Environmental Education

So what exactly is "environmental education"? I don't recall learning much about it in the '90s when I was in high school beyond understanding different types of energy. In any case, here is the definition along with what it encompasses according to the Ontario curriculum.

Environmental education is education about the environment, for the environment, and in the environment that promotes an understanding of, rich and active experience in and an appreciation for the dynamic interactions of:

-The Earth's physical and biological systems
-The dependency of our social and economic systems on these natural systems
-The scientific and human dimensions of environmental issues
-The positive and negative consequences, both intended and unintended, of the interaction between human-created and natural systems.

From Shaping Our Schools, Shaping Our Future: Environmental Education in Ontario Schools (June 2007), pg. 6.

Read more here: Science and Technology Curriculum
Our class presentation: Environmental Education

Halifax Public Garden

Since this was supposed to be a gardening site I figured I would mention a little something about public gardens. The photo below comes from the Halifax Public Garden which was basically 16 acres of absolute beauty. It was established in 1867 by Queen Victoria and became a national historic site in 1984. Public gardens, however, are often underfunded and tended to by volunteers and/or local gardeners. It's a shame there aren't more around that are this intricate!

For more info: Halifax Public Gardens

                              

Bottled Water Blues

This issue has been circulating for many years but it is only recently that I have come to understand the magnitude of such a problem. Millions and millions of water bottles are chucked daily worldwide. Recycling helps but (somehow) only about a quarter of the population effectively does it. "The Story of Stuff" has a video dedicated to the threat of the bottled water industry. So much information and awareness is out there about this being a non-sustainable venture yet somehow people continue to buy bottled drinks like drones. Many universities across Canada actually ban the sale of water bottles including the University of Ottawa. While I think this is a step in the right direction, I would encourage those schools to expand the ban to include all soft drinks since not only are they sold in plastic bottles but contain harmful ingredients for humans too.

The Story of Stuff: Bottled Water

EcoJustice: Protecting Canada's Drinking Water

(Water bottle iceberg from the Ottawa International Children's Festival)

Children and Climate Change

Climate change was the focus of this year's Ottawa International Children's Festival. Schools from around the city contributed various art projects while groups of students and families came over the course of five days to admire all the work that went into these projects. Other activities included live theater, slam poetry, and music all tied into the broad theme of our environment. I volunteered everyday and enjoyed being a part of the interaction between students and climate change. It was a fantastic festival and hopefully those children will spread the message beyond their classrooms.

To read more on this: Ottawa Children's Festival

 

Minister of the Environment

The majority of people in Canada truly care about the environment yet it is a very small minority who actually know the name of our environmental minister. His name is "the Honourable" Peter Kent, a Conservative first elected to the House of Commons in 2008 and became the Minister of the Environment in January 2011. His previous experience lies mainly in broadcast journalism and although he has been involved in a number of community projects, nothing really points to him being a respectable figure for leading our environment. Does animating a news report on the greenhouse effect a quarter century ago count?

Check out his bio and see: Peter Kent
Greenhouse Effect Report: Greenhouse Story 1984

(The Honourable Peter Kent)

***UPDATE***

STEPHEN HARPER'S TORIES DOWNPLAY CLIMATE 

KNOWLEDGE OF NEW ENVIRONMENTAL CANADA BOSS

By: Mike De Sousa (Published October 19th, 2012)

For that story: Environment in Trouble

For Peat's Sake

So I realize this blog has steered away from my garden and more into an environmental/random naturesque site. Since I can't really work on my garden now, found a rather interesting story from the NY Times about the debate between gardeners and environmentalists over the use of peat. Peat is partially decomposed vegetation and used by many gardeners to boost their soil quality. Sounds harmless but is classified as a fossil fuel and has a high carbon content therefore can be responsible for smoldering fires that burn for years.

Expert gardener Bob Flowerdew, along with others in England share their opinions on this matter.  Personally I have never used it although my mother has. Hasn't done wonders for our garden as you can see from previous pics but then again there's been little maintenance involved there over the past few years.

Watch this developing story and see what you think: Greens Versus the Green Thumb

More Dandelions!

I'm starting to think I might have an obsession with blowing dandelions. Found this amid old photos of mine from an outdoor museum in Paris. Didn't manage to capture the artist's info  so don't bother asking. I suppose if I had to think of a meaning behind it I would say the images show the different phases of a dandelion's brief life. That, or an extremely creative tic-tac-toe game?

GM Foods

Genetically Modified Foods have been around since 1994 and are going nowhere fast. It started with tomatoes as consumers expressed an interest in delayed ripening. The most "modified" products nowadays are corn, soy products, rice, and canola, although salmon is apparently next on the list. This is not to be confused with pesticides which are an entirely different nightmare. It's easy to say GM foods are bad and stand firmly against it, but it does have its benefits. What if your favorite fruit/vegetable was on the verge of extinction but genetic modification could save it? Such was the case with papayas in Hawaii in the early '90s. Obviously it is not something to try out in your backyard and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it either, but don't be so quick to judge something that may save millions of people from starvation.

Click for more info from Health Canada: GM Foods and how they regulate it: Canadian Regulations

Botanicus Interacticus

The latest from Disney Research is quite fascinating! According to their website "Botanicus Interacticus is a technology for designing highly expressive interactive plants, both living and artificial. Driven by the rapid fusion of computing and living spaces, we take interaction from computing devices and places it in the physical world using living plants as an interactive medium." I don't necessarily feel that this is the way we should be exploring plant life but it seems like this sort of technology is here to stay so if humankind can find a way to incorporate it into the botanical world, then why not?

What is this all about? Check out their website: Botanicus Interacticus

 

Animal Testing?

Occasionally people ask me which products are/are not tested on animals. I am usually oblivious to the majority of them but when in doubt, I refer to PeTa or the Vegetarian Site for the latest updates on products both tested and not on animals. A side note that is rather depressing is that all over-the-counter medicines and their ingredients are tested on animals, as required by the FDA, so if that is something you wish to avoid, may I suggest you seek healthier food alternatives?

PeTa's List

The Vegetarian Site

Creative Fountain

Was browsing through my old photos this week and stumbled upon a beautiful image of a beautiful fountain I visited a few years ago in Sydney, Australia. It reminded me of the creative tattoo I saw a few weeks back and obviously I have some sort of appreciation for things that look like blowing dandelions...