The Green Room

This year’s First Annual Reyouzd Festival in Bruce County, Ontario called together eco-retailers from across the province to raise awareness on the art of reusing. They also raised money for students entering post secondary studies in Environmental, Landscape, or Farm Science Programs in Ontario. And the David Suzuki Foundation was represented through distribution of printed materials and screening The Sacred Balance .

For the occasion, the vacant Teeswater Town Hall was bedecked with handmade flags from reclaimed materials and extreme birdhouses created by John Looser of Brussels, Ontario . Reused fridge magnets with a picture of the world in a pair of hands saying "You Can Make a World of Difference — Buy Used" were handed out as a keepsake, and the message was clear: buying used is the easiest and most cost-effective thing you can do to help sustain our environment.

Huron-Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell opened the festival, which played host to WWF-Canada and more than 40 other exhibitors. Highlights included the trio Dropping Science rapping a message about the environment and farming practices, as well as the interesting garden planter made from a repurposed dog bone container by Gloria Lloyd of the Kincardine area. Artists who paint on anything (barn board, used sheets, etc.) and use anything (reclaimed house paint, art paints, etc.) to produce their works that even incorporated egg shells in one piece, also participated and inspired.

"I think people are doing wonderful things in this part of the country," says the festival’s Lynne Taylor, who’s planning next year’s second installment. "Come see us sometime. We don’t say ‘Bruce County: Ontario’s Natural Retreat’ for nothing!"

Jim from South Vernon, BC writes:

This is a silly but honest question. If I had a home on a hillside and wanted to have a gravity irrigation system, in what order would I have my vegetables to benefit most from the water system?

Jeannine from Winnipeg, MB writes:

The gnome Suzuki has inspired us to keep our yard as green as possible. However, we have a problem that everyone tells us can only be resolved with Roundup (a chemical weed killer), which is an option we’d rather not consider.

Off the back lane to our property is an area that must have been used at one time as a parking spot, but it hasn’t been put to use since we bought the property. It is covered in crushed limestone and overgrown with weeds: dandelions, quack-grass, common burdock, plantain, and many others we can’t identify.

We’ve tried handpulling, but there are just too many, and because of the limestone, it’s impossible to dig out the dandelion and common burdock roots. Is it crazy to consider getting a machine in to remove the limestone and the roots? Or are there better options for us?

David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge asked Lisa Atkins, President of SOUL (The Society for Organic Urban Land care) to answer this one:

Horticultural vinegar works just as well as Roundup and isn’t toxic to anything but plants. Vinegar is systemic just like Roundup (apply to the leaves, and the plant intakes the liquid into its system), so it needs to be applied to exposed leaves. Also like Roundup, vinegar works best on annual weeds and needs repeated applications for perennial weeds.

Horticultural vinegar is now available to the public. Ironically, until recently, one had to have a license to apply hort vinegar, whereas any homeowner could purchase much more lethal pesticides at the local garden store.

C.D. from Vancouver writes:

I have some old cleaners that I don’t use such as Tilex, Orange Glo, etc. What should I do with them since I now use natural cleaners? I don’t really want to dump them down the drain, but perhaps that’s the only way to get rid of them?

Lindsay replies:

Great question! So now that you’ve made the switch you need to safely dispose of the toxic stew of products. They are likely labeled as flammable, toxic, hazardous, etc. and this means they have to be treated as such — hazardous waste, that is.

Depending on your city or town, you’ll have to check in with your respective depot. Each city or town has a municipal waste facility that will accept batteries, paints, and Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) like toilet bowl cleaner. See if you can drop it off there and good on you for not pouring it down the drain!

Have you considered making your own home cleaners? It’s a lot cheaper and very effective. See our issue of the David Suzuki Nature Challenge newsletter where I show you via video how to make your own and give you the recipes too. Check them out at queenofgreen.org .

Ian Graham fed his van 100% vegetable oil this summer when he embarked on the more than 2,000 km road trip from Kitchener, Ontario to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. He blogged his adventures, for which he only used solar power to charge his camping gear, iPod and to re-power the battery that runs the pump he uses to collect and filter the waste vegetable oil, at vegvan.ca .

His latest thrills have been looking into supplementing the vegetable oil with a small hydrogen cell for the van, and bringing with him a solar oven. Thanks for the inspiration Ian!

Erin Watson from Montreal, QC writes:

I live in an apartment and have a huge Rubbermaid container filled with vermicomposting worms and the most beautiful, rich looking compost you can imagine. My worms can transform 6 pounds of organic waste into compost in just one week. I then use this compost to feed my house plants. I often get little volunteer tomato or pepper plants, which I then transplant into their own pots and grow on my balcony in the summer! Eating those tomatoes is such a great reward!

There’s a new kind of plastics recycling program on the horizon. With plans to curb plastic containers, one of North America’s largest horticultural trade associations, Landscape Ontario, is working to create the first nationwide post-consumer horticultural plastics recycling program in the world.

Water bottles and plastic bags top the list of targets, which includes plastic garden pots, trays, tags, irrigation pipes and greenhouse poly. Pots, trays and tags would be collected directly from consumers at centres right across Canada.

Stephen Murdoch of Milton, ON shares with us that Landscape Ontario’s more than 2,000 members are focused on promoting and fostering a favourable environment for the advancement of the horticultural industry in Ontario. The association is investigating program funding and partnerships with recycling companies, pot manufacturers, garden centres, nurseries and growers.

Landscape Ontario will be at Garden Expo from October 21 – 22 at the Toronto Congress Centre .

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.

Right now, one of the most important things all Canadians can do for the sake of the planet is participate in the upcoming Federal Election.

“If we fail to put the focus on the environment, the message to the next government - regardless of which party prevails - will be a mandate for more inaction.

We cannot let that happen. We do not have the time or the luxury.” David Suzuki, September 2008

Election Day will be here before you know it.

• Arm yourself with information.

• Ask candidates the hard questions.

• Vote.

We’ll help. Join the conversation at www.voteenvironment2008.ca .