Museum offers rides on antique streetcars

As published in The Erin Advocate

It was a bit spooky, wandering through the maze of antique streetcars, in the huge display barn at the Halton County Radial Railway Museum just south of Rockwood. The best of them have been protected and restored like works of art, while others remain outdoors to face the elements.

The museum is on Guelph Line in Milton, but it is just 25 minutes from Erin and makes for an interesting excursion. It is a non-profit education centre and tourist attraction, complete with gift shop and streetcar ice cream parlour, operated there since 1972.

There has been interest lately in LRT (Light Rail Transit) for urban areas – a new rail and rapid bus corridor was approved just a few weeks ago for Waterloo-Kitchener-Cambridge. But less well-known is that there was once a system of inter-city electric trains, radiating like spokes out of Toronto.

One of these radial lines, opened in 1917 by the Toronto Suburban Railway company, went to Guelph, via Meadowvale, Churchville (Eldorado Park), Georgetown, Limehouse, Acton and Rockwood. It was bought and subsidized by Canadian National Railways, but it never had commercial success and was discontinued on August 15, 1931. The Guelph Hiking Trail Club now maintains a 33 km route on the rail bed, as a link to the Bruce Trail in Limehouse.

The museum has rebuilt a section of line and overhead power supply, so they can test their collection of about 75 vehicles. They offer guests a 20 minute ride through the forest, with an attractive park at the east-end loop.

The collection includes streetcars, subway cars, trolley coaches, locomotives, box cars, cabooses, rail grinders and snow plows. There's even a bus from the Hamilton Street Railway, in the old rounded style that I used to take to high school.

Many cities used to have belt lines – rail loops through their busiest areas. The Niagara Gorge Belt Line operated from Niagara Falls to Queenston on both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the river, from 1893 to 1935, carrying up to 17,000 passengers a day. Toronto's radial railways did not go into downtown Toronto, and ultimately could not compete with standard freight trains or the expanded highway system and the conveniences offered by bus transportation.


I took a ride on Car 327, a streetcar with open sides and running boards. It is a replica built by the TTC for Toronto's centennial in 1934, with components salvaged from the original #327, built in 1892. The conductor would walk along the running board with a tin cup to collect the fares, and people would often hop on and off while it was still moving. Such vehicles were taken out of service about 1915, because of the dangers posed by that other horseless invention, which remains popular today.

The most striking aspect of the interiors of the older cars are the wooden fixtures, varnished and glowing, with attention to detail that has become unfashionable or too expensive to maintain in more modern settings. There is also some impressive woodwork in the old Rockwood train station, purchased from the town in 1971 and moved to the museum.

The Ontario Electric Railway Historical Association was formed in 1953 by a group of men who wanted to save a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) streetcar from being sent to the scrap yard. Eventually, they started the museum, which is now open on weekends from May to October, and daily in the summer. Go to www.hcry.org for details, including school programs and special events. There is an archive of drawings, photographs, uniforms, maps and books, which are available for research.

For those with a general interest in trains, there are museums across Canada, the largest being the Canadian Railway Museum (Exporail) south of Montreal. I have visited a few, and can recommend the Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa, and the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel in Cranbrook, BC, particularly notable for its preservation of intricate inlaid woodwork in the luxury cars.

Here are some more photos from my visit:

Amateur scientists take watershed snapshot

As published in The Erin Advocate

Teams of volunteers fanned out across the headwaters of the Credit River recently to do a quick check on the state of its health.

About 75 people took part in Credit Valley Conservation's first Check Your Watershed Day on July 16, including at least a dozen from Erin Trails and the Climate Change Action Group of Erin.

On a sweltering Saturday afternoon, we measured the temperature of water in shady sections of the river, took photos and made sketches of bridges and culverts, and looked for obstacles to the movement of fish.

"It's not going to go into a box and never be looked at again – the information we are collecting today is real data that will help direct restoration projects in the future," said CVC Aquatic Biologist Jon Clayton. In spite of the many dams on the river, CVC tries to reconnect fish habitat areas where possible.

"There may be spots where fish can't get upstream as a result of a drop coming out of a culvert, and the fish populations are fragmented as a result," said Clayton. "The temperature information is used to assess where dams are having an impact. If we notice a big temperature increase downstream of a pond, that might be an area we come back to and target for stream restoration or riparian (shoreline) planting."

Bill Dinwoody and I worked as a team, assigned to check five sites in Hillsburgh. Measurements at three locations upstream of the dams showed temperatures from 19.1° to 19.9° C. In the pond at the Station Street, and downstream at 22 Sideroad, the readings were just above 26° C.


Checking the Station Street dam.

We saw no blockages of fish traffic apart from the dams, which form three large ponds between downtown Hillsburgh and 22 Sideroad. Clayton said the lower temperatures upstream seemed normal, as did the high reading in the pond, but he was surprised that the water had not cooled more by the time it reached 22 Sideroad.

"I have seen quite a few Brook Trout there before in the summer so that would indicate colder water. Maybe there was a spring or upwelling directly underneath them or just upstream. It also speaks to the need to allow fish to move around to find coldwater refuge during hotter summer periods," he said.

Vegetation next to the river helps cool the water, but incoming groundwater and air temperatures have a more direct impact, he said.

Rehabilitation work was done at the 22 Sideroad crossing a few years ago, with rocks strategically placed to help fish navigate into the culvert. CVC also planted trees in the nearby meadow, but they have not survived.

A Check Your Watershed Day enables a large amount of data to be collected at the same time. Measurements were done throughout the upper watershed, including Orangeville/Caledon (the East Branch), Hillsburgh/Erin (the West Branch) and Georgetown.

The concept has been used successfully by other conservation authorities. It has been promoted by EcoSpark, an organization that works with communities and schools, providing them with knowledge and tools to monitor their environment and take action for positive environmental change.

The group has a special interest in the Oak Ridges Moraine, a prominent ridge north of Toronto, stretching 160 kilometres from the Niagara Escarpment in the west to the Trent River system in the east. It was created between two lobes of receding glacial ice, where the melting water deposited huge quantities of rocky debris.

Moraine landscapes, also prominent in Erin, are good at collecting rainwater, filtering it through sand and gravel, and recharging aquifers deep underground. These supply drinking water for many communities and deliver clean, cold water into river systems.

The Credit River is a unique cold water system that is home to sensitive Brook Trout and is one of three rivers targeted for re-introduction of Atlantic Salmon. It is 90 km long, with 1,500 km of tributaries, draining about 1,000 square kilometres of land.

Silver Creek crevices will keep you on your toes

As published in The Erin Advocate

Just read about some doctors who like to prescribe walks in the woods to counteract "nature-deficit disorder", a term coined by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods. It is certainly a logical way to boost mental and physical health, but the medical angle is a reminder that we are in a crisis of stress and inactivity that is doing real harm.

Active Healthy Kids Canada reports that many young people are spending 6-7 hours a day in "screen-based sedentary activities" and urges parents to assign manual chores and insist on outdoor play. Only seven per cent of kids meet the minimum levels in the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines.

One screen that would probably lead to more activity is that of a digital camera, if kids were out looking for interesting things to photograph. I recently picked up information about a Guelph-based non-profit group called Focus on Nature. Inspired partly by Richard Louv, the group offers photography workshops in schools that enable kids to develop their creative observation skills and to "get outside and explore and connect with the natural world".

I was out with my camera last week, getting an overdue dose of stress relief and cardiovascular stimulation with a hike along the Bruce Trail, in the Silver Creek Conservation Area. It is just a few minutes from Erin, straight down the Ninth Line and Fallbrook Trail, now paved all the way to the trail entrance at 27 Sideroad, Halton Hills.



A huge wilderness reserve, it is 388 hectares (958 acres) of prime Niagara Escarpment land managed by Credit Valley Conservation, stretching from the 10th Line to Trafalgar Road. There are no buildings, just babbling brooks, lush forests, stunning views, an orchestra of birds, and some unique rock formations that make for a rewarding hike.

The origins of Silver Creek are mainly in south Erin, including Snow's Creek that flows south from Ballinafad through Scotsdale Farm, and the network of creeks that arise in the Paris Moraine between Winston Churchill Blvd. and the Eighth Line.

The northern limit of the Silver Creek Sub-Watershed is the rise of land just south of 10 Sideroad, the edge of the moraine. It was formed in the late stages of the most recent ice age. The Laurentide Ice Sheet covered most of Canada and the northern US for about 75,000 years.

As the ice melted and retreated, it would sometimes expand again during colder periods and rework the landscape, but not always in a north-south pattern. Geologists believe that the Paris Moraine was formed about 12,000 years ago by a huge lobe of ice in the Lake Ontario basin, over a kilometer thick, which flowed northwest, up and over the Escarpment.

The rock, sand and gravel it left behind, with the action of melting water, created both moraines, which are irregular and hummocky, and drumlins like the one next to Erin village, which are long smooth hills pointed in the direction of the ice flow. Neither make for good farmland.

Streams on the Paris Moraine flow south-east and amalgamate into Silver Creek as it tumbles down the Escarpment. It joins another branch in Silver Creek Valley, a deep gouge parallel to the Escarpment, well-known to drivers taking the Ninth Line "scenic route" to Glen Williams. The water flows through Georgetown and does not join the Credit River until Norval.

My hike took me east from Fallbrook Trail, past a look-out over the panorama of Silver Creek Valley where you can watch turkey vultures cruising on the updrafts. The forest trail alternates between dirt and fields of smoothly-pitted rock, with many crevices that could cause a nasty fall or twisted ankle. So watch your step, be sure to keep pets and kids on a short leash and don't set out too close to dusk.

The Bruce Trail carries on towards Caledon, on its way to Tobermory, but you can cut back to the road on the Roberts Side Trail, making a 2.6 km loop that will take an hour and a half at a casual pace. The side trail is not as dramatic, but there is a huge variety of plant life, including trilliums, the provincial flower which seems to be less plentiful in recent years. There is also a large wetland pond with a boardwalk used by school field trips.

If you are thinking of taking up the hiking habit, don't wait for the doctor to tell you. Consider joining the Bruce Trail Association. Go to www.brucetrail.org for an interactive map, download local maps for $3, or get their reference guidebook. There are 800 km of main trails 200 km of side trails to explore.

Skateboard Park plan deserves strong support

As published in The Erin Advocate

Dropping in to the Skate/BMX/Band Jam at Erin Centre 2000 on June 25, I was greeted by a wall of angry sound from a punk band on the arena floor. The people I met there, however, were anything but angry – everyone was having a great time.

Punk rock is not my cup of tea, but then neither is opera or jazz. I can appreciate the creative value in any style of music, as long I am not too close to the speakers. I have never been a skateboarder, but I can see that the primary factor is fun, and so I am glad to support construction of a Skate/BMX Park in Erin.

I remember how important a bike was for me as a kid, providing independence, risk and part of my identity. I am especially impressed with the vertical techniques that today's BMX riders have developed.

Skateboarding and BMX are not going away. Their popularity has fluctuated over the past 50 years, but with improvements to equipment and exposure in movies, interest has spread to many countries around the world. There is a need for a facility now, and there is every reason to believe that the interest will continue well into the future.

The Jam offered participants the chance to try out their techniques on portable ramps and rails in the arena. Andrea Rudyk, who helped organize the event, said about $1,200 was raised.

"It was a success, there were a lot of skaters and BMXers enjoying the park, which is what we were aiming for," she said. The bands performing were Agents of Id, Bread Fan, Frenemy, KIZ & LEGIN, Fade Chromatic, Nobel Savage, Rise of the Lion, No King for Countrymen and The Elwins.

Young people in Erin have shown that they are willing to raise money and work for their cause and have attracted support from donors such as developer Shane Baghai, Scotia Bank, Nestlé Waters and Erin Hydro.

It has been more than two years since resident Mark Middleton brought a petition with 335 signatures to Town Council, asking them to support a skate park, now expected to cost about $100,000. The Town has agreed to pay half the cost. A site on the west side of Centre 2000 has been chosen, and work could start this fall.

"I'm going to stick around – I don't give up easily," said Middleton, part of a committee of adults and youth working to raise $50,000. "Seeing the kids on the downtown streets got me going. They need a place to express themselves."

Skateboarders are not always welcome to hang out in some areas of the town. The new park will not completely solve this tension, but it will certainly help. Mutual respect is a sign of a strong community.

Previous attempts to get a park, with extensive efforts by both adults and youth, were not successful. Naturally, interests change as teens get older and they often move out of Erin, but as I saw at the recent fundraising event, many younger kids continue to take up the sport.

To support the campaign, or to get more information, go to www.erinskatepark.com, or their Facebook page. Donations can be made through the Town office, with income tax receipts available. There will be more fundraising at local events this year.

The park has the support of the Wellington County OPP. It will be covered by Town liability insurance, and by the Centre 2000 surveillance cameras. The site will have a flat concrete pad, with portable equipment attached to it. As in other sports, there is a risk of injury, but this can be controlled through common sense and good equipment. The plan is to incorporate a barrier to reduce the noise for nearby homes.

Skateboarding has had a traditional link with punk rock, which supports the sport's rebellious image. It does seem to attract those who do not like the strict rules and timetables of more organized sports, but there is no standard image. Like any culture, it covers a broad spectrum.

There is a natural overlap of interest with BMX bikes, since they use many of the same ramps and structures for their jumps. BMX (bicycle motocross) started out as an offshoot of motorized dirt bike racing.

There is a link too with surfing and snowboarding, which started out as rebel cultures. It is a natural evolution – when an activity has real value, it eventually earns acceptance, even in small town Ontario.

Trail upgrades will link homes to water tower hill

As published in The Erin Advocate

Work is expected to start soon on improvements to a trail that links the Delarmbro subdivision with the Erin village water tower hill.

The initiative is being taken by the Erin Trails group, as part of the Town's Recreation and Culture Committee (RACC). It is backed by the Rotary Club of Erin, which has pledged up to $5,000, plus manual labour to help get the job done.

To be known as the Rotary Trail, the route is on municipal land. Walkers and cyclists use it to travel from the subdivision, along an existing berm parallel to County Road 124.

From behind the apartment buildings, the trail then cuts through a cedar grove and over an intermittent stream (which intersects the road next to Kirk's Barbershop). It then climbs a steep embankment to join the service road that takes vehicles from Main Street up to the water tower.

"We decided on the walking trail as being a project which would benefit the whole community," said Rotary President Ron McJury. "The eventual goal is to have a network of interlinked trails throughout the community, linking with some of the existing trails to provide locals and tourists alike an opportunity for exercise, communing with nature, and getting some spectacular views of the area."

Rotarians Melodie Rose and Rod Finnie proposed various projects to the club and members decided to give priority to trails. McJury hopes that new sections can be added every year.

The current project includes construction of a 20-foot bridge across the stream bed, in the style used by the Bruce Trail Association, plus tiered steps on the embankment. There will also be a series of signs and shamrock-style trail blazes. Arrangements are being made for the necessary approvals from Town Council and Credit Valley Conservation.

The Elora Cataract Trail, part of the Trans-Canada Trail, is an important route through Erin and Hillsburgh, but it needs off-shoots to create better hiking experiences. The Woollen Mills Trail (in the conservation area behind Mundell Lumber) was upgraded in 2009, but it needs a bridge across the Credit River to link it with MacMillan Park.

There are numerous informal trails around Erin village, including the routes from the water tower that connect to Charles Street and Church Street, but most are on private property. Erin Trails hopes to get permission to make some of those trails official, with proper signage and liability insurance, making them more accessible to the public.

For more information or to get involved in the trail improvements, call Bill Dinwoody at 519-833-2305 or Steve Revell at 519-833-2571.

As a member of the trails group, I have long had an interest in expanding this valuable network, which is now used by very few people. It is a relatively low-cost venture which can be done in stages. Better trails would enhance conditions for residents and make the villages of Erin and Hillsburgh more attractive destinations.

If we could create a loop route for hikers that includes both natural areas and the commercial section of Main Street, it would be an ongoing benefit for downtown businesses. It should be part of the Town's marketing plan.

If we could design a trail for horses and their riders, branching off from the Elora Cataract Trailway, it would attract a whole new group of visitors.

If we could make more connections between subdivisions, schools and stores, bypassing the busiest roads, we could make the urban landscape safer, especially for kids and seniors.

For a town that prides itself on environmental awareness and quality of life, a good network of trails should not be considered an optional luxury, but an important necessity. It should be a functional part of "The Charm".

Campaign to designate Credit as a Heritage River

As published in The Erin Advocate

Is the Credit just another river? Is it a simply a drainway to the lake, an obstacle for road builders and an inconvenience for housing developers? Like most rivers, it is quite scenic, and creates a valuable environment for fish and wildlife, but does it deserve special credit as a "Canadian Heritage River"?

Naturally, a river can be special to the people who live with it, just as we may feel a bond with our home town. But now there is a campaign, supported by Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), to have it recognized nationally, and to raise community awareness of why it deserves the honour.

"We need to build support from a wide range of stakeholders and participants within the Credit River community," said Dave Beaton, CVC's Supervisor of Community Outreach. "We are in the process of forming a community based advisory team."

Before most people could offer their input, they would have to know what a heritage river is and why it could be important. To educate the public and get feedback, the campaign has its own website (www.creditourriver.ca) and a Facebook page. People are urged to blog their stories about why the river is important to them, and groups wanting a presentation on the campaign can contact Beaton at 905-670-1615, ext 426.

The site points out that the Credit has served as a major environmental, economic, social and cultural link for communities, including the First Nations who settled here:
"The Credit River has an incredibly rich and an acclaimed history – one that has played a vital part in Ontario’s early settlement. The Credit River belongs to all of us – all 99 km that flow from its headwaters to where it drains into Lake Ontario. It is, in short, an outstanding example of a dramatic and diverse waterway that is as varied and spectacular as the terrain it passes through."

There are people living close to the Credit River who are only vaguely aware that it even exists. The heritage we have received is in danger of being degraded or lost due to the impact of dams, diversions, pollution and development, so there is still plenty of work to do. Any effort to give the Credit a higher profile is certainly worthwhile.

The Canadian Heritage Rivers System (CHRS) is national river conservation program, promoting Canada’s river heritage, ensuring that leading rivers are managed in a sustainable manner and honouring them as places of pride.

In April, a workshop for interested parties, including community groups and municipalities, gave the campaign a boost. A report on the event, called Giving Our River Its Credit: Toward A Heritage River Designation for the Credit River, is available online.

"We can ill afford to take the Credit for granted," said biologist Steve Hounsell, keynote speaker at the workshop. "We live in the midst of an ecological jewel with the Credit as its centrepiece – we need to protect it. The residents of the watershed need to be connected to the river with a sense of pride."

The website of the national program (www.chrs.ca) says, "Canada is a nation with a rich river heritage. Rivers are the threads that weave together the natural and human elements of Canada." It has extensive information and photos of the 41 rivers already designated, including the Fraser in BC, the North Saskatchewan in Alberta and the Upper Restigouche in New Brunswick. There are 11 in Ontario including the Detroit, French, Rideau, Thames, Humber and the Grand, with part of its headwaters in Erin.

The CHRS has no legal authority. It is driven by partnerships and community involvement, and supervised by board members appointed by federal, provincial and territorial governments.

A designation does not result in any new restrictions on development. And while there are no guaranteed benefits, the designation could help when applying for funding in areas like tourism and wildlife habitat improvement.

A management plan or heritage strategy, to ensure that the river's values will be maintained, must be in place before the designation can be given. A master plan for the entire watershed is something the CVC was already intending to undertake. The CVC board has allocated $100,000 this year to support the designation and master plan.

The designation process is rigorous and could take three to five years. A river must be proven to possess the requisite natural values, historical importance and recreational potential. Strong public support must also be demonstrated.

The villages of Erin and Hillsburgh owe their founding and early prosperity to the Credit and its ability to power the lumber and grist mills of the 1800s. Today many people here are passionate about their river, and feel fortunate that it has remained in good condition. We are only 12,000 in a watershed that is home to 750,000, but I think that this campaign will find valuable support here.

Environmental movement has spiritual dimension

As published in The Erin Advocate

As one who attends both church services and environmental events, I cannot help but notice some similarities between the two. The overlap is quite natural, of course, since both activities include a quest for knowledge, and guidance as to the proper ways to behave in the maze of moral choices people face every day.

There is safety and comfort in gathering with others of similar inclination, but preaching to the converted is never really sufficient. There is always the urge to evangelize, to spread the word to those who have not heard it, or who have not accepted it, yet. It is not a matter of coercion, but of leading by example. No one likes being told how to think and act, but everyone can be influenced.

Religious or not, many people share a core belief that the created world and the life forms that depend on it are essentially good. And in spite of the advances of science, there is a recognition that we are a part of something that remains beyond our understanding. We know that we cannot control all outcomes by our actions, but our actions are still important – we can make a difference.

The values promoted by faith communities and environmental associations tend towards the universal – when a group of people agree on something, there is an understanding that if only everyone believed the same things and acted in the appropriate ways, humanity would be a lot better off.

Environmental campaigns often focus on the identification of evildoers, mainly large corporations, who are accused of leading the innocent astray in order to improve profits. Who should we trust to guide our society? Elected politicians? Multinational corporations? Church leaders? Grassroots organizations? News organizations?

In these times, when personal choice and responsibility are considered paramount, it is difficult to herd the population into conformity of action, or a sense of social responsibility. Indeed, it should not be easy. Having a variety of viewpoints accepted in the pubic realm is our best defence against abuses of power. Still, people should look outside their personal world, see the need for building consensus, and recognize a shared responsibility for the future of the planet.

Most religious doctrines include respect and protection of the environment. And many people who wouldn't be caught dead in a church are informally practicing a form of spirituality that reveres the sacredness of all creation. Many also believe in the sacredness of work. You can view work as strictly earning money, or you can see its value in serving the needs of other people. We live in an unstable, unsustainable society, so the gap between people's hopes and their actual reality creates some powerful needs.

I was struck by this during a discussion of farming, during a recent workshop on biodiversity at Everdale Farm. A market garden farmer from Grey County (didn't catch his name) dropped into the group part-way through and had some interesting views about the marketing of organic food.

"A lot of people involved in agriculture right now do not have a background in agriculture," he said. "They are the ones who have twigged to this notion of fashion, using fashion to influence the marketplace. In ten years, food has become hot. If you look at the old families, it would not have occurred to them to present food to people in this way.

"We can spend a lot of energy trying to teach people, but you can also drain yourself. Especially adults, it's almost impossible to teach people anything. Not to be pessimistic, but if you recognize that, instead of trying to flog messages into them, the most efficient thing you can do is create an exciting environment, much as has been done here, where those who want to know, can do so easily. In a way sensitive to what they are really curious about.

"The work were doing here isn't really that materialistic. When people come out here from the city, they are responding to really a spiritual void. When we're out here working, we're not just growing food, we are participating directly in creation. Not to get too floaty on this, but that's really what we are doing. And we want to do this, not because we're making any money – at least we're probably not, especially if we're doing our job really well – but for the change that takes place in us.

"And when they come out here, they're coming out here because there's something off, there's something wrong, which is a byproduct of our industrial culture. They come out here and they are looking for peace. When they meet a farmer, they want a piece of that peace, and they're hoping that maybe he has it, and that they can take some of it in.

"So I think it's really important, although we can talk about marketing, but we have to recognize from our own natures, from the work we do and the way we feel about it that this isn't really a materialistic problem. The material ramifications are part and parcel, but that's really not where the impulse is coming from. People didn't come here because they were hungry, at least not for food."

Homemade cleaners reduce chemical burden

As published in The Erin Advocate

After a lifetime of buying commercial products with flashy graphics on the labels, it seemed very strange to be mixing my own in a plain bottle. Not quite like being a mad scientist. More like being a cook, or conducting a chemistry experiment.

I decided to give it a try after seeing Chemerical, at the Fast Forward Environmental Film Festival, sponsored by the Climate Change Action Group of Erin (CCAGE) and Credit Valley Conservation.

The documentary follows a family that takes up a challenge to purge commercial chemical products from their household cupboards. It is part of a movement to reduce the stresses on the human body caused by the thousands of petrochemicals and toxins we bring into our homes – and to spend considerably less money on our obsession with cleanliness.

Getting out the measuring cups, I had to get over the feeling that I should be leaving this to the experts at Procter & Gamble. But then, if you can prepare your own food, you should be able to follow a recipe to make your own cleaners. And you don't have to be a hippie to do it (not that there's anything wrong with that).

My big bottle of Cascade dishwasher detergent was almost empty. It comes complete with lemon scent, shine shield, sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate, chlorine bleach and a warning that dangerous fumes form if mixed with other products. So I tried the dishwasher soap recipe I had picked up at the film night:

White Vinegar - 1/3 cup (75 ml)
Liquid Castile Soap - 1/2 cup (125 ml)
Tea Tree Oil - 4 drops
Water - 1/2 cup (125 ml)
Lemon Juice - 2 tsp (10 ml)
Stir it all up, put it in a bottle and use 2-3 tablespoons per load.

The other feeling to overcome is that of excessive frugality. Will guests think I can't afford basic supplies? Am I in training for an economic collapse? This passed fairly quickly, especially when I went to buy the supplies at a health food store.

An 8-ounce (236 ml) bottle of low-suds Castile Soap, made with fair trade coconut and olive oil, cost $7.25. If I keep doing this, I will save money by buying larger quantities. And I may have to continue, now that I have invested $22.35 in a 1.8 ounce (50 ml) bottle of Tea Tree Oil, an antibacterial-antifungal agent. It should last for years at 4 drops per batch, if I don't lose it.

I ran two test dishwasher loads, with dishes that were not too messy. The results were good, though not excellent. The first had 2.5 tablespoons of the mix, and while most of the dishes rinsed clean, some had traces of soap residue that had to be wiped off. For the second load, I used half as much soap, and there was virtually no residue on the dishes. There was some soap foam around the drain to be wiped up.

The dishes were clean, and smooth to the touch. The exceptions were a pan with cooked-on bits of food, and a utensil with something sticky on it, which needed to be re-washed by hand. Overall, the homemade solution was not as powerful a cleaner, but then there always seem to be some dishes that even the commercial products cannot clean thoroughly.

We are already in the habit of pre-rinsing and scrubbing off the worst of the mess, so the new mix should do us fine. Like many aspects of choosing a lower-tech lifestyle, making your own cleaners requires more manual labour, and more discipline.

There are lots of interesting concoctions out there to try, including window cleaner, laundry soap, body lotion, hand cream, aftershave and even lipstick. You can watch a short version of the Chemerical film and download a sample "cookbook" at www.chemicalnation.com. It sings the praises of soap flakes, baking soda, vinegar, borax, soda ash and isopropyl alcohol. Also check the information from the Environmental Working Group at www.cosmeticdatabase.com. And for a wide overview of the many lifestyle changes that could help the environment, go to the CCAGE site, www.anythingittakes.ca.

For more advice and training on homemade products, there is a Healthy Cleaning workshop being held this Saturday, June 4 at Everdale Farm, 10 am to 2:30 pm, with Anne Stewart of Environmental Health Consulting. The cost is $65, and you'll get to make some less-toxic cleaners to take home. Go to workshops.everdale.org or call 519.855.4859, ext. 101 to register or get more details.

Women's hockey veteran tells her Olympic story

As published in The Erin Advocate

Some of Erin's young hockey players had a chance to meet one of Canada's best players last week during a fundraising event at Centre 2000, and to try on her latest gold medal.

Jayna Hefford of Team Canada was the guest speaker at a Rotary Club of Erin pasta dinner, which raised money for trails development in the town, and for the fight against cancer.

The kids asked about her favorite NHL player (Sidney Crosby), what other sports she had played (soccer, softball and basketball) and what the team eats after a game (lots of pasta).

The Kingston native plays for the Brampton Thunder and was the first player in the Canadian Women’s Hockey League to record 100 career points. At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, Hefford had five goals and seven assists in five games, on the way to her third gold medal. Since 1997, she has helped Canada win six golds and four silvers at the World Championships – including the silver last month in Switzerland.

"In Canada, there's an expectation that you will win gold," she said. "Nothing else matters – and that's a good feeling."

She said Team Canada hit a low point about ten months before the 2010 Olympics, after losing a World Championship final to their American arch-rivals. They decided they would "do whatever it takes to not be standing on the blue line listening to someone else's national anthem" at the Olympics in Canada.

That included a month of skating, shooting, swimming, running, cycling, yoga and kickboxing in Northern BC. "It was the most grueling training camp I'd ever been to, but it's great when you are part of a team. At the end, it's not about the training, but about finding a way to get through. We were a better team because of it."

They talked extensively about the pressures they faced as Canadian hockey players.

"We got to the conclusion that we have an opportunity here to write our own story, to write our own ending. We worked so hard to get here, there's nothing we'd do differently, and we just have to go out and play."

With a feisty new team spirit, Canada's women started winning consistently. They were unstoppable in Vancouver: 18-0 over Slovakia, 10-1 over Switzerland, 13-1 over Sweden, 5-0 over Finland and 2-0 over the US for the gold.

"I'm just so proud to play for our country. We worked as hard as we could, and wanted to be able to have a gold medal performance on any given day."

Hefford, now 34, has not decided whether to try for yet another Olympic medal. It will depend on whether she continues to enjoy the training, and the contribution she can make to the team. There are many young players hoping for a spot on the roster.

"As you get older, you have to play every game as though it is your last."

Biodiversity will help us adapt to climate change

As published in The Erin Advocate

I can hardly wait to pick my Royal Burgundy Bush Beans. Of course, I still have to plant them, water them, weed them and thin them. But at picking time, they will be very easy to find among the green leaves, since they grow as violet-purple pods. The package promises that they will "magically turn an emerald green after cooking".

This version of the phaseolus vulgaris (common bean) was highly recommended when I attended a planting workshop with farmer Carl Keast. It was part of the annual Seedy Saturday event, on April 30 at Everdale Farm near Hillsburgh.

There were seed and plant vendors, a seed trading table, fun stuff for kids, advice on growing berries in your back yard from Ann Brown (the Plant Lady), and a chance to hear Cathy Nesbitt explain how red wigglers can quickly turn food scraps and paper into rich fertilizer. Her ventures include worm composting kits, compost consulting, manure management and even worm birthday parties. Check it out at www.cathyscomposters.com.

Our fruit and vegetable garden will expand this year, but there's no way it is going to feed us consistently. And since there is still no farmer's market in Erin, I took the plunge and bought into the Everdale Harvest Share program. I like the flexibility of the plan, which allows you to buy from 16 to 20 weeks worth of produce.

You get a certain number of "points", based on the size of share you buy. A small share works out to $18.64 per week and an extra large to $55.92 per week. The produce is priced in points, instead of dollars, and you spend your points as you please each week, starting June 16. Produce is available for pick-up at the farm only on Thursdays, 3-8 pm and Saturdays, 8:30-11 am. For more details, go to www.everdale.org.

The seeds I bought were "organic certified", which means the production process has been inspected to ensure it is generally free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, with no use of genetically modified organisms or biosolids (sewage sludge fertilizer).

They were also "heirloom" seeds, meaning that they have been preserved within a longstanding seed line, and are normally pollinated naturally by insects, birds and wind.

They are less common in the seed market, which is controlled by a handful of companies that have phased out many types of seeds. A much narrower range of crops has been developed through closed pollination, breeding the ability to withstand specific weather conditions, pesticides, mechanical picking and cross-country shipping.

One of the most interesting events on Seedy Saturday was a discussion on biodiversity, hosted by Faris Ahmed, Director of Policy and Campaigns at USC Canada. The non-profit group promotes family farms, rural communities and healthy ecosystems in developing nations, and advocates reform of food policies in Canada. Learn more at www.usc-canada.org.

Last year was the United Nations Year of Biodiversity, with a focus on the accelerating loss of variety in plant and animal life due to human activity.

"It's not about biology, it's about life itself now," said Ahmed. "It is so important for health, our planet and for social justice. Biodiversity is the best measure of a healthy place. It is like an insurance policy...a system being resistant to shocks."

Biodiversity issues range from the need for a wide variety in the human diet for good nutrition, to the rights of farmers throughout the world to maintain fertile land and grow what is needed to sustain their local communities. Variety within crop types increases resilience to pests, disease and the warming climate, but USC Canada reports that 75 per cent of the world's crop varieties and thousands of livestock breeds have been lost in the last century.

Large-scale farming for international trade demands less biodiversity, and it is not working well for farmers in Canada or abroad. Canada lost 17,550 farms between 2001 and 2006 and the average farm income in Canada is now negative $20,000 per year, according to the website www.peoplesfoodpolicy.ca. Food exports have increased by 400 per cent in the last 20 years, and farm subsidies are an entrenched global reality, costing Canadian taxpayers billions each year, and putting poorer nations at a disadvantage.

Climate change is expected to have a huge impact on drylands, mountain regions and seacoasts, and on the small-scale farmers who feed the majority of people in the world. If we cannot give priority to biodiversity over short term gain, the risks for our species, and others, appear to be severe.

Looking for ways to grow greener, smarter kids

As published in The Erin Advocate

Erin celebrated its passion for the environment last week as hundreds of people gathered at the high school, discussing ways to raise kids dedicated to sustaining the planet.

Growing Green, Smart Kids was organized by the Erin Parent Connection group, with representatives from area schools: Erin, Brisbane, Ross MacKay, St. John Brebeuf and EDHS, with the help of a Ministry of Education grant.

The guest speaker was environmental author and educator David Noble of Guelph, a student of Al Gore who has travelled the globe collecting stories about people making a difference on climate change. He has been an observer of the international climate negotiations and is an entrepreneur (www.2degreesC.com).

The evening was like an environmental fair, with 21 display booths from companies, non-profit groups and public agencies, a panel discussion moderated by Liz Armstrong of the Climate Change Action Group of Erin (CCAGE) and an "Eco-Challenge" for people to take specific follow-up actions and talk about them on the new Real-Action-Erin Facebook page.

Noble was welcomed by Erin District High School Principal Julie Prendergast, saying she felt "humbled by the commitment of our students" to the environment. Mayor Lou Maieron urged kids and parents to think about living within the earth's capacity.

"How can we continue to live in this society as top end predators and keep taking out resources greater than the planet can support?" he asked. "We can't. If we continue going the way we are, the planet's going to crash."

Noble said there is an urgent need for environmental leadership around the world – not just crisis management. He recently visited Greenland, and as an example of the global warming crisis, saw a glacier melting away at the rate of 34 metres per day. He noted the risk of other disasters, like the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico or the nuclear contamination in Japan.

"Young people need support, and they need partners across the community," he said. "We're going to have to do a whole lot better at preventing those crises from happening in the first place. The implication is that we're all going to have to push harder than we're pushing; we're all going to have to push different ways, we're all going to have to push together and work really hard to make the big changes that we need to make."

He pointed out that both the White House and the Vatican have set an example by installing solar panels. He quoted Pope Benedict, who has called for courageous environmental choices: "We need a decisive 'yes' to care for creation and a strong commitment to reverse those trends that risk making the situation of decay irreversible."

Scientists are increasingly intervening in the process of politics and decision-making, in addition to their research, a development that Noble finds encouraging.

He quoted Canadian Nobel Prize winning scientist John Polanyi: "Some seven billion of us share this crowded planet. The question is whether we can achieve a sufficient sense of community to continue doing so. This sense of community will depend on the belief that a fair apportionment of the global commons is possible. Only then can we hope to resolve our problems by law, rather than war. Is our species capable of the necessary generosity of spirit? Answered aright that question could lead to a global civilization that is sustainable, and worthy of being sustained."

The evening finished with a panel discussion, including Upper Grand School Trustee Kathryn Cooper, Wellington Water Watchers Executive Director Arlene Slocombe, Brisbane teacher Chris Green, Everdale organic farmer Olivia Ronkainen and Phil Winters, founder of EGen Power of Caledon, which promotes solar power systems and home energy efficiency.

"We need to stand up, commit, and decide to do something," said Cooper. She noted the construction of an Environmental Leaning Centre in Orangeville and development of more Eco Schools.

"I love this place," said Green. "This is the place I want to protect. We need to bring in different perspectives, not just one story. How rich is our understanding?"

The main advice to parents from this group was to get kids out into the natural environment as much as possible, so they can develop their own passion for it. "Kids will have a vested interest in preserving it," said Slocombe. "Plant something – anything," said Ronkainen. "And teach kids how to prepare food."

Winters urged people to buy local, vote for policies that benefit the environment and "listen to the children – that's the future".

Reclaimed land provides enjoyable hiking route

As published in The Erin Advocate

Whether you are ambitious to try out every hiking trail that Erin has to offer, or just want an interesting place to walk your dog, check out a property on the Second Line owned by the Grand River Conservation Authority.

It is a managed forest called the Johnson Tract, with a small network of trails next to a creek, in the headwaters of the Speed River.

It might be best to postpone your visit until a bit later in the spring, when the road conditions are better. I had the misfortune of traveling on the Second Line in mid-April, during what the Town calls the Spring Breakup of Roads. The base soil beneath older gravel roads has a high moisture content, and when it is only partly thawed, the surface can turn to soupy mud ruts.

The nearby wetlands are one of the most attractive features of this hike, and the trail itself remains relatively dry. There is only parking for a couple of cars at the start, which is on the east side of the road, north of 27 Sideroad and south of the Garafraxa Town Line.

Looking at the bigger picture, water in the western half of Erin drains to Lake Erie through the Grand River watershed. The Grand starts up near Dundalk, and flows through Lake Belwood, Fergus, Elora, Kitchener, Cambridge, Brantford, Caledonia and Dunnville.

The Speed starts in northwest Erin, flows south through Guelph Lake and on to Cambridge to join the Grand. The Eramosa River starts in southwest Erin and flows through Rockwood to join the Speed in Guelph.

The Johnson Tract is by no means a pristine wilderness. It appears to have once been at least partially a farm, with cedar rail fencing. Now it is entirely covered in trees, though some areas have been thinned out with selective logging. There is a sign at the entrance with an aerial photo and map, but no other informative signs further in.

The initial trail goes through a tall grove of cedars. As it splits into three possible routes, it becomes a reforested environment, with spaced rows of spruce planted quite some time ago – many are over 100 feet tall.

The ground is covered in needles, mossy areas, small ponds, fallen trees and piles of rock from land-clearing. One area had an undergrowth of ferns. The south trail goes through a maple bush, and between some boggy wetland areas. I spotted a couple of deer, but of course they had spotted me first, so I only saw their tails.

I saw quite a few ducks, so when I heard what sounded like a bunch of them quacking up a racket in the reeds, I snuck up to get a good photo. It didn't happen though, since they were actually frogs. Not sure how they learned to make duck calls.

There's a modern farm on the east boundary, and a creek, flowing south from Orton, on the north boundary. With no dams to impede its flow, it takes a meandering path through grasslands and under the trees it has caused to tumble.

New life seems to be sprouting everywhere as last year's dead grass and leaves give way to spring growth, saplings emerge out of the fallen cedars and water seems to bubble up from the earth. If you are weary of the urban environment, it's a good place to be.

Farmers seek protection in trade deal with Europe

As published in The Erin Advocate

Do free trade deals allow big businesses to bully the small players in local economies? Or do they create jobs overall, promoting innovation and competitiveness? The answers depend on your political outlook, and the debate is heating up as negotiations continue for a Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Some farmers are feeling vulnerable in this process, since the deal could virtually eliminate the age-old practice of saving, re-using and selling seeds. At the annual meeting of the Wellington & Waterloo local of the National Farmers Union (NFU) last month in Elora, National Women's President Joan Brady said she hoped CETA would become an election issue.

"It's all about Canadians' rights," she said. "For farmers, it's about intellectual property rights and the right to save seeds. For the public, it's about allowing access to water and local food."

It is no surprise, however, that free trade with Europe has not become an election issue. The 1988 federal election was fought over free trade with the U.S. While a majority of Canadians voted for anti-free trade parties, that support was split between the Liberals and New Democrats, and the Mulroney Conservatives scored a clear majority of seats.

Since then, most people seem to have accepted free trade as a fact of life. Fears over foreign domination, a branch plant economy, loss of jobs, the suing of our government by corporations whose interests have been hurt and the continued imposition of softwood lumber duties by the U.S., have not generated significant unrest. Still, opponents are raising similar concerns about CETA.

“We heard all these same arguments when we had the debate on free trade with the United States, and the result of that trade agreement has been outstandingly successful for Canada,” said International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan, in an Epoch Times article last fall, predicting CETA would mean a $12 billion boost for the Canadian economy.

“We’re looking to secure additional access for our farmers to European markets. That’s why there is strong support, for example, among Western grain farmers and beef farmers.”

In a recent press release, NFU National President Terry Boehm said the Europeans are demanding "extreme and offensive" intellectual property rights enforcement.

"The corporate-dominated European Commission is calling for court-sanctioned seizure of property and freezing of bank accounts for alleged infringement of a patent. Any farmer unfortunate enough to be accused of having a patented gene in his/her crop or seed, could see their farm, equipment, grain and crops seized even before they had their day in court. We cannot allow this to happen."

With CETA, Canada would be the only developed economy to have trade agreements with both the U.S. and the EU, the two biggest economies in the world. Unlike the North American deal, however, CETA would reach down to the municipal level, and would disallow governments, schools, hospitals, universities and public utilities from favouring local or Canadian suppliers for contracts, over relatively low thresholds.

Supporters say Canadian firms would benefit from bidding on contracts in Europe, something they could not do in the U.S. during the recent Buy American stimulus funding.

Critics claim CETA could lead to privatization or foreign ownership of public water systems, health care and telecommunications, and undermine environmental protection and the rights of workers. Brent Bouteiller of the Green Party, at the federal election Candidate's Night held in Erin recently, said "fair trade" should be the priority, with protection for water and health care.

"We cannot have situations where one industry bullies another industry, on either side," he said. "We want to make sure that our local communities are resilient to economic activities in other parts of the world."

Barry Peters of the Liberal Party said Canadians should not be afraid to enter trade agreements, but said there should be protection for farmers and small businesses.

"Small businesses are part of the negotiations, but what is not part of the discussion is the protection of our supply management system," said Conservative incumbent Michael Chong. "We will continue to protect our dairy, egg, chicken and turkey farmers from foreign competition. The other aspects of the Canadian economy, outside of telecommunications, cultural sectors and banks, are included in these discussions, and that will include small businesses in other sectors.

"Those businesses I think will benefit from free trade...Unlike trade deals with developing countries, the European Union often has equivalent or higher environmental, health and safety standards than what we have here in Canada. So I think this is an excellent way to liberalize trade, while ensuring that Canada's domestic industries remain competitive. We'd be going toe-to-toe with industries that have very similar rules for protection of workers and the environment.

"I think this is an excellent way to expand global trade and to ensure wealth creation back here at home."

For more information on the concerns of organized labour and environmental activists, go to www.tradejustice.ca. For the government's website, search: CETA Canada EU.

Erin Radio boosts power with shift to 88.1 FM

As published in The Erin Advocate

Erin Radio has propelled itself into a new era, now broadcasting on 88.1 FM with 250 watts, and a new antenna atop the water tower that delivers its signal beyond the town borders.

Almost a year ago, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved an application from Erin Radio to boost its signal strength from 50 watts to 250 watts and change frequencies.

"With this move, we will get to the entire Town of Erin and a little bit beyond, so this is a big moment in our life," said Station Manager Jay Mowat, just after the new signal was activated on April 11. "We managed to find the one and only frequency that we can broadcast on, higher than 50 watts."

The station is now in a three-week test phase, during which they are simulcasting on both their old and new frequencies. Transmission on 101.5 FM will end in early May.

The jumble of equipment now decorating the Erin water tower consists of the new Bell transmitters, with the Erin Radio hardware attached above – saving the substantial cost of a new mast.

"This is the culmination of two and a half years of work on a lot of people's part. And we still have to pay for it," said Mowat. "We will spend over $30,000 in this move."

Erin Radio is selling rain barrels as a fundraiser, with Scotiabank of Orangeville matching funds dollar for dollar up to $5,000. The barrels are available for $50 at Credit River Motors on Main Street, on Saturdays from 10 am to 3 pm until May 7. The Town of Erin gave the station a $10,000 grant last year and a $10,000 loan to help buy the transmitter and antenna.

The signal is being directed mainly north-east and north-west as required by the CRTC, to avoid intruding on the signal of Ryerson University in Toronto, which also uses the 88.1 frequency. Erin Radio had to buy a special antenna to protect them – custom-built and shipped from Italy at a cost of $10,000.

By coincidence, late last week, Ryerson Radio was forced off the air by the CRTC due to problems in meeting licence conditions. It could be revived, or another station might get the Toronto-based frequency.

Regardless, the Erin Radio signal is weak south of 5 Sideroad, where initially it was blending with Ryerson's. The absence of Ryerson has not improved the reception.

The signal is strong and clear in Erin village, Hillsburgh, west into Eramosa and north to the townline of Orangeville. The headline on the station's website says, "Here we come into Headwaters!", since the signal will extend into Caledon and Dufferin County. People can also listen on the internet, at www.erinradio.ca.

"Our primary motivation was not to get into Orangeville," said Mowat. "If it was and we said that, the CRTC would have made us go through a major public hearing, because that's a whole new audience. All we wanted was to hit clearly the residents of the Town of Erin. People in Orangeville will hear us on a reduced signal, and we will go in and try to connect up with advertisers and community organizations."

Erin Radio is a volunteer-based, not-for-profit group that has been on the air since 2006, providing opportunities for local programming. They are also the official emergency broadcaster in the area. Operating until now at just 50 watts, the signal could only reach homes close to Erin village. As well, their original licence was conditional, meaning they could have been forced to give up their frequency to a commercial station.

That did not happen, but power on 101.5 FM could not be expanded without intruding on other stations in the crowded southern Ontario radio market. With approval to move to 88.1, they not only have 250 watts, but a permanent, protected status.

"We have to go out there and make sure everybody knows the kind of range of what we do. We need to do a lot more advertising based on our programming schedule," said Mowat, who eventually wants to provide podcasts of some shows. "Our whole focus as a station is local voices, local news, local music."

On weekdays, Erin Radio plays mainstream easy listening music, along with news, sports, weather, business, talk radio with the Motts, lunch hour oldies and a spotlight on local performers. Evenings and weekends are more specialized, with shows on various styles of music, plus comedy and selected topics.

"Now that we have the increased power and can be heard in a much larger area, we need a way of taking a look at what our marketing strategy should be and what kind of an audience we can get," said Mowat.

Erin Radio has received a $29,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to develop a five-year marketing plan, including a local audience survey to be conducted by Erin Research.