Stunning Go for the green Real estate tips Healthy point of VIU

PLANET EARTH: Every day is Earth Day for
students involved in the Sustainability and
Eco-Education Department. Anna Capiello
is all smiles after a good climb.
Photo by Ryan Barfoot
There is an exciting
joint initiative
between Students
for Environmental
Action (SEA) at
Brooks Secondary
School, the Sustainable
Schools Committee
(SSC), and
the School Board
to build a sustainable
field house at
Brooks. Ryan is the
chair of SSC. “We
want it to be gathering
place, bringing
the community
together physically
and symbolically,”
he explains. “It will
be a model classroom.
We want to
incorporate as many
aspects of conservation
and sustainable energy production as we can. We’ll have
examples of wind power, solar power, and so on — so that people
can see how these technologies work. We’ll use green building
practices.” It’s an important first step, he says, in demonstrating
the practices they are trying to teach the students. And it goes
farther than the school — the partners involved in this project
are opening it to the community, hoping for more contributions
of expertise, supplies and services. “The district wants this project
to be owned by the community.”
SEA has some exciting green initiatives happening as well.
Julia Stride is the president of this student-led organization, and
she says it helps to make students aware of environmental issues,
and motivates them to make positive change. The students
involved with SEA have several ambitious projects underway,
including a proposal to ban the sale of plastic bottles in vending
machines at their school. They have started a petition supporting
this cause and are selling stainless steel water bottles as a
fundraiser and alternative.
“We’re going to do a presentation to [school] board members
[to show them] what we’ve been doing, what we would like
to see happen and how we can get it to actually happen,” Julia
says. Other projects SEA is working on include setting up a
school garden for the cafeteria, and promoting ideas for getting
students and their families outside more.
The Powell River area as a whole is crackling with energy
right now, Ryan says. But it’s most important to make good
long-term decisions. “Sustainability is all the buzz right now,”
he cautions. “Search for what is authentic, everything else distracts
from the work that needs to be done.”
Giroday & Fleming
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Shirley E. Giroday, B.A., LL.B.
Ian Fleming, B.A., LL.B.
Helen M. Anderson, B.A., LL.B. (Associate Counsel)
604 485-2771 • 4571 Marine Avenue
Spring cleaning
by Emma Levez Larocque
As warmer weather approaches, individuals and groups are
hitting the streets and trails in Powell River to clean up
roadside garbage and items that have been dumped illegally in
the back trails and woods. The first organized clean-up of the
year took place on Saturday, March 21. Members and supporters
of Pebble in the Pond Environmental Society took to the streets
and collected more than 500 kilograms of garbage.
“It felt good to see a difference in the areas that we targeted, but
the amount of garbage we found was very disheartening,” said
CaroleAnn Leishman, one of the society’s directors. On March
26, the Active Malaspina Mariculture Association (AMMA) held
a cleanup in the Okeover area, and several schools are planning
beach or community clean-ups on or near Earth Day (April 22).
On Sunday, May 3 the 2nd Annual Powell River Back Road
Trash Bash takes place. This event is organized and supported
by the Sustainable Schools Committee and the Powell River Regional
District. Last year, the trash bash was a huge success,
collecting six and a half tonnes! The Bash has been planned to
coincide with ‘Run for One Planet’ and the Sustainability Fair in
the lot behind A&W.
People are encouraged to join this fun, community-based outdoor
event and give back to their community by getting a team
together and signing up for an afternoon of reclamation.
Contact Graham Cocksedge (gcocksedge@sd47.bc.ca) for
more information.
On Sunday, April 26 there will be a celebration at Kelly Creek
Community School from 11 am to 3 pm. Everyone is welcome.
Events will include:
• A showing of short, local films to do with the environment;
• Local nature photography exhibit;
• Various workshops (e.g. composting, seedling planting);
• Information tables.
For more information, or to get involved, please contact Kevin
Austin at 604 487-9925.
GREEN UPS: Derek Johnson, Matt Larocque, Melany Hallam and
CaroleAnn Leishman survey the garbage collected during the
Pebble in the Pond clean-up on March 21.
Photo by Emma Levez Larocque
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Powell River Living : april 2009 13