The District of Highlands was established in 1993 to give residents control over development within their community. Twenty eight years later, a strip mine is underway on land zoned Greenbelt, adjacent to Thetis Park and a toxic waste dump site.
Campaigners sense turning point as shareholders, boards and The Hague act to force Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell to cut pollution. The world’s patience with the fossil fuel industry is wearing thin. This was the stark message delivered to major international oil companies this week in an unprecedented day of reckoning for their role in the climate crisis.
The more I follow the good things which are being done by various highly focused and well intended groups and individuals in BC and all of Canada, including – but not limited to the Creatively United, it is obvious that there is NO FOCUS ON OVERALL TARGETS for our... Read more
A Nova Scotia MP has unveiled an online tool that helps municipalities across the country cut emissions. The system uses a database to gather information about localized energy use and helps users identify their emissions and set targets to reduce them. Creating such... Read more
In September 2016, the German parliament unanimously adopted the Paris Agreement. The government then translated Germany’s commitments under the agreement into a Climate Protection Law, which was approved by the Bundestag in November 2019 with a wide majority, making Germany the first country in the world with a greenhouse gas neutrality plan.
Hears nothing, says nothing. So far, the silence of the NDP government and, most notably, NDP MLAs, continues amid the buzzing sound of clear cutting. Once considered the party of social justice, the NDP have joined the ranks where corporate greed trumps public... Read more
During Season 2 of Climate and the Artist Series, Creatively United sponsored a Call for a New Forest Framework in British Columbia. One of the authors of the letter is Kathleen Code who is Vice Chair of the Ecoforestry Institute Society which manages the Wildwood... Read more
There was a time when B.C. was a global leader in fish, wildlife and habitat conservation, said Jesse Zeman of the B.C. Wildlife Federation in a May 10 news release. But now it is “a landscape which can be characterized as at risk, endangered and extirpated,” he said.
Season 3 concluded with an all-star panel, featuring bestselling author and award-winning public relations professional, James Hoggan. A tireless advocate for ethics in public discourse and Chair of the David Suzuki…
Forest Bathing is a powerful way to connect with Mother Earth and to feel her blessings showering upon you! The next time you are on your favourite forest walk give thanks for all the blessings you have been given by Mother Earth!
Many of the behaviors that we would like to promote have no outward visibility in our communities. When behaviors such as getting vaccinated are not visible to others, we weaken the likelihood that the action will become normative. Unlike vaccinations, wearing a mask... Read more
Two broad themes this week, both from recent headlines. The first is the insanity of the plans for the Olympic Games, and especially the unethical prioritization for COVID-19 immunization of elite Olympic athletes over vulnerable people and essential workers in low-income countries. The second is a couple of astonishing ideas from the fossil-fuel industry and its political supporters in the U.S.
Learning to grow food at home contributes enormously to food security and our community resilience, and the City of Victoria is responding to a renewed interest in learning to garden. Get Growing, Victoria! provides food seedlings and garden materials to citizens in... Read more
LifeCycles is seeking a staff person to support harvest coordination, distribution and volunteer training for the LifeCycles Fruit Tree and Farm Gleaning Projects as well as manage volunteers for the broader organization. The successful candidate will work as part of... Read more
Article courtesy of Food Secure Canada. The 724-page federal budget tabled on April 19th shows that the social movements working for a healthy, just and sustainable society and food system in Canada are being heard. The budget made significant investments to address... Read more
Here is a map that claims to have locations for 5G transmitters all over the world. You can zoom in to find where they are located near you. In Canada these would be transmitting using the 600 MHz frequency since the milliwave frequencies have yet to be auctioned by... Read more
Greater Victoria NatureHood, a Nature Canada initiative, has launched Nature in the City: Guide to Many Adventures map! The map’s design tells stories of urban habitats, captivating species and local parks to explore. Detailed environmental information is woven... Read more
Our Regional Parks and the species that depend on them for survival are at risk. Mountain biking wants more access to our parks and the CRD is hearing from them. These are your parks too so if you have a concern about this please read on and take action!
Water is life. A secure and reliable supply of water is essential for all life forms. This webinar explains that water is becoming increasingly insecure and unreliable due to climate change and increased demand by a growing…
The physical health benefits of active transportation (walking, biking, public transit) are well known. Compared to cars, there are fewer emissions of carbon dioxide and various air pollutants per passenger mile, fewer accidents and more physical activity — I often joke that includes running for the bus.
Yesterday, new mapping revealed that the BC provincial government has approved 43% more old-growth logging during the period since it received the Old-Growth Panel Recommendations that it promised to implement last fall:... Read more
I was recently gifted a copy of Olga Campbell’s multi-award winning book, A Whisper Across Time, a stunning tribute to her family’s story of the Holocaust told through a sumptuous collection of prose, art and poetry. Olga is a Vancouver writer and artist whose... Read more
This is a letter that was sent to the BC Government in 2018, signed by 223 international scientists agreeing that old growth logging should stop. They haven’t listened so here it is again.
In 1948, the World Health Organization defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.” I find it a good and simple definition. One of its strengths is that it fully recognises both mental and social well-being, with the latter inevitably bringing in our relationships with others — our families, communities and society as a whole.
Children of the Trees engages with language, naming, chopping trees, disappearing words, and what might be a better stance to engage with living beings. Love as methodology. The call for saving old growth trees and forests is growing in BC. Join the fight.
The Township of Esquimalt is proposing to take out a loan for $35 million in order to construct a new Public Safety Building. In these challenging times, when funding is required for better access to public services and the need for climate education, mitigation and... Read more
Tuesdays for Trees is a campaign devised by the Climate Action Research Team of Greater Victoria Acting Together. The idea is to have something happen every Tuesday to raise public awareness and pressure decision makers regarding the importance of trees and forests in... Read more
The Rainforest Flying Squad (RFS) and others filed a Notice to Appeal in the BC Court of Appeal on April 28, 2021. This legal challenge requests a court hearing to argue that the April 1, 2021 decision by Justice Verhoeven be set aside. For the past nine months,... Read more
The squeaky wheel gets the grease and that’s particularly true when governments are also faced with corporate pressures. Here is a list of some of the key people to share your concerns with: Find your MLA’s email here:... Read more
I’m writing to share some very exciting news – the launch of a new 5-year initiative, the Climate Emergency Unit. The response to my book A Good War has been very enthusiastic and gratifying. I’ve been giving about three book-related talks a week since the book was... Read more
We enjoy thanking our mothers on Mothers’ Day, but on the second Sunday in May we can also celebrate more than our own mothers; we can give thought to all the women – many anonymous – whose mothering has benefited humanity as a whole.
In keeping with the “what really matters” theme, Creative Solutions for a New World Climate and the Arts Series explores how much Cold Matters in terms of the roles in which snow, ice and permafrost play in the stabilization…
I am in Olympia, Washington and my personal focus is on local government reform and restoration infrastructure to support the evolution of regenerative bioregional culture. I’d like to work with you on the development of a network of Public Interest Science and Design... Read more
Some thirty years ago, I coined the phrase “community-based social marketing” to describe a merger of knowledge between the fields of psychology and social marketing. I elected to call this amalgamation community-based social marketing for several reasons.
Climate Education Reform BC has just launched our official Reform To Transform Campaign!! We are a student-led organization advocating for a justice-driven Climate Change Education in British Columbia’s K-12 system. We are presenting the BC Ministry of Education 6... Read more
The B.C. budget, delivered two days before Earth Day, confirmed what the throne speech had already shown: the environment is very much an after-thought for the NDP government, tacked on at the end and lacking any real substance. Thus they fail to address the most important long-term issue we face: our excessive and unsustainable demands on the planet.
As we maintain our presence at blockades to protect ancient forests, Rainforest Flying Squad members are honoured to receive support from the esteemed Dr. Diana Beresford-Kroeger. Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a renowned biologist and author, and the subject of the... Read more
Reading this I was reminded of a dance protest that I was in a few weeks back in front of the Legislature protesting the Fairy Creek issue as well as old-growth forest logging in the province. Fifty people, all six feet apart and masked, danced a specific routine to... Read more
We couldn’t help but share this good news story that shows what is possible when people come together to take a stand for common good. Fortunately, the developer of this project had the right attitude, was open-minded and understood how their actions would... Read more
This Earth Day presentation has a lot of detailed information about the greater amounts of energy required for wireless devices and networks than wired ones. This information should be presented to anyone concerned with climate change. If people don’t care about... Read more
This past week, with hundreds of people busy mobilizing to multiple frontlines prepared to risk arrest for the last real forests at the peak of public support and pressure on government to act now to deliver on its promise to protect old-growth forests, the... Read more
I was struck by the immense irony of John Horgan’s recent exhortation to young people not to blow it for the rest of us with respect to COVID. The irony, of course, is that he and his government are blowing it for the younger generation by continuing to treat the environment as a resource for industrial activity and failing to protect species at risk.
In 2020, the Government of Canada launched a program to plant two billion trees in Canada over 10 years. On Feb 24, 2021 the federal government issued calls for Requests for Information (RFI) under the Growing Canada’s Forests program which are due May 27, 2021... Read more
Since 2012, more than 10,000 people have attended Creatively United’s live zero-waste Earth Day events. Now, every day is Earth Day on CreativelyUnited.org’s free community solutions sharing hub where people can post and see events, information, resources,... Read more
This lead story has some great assessments which could form the basis of an open letter to Trudeau (under a title, introduction, or close such as “Why I am ashamed to be Canadian”, or “All talk, no action”, “We are now a force for extinction”, “Can the hypocrisy... Read more
We would like your feedback on strategies to improve housing affordability, choice, and supply in Saanich based on the Housing Strategy Task Force recommendations. Your input on Task Force recommendations for principles, focus areas, strategies, and actions is... Read more
Why have a special day to celebrate and care for the Earth? Shouldn’t we do that every day? Well, as organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970 realized, it’s an opportunity to raise awareness about climate issues, get on the political agenda, and create... Read more
Hats off to all who attended last Saturday’s Sooke rally. And thank you to Rene and Jane for being safety peeps and Wow to banner makers! yes!! We can support the Rainforest Flying Squad and help protect Fairy Creek… We will rally to defend Fairy Creek and... Read more
John Horgan will have an emergency cabinet meeting on the Fairy Creek situation and our old growth forests this month. This is a good time to send letters to the premier and MLAs. Contacts are provided below. Please ask your friends, family, neighbours and other... Read more
