Arctic Circle is a daily cartoon strip by Alex Hallet about three penguins, Oscar, Ed and Gordo, who have emigrated from Antarctica to the Arctic. The comic has an underlying environmental theme and regularly sees the humour in trying to live a more eco-friendly life in a 21st century world.

 

 

Arctic Circle is a daily cartoon strip by Alex Hallet about three penguins, Oscar, Ed and Gordo, who have emigrated from Antarctica to the Arctic. The comic has an underlying environmental theme and regularly sees the humour in trying to live a more eco-friendly life in a 21st century world.

 

 

Arctic Circle is a daily cartoon strip by Alex Hallet about three penguins, Oscar, Ed and Gordo, who have emigrated from Antarctica to the Arctic. The comic has an underlying environmental theme and regularly sees the humour in trying to live a more eco-friendly life in a 21st century world.

 

Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) Okanagan have teamed up with GreenStep Sustainability Coaching to help local businesses learn new ways to grow their bottom line.
 
As a follow up to the tremendous response to the Green Business Awards, SIFE Okanagan students Matt Cosar and Sattu Dhaliwal approached Angela Reid and Lindsay Eason of GreenStep to put together a workshop series to continue building upon the environmental successes of the business community. “We want to make sure the momentum continues and other businesses have the chance to benefit from the advantages of going green, and to help prepare them for competing for prestigious awards like the Sustainability Leader of the Year, which requires excellence,” says Dhaliwal.  
 
The outcome is a four part workshop series called “The Sustainability Advantage,” which provides small and medium sized enterprises with the opportunity to understand and apply the tremendous benefits that arise from creating a long term sustainability strategy. “We want companies to see profitability in not only improving energy efficiency and resource conservation within the workplace, but also from improving employee productivity and retention,” says Eason. “Thinking about the long term sustainability of a company is something every business owner must do to survive in a decade that is set to bring more uncertainty with rising energy and resource costs. These workshops will help local businesses to develop goals for 2010 that will carry them into the future with a strategic advantage.”
 
SIFE and GreenStep are looking for 20 Okanagan businesses to participate in the series that includes four half-day workshops, beginning September 17th 2009. Businesses can learn more and register at www.green-step.ca or by contacting Lindsay Eason at 250-868-5121 or info@green-step.ca.

To give a bit of background as to why we chose Kelowna; whilst having no idea what it was like, we had previously lived in Fernie, B.C. for a ski season and loved living in Canada so much that we wanted to come back but stay for longer this time.

It was the beautiful landscape, the open, friendly, and relaxed people, the similar values that Canadians and Kiwis share, the many outdoor activities available and the hugeness and variety that Canada has to offer that means you can never get bored. While discussing where to come back to, Kelowna seemed to tick all the boxes that we were looking for: close to the mountains; hot summers; big enough for job opportunities; small enough that you don’t feel like you are in a rat race; close to the water and plenty of activities to become involved in.  

Kelowna also intrigued Richard and I from a professional development standpoint. I have a bachelors degree in Science with a major in Geography and specialization in Environmental Science. I am very much interested in sustainability, urban design, low impact design and development, town planning and of course environmental management.

My last job was in an Environmental Policy Anlayst role in the City Planning team at Auckland City Council. Richard is a residential carpenter and enjoys the challenge that each new project brings. I personally find the many issues and complexities that Kelowna is facing as a growing city extremely interesting. How sustainability and good urban management fit in to this model is even more interesting to me.  

Zoe Shorter has recently moved to Kelowna from New Zealand. She specializes in environmental science and is interested in sustainability and urban design. You can contact her via email at zshorter@hotmail.com

The City of Kelowna is promoting several environmental initiatives on their site:

Earth Hour - Turn off you lights from 8:30 to 9:30 PM on March 28th

Kelowna 2030 - What will Kelowna be like in 2030? How can we be more sustainable?

Living Greener - Links and information for a sustainable Okanagan

Solar BC - Kelowna leading by example with several solar projects

LiveSmart BC - Make green choices that save money at home, at work and on the road.

Get Water Smart - The City's goal is to reduce city-wide water use by 15% by the year 2012.

Regional Waste Reduction Office - For tips on recycling and scheduled pickups

 

The New Year's resolution of Okanagan newlyweds, Darrell and Lindsay Eason, transformed into a year long commitment to sustainable living. Follow their journey as they change from a green couple to a sustainable couple over the next year. And, get ideas and tips that can inspire you to change your life as well.

 

March 16th 2009

 

What is important to your life? Our latest journey to a cabin in the Shuswap has allowed us to contemplate this important question. How many of us actually take the time to identify if everything we are doing in our life is something we find extremely important? And take money out of the question. Humans do all kinds of stupid things for money (but that’s a whole other discussion)! 

Darrell and I stayed on a 160 acre estate in Celista, BC in the North Shuswap. There are cozy cabins, an organic garden, Icelandic horses, affectionate barn kitties and the cutest puppy ever. The estate is also home to Celista Estate Winery and the homestead is complete with an art gallery and a soon to be wine tasting bar. The owners, Marg and Jake, are the sweetest people in the world, and are living their dream. They have obviously figured out what is important to them. 

What is important to us? By spending time out there we think we have answered this question for ourselves. It’s not very profound or exciting but actually quite traditional. So here it is – having the time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. In 5 days we forgot about stressful deadlines, irritating commutes and answering the hundreds of emails and phone calls we get each day. Being immersed in nature, we thoroughly enjoyed our time. The simple pleasures, like getting to know the area, hiking through the snow, feeding the horses, playing with pets, baking, reading, talking... Our days of nothing were filled with the most satisfying feeling – joy! Why do our daily lives have to be such hard work?

During University, I always envied the people I was learning about in Anthropology. People in many cultures work less than 5 hours a day and “work” was gathering and preparing food, clothing and shelter. That doesn’t sound like work to me. That is what we do for hobbies: garden, sew and build things. Humans enjoy doing the things that help provide for our basic needs. And do you know what they do with the rest of their day? Enjoy leisure time, relax, socialize, and create beautiful art. They don't need to worry about stock prices and retirement savings because their culture is built on ensuring everyone is looked after. 

For the past month I have been very content flipping through recipe books and dreaming of canning food and having a garden. These simple pleasures are things that people are too busy to do because they are working eight hours a day, plus commute, and spending time waiting in line in the supermarket, the bank or the mall. We don’t have time for these simple pleasures (things that we actually enjoy) because we need to earn money and find the quickest and easiest way to put food on the table, zone out and do it all again the next day.  

Well let's take a step back and reassess what really matters… and make that our priority!

Mayor Sharon Shepherd is looking to make Kelowna more sustainable, greener and fiscally responsible. In her inaugural speech she also talked about the shift to green technologies.

She would assemble a Kelowna Climate Action Committee which would tackle issues brought up by the provincial Climate Action Charter and look into building code changes to make use of solar technology.

To handle the city's traffic problems, she is wanting less cars on the road and more people using bike lanes and the transit system. Some of the other issues on the table include the HandyDart, more cycling options, better sidewalks and the continuation of the Central Green Project.

The Mayor will pursue a bike-share program that is similar to the Paris Velib program where people can rent bikes for trips around the City. The bikes can be picked up and dropped off at automated kiosks. To get funding for the project she plans on putting a Tour d'Okanagan cycling race which would also help tourism.

Source: Article by Jennifer Smith titled "Kelowna Mayor pledges to make city more sustainable" & article titled "Mayor wants more bikes"

The JP Broadcast Group (Jim Pattison) with the help of the David Suzuki Foundation is launching its first-ever green programming initiative across all 28 of it's radio stations throughout British Columbia and Alberta.

The Suzuki Report, a key element of the green radio initiative will be heard in Kelowna on B-103 FM and Power 104.

Starting this fall, British Columbians and Albertans will be more aware of environmental issues by listening to the Report from Monday to Friday.

The radio stations will air long and short form structured programs with announcer dialogue and community service initiatives. The green programming will make listeners aware of recycling drives, environmental fundraisers and green events that will receive exposure on the respective station websites as well.

 

Ken Salvail of Ken's Horticultural Services, who co-hosts the Saturday morning AM 1150 Garden Show has planned a seminar on sustainable landscaping on Saturday October 18th in Lake Country.

Ken will show attendees how to choose drought tolerant plants which are suitable for the Okanagan and how to conserve water and be efficient when you do water them. Ken advises to avoid overhead sprinkers and use drip and soaker hoses to minimize evaporation of the water. Plants can want frequent waterings but you should water heavily when you do, and less often. Even pruning which can pollute the environment (when using energy) can be avoided if plants are planted in the right places.

According to Ken, homeowners and developers need to choose the right landscaping for their current location.

The City of Kelowna has called upon Salvail for his advice on water conservation and residential landscaping while reviewing its water use policies.

To register for the 3 hour seminar, call 1-250-766-3733.

Source: Article by Judie Steeves titled "Learn about sustainable landscaping"

Wal-Mart has 3 long term global sustainability goals:

• to produce zero waste
• to operate with 100 per cent renewable energy
• to make environmentally preferable products available

In Canada, to achieve these goals, their new outlets opening in 2009 will be designed to save 30% in energy use. These new stores would be called Wal-Mart HE (high-efficiency). And over 5 years, the HE stores would save Wal-Mart $25 million.

Wal-Mart HE stores would achieve these energy savings by:

• using waste energy from refrigerators to help heat stores
• cutting lighting costs
• covering roofs with white membranes to reflect sunlight and lower summer cooling costs
• reducing the size of the buildings

Wal-Mart also has their sustainability initiatives, partnerships and products showcased at their "For the Greener Good" website. Their products page outlines new eco-friendly products broken down by various categories.

Source: Article from Report on Business titled "Wal-Mart Canada stores aim for energy efficiency"