Sunday, August 10th
Pik-nik in Parc Lafontaine, Montréal - 12:00-4:00 pm
Description : Pack your lunch and bring your friends and family. Free.
Classification : Easy
Equipment : Food, water, etc
Departure : 12 p.m. Walking distance from metro Sherbrooke
Coordinator : Claude Martel: (514) 651-5847
Other information : Meeting point: Théatre de la Verdure entry
Saturday, August 16th
Hiking: Dos d'Orignal, Parc d'environnement naturel de Sutton, Sutton. Qc.
Description : This hike will take us to the peak via ferns & trees damaged after the freezing rains of 1998. $4.00 Park fees
Distance : 6.0km
Ascent : 410 m
Classification : Intermediate
Equipment : Food, water, etc.
Driving time : 90 minutes
Car pool : 15 $ (non-member +$5.00)
Departure : 8 a.m. - Métro Lionel Groulx
Website : Parc Sutton
Coordinator : Dave: 514-279-0177
Monday, August 11th
7:00 PM
Ottawa Local Group Executive Committee Meeting
Location: 1 Nicholas Ave, Suite # 412, Ottawa
August 14-17th
Sierra Club Prairie invites members of the Athabasca Watershed region (and those visiting the area in August) to attend "Keeper's Days" - empowering day-long events featuring water stewardship and advocacy discussions and trainings - to be held in communities along the length of Alberta's great Athabasca River!
The Keepers of the Athabasca Watershed Society, along with Sierra Club Prairie, will be completing an Athabasca River Community Tour during July and August 2008, and providing “Keepers Day” events in eleven Athabasca watershed communities. Beginning in Jasper on July 6th, near the headwaters of the Athabasca River, the Tour will end with a finale event in Fort Chipewyan during the Keepers of the Water III Gathering, August 14-17th, 2008.
Planned events include watershed engagement workshops, community water quality monitoring demonstrations, sharing circles, cultural activities and celebrations. To find out more and to see a schedule of planned "Keeper's Days," click here.
Saturday, August 23rd
Hunger & White Rock Mts., Stowe, Vt.
Description : A 4 - 5 hour hike to 3539 ft. near Stowe, Vermont. The summit offers great views of the Worcester mountain range, Mansfield, and the White Mts. Limit: 12 hikers
Distance : 4.4 mi./ 8 km
Ascent : 2290 ft. / 750 m.
Classification : Intermediate
Driving time : 2.5 hours
Car pool : 25 $ (+$5 non-member)
Departure : 8 a.m. - Métro Lionel Groulx
Website : Vermont State Website
Coordinator : Dave: 514-279 0177
August 25-28th
Eco-topia
Stone Bear Tracks and Trails in Bear River First Nation, NS
Do you want a living, breathing experience of living sustainability? Then ECOTOPIA is for you! Ecotopia is a 4-day environmental gathering for Atlantic youth aged 14-18. Join us!
Notices
Great Lakes Protection Agreement Approved by US Senate
Last week, the United States Senate voted unanimously to approve the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. The compact, along with its mirror legislation in Canada, encourages water conservation and bans bulk water diversions.
This resolution still must be passed by the US House of Representatives before it can be signed into law, though President Bush has already indicated he plans to sign it.
The joint resolution is expected to pass the House in September. Cross your fingers!
The interstate Compact has already been signed by the governors of the eight Great Lakes states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and is at various stages of implementing legislation. Here in Canada, both Ontario and Quebec have already passed the Annex.
Ottawa Group Reaches School Kids Directly
Another school year is over, and the Ottawa Group's Sierra Education Team is proud to have delivered 72 free workshops this year. We've directly delivered environmental education to over 1500 kids from grades 1 to 12, and the best part is that we've done it for a total budget of a couple of hundred dollars.
We encourage other local groups across the country to try this method of reaching kids directly, through game-based education developed, delivered, and managed by Sierra Club volunteers. You can read (and use) our set of over 20 participative workshops. If you'd like help starting up such a volunteer team in your part of the country, contact Terry Newcombe.
Romaine River Expedition
Sierra Club Québec is taking part in a 50-day expedition along the Romaine River to protest Hydro Québec proposed dam.
Follow the trip at: www.chercherlecourant.org
Save Sandy Pond …. and your favourite lake and river
Sandy Pond, located on the south side of Long Harbour in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland) is one of eleven water bodies in Canada slated to become a dump for mining and mineral processing wastes.
Take action today
Are you planning a wedding?
Give heartfelt meaning to your special day by making a donation on behalf of your guests in lieu of traditional wedding favours. It’s easy, and it’s green!
You can tell your guests of the gift you have made in their honour with individual place cards or with an announcement from the emcee during the speeches. We would be happy to provide sample wording or templates to assist you in designing your favour.
While we do not require a minimum donation, we do suggest that couples donate the amount that they would have been spent on traditional favours.
For more information, please contact Tania Beriau by email, or by calling toll free at 1-888-8810-4204.
VIA Rail deal for Sierra Youth Coalition
Forget flying. Trains are the more sustainable way to travel. From now on, all SYC members get 40% off VIA Rail ticket purchases, which is better than student prices.
For more information on what to do to apply the discount. |
Groups fear blue-green influx: Pollution levels in Île Bizard wetlands and St. Laurent reservoir have risen - July 29, 2008 -Montreal Gazette
Environmental groups, paddlers outraged committee wants to dilute waterway environmental regulations - July 12, 2008 - Ottawa Sun
Sierra Club slams N.L. for accepting Vale Inco dumping plan - June 30, 2008 - CBC
Cool Books, Movies and Book marks
Here is where you can share interesting books, movies and websites. We would love to hear from you. Send your neat finds of inspiration, education, encouragement, and sheer pleasure to katiea@sierraclub.ca.
Quick quiz: Can you identify this image?
If you said, "It's a photo of a Miami office building after Hurricane Wilma," then you're correct. If you said, "It looks like a crossword puzzle," then you're thinking what we're thinking. To satisfy our playful side, we dug up five Web sites for green gamers.
Environment Canada has eco-oriented crossword puzzles. The Rare Species Conservatory has games for kids, including a crossword puzzle, a word jumble, and a word search. Think you're as smart as an astronaut? Try NASA's "What On Earth?" quiz. Fancy yourself a riddler? Check out these brain teasers and riddles from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Want to brush up on your green lingo? Live Science has a list of green terms to get you started.
Hey Mr. Green
Sierra Magazine’s Answer Guy Tackles Your Toughest Green Living Questions
By Bob Schildgen
When is the right time to replace an old refrigerator? Is it more environmentally correct to buy your beer in bottles or cans? And is it okay to knit a sweater with acrylic (petroleum-based) yarn?
For several years, Bob Schildgen (aka "Mr. Green") has been answering real-world questions like these in his Sierra magazine column. Readers know they’re getting up-to-the minute, authoritative responses, because all information is backed by the research and experience of Sierra Club.
But Mr. Green’s legions of fans have also come to expect a refreshing dose of common sense—and often a laugh, too—because Bob is a funny guy with his feet on the ground.
Read more about this title, and reserve your copy! |
