Tracy's Timely Tips for Taste and tidiness

Hey MCRP volunteers,
Just a thought (and I've been doing this for years) - how about bringing your own container with a lid and your own utensils to The Taste of Edmonton and other festivals?

Not only can you bring your doggy bag home with you to eat leftovers, you won't be forced to finish all on your plate. It will also save many plastic/paper plates and cutlery.

My kids have also been trained to pick up any bottles/cans or containers that have deposits on them, and when they get returned, they get spending money. We average about $20 every 2 weeks, which keeps them happy and also cleans our parks/neighbourhood.

Tracy R-A

Compost Garden Party – A Hit!

I attended the first Compost Garden Party put on by the Composting Council of Canada at the Edmonton Food Bank. It was held to celebrate 10 years of the Plant a Row/Grow a Row program and the 29th birthday of the Food Bank.

Touring with Susan Antler across Canada is a new enthusiastic and talented band called Jane’s Party. They performed very lively, cross-generational music that made you want to get up and dance.

We got to sit on our lawn chairs and listen to great music while we were treated to bunwiches, chips, fresh blueberries, cold drinks, and a tour of the Food Bank.

I didn’t realize how large and efficient the Food Bank’s facility is and how many different items it collects and distributes. Before this, all I had seen was the drop-off area where we brought our produce from our Food Bank Garden at the EWMC to be weighed. It is one of the largest in Canada!

The Food Bank, besides being a monthly emergency source of groceries, also educates and directs its clients to grocery wholesalers that are very economical. They also refer clients to the community kitchen program to learn additional skills - they prepare 3 nutritious meals for only $8.00 that they can take home. Also, clients are directed to the more convenient pick-up locations in their local neighbourhoods. Approximately 80% of the workers at the Food Bank are volunteers, without whom the Food Bank would not be able to function.

Watch for this Compost Garden Party next year – we’ll give you more notice. It was so much fun!

Karen LC

Engaging the Public and Changing Behaviour

How do you know your efforts lead to real and on-going change?

Check out the short blog entry on how to get a firm committment from people (click on blog title) and put these three tips to work.

These will be especially valuable to people active in Community Garden and Transition Town models.

More about Biofuels

If last Thursday's post about thermo-chemical conversion got you curious about how Enerkem processes waste to fuel, you can visit their website and find out more. click the title and see the process explained!

Step 1 - the pre-treatment of feedstock (aka garbage) involves turning the garbage into what we call 'fluff', pictured here.

What is the most confusing part of this process when you are discussing it with people?

The Perfect Gift

If you are doing some shopping this weekend make sure to add a few bags of Second Nature yard waste compost to your list.

They are available at all three Eco Stations, as well as select retailers. Click on the title to see the complete list of outlets.

Then get ready to squish your toes around the greenest lawn on the block!