Think Globally Act Locally | The Power Of R

We live in one of the most beautiful regions of the world; full of natural resources, wealth and opportunity. Rethinking our day to day routines and actions is difficult because we aren’t required to think about basic essentials like food and water on an hourly basis. On April 30th however, my belly was grumbling and food was at the forefront of my mind. I joined about 25 students from GP Vanier in the 30 Hour Famine in support of World Vision. The day was remarkable in more ways than one.  

I was invited to speak at the event by Sylva Wiedeman. Sylva is the student government minister of social justice and the environment, and she is now sharing in the success of raising $1845 with her friends. “I saw the amount of money we raised I was very humbled,” Wiedeman told me, “as we got hungrier and hungrier many of us became much closer and just super stoked about all the money we could donate to World Vision.” This kind of energy, passion and excitement is what, I believe, makes good people. They define their own goals, change their behaviors and revel in their defined successes. Many of the young adults at this fundraiser felt their own flavor of success on Friday and that puts a smile on my face.  

Earth Day was a real production for me this year. I had the unique pleasure of delivering a keynote presentation for over one thousand people at Mark R. Islfeld Secondary School. It was an intense morning but everything went well. The presentation wove together the relationships between marketing, consumerism, and our personal definitions of success.  Big business tells us what to think, how to act, and what to buy to become who we think -  they think - we should be. "What a headache." In my experience, defining my success is about values and has nothing to do with what I buy, how much money I have, or even who I'm with.

After the presentation at Isfeld  I was zipped over to GP Vanier Secondary to deliver three back to back  1 hour presentations that essentially mirrored my keynote from the morning. There were discussions with students that lasted until the end of the day and then teachers until dinner time. Everyone was really charged up about the  material in the presentation which makes me happy to know that it struck a chord with most people.

GP Vanier was given a grant of $5000 for their Earth Day celebration. The day brought a keynote from Spirit Bear activist Simon Jackson, and dozens of speakers from environmental clubs, associations and action groups in the Comox Valley. There was an incredible lunch put on with 100% local food. Nothing says Earth Day like a twenty-mile diet and it was really tasty.

The Comox Strathcona Waste Management (CSWM) service is taking waste reduction to the next level through a partnership with Thrifty Foods and TazzyTotes that will introduce reusable produce/bulk food bags to the Comox Valley and Campbell River.  

The CSWM recently brought local entrepreneur company TazzyTotes together with Thrifty Foods with the concept of getting closer to zero waste through reusable produce/bulk food bags. As a result, on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, the Thrifty Foods stores in the Comox Valley and Campbell River will be offering a new line of reusable produce/bulk food bags developed by TazzyTotes. The introduction of these bags into the stores is the “next generation” in the continuum of removing single-use grocery bags from the waste stream.  

For every package sold, one dollar will go back into the CSWM public education programs focused on behavior change regarding waste reduction through rethinking, reducing, reusing and recycling.  These packages will retail at Thrifty stores for $4.99 which includes three large bags, one small bag and a “Go Green” pen that can be used on the erasable label for writing names or bin numbers.   

The CSWM zero waste public education program will have a periodic presence in each of the Thrifty locations starting with the launch at the Comox Valley Thrifty’s location on Thursday April 22 at 9:30 a.m.  This will be an opportunity for our CSWM educators to reach the general public with information around the ‘food life cycle’ which focuses on the environmental positives of buying locally, healthy communities, and composting organic waste.    

On Thursday morning tune into 98.9 Jet FM for an opportunity to win some eco-prize packs which will include packages of TazzyTotes re-usable produce/bulk food bags.  

The Comox Strathcona Waste Management (CSWM) service is a function of the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) and is responsible for two regional waste management centres that serve the Comox Valley and Campbell River, as well as a range of transfer stations and smaller waste-handling and recycling facilities for the electoral areas of the CVRD and the Strathcona Regional District. The CSWM service manages over 100,000 tonnes of waste and recycled material and oversees a number of diversion and education programs. 

Media contact:

Koreen Gurak
Manager of communications
Comox Valley Regional District
Tel: 250-334-6066

Picture courtesy of TazzyTotes

Franco Noviello of Shaw TV shot this story about Disposable - The Billion Cup Blood Bath. We're really excited about the trailer and the action people are taking to eliminate the use of disposable cups in their life. In this story Franco interviews some of the actors and creators of the special effects used in the short.

Watch this story and then see the full trailer by clicking here

It’s said that April showers bring May flowers, so the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) is offering an informative session on “harvesting” rainwater to help you learn how to nurture those flowers in May.

On Saturday, April 17th at the Comox Valley compost education centre Bob Burgess of Rainwater Connections will be speaking about progressive, yet realistic, means of "harvesting" rainwater and using it in a more productive and beneficial way.  In addition, CVRD contract educator Gayle Bates will provide Comox Valley water users with a first-hand look at various water efficiency measures (i.e.low flow toilets, rain barrels, xeriscaping, etc.) that you can adopt to lead the way in your neighbourhood. 

Rain barrels catch rain from roofs, storing water that can be used to care for lawns and gardens or even wash your car.  Although rain barrels alone do not account for a significant reduction of water due to their limited storage capacity , rain barrel users are often more likely to consider other water efficient measures such as limiting lawn sprinkling and replacing older, water guzzling toilets or appliances.   

“The rain barrel program is a simple measure that all homeowners can set up to assist in accomplishing the goals established in the water efficiency plan,” said CVRD’s engineering analyst Michael Zbarsky. “This workshop on how to harvest rainwater helps to raise awareness and builds a culture of rainwater reuse in the Comox Valley.”

The water efficiency plan is a partnership between the City of Courtenay, the Town of Comox and the Comox Valley Regional District. For more information on the plan and the local Comox Valley water system visit www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/water.

 The Comox Valley Regional District is a federation of three electoral areas and three municipalities providing sustainable services for residents and visitors to the area. The members of the regional district work collaboratively on services for the benefit of the diverse urban and rural areas of the Comox Valley.

Media contact:
Koreen Gurak
Manager of communication
Public Affairs and Information Systems Branch
Tel: 250-334-6066    

Mother Nature is cleaning up her garden and now you're the one who is DISPOSABLE. This film trailer was created for the TrailerTrashed.org contest by yours truly. We didn't win any cash but we did win some internet cred from other film makers and some serious karma from mother nature.

This project was so much fun to put together and I hope that the finished product makes you laugh. I'd like to extend a special thanks to Lostboys-Learning.com, Freakin Coffee Shop and Mark R. Isfeld Secondary School's MITV for their help in creating this project. Say NO to disposable coffee cups!

Each day we throw away 4 million coffee cups in Canada alone. That equates to 1.46 billion paper coffee cups every year. We're cutting and wasting trees by creating unnecessary garbage. Bring your travel mug and always ask for reusable cups.  I promise you will have a better day. If you don't... you'd better be looking over your shoulder.