Consumable Earth – Kamloops

The Aboriginal Agricultural Education Society of British Columbia (AAESBC) is hosting the second annual 100 Mile Diet, Health & Wellness Show being held in Kamloops at the Norkam High school.
730-12th Street, Kamloops,
from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
on Saturday, April 10, 2010.

This year we will be offering education sessions on grass fed beef and the carbon foot print, natural pest control, creating local community food systems, and much more!

An evening dinner will also be hosted at the same location from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Local Chefs will prepare dishes based seasonal produce. Dinner tickets are $25 or 2 for $40.

Our goal is to keep BC agriculture strong and thriving and to raise consumer awareness of products grown close to home, to reduce our carbon footprint.

The AAESBC is a registered charity promoting the development of local food systems among Aboriginal peoples residing in BC. The activities include hands on agricultural training programs to promote food security and sustainability on and off reserve in agricultural production, from field to plate – beef and produce.

We will be showcasing local food, health and wellness exhibits while creating community awareness of the programs offered by the Aboriginal Agricultural Education Society of British Columbia (AAESBC)

• Promoting Aboriginal agricultural and agri-food business opportunities
• Promoting Nutrition, local food systems, healthy living and food security
• Creating community awareness of the programs offered by the Aboriginal Agricultural Education Society and others in our region.

The first of the annual 100 Mile Diet, Health & Wellness Show, held March 26, 2009 attracted participants from many surrounding communities throughout the Thompson Nicola Region including producers, ranchers and farmers displaying vegetables, grass fed beef, locally made products, and services from Kamloops, Barriere, Salmon Arm, north to Clinton and Canim Lake. Also attending were local government, neighbouring First Nations bands, interested members of the public, backyard gardeners, and small businesses, as well as numerous local societies involved in food security, community gardens, and agri projects.

Please contact Lesley at (250) 314-6804 or (250)571-7048 if you have any questions and we are looking forward to seeing you at Norkam Highschool to celebrate local food on Saturday, April 10, 2010.

Must have at least Level 1 Reiki

316-141 Victoria St
250.372.1424
Please call for times and to confirm you are coming

3rd Monday of every month.

Notice to Stakeholders – Deadline for nominations extended until March 19, 2010

March 5, 2010

Dear Stakeholders:

I am pleased to advise you that the open call for nominations to the Food
Directorate’s Food Regulatory Advisory Committee (FRAC) is now posted on
our web site:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/consultation/init/frac-ccra/index-eng.php.

The FRAC will provide the FD with advice on matters relating to strategic
planning, priority-setting, and environmental scanning of food safety,
nutritional quality, or other issues within the mandate of the FD.
Representing a mix of expertise and experience, the Committee will consist
of 20 members from the research and academia, health and regulatory
professional, industry, and patient and consumer group sectors.

The call for nominations will be open until March 19, 2010.  As part of our
effort to recruit members to the FRAC, we invite you to nominate a
candidate as per the attached letter.  The draft terms of reference for the
FRAC, the guidelines for submitting a nomination, as well as a nomination
form are also attached.

Please feel free to forward information about this nomination process to
your membership, affiliated networks, or any one else whom you believe may
be interested.

If you have any questions or require more information, please contact
Gordon Laing by email at: Gordon.Laing@hc-sc.gc.ca..

How many of you have dreamed of having a hobby farm? A few acres, a horse, some sheep, some chickens. If you are anything like me and the people I seem to be around then you have. So many of us have the dream and yet so few are able to commit to it or make it part of their reality.

Commune. The word conjures up many different ideas.
Co-op. Again all sorts of thoughts and preconceptions come to mind.

Is it possible for people to work together for a common goal? Do you want to? Because I do. I would love to build something that people could take part in and create with me.

What would it look like for you? What do you need? What would you like to see? Can we make your dreams come true?

For me it would be a large property (there’s 80 acres for sale that is about 15 min outside of Kamloops). It would have water, lots of it, for irrigation of pasture land and gardens. It would have flat areas and sloped areas, open areas and treed areas. There would be a creek with a willow on it’s banks who’s leaves dipped into the water late in the summer.

We would put up fences for our Jersey cows and sheep. We would let our ponies and horses run free in the pasture knowing they would happily come back to us when needed to pull the plow. We would sculpt the earth and fill it with permanent plantings which would feed our families for generations to come. We would camp out under the stars while we built a straw bale house together and dance under the same stars as we celebrated moving in day for the first family.  Our chickens would run free in the yard snacking on our compost and seaweed we gathered from the coast. We would put up a barn and hay shed as the winter winds drew near.

And oh so much more but as with anything worth while doing it requires work. And commitment. And vision. And determination. We can do this all we need to do is commit.

Want to read more about our plan? visit Kamloops Family Eco-Village

It’s Love Month and I loooooove my bicycle! Do you?

Friday is Critical Mass! Bring your loved ones and your bikes and lets get our ride on.

We meet at 4:00pm in Riverside Park by the tennis courts, you got any questions or concerns feel free to contact me. Need a bike for the ride? We’ll find one for you. Happy riding folks, see you on Friday!

First Monday of every month at The Art We Are

Every month people with an interest in environmental conservation meet up for a beer at informal sessions known as Green Drinks.

It’s a great way of catching up with people you know and also for making new contacts.

Location: Heritage House, 100 Lorne Street
Time: 10-3:00 Saturday, March 6, 2010

If you’d like a booth:
Contact person: Fawn Knox
Email: fknox@telus.net
Phone: 250.579.5768
Contact person: Leslie Welch
Email: fknox@telus.net
Phone: 250.828.2321
Sponsor: Friends of the New Victory Gardens

Seminars:

Soil Fertility — Leslie Welch 1:00

Worm Composting — Penny Powers 1:00

Prevent Pests Naturally — Leslie Welch 1:45

Planting the Veggie Garden — Jo-Lynn Forbes 1:45

Must-grow Vegetables — Ann Sutherland 2:30

Herbs — Janet Kernachan 2:30

Garden Seminars presented by the Master Gardeners & Local Experts

Refreshments will be available, kid activities are planned and door prizes will be drawn. Fun for all.

Earthcare Kamloops is a non-profit group of caring citizens who promote a plant-based diet, and support sustainable, local farming practices.  We strive to create a healthier, more connected community by discussing environmental and health issues at our monthly Vegetarian potlucks. (last Sunday of month,Sept-May)

Monday Feb 22, 2010

5:30 pm
Henry Grube Education Centre
245 Kitchener Cres
Room 1A

5:30 pm
Kamloops Food Policy Annual General Meeting and Potluck

7:00 -7:30 pm
Presentation by Rose Soneff, Program Manager for Community Capacity
Building an initiative of the BC Healthy Living Alliance led by the Canadian Cancer Society.

AGM Meeting:

1. Membership verification (membership dues up-to-date)
2. Executive Members Report
   Executive Co-chairs, Paula Rubinson/Laura Kalina
   Treasurer, Laura Kalina
3. Working Group Reports
   • Food Policy/ City of Kamloops Social Plan (Laura and Jenn)
   • Community Gardens (Vera)
   • Heartland Foods/FNALA  ( Lesley)
   • Community Mapping (Dave)
   • Urban Agriculture
   • Urban Hens (Bonnie)
   • Seed Saving (Fawn Knox)
   • Election of Executive – New Slate 2010
4. Slate:
   • Chair
   • Past Chair
   • Treasurer
   • Secretary
   • Directors (3-4)
5. Adjournment

WHAT: Organizational meeting for a Kamloops sustainability network (we need a name for it too!)


WHEN: Thursday, March 4, 2010 at TRUSU Boardroom, TRU from 7 pm to 9 pm


WHO: Clubs, NGO’s, faith groups, government ministries: anyone concerned about the health of the earth in general and the Kamloops area in particular – at least one representative per group. Unaffiliated Individuals are welcome as well.

WHY: Kamloops has many environmental, sustainability and other “greenish” clubs and organizations that often have overlapping interests.  Better communication would facilitate collaboration and a stronger, more unified voice on community issues.


PURPOSE: What do you want this network to look like?  How would it ideally function?  Help us brainstorm a vision for connectivity and then formulate a plan to implement it.

Please RVSP attendance to the-cap@shaw.ca