June 14, Pennywise – Kootenay Lake

Please compost
According to Canadian statistics organic material can make
up to 40% of household waste. Eliminating this material from
our garbage we throw out is a great way to reduce large volumes
of material going to landfill. Many municipalities and individuals
compost to remove organic wastes from landfill bulk and
to do away with methane emissions caused by organic waste
decomposing in
landfills.
Turning
organic waste
into compost
has many benefits.
Compost is
a nutrient rich
soil amendment
for the earth that
stores carbon.
Mixing carbon
(Browns)
and nitrogen
(Greens) are the
ingredients to
make it work.
Simple aeration,
heat and moisture help break down the organic material.
Microorganisms and invertebrates like worms and sow
bugs that eat food scraps and yard wastes can help the process
along. These invertebrates excrete odourless castings that also
become part of the organic mixture. Added to soil, this compost
improves nutrient content and soil structure. It’s a great
Nelson ArtWalk 2021
The Nelson and District Arts Council
(NDAC) has proudly hosted events that have
become instrumental in supporting local artists
for over five creative decades. NDAC is excited
to be able offer ArtWalk this year, continuing
its long history of supporting local artists to sell
their work. The Nelson and District Arts Council
has worked hard to engage and support local
artists during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as
a result will be continuing to offer an on-line
gallery platform, which was an incredibly successful
digital pivot in 2020.
We will continue with our ‘Virtual Venues’
who will host and promote local artists on their
social media pages. NDAC will provide full
social media support to Virtual Venues, so that
they can feature local artists online, in lieu of
physically being able to hang artwork in their
establishments. All media will link to our Art-
Walk digital gallery platform where patrons can
directly connect with the artists to make their
purchases. This summer ArtWalk will also have
limited in-person ‘Showcase Venues’, which will
feature multiple artists, showcasing physical
work in COVID safe environments.
The application fees for both artists and venues
have been waived again this year in an effort
to alleviate financial pressures faced by artists
during the pandemic. Our two openings, Friday,
June 25, 6-9 pm and Friday, July 23, 6-9pm,
will be live stream presentations of local performance
artists, who will be safely performing
from their homes or outdoors, and will be featured
on our website and social media channels.
This will allow for local performance artists to
continue to be paid for their work in a climate
where summer performance opportunities have
been strictly limited.
ArtWalk has a wonderful reputation as one of
the best events of the summer... it might look
different, but will still provide arts lovers with
the opportunity to experience what our incredible
creative community has to offer!
Nelson and District Arts Counci
fertilizer for growing plants and it’s ours for the making.
We keep a pail with a lid under our kitchen sink and put
all vegetable and fruit waste in it. In order to avoid attracting
wildlife once it goes outdoors, we do not add any meat or dairy
product. We are careful to remove, plastic tags, twist ties and
to avoid tea bags that are made of petroplastic derivatives. We
also cut large pieces up and occasionally add small pieces of
paper. When the bucket is full of fresh material full
of nitrogen, we empty it into the first bin of a three
stage vermicomposter, then give it a stir and throw
in a handful of browns. Browns make up carbon rich
material and can be; dry leaves, shredded paper, sawdust,
or straw.
Red wriggler worms in our bins help create air
passages, break down the material and certainly
micro-organisms and bugs contribute to the process.
We check once in a while to see how they are doing
and make sure that the bin is moist, there are no hot
spots and the aroma is sweet. Once the bin is full, we
top it all up with straw or soil or aged sawdust, then
dampen and let the biology feast occur undisturbed.
Then we start a new bin
and repeat the process.
It only takes a summer
season to transform the
first pile into valuable garden
amendment.
We also keep a covered hot pile
on the ground where we deposit
all weeds and large garden refuse.
This pile is poked and watered
Emergency
JVH PAC Meeting
The JVH Parent’s Advisory Council is
requesting the support and attendance of parents/guardians
of students at an emergency
meeting on Wednesday, June 16 at 6:30 pm
either in-person outside at the school or via
zoom. (See JVH PAC Facebook page for link).
There are serious staffing cuts scheduled for
our high school in the fall of 2021 that will affect
both the course offerings and the educational
experience for our children.
Local teachers are very concerned and want
to communicate with parents about how these
changes will impact our students. There is a lot
of information to share.
Parents of JVH will need to come together to
petition the school district to maintain the staffing
levels that we currently have.
All parents and concerned community members
(not just high school parents) are welcome,
as if not addressed these could be precedent
setting changes affecting our students and community
for years to come.
JVH Parent’s Advisory Council
Local shoppers are reading
Pennywise, right now!
Congratulaons
g
occasionally. The internal heat and moisture of the pile kill
weed seeds and break down the organic material into usable
soil amendments. This pile is turned after a seasons accumulation.
This pile takes two seasons to be ready for the garden.
Kaslo already manages some yard waste with spring and fall
pickups and is presently determining if some kind of municipal
composting support could work here. In the meantime
many local people are eliminating their organic waste from
their garbage, through backyard composting systems like
ours or participating in the Community Garden composting
systems. There are many ways and appliances to compost. he
Compost Council of Canada website will give you an overview
of different ways. www.compost.org
You might like to try the kitchen counter electric foodcycler
that can be borrowed from the Kaslo Food Hub or check out
the Bokashi system, a fermentation process that allows meat
and dairy waste to be composted using microbes. cityfarmer.
org Whatever system suits you best, please find a way to keep
organic wastes from going to the landfill.
Kaslo Climate Action Team
Services + Solutions for Reducing Waste
We want your input.
Read the draft plan.
We’ve drafted a new Resource
Recovery Plan for recycling,
composting, landfilling in the
RDCK. Plus we’re exploring the
possibility of Curbside Waste
Collection in smaller communities.
Respond to the survey.
Complete the survey by June 27,
2021 to enter to win a $100 gift
certificate to a local business of
your choice.
Learn more at rdck.ca
rdck.ca
Phone: 250.352.1576 | Email: RRP@rdck.ca
To Our 2021 Grads!
Kootenay Lake Levels
June 9, 2021
For the benefit of Kootenay Lake area residents,
the following lake levels are provided by FortisBC
as a public service.
Queen’s Bay: Present level: 1746.61 ft
7 day forecast: Down 6 to 10 inches
2021 peak: 1747.33 ft / 2020 peak: 1750.09 ft
Nelson: Present level: 1744.72 ft
7 day forecast: Down 6 to 10 inches
Onawa Knoll
Emma LeCouffe
Hawa Knoll
We are so proud of you. May you soar to great heights!
Levels can change unexpectedly due to weather or other
conditions. For more information or to sign-up for unusual lake
levels notifications by phone or email, visit www.fortisbc.com
or call 1-866-436-7847.
411 Front Street, Kaslo
250-353-2331
Summer Hours (June 20 - Sept 4) 8am - 8pm
7 days a week including holidays
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