Environmental News CITIZEN SCIENCE | DIY BUS | PULP SLUDGERY | KEEP THE PEACE | EDUCATION ISSUE from BC and the World September | October 2017 Newstand Price $4.95
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Skeena LNG What the heck still threatens is going on in Venezuela? Books Sentinel presents
Released mid October – $20 + shipping.
Part memoir, part history, part constitutional analysis and part pure Rafe – on federation, BC’s role, how Canada’s “responsible government” undermines democracy, and what to do about it.
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September | October 2017 watershedsentinel.ca Sentinel September | October 2017 Vol. 27 No. 4 Features
14 18 ©Ester Strijbos
Economic Warfare Reading, Writing, & Resisting Joyce Nelson digs beyond the headlines This feature explores the influence of industrial “outreach” in underfunded education to answer the question, What the heck is systems. We also hear about the good works of front-line educators – from children’s really going on in Venezuela? experience with “eco-music” to the link between food education and social justice.
Content 3 Global News 8 Sperm Counts 31 Sludgery Jaguars and salmon are moving Human male infertility is on the Reach for Unbleached posts its around; the Xinca of Guatemala increase. Why? extensive history of work on win victory on Tahoe mines pulp mill sludge disposal 10 Skeena LNG 4 Letters Petronas is gone for now but 32 Gertie Missives from our readers the mouth of the Skeena How Gabriola Island created remains a target. their own community bus 5 Canada News From fish farms, dams, and 12 Peace mines to microbeads Honouring the river, the beauty 36 Wild Times of the valley, the treaties Joe Foy on the Bear Stare 6 Tar Sands The tailings ponds and poten- 29 Citizen Science Cover Credit tial liability just keep growing DIY air pollution monitoring Martin951
Printed on Rolland EnviroPrint, 100% post-consumer Process Chlorine Free recycled fibre, FSC, Ecologo and PCF certified. watershedsentinel.ca | 1 Editorial Sentinel Delores Broten Publisher Watershed Sentinel Educational Society Editor Delores Broten Editorial Assistant Claire Gilmore Graphic Design Ester Strijbos Renewals & Circulation Manager Dawn Christian You’re Invited! Advertising Sally Gellard The Council of Canadians has joined Watershed Sentinel to sponsor Joyce Nelson on Special thanks to Mary Richardson, Valerie Sheriff, a seven city book tour on the Pacifi c coast. As well asBeyond Banksters: Resisting the Mike Morrell, Karen Birch, Diane Brown, Diana Esak, Patricia Robison, Mary Gavan, Norberto Rodriguez de New Feudalism she will read from her upcoming sequel, Bypassing Dystopia. Nelson la Vega, Anicca de Trey, Kathy Smail, Ray Woollam, provides hope for resistance and highlights what people all over the world are doing to the writers, advertisers, distributors, and all who send challenge this “new feudalism.” information, photos, and ideas. Deep thanks to our Board of Directors: Anicca de Trey, Victoria Alice Grange, Mike Morrell, Norberto Rodriguez de la September 25 @ 7:00 pm, UVic, David Turpin Bldg (DTB) A104 Vega, Susan Yates, Lannie Keller and Sally Gellard. Published fi ve times per year. Duncan Subscriptions: Canada $25 one year, September 26 @ 7:00 pm, Mesachie Room, Island Savings Centre, $40 two years; US $35 per year, 2687 James St., Duncan Electronic only $15 a year Distribution by subscription, and to Friends of Cortes Comox Valley Island and Reach for Unbleached! Free at Vancouver September 27 @ 7:00 pm, Stan Hagen Theatre at North Island College Island and Vancouver area libraries, and by sponsor- 2300 Ryan Road, Courtenay ship in BC colleges and eco-organizations. Powell River Disclaimer: Opinions published are not necessarily those of the publisher, editor or other staff and volunteers of the September 28 @ 2:00 pm, Powell River Public Library magazine. 6975 Alberni St, Suite 100 Richmond Member Magazines BC and Magazines Canada September 30 @ 7:00 pm, Ralph Fisher Auditorium at Richmond Hospital ISSN 1188-360X 7000 Westminster Highway Publication Mail Canada Post Agreement PM 40012720 Chilliwack Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: October 2 @ 7:00 pm, Sardis Library, 5819 Tyson Road Watershed Sentinel Box 1270, Comox, BC, Canada V9M 7Z8 Kelowna 250-339-6117 October 3 @ 7:00 pm, 702 Bernard Ave (& Richter) [email protected] www.watershedsentinel.ca Come out to listen, engage, and gain understanding of the impacts private banks and investment fi rms have on our democracies, communities, and daily lives. Learn about We acknowledge the fi nancial support of the their role in corporate rights agreements such as NAFTA and CETA (and the draconian, Government of Canada. waiting-in-the-wings TISA), our current government’s involvement, and the neoliberal ideology that promotes corporations’ ability to operate without restraint or accountability.
When you want your message to reach thousands of concerned and active At the ’Shed readers, please contact us for our ad rate Apologies to Donna McCaw whose name we misspelt in the last issue’s “Nestle Update.” sheet: 250-339-6117 or Excited to be publishing Rafe Mair’s new book, Politically Incorrect: How Canada [email protected] Lost Its Way and The Simple Path Home, shipping in mid-October. www.watershedsentinel.ca Pleased that an activist newspaper in France has reprinted Joyce Nelson’s “Economic Warfare” on Venezuela (in this issue), saying the info was totally unknown in France. Next Issue Ad and Copy Deadline: October 2, 2017 Attention Subscribers! The insert in the magazine is to attract new subscribers. You do not need to use it to renew your subscription. When the time comes, you will receive a friendly notice off ering you an early bird discount for your renewal. Your expiry date is printed on the mailing label. 2 | watershedsentinel.ca International News
Guatemala suspends mine licenses Jaguars return to the U.S. Siphoning off the headwaters is only per- mitted when the dams have sufficient wa- ter. Spain’s government recently passed Xinca Victory Legal Migrants a law that says that as soon as there is a The Guatemalan Supreme Court has surplus there is an obligation to transfer suspended two of BC mining company it, making it impossible to store water for Tahoe Resources’ licences until a suit for droughts. The law flies in the face of the discrimination and lack of prior consulta- European water directive. tion with indigenous Xinca communities —www.theguardian.com, near the company’s Escobal silver mine August 14, 2017 is resolved. Following the suspension, Tahoe stock value dropped by one-third.
Tahoe has consistently denied the pres- Pacific salmon found in Irish rivers ence of Xinca communities in the area, ©Nathan Rupert but responded to the suspension stating Salmon Surprise that it believes the Ministry of Energy Found only in the Americas, jaguars and Mines has carried out a consultation are the world’s third biggest cat. Today Pacific salmon, which are native to the process consistent with indigenous rights. only about 15,000 remain, mainly in the west coast of North America and Russian The Xinca have suffered violence and re- tropics. Jaguars once bred as far north Arctic regions, have been turning up in pression as a result of their peaceful pro- as the Grand Canyon, and from Califor- Irish rivers. Inland Fisheries Ireland said tests against mining in the region. Tahoe nia to Louisiana, until American hunting the appearance of the species is a con- Resources has a track record of coordi- wiped them out. Now the big cats have cern because of the possible impact on nating with local and national security been sighted again roaming north from Ireland’s native Atlantic salmon. A sim- forces and using military counter-intel- Mexican conservation areas, although ilar issue has been reported in Scotland. ligence techniques to repress and under- they would be stopped by Trump’s ex- Some Pacific species may have made mine opposition to its project. panded border wall. One popular site their way south after “straying” from riv- —www.miningwatch.ca, they visit is at a crucial juncture of three ers in northern Norway or Russia. They July 7 and 19, 2017 wildlife corridors in Arizona. It is also the were introduced to Russian fisheries in potential site of America’s third biggest the 1960s and have colonized west along open-pit copper mine, owned by Canadi- Arctic coasts. an companies. —www.independent.ie, “Arctic 30”: Russia to pay damages —Pacific Standard, August 29, 2017 August/September 2017 Justice Served An international tribunal has awarded Microloans for solar in rural Kenya the Netherlands €5.4 million in damages Will Spain’s longest river dry up? over the high-profile Greenpeace “Arctic Grid Freedom 30” dispute with Russia. The award fol- Tagus Collapse lows a lengthy course of arbitration dat- An international social enterprise ing back to the unlawful boarding, seiz- The Tagus river could dry up com- has partnered with a Kenyan micro-cred- ing and detention of the Greenpeace ship, pletely as Spain again faces drought. Its it firm to provide loans for families not Arctic Sunrise, following a peaceful pro- headwaters were dammed in 1979 to connected to the power grid. The loan and test in international waters in September divert water to the Segura river to irri- home solar system provide electricity far 2013. The 30 men and women on board gate farms in the arid southeast, but the more quickly than connecting to the grid, spent two months in prison before being amount of available water was miscal- and the electricity is cheaper than either released on bail and eventually freed. culated and Spain’s cyclical droughts utility bills or kerosene used for lighting. —Greenpeace, weren’t factored in. —Thomson Reuters Foundation News, July 18, 2017 www.newstrust.org, August 15, 2017
watershedsentinel.ca | 3 Letters
Leadnow a Favourite at all, but the woodland caribou in gen- Environmental groups must also reinvent I read with great interest Rafe Mair’s ar- eral and caribou in Quebec. While Jim themselves. In Houston, BC, a mill town ticle about activism but I disagreed with Cooperman’s article on mountain caribou where I worked many years ago, you can his panning of Leadnow. Let’s face it, I gives updated statistics and good infor- now see the pine beetles munching their get tons of emails asking for money, may- mation on the current situation with this way through the interests and futures of be some are put into questionable ads etc. ecotype, I suggest that your readers refer both groups. but an important issue here is not about to my article in the March-April 2009 —Mike Bell, Comox, BC the MPs changing their vote after seeing (pp. 8-11) issue of the Watershed Senti- the ad but the fact that they have to obey nel. Here is a direct link for readers who the party whip in the first place. At least want to know more about mountain cari- Leadnow will take on issues like CETA bou and why the BC government refuses Funerals for Species and if they put an ad in the paper, which to admit what is the real cause of their I was thinking that perhaps we should costs money, people will read it and may- descent toward extinction: https://water- have a page of funerals for Canada’s ex- be listen, then when they see their MP shedsentinel.ca/issues/watershed-senti- tinct or near-extinct species – all caused they are at least aware of the issue. With nel-march-april-2009/ by us or with our government’s help – no ad, you get no awareness. Keep on —Maggie Paquet, Port Alberni, BC and totally ignored by most of us. with the good work, we need more activ- ists! Leadnow is one of my favourites. I live in a small valley on the BC coast —Susan Paynter, Salt Spring Island, BC and we’ve lost 3 species of fish here over Thank You 50 or so years (all due to overfishing): I just wanted to thank you and Brian 1) herring from the estuary, 2) Eulacan Charlton for the excellent summer issue (oolichan) from the river, 3) Steelhead Caribou Confusion section on labour-environmental issues. I from the river. For all practical purposes I found it somewhat confusing to sepa- haven’t seen anything like it before. Giv- they’re gone. Just a thought – over and rate out concerns for mountain caribou en conflicts in the past it is quite timely out. and those for woodland caribou in Que- to see the NDP and the Greens finding a —Allan Stewart, Hagensborg, BC bec (or even to know why some caribou common ground to run a government. are called “mountain” caribou), especial- ly since the table of contents says “Plight I was struck by Brian’s astute observa- of the Mountain caribou in BC and Que- tion: “Comprehensive union policies that Fukushima Radiation in Pacific bec.” Uh... there are NO mountain car- merge the protection of workers and the Alpha and beta particles from cesium de- ibou in Quebec. In fact, this ecotype of protection of nature have several impli- cay are not energetic enough to penetrate woodland caribou only exists in British cations for trade union policies. They one’s skin in sufficient amounts to cause Columbia (maybe a few are still left in require that unions reinvent themselves harm at the levels measured. But fish the USA), and then in only a few places as social movements, aiming not only to swim in this radioactive soup at all times. in mountainous regions. improve members’ lives but to take part They definitely take in the cesium full in transforming societies and the present time when it is present. People eat fish To further confuse readers, the article, economic system. This implies a need to and consequently have cesium in their “Mountain Caribou on the brink,” has a build alliances with environmental move- bodies, through digestion. “facts” section at the bottom of the title ments.” —Dave Stevens, Smithers, BC page that is not about mountain caribou
The Watershed Sentinel welcomes letters but reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, legality, and taste. Anonymous letters will not be published. Send your musings and your missives to: Watershed Sentinel, Box 1270, Comox BC, V9M 7Z8 [email protected] or online at www.watershedsentinel.ca
4 | watershedsentinel.ca Canadian News
Hold on new tenures in BC Feds backtrack on salmon cuts Indigenous advocate files charges Fish Farms About-Face Mount Polley The federal government has backed On August 4, the third anniversary away from a series of proposed cuts to of the Mount Polley mine disaster and the Salmonid Enhancement Program that the time limit to file charges under BC activists say would’ve crippled salmon laws, indigenous advocate Bev Sellars restoration programs in BC. The rever- announced that she filed private charges sal was announced just two weeks after a against Mount Polley Mining Corpora- leaked internal memo revealed that three tion (Imperial Metals) at the Provincial elements of the program were to be cut: Court of British Columbia. Sellars was education and community support pro- acting Chief of Xat’sull First Nation grams, resource restoration components, when the Mount Polley tailings breach, ©Thomas Bjørkan ©Thomas and Steelhead and Cutthroat trout pro- considered the worst mining disaster in duction at hatcheries. The proposed cuts Canadian history, struck near her com- As First Nations occupation of a Nor- drew criticism from conservationists, op- munity on August 4, 2014. wegian-owned fish farm off Swanson Is- position members, and even Liberal MPs. land near Alert Bay grew in August, BC —www.nsnews.com, June 18, 2017 The legal action comes after the new- Agriculture Minister Lana Popham an- www.elizabethmaymp.ca, May 31, 2017 ly elected BC government announced it nounced that the province has put a hold would not file charges before the August on new permits, and would be investing 4 deadline. Sellars believes the action, in technology to move the farms on to which is supported by four major envi- land. The move follows a massive escape Tailings in fish-bearing streams?! ronmental groups, could be an important of Atlantic salmon, possibly 300,000, test for BC laws. from a Puget Sound farm. Washington —www.miningwatch.ca State also announced a moratorium on Toxic Travesty August 4, 2017 new fish farm licenses. Seabridge Gold Inc. has been given —Times Colonist, August 29, 2017 federal government approval to use the Global News, August 27, 2017 upper tributaries of the fish-bearing North Treaty and South Teigen Creeks, which Tiny little balls of plastic... flow into the Nass and Bell-Irving riv- ers, to dispose of toxic tailings from the Banned by 2018 Marches and blockades planned gold, copper and molybdenum Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) mine in Products containing microbeads, Muskrat Falls northen BC. such as toothpaste, cleansers and body scrubs, will be banned from sale in Cana- Growing unrest in Newfoundland and Once in operation, KSM, located 30 ki- da starting July 1, 2018, and the manufac- Labrador is fuelling calls for an inquiry lometres from the Alaska border, will be- ture and import of microbeads prohibited into the Muskrat Falls hydro dam proj- come the largest open pit mine in North as of January 2018. The tiny plastic beads ect. The multitude of concerns range America. Alaskans are concerned that in pass through water treatment plants and from dam stability, since the dam is not spite of a recently-signed Memorandum are in high concentration in Canadian wa- built on bedrock, to almost certain meth- of Understanding between BC and Alas- ters, where fish eat them and then die of lymercury contamination downstream. ka, Canada is making a habit of allowing starvation. Microbeads will be added to The public are also calling for a forensic fish-bearing streams to be used for - tail the list of toxic substances. audit of Nalcor, the crown corporation in ings. —www.cbc.ca charge, since the project is now $5 billion —www.desmog.ca June 19, 2017 over budget, at only 75 per cent complete. July 11, 2017 —www.theindependent.ca August, 2017
watershedsentinel.ca | 5 Compound Liability
Tar sands tailings ponds just keep growing ©Kris Krüg ©Kris ©Rainforest Network Action
by Delores Broten
There’s a lot of things we don’t know Creation and bitumen that make up the oil depos- about the Alberta tailings pond such as its. [The] industry uses hot water and the profile of toxins they contain. But Tailings ponds are the most visible waste chemicals to separate the bitumen from one thing we can be pretty sure of is product from the mining and processing the slurry of other materials. It then skims that the tailings ponds have the poten- of the tar sands (sometimes called oil off the bitumen and pumps the remaining tial to become an enormous public lia- sands). In August 2017, Environmental waste slurry into tailings ponds. Every bility, if the oil industry continues on Defense and the Natural Resources De- barrel of oil sands extracted adds 1.5 its current trajectory, with low prices fense Council released a report that de- barrels of liquid waste to Alberta’s tail- and fast-growing energy alternatives. tailed the problem: ing ponds, and each day industry needs to store 25 million new litres of tailings. Liability is one of the reasons why the “Tailings are produced during the process Today, Alberta’s liquid tailings now make province of Alberta has tried twice to reg- of separating bitumen – the thick, extra up more than 1.18 trillion litres of toxic ulate the growth of these ponds, with, to heavy substance which is raw oil sands waste, and continue to grow.” date, a spectacular lack of success. crude – from the mixture of sand, clay,
6 | watershedsentinel.ca In 2010, Dr. David Schindler and oth- er researchers published peer-reviewed research in Proceedings of the National “Each day industry needs to store Academy of Sciences (USA), that mea- sured higher levels of contaminants of 25 million new litres of tailings.” concern downstream from the oil sands Krüg ©Kris operations. Now the federal government has until September 28 to explain to the Liability fluid tailings according to their approved NAFTA-mandated Commission for En- plans. vironmental Co-operation (CEC) why According to the auditor general of Al- it has allegedly permitted tar sands pro- berta, as of December 31, 2014, there Of course, it’s not even that simple, be- ducers to dump up to 11 million litres per was $1.57 billion of security being held cause if no one knows how to successful- day of potentially toxic tailings into the in comparison to estimated reclamation ly reclaim the tailings ponds, it is impos- Athabasca River in northern Alberta, in liabilities of $20.8 billion for mines in the sible to estimate cost. Taxpayers could be violation of the federal Fisheries Act. province. The Environmental Defense re- on the hook for billions. port cites Total Canada Inc. as suggesting Solutions? that the treatment of fluid tailings could Sources: cost as much as $44.5 billion and grow- “Review of Directive 085 Tailings Management Unfortunately, the solution to the clean- ing, and reclaiming the disturbed area Plans Backgrounder,” Jodi McNeill and Nina Lo- up of this toxic mixture of sand, clay, bi- could add an additional $6.8 billion to thian, Pembina Institute, March 13, 2017 www.pem- tumen, and process-affected water is just those costs. The Alberta government has bina.org/reports/tailings-whitepaper-d85.pdf not obvious. Mary Richardson of Keep- collected $41.3 billion in royalties from Alberta’s tailings ponds: One trillion litres of tox- ers of the Athabasca, told the Watershed the industry from 1970 to 2016. ic waste and growing, NRDC and ED, June 2017 Sentinel that there are no proven technol- www.environmentaldefence.ca/report/albertas-tail- ogies and no companies are near to treat- The province is currently developing its ings-ponds/ ing a significant amount of their liquid response to the Auditor General’s find- COSIA: www.cosia.ca/initiatives/tailings waste. The most common suggestion is ing that improvements are needed in Schindler et al, “Oil sands development contributes to concentrate the waste, put it in mined- how security is calculated. It is also de- elements toxic at low concentrations to the Athabas- out pits called “pit lakes,” and cap the veloping a new financial security tool to ca River and its tributaries,” Proceedings of the Na- toxic waste with a mixture of fresh and reduce the liability that may be incurred tional Academy of Sciences, July 2010, www.pnas. process-affected water for an unknown if companies are not able to manage their org/content/107/37/16178.long length of time. The Regulatory Timeline Industry has a research arm, Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), 1967 – 2009: No regulations or requirements to limit growth of tailings ponds or which is examining some pilot projects mandate their reclamation. for tailings technology, but the tech- 2009 – 2015: Directive 074 is enacted but not enforced when companies fail to niques appear to be both expensive and comply. It is subsequently rescinded. experimental. March 2015: Tailings Management Framework (TMF) published — policy document provides direction for new directive to manage fluid tailings volumes. So business-as-usual in the tar sands sees a continual growth of tailings ponds, with July 2016: Directive 085 released to implement TMF, requires companies to sub- the inevitable seepage and leakage and, mit new Tailings Management Plans. according to industry plans submitted to November 2016: Oil sands operators submit plans that would lead to two more the government, growth peaking in 2037. decades of tailings ponds expansion with reclamation horizons of fifty years or Final remediation is not planned for 50 or more. 70 years, if, to be honest, at all. — Alberta’s tailings ponds: One trillion litres of toxic waste and growing, NRDC and ED, June 2017
watershedsentinel.ca | 7 Sperm Count Falls 50%
Human male infertility is a growing problem ©Ernesto del Aguila III, NHGRI
by Pete Myers
Margaret Atwood’s 1985 book, The entific weight to the possibility that pol- than 50 percent from 1973 to 2013, with Handmaid’s Tale, played out in a world lution, especially endocrine disrupting no sign that the decline is slowing. The where human births were declining be- chemicals (EDCs), are undermining male paper, published in the journal Human cause pollution and sexually transmit- fertility. Reproduction, analyzes data published in ted disease were causing sterility. the scientific literature between 1981 and The first is the strongest confirmation yet 2013. Researchers found 185 studies that Does fiction anticipate reality? Two new obtained that human sperm concentration sampled a total of 42,000 men across four research papers published in July add sci- and count are in a long-term decline: more decades beginning in 1973.
8 | watershedsentinel.ca Declines in sperm concentration and to- tal sperm count were “highly significant” “The effects are amplified in successive generations.” for samples from North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Those from South America, Asia, and Africa were not adverse effects in the great-grandson – term declines in human sperm count significant, possibly a result of a much without further exposures and without kicked off over 20 years of debate, added: smaller sample size. changes in DNA sequence. “These two new papers add significantly to existing literature on adverse trends in The second study, by different authors, But, crucially, these experiments typical- male reproductive health problems. Im- offers a possible explanation. It found ly only expose one generation – the first portantly, the data are in line with data that early life exposure of male mouse – rather than induce ongoing exposures on testicular cancer which is increasing pups to a model environmental estrogen, across generations, which is the reality of worldwide.” Skakkebæk did not partici- ethinyl estradiol, causes mistakes in de- human experience. pate in either study. velopment in the reproductive tract that will lead to lower sperm counts. What So Hunt and her colleagues at WSU set “Here in Denmark, there is an epidemic makes this study unique is that it exam- out to mimic, for the first time, this re- of infertility,” Skakkebæk said. “More ined what happened when three succes- al-world reality. They discovered that the than 20 per cent of Danish men do not sive generations of males were exposed effects are amplified in successive gener- father children.” – instead of just looking only at the first. ations. The senior author on the paper, Washing- “Most worryingly [in Denmark] is that ton State University’s Distinguished Pro- They observed adverse effects starting semen quality is in general so poor that fessor of Molecular Biosciences, Patricia in the first generation of mouse lineages an average young Danish man has much Hunt, in an email, said, “We asked a sim- where each generation was exposed for a fewer sperm than men had a couple of ple question with real-world relevance brief period shortly after birth. The im- generations ago, and more than 90 per that had simply never been addressed.” pacts worsened in the second generation cent of their sperm are abnormal.” compared to the first, and by the third Successive, constant exposure generation the scientists were finding an- The new study specifically notes that imals that could not produce sperm at all. a high proportion of men from Western In the real world, since World War II, This latter condition was not seen in the countries have concentrations below successive generations of people have first two generations exposed. Details of 40 million sperm per millilitre, the lev- been exposed to a growing number and the experimental results actually suggest- el which indicates impairment in ability quantity of environmental estrogens – ed that multiple generations of exposure fertilize an egg, according to the World chemicals that behave like the human may have increased male sensitivity to Health Organization. hormone estrogen. Thousands of papers the chemical. published in the scientific literature tie Sources these to a wide array of adverse conse- Long-term decline Levine, H. et al. (2017) Temporal trends in sperm quences, including infertility and sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression count decline. Hunt sees considerable linkage between analysis. Human Reproduction Update 1-14. the two studies. “Our data are showing Horan, TS et al, (2017) Germline and reproductive Exposure of multiple generations of mam- that things get progressively worse as tract effects intensify in male mice with successive mals to endocrine disrupting compounds subsequent generations are exposed,” generations of estrogenic exposure. PLoS Genet had never been studied experimentally, she said. “These large changes in human 13(7): e1006885 even though that’s how humans have ex- sperm count and concentration reveal that perienced EDC exposures for at least the we are already well down the road.” Excerpted from the original at www. last 70 years. More than a dozen papers environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/ have now been published on “trans-gen- Niels Skakkebæk, a Danish pediatrician news/2017/july/sperm-decline-fertility erational epigenetic inheritance,” where and researcher whose 1992 paper with exposure in a great-grandmother causes Elisabeth Carlsen reporting large long-
watershedsentinel.ca | 9 Skeena LNG Petronas has decided against the Lelu Island LNG terminal, but the mouth of the Skeena remains a target
by N. Carol Brown
Dodge Cove is a small community nestled In November 2015, some representatives food and economy. Dodge Cove has a within a sheltered cove on Digby Island, of Nexen, owned by the Chinese National community dam and the Aurora LNG across the harbour from Prince Rupert on Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC), were project borders have overlapped into the BC’s north coast. Since the early 1900s invited to Digby Island to “formally” in- Dodge Cove Official Community Plan and for the better part of that century, form us that they had targeted our island (OCP) and the watershed, putting pri- fishing, milling, and the building of boats for their Aurora LNG export terminal. vate property within 1/2 km of a planned had been the core of the economy. Not only would three jetties be built in 5000-man camp and giant turbines. the Skeena River Estuary but the project Traditions still form a foundation for peo- would cover most of central Digby Island CNOOC-Nexen open houses were held ple living here, although with the decrease and would wrap around the Dodge Cove in Prince Rupert, where Dodge Cove of fishing and population, marine-based properties. Aurora LNG would produce residents told the corporation and their businesses have decreased and commut- 24 million tonnes annually of liquified milieu of so-called experts (Stantec) ing to town in skiffs with outboards has fracked gas for export, a larger amount that the Aurora LNG project and Dodge increased. than the cancelled Petronas plant. Cove could not co-exist. Information was gleaned from the Society of Internation- In the last ten years, over ten export per- There are significant differences that al Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators, mits for LNG terminals have threatened may play out like a game of poker. with research done at the Sandia Labs in northwestern BC. The recently cancelled CNOOC-Nexen applied for a provincial the US, on the dangers of LNG. Citizens Pacific Northwest LNG by Petronas was environmental review and was handily became very concerned over the fact that passed by a Federal Environmental Re- granted it, while Petronas had a federal they would be in the first hazard zone view but faced court challenges and low review. Under provincial review almost – under 2.2 miles from a massive LNG market prices. The proposed site, Lelu no funding was available for our com- storage and processing facility. An ac- Island, slows the avalanche of juvenile munity to engage in the process, leaving cidental leak could form a white vapour salmon swimming from the Skeena River volunteer research to study the health im- that would freeze life within that range. to mix with salt water and to feed over the pacts this project would bring to the long Any spark, including static electricity ancient habitat of Flora Banks. A myriad established community of Dodge Cove. would create an explosion that would in- of islands cluster outside the Skeena riv- Digby Island is also occupied by other cinerate and burn back to the source of er estuary, including Digby Island, where private homes, and the Prince Rupert Re- the LNG leak. Further studies have re- fish feed and survive up to a month before gional Airport. As the barges came to drill vealed the extreme health impacts that swimming out to the ocean. Digby cra- test the Skeena River estuary for Petro- local residents would face by breathing in dles a coastal wetlands habitat and about nas, people came to Lelu under the pro- toxic air emissions from everyday Aurora 120 species, 20 of which are blue-listed. tection of hereditary chief Don Wesley. LNG operations. Our island is on that route for the annu- al migration of salmon and for the rich Most residents in Dodge don’t have First Dodge Cove Improvement District has feeding of marine wildlife such as hump- Nations status but they do have a tradi- been firm that “NO, we do not agree to back whales, orca, harbour seals, sea lion, tional lifestyle, dependent on access to this project and there is no mitigation that herring, and the valued oolichan, a tiny their island by boat and dependent upon is acceptable!” In fact, when we tried to silver oily fish in critical decline. the marine environment for sustainable ratify final small changes to our existing 10 | watershedsentinel.ca OCP, three government agencies – Min- who has control over this Environmen- istry of Forests, Lands and Natural Re- tal Review – Chinese National Off shore source Operations, Ministry of Natural Oil Corporation or the former BC Liberal Gas Development, and the Oil and Gas government’s fossil-fuel-biased agencies. Commission – sent a letter demanding The clock started again on June 12, and the North Coast Regional District defer the estimated time for the referral to the the adoption of the Dodge Cove OCP, ministers is probably the fi rst two weeks claiming our small community was inter- of September, after which the BC minis- fering with their plans for industry. ters will make a fi nal decision.
“It seems this is not just about poor science, fl aring, emissions, and destroyed salmon streams, amphibian habitat, and Pacifi c fl yway habitat, but a show of power.”
We have had support in our campaign It seems this is not just about poor sci- from Friends of Digby Island, numer- ence, fl aring, high GHG emissions (30 ous environmental groups, the Dodge million tonnes annually), destroyed Cove Improvement District under the salmon streams, amphibian habitat and North Coast Regional District, fi lmmak- Pacifi c fl yway habitat, but about a show ers, countless journalists, scientists and of power. As a new government unfolds a host of musicians, both local and from and British Columbians put our priorities far away. The Environmental Assessment toward alternative energy and reducing Review Working Group and the public’s greenhouse gases, there is still time to ap- continual objections to missing and inad- ply pressure to the government to refuse equate data seemed to provide a wall that the CNOOC-Nexen’s Aurora LNG Envi- CNOOC-Nexen could not easily dismiss. ronmental Permit. The proponent asked to stop the clock on the EA review. In fact, it is hard to tell
Resources: friendsofdigby.wordpress.com lngtankersafety.org/lng-projects/ projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/p/aurora- lng-digby-island/detail www.eao.gov.bc.ca/pcp/comments/ aurora_digby_comments.html N. Carol Brown is an English teacher, poet, Prince Rupert Environmental So- ciety director, and a twenty-fi ve year resident of Dodge Cove.
watershedsentinel.ca | 11 Honouring the Peace
The river, the beauty of the valley, the treaties
by Heather Menzies
With the drums and chants of “Makh Chi” (by Ulali) blasting Nations plus the Peace Valley Environmental Association, rep- on the car stereo, we descend into the Peace River Valley – we resenting a vast array of social and environmental justice NGOs being Rita Wong and Valeen Jules with Poets for the Peace, and or simply as citizens feeling called to bear witness, we paddle myself. The river glimmers in sinuous curves to our right, while past beaver houses and vast alluvial mudflats. As we navigate to our left, signs high on the trees mark where both our path and the fast-flowing water, we get acquainted with this beautiful, the river’s could soon be drowned in the reservoir of the Site C powerful river that sustains rich farmland and traditional ber- dam. The groundwork for it is already being laid, yet here we ry picking territory, while the rivers and creeks flowing into it are joining local Treaty 8 people and settler-farmers challenging are the lifeway-highways to the moose, elk, and deer that have the need for the multi-billion dollar project and the justice of roamed this valley since before recorded time. obliterating so much living heritage. I pause in my paddling to take in the sound of the water alive all Then we are on the water, somewhere between 500 and 600 peo- around me, the chatter and bubble of it coursing through gravel ple in close to 300 canoes, kayaks and inflatable dinghies. It is and rocks at the rapids, the softer sibilance in the calmer stretch- the 12th annual Paddle for the Peace, on a hot Saturday in July. es. I need to immerse myself in the river’s presence, to ground Hosted by the West Moberly and Prophet River Treaty 8 First my perspective in its reality. Because in a way this is a struggle
12 | watershedsentinel.ca between two realities: the local, lived one so rich in inter-depen- dencies and shared history, and the more remote, abstract one As the wildfires in central BC reminded in corporate budgets and government policy positions. One is small scale and slow, the other large and fast. The larger-scale people ... local food security in the north one is centred in the powerful, populated south while the other is is an urgent priority, and this stretch of distributed in a host of small centres across the north, which has historically been treated as a colony, a handy resource hinterland the Peace River Valley is a lynchpin. for the south.
In the view from there, it has all been settled. Vast sums of mon- ties in the NDP and Green platforms, and let the Indigenous and ey have already been spent on the $8.8 billion deal, the most non-Indigenous people of the Peace move forward with their expensive infrastructure project in BC’s history, with some ar- vision for the valley. guing that it’s already “past the point of no return.” The “jobs, jobs, jobs” at stake make it a political football for the new NDP In the evening, I joined Saulteaux band member Yvonne Tupper government in the province. And it’s been branded as “clean” in a drive through horse pasture to a spot above the valley over- energy, with the Prime Minister viewing it as “good for our looking the dam construction site. A security patrol boat zoomed emissions profile…” as reported in theVancouver Sun last year. by where the big earth movers were lumbering back and forth. An eagle flew overhead, while at my feet, growing tenaciously It’s in the view from here that the contradictions and outright in the steep gully, ancient drought-resistant Prairie grasses blew injustice of the thing become apparent. in the breeze.
The costs of the project seemingly do not include the millions I stood there saying Miigwech* to the beauty of the day, and the that will have to be paid as compensation to the local Indige- beauty of this valley. And I came away feeling that I had begun nous people if they sue for the loss of their traditional hunting to learn what it means to be a treaty person. grounds, nor the multiple millions in dam maintenance as, for instance, the silt and gravel from the valley build up against the dam. Heather Menzies is an award-winning Ottawa-based writer and scholar, and a long-time activist in the women’s movement, so- The courts that have reviewed the claims of First Nations and cial justice and cultural politics. Her latest book is Reclaiming local farmers challenging the project have largely focussed on the Commons for the Common Good technical matters, not the substantive legality or justice of the dam obliterating both a huge expanse of still-thriving Treaty 8 *Thank you in the Anishinaabe language spoken where I come from. heritage (in local wildlife and habitat), plus fertile soil for farm- ing and, more recently, vegetable growing on the deep alluvial soil in the valley floor. As the wildfires in central BC reminded people when they cut the north off from the south, local food security in the north is an urgent priority, and this stretch of the Peace River Valley is a lynchpin.
The next day, I spent time talking with local people and those who’d come from a range of civil-society organizations based in the south in order to participate in the paddle. It felt like the centre was no longer there but here, the energy of the river flow- ing between us. Suddenly, the way forward seemed simple and easy: once the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) considers the true and total costs of Site C, including compensation to Indig- enous groups, the project will surely be deemed economically non-viable. This will free up infrastructure spending for priori-
watershedsentinel.ca | 13 Economic Warfare
What the heck is really going on in Venezuela?
14 | watershedsentinel.ca by Joyce Nelson
Most people are horrified to watch Maduro’s call triggered months of vio- ian professor Dawisson Belem Lopes has Venezuela seemingly on the verge of lence in the streets, with more than 100 written (July 15, 2017), “...Brazil, Argen- outright civil war, or worse, an inva- people killed in the lead-up to the July 30 tina, Mexico, Colombia, Paraguay and sion by US military forces. The death vote. Peru have proud neoliberals serving as toll continues to rise in the violent presidents these days,” even though the street protests led by the right-wing In advance of that vote, Raul Burbano, “neoliberal experience of the 1990s was opposition, following the July 30 vote Program Director of the Canadian NGO simply disastrous for Latin Americans.” on a Constituent Assembly to rewrite Common Frontiers, told me by email, the constitution. US President Donald “The people of Venezuela will elect 540 As one of the last regional holdouts Trump had threatened to take further, constituents who will decide what chang- against a return to neoliberalism, Vene- unspecified “economic actions” if Ven- es to make to the constitution. These con- zuela has been especially vulnerable to ezuelan President Nicolas Maduro went isolation and targeting, and not just by ahead with the vote, and Trump added the US. Raul Burbano says that Canada that the US would not stand idly by “as A coup to roll-back wants to “marginalize” Venezuela be- Venezuela crumbles.” cause it does not follow the neoliberal some of the world’s most “free trade” agenda that Trudeau is push- The Canadian Peace Congress issued a important social reforms ing. The Trudeau administration insists on statement (July 29) that said, “If the at- retaining the controversial investor-state tempt at internal counter-revolution fails, dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism plans are being put in place for direct mil- stituents will be elected via sector – i.e., in trade deals. In 2011, former president itary intervention by the United States, workers, students, peasants, business Hugo Chavez revoked project authoriza- possibly under the cover of the Organiza- folks, etc. and also territorially,” thereby tion for gold mines, which prompted four tion of American States (OAS).” broadening the members beyond the elite Canadian mining companies to launch politicians. Burbano added that the Mad- ISDS lawsuits against Venezuela for bil- Maduro had hoped that the July 30 vote uro government would likely want to see lions of dollars in “lost profits” under the would help to bring dialogue and peace constitutional changes such as making the terms of a bilateral trade treaty signed to the country, which has been wracked state “less bureaucratic” and “enshrining with Canada. Venezuela subsequently by violence for more than four months. in the constitution the social programs” cancelled all its bilateral investment trea- created over the past years. ties – inspiring a world-wide resistance According to sociologist Maria Paez Vic- against the ISDS clause, but also further tor (Counterpunch, July 21), the opposi- Venezuelan electoral authorities an- earning the wrath of the private sector. tion had been demanding that the Maduro nounced a voter turnout of 41.53 per government negotiate with them. So early cent, or more than 8 million people on As the Canadian Press reported, “Oppo- in 2017 “a Peace and Dialogue Table was July 30. The opposition claimed fewer nents of Venezuela’s government blame it set up, facilitated by 2 former presidents than half that figure turned out, and say for turning one of the region’s most pros- of Latin America and one of Spain. They that the Maduro government is becoming perous countries into an economic basket then refused to negotiate, demanding the “dictatorial” and “consolidating power” case with a shrinking economy, soaring presence of the Vatican. When the Nun- through the Constituent Assembly. inflation and widespread shortages. The cio arrived, they still refused to dialogue. government blames the crisis on an eco- Pope Francis himself stated the dialogue Rogue State nomic war waged by its opponents and failed because the opposition would not outside backers.” participate. President Maduro then con- One reason Maduro is so despised by the cluded that if the opposition would not opposition is that he refuses to follow Interior and Justice Minister Nestor negotiate with the government, they the neoliberal economic prescription of Reverol has claimed that the U.S. is at- would have to negotiate directly with the austerity, privatization, deregulation, etc. people – and called for a Constitutional Such refusal makes Venezuela almost Continued on Page 16 Assembly to amend the constitution.” unique in Latin America now. As Brazil- watershedsentinel.ca | 15 Venezuela continued
tempting a “financial coup” to “stran- corporate smuggling, black market cur- But oil is not the only resource that the gle our country,” through hyperinflation rency manipulations, full scale hoard- US wants to get its hands on. Celebrat- and political turmoil in order to end the ing of food and essential products. They ed Venezuelan writer and member of the 18-year-old Bolivarian Revolution. closed highways, burned public buildings Venezuelan Council of State, Luis Brit- including a packed maternity hospital, to Garcia, recently wrote: “The current But that perspective is rarely given cre- from a helicopter dropped grenades on to economic situation Venezuelans are go- dence in the mainstream media. More the Supreme Court offices, have assault- ing through results from political actions often, we’re told of Maduro’s “economic ed, lynched and even burned alive [at undertaken by those who want to seize incompetence,” government “misman- least 21] young men of dark skin ‘who power of a country that has the largest oil agement of funds,” and “rampant corrup- looked Chavista.’ This is a violent op- reserve, the second largest gas reserve, tion.” As Jeffrey Taylor wrote in Foreign position steeped in racism and classism and the largest freshwater reserve, gold Policy (March 21, 2016), “Maduro’s re- against their own people and in the ser- and coltan in the world. They intend to sponse” to food shortages and currency vice of foreign powers and Big Oil.” impede the success of a system other than crises “has been to blame everything on capitalism.” scheming ‘Yanquis’...” Big Oil & other resources As Mark Weisbrot wrote for Counter- It’s important to emphasize that Ven- Mint Press’ Caleb Maupin has blamed the punch (July 24), “The question of what ezuela is not fully socialist, but has a US for the collapse in oil prices in 2014, role Washington should play in Venezu- “mixed” economy, with the private sector noting that US ally Saudi Arabia flood- ela’s crisis is a simple one, given its re- involved in many crucial sectors such as ed the market with cheap oil in order “to cent history. The answer is the same as food distribution, pharmaceuticals, con- weaken those opponents of Wall Street, it would be with regard to the role we sumer product importation and sales, and London, and Tel Aviv, whose economies would want the Russian government to the media. John Pilger has described Ven- are centered around [state-owned] oil and play in US politics and elections: none at ezuela as a “reformist social democracy natural gas exports,” including Venezue- all. Unfortunately the involvement of the with a capitalist base” – a description that la, Ecuador, Russia, Brazil and Iran. United States in Venezuelan internal af- helps us understand what is happening fairs in the 21st century has dwarfed any- there. Interviewed in 2015, John Pilger similar- thing that anyone has even accused Vlad- ly referred to the “current conspiracy be- imir Putin of doing here.” Besides being As Caleb T. Maupin wrote for Mint Press tween the US and Saudi Arabia to lower thoroughly involved in the 2002 military News last year (July 12, 2016), “It’s odd the price of oil” in order to cause a “coup” coup, the U.S. since then “has provided that the mainstream press blames ‘social- in Venezuela “so they can roll-back some tens of millions of dollars to the Venezue- ism’ for the food problems in Venezuela, of the world’s most important social re- lan opposition,” while supporting violent when the food distributors remain in the forms.” The collapse in the price of oil protests since 2013. hands of private corporations,” who are devastated the Venezuelan economy. “running general sabotage” of the system. As well, Weisbrot notes, “Today, Florida As economist Mark Weisbrot argues, Senator Marco Rubio openly threatens That sabotage by the private sector has “Washington has been more committed governments including the Dominican taken the form of hoarding of selected to ‘regime change’ in Venezuela than Republic, El Salvador, and Haiti with items, price speculation, keeping super- anywhere else in South America – not punishment if they do not cooperate with market shelves empty, sending food ship- surprisingly, given that it is sitting on the Washington’s abuse of the Organization ments to neighbouring countries, even largest oil reserves in the world.” The US of American States [OAS] to delegiti- setting food warehouse stockpiles on fire. and the Venezuelan opposition want the mize the government of Venezuela. And This purposely-generated scarcity creates state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela the Trump administration is threatening chaos and discontent, further undermin- (PDVSA) to be privatized, but instead the more severe economic sanctions against ing the government. company has lately been forming partner- Venezuela, which will only worsen short- ships with Russia, China, Iran and others ages of food and medicine there.” Maria Paez Victor notes that “The oppo- – thereby adding to the urgency of the sition orchestrated economic sabotage, counter-revolution.”
16 | watershedsentinel.ca Economic sabotage “Procter & Gamble, Colgate, Kimberly Curcio writes, “Since 2013, when an es- Clark and Johnson & Johnson” control calation of the country-risk [for Venezu- The Canadian Peace Congress states: the Venezuelan market for personal and ela] started, to the present, Venezuela has “For the past several months, US imperi- household hygiene products. In league paid US $63.566 billion for foreign public alism and its allies domestically and inter- with local private distributors, these mul- debt service [interest charges]. The coun- nationally have been exacerbating Vene- tinationals appear to be re-routing and try has fulfilled all its commitments in a zuela’s economic difficulties by attacking withholding products, and/or bypassing timely manner,” and yet its country-risk its international credit rating (making Venezuela completely. index was “hiked by 202 per cent”. foreign loans increasingly expensive), by weakening the foreign exchange value of As Curcio notes, “The dependence of The author also reports that “90 per cent the national currency through purposeful the people in Venezuela on large transna- of Venezuelan bondholders” have not speculation, and by withholding basic tional corporations for the acquisition of sold their bonds, “a sign of confidence commodities needed by the people (but medicines and personal care products is in the [debt-servicing] payment capaci- whose distribution is still controlled by one of the weaknesses of its economy.” ty of the Venezuelan State.” But shortly private monopolies), such as milk, coffee, after Curcio’s book was translated into rice, oil and basic necessities like toilet Another economic warfare weapon that English, Goldman Sachs reportedly sold paper, toothpaste and medicines.” Curcio investigates is the “country-risk $300 million of Venezuelan bonds to indicator,” a calculation that suggests hedge funds – contributing to the narra- A new book by Venezuelan economist the probability of foreign debt payment tive of Venezuela’s impending economic Pasqualina Curcio, The Visible Hand of default by any country. The higher the collapse. Recalling that Goldman Sachs the Market: Economic Warfare in Ven- country-risk, the higher the risk-premi- was central to the demise of Greece’s ezuela, reveals more precisely just how um, or the interest-rate paid on debt. economy, it’s reasonable to question the some of this economic sabotage is being motives of this sale. done: through multinational corpora- Curcio reveals that the “Large banks and tions, whose brand names we all recog- rating agencies are responsible for con- Curcio’s book investigates several other nize. tinuously monitoring the credit risk of economic sabotage tactics used against countries.” Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s Venezuela and is well worth reading. For For example, Curcio shows that Big Phar- and Fitch Ratings are involved in the those who question its validity, we need ma is “responsible for the import and dis- country-risk calculation, as are “Credit only look a bit closer to home to get a tribution of 50 per cent of pharmaceuti- Suisse, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan, taste of how economic warfare works cals in Venezuela,” while companies like Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank.” (see sidebar). If that’s how the US deals with its friends, it’s not too hard to imag- ine what’s being done to Venezuela. A Taste of Economic Warfare Shortly after being elected, Donald Trump named billionaire Wilbur Ross as his Canadian freelance writer Joyce Nelson’s choice for Commerce Secretary. Known as the “King of Bankruptcy,” Ross spent sixth book is Beyond Banksters: Resisting 24 years with N. M. Rothschild & Sons, where he specialized in “asset stripping,” the New Feudalism, published by Water- or leveraged buyouts of distressed firms that could later be sold for a large profit. shed Sentinel Books in 2016. At his US Senate confirmation hearing in January, Ross talked about the Trump administration’s desire to re-negotiate NAFTA. As reported by the World Socialist website (Jan. 21, 2017), “Ross did not shy away from spelling out the aggressive implications of Trump’s trade policy. He boasted about the recent collapse in the value of the Mexican peso and the further weakening of the Canada dollar. ‘The president-elect,’ said Ross, ‘has done a wonderful job of preconditioning other countries [with] whom we will be negotiating that change is coming. The peso didn’t go down 35 per cent by accident. Even the Canadian dollar has gotten somewhat weaker – also not an accident. He [Trump] has done some of the work that we need to do in order to get better trade deals’,” Ross said.
watershedsentinel.ca | 17 18 S education andsocialjustice. in schoolstothelinkbetween food “eco-music” from – educators line of front- hear aboutthegoodworks and environmental science. We also quest tobridgeindigenouswisdom systems, andonewoman’sacademic chronically underfunded education in “outreach” industrial fl of uence In thissectionweexplorethein- capacities inyoungpeople. these foster to aff fail longer to ord to andinhabitourworld. We canno ligence to transform how werelate with thecreative and critical intel- desperate need ofwomenandmen political meta-crisis, ourworldisin In thistime of environmental/social/ herently politicaloneatthat: in- an and sword, double-edged pressed, education, and colonialism, class, of ration explo- 1968 his in Freire, Paulo PONSORED | world. in thetransformationoftheir discover howtoparticipate and creatively with reality and men andwomendealcritically of freedom, the means by which mity, orit becomes the practice system andbringaboutconfor- tion into the logic of the present gration oftheyoungergenera- an instrumenttofacilitate inte- Education either functions as watershedsentinel.ca
viewed education as a viewed BY Pedagogy of theOp- Pedagogy & Resisting Reading, Writing,
©Ester Strijbos BC’s New Curriculum
“Big Ideas” fail to embrace ecology
by Briony Penn
The Big Ideas on ecology for the new those Big Ideas were – or more alarming- mention of words such as nature, habi- K-9 school curriculum arriving in BC’s ly what they weren’t.” In the 2014 draft, tat, biodiversity, watershed, stewardship, classrooms this September are “dis- instead of fourth graders watching bum- conservation, environmental protection, jointed, piecemeal and hard to inter- blebees and learning with wonder about restoration, sustainability, pollution, cli- pret,” according to Dr. Gloria Snively, pollination, they were to explore “devic- mate change, degradation, and resource Professor Emeritus of Science and En- es that transform energy,” “the rock cy- depletion; nothing on impacts of human vironmental Education at University of cle” and “how properties of materials are patterns of consumption or waste.” Victoria. related to the particles they consist of.” “Hardly Big Idea topics that 9 year olds Dr. Rick Kool, founder of the Masters in Snively has just finished a major collab- get passionate about,” argued Ross. Environmental Education and Commu- oration with leading Indigenous science nication Program at Royal Roads Uni- educator Wanosts’a7 Lorna Williams, Others who waded into the analysis in- versity (who was not consulted but who Knowing Home: Braiding Indigenous cluded curriculum expert and retired worked on provincial environmental cur- Science with Western Science, and is ever Victoria principal Daphne McNaugh- riculum in both the 1990s and 2000s) was hopeful that the Ministry of Education ton: “I was appalled. When I studied the baffled: “With all the scientific evidence will braid ecological and indigenous un- proposed ideas for content, I noticed no that says young children’s grades, health derstanding of science in the new science and aptitudes thrive with more connec- curriculum. She and an ad-hoc commit- tions to nature, and rising demands from tee of teachers and curriculum specialists “You cannot protect parents for nature kindergartens and out- worry that the current ecological content door schools, this kind of curriculum ap- of the curriculum, while improved since the environment pears in direct contrast to what parents their initial concerns with the first draft in are looking for and what children need.” 2014, still misses the mark. The first at- unless you He argued at the time “if students aren’t tempt was so heavily laden with concepts even taught the basic vocabulary of the of non-renewable energy and geology empower people, natural world and their relationship to it, that Big Oil seemed a more appropriate how can they participate as citizens in label than Big Ideas. you inform them, issues that are dominating our news and lives – whether it is climate change, ocean “Big Ideas” is the new name for teaching and you help them health, water quality, or pollinators.” concepts. Teachers explore these ideas with more “white space” (new name for understand that Ross and others met with the Ministry of flexibility) than the long list of learning Education back in 2014, and brought a objectives prepared during a different po- these resources are petition of over 8,000 names, which was litical era. Veteran award-winning teach- presented by then education critic Rob er Lenny Ross of Victoria, who has been their own, that they Fleming to the legislature. The lobbying leading the watchdog group, was OK pressures appeared to work and led to the with renewing the curriculum to create must protect them.” addition of Ross, Kerry Mortin and Pat- opportunities for critical thinking using these Big Ideas “until you looked at what ~ Professor Wangari Maathai Continued on Page 20
watershedsentinel.ca | 19 Curriculum continued
rick Robertson to the Science Curriculum team to enhance the draft. They were giv- “If you want to get laid, go to college. en the mandate to improve environmental education in every grade level and, ac- If you want an education, go to the library.” cording to Ross, were relatively success- ful in adding ecological and place-based ~ Frank Zappa elements after two years and many, many meetings. to learn how energy can be transformed knowing together? Quite frankly, I think and that matter has mass and can change they have created a gap too large to leap. Final edit drops improvements and, if lucky, teachers might fill in some Teachers are left with the hard work to white space with bees and pollination after interpret the big ideas and concepts, find The process then took a turn for the they have explored the required content materials and supplement lessons.” worse in the spring. A final subcommittee of magneto reception, infrared/UV sens- of ministry staff, with selected teachers, ing and echolocation. Between Grades 4 The original critique of Ross and others did their own final edit. Many of the pro- and 9, our children will not be exposed was that the BC curriculum resembled posed additions were dropped and Ross to Big Ideas like biodiversity, ecology, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering sent out a bristling critique, drawing at- BC’s diverse and beautiful ecosystems, and Mathematics). STEM – the trademark tention to environmental education ele- resource depletion, pollution, wildlife or of which is the acronym next to a picture ments that had gone missing again – like weather. Climate change makes it on as of the Hibernia oil platform (Hibernia the weather. Then came another change a Big Idea but only in Grade 7. Knowl- is owned by ExxonMobil and other oil – politically. With Minister Fleming now edge of “recent impacts of humans” only companies) – was coined in the mid- heading up the Ministry of Education, makes it on a Content List, which are sec- 1980s to respond to corporate demands would ecology be reinstated properly in ondary topics. Interconnectedness finally for a workforce skilled in engineering the classrooms? appears as a Big Idea in Grade 9. Con- and technology for oil and gas and bio- cepts like stewardship and sustainability tech. US educators have critiqued STEM According to his staff, Fleming’s man- don’t appear as Big Ideas at all but they and its delivery for an overemphasis on date includes “prioritizing the implemen- do appear in Grades 5 and 7 on the sec- markets and competition at the expense tation of BC’s curriculum as is and ensur- ondary Content List, but with a proviso. of environmental and social concerns. ing that teachers have the tools they need The gospel spread to Canada in the ear- in the classroom to be successful.” What Noticeably, ideas of ecology, sustainabil- ly ’90s, then flourished under Harper’s exactly does a curriculum made by one ity and stewardship are largely prefaced watch. In 2015, Harper quadrupled feder- government and implemented by a dif- by “First Peoples [sic] concepts of …” al contributions to STEM programming to ferent one look like? From the outside, it Snively comments, “While I applaud $12.5 million over 5 years – a paradoxical appears to be a metaphor for both the dis- the Ministry for listing content related move for a leader who was international- connect between the two political posi- to First Peoples, it makes no sense to ly condemned for muzzling his own sci- tions on the environment and the growing exclude Western Science concepts like entists, especially if they disagreed with pains of transitioning a government that interconnections, sustainability, and en- his oil and gas agenda. It all depends, it hasn’t been asked to prioritize ecology vironmental ethics.” Her book with Wil- seems, on what kind of science. for 17 years. As Snively states, “Nowhere liams specifically emphasizes the rich, is the disconnect more dramatic than in educational value of shared understand- Kate Lunau, STEM booster and assis- the matter of environmental education.” ings of western and indigenous science: tant editor of the conservative-leaning that all things are connected and unified, Macleans magazine calls STEM “a lens Biodiversity and ecology missing that the earth’s systems work in circles through which to see the whole world.” and cycles, that there is wholeness and That lens is a corporate 20th century en- For the record, learning about nature – ethical considerations. “We acknowledge gineering lens: all problems can be solved other than human biology – remains con- that both ways of knowing are legitimate by technology and engineering; no prob- densed, truncated and relegated to 5-8 forms of knowledge. So does the BC sci- lem can’t be mitigated. Fareed Zakarias, year olds. Grade 4 students are mandated ence curriculum ‘braid’ the two ways of columnist with the Washington Post,
20 | watershedsentinel.ca posits “America’s obsession with STEM effects of space on the growth of food. convince the student that this is a good is dangerous.” Using examples of Ameri- It doesn’t hurt the bottom line that Mon- thing to do.” When Schmidt was asked ca’s innovation coming largely from their santo, Dow, Chevron, Shell, Amgen, about how they could keep their mate- tradition of creative liberal arts education (world’s largest biotech firm), CH2M rials arms length from their corporate (Steve Jobs being the poster child of this), (global engineering company), 3M and backers, her response was, “There is no he calls STEM “a fundamental misread- other multinationals match federal contri- industry participation. They have no say ing of the facts [that] puts America on a butions. President and founder of LTS is and no review in our teaching materials. dangerously narrow path to the future.” Dr. Bonnie Schmidt, a physiologist, who The volunteers in our outreach, most of has spearheaded the program since 1991. whom aren’t from industry, come from Corporations provide resources all walks of life. We pride ourselves on In 2014, Schmidt held an open house our pedagogy.” As an educator for 27 years, Ross points in BC for MLAs to drop in and check out even if one was to pursue this par- out their report, Spotlight on Science “No results found” ticular “lens on the world” there are few Learning: The High Cost of Dropping age-appropriate resources for this type Science and Math. She was introduced But is there evidence that STEM is peda- of content available to elementary teach- by Jim Favaro, Corporate Relations and gogically sound? The battle for our chil- ers. “Complex physics, engineering, and Government Accounts for Amgen, who dren’s minds is apparent when you start geology are best investigated in high sponsored the report. It is a collation of going through the resources available for schools, not in elementary classrooms. interviews by such notable conservatives teachers. For example, in the LTS Edu- Where will teachers turn with no mon- as Preston Manning, Kevin Lynch, David cation Outreach, when you type in Ac- ey for resources?” It is no surprise that Mitchell (head of the conservative think tivities you have a choice of 8 subjects the corporate world has stepped into that tank Public Policy Forum), and various – Ecology is not listed. Under the closest vacuum. Delivered by the non-profit other corporate CEOs faithful to the con- subject, Environmental Science, the first Let’s Talk Science (LTS), STEM pro- servative agenda. The number one agen- two activities are How to Clean Up an Oil grams receive over $2,000,000 annually da in their report is: “To engage students Spill and How Water Moves up a Plant for outreach programs in Canada by their in STEM from a very young age – and through capillary action. Schmidt points 3,500+ volunteers through 45 university make it fun and meaningful.” As Pres- to the extensive resources in their Ide- institutions. LTS provides an impressive ton Manning states in the report: “STEM aPark and how volunteers workshop their array of programs and resources from engagement is required at two levels: own specialties in conjunction with local online Science Kits to “Tomatosphere” Convince the provinces to make this a organizations to learn about local ecosys- (using HeinzSeeds), which explores the higher priority, even a requirement. Then tems. But when you type into IdeaPark “interconnection,” “conservation,” “con- sumption,” or “pollution” there are “No results found.” “Nature” produces a very Mass education was designed to turn few activities, notably “Hibernation” and “I Wonder How a Bird Makes a Nest,” independent farmers into docile, passive both focussing on properties of building tools of production. That was its primary materials. The Ministry spokesperson, back in purpose. And don’t think people didn’t 2014, couldn’t speak to STEM but point- ed to the eight curriculum development know it. They knew it and they fought teams from all over BC, with representa- against it. There was a lot of resistance to tion from BC Teacher’s Federation, inde- pendent schools and aboriginal education mass education for exactly that reason.” specialists. The Ministry still defends the
~ Noam Chomsky Continued on Page 35
watershedsentinel.ca | 21 Bridging the Gap Good intentions, entrenched ways – academia has a long way to go to integrate science and indigenous wisdom
by Claire Gilmore
Michelle Myers is in her 4th year of wasn’t the only industrial threat in First enous knowledge with western science, study at the University of Alberta, and Nations communities, I knew that it was and that’s what I thought the entire pro- has experienced first hand the -chal all over Canada. So I felt like there was a gram was going to be.” lenges of trying to bridge the gap be- need to be able to understand the western tween the traditional wisdom she re- science and the environmental manage- In a course on the history of conservation ceived growing up in Xeni Gwet’in First ment aspect, and conservation sciences sciences in Canada, Myers says, “ During Nation and the western, scientific ap- and stuff like that, but also … to stay true the discussions about Jasper and Banff proach to environmental conservation. to who I am as a First Nations person and national parks, there was nothing about where I come from in Xeni Gwet’in.” the indigenous nations and communi- Back in 2013, when Taseko Mines was ties that were just swept aside and never conducting panel hearings in commu- given any compensation for it, and how nities near its proposed open pit copper that has affected a lot of these nations … mine at Teztan Biny (Fish Lake), Myers “During the discussions I know the Rocky Mountains have a lot was looking for a university program of ceremonial areas for the communities that would integrate indigenous knowl- about Jasper and Banff who would go there for fasting camps edge with the science of environmental national parks, there and ceremonial practices.” conservation. She credits her interest to where she grew up: “I grew up in an area was nothing about the At one point during a presentation, the that was very well intact, and that had a Indigenous nations and professor had prepared a slide with just rich ecosystem and a diversity in the en- a title – “First Nations People” – but had vironment…. Xeni Gwet’in community communities that were neglected to finish the slide, and simply and surrounding Tsilhqot’in communities swept aside and never given moved on. have been caretakers of the area, basical- ly since time immemorial.” any compensation for it.” Ecology was the scientific area of study in which Myers was most able to incor- As she participated in the panel hearings, porate indigenous perspectives and “kind speaking about her connection to the area She hit on a unique program at the Uni- of legitimize” the stories, oral history, and what it meant to her as a First Na- versity of Alberta: a BA in Native Studies and teachings that she grew up with. tions person and a young mother, Myers combined with a BSc in Environmental She gives the example of the ecologi- soon became aware of a huge disconnect Conservation Studies. cal concept of keystone species, whose between the language of her community absence or extinction in an area can al- members and the scientific and economic Myers soon found that the program was ter the whole ecosystem. “Growing up I language coming from Taseko Mines and far from the integrated experience she learned stories and traditions about how the government people. “I knew that there had expected: “Almost instantly I real- powerful bears are, and how they carry was a huge barrier in language between ized … there’s literally no connection be- certain spirits and energies to be able to my community and Taseko mines ... and I tween the two sides of the degree, there’s affect the environment around them, and knew that the open pit mine at Fish Lake no courses that connect traditional indig- that you can’t cross a bear’s territory in
22 | watershedsentinel.ca a way that’s disrespectful, otherwise it’s going to alter that environment in a way that threatens that bear’s life. Once a bear is taken out of the environment, the en- vironment changes because they carry certain songs, because they carry certain ceremonies, in their own way. And once those are taken out of the environment, the environment can’t continue to be what it is.” But, she says, “those things were only what I made out of it and only come from my own experience – it’s not something that was ever taught in the classroom.”
One class that did help her to bridge the gap between the two sides of the pro- gram was “Aboriginal Management of Natural Resources,” taught by Dr. Frank Tough of the faculty of Native Studies. It explored how Indigenous nations have managed their resources pre-contact, during contact, and post-contact, as well as presenting research proving that cer- Michelle Myers speaking at the People’s Climate March at the legislature in Edmon- tain Indigenous nations and their sharing ton. Myers is the communications director for Indigenous Climate Action (www. of traditional knowledge were critical to indigenousclimateaction.com) the success of the fur trade. Myers says the course gave her “analytical tools to be able to take what I know and find the for the importance of truly incorporating She thinks there is an opportunity to cre- research and the studies for it, and then First Nations perspectives or knowledge, ate something that is truly effective, ben- apply that to a western model like an en- or any secondary research. “It’s scary be- eficial, and far-reaching – if both faculties vironmental assessment.” cause these people are graduating from make the program a priority. She wants a program where their professors just them to “realize the actual capacity that Asked her perspective on the root of brushed off any First Nations mention they’re able to build in creating a bridge the disconnect, Myers says, “There’s no and just acted like it wasn’t a big deal, between western models of science and doubt in my mind that it has to do with when it’s a huge deal – you’re graduat- indigenous knowledge – not just having the fact that we’re in the capital city of ing the next line of people who are going the indigenous knowledge and perspec- Alberta which is highly dependent on an to be working in this province … and yet tive and historical context be an after- oil and gas industry.” She was shocked to they don’t have any baseline knowledge thought or a side note but being integral find that the science courses could cover of indigenous perspectives or indigenous and central to the program.” topics such as the effects of greenhouse rights, or anything to do with treaties….” gases and CO2 emissions while complete- ly failing to mention the effects of frack- In spite of the obstacles and disconnects, Claire Gilmore lives in Comox, BC and is ing and the oil and gas industry, and that Myers still thinks that the U of A is aim- the Watershed Sentinel’s editorial assis- during class discussions no-one appeared ing in the right direction with the com- tant to know anything about it. She was also bined Native Studies and Environmental disturbed by what she saw as a disregard Conservation Sciences degree program.
watershedsentinel.ca | 23 Recipes & Relationships
Food education for community, justice, and human rights
… they’re learning all healthful foods. Similar trends exist in sorts of new things: ... Canada where, in addition, remote north- so even though they go ern communities often struggle to access to ESL classes during fresh, high quality produce. the day … they come to Newcomer Kitchen Discussions of race and farming have and [learn] language in come to the fore as movements like Black an immersive environ- Lives Matter gain ground. Activists ques- ment, in which there tion why the food sovereignty movement is such a motivation to has tended to be so white when food in- want to communicate.” justice disproportionately impacts com- The other weeknights munities of colour. Projects like JustFood at “The Dep” revolve not only bring community-grown food around skill-shares into underserved neighbourhoods in New (from vegan cheese York City, but also provide cooking and to knife skills), guest food-growing education to community speakers, and supper members. Increasingly, food justice ac- clubs, while weekends tivities, education programs, and conver- feature brunches by sations are taking place in Canada, bring- chefs from around the ing food into discussions of race, class,
©Steve world. Len Senateur Indigenous sovereignty, and the rights of founded The Depan- the migrant workers who harvest much of neur in 2011. “Sharing food has an in- our produce. credible, almost unique ability to forge by Dawn Paley community; its shared experience leaps Black Creek Community Farm, located across boundaries of age, race, gender, in Jane and Finch, one of Toronto’s most Every Thursday since January 2016, a class, and culture to create connections marginalized areas, launched in 2012 group of newly-arrived Syrian refugees between people; a rare opportunity that with a focus on “improving food security, have gathered in the kitchen of The De- the traditional restaurant model barely reducing social isolation, and improving panneur, a corner café on College Street touches on,” writes Senateur. employment and education outcomes.” in Toronto. What brings them together is The farm offers a weekly harvest-share Newcomer Kitchen, a project that start- Race, class, and food justice that makes local organic produce avail- ed as an offer of hospitality: free kitchen able on a sliding scale throughout the space in a central Toronto location where The evidence that healthy food and our summer months, as well as hands-on ex- women could cook (instead of struggling access to it affects our quality of life is periences for youth and adults who may to prepare meals in hotels). mounting. A 2015 study by Harvard and not otherwise have contact with where University of California scholars found their food is grown. Cara Benjamin-Pace, co-founder and proj- that wealth and dietary quality are linked, ect director of Newcomer Kitchen, thinks that the price of food is a key factor in In nearby Kitchener, Ontario, Marla everyone involved in the project is tak- food choice, and that without a car it can Renn, a long-time activist and alterna- ing away something new. “In the kitchen be hard for inner-city families to access tive educator, recently launched an ed-
24 | watershedsentinel.ca 1905 ucation project called “We Are Meant Marilyn Nelson to Eat Together,” which brings together younger learners around food. “Sharing Looking out of the front page, a wild-haired, a meal together is an essentially human gentle-eyed young German man stands experience, but so is making it,” she says. before a blackboard of incomprehensible equations. “When we root learning and living in our Meanwhile, back in the quotidian, bodies and communities and cut off … Carver takes the school to the poor. what it means to connect and grow from corporate and exploitative control, we do He outfits an open truck something radical: we occupy the world with shelves for his jars we want to live in.” Renn’s workshops, of canned fruit and compost, which are attended by homeschooled bins for his croker sacks of seeds. kids and community members on a slid- He travels roads barely discernible ing scale, impart practical skills as well as on the county map, ideas of food justice to youngsters. teaching former field-slaves how to weave ditch weeds Education around food is not a one-way into pretty table place mats, street, nor are outcomes predictable or how to keep their sweet potatoes from rotting straightforward. The multitude of expe- before winter hunger sets in, riences linked to food – from planting how to make preacher-pleasing and tending to a farm, to selling produce mock fried chicken through local markets, to meeting togeth- without slaughtering a laying hen. er to cook or eat – provide meaningful, He notes patches of wild chicory hands-on ways for communities to come the farmers could collect together and learn more about food, share to free themselves from their taste their own knowledge, and even more im- for high-priced imported caffeine. portantly, to break down isolation and make education into something nutritious He and his student assistants bump along for all. shoulder to shoulder in the high cab, a braided scale of laughter “I sometimes say that what the ladies have trailing above their raised dust. taught me is not that your life always has to be happy, but it can always be joyful, Today, Carver is explaining, in the face of whatever challenges life as far as he understands it, hands you,” says Benjamin-Pace. There that fellow Einstein’s “Special Theory of Relativity.” is a diversity of life experiences among He’s hardly gotten to Newtonian Space the Syrian refugee women who have par- when a platoon of skinny dogs ticipated in Newcomer Kitchen, from an announces the next farm. older woman from a rural area with little formal education, to a younger woman As they pull up, with a PhD in mathematics, and there is a black man and his boy straighten, also diversity among project supporters two rows of shin-high cotton apart. and volunteers. “But in the kitchen, we With identical gestures they remove try and be women together.” straw hats, wipe their foreheads with their sleeves. Their welcoming glance meets Carver’s eyes Dawn Paley is a journalist and the author at the velocity of light. of Drug War Capitalism (AK Press, 2014).
watershedsentinel.ca | 25 Voices of Nature
Music – Ecology – Education – Entertainment – Action!
The kids feel like a million bucks on stage, and the adults take home powerful messages of action and hope, delivered by relevant messengers – their children!
by Holly Arntzen
“A hush falls over the packed auditorium, and the excite- ture project – a one-of-a-kind school program and musical spec- ment bubbling out of the kids backstage can no longer be tacle that inspires elementary students to learn about environ- contained. The lights go down, the Wilds Band musicians mental issues and encourage stewardship among their families strike up a rockin’ tune, and a giant fidgeting colourful rain- and communities. Songs become the focal point for cross-cul- bow of hundreds of children pours on stage. Holly Arntzen tural, cross-curricular, inquiry-based learning about nature. The and Kevin Wright introduce the ‘stars of the show’ to wild ultimate goal is to move people to positive action by weaving cheers and applause, and the concert begins with the whole excellence in music and the arts together with ecological and school singing proudly together, for their family and friends, educational sciences and innovations in leadership by children, about the importance and beauty of the Earth. The audience educators, and musicians. erupts in a standing ovation, the kids feel like a million bucks on stage, and the adults take home powerful messages of The entire student body, K-7, learns songs over many weeks, action and hope, delivered by relevant messengers – their in preparation for a 4-day artists-in-residency with myself and children!” Kevin Wright. By the time we arrive, students have memorized —Sue Staniforth, environmental educator the lyrics, and then together they ramp up the energy of their performance in rehearsals. Action leaders and soloists are cho- This concert is the culmination of a months-long Voices Of Na- sen. Introducers write speeches and wise messages about the
26 | watershedsentinel.ca issues raised in the songs. Giving children the opportunity to on and eventually become part of their soul. Students sing the work with professional musicians launches the process into a songs long after the program is over. different realm. Songs are powerful learning tools. Rhythm, movement, melody, Watching Holly and Kevin at practise with 200 students language and so much more are all conveyed through the very is an awesome experience. Within minutes they have physical experience of singing. Performing in a concert involves them eating of out their hand creating, revising, risking everyone in a cooperative, collaborative action that results in a and loving every minute of it. They make a fantastic team. glorious powerful sound that is shared by all. Holly calmly demands that students reach for the best quality performance possible while Kevin drives them up Voices Of Nature is not about professional musicians singing into an insane level of enthusiasm. for children… but singing with children… for adults. The de- —Brian Pritchard, Kispiox School, Skeena Watershed cision makers of tomorrow are singing for the decision makers of today, helping to amp up education and awareness with an Since 1999, a steady stream of Voices Of Nature programs has uplifting musical message to do the right thing today for future been produced throughout Canada by the Artist Response Team generations. It puts children and musicians in a leadership role (ART), a “cultural swat team” that responds peacefully to envi- to inspire urgently needed behavioural change in their commu- ronmental issues through music, art, humour and entertainment. nities. Cultural messages move the heart and spirit. Chances are Each year ART undertakes themed tours to dozens of schools that if a child can understand scientific information, then many and communities. Rock The Salish Sea! tours have travelled to adults can too. coastal communities in BC and Washington State, singing out messages about ocean protection. Up Your Watershed! tours We only protect that which we love. We only love that in the Fraser and Skeena watersheds promote wild salmon and which we understand. We only understand that which we habitat conservation. The Water For Life! project in Alberta are taught. resulted in a one-hour TV special on water conservation and — Baba Dioum. climate change that aired on CTV TWO and KSPS (Spokane.) ART believes that teachers are the front line of change in soci- Foundational to the Voices Of Na- ety. A Voices Of Nature program only takes place in a school ture program is integrating the mu- when the staff endorses and dedicates precious class time to it. sic so it helps fulfill curriculum out- Teachers deserve the highest respect for the countless hours of comes that teachers must meet. ART dedicated care they give to their students. They are the filter to has a library of unique, music-based ensure that environmental standards are maintained. All lyrics learning resources that help teach- are pre-approved by staff. Even though the songs sometimes ers bring songs into the classroom raise controversial issues, they are an opportunity to develop for ecological education. ART’s critical thinking skills and promote respectful discussion of is- newest offering is The Watershed sues from different points of view. Handbook: Songs, Science & Stew- ardship for Educators (K-9), which Voices Of Nature gives schools and communities an opportunity supports the redesigned 2016 BC to come together to address difficult challenges such as climate Curriculum with inquiry- and place-based activities in science, change, and to work together to create positive change, in a fun, social studies, language arts and many subjects, that are linked inspiring, and uplifting way! to the song lyrics. Visit www.artistresponseteam.com for more information. Why is Voices Of Nature needed? Holly Arntzen is a singer, dulcimer player, pianist, and The songs are not “childrens’ songs” per se, but they are songs eco-art-activist from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. that kids love and that grab their attention immediately. They can understand the importance of the message and want to be part of the process as the lyrics and melodies begin to work
watershedsentinel.ca | 27 Thank You These generous sustainers are the people power who help us provide you with an independent voice for the environment, activism, and social justice. We depend on them.
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28 | watershedsentinel.ca Citizen Science
Putting Hazelton’s air pollution on the map
by Dave Stevens
Technological change is enabling citizens to monitor air pol- map shows the sensor locations; panning, zooming, and clicking lution. Using a new generation of laser particle counters to takes you to current readings at any online connection. provide real-time measurement of concentrations of var- ious-sized particulate matter (PM), PurpleAir sensors are The pollution data gathered is about different sizes of particles, easy to install, requiring only a power outlet and WiFi. They from PM0.3 (ultrafine) to PM10 (coarse fraction). The air qual- use WiFi to report in real time to the PurpleAir online map, ity index (AQI) popup box on the online map is well designed which provides both measurements and an Air Quality Index and deceptively simple – there’s a lot there. Of greatest health (AQI) reading. interest is PM2.5, the fine fraction. There are current conditions – updated every ten seconds – but there are also one-hour, 24- The Village of Hazelton is a postcard-pretty old-west-style set- hour and one-week averages. tlement on the banks of the Skeena river near the confluence of the Bulkley in northwest BC. That’s in the spring and summer. All the data reported to the map site is archived. This public re- But in the fall and winter the picture isn’t as pretty, with wildfire cord of conditions is what we hope will be effective in drawing smoke and dirty chimneys adding their attention to the issues. distinctive pall to the view. Spring grass burning doesn’t help either. “The people who live here The BC government particulate mon- know the problem but itors are about $28,000 a pop and are The people who live here know the prob- based on a more precise technology lem but don’t get much satisfaction. So don’t get much satisfaction.” called beta attenuation, with the acro- the Bulkley Valley and Lakes District nym BAM. Well, the thing about the Airshed Management Society (AMS) partnered with the Village BAMs is the $28,000 part. That’s why I haven’t got one. But to start creating a written record of the concentration of particles the purple air monitor is 99% of the BAM at about 1% of the in the air. The money needed – $400 total – was split down the cost. Good enough for me. The Southern California Air Quality middle and the AMS bought, tested, and deployed the PurpleAir Management District did a co-located test with PurpleAir sen- monitor. By fall, the AMS will place three more sensors at Git- sors beside BAMs and found very good correlation. Mostly the anyow, Moricetown and Telkwa. readings are accurate and we aren’t doing a doctoral thesis, just clarifying where the problems are in an impartial way, to sup- The PurpleAir initiative started with technological change and port a healthy intervention. some upset people in Utah. They worked with the college of engineering at the University of Utah to design, build, and sell About the AQI: Different countries have different air quality the sensors to encourage concerned citizens to measure air pol- indexes; the numbers shown on the map are from the US and are lution levels. different from Canadian usage. Please take note when examin- ing readings on the PurpleAir site (US AQI) versus BC Environ- The new enabling technologies are the internet and low-cost ment’s readings, which use the Canadian standard. laser particle counters. The sensor unit is about the size of a softball and includes wifi, particle counters and temperature and Dave Stevens is the president of CHOKED, a small very non-prof- humidity sensors. Screw the unit to a wall, plug in the 110V it environmental group in Smithers, BC. and connect to the mothership map at map.purpleair.org. The
watershedsentinel.ca | 29 Sludgery
A memoir
In 1988, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) of Maine (where the mills were already treating their effluent) was part of a multi-stakeholder commit- Kamloops pulp mill & effluent ponds tee alongside representatives from gov- ernment, industry, and the environmental sector. The task was to examine a request from International Paper (IP) to land-ap- ply process waste from its kraft mills. The NRDC initially required some baseline testing for the waste material, but IP was never able to provide acceptable results. The NRDC request became the model from which Reach for Unbleached! was to work for the next 20 years.
©Murray Foubister Through the 1990s, what we called “sludge busting” proceeded apace, with by Delores Broten permit appeals, public meetings, reports, and workshops. In March 1996, mill The Reach for Unbleached Foundation Reading the report served as a person- workers had discovered that waste slud- has published a comprehensive ac- al reminder of the enormous amount of ges were being quietly removed from count of its work on the issue of pulp work we put into that cause over the time on-site locations at different mills in BC. mill sludge disposal in British Columbia, I served as executive director. It also Upon further investigation, they learned spanning three decades (millwatch.ca/ served as a cherished reminder of all the that industry management, along with library). It is all there – live links to good friends and allies we worked with, UBC researchers, had been granted Min- what test results we gleaned, newspa- from the Pulp Paper and Woodworkers to istry of Environment approvals for sludge per clippings, committee minutes, re- West Coast Environmental Law staff and testing and Ministry of Agriculture ap- ports and rebuttals. of course, our own Reach! people, like provals to experiment with alternative Jay Ritchlin and Miranda Holmes. feeds for cattle. More sludge busting en- The extraordinary file was compiled by sued. Board member and Secretary Tammy Sludge Busting Morris, who served her own years of Eventually the Ministry of Environment involvement in the struggle. Reach for The problem actually started from the set up a committee (more reports) but Unbleached! hopes that the documents successful populist campaign to regulate when it finally seemed the desired test- will help other activists in their local or pulp mill water pollution. Once you have ing was within reach, the forest industry national work on the issue, in Canada or water treatment, you have sludge. So quit, prompting Reach to issue the fol- abroad, all modern pulp mills being fun- sludge disposal was a new issue for our lowing alert. To this day the situation is damentally equal. mills. unchanged.
30 | watershedsentinel.ca Sludge Alert pounds are responsible for the decline questions with well-designed unbiased in eastern salmon returns. We know that research pretty much provides an answer Industry calls it “bio solids.” The gov- the pulp and paper industry uses one to those of us with inquiring minds. ernment calls it pulp mill sludge. We third of the nonylphenols in Canada, call it Industrial Waste. Provincial and we suspect these hormone disrup- If it is now in your lettuce or your beef, stakeholder discussions about how to tors wind up in the sludge. well… a lot of questionable chemical ex- test and regulate the spreading of this posures go almost unnoticed these days. waste on farmland and forests have bro- We do know that the state of New Hamp- ken down because the Council of For- shire abruptly canceled a sludge spread- Here’s a hint, in case you ever feel the est Industries refuses to talk anymore. ing program in 1998 after the discovery urge to do some Sludge Busting of your Reach for Unbleached is warning com- of unexpected toxic chemicals leaching own. The biggest point of contention for munities and workers to be on the alert into groundwater, and that charges are the mills seemed to be testing for pol- for new applications to spread this in- now being laid for spreading hazardous yaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), many dustrial waste across the BC landscape. waste. We do know that only mills which of which are accepted and regulated as do not use chlorine-based bleaching carcinogens. These days I would add en- There has been no thorough indepen- spread their sludge in BC now. Let’s docrine disruptors, especially given the dent testing of this material to see keep it that way! results from the environmental effects what’s really in it. There has been no monitoring which prove that many mill testing to see if this industrial waste Words fail to describe the frustration of effluents still have chronic toxicity im- causes genetic mutations or harms the coming so close to some modern charac- pacts on fish and other aquatic life. It is hormone system of wildlife exposed to terization testing of sludge mixtures, after a safe assumption that it. There has been no testing to see what decades of work across North America, whatever has that im- gasses off the sludge to harm the work- only to have it smoothly pulled away by pact in effluent also ers who have to handle it. What we do the forest industry with the acquiescence exists in the sludge. A Millwatch Special Report know is that pulp mill sludge is a com- of the provincial Ministry of Environ- From plex and changeable mixture of dozens ment. All we really were after, for those Reach for Unbleached! www.rfu.org or even hundreds of compounds, some many years of work, all those reports, all Delores Broten is re- of them well known like heavy metals, that organizing, all those meetings, was covering from a couple dioxin and other organochlorines, some to find out what was in the sludge, and of decades spent working on pulp and pa- created by the bacteria in the treatment whether it was safe to distribute in the en- per pollution for Reach for Unbleached! ponds and probably unknown to sci- vironment, with or without composting. ence. Environment Canada scientists in The refusal of industry and government the Maritimes think nonylphenol com- to answer these basic common-sense
watershedsentinel.ca | 31 People Get Ready...
How Gabriola created their community bus
by Susan Yates
A community bus may be coming to an island near you, and After 3 years of a successful pilot project which garnered grow- perhaps it will be inspired by one like the Gabriola Envi- ing support from the public and from Gabriola’s local govern- ronmentally Responsible Trans-Isle Express, fondly known as ments (RDN and Islands Trust), a referendum was held in Feb- GERTIE. ruary 2016 asking the community to establish a property tax assessment to support GERTIE and enable it to expand accord- It’s a long, winding, bumpy road to plan, start up, and maintain ing to the community’s needs. The referendum passed with 67% a community bus, but as the GERTIE crew has discovered over support and a high voter turnout, and GERTIE now has an as- the past 4 years, it’s also satisfying and sometimes downright sured source of funding to pay drivers and a part-time driver-co- exhilarating to see the response and support from passengers, ordinator, to help fund operating expenses, and to accumulate funders, and local government when they realize that this is a funds for new and replacement vehicles. home-grown project whose time has come. The Gabriola Community Bus Foundation (GCBF) meets every The GERTIE project began in 2013 as a 3-year pilot project with second Monday to discuss plans, problems, successes, bright the goal of demonstrating the viability of public transit on Ga- ideas, and reports from the book-keeper and driver-coordinator. briola. It was sponsored by Island Futures Society, a visionary GCBF meetings are open to the public, who must have faith in non-profit group that supports innovative and sustainable initia- GERTIE, because only rarely does someone drop in to a meet- tives on Gabriola. The Regional District of Nanaimo provided ing to see how those wheels keep turning. $30,000 for the purchase of buses. A volunteer Board began the necessary start-up tasks, some of which seemed overwhelming GERTIE does its best to maintain a regular schedule and routes at the time. These included purchasing and licensing the buses, and at the same time offer request stops and pick-ups close to hiring volunteer drivers, developing the bus routes, maintaining the regular route, operating on four routes that cover most of the vehicles, promoting the service, and continued fundraising Gabriola Island. Transportation for civic and community events to pay for a part-time driver-coordinator, fuel and repairs, mini- like the annual salmon barbecue, the Canada Day potato can- mal infrastructure (bus stops), replacement vehicles, promotion- non contest, Oceans Day, the fall and spring cross-island hikes, al material, and printed schedules. museum tours, and elections is also provided and this promotes community pride and involvement. Charter services help to bring in money for GER- TIE and provide safe and enjoyable trans- portation for large groups like weddings, reunions, off-island boaters, and people who want to enjoy a late night gathering at one of Gabriola’s pubs and restaurants.
32 | watershedsentinel.ca There are currently four vehicles in the GERTIE fleet, one or two of which are in service during operating hours. Reliable ve- “In July, we started putting a 50/50 mix hicles are perhaps the most tenuous aspect of starting a commu- nity bus service on a shoestring budget; certainly the main topic of diesel fuel and biodiesel made from of GERTIE’s budget considerations is always when will we get waste vegetable oil into the buses, and a new/better/replacement bus? we hope to reach 90-100% WVO fuel by Earlier this year GERTIE was the recipient of a very welcome the end of 2017.” Federal-Provincial infrastructure grant of $77,600, which must be matched by the community, but which has already allowed GCBF to purchase a 14-passenger 2015 Ford Transit. Like all of also be an important thread in the fabric of Gabriola’s history. the steeds in GERTIE’s stable, the newest bus has been named Meanwhile, the wheels on the buses go round and round the is- using an online public survey to whittle down the choices to land, thanks to our adventurous passengers, dependable drivers, the single most popular – in this case ‘Canabus,’ because it was and the enormous combined support from businesses, local gov- purchased during the Canada 150+ celebrations (and because it ernments, residents, and generous donors. All these helpers have lives on Gabriola Island). made GERTIE a fine example of local planning, enterprise, cre- ativity, cooperation, and determination! At the beginning of July of this year, we started putting a 50/50 mix of diesel fuel and biodiesel made from waste vegetable oil Visit www.gertie.ca for history, commu- (WVO) into the buses, and we hope to reach 90-100% WVO nity events, routes & schedules, and prog- fuel by the end of 2017. At that time most of Gabriola’s restau- ress reports, or ask a question! rants and pubs will be giving their WVO to GERTIE instead of paying to have it shipped over to processing plants in Nanaimo. Editors’ note: We had to shorten this ar- the Friends of Cortes Island ticle considerably to fit it into print – if Sustainability Education Fund A ‘Go GERTIE’ team of volunteers operates alongside the cur- you’re interested in the nitty-gritty of get- rent GCBF board to help with public input and promotion of the ting a community bus service up and running, we strongly en- service, and to engage volunteers, riders, supporters and visi- courage you to read the original article at watershedsentinel.ca/ tors. During the summer the Go GERTIE team has a booth at the articles/people-get-ready. Saturday market where they can be seen selling raffle tickets, extolling the virtues of a biodegradable, non-toxic soap made Susan Yates is a super-engaged community volunteer on Ga- from the glycerin byproduct of the biodiesel process, or just briola Island, BC, and a member of the Watershed Sentinel’s handing out riders’ guides to people who may not have had the volunteer board. pleasure of riding with friends to a favourite island destination.
An important and sometimes overlooked aspect of developing and maintaining a successful local transit service is the drivers, and GERTIE excels (so we are told by passengers) in that de- partment. GERTIE drivers go beyond what is normally required when it comes to being helpful, resourceful, and willing to go out of their way, literally and figuratively. Statistics are kept for ridership, fuel usage, vehicle mileage, and route coverage; sometimes they result in unusual counts, like the notes from ear- ly July, which saw GERTIE’s highest passenger count to date: 404 people, 10 chickens, several dogs, and maybe one mouse (no questions asked).
GERTIE is now an established part of Gabriola Island’s eco- nomic and cultural makeup; perhaps in a few more years it will
watershedsentinel.ca | 33 Everything Shuswap
History, geology, ecology and more in “definitive guide”
by Maggie Paquet
of over 160 years of upheaval and injustice, there is a revival of Secwepemc language and culture. What follows is a rich de- scription of the past and present – the social and cultural lives Everything Shuswap, of the people and communities of this vast and varied region Jim Cooperman, Shuswap Press gleaned from both historical sources and today’s indigenous and ISBN:987-0-99505220-0-8 settler informants, generously spiced with photos and drawings. 8.5” x 11” soft cover The Shuswap is a land of diverse ecology, both horizontally and vertically, ranging from dry ponderosa pine-bunchgrass to inte- rior rainforest ecosystems, rich farmlands, river and lake land- Everything Shuswap is just that: uncluttered writing about the scapes, mountains and valleys. Small glaciers in mountainous 1.55 million hectare greater Shuswap watershed, showcased by areas feed many creeks and lakes. There are also descriptions 36 maps, 350+ photos, the histories of indigenous Secwepemc of the wildlife, including the endangered mountain caribou, a nations and settlers, and a watershed tour bringing all, including victim of multiple threats, including loss of old-growth forests. the geology and ecology of the Shuswap, into clear focus. With the foreword by Alan Haig-Brown and back cover blurbs by Water, the lifeblood of all the ecosystems, flows through and well known British Columbians Dick Cannings, Mark Hume, connects the social and physical environments and all they con- and Mark Forsythe, this exceedingly useful guide to “Every- tain, such as the Adams River watershed, home of one of North thing Shuswap” is a treat to read. Subtitled A Geographic Hand- America’s most productive – and famous – sockeye salmon book, Volume 1, the promise is for two more volumes: the sec- runs. Twelve individual watershed systems and sub-drainages ond to examine threats to the region caused by climate change are mapped and described, as large as the Shuswap Lake system and the third to consider what the future holds for the Shuswap. and as comparatively small as that of Scotch Creek.
Jim Cooperman, long-time Shuswap resident, has written this A major feature of the Shuswap is the wealth and diversity of re- definitive guide to one of BC’s most beautiful and diverse re- sorts and recreational pursuits, including camping, marine, and gions. For nearly 50 years, Jim and wife Kathi have made a wilderness parks, hiking, birding, river rafting, whitewater and home in the Shuswap, raised five children and, in the process, lake kayaking, skiing, boating, and fishing. All these things and learned to love the region’s natural and human history. Many of more are described in this marvellous and most useful book. us know Jim as the former editor of the BC Environmental Re- port, as well as a frequent contributor to the Watershed Sentinel. There’s yet another big bonus: buying this book helps support His writing is clear and highly informative, and illustrates his outdoor learning in the North Okanagan-Shuswap School Dis- appreciation of the concept of “a sense of place.” trict #83. Learn more and order the book at shuswappress.word- press.com/everything-shuswap-by-jim-cooperman “Shuswap” is an anglicised pronunciation of Secwepemc, Inte- rior Salish peoples whose territories extend from “west of the Fraser River to the Rockies, and from the Okanagan to north of Maggie Paquet is a biologist, activist, and writer/editor. She is Williams Lake.” Jim urges us to imagine the territory before the a recipient of the Martha Kostuch Lifetime Achievement Award, fur traders and gold seekers arrived. He comments that in spite conferred by the Canadian Environmental Network in 2010.
34 | watershedsentinel.ca Curriculum continued from Page 21
revised document. “One of the challenges The concerns are fair – even just on the discuss issues associated with that and with the shift to a concept-based curricu- basis that the sole funder listed for the the sources.” Members online argue that lum is that there can sometimes be a per- online resource is the Canadian Associa- RCGS is being “manipulated” by CAPP. ception of missing or not covering top- tion of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and One member wrote, “I have reviewed the ics. Concepts within the new curriculum lesson plans offer only industry resource Energy IQ materials and the issue of CG model can and do include multiple topics materials. If teachers type “Grade 4 Big that was sponsored by CAPP, and it was and provide the white space (flexibility) Ideas” into EnergyIQ online activities an- an embarrassing disgrace the way it virtu- for a variety of topics to be explored in they find “Shifting the Oil Sands” (As a ally ignored the issue of climate change.” various levels of detail. The concept of class, decide where you think the oilsands weather, as an example, has not been re- would be most beneficial for Canada and Despite the critiques over the last two moved and is explicitly covered in a va- why). Nowhere is there a “decide if….” years – even by Fellows (full disclosure: riety of ways and in a variety of grades. In “How is a Proposed Pipeline Approved the writer is a Fellow) – RCGS insists The concept starts in Kindergarten at the or Rejected,” students “propose a new “The overwhelming consensus of those simplest of levels and progresses each pipeline in Canada linking two different who have interacted with the program, year to expand and add more complexity places. Remind them to consider that whether teachers, principals or students and dimensions.” pipelines cannot go through deep water, has been extremely positive. The pro- mountains, frozen ground or environ- gram teaches about all types of energy Ross doesn’t agree. For example, the mentally sensitive areas e.g., wetlands).” and is fair, accurate, and balanced. We are hard-won reinstatement of more in-depth not an advocacy group….” At the heart study of weather was taken out in the fi- For the Grade four Content word “Echo- of the matter is the failure of a system to nal edit. He believes such essential and location” you get “Whales, Dolphins, provide independent funding of pedagog- complex concepts as weather and climate Bats and Fossil Fuels?” In this activity ically-sound resources for teachers and change need the deeper study that the students are encouraged to learn about freedom from corporate funding in poli- lengthy public feedback and revision pro- echolocation in whales, then look at the tics. The new government has a window cess afforded. Ministry response is, “As human applications of echolocation. and a mandate to make some fundamental in every curricular area, the final editing “New technology is emerging to discov- changes to both, which will reverberate processes result in change.” er a wide range of hard-to-find natural down to how our children frame the way resources. The company Geosat Tech- they think about the world and problems. Energy dominates nology, for example, analyzes satellite and geo-data to find oil, gas, diamonds, Ross has issued a challenge to “insist One thing that hasn’t changed is the high uranium, other minerals and even water. that the Ministry of Education correct the proportion of energy-related Big Ideas. Explore these emerging technologies wrong that was done during the final edit, Materials put out by such prestigious and how they are being used to find the and return the curriculum to the full prod- institutions as the Royal Canadian Geo- world’s remaining natural resources.” uct that was created in a careful, transpar- graphic Society fill the gap. The RCGS’ Meanwhile, the Inuit of Clyde River ent, and public process.” The Ministry of reputation took a tumble in BC in 2014 have argued successfully in the Federal Education says that “BC’s science curric- when an open letter signed by more than Court that seismic testing for oil and gas ulum will be discussed again in the next 500 students and teachers of Vancouver’s has had impacts on bowhead whales and round of review and considerations (fol- Windermere Secondary critiqued their other marine mammals and they weren’t lowing the 2017/2018 school year).” The EnergyIQ program as “of serious con- adequately consulted. public will have a chance to get ecology cern to us as current high school students, back fully on the curriculum and give our specifically because of its inherent corpo- In 2014, after allegations of propagan- children the best chance they can at an rate bias and the ideals it will promote. da, RCGS CEO/President John Geiger uncertain future on an ailing planet. Schools are public places, and therefore responded that he saw “no evidence of should be free of advertisements or pro- industry bias. An effort has been made to Briony Penn has been writing about en- motions of companies, interest groups, provide facts about energy sources and vironmental issues in BC for 40 years. and other for-profit institutions. Propa- consumption – not casting judgment. If She has also collaborated on numerous ganda has no place in our schools.” people consume energy then we need to teachers’ resources.
watershedsentinel.ca | 35 Wild Times Bear Stare
“Grizzly encounters are the stuff of campfi re stories all over the BC backwoods. They always have been.”
For my part, I spoke quietly and It’s easy to forget that the grizzly bear calmly to the bear and shuffl ed has been wiped out of much of its former along the edge of the road towards range. They were once so common in my truck – which was way too far California that a grizzly graces the state away for comfort. The bear let me pass fl ag. Gone, too, from Oregon. that day – but that memory will stay with me forever. In BC, grizzly bears have been elimi- nated in the centre of the province from by Joe Foy Grizzly encounters are the stuff of camp- the US border to just north of Quesnel. fi re stories all over the BC backwoods. Their numbers are dangerously low in the The recently-announced BC government They always have been. southwest, like the Siwash Valley where I ban on grizzly bear trophy hunting, set to had my encounter. begin in November 2017, was, for me, Once, in 1998 while being shown around cause for celebration and refl ection on the territory of the Heiltsuk Nation near In the coming months more will need to past encounters with the great bear. the community of Bella Bella, I was priv- be done to tighten the law and crank up ileged to be allowed to enter the site of its enforcement to ensure that no BC griz- Back in 2002, I was in the Siwash Val- an old big house. Deserted now in a quiet zlies are shot down for the fun of it any ley near Boston Bar doing a survey of bay surrounded by big Sitka spruce trees, more. Let’s all celebrate the end of trophy logging within spotted owl habitat. I had it had once resounded with the laughter hunting and hope that future generations parked my pickup truck at the start of a of the families that lived there. The old will always be able to recount around bushed-in logging road. I left my bear house had collapsed long ago, but I could the campfi re their own encounters with a spray on the truck seat thinking that I still see its massive timbers, covered in staring grizzly. would only have to walk a hundred feet moss laying on the forest fl oor. Some of or so to get a good photo of the logging the huge upright poles that had held the Joe Foy is the national campaign director across the valley. Turns out, I had to walk timbers in place still stood. My guide for the Wilderness Committee. over a kilometre to get my shot. pointed out that they were carved in the likeness of standing grizzly bears. Must On the banks of On the way back, lost in my own thoughts, have been some awesome bear stories the Chilko River. I was startled by a deep woofi ng sound. I told in that house! peered through the alder shrubs and saw a brown bear to my right at the top of the A couple of years ago I was lucky to be road cut bank. This bear was agitated. It guided down the Chilko River in Tsilh- was woofi ng, snapping its jaws, tearing qot’in Nation territory. In the safety of the up dirt with its paws, then backing into little boat I had plenty of time to identify the forest, then lurching forward while the bears that lined the shoreline fi shing staring down at me. for sockeye salmon – they were grizzlies!
36 | watershedsentinel.ca SPIRIT WALK in Powell River cussion, prayer, meditation, songs, and New walkers are very welcome. We walk poems. Sometimes an invited guest will rain or shine. For more information: Car- by Hannah Main-van der Kamp offer a talk on flora and fauna, birds, local la Mobley, [email protected]; history,or ecology. Paul Wiltse, [email protected] Stopping to hear bird song or to gaze at a waterfall, or walking on in complete One of the original aims of this project Hannah Main-van der Kamp is a poet, silence, the group of walkers in com- was to be in nature with others who re- birder, and permaculturist who lives and munal contemplation explores another spond to the spirituality of being in silence walks near Kelly Creek on the Upper Sun- trail in the Powell River area. outdoors. Walkers come from a variety of shine Coast. faiths or no particular faith, yet we enjoy There are many reasons why walking in harmonious discussion and meditation. nature makes us feel so well, but surely Starting at 10, we plan to return by noon walking in silence with like-minded com- – though weather sometimes alters plans. panions is a healing experience! At the end of the walk, many choose to ©JohnBloxham The last Saturday of every month, “Spir- socialize over coffee.What we have dis- it Walkers” carpool to meet at a different covered so far is that those who delight in location. A different leader every month silent group walking experience a mutu- describes the route, says a blessing and ality of great value, enhanced well-being invites the walkers into silence. At about and a closer harmony with self, others, midpoint of the walk, they gather for dis- nature and the divine.
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