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the theme of the Spring 2012 issue of the Sandpiper is ‘radi- cals’, in the interest of taking ownership of the term and demon- strating that challenging the status quo is often something to be extremely proud of.
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Full disclosure: I don’t think I’m very radical (except maybe a little bit, in the surfer-slang sense of the word). Despite this, the theme of the Spring 2012 issue of the Sandpiper is ‘radi-cals’, in the interest of taking ownership of the term and demon-strating that challenging the status quo is often something to be extremely proud of.
Radical thoughts and actions take many forms, and radical people are all around us. A woman I know recently wrote a letter to the Prime Minister expressing her displeasure with the 2012 Federal budget. It took her no more than an hour to write, but it was thoughtful and poignant. This act should not have surprised me, because this woman frequently writes to her councilperson, MLA, and various newspapers and publications to express her opinion on issues of the environment and the arts. She simply wants to make the world a better, more equitable place, and she uses her gift as a writer to achieve this. When I asked her why she decided to write this letter, she said, “If I don’t do anything about it, I can’t very well complain about it!”
If everyone realized their personal potential to make a difference, with whatever abilities they possess, the world would be a better place. It could be as simple as opting for a restaurant that sources its food locally, or as grand a gesture as standing up, literally, to the Environment Minister at a major international confer-ence. We can all stop taking the road less radical, and there is no “right” way to do it.
My sincere hope is that this issue of the Sandpiper compels you make a change, however small, that will better the lives of the people in your community and our planet overall. Even a dona-tion to the Sierra Club Atlantic Canada Chapter would do so much to continue the great work they do.
Many thanks to the Sandpiper team and all the supporters of the Sierra Club Atlantic Canada Chapter, and I wish all the readers a very radical Spring!
Madison Van WestEditor-in-Chief
Defining RadicalFrom “Environmental Subversive” to “radical”, “enemy” and “against Canada”
The Much Maligned Radical Environmental/NatureCamp: Opportunites for Youth
Fun with Food inFrederictonWhen “Truth”is not Fact
Radical Families: Make your own Baby Food
A “Radical” Perspective
Creature Feature
Living Building Challenge
In this issue... Letter from the Editor
Sierra Successes
Sierra Atlantic’s nuclear watch team,
Lee Ann Ward and Larry Lack of St. Andrews, NB, are following NB Power’s efforts to re-
start Atlantic Canada’s only nuclear power plant, located at Pt. Lepreau on the Bay of Fundy near Saint John. Sierra Atlantic is part of an informal alliance of environmental and community groups called the Lepreau Decommissioning Coalition that is working to publicize a host of safety and related problems at Pt. Lepreau that pose serious risks to the future of our region.
The Pt. Lepreau reactor has been offline for four years now, for a “refurbishment” that was supposed to take just 18 months. The absence of Lepreau power from the grid has not caused any power shortages or blackouts, and it’s evident that power from Lepreau is not needed in Atlantic Canada. NB Power wants to produce power at Lepreau for export to New England, but the northeastern U.S. now has a surplus of electricity, so there is no real need for the power that Lepreau may produce in the future.
Lee Ann and Larry represented Sierra Club Atlantic as inter-venors at hearings conducted last fall by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). In February, the CNSC gave NB Power the go-ahead to refuel and restart the Lepreau reactor, as well as extend its operations through June 2017. In doing so, the CNSC predictably dismissed or ignored the many concerns about the reactor’s safety (and about the questionable neutral-ity of the CNSC itself), the very concerns that were raised by Sierra Club Atlantic and other groups during the Lepreau hear-ings.
Sierra members and others are encouraged to contact their members of Parliament, the media and the CNSC in Ottawa to demand that an En-vironmental Assessment under the rules of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act be con-ducted before the Pt. Lepreau reactor is allowed to restart.
NUKE NOTES Nova ScotiaWe have reached over 1600 children this year with our nature immersion Wild Child program, and that number contin-ues to grow. Volunteer Emily Dodge is getting kids outside to experience the na-ture that “comes up between the cracks” around them.
Working with the Save Our Seas and Shores Coalition, we have delayed drilling in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for at least two years, to the point that the oil company wanting to drill, Corridor, asked for a regulatory “time-out” – which would have meant that they would be granted an extension on their lease to start drilling. Luckily, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) denied their request. We now have some breath-ing room to get more active on protecting our Gulf for good!
We continued our outreach and education campaign on fracking by offering a film screening in Wolfville, after presenting on the issue to students from Acadia’s Environmental Studies class. Our peti-tion to ban fracking (with almost 2500 “hard copy” signatures) was placed in the hands of MLA Gary Burrill who official-ly presented the petition - and added his own signature! - in the NS Legislature on April 5th. On April 16th the province extended its review of fracking by two years - and promise that no approvals for fracking would happen until 2014! Thanks to Chris Dufour and students at Cole Harbour High who gathered so many signatures and helped make this change happen!
Our intrepid Dalhousie Co-op student, Jessica Miller, working with Dalhousie professor Susan Gass and Diversity of Life instructor Lara Gibson, is helping us develop protocols and identify sampling sites for monitoring biodiversity in Hali-fax Regional Municipality. If you want to volunteer to help us start monitoring, please contact Gretchen at [email protected].
Let’s Celebrate...
SIERRA SUCCESSES
This issue of The Sandpiper was created by
Communications Committee - Newsletter SubcommitteeGretchen Fitzgerald, Madison Van West, Tristan Sbrizzi, Brynn Horley
ContributorsGretchen Fitzgerald, Fred Winsor, Elizabeth May, Tristan Sbrizzi, Rebecca McQuaid, Tristan Sbrizzi, Brynn
Horley, Najat Abdou-McFarland, Robert Christian, Margaret Hoett, James Hutt, Heidi Verheul
If you would like to contribute to our next issue, or have any comments or responses to content in this newsletter, we would love to hear from you.
Please contact us at:
www.sierraclub.ca/atlantic(902) 444-3113
Newfoundland and LabradorThe Sierra Club worked with the Newfoundland and Labrador Food Security Network (FSN) to establish a fisheries committee within the network. We also conducted a teleconference with FSN members on Marine Protected Areas. Furthering our work in this area, we made a presentation on the international history of Marine Protected Areas to graduate students in the biology department at Memorial University.
We made a presentation to the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Utilities Board regarding the Muskrat Falls de-velopment and the accompanying loss of natural habitat of the Lower Churchill River, as well as a presentation on closing the oil-fired Holyrood generating station to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Energy-efficiency smart grids and renewable energy were promoted as positive options.
Through work with the Sandy Pond Alliance, efforts continue to prevent pristine lakes from being turned into to poisonous mine and smelter tailings ponds (Note: we are still fighting in Federal Court).
The Sierra Club participated in the City of St. John’s municipal plan review. Major issues identified include: city walkability, affordable housing, and public transit. Efforts to expand public transit in northeast Avalon were contin-ued by working with the Regional Public Transit Coalition.
Prince Edward IslandIn February, Sierra Buddies was presented very successfully to three enthusiastic classes at West Kent Elementary in Charlottetown. The ten member team from Charlottetown Rural High School got great reviews from the teachers for engaging the students in their activities, which included the ‘bag of impacts’, the ‘map of origins’, skits on sustain-able living and the ecological footprint of ‘someone else’s shoes’.
Tony Reddin presented submissions to the PEI Minister of Energy and the PEI Energy Commission on making con-servation, efficiency and renewables, as well as government leader-ship, the priorities for PEI’s energy policy.
They held a very successful Earth Day Event in Charlottetown with proceeds going to Sierra Club. We’d like to thank our generous sup-porters: Metro Credit Union (Gold Sponsor), Tink ‘n Ginger Salon Boutique (Bronze Sponsor) and Go to Green. Along with our lively volunteer committee, we’d also like to thank co-organizers City of Charlottetown Sustainability Program, Confederation Centre Art Education, Katimivik, ECO Change Co-op, and Murphy’s Commu-nity Centre Youth Programs.
We were also very happy that Megan Burnside, who volunteered at last year’s annual gathering, has tapped into urban farming in Char-lottetown– literally. Having tapped three trees she proudly holds her first jar of maple syrup!
New BrunswickHazel Richardson, Executive Committee member and gardener extraordinaire, has worked with officials in the City of Fredericton to draft a bylaw for urban chickens – a real victory for local food! Hazel is offering gardening services to benefit Sierra Club Atlantic this spring, so if you want to help both your earth and our Earth, please get in touch and we’ll see if Hazel can help get your garden ship shape: email [email protected] 3
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When a group of residents from Cape Breton and eastern Nova Scotia went to court in 1982 to stop the spraying of Agent Orange, the late George Henley, a member of the Buchanan
Cabinet, called us “environmental subversives.” He alleged that we were receiving funds from “as far away
as Russia and Nepal.” It was pretty bizarre. When asked by reporters if this was true, I told them our biggest challenge was getting good exchange rates for roubles. Reporters laughed. Our David and Goliath struggle was well known. We were holding quilt raffles and bake sales in a fight to prevent Stora from spraying Agent Orange. June Callwood quipped, “It is a David and Goliath struggle, except that Goliath has the slingshot.” We produced “I am an envi-ronmental subversive” buttons and sold them to add to our kitty.
Here we are in 2012, and the federal Minister of Natural Resources has been handed a script from the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO) fear factory calling environmen-talists “foreign funded radicals.” An Access to Information request revealed that environmental groups are being de-scribed by the PMO as “enemies.” The Prime Minister has committed to his new best friend, the government in Bei-jing, that nothing will stop the building of the Great Pipeline of China to transport bitumen crude on supertankers, risking the most dangerous waters on earth. Enemies beware: Prime Minister Harper has spoken.
How did I know that protecting human health from pesticides would matter; that foreign corporations should not have more sway over our governments than citizens? I don’t know how I knew, but I have always known. While the odds against us have increased as our governments have caved to corporate rule, the truth is that we have more power than the corporations. We just have to believe it, seize our power and use it.
From“Environmental Subversive”
to “Radical,” “Enemy” and
“Against Canada” Four Decades of Activism
by Elizabeth May MP, Leader of the Green Party of Canada
May with the Dalai Lama
May
with
Far
ley
Mow
at
Defining Radical by Fred Winsor“If it’s to be, it’s up to me.”
The Oxford English Dictionary has four definitions for radical as a noun, and four more when used as an adjective. These do not include the verb to radicalize, or the noun radical sign, which is used in mathematics. However, the word radical, whether it is used as a noun, verb, or adjective, is generally associated with fundamental change and those advocating for it. Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), by their very reason for being, act to protect and restore the planet’s natural habitats so that future generations can live on this planet. Those associated with EN-GOs, like the Sierra Club, often find commonality with radical change and agents of radical change.
This perspective can be lost on large businesses and governments who, driven by short-term ob-jectives, greed and personal gain, adopt practices which degrade natural environments. In situations where ENGOs challenge these examples of short-term thinking, those in positions of power and authority may employ the term radical in a derogatory context (e.g. “a bunch of radicals,” or prior to 1989 during the Cold War, “a bunch of commie radicals”). Such name-calling is generally an indication by one party that they are not prepared to discuss the actual points of disagreement.
So who are radicals anyway? What makes people become radical in their thinking and in their actions? Life experiences can have a profound impact on the radicalization of individuals. It can occur when individuals are confronted with a reality that conflicts or challenges what they previously thought or believed. This juxtaposition of contrasting views can drive a person to seek out the sources and facts of a situation, and this results a fundamental change in how they see the world. Radicals refuse to accept things at face value, which leads to the development of critical thinking skills that become the norm for these individuals.
Knowledge is one thing, but having the courage to act upon it is something else. Action requires an awareness of the person you are as an individual within society. That many radicals advocate for civil society and view themselves as citizen advocates should not come as any surprise. However, those em-barking on this course are often stepping away from the norm and must assume a leadership role. This is often a positive and constructive form of social deviance, one that assists in the evolution of our society – yet those engaged in it often receive little encouragement or support.
So what are the benefits? Why do people become - as in the case of Sierra Club - environmental activists? What is their motivation? The many responses include: doing the right thing, hope for a better world, being part of something larger. Making a difference. Taking part in activities from which they get true satisfaction. Pursuing something in life that they feel passionate about. It is difficult to measure in terms of material wealth – yet the satisfaction runs deep.
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Org: Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry ProjectPEI: Orwell (Vernon Bridge)About: Week-long nature education programs - http://www.macphailwoods.org/calendarContact: [email protected] (902) 651-2575
Environmental/Nature Camp
Opportunities for Youthby Rebecca McQuaid
Org: Halifax Regional Municipality’s Adventure Earth CentreNS: From Halifax Regional Municipality to Hants CountyAbout: Summer adventure camps and leadership training - ages 7-12 - http://earthed.ns.ca/daycamps/Contact: [email protected] (902) 490-6666
Org: Memorial University Newfoundland Botanical GardenNL: Pippy Park, St. John's About: Week-long Junior Naturalist Camp programs - grades 1 to 5 – http://www.mun.ca/botgarden/group_prog/JNC/
Org: Kids@MUN Enviro Kids programNL: Memorial University, St. John’sAbout: Half to full-day theme camps (June 25- Aug.24) -ages 5 to 12http://www.mun.ca/lifelonglearning/pro-grams/youth_programs/summer_camps/
Org: Nature New BrunswickNB: St. Andrews (Huntsman Marine Science Centre), Fredericton (Killarney Lake Rotary Lodge), and Moncton (Irishtown Park)About: Week-long day and overnight summer youth nature camps - ages 9 to 14http://naturenb.ca/summeryouthnature-camps.html
Org: Cape Jourimain Nature Centre Summer CampsNB: BayfieldAbout: Full-day educational nature conservation games and activitieshttp://ecoed.capejourimain.ca/at-the-centre/camps-events/Contact: Roland Chiasson [email protected](506)-538-2220 or 1-866-538-2220
Org: Environmental Day CampsNS: Halifax (Run from July 3th to August 20th)About: Half Day Discovery Camps and Full Day Adventure Camps - ages 7 to 12Contact: http://www.earthed.ns.ca/daycamps/
Since this past January, when Joe Oliver first deemed opponents to Enbridge’s proposed North-ern Gateway Pipeline ‘radicals’, a great deal of attention has been paid the meaning of Mr. Oliver’s words. Radicals are an easy tar-get for criticism because of their ability to affect fundamental changes to the status quo. Radi-cals play an important part in a functioning system, be it societal or organic.
In chemistry, ‘free radicals’ are atoms with an odd number of electrons that cause the mol-ecule to become highly reactive. These reactive atoms seeks to stabilize themselves by taking an electron from a neighbouring molecule, which in turn becomes a free radical.
The association between high levels of free radicals and cancers, heart disease, diabetes, neurodegenerative disease, and even the aging process means that these little atoms have been widely vilified. However, at lower levels, radi-cals play important roles in the proper function of the human body and cannot be considered entirely malicious. Free radicals are naturally produced in the body through normal enzymatic processes and as by-products of cellular metabolism, which help to defend the immune system and act as cellular messengers. In the immune system, radicals act as a weapon against invasive bac-teria and viruses. Certain white blood cells will engulf a foreign bacteria or virus to produce an ‘oxidative burst’ of free radicals that destroy the invading cell. As messengers, free radicals
may serve as intermediaries that help to commu-nicate hormonal signals to locations within the cell. Studies suggest that radicals may also play roles in the production of red blood cells, the maintenance of blood vessels and, ironically, the protection of cells against free radical damage.
Although the negative effects of excess free radi-cal have already been established, the beneficial effects are only recently coming to light. One fact remains clear: whether free radicals are re-vealed to be a predominantly positive or negative force within the body, radicals play an integral and necessary role within a healthy system.
The Much Maligned Radicalby Tristan Sbrizzi
Advertisement
Org: ExplorerNS: Hants County (July 21 and 29)About: Week-long overnight camp - ages 11-13Contact: http://earthed.ns.ca/explorer
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by Brynn Horley
I'm excited to be introducing the Living Building Challenge (LBC) throughout the Maritimes. The LBC is a new set of standards for all levels of development and construc-tion, with goals that are truly inspired in the area of sustainability. It challenges us to create the beautiful, symbiotic, place-based relationship which exists in the model of a growing flower.
The LBC aims higher than our current or perceived abilities in terms of water and energy conservation, and places focus on health, beauty and equity. This standard aspires to create truly regenerative buildings, which contribute to our human experience and give back to our natural surroundings. Manufacturers are encouraged to be open with the materials they are using, to avoid harmful chemicals or products, as well as to encourage healthy industry in proximity to developed regions.
The LBC includes ‘beauty’ as a measure of sustainabil-ity. You may be thinking, “there is no way to measure some-thing as subjective as beauty.” However, by starting out with an intention and then surveying building occupants, developers and designers can enhance their skills of 'place making.’ De-signing with beauty in mind helps us recognize that it does not matter how efficient a building is if it is not also loved by the community.
This standard is already being incorporated in building projects in the maritimes. The Dorje Denma Ling Shambhala Centre in Tatamagouche is working with architects and sus-tainability professionals as well as their community members, finding that the goals of the LBC align with their goals for a spiritual place.
The LBC is the type of forward-thinking standard that is needed to address the challenges of our expanding built envi-ronment. I’ve met with architects, designers, potential clients, community groups and government departments to introduce the principles of LBC, and I look forward to one day being a part of a team designing and building a LBC project in the Maritimes.
Cedar Tree Café is also located in downtown Fredericton. The menu has a wide selec-
tion of dishes, but focuses on Lebanese food. Cedar Tree Café is a hub for musical
performances, screenings of food documentaries and a place to do some salsa dancing.
In the summer and fall, Cedar Tree sources vegetables from local farmers, Spearville
Mill supplies their grains, and the lamb, chicken and sausages all originate from Kuin-
shoeve (pronounced Koons-ho-ver) Meat Ltd., which is small butcher shop in Rothesay, NB.
Cheese, milk and dairy are from Northumberland dairy, a New Brunswick dairy co-operative. Goat
cheese and yogurt is sourced from the local Fredericton Farmer’s Market. The coffee is roasted in Moncton
and the beer is Picaroons, a Fredericton micro-brewery (and a favourite of the Sandpiper team). In response to
the label of “radical” given to environmental organizations that oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, Cedar Tree’s
David Wells says that buying local is common sense, not radical, as it creates jobs and supports the economy of
the area. (705)-472-2405 http://www.cedartreelebaneserestaurant.com/
The Blue Door is a sophisticated restaurant and bar located in downtown Fredericton. In the summer, 100% of their vegetables are locally sourced, and a partnership has been made with a local organic farmer to be the exclusive supplier of this produce. Fiddle-heads and mushrooms come from the area, and the beef is 100% organic and local. The
seafood offerings are 70% local, but due to the lack of availability of sustainably-caught wild Atlantic salmon, they look to the West Coast for the most environmentally-friendly option. A local coffee roaster in Hampton supplies a caffeinated brew, and the alcoholic alternative is Moosehead. In the future for this home-grown eatery is potentially sourcing their wine selection from Richibucto, New Brunswick.(506)-455-blue(2583) http://www.thebluedoor.ca/
The spring roll is the most popular hors d’oeuvre served by Betty Lee of Betty Lee’s Food Service Ltd. Despite being an Asian creation, Betty Lee’s vegetar-ian, chicken and beef spring rolls all contain local ingredients (either partly or entirely, depending on the time of year). Betty Lee sources local cabbage from late June until December, and uses local carrots, turnip and onion when available. The chicken and beef also come from farms in the area. These spring rolls have been famous since 1978, when Betty Lee first opened her stall at the Fredericton
Farmer’s Market. Her popularity might be in part due to her mandarin sauce, which uses local fruits (though the specifics are a trade secret!). If you’ve ever had the pleasure of trying these delights, there is no denying that they are one of a kind. (506)-453-0698 http://www.shopinfredericton.com/Betty-Lee-s-Food-Service-Ltd/11416088.htm
by Najat Abdou-McFarlandFun with Food in FrederictonLiving Building
Challenge
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by James HuttA “Radical” Perspective
Last December, I joined the Canadian Youth Delegation at the UN Climate Negotiations. We went to represent the voices of young Canadians, which meant pressuring our leaders to adopt targets that will actually protect our fu-ture.
Through our actions, we were able to take back the story and shed light on how our government was negotiating on behalf of polluters rather than the Canadian people. Halfway through the second week, our Environment Minister, Peter Kent, was speaking. We had tried writing letters and talking to our politicians, but they refused to meet with us. So when Kent addressed the plenary, 6 of us stood up and revealed t-shirts that read “People Before Profits” and “Turn your back on Canada.” We turned our backs on the Environment Minister and stood in silence. Then the applause that started behind us rippled through the rows of delegates and became a standing ovation. At the moment, all the nervousness and worry I felt disappeared; I felt powerful. That wave of support was empow-ering and when it happened I knew that we had taken power away from Kent and our government. Shortly after, security guards escorted us out of the build-ing and stripped us of our accreditation. It was not only worth it, but necessary. We had shown the world that our leaders do not represent our interests and that Canadians want real action on climate change.
Since then, I’ve been working in Halifax and I continue organizing. In late February, I organized Tactics and Strategy for Grassroots Mobilization - a camp to train people in anti-oppression and non-violent direct action. It was a giant success; we brought in trainers and over 50 people attended – with more on the waiting list. That speaks to the need in our community and our country for tools that we can use to hold our government accountable and force them to put the interests of people before polluters.
by Robert Christian
Farhad Manjoo has a question. “How,” he asks, “can so many people who live in the same place see the world so differently?” True Enough – Learn-ing to Live in a Post Fact Society (2008, John Wiley and Sons, 250 pages) is his illuminating and un-settling answer.
Giving the nod to comedian Ste-phen Colbert’s concept of “truthi-ness” – the idea that something can feel true without any basis that it is true – the author illustrates the dismissal of opposing viewpoints despite, and sometimes because of, their accuracy. “Truthiness” allows us to ease our own discomfort about the complex world around us and simultaneously reinforce our own beliefs. But, at what price?
He shows that popular media’s biasing portrayal of ideas and events, regardless of the validity of those ideas, has become a driving cultural force. The Second Gulf War, which was predicated on weapons that did not actually exist, is highlighted as an example of this, as is the determined, sad work of Phillip Jay-han, who is convinced that the September 11th attacks are part of a wider government conspiracy.
Propaganda is nothing new, but Manjoo deftly describes how technology has accelerated these biases. The digital age has seen the onset of self-segregation, which is the reality that the internet, television and radio all allow us to identify to varying degrees with like-minded people over distance. The issue arises when we unquestioningly return to the same sources to formulate opinions. In the 21st century; even though information is available like never before, “…paradoxically, it facilitates a closeted view of the world, keeping us coiled tightly with those who share our ideas.” Manjoo foresees a polarized population insulated “in a world built of our own facts.”
True Enough begins as a testament to how we have narrowed our views, but becomes in the end a call to bravely broaden them.
When “Truth” is not Fact
As jars of even the highest quality organic baby food are be-
ing recalled from store shelves, followed by nightmarish headlines reporting arsenic and other poisons lurking beneath pureed pears and carrots, parents are looking for new ways to feed their children safely.
Making baby food for your child is incredibly easy and rewarding, not to mention economical and healthy. The ingredients are simple and the tools are probably already waiting in your kitchen. You control the source of the
ingredients, how the food is prepared, pro-cessed, and stored, and this ensures the high-est measures of safety and nutrition.
SOURCE YOUR INGREDIENTS
The ingredients in baby food are straightforward. Sourcing your own ingredients allows you choose a wide variety of the fresh-est local ingredients available. Growing your own vegetables is by far the healthiest and most frugal way to feed your family, but local unsprayed and organic fruit and vegetables and hormone and antibiotic-free meat are readily available at farmer’s markets and grocery stores.
SIMPLE PREPARATION
To make a batch of baby food, simply peel the fruit and veg-etables, steam, bake, or boil them, let them cool and puree in batches. It’s simple to make separate batches of single ingredients - like sweet potato, apple or carrot - and then mix and match to
make a variety of flavour combinations. To puree, use some of the cooking water, broth, breast milk, formula or plain water. Try combining flavours like peas and mint, apple and carrot or cinnamon apple - if your baby rejects a particular flavour at first, try again in a few days or weeks.
Be sure to talk to your pediatrician about allergies, nutrition and nitrate levels of some foods before getting started, just to be safe. (continued on the next page...)
STOCK UP
The most efficient way to make baby food is to make it in big batches - enough for a week or a month - and freeze it. The tried-and-true method for freezing portions is in an ice cube tray. Each cube is approximately 1oz. Simply fill the tray, cover and freeze. Once frozen, you can pop out the cubes and store them in freezer bags. Be sure to label the bags with the date and contents and use frozen foods within 1 month for optimum food safety. When you’re ready to use, simply thaw and reheat. Never reheat food more than once.
Making and growing your own food supports the buy-local, grow-your-own and DIY movements, and cuts down waste in many forms. This makes it an inherently political act. Imagine, something our grandmothers took for granted becoming now a radical action? Radical families, get out your blenders!
HELPFUL TOOLS:
Immersion Blender
Blender
Baby Food Mill
Hand Masher
BABY-LED WEANINGBaby-led weaning is a way of gradually weaning a
baby from a diet of milk to solid foods. With this
approach, you skip the mushy baby food alto-
gether and let your child reach for solid food when
they decide they’re ready. Presenting them with a
variety of solid foods to try allows them to explore
tastes, textures, smells and colours and supports
their motor development. According to recent
research, babies start to reach for food around 6
months. There has been some interesting research
published on BLW - a quick Internet search will
turn up a lot of information. You should consult
your pediatrician before introducing solid food to
your child.
12 13
RADICAL FAMILIES:
Make your own baby food!
Margaret Hoegg is a writer and editor living in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, where it is a pleasure to be a
locovore! You can follow her on Twitter @the_moggest.
by Margaret Hoegg
14Thanks to all our “’radical” donors and mem-bers for helping us get two thirds of the way to our fundraising goal. The letters, phone calls, and emails (not to mention generous cheques!) flowing into the office make us certain we have support from Atlantic Canadians to continue our important work - which gets more critical with every day! We need more help from you so we can continue to be a Voice for the Earth! Please donate so we hit (or exceed) or target of $40,000.
With gratitude, Gretchen Fitzgerald, Director
We’re looking for an Office Manager We are looking for an engaging and organized individual(s) to assist in managing our Halifax office. Activity: answering phones, coordinating volunteers, and assisting our Director with office administration tasks (filing, managing mail, responding to basic requests for information). The time commitment for this role is approximately 4 or more hours per week.
Help us to Continue Publishing the quarterly Sandpiper Magazine. We need a passionate volunteer to join the newsletter committee. Activity: meeting with volunteers and staff to identify themes, soliciting submissions from authors and artists, graphic design of the electronic newsletter, and editing of final submissions, 4 times/year. Skills required: Passion (Familiarity with graphic design software, communication and outreach skills are an asset.)
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
ISSUES WE NEED YOUR
To find out how to help, please contact us at (902) 444-3113
or by email [email protected]
My sex is determined by temperature.
I don’t have teeth, but I do have a hard beak.
I can sometimes be found sunbathing on rocks or logs near water.
When fully grown, I eat water plants, insects, and small animals.
I am named for my red and yellow markings found on my top shell or carapace.
