Attendees came from Middle and Upper Stewiacke, Brookfield, Fort Ellis, Windsor, and Truro. We consider this a good turnout for our first gathering but encourage those attending to try to bring along friends, family, neighbours, strays from the street, etc. We especially invite anyone with interests in any of the areas below to join us to share their ideas and experiences.
Those attending the meeting were able to view a Climate Change display (four poster boards) with:
- new media clippings
- a new series of self-help booklets from the Earth Day EcoAction Teams
- new lists of “things to do” taken from the Websites of nine organizations
Signup sheets were available to order copies of the “ten things to do” lists and the Canadian Living GoGreenGuide (permission to copy has been obtained). In addition, attendees were able to drop off used rechargeable batteries and old cell phones for recycling.
The meeting began with background on how this Green Gathering is a follow-on to a screening of An Inconvenient Truth: A Global Warning, which was attended by 42 people in April, 2007, at Knox United Church in Brookfield.
This was followed by a presentation from representatives of the Living Earth Council, now operating for six months in Truro. Among the points made by the speakers were the following:
- Their group is organized from the ground up rather from the top down.
- They are aware that a creating/maintaining sustainable community is very much in keeping with trying to save the planet.
- They consider it important to look for allies in the community.
- They encouraged networking with others who are already taking actions (avoids duplication of effort and provides a source of information).
- A key objective of their group is to have fun, not get burned out; meetings are attended by the whole family, including children, with pot-luck dinners that make it fun and allow for informal conversations.
- They want to engage the business community and have an awareness of economic issues.
- They want to engage local government. They began this process by hosting a showing the film An Inconvenient Truth: A Global Warning for the Town Council. They are hoping to involve Truro in Partners for Climate Protection, a program to assist municipal governments in climate protection. More than 100 municipal governments, representing approximately 50% of Canada’s population, are participating in PCP.
- They encourage members of their group to focus on their areas of interest.
- The group is now conducting a residential electricity challenge and is developing a community garden.
The LEC representatives were followed by a representative from the Ecology Action Centre, who discussed that organization's Food Action program, which encourages people to purchase locally grown foods (or grow their own) and encourage local supermarkets to do the same. She encouraged us to “vote with your dollars” when buying food, asking retailers to supply not just local food, but Nova Scotian food. EAC has a cookbook, Eating by the Seasons, available for purchase and sponsors an annual Harvest Festival to promote local food producers.
Those attending the meeting had many useful items of information to share. These included:
- Our area now has Community Supported Agriculture program to supply families with locally grown (Brentwood) vegetables (almost totally organic). Families joining the program receive a share of vegetables grown throughout the season. There are still a few memberships left in this program; if you're interested, please email us and we will provide additional information.
- The Nova Scotia Government will be implementing. in February 2008, a plan to recycle computers.
- Brookfield MacQuarries accepts used household batteries and cell phones for recycling. These items are then taken to the Hazardous Waste folks by volunteers.
- The book The Circle of Simplicity was recommended.
- The DVD of An Inconvenient Truth is available at the Library in Truro.
Small groups have formed to further discuss ideas related to:
- Food/Gardening
- Home/Recycling/Electrical usage
- Communications/Awareness/Publicity
- Liaison with Living Earth Council
In addition, a member of the group offered to provide technical assistance to the communications and publicity group and enthusiastically created our own Website just one day following the meeting; now that’s action! Please visit http://www.greengatherings.org/ and bring your comments on Website content and management to the next Green Gathering. Please note that a decision was made to not include individuals’ names on the Website, for privacy reasons.
Some points to consider for the future:
- We would like to find persons interested in the issue of transportation/vehicle usage.
- Needs of seniors and youth deserve special consideration.
- A visit to the Ecology Action Centre might be in order.
- Consider engaging local municipalities in Partners for Climate Protection.
Another Green Gathering is now scheduled for Sunday June 24 at the Brookfield Fire Hall, 7-9 pm. Many thanks to the Brookfield Fire Department for allowing us to once again use the Fire Hall’s community room at no charge. The agenda will include a sharing of information from the discussion groups that have formed, and possibly presentations from some families who can share their experiences.
A Final Word
If there is anything missed that will not be covered by one of the discussion groups, please bring that idea or comment back to the next meeting.
We’ve had a very successful start to saving our home, Planet Earth. Please consider becoming ambassadors, spreading the message. See the film, read books, attend meetings, and to start to Take Action!
