Mishmash – Environment

by Benoît Bleau  (June 2011)

First Harvest
Despite the quantity of rain and crazy spring weather, vegetables are growing and will be available at the Moulin Rouge local market, starting June 24th. Producers from around Hemmingford will be there as well as local artisans.

Guide to local eating in les Jardins-de-Napierville
In 2009, the Centre Local de Développement (CLD) of les Jardins-de-Napierville published a first guide to local eating for our region. The CLD is presently working on an update of this guide that will give information about bakeries, cheese makers, meat producers, public markets, small and artisanal vegetable growers, fruit and small fruit growers, oil, cereals, mustard, eggs, wine, ciders, maple syrup and honey producers. All those who would like to be listed in this guide must contact Gaetane Lussier by phone at : (450) 245-7289 or email : g.lussier@cld-jardinsdenapierville.com

St-Romain Elementary school : Bruntland green school
As an accredited school by the Bruntland Green School movement, St-Romain Elementary School was able to offer activities to promote values among students, such as building an ecological, peaceful, supportive and democratic world. This year’s theme : «Hand-in-hand» (main dans la main) emphasized solidarity and the spirit of peace. Trees were given to all students and a beautiful linden tree was planted on the school grounds, which gave the opportunity to talk about ecology. Additionnal recycling bins were distributed in all classes to facilitate recycling.

Little things that will change the world
It has been officially acknowledged that human activity is the main cause for global warming and climate change. The problem is now of such importance that we might think all politics directed towards changes will be inefficient or that it is too late to change things anyway. I, for one, do not think we should wait for governments (especially Mr. Harper’s) to make a difference. We have the obligation, for generations to come, to act locally as much as we possibly can. Of course, you may think we already do everything we can : recycling, using reusable bags for shopping and composting kitchen and garden waste. What else can we do? In this little advice column, I will give you suggestions and will inform you of the recent successes of our own community. Nothing is new under the sun and we are best served by ourselves. So, let’s act!

First action : Responsible consuming.
The first way to consume responsibly is to avoid consuming for the sake of consuming. Let me explain. To help curb our impulse shopping habits, let me suggest a little exercise: Next time you are really tempted to buy something specific, wait for a week or so before you actually make your purchase. If after that time, you really feel you still need that object, it could be a real necessity for you. Otherwise, you would only have given in to an impulse (false need). This way, you will save money and the planet will only feel lighter. It is also important to check the origin of what you plan to buy. It is harder than ever to find things that are manufactured in Canada, although many Canadian manufacturers dream of being distributed in regional stores. When you buy Canadian, you support Canadian jobs; when you buy locally, you support local businesses and jobs.

I would love to have comments and suggestions about this new advice column and will be happy to answer. You can write to me at benoit.bleau@gmail.com