EarthMatters

Flooding, drought, shorter planting seasons, insects, fire, and invasive species threaten the integrity of our existing forests. Those threats are being amplified by the effects of climate change.

Forests Ontario has worked hard to strengthen its position as the voice for our forests. Through breakthroughs and milestones, it has made significant strides in its mission to make Ontario's forests greener.  Through the 50 Million Tree Program, Forests Ontario has planted more than 29 million trees across the province over the last ten years.

Rob Keen is the CEO of Forests Ontario, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of the public on the importance and benefits of healthy forests and to the reforestation of lands across Canada, and specifically in the province of Ontario, encouraging landowners to help combat the ravages of deadly fires, disease, and the effects of climate change, by planting trees.

www.forestsontario.ca

Suburban Remix brings together experts in planning, urban design, real estate development, and urban policy to demonstrate how suburbs can use growing demand for urban living to renew their appeal as places to live, work, play, and invest. The case studies and analyses show how compact new urban places are already being created in suburbs to produce health, economic, and environmental benefits, and contribute to solving a growing equity crisis.

Authors/Editors Jason Beske and David Dixon discuss their latest book.

In July of 2018 it was discovered that over the course of the previous four years 24 billion litres, or over 5 billion gallons, enough to fill 10,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools of raw sewage was allowed to flow into one of the major creeks in the City of Hamilton, Canada.

A gate meant to contain the sewage was left open.  Over a year later, there is still no explanation for the oversight.  In fact, it wasn't until November of 2019 that the public was even made aware of the accident. 

In over 800 cities in North America, a combined system of stormwater run-off and untreated sewage run beneath city streets. 

These releases are becoming more problematic, contributing to the serious surface-water problems that crop up frequently in the news. Harmful algal blooms are all fed by phosphorus, nitrogen, and other contaminants found in the untreated sewage that, according to EPA estimates, flows out of America's treatment plants during the 23,000 to 75,000 sanitary-sewer overflows that happen every year.

Sustainable Hamilton Burlington is a non-profit social enterprise serving the neighbouring cities of Hamilton and Burlington in Ontario, Canada. The folks there are dedicated to inspiring sustainability leadership in local business organizations for a healthier environment and thriving, prosperous communities.

Sustainable Hamilton/Burlington recently held a Sustainable Business Conference.  Over 100 attendees came to the event to learn more about how their companies could develop a more sustainable approach to business.

I spoke with Rafiq Dhanji, Acting Executive Director for Sustainable Hamilton/Burlington about SHB and the Sustainable Business Conference that his organization was running.  I also ran into Bob Willard, author, speaker and Founder of Sustainability Advantage.  Willard was one of the keynote speakers.

https://sustainablehamiltonburlington.ca/

https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/

Save Our Scruff is a non-profit organization located in Toronto dedicated to rescuing dogs and finding them safe and suitable permanent homes through adoption, advocacy and education.

Whether abandoned by owners, a mis-guided family gift, or left behind due to a climate event, thousands of dogs are in need of new homes.  Save Our Scruff is one, of many, community-based services that strives to address this global, biodiversity issue.

Jenna Bye is the Executive Director of 'Save Our Scruff', who, along with her sister Laura and some 50 dedicated volunteers take care to match a lonely dog with the right family.

https://www.saveourscruff.org/

The Indigenous Clean Energy (ICE) Social Enterprise is a pan-Canadian not-for-profit platform which advances Indigenous inclusion in Canada's energy futures economy through Indigenous leadership, and broad-based collaboration with energy companies, utilities, governments, development firms, cleantech innovators, academic sector, and capital markets.

The 20/20 Catalysts Program is an award-winning interactive three-month program that connects First Nations, Inuit and Métis Catalysts to a network of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Clean Energy Project Mentors and Coaching Specialists involved in clean energy project development – including: energy efficiency, solar, wind, hydro, biomass, and geothermal, both on and off-grid.

We spoke with Eryn Stewart, Director of the 20/20 Catalysts program, and Dustin Fournier, a member of the Beaver First Nation and one of the participants.

https://indigenouscleanenergy.com/

EarthCare Sudbury is a unique partnership between the City of Greater Sudbury (Canada), over 150 community, agencies, organizations and businesses, and hundreds of residents.

EarthCare Sudbury was formed in 2000 to bring the community together around the key environmental issues facing the city and to chart a course towards sustainability.

Jennifer Babin-Fenske is the Co-ordinator of EarthCare Sudbury.

Sydney Koby believes that the environmentally-conscious food choices we make don't have to sacrifice taste or convenience. However, she couldn't seem to find anything on the market that checked all of those boxes. Between her engineering degree and experience working in kitchens, Sydney jumped in with both feet into making a product that she felt was missing from our sustainable snacking options.

Cricket flour is rich in protein and other essential nutrients like fiber, iron and Omega-3 fatty acids.  Crickets consume less water than any other protein, produce little waste and zero greenhouse gases.

https://bitesnacks.com/

The Democracy Collaborative is a U.S. non-profit research and development lab for a democratic economy that operates within planetary boundaries.  The organization works to carry out a vision of a new economic system where shared ownership and control of companies creates more equitable and inclusive outcomes, fosters ecological sustainability, and promotes flourishing democratic and community life.  

Staff at the Democracy Collaborative work closely with community foundations and other place-based funders, local governments and anchor institutions to develop effective on-the-ground strategies for Community Wealth Building and stronger local economies.

'Fifty by Fifty' is a program of the Democracy Collaborative that catalyzes a movement to scale up employee ownership.  Its goal is to generate 50 million employee owners in the US by 2050.

Marjorie Kelly is the Executive Vice President of Democracy Collaborative, Co-Founder of Fifty by Fifty, and author of several books including 'The Making of Democratic Economy' and 'The Divine Right of Capital'.

https://democracycollaborative.org/

Yorklands Green Hub, a non-profit community group in Guelph, Canada, aims to create a public, sustainable, environmental centre on the grounds of a former Corrections Centre.  

Featuring educational programs, demonstrating and researching stewardship and conservation themes and building urban resilience and wellbeing, the group wants to protect a heritage site and parkland - open to the public for now and forever.

Norah Chalonder, Co-Founder of the grassroots group explains how the concept started and what it hopes to accomplish.

http://yorklandsgreenhub.ca/