More Trees Please

On August 21, MCRs planted trees in Mill Creek Ravine along Hazeldean neighbourhood.
They planted 214 trees in total. Way to go MCRs!

 

For more information: visit edmonton.ca/mcrp

 

MCR Appreciation Party 2018

Thanks to all the MCRs and friends who came out on Sunday, November 25th. It was great to see old friends and connect with other MCRs. Everyone had a fun time.

Waste Services is looking for excellent new volunteers. Invite a friend to volunteer as a Master Composter Recycler. Visit edmonton.ca/mcrp

Seven Easy Ways for MCR to Stay in Touch

It is important to stay in touch with the MCR Program. Waste Services strives to show that, yes, volunteers play a meaningful role to make Edmonton a resilient and sustainable city.

Staying touch shows what MCRs accomplish, keeps MCRs knowledgeable, keeps MCRs engaged, and fits activities for MCRs.

Here are seven easy ways to connected...

1. Visit MyVolunteerPage.com | sign up for activities, contact us, record volunteering.

2. Click this Easy Form | We will record MCR volunteering on your volunteer profile.

3. Email mcrp@edmonton.ca | Say hello, record volunteering, share an idea or ask a question.

4. Phone Rodney or Tamara | We can help you navigate through MyVolunteerPage, chat, answer questions, record volunteering & more. Rodney-780-496-5991, Tamara-780-496-5051.

5. Text to 780-668-0217

6. Visit Rodney & Tamara | Set a time to say hello at the MCR office. Learn to use MyVolunteerPage or pick up supplies for your event.  Please make an appointment in advance to ensure we are in the office.

7. Do a MCR Volunteering Sheet | Rodney and Tamara have tiny forms at MCR events. Fill out the MCR Volunteering sheet and they will record MCR volunteering for you.

Visit edmonton.ca/mcrp

     

Your Thoughtful Opinion Counts

Another installment about Effective MCR Conversations

Have you found yourself saying something like this?

• "I watched a video on CBC about recycling, last night, and..."
• "According to Mark Cullen, grasscycling is good for my lawn."

What you think counts even more than you think.

Everyone bases our everyday decisions on the thoughtful guidance of our peers. We take short-cuts by listening to what others have learned and their thoughtful opinions. We listen, we reflect, and we select the best perspectives for ourselves.

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In fact, your opinion matters more than what you've read. Yes, friends like that you read stuff and you listen to experts.  BUT what really counts is that you reflected on the topic and built an opinion.

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Sometimes we distance ourselves by talking through someone else. It's seems less risky to say, for example, "The City wants everyone to go bagless" But that statement makes going bagless about the City, not about you, not your neighbour, and not even about the grass.

Own your opinion and share it, respectfully.
Try something like "I go bagless because ..." This makes the topic more personal.

Do NOT push your opinions on others. Share how you see the world.

We all look for the opinions of people we trust. As an MCR, you have an informed opinion about Edmonton's waste system: share it.

Coming Soon: MCR Update Sessions

Of course, it's important to have up-to-date information. The MCR Team will host MCR Update Sessions in October. Come out and learn about changes to Edmonton's waste system.

More "Effective MCR Conversations"

Previous Find Common Ground

Next Give Prompts & Feedback

 

Master Composter Recyclers Help Edmonton Re-Naturalize

Last Tuesday, MCRs planted 207 trees & shrubs at our annual summer planting event.  Thanks to everyone who came out. It was a big success.

We finished planting just before the rain and thunder came and all the plants benefited from warm showers, later that night. Perfect timing!

Staff with the City of Edmonton's Root for Trees program taught us about naturalization of urban areas. This includes letting the grass in an area grow (no mowing) in the first year and planting trees and shrubs in the second year. The new plants slowly take over, returning the area to a more natural landscape.

All in all, it takes several years to naturalize an area. Naturalization increases Edmonton's urban forest and offers many benefits. For one, this reduces mowing and maintenance.

MCRs chatted while we planted. The 175 trees & shrubs and 32 wildflowers included trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), white spruce (Picea glauca), red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea), prickly rose (Rosa acicularis), and graceful cinquefoil (Potentilla gracilis).

Thank you, once again, to everyone who came out.

     

Recap: MCR Munch & Mulch (June, 2018)

20 MCRs enjoyed a sunny, spring morning at Compost 'S cool, last Saturday. In good company, we learned, we chatted, we discussed, and we played in the dirt.

5 Ways to Deal with Grass, Leaves, and Plants... But Not "Compost"

• Mad Science: bokashi, extracts, teas & brews
• A Sensus of Humus: how to make leaf mold
• Interment: burial, trenching & double digging
• The Green, Green, Grass of Home: going bagless (grasscycling)
• Litter Bugs: chop & drop, deadheading, mulching & lasagna gardening

The group broke into four teams. Each team toured all four stations to learn about the topics above. At each station, one person from the team led a chat about the station.

Special thanks to MCR Deb P. She hosted the Mad Science station and taught us about bokashi. She even sent folks off with samples of EM (effective micro-organisms) to try their own bokashi compost.

The day ended with a fun game of Compost 'S cool charades.

Congrats to all those MCRs who were recognized for reaching milestones and long service. You rock!

We look forward to seeing everyone at the MCR Tree Planting, in July.

Stay in Touch: 5 Easy Ways to Record

• Click here record volunteering
• Visit MyVolunteerPage.com
• Email mcrp@edmonton.ca
• Phone 780-496-5991
• Text 780-668-0217

   

My Experience as an MCR by MCR Sarah F.

I first heard of the Master Composter Recycler Program in May 2011. I had only just become interested in being green and was doing what I knew I could: recycling items that were recyclable, bringing a reusable to-go cup with me when I bought coffee, and taking fabric bags to the grocery store.

I wanted to find out how I could do more, and everywhere I looked it seemed the two best ways to be environmentally conscious were to have a garden and to compost. When I searched for courses in Edmonton, I came across an ad for the Master Composter Recycler Program and it seemed like exactly what I was searching for. I marked when the next training would start (almost a full year away) and eagerly awaited my chance to be a part of the program.

I applied for the MCR program with a friend of mine from work. Other people we worked with immediately dubbed the program “Garbage Club” and for the remainder of the training remained convinced that we were playing with garbage whenever we had class (which I assure you, we did not). Despite the teasing, they always wanted to know exactly what we had learned - there would be a group eagerly awaiting us the morning after each class. People at work started recycling their bottles, taking to-go mugs for coffee runs in the day, and a couple even starting asking questions on how they could start their own compost bin. Clearly, our excitement was contagious! 

From the moment I walked into the first class, I knew I was going to love it. The training was made up of a very varied group- women and men from their 20’s-60’s. Despite the difference in age and occupation, we had a lot in common - our love for the environment, our desire to expand our knowledge, and the passion to teach others what we were learning. 

The classes themselves were packed full of information- teaching us what could or could not be recycled, how garbage was collected within Edmonton, different styles of composting that were available, as well as lessons on how to be a better public speaker and different ways we could volunteer around the city. Each class I would arrive, tired from my day at work and instantly feel a sense of rejuvenation as I walked into the class, other people’s excitement increasing my own. 

Recycling collected in a SINGLE day!

On each Saturday, we went on a different field trip. The first week we toured the Edmonton Waste Management Facility, and it was amazing- we watched employees sort the recycling by hand, after some items had been machine sorted. We also saw the full garbage sorting process from the first stage, where the garbage is dropped off,  to the last where several machines  to separate the organic compostable goods from non-organics. Those end up in the landfill. Finally, we actually got to see the large piles of compost that Edmonton has as a result of the sorting done. This is the waste of every Edmontonian, which without any effort on the residents part,  is separated and processed in a large building, where later the compost is sold to those who would like to purchase it. I've never seen or heard of another city that puts this effort into reducing the waste that goes into the landfill.

It sounds impossible, but the second week’s field trip topped the first. It was what I had been excited about since I had first learned I was accepted for the training - we learned how to compost! Before this training, I thought there was one type of compost. I thought you put your food scraps into a pile and a few months later, the food had magically become soil. This is not the case AT ALL! There are so many different types of composting- vermicomposting, bokashi composting, lasagna composting, hot composting, lazy composting- the list just kept going! It truly showed that no matter where you live, the space you have, or how much free time is available, there is always a way to compost!

Making worm bins of our own!

The final Saturday was the last MCR class, and it was met with both excitement and sadness. The end of our training signalled the the phase as a Master Composter Recycler; it was time to give back to the program and to the community. The entire Master Composter Recycler Program is provided to the attendees free of charge, and in response, each member volunteers 35 hours in the next year. Chances to volunteer are provided by the City, but we could also create our own opportunities - such as having a movie night with friends to watch an environmental movie, or even talking with people about how to compost. This is our way to thank the City for having such a wonderful program, and taking the initiative to be green. It is also our opportunity to get more people interested in being green and making the world a better place.

To quote Dr. Seuss, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” The graduates of MCRP do care, and by giving back through volunteering, we’re hoping to continue to get more and more people to care too.

Looking back at that training, I am so thankful to have been a part of the program. It truly makes me proud to live in Edmonton and tell other people the how the City is working to ensure we leave as small of a footprint as possible. I look forward to continuing to volunteer in our city for years to come, helping to teach others how easy it is to reduce our waste!

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Sarah completed her MCR training in 2012.

     

Friends & Colleagues at the MCR Townhall

Thanks to all the MCRs, MCRs-in-Training, and 2018 Candidates at the MCR Townhall Meeting.

It was great to see friends, new and old.

Front: Sunil & Julie
Row 2: Chidi., Elaine, Bana, Majida, Melissa, Coleen & Helene
Row 3: Erika, Katie, Yohie, Pam, Maria & Sarah
Row 3: Tammy, Hetal, Jocelyn, Mildred, Pat, Marx, Kayla & Cayley
Back: Hetal, Kory, Rodney, Suzy, Neil, Christine, Gordon, Liz, Bronwen, Terry, Nicole, Gaby, & Mark

We covered a lot of ground in a couple hours.

Waste Strategy Update
We discussed the Strategy Update presented to Utility Committee on February 23rd. Click here to read the strategy, the minutes, and documents. You can also watch the discussion.

Utility Committee approved the Strategy Update, in principle. The proposals go to City Council for more discussion on March 20th.

Improving the MCR Program
MCRs gave feedback about improving the program and helping MCRs be even more effective.
Some specific topics were:

• easy ways to record volunteering, 
• how to stay active as MCRs, and
• how to show friends & colleagues that we are waste experts