to guest bloggers while she’s away, to enable Green Living Ottawa to continue. She’s warmly welcomed our contributions and perspectives, and keeps the blog going despite the time and energy it takes.

So congratulations, Alette, for over 4 years and 200 posts of Green Living Ottawa, and for making Ottawa (and beyond) better.

 

October 11, 2011

October Food Events

Posted by greenlivingottawa under arts and culture, food, media, organic, Ottawa
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Written by guest blogger Denise Deby, who writes on local and global social and environmental issues.

It’s food, glorious food in Ottawa for the next couple of weeks. It’s harvest season, and October 16 is World Food Day, resulting in some appetizing as well as thought-provoking events locally.

 

World Food Day Forum

USC Canada is hosting a World Food Day Forum called From Field to Fork: Building a Better Food System. It’s on Thursday, October 13 and features a great line-up of speakers: journalist, activist and Locavore author Sarah Elton, chef and 42 Fine Foods owner Susan Jessup, and organic farmer and National Farmers’ Union leader Colleen Ross. 7 p.m. at St. Paul University Amphitheatre, 223 Main St.; free admission.

At 6 p.m., before the Forum starts, there’ll be a Marketplace where people can try local cheeses and fair trade beverages, check out Octopus Books’ display, and meet representatives of Just Food and Canadian Organic Growers. You can also register for a Seed-Saving Workshop taking place from 5-6 p.m. with organic farmer Daniel Brisebois from Le Ferme Coopérative Tourne-sol. For information contact jlaforge@usc-canada.org.

 

Food for Thought

Oxfam Canada is calling October 15-22 GROW Week – a week to celebrate food and encourage food justice and equitable access to food. On Thursday, October 13, Oxfam will host Food for Thought, a discussion about food and the international food system. Speakers include Lucy Sharratt, coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, and Courtney-Anne Craft from Oxfam Canada. It’s at the University of Ottawa, 7-9 p.m. at Café Alternatif (Simard Building basement). Contact oxfamuottawa@gmail.com for information.

 

Book Launch

Author and food system expert Pat Kerans will launch his book A Pessimist’s Hope: Food and the Ecological Crisis on Tuesday, October 18, 7-8:30 p.m. at the Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch. Kerans’ book sheds light on our unsustainable food system and how we might improve it.

 

Reel Food Film Festival

The Reel Food Film Festival is back. On Thursday, October 20, see Our Daily Bread, a film about Europe’s industrial agriculture, by Nikolaus Geyrhalter (Austria, 2006). (The organizers advise viewer discretion as some scenes are difficult to watch.) Then on Thursday, October 27, see Fresh: The Movie, by ana Sofia joanes (USA, 2009), a film about some of the people who are re-inventing the American food system, moving away from unhealthy and unsustainable food production toward healthier, sustainable alternatives.

Both films take place at the Ottawa Public Library Auditorium, Main Branch, at 6:30 p.m. Free admission ($5 donation appreciated); contact info@usc-canada.org for information.

 

Harvest Noir

Harvest Noir is billed as “Ottawa’s secret picnic feast and black tie dance party” – kind of a flash mob picnic in which attendees find out the location only just before the event. Guests bring their own picnic, with emphasis on locally-harvested seasonal fresh food; the evening will include a DJ and live dance music. Saturday, October 15 at 4 p.m. Admission $37 plus tax.

World Food Day – [insert your own event here!] – at your convenience

Another option: you can celebrate the UN’s World Food Day your own way, with a local twist. USC Canada suggests hosting your own event. They have tips for organizing things like a potluck supper using local ingredients and movie night, a seed-saving workshop or a local-food challenge. Similarly, Oxfam’s World Food Challenge suggests people share a meal by organizing dinners that use local, fair trade and organic food – they have a number of ideas and resources on their site.

Bon appetit!

 

October 3, 2011

Climate Change Solutions in Ottawa

Posted by greenlivingottawa under 100-mile, arts and culture, climate change, energy, flora and fauna, health, media, Ottawa, transportation
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Written by guest blogger Denise Deby, who writes on local and global social and environmental issues.

In Ottawa we usually don’t make a big deal of internationally-designated days, but this year’s UN World Habitat Day on October 3 seemed significant. The theme: Cities and Climate Change.

According to UN-HABITAT, the world’s cities are responsible for up to 70 per cent of harmful greenhouse gases. Transportation using fossil fuels and industrial activity are particularly significant sources of urban greenhouse gas emissions.

So cities are big contributors to climate change – but people in cities are also affected by the consequences of climate change, like flooding. And cities are, arguably, a big part of the solution.

The City of Ottawa has said municipalities can play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In Ottawa, transportation and buildings’ energy use each account for 40 percent of greenhouse gases, with the remaining 20 percent from the waste sector. The City has had a climate change management plan to address these. But there’s a long road ahead of us.

One of the problems is that climate change here isn’t that obvious, so it’s easy not to think much about it. But the City says our hottest days are getting hotter and more frequent, and declining air quality is a big concern. In 2005 the City recorded 290 deaths and 750 hospital admissions attributable to air pollution, and projected increases in these numbers over the next 25 years. Climate change is affecting our health, changing our environment and costing us in many ways.

Individual action helps – people riding bikes instead of driving, choosing locally-grown food when possible, and turning down thermostats. We need more from all levels of government, though. And we need to be talking about it a lot more.

I think this is happening. Just last week, for example, we had the Ottawa Action to Protest the Tar Sands, a Museum of Nature screening of the film Carbon Nation, and – if you happened to attend the Kickass Talks for CARE on October 2 – Ottawa’s Richard Weber sharing evidence of climate change from the Arctic.

There’s another event coming up this week. It’s part of the System Change Not Climate Change initiative launched by the Council of Canadians’ Climate Justice for People and the Planet campaign to build awareness and inspire people to find alternatives to climate change. Members of Transition Ottawa are hosting a presentation and discussion about what system change means and how environmental and social justice are linked. The event is on Thursday, October 6 from 7:30-9:15 p.m. at 2 Monk St. (one block from 5th Avenue and Bank St.) in the Glebe; RSVP at http://transitionottawa.ning.com.

It seems daunting, even impossible, to do anything about climate change. But groups and movements like Transition Towns, System Change Not Climate Change, and Worldchanging and its successor are coming up with solutions that are feasible yet retain what’s best about our cities. Check them out when you have the chance.

 

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