Trash Talk

The following is the article I wrote for our June co-op newsletter:

"You don't filter smokestacks or water. Instead, you put the filter in your head and design the problem out of existence." William McDonough

Over the course of the past 10 years or so I’ve had a big thorn in my side – garbage. Dealing with the garbage of neighbours and litter of strangers, has made consumerisms leftovers a pretty big focus in my life. I won’t dwell on the ugly details (like hair, spit and debris hanging out a bathroom window – gross!!) but suffice it to say that garbage has primarily been a frustration for me...and living at the end of our co-op overlooking our collective garbage has just been the icing on the waste cake side of my life.

But, I don’t do negativity very well. At some point I need to do something about things that are problematic to my mental wellbeing. So I’m happy to say I have found a proactive role at work and home to provide positive balance to this increasing anger with others and their waste. Also to calm the nagging guilt I perpetually feel knowing there is always something more I could do. Turning all my negative energy to a positive use...making my world a little greener. :)

Elsewhere in this newsletter you will see mention of the new Green Team for our co-op home. Sarah and I, and a few other keeners, are out to inform and inspire you, our fellow members...to make a difference and reduce the eco-footprint of our collective home. Lots of fun stuff to come to help our individual eco evolutions as well as what we can all do together to bring this whole place into the green revolution.

That’s what I’m trying to do at home. At work I’ve shared a new green vision at Britannia: to achieve a Zero Waste footprint for our community complex by 2015! If ever there was a community, and a worksite, up for such a challenge it is Britannia. I believe it will be made even easier given that we live in a municipality that aims to be the Greenest City in the world by 2020. And our city is a part of a whole region, now known as Metro Vancouver, which is supporting a Zero Waste Challenge for all communities. In our quest for a holistic recycling/waste plan for the complex, our next step is to host a walk around, potluck lunch and discussion (with a member from Vancouver’s Greenest City action team, as well as an advisor from the waste assessment branch of the region) on what we are currently doing with recycling and what we could be doing better.

Other members of the Brit green team live in housing co-ops too, so we will take opportunities to ask questions about potential involvement in our home communities as well. Thus a ripple effect with a zero waste focus is spreading and people feel excited to be a part of it. Certainly nicer to focus on positive actions towards what can be, instead of all that frustration with what others are doing wrong...

It seems odd how much energy we actually have to put into teaching and learning about reducing and recycling. My generation was the first to be taught our modern day recycling in schools, which then became a way of life in most places in Canada. Our society keeps trying to improve these means of waste reduction, while never really grasping that perhaps there just might be something wrong with the whole system that creates the waste to begin with.

When exactly did the frugal wisdom of our elders (“waste not, want not”) become so blasé that it too became just a wasted commodity? Truth is, that wisdom of simplicity never really went away. It fizzled out to the fringe of our collective conscious, in some areas was labelled a ‘dirty hippy’ way of life and for a generation or so the dollar trumped reason and wastefulness was chic. Not so much anymore. Though we still face an upward slope of difficulty on creating a truly sustainable global society, I believe that humans know what to do and are already doing amazing things at the grassroots level in communities around the globe. Including here in Vancouver!

I recently received another dose of inspiration and affirmation in my belief that we humans are not merely a plague to our Mama Earth. I participated in an event called “The Great Turning: An Unconference to Be the Change” which had a few hundred positive change agents from around our city and beyond in a room, using circle talks to share wisdom and learn from each other. There was one circle talk I was actually trying to avoid called “Garbage: Our Gateway to Action” as I wanted a break from all the trash talk in my life on green teams at work and home...but it seems I truly can’t get away from garbage...by the organic nature of the event I ended up at that circle anyway! In this circle we met a few great people from our neighbourhood, learned about a few new resources to explore, brainstormed some great local actions and I inadvertently agreed to host another circle talk to maintain momentum with the folks we met that day. I guess garbage really is my gateway to action these days. So, what’s yours? ;)

It feels obvious that the world is changing dramatically and at an ever faster pace, but we still have choices to make on whether we want it to change for better or for worse. This is what ‘the Great Turning’ was all about – we can be the change and help the world move towards something better. It is our joy and our opportunity. My generation, raised to be savvy consumers, are using some of those powers to force businesses to change or beg for bailouts. And most importantly, schools are still teaching kids about green stuff, and not just the 3 R’s of reduce, reuse and recycle that began my green thinking as a child. Students today, especially in our district which has a new sustainable schools vision, will learn more about biomimicry, green chemistry, sustainable building, community economic development, participatory democracy over their lifetime and they have a global awareness unlike any generation before them...so there is still plenty of hope for a bright green future after all. Especially if we all lend a hand to the process!

"We can no longer have everything we want,
but we can be more than we imagined."
Howard Jerome

Some Links to Explore:

www.vancouver.ca/greenestcity – Vancouver has a new action team with a focus on making ours the Greenest City in the world by 2020!

www.metrovancouver.org – check out the Zero Waste Challenge for the entire region to take part in.

www.chfcanada.coop/eng/toolkit/tk-page01.html - "Sustainability at Home: A Toolkit for Your Co-op." This is a great resource from the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada.

www.bethechangeearthalliance.org – Be the Change Earth Alliance was the organization which hosted The Great Turning event. Their site has info and resources for hosting your own circle talks and more.

globalonenessproject.org - Another Great Turning event host, the Global Oneness Project asks "What if the world embodied our highest potential? What would that look like?" Great video content and other resources to help you reflect on these questions.

www.blessedunrest.com/video.html - a video clip of "Blessed Unrest - How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being...and Why No One Saw it Coming" or even better read the book by Paul Hawken. Either will provide a great dose of hope.

teamgreenbrit.blogpsot.com – a blog created for the Britannia green team and the community that embraces us :)

relay for life

On Friday I joined the Britannia Wranglers Team at the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

Here is our happy team...proud to be there and loving the beautiful people and environment around us. :)

"Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back."

For everyone I know who has survived cancer, for everyone I know who hasn't. Young and old I have seen people show such incredible strength and determination not to give in...and I have always wanted to do something for all of these people I know who've been touched by cancer in some way. This cause has touched us all...and will continue to do so for some time to come.

With my daughter's generation facing more than 1 in 2 chance of developing a cancer in their lifetime, I've become passionate not only about finding cures where we can...but also changing the facets of our world that produce many of the things that cause cancer to begin with. Why do we continue to build a society that makes us so sick?

Well, in my mind community building events can create positive change to the toxicity...and that was why I finally committed to be a participant in the Relay for Life! An event that not only raises much needed funds, but also builds community for those who will be there - survivors, caregivers and supporters.

My best pics from the wonderful event at Hastings Raceway (we walked around the new pier that was built around the pond in the middle of the raceway. nice walk aside from all the goose poop!): "ok, we've arrived...now where is team leader Dianna?"; found her...now gather up all our cash! Elaine and Michelle were our superstar fundraisers - awesome job ladies!; Robert came prepared with rubber gloves (well, ya work in childcare you learn to be prepared, hehe) and cleaned up a patch of grass for us all to sit safely upon poop free; some of the crowd listening to the speakers; the survivors starting the first lap around the boardwalk; Michelle and Robert; me, Leslie and Gail; Dianna and her niece; a baby goose; and Gail...who Sasha loves to cuddle with at her daycare which makes me about the happiest mom ever! Squish :)

Next year I'm making everyone camp out with me! I was super jealous of those tenting for the night...

life at 3...great as can be!

In hindsight the past 3 years have been a blur...but in the day to day time doesn't move that fast. I have recently done a review of this blog from the beginning...to reminisce on life with our wonderful girl so far, and felt a bit overwhelmed at all that has happened in Sasha's lifetime...glad I have this blog to remember it all, hehe. And even more glad to have a loyal audience of loved ones who find it all worth following!

To mark the transition of her 3rd year, we had a gathering in our common room. The brilliant sunny day allowed us to open the big doors and with the park right beside us the play time was inside and out. Sasha had a great time and here you can see her jumping for joy with her balloon :)

We were super lucky to have Fraser in town for the weekend, and gladly put him to work playing with Sasha so we could get stuff done, and he also helped with our corn dog assembly line, while I finished the best cake I've ever made...a double layer chocolate brownie cake, blueberry and blackberry filling, with berry creamcheese icing...mmmmmmm. so yummy!



A handful of children for Sasha to run around with and a dozen grown ups to enjoy their energy made this a party full of fun. One friend from her day care was able to come, and she also lives around the corner so I was super happy for them to have some bonding time outside of the child care. (and she looks to be a big fan of Keyan too, hehe) Her friends Merlin and Nolan made it too, and little Dianne who I haven't seen since she was a wee babe...so beautiful! I miss my friend Julie, and though she had to work it was faboo to see her hubby and little girl! We were also happy that Che could be there for the fun...and if you wonder about the bandaged hand (now in a cast...he "had an organ fall on him - and it wasn't a kidney." haha) But he can still play his ukelele so its not all bad ;)



First thing she wanted to do after her post-party nap was to read her new books, then dress up in her new princess costume jewelry. She has now worn all her new cloths, played with her new dress up stuff, and loves all her new books! A very memorable 3rd bday for her, and she truly seems to be a happy camper overall which makes me a happy mommy :)

Now...here's the recap, with lots of pics, to cover the rest of the month of April:

Our family friend Kevin was in town from Scotland during his stop over en route to Whistler for a week of skiing. We had a lovely dinner at Dad's, and Sasha just adores him as you can see from the playtime action and farewell hug pic...awwww!


The next big event was the Grand March for Housing which had a great turnout. We didn't make it to the rally, but we ran into many folks we know (like Mike, in the top hat, doing his salsa dance on the sidelines), got to boogy down the street with the Carnival Band, and for a while got to add our voices to the masses who came out in a call for more affordable housing - now!



We made it a fair bit past Carnegie where Mark works, before Sasha finally tired of all the walking (and the march started just before nap time, so our plan had been to go as far as we could before she became uber crank from fatigue)
Once we left the march we ended up on an adventure walk along the seawall on the way home...and stopped for ice cream too! I love the pic of Che playing his uke on the rocks with the olympic village in the background...


The beautiful weather this month has made it possible for us to get lots of work done in our patio garden tiers. While Sasha has fun on the patio with the water and dirt, we have planted swiss chard, artichokes, carrots, zucchini, parsnips and beans so far. We'll see what ends up surviving the season ;)

She still loves to change the diapers of her teddies and dollies, and take the to the doctor (aka mommy or daddy) for tummy aches. She prefers taking pics with my camera and using hers as a gameboy since it has a matching pairs, tic tac toe and picture puzzle games.Her favorite thing in the world these days is being daddy's little girl. (the pic of Mark and the spoon was taken by her) It's actually hard not to take it personally some days when she disses me with a "you're not my friend. I only want to play with daddy. you can go away now." ouch! But then there are the days when I'm the favorite and all is well, hehe.



Granma Penny found a little scooter for Sasha and she loves it. Did not take her long to find her balance on it...she really is a quick learner of all things (well...potty training is a whole other matter. lots of pee success...and this week a fair bit of other success as well...almost there)


We had a great long weekend over the Easter break. She loved the easter egg hunt and we had a fun adventure to get to Granma's for the family dinner involving a walk to the skytrain at Main, a skytrain ride, a fun seabus ride, another bus and a quicky walk. Worked up a good appetite and Sasha was so excited to see her cousins. :)


random good time at work. easter monday. how to crack a coconut...and pose for your success shot ;P

Other non-photo-worthy news includes a little health update on the girl. She had a really bad spotty bum for a while and a trip to the doctor provided a prescription for some antibiotic cream which seems to be doing the magic of clearing it. Though I'm still searching for understanding on what lead to it to begin with...

Her actual bday on the 30th included a follow up with the eye doctor. Good news is she seems to be fairing well with the new lens prescription which was weaker than her last. Though they want us to patch her eye for 2 hours a day now until the next appointment in early August.

I too have been back to the doctor for a physical and have begun the first step in tests to re-examine my kidneys and my pituitary as my body has been quite wonky lately. Headaches that last about 3 weeks (5 since September) and crazy chronic joint pain despite my new addiction to stretching multiple times daily. Healthy overall with good blood pressure...so no worries folks. I'm pretty sure the end analysis will be that my stress has been exasperating things with my poor little gland and once life is all smooth and easy everything will be just fine. lol. but seriously...no worries.

between my awesome daughter, family and friends I've no complaints...other than that pesky job search...but I'm keeping myself busy with positive distractions:

-a girls nite out with Kirsten and Kristen with food at Rhizome and quality time over drinks...becoming a regular thing now these ladies nites - hooray!

- still working at my guitar skills and playing my songs with joy almost every day. also have words coming to another melody that has been in my head for ages...this one is for Sasha.

- I am now a part of another green team - this one for our co-op! Excited to work with Sarah and Jim and work towards positive change on all garbage, recycling and other green ideas for our home environment. Crazy how garbage has become such a huge focus in my life!

- and my ultimate distraction in life comes from the documentary. as you could guess from this post not starting with "Yippee! We're now workin with the NFB!" you may have gathered that they did not choose to help us with the development of our project. But I am full of gratitude for the time the production committee spent discussing our proposal, and to Teri who I had a great dialogue with all their feedback. A lot of it was very positive, and it sounds like a few years ago they would have brought us in for an "investigate" at least (where they provide some pre-production development funding and production support for starters and full development if you get past the investigate stage) Competition is tough and money is tight...and we aren't quite polished enough yet to garner these precious funds.

So we have had time to reflect on what we need to do: create something that speaks "amazing cinema" and help the character not get lost in the politics of the subject. A couple of things really gave me confidence: one, they love the idea and believe the subject matter is compelling and very much worthy of being a documentary project; and second was Teri's comments that she felt, based on my passion and determined voice, that I am up to the challenge of producing this piece, and that she knows one day she will see our film on a screen and kick the production committee for not grabbing us when they had the chance. Nice little dose of ego-boosting ;)

And even better - Tanya and I had a superb brainstorm night recently to bounce ideas on the story and how to make it more cinematic...and I really and truly think we've got it now! I'm even more excited than ever!!! And you will hear more soon enough. For now just know that I'm happy with the outcome of our submission last month and more confident than ever that we will succeed with "Educate Me!?"

This time of the year Vancouver, like most places, is ridiculously beautiful. I love that Sasha was born in this time of renewal and beauty. With the tune "What a Wonderful World" playing in my mind, here are a few pics of the amazing world we walk through every day between home and daycare...5 blocks within a very nice place to live. And smell the floral perfection of those lilacs soon blooming in the air. sweet :)

China Creek hill (across from her daycare), the Means of Production community garden, and a view from the hill outside our home. We may not have the view out our window...but we see it everywhere else!!




couple of fun video clips this month:
play at granpa's


wheee down the slide