Canvasing in Nature

I just had to write about last week when I was canvassing. We are currently working in a nieghbourhood on the outscurts of Winnipeg and guess what I saw....a deer and its baby! They were beautiful and I was able to catch a few good photos! Although I loved seeing the deer, it also made me sad to think that we have invaded so much land that was once untouched that the deer are living within our backyards. That is, no doubt, not there natural habitat, and impacts there lifespan, number of children they have, and stress levels.

None the less, they were very pretty.

The Garden is Growing!

KOLOROBI!!

OKRA!!

My excitment is explosive! The garden is so beautiful! Everyday I visit it I can't help but smile. There are tomatos (although still green), sunflowers, lots of greens, peppers, and...OKRA!! The okra makes me really happy cuz first of all its a special brown type, and second of all its the type of plant that breaks down those stereotypes that certain plants can only be grown in certain areas of the world. True to an extent, but often we don't give the plants enough credit.

I look a bunch of photos of the garden which you can see below.

TOMATOES!!

Also we have been included on an inner city garden tour of Winnipeg! I found this super exciting because, 1. Its my first time gardening, 2. It celebrates the hard work of the other volunteers, and 3. It will show off the garden to people of Winnipeg and hopefully build the gardens strength so that they wont build a building on it (yes they are considering doing this!).

SUNFLOWERS!!

Thanks for dealing with my explosive excitement!

What's Up with Lawns Anyways?!

The other day I got somewhat perturbed with lawns. Why do we have them? The grass commonly used is not native to North America, and therefore requires a lot of water to keep it green. So why are we wasting all this water on these lawns that do not feed us, do not provide much of any sort of habitat for bees, butterflies and other insects, AND we spend hours mowing them using often gas (do I need to rant about this?) or electrical (not really an environmental alternative unless actually generated using renewable source) mowers.

After having my own little freak-out I decided to research the topic and find out why we have so many of these darn lawns in Canada!

So here it is:

"The lawn" originates in Europe (surprise, surprise), which makes ecological sense because the grasses grow best in less extreme climates. Lawns were associated with wealth, golf and lawn bowling.

Slowly, as the rich and the famous of North America took vacations over in England, Scotland, and France they began to want lawns in North America, mostly so they could play golf and lawn bowling here. So, in 1915, the US Department of Agriculture and the US Golf Association (yes there's such a thing, crazy!!) collaborated to create the right combinations of grasses that would be suitable (with a lot of watering, fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides of course) for the North American climate.

But still this lawn business didn't get picked up by the masses till the industrial revolution and invention of the rotary lawn mower and watering hose. These two inventions made it possible for the average Joe or Jill to have there very own lawn, YIPPEE!! However, there was still not much desire for lawns until...the American Garden Club applied the peer pressure. They said that it was one's civic duty to have a well kept lawn...and well we all know how effective peer pressure is. So lawns began to emerge everywhere. And as cities got bigger and people couldn't have their own lawns we created communal lawns called PARKS! I'm not going to get into suburbs though, thats a whole other ball game!

Wasn't that fascinating? I thought it was. Lets make lawns extinct!

Art Junction

I just discovered Craft Heaven for me!! It is called Art Junction! Located across the street from Red River College in Winnipeg this is a haven of creative and usable junk! Anyone that knows me knows that I love making things out of what others would see as junk or garbage but I see as POTENTIAL GOLD! And well, I hit the gold mine! This place is full of scrap fabric, paper, wood, boxes, thread, faux flowers, basically anything and everything! And best of all...its all free!!

Its awesome cuz now I don't have to collect all this "garbage" under my bed, I can drop it off there for others to parooz too! And when I'm feeling crafty, I can just head on over and take my pick!!

SWEET!!!

The Birth of a Garden!

A few weeks ago I was hired on to be the community garden coordinator at the University here. Mostly a volunteer position, but still awesome opportunity to learn about gardening! So, before I head over to the garden today I thought I would update y'all about all the little babies in the garden!

So, I have close a limited experience with gardening. I did some woofing last summer, but that was harvesting, not planting! But I go, and try, and see what falls. So far I have planted peppers, tomatos, eggplant, brocilli, green onions, and I think thats it.

I still hope to plant lots of leafy greens, zuchinni, squash, pumpkin, watermelon, beans, and flowers. Today I am going to plant some seeds, so far I just put in seedlings. If anyone has suggestions, please post them! I am very open to help!

Finally, HAPPY FATHERS DAY!! Going out to my dad, and all other fathers out there rocking the world and doing there best to be the best father they can be!

Stewed Rhubarb and Banana

You wouldn't guess it, but rhubarb and banana are SOO GOOD together!

All you have to do is chop up 2 bananas, and ~2 cups of rhubarb and combine them with some water (depending on the consistency you want) and 2-4 T sugar and let it stew!! Then take it off when the rhubarb has broken down and serve over short bread, oatmeal, whatever you want.

SOO GOOD! Try it! The tartness of the rhubarb counter-acts the sweetness of the banana! YUM!

BOREAL FOREST!!trees...caribou...fresh air

The Boreal Forest. What is it? No really, what is it? Many of us have heard of it, maybe talked a bit about it in school, but how many people know the significants of it, and the stress it lives under.

After canvassing I am starting to learn a lot more about the Boreal, and frankly, fall in love with it.

The heart Boreal Forest is the largest intact forest in…THE WHOLE WORLD! That’s right, its bigger then the Amazon!! The reason I say “heart” is because the boreal forest used to be a lot bigger, but because of mining and forestry, the rest of the forest has become broken up and spotty, leaving the heart as the only intact portion left. Can you how big it would be if the other areas of the forest were left unscarred too?! CRAZY!! So it’s big! Since it is home to such a diverse range of animals and plant species, as well as it being the home to over 600 different aboriginal tribes, Canada is in the process of getting it recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site. Pretty sweet eh?!

However, Canada is also in the process of DESTROYING the heart. Or at least we are thinking about it. Currently there is a road that goes along the east side of Lake Winnipeg, however they are in process of extending this road. This sucks because it will put a lot of stress on the forest, however it does provide communities that are living in the boreal forest better access to outside goods, which would reduce the cost of food that is brought it. Whether or not bringing in food is the best way to feed such communities is another discustion all together. But anyways, so this road is being created, however along with this a lot of discussion has been going on about Bipole 3, which is a power line which they are planning on running from northern Canada to the USA. The debate is whether or not to run the line down the east or west side of Lake Winnipeg. It’s definitely a hot button topic, which I am faced with every night I go canvassing. There is no answer that will satisfy all parties, every option has draw backs, however, obviously, I am for the west side, as it does not run through the heart of the forest. Reducing the destruction that the forest has to deal with.

However, even if bipole 3 goes down the west side, there is still battle with forestry and mining. Its not that these operations can’t happen, but they need to be done RESPONSIBLY. But who sets the bar? Who watches to make sure the companies are being responsible? And where does responsible end and irresponsible begin? Many questions, perhaps you have a perspective or answer! Lay it out sister/brother!