Playing in the Dirt

I received this message today about an event celebrating Seeds of Survival’s 20th anniversary and thought I’d pass the message along!

August 17, 8:30pm – Hugh’s Room, 2261 Dundas St. W.

Canadian songsmith James Keelaghan, a steadfast supporter of USC Canada’s Seeds of Survival (SoS) program, is teaming up with fellow folk musicians for a historic concert to benefit farming communities in Africa and Asia.

Join James at Hugh’s Room on August 17th for an inspiring evening of soulful song and music. We’ll enjoy the artistry of stellar singer-songwriters including Peggy Seeger, Rob & Steve Richie (of Tanglefoot), Vance Gilbert, and Sheena Grobb. The musicians have generously agreed to donate all proceeds from the concert to benefit Seeds of Survival – USC Canada’s flagship food sovereignty program – and the mountain farmers of Ethiopia and Nepal.

From the African Highlands to the Himalayas, mountain farmers face challenging conditions. Though mountains are biodiversity hot spots and the source for as much as 80% of the world’s fresh water, it’s hard to grow food and make a living on steep mountain slopes. The SoS program continues a 20-year tradition of working with farmers to grow healthy food in harsh mountain landscapes, without damaging these fragile ecosystems.

The concert takes place August 17th at Hugh’s Room, 2261 Dundas St. W. Tickets cost $20 in advance ($22 at the door) and are available at Hugh’s Room in person, by phone (416-531-6604), or online at Hugh’s Room. For more information contact Sarah at or 613-234-6827 x230.

And visit USC Canada’s website now to hear Moving Forward, Looking Back, the song James composed for a documentary about Seeds of Survival work in Ethiopia.

Please forward this message to anyone you know who might enjoy this event.

We hope to see you there!

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A Senior Engineer/Scientist/Tech Officer for Ontario Power Generation recently sent out a call for participants in what I think is a very cool program:

Do You Grow Fruits, Vegetables or Use Well Water?

If you live within 10 km of the Darlington or Pickering sites and grow fruits, vegetables or use well water as a drinking source, then our Environment Programs Department is looking for your support.

As part of the Radiological Environmental Monitoring Program (REMP), samples of air, rain water, drinking water, soil, fruits, vegetables and fish are taken in the communities around the Pickering and Darlington stations. These samples and their analyses are used to assess the dose impact to the public resulting from operations of our stations (which is quite low and well below regulatory limits).

Since the inception of this program, we have relied on the support of local residents to provide the above mentioned samples. Over the years, there have been new subdivisions built in previously uninhabited areas and therefore additional sample locations are desired to better represent these areas. Also, due to the mobility of local community members we are always looking for new participants to replace those who have moved out of the areas.

To that end, we are seeking participants who live within 10 km of Darlington or Pickering Station and can provide us with:

• Annual samples of fruits and/or vegetables grown from their own garden, and/or
• Monthly samples of well water that are used as a drinking source—sample bottle will be provided.

All samples will be collected by an OPG Health Physics Laboratory technologist during working hours with advanced arrangement of pick-up times.

The results are published every April 30 in an annual REMP report to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). All names, addresses and contact information are confidential and will not be published. Participants will receive a letter every June summarizing the public dose impact in your area and a small token of appreciation.

I contacted the name provided, indicating an interest in participating, since I live within the desired radius at about 6 km from the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station. I haven’t really thought too much about the impact living near a nuclear generating station has on the food that is grown and eaten in this region, but participating in this program is likely to bring about some awareness on that front. I’ll be sure to share my findings here!

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This week at BlogHers ACT Canada, we’re talking about compost (our focus this month is on greener gardening), and that got me thinking that I’d like to share my own compost set-up with you.

I keep this plastic bowl on my kitchen counter. I bought it at IKEA, and it has a non-slip bottom and a fitted lid. I throw my coffee grinds, egg shells, tomato stems and other bits of food scraps (other than dairy, oils or meat, which are composting no-nos) right in there.

When the countertop bowl is full, I take it out to the compost bin at the side of our house and dump its contents into the bin.

Take a peek inside! It needs some water, and I should rip up that egg carton.

At the back of the yard, we have this larger crate-style compost bin where I throw our yard waste, potting soil, weeds, and grass clippings. There is probably some good stuff in the middle of the pile.

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Today my husband Graham and I (well, mostly Graham) installed our rain barrels, which we purchased at a local shop called Envirosponsible.

Graham went to the hardware store and bought four concrete blocks to sit the barrels on top of. They would be fine on the ground, but raising them up a bit makes it easier to use the tap at the base, and allows space for setting a watering can down beneath and filling it up. He also picked up a couple of ready-made plastic downspout extensions. These are usually used to extend the downspout or to direct water away from your foundation. In our case, they’re going to direct water into our rain barrels.

First Graham cut some of the length from the downspout. He placed the barrel nearby to get a rough idea where he should cut.

Next I leveled out the ground beneath the downspout (I had moved a perennial plant out of the way while he was at the hardware store), and then Graham placed the heavy concrete blocks in place.

Then we positioned the barrel on top of the blocks.

You’ll notice that the blocks were too close to the foundation, so we had to adjust their positioning a little bit.

Next Graham placed the downspout extension over the piece of downspout at the side of the house. If he looks a little annoyed, it’s because he really wants me to put down the damn camera and give him a hand, already.

Graham then cut a hole in the lid of the barrel to fit the end of the fitted downspout piece into the barrel itself. He did this with a utility knife with a curved blade, but a jigsaw would work, too.

Ta-daaaa! Done. The rain barrel was installed.

And, as if on cue, the rain started to fall…

37414 Comments »http://playinginthedirt.ca/2008/04/26/how-to-install-a-rainbarrel/How+to+Install+a+Rainbarrel2008-04-27+00%3A20%3A30Amy

Happy Earth Day!

Last summer I was disappointed to find that our next-door neighbour had hired a non-organic company to take care of their lawn. Graham and I would sit out back, drinking our coffee in the morning, and then suddenly the powerful, sickening smell of the pesticide/herbicide cocktail would waft into our yard. Annoyed, disgusted, we’d head back indoors to finish our coffee.

I put a little sign in our garden in the hopes it would start a dialogue between us and our neighbour, but it didn’t seem to phase them at all, which I just can’t understand because he grows FOOD in their yard.

I was pleased this morning to discover an article in the paper (Pesticide ban set to grow, The Toronto Star, April 22, 2008) detailing our provincial government’s plan to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides and herbicides, to be enforced beginning in the spring of 2009. The City of Toronto’s ban took effect on September 1, 2007, but in the smaller cities and town around Ontario, it’s been legal to spray lawns and yards with toxic chemicals. It’s hard to believe that with all of the information available about the health effects of these kinds of sprays, people continue to use them in the very space their children play.

The new ban will mean that my next-door neighbour won’t legally be allowed to spray their yard with pesticides and herbicides. The ban won’t affect farmers, golf courses or managed forests, and the legislation will also force the manufacturers of pesticides and herbicides to reduce the level of toxins they produce.

I’ll be pushing this information on my neighbour this year…they might as well get started with organic methods this year, since next year they’ll be out of luck!

(Cross-posted at BlogHers ACT Canada and Moms Speak Up!)

Don’t forget to visit BlogHers ACT Canada to participate in the Official BlogHers ACT Canada Earth Day Kids Gardening Photo Contest!

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