Rainforest Flying Squad Responds to Today’s First Nations’ Request to Defer Logging in Fairy Creek and the Central Walbran Valley
The Rainforest Flying Squad welcomes this morning’s announcement that the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht, and Huu-ay-aht First Nations are calling for logging deferrals on Fairy Creek and the Central Walbran. While it’s a welcome step in the right direction, we, and... Read more
On Climate, It’s Short-Term Pain for Long-Term Gain, Backed by Courts
One of the biggest challenges in addressing climate change is that it’s a very slow-moving crisis. We need to take action now in order to avert problems many years, even decades, into the future, but our system is biased against such action.
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My Heart is Hopelessly in Love with Everything
As we draw near the Summer Solstice the Sun God is at the height of his virility and the Earth Goddess swells with life. It is a time when we are hopelessly in love with Everything.
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The Buzz About Bees
The QMS Eco-club has been working on a super exciting initiative to celebrate our success in getting Queen Margaret’s School declared a Bee School, and supporting the City of Duncan in making a commitment to protecting pollinators, and becoming the first Bee... Read more
Mental Health Needs More Oversight
B.C. is one of the last provinces in Canada that does not licence counsellors. If we need medical attention we can be sure that seeing a doctor means s/he has a degree of knowledge, is backed by the province, has liability insurance, and such. When it comes to... Read more
B.C. Flunks International Biodiversity Targets
Sadly, Ecojustice and the Wilderness Committee gave B.C. a failing grade in four of the five areas they considered: protection and recovery of both species at risk and ecosystems, the protection of natural habitats of all species and ecosystems and other laws to protect biodiversity.
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A Strip Mine In Highlands?
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.
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‘Black Wednesday’ for Big Oil as Courtrooms and Boardrooms Turn on Industry
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.
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Biggest Issue Since WWII
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
New Tool Helps Towns Set Targets
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
A Top German Court Toughens the Nation’s Climate Goals, Requiring Explicit Details
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.
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When a Tree Falls in the Forest, The NDP Government Hears Not a Thing
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
A Call for a New Forest Framework in British Columbia
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
B.C. is now a Biodiversity-Loss Hotspot
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.
Read moreEnlightened Communications – Making All Voices Matter
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…
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Reverie at Wagg Creek
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!
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Fostering Behavior Change Minute: How to Select a Behavior to Target
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
We Need a Vaccine Against Olympic and Fossil Fuel Insanity
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.
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Get Growing, Victoria!
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
Harvest & Volunteer Coordinator
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
What does the Federal Budget mean for the Food Movement?
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
Is there a 5G Tower Near You?
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
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
Wild Lives Matter
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!
Read moreClean & Reliable Water Matters
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…
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Active Transportation is Good for Mental Health
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.
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Keep Up the Pressure for Old-Growth in B.C.
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
Artist Brings Personal Social Justice Stories to Light
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
223 Interntional Scientists Call on BC Government to Save Old Growth Biodiversity
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.
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Creating Well-Being, from the Personal to the Planetary
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.
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Children of the Trees – An Essay
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.
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Deadline for Public Input on $35 Million Loan
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 Campaign
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
Rainforest Flying Squad Serves Notice to Appeal Injunction
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
Share Your Concerns with Key Government Officials
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
A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency
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
Celebrating Mothers of the World
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.
Read moreCold Matters: Our Arctic Connection
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…
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How do we evolve a regenerative bioregional culture in the Salish Sea? – May Day Murmuration
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
Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM)
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.
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Reform To Transform Campaign Launch
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
Throne Speech and Budget Fail Future Generations
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.
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Call of the Forest – Support for Fairy Creek
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
We’re More Powerful Than We Think
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
Working Together Enhances Community Well-Being
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 moreWireless Networks and Climate Change
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
Old Growth Forest Defenders Share Facts Public Needs to Know
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
May All Our Words and Actions be Shaped Like Compassion
When we give a tree all our attention, when we listen intently, there is much we can learn about living in community and caring for one another.
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Memo to John Horgan: Don’t Blow it for the Next Generation
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.
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