The Green Room

One of the David Suzuki Digs My Garden photo contest winners , Barbara Kimball from Oshawa, ON, writes:

You may be interested to know that I did a project with grade 8 students in 2007 on the flora and fauna of our Second Marsh. This was an ArtsSmarts, art-infused education project, which involved an educational tour and photography of the Marsh, and design of an environmental dinner service. The project traveled to the National Conference of ArtsSmarts in PEI. Last year’s "Clay Musical Instruments" can be seen on YouTube under Station Gallery Mud People. This year’s project will get started after Christmas and will involve planning a garden from seeds to cooking with herbs. We will do some photography and the students will create a fountain piece in clay depicting their ideal quiet place – all taking place in a very needy school.

Teya Tamsen from Vancouver writes:

I’m wondering what the public can do to reduce the now overwhelming crow population in Vancouver? All the tiny birds are swiftly disappearing; it’s very sad to witness.

Lindsay responds:

Crows are a very smart bunch. Naturalist author David Quammen has pointed out that they will be all we have left (along with other generalists like coyotes and pigeons) if we don’t change our consumption habits and destruction of ecosystems.

Think of it this way, crows can tolerate living with us (in our concrete jungle, eating our garbage, etc.) and not many species can. I suspect if there has been a noticeable increase in numbers it’s due to last year’s garbage strike. Like the rats, crows would have benefited from a surplus of food items as people’s trashcans were overflowing!

This brings me to the low number of songbirds living in our urban green spaces and backyards. The rat population explosion (maybe you’ve had more rat sightings or seen their droppings at your bird feeder) likely resulted in more predation attempts on bird eggs and nests. The other major culprit in Vancouver and other cities more often than not is domestic cats and not crows.

I’d suggest you contact the local naturalist club as they spend a lot of time bird watching and could offer more advice.

Another suggestion would be to contact your local wild bird store because they’re experts on this sort of topic as well.

Finally, since you are aware of birds, do sign up for David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge where we give you tips to live with as small a footprint as possible.

You can of course reduce the amount of garbage you put out and ensure that your garbage bin is sealed. This will deter not just crows but coyotes, skunks and raccoons. All of this urban wildlife does provide us with a host of services – it’s just sometimes behind the scenes. We’d really miss them if they were gone, that’s for sure.

If I haven’t armed you with enough reading already, a recent report shows that many common bird species are at risk of going extinct, including crows.

Thousands of chirpers and honkers are flocking through our green spaces these days. It’s a great time to read up on them. Share your book recommendations here.

Children who connect with nature grow into adults who care about protecting it.

Sylvie de Sousa and Katharine Byers are two Vancouver Moms who’ve put together a bag of tricks sure to nurture eco-consciousness in any kid (and, hopefully, prevent the onset of what Richard Louv calls “nature deficit disorder”). They helped us put together activities to turn kids into bird watchers and protectors for our November newsletter.

Share your wisdom about getting kids into nature here.

This summer, Lindsay saw crows taking turns ‘bathing’ in chimney smoke - getting ride of parasites perhaps? Tell us your bird stories, sightings, and feeding tips.

Sarah from Saskatchewan writes:

I don’t have a lot of money to make big upgrades for energy saving features, but I try and do little things. I still drive my car for errands, but instead of just hopping in and going whenever I feel like it, I plan my trips and routes to be more efficient and delay trips until I can carpool with someone else.

To save money, I ride my bike to work in the summer. In the winter, I ride the bus and actually enjoy it as I can read a book on the way home and relax. I unplug electronics when I’m not at home, and I turn off lights and electronics when I’m not using them. I am consciencious of how long I stay in the shower, and I don’t water my lawn (and it’s still green!). I get a good workout using a manual mower (and save money on gas) and pulling weeds by hand (no pesticides!). And I feel better for spending time outside.

I did spend money on a programmable thermostat, and that was well spent, as I have saved a lot on energy since. Throwing an extra blanket on the bed and turning down the heat by one more degree at night can make a big difference. I don’t hold the fridge open, I vacuum the coils regularly, and I use my own muscles to mix dough rather than running an electric mixer. I’m proud to say that I’ve made a difference doing the little things, and I hope I can encourage others to do the same and show them that they don’t have to spend money to go green.

Karen Pugh from Brantford, Ontario writes:

Every time I pack yet another school lunch bag (ugh!), I debate the merits of the "litterless lunch" vs. filling up my dishwasher with yet another pile of plastic re-usable containers. While I understand the need to reduce garbage, I can’t imagine that using more energy to heat the dishwasher water and using all that soap is any better for our environment. I know I could handwash those dishes, but in reality, "it ain’t gonna happen." Any thoughts?

Green Room host Gail writes:

Actually, there is some evidence that a dishwasher is more energy efficient than hand washing, especially if you have a dishwasher that’s energy-efficient.

The three R’s of eco-friendliness fall into a kind of hierarchy. It’s best to Reduce as much as possible first. So, you are correct in choosing a "litterless lunch" because it will keep stuff out of the landfills. And Reusing is more important than Recycling, because recycling uses energy and it’s always better to do the best you can to reuse things (such as your food containers) rather than purchasing new things, even when they can be recycled.

Whatever you practice in preparing school lunches, the kids that are eating them are becoming encultured to it - they’ll do what you did when they make there own lunches or (in future) make lunches for others. Thanks for helping to protect nature!

Have you taken steps toward a greener summer vacation this year? Got plans for an upcoming eco-friendly holiday? Advice for lowering eco-footprints at the campsite, cottage or on the water? Favourite green hotel? We want to hear your ideas and tips! Share your comments here.

Ruth Tschannen, of the Cascadia Society for Social Working relates how they’ve turned the backyard of their centre into a productive vegetable garden using the principals of biodynamic gardening:

In the beginning of last century Rudolf Steiner introduced biodynamic preparations - a wonderful way of bringing back worn out soil. We’ve been doing this here for the last five years. Our composts are incredible within a short time. Birds and bees are abundant within our garden.

The biodynamic preparations are stirred at different times of the day. During summer it is Silica 501. In spring and fall it is Horn manure 500.

Our garden is going to be featured on the Natural Garden tour on Sept. 14th.  If people would be interested in dates for the stirring of the preparations please let me know (604)987-3407.

Anyone else have experience with this method? Here are a couple of websites to look at for more information:
http://www.perc.ca/PEN/1999-11/s-cleary.html
http://www.biodynamics.com/biodynamics.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodynamic_agriculture

The children of Paul and Lucy Morel of Deep River, Ontario, sent this loving tribute to their Dad:

Our father was always conscious of the world around him and its limited resources and he attempted to instill this in his four children. Here are the top ten things which seemed quite odd (and embarrassing, if truth be told) to us as children and teenagers in the 70s and 80s, but which we now realize were wise and conscious choices. Many of these carry memories which now bring us to tears of laughter.

1. We had a well-used wood stove in our basement to cut down on furnace use

2. The heat was turned down to about 55° Fahrenheit at night in the winter - we loaded on blankets and wore warm pajamas (we swear we could at times see our breath in the mornings)

3. Our laundry was dried on a clothes line and the dryer used only in limited circumstances (frozen stiff jeans were quite normal in our house)

4. We have always had a "compost heap" in our back yard which nourished our vegetable garden (our early chore as children was to carry the potato peelings and vegetable scraps to the compost each night)

5. Reduce/reuse/recycle was second nature to our dad - he recycled when recycling wasn’t cool (a milk jug would be refashioned into a scoop for the water barrel which in turn was fashioned out of an old garbage can)

6. We naturally had no air conditioning in the summer - windows were opened at night, and closed with drapes pulled in the mid-morning to capture and maintain the cool air of the nights
7. Our father never used Kleenex - he has always had handkerchiefs (and still does to this day!)

8. Our dad was the first person we knew who replaced all lightbulbs in his house with compact fluorescent

9. We actually always shared bath water to limit electricity and water use!

10. Our washing machine had a "suds saver" such that on laundry day multiple loads of laundry were washed in the same water

We will always recall as teenagers our Dad’s observation on the changing world when he would shake his head and say "We are becoming a throw-away society". But our Dad certainly did his part and now we find ourselves following his example as best we can: using our own clotheslines instead of our dryers, using our own water barrels to water our gardens, getting our own composters, installing programmable thermostats to ensure our air-conditioning and heating is used at its minimal – and of course reminding our own children to turn off the lights when they leave the room!. We are grateful to our wonderful father for his example.

In honour of his eightieth birthday, we have made a donation to the David Suzuki Foundation. Here is our Dad’s mantra from our childhood- words to live by:

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT.

Margot Morel (Guelph, Ontario)
Mark Morel (Ajax, Ontario)
Catherine Morel-Lopez (Toronto, Ontario)
Lisa Morel-Misener (Ottawa, Ontario)

Lots of green living ideas are recycled! Maybe that’s why what seems ‘new’ to a lot of people is second nature to others. Readers - what green wisdom was passed down to you from parents and grandparents?