Nolalu Eco Centre Blog

Big Bus

2011-10-01T19:50:00.000-04:00

It's been a busy summer for us, but things are calming down a bit now that fall is here. Don't think we're twiddling our thumbs, though, there's always something happening. Like the biggest house tour we ever had.

Thunder Bay's Rural 55+ Travel Club picked us for their fall outing and arrived here last Thursday with the biggest possible size bus this side of Detroit and 51 friendly folks inside of it (plus one very good driver). It was the biggest house tour we've had yet - and one of the most enjoyable ones, too, as these folks proved to be fun, interested and easy going.

For a casual passer-by it must have sounded like a wild party was going on inside, with one guest playing her favourite rag time tunes on our piano, mixed with happy conversation and laughter erupting frequently.

As we waved the group good-bye 2 hours later and watched the big bus just making it out of our driveway, it felt like we made new friends that afternoon. Yes, that was a good day.

Back to (Eco-)School

2011-09-07T18:42:00.006-04:00

Yup, it's that time of year again: students are headed back to school. Same goes for us, as our "Living Green" courses will be kicking off again through Confederation College's Continuing Education program.

We'll start on September 26: "Living Off the Grid", from 6:30 - 9:30.
Next is October 3 with "Intro to Solar Energy", also from 6:30 - 9:30.
Then is there's a new course slated for November 7, again from 6:30 - 9:30: "Intro to Small Wind Power", offered by popular request.
Follow the links above for more information, or check The Key's fall issue on page 31.

The great thing about these courses is you don't need to be living in Thunder Bay to enjoy them. The College has a number of "virtual class rooms" all over NW Ontario, hooked up to the actual class room via closed circuit TV. It's almost as though you're actually there, very cool!

There's always a high turnout for these courses, and with the recent (and impending) significant price hikes for Hydro, propane and gas, we expect they will sell out even faster now. Interesting how the economy can be part of the drive to be green...

To Your Health

2011-08-21T17:33:00.007-04:00

It doesn't happen very often, but when it does it makes so much sense: seeing the bigger picture, the fact we're all connected and do need each other. No one is an island - even though we sometimes like to think so.

But Thunder Bay's NorWest Community Health Centre gets it and did something about it, too. On August 17 they organized the first Rural Health Fair, offering everyone who somehow works on physical and mental well-being for the folks in our extensive rural area. Anything and anyone from Addiction Counselling to healthy food options and from Community Centres to churches and everything in between was there - all in all 67 different organizations.

Of course we were very happy to accept their invitation to be present; what better place for an environmentally-related organization to be? Living a greener lifestyle is so much healthier and saner, combining both body and mind in one fell swoop.

The busy afternoon provided a good way of introducing that idea to many folks for whom it was all new, or to those who are considering going that route. With almost everyone there it was also the good place to reconnect with others and to get to know some new faces and organizations. Who knew this area was so rich in resources, with so many skilled and community-oriented people?

A big thank-you to Shaun Peirce and Kendra Williams for putting it all together and making it happen. We're already looking forward to next year's edition!

UP!

2011-08-14T14:08:00.009-04:00

The weather forecast called for a chilly day of rain and thunder storms, but it turned out to be a gorgeous day after all. A perfect day to lower our wind turbine for its annual inspection - and hopefully repair. It hadn't been performing well since a bad wind storm did some damage to it last April, it was now a matter of finding out how much damage.

Coming down carefully...

As usual, Frank "the Solar Guy" who designed and installed the system was in charge of the operation. Lowering a 306-feet, $9,000 tower is not something you do lightly, it takes thorough planning and smooth team work. Fortunately we had a good group volunteering to help us out, which included a powerful Bobcat to do most of the heavy lifting.

Once the tower had come down we quickly found out what the problem was: a frayed tension wire in the turbine head had overheated and shorted the system. The good news was that we had the skills and the tools to repair it. Other than that there were no further issues or repairs, thank goodness.

Many hands...

Getting the tower back up proved a bit more of a challenge. Because of the slippery tall, moist grass under the Bobcat, its wheels began to spin. The solution proved simple: everybody pile on top of it to give some extra grip - and there we went.

All aboard!

Lowering & raising a turbine, even a relatively small one as ours, is always a hassle and time-consuming. On the other hand, it's also a great exercise in community building, with everyone pulling his/her weight, learning about wind power and adding to a wonderful day. But the end of the afternoon the turbine was back to happily cranking out green energy again.

Thank you, Frank, Jane, Mark, Dana, Paul, Brian, Will, Joey, Mel and Tyler for your help and positive attitude. Oh, and the happy dogs Will & Kate and Amber, too!

Comin' Down!

2011-08-09T20:45:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again: time to lower our wind turbine for its annual check-up. Our solar system has been performing flawlessly since it was hooked up 7 years ago and doesn't need any maintenance, really. But with wind, it's different...
All those moving parts at often high speeds make it a very good idea to make sure those parts are still performing adequately. Right now the wind turbine has some issues since we got hit by that big wind storm last April so we'd better have a look-see and fix what needs fixing.

Last year's wind turbine inspection

The date: this coming Saturday, August 13. Time: 2:30 pm.
Why are we posting this on our blog, you may well ask. Well, lowering a 106-foot steel mast is always a bit of an operation, so we could sure use a few good men and women to help us out (and ideally someone with a truck).

So if you're interested in being part of our annual wind turbine maintenance routine and have an up close & personal experience with green wind energy, give us a quick call and we'd be happy to fill you in on the details. Oh, and we'll provide the drinks, munchies and other goodies - and those dorky yet strangely sexy hard hats!

Supergirls

2011-07-27T10:38:00.002-04:00

They were back again last week: the Ontario Junior Rangers, for their 3rd annual visit. A group of positive, fun, hard-working girls who spend their summer working on all kinds of green/environmentally sustainable projects, including ours.

We kicked the day off with a house tour and cold drinks, but then they got into their gear and unphased stepped outside into the muggy heat.

The previous two years they helped us paint our place (see here and here); this year they cleared trails, weeded and hilled our potato plants, stacked firewood, and sanded down the stucco guest house walls. They worked so hard we almost ran out of chores for them!

It's become a summer highlight to have these girls around with their infectious energy and laughter filling the air. Positive vibes all around.
Thank you so much, gals! Here's looking forward to next summer!

Heat Wave? What Heat Wave?!

2011-07-17T17:29:00.008-04:00

Up here in NW Ontario we're never sure if summer's actually here. Winters are crazy long and cold, and it's been known to snow on some Canada Days. But this time there's no doubt about it. The heat wave we've been having lately leaves little room for thoughts of snow, although this stifling heat almost makes you wish for some of the white stuff.

It's just too darn hot to do anything other than trying to keep cool. Stay in the shade, go to a beach, eat ice cream. Crank up that air conditioner and try not to think about your next Hydro bill, not to mention your carbon footprint.

As for us, we stay inside and enjoy our built-in "air conditioner": plenty of heat-absorbing thermal mass, 3-feet overhangs that keep direct sunlight out and especially the thick, super-insulating straw bale walls keep the indoor temps at a very pleasant 20C to 21C. Costing us not one penny.

Outside: pushing 35C. Inside: a cool 20C - without air conditioning

Yup, life here is good - as long as we don't have to go out and do stuff. Hmm, but the grass needs cutting, there's still lots of firewood to be split and stacked, and the gardens need watering... Guess we'll have a cool one first, though!

B&B Bonus

2011-07-15T10:36:00.001-04:00

One of the bonuses of our Eco Bed & Breakfast is we get to meet these wonderful people without having to go anywhere. This week for instance we had Larissa McLean spend a night here as she was travelling from Calgary to Southern Ontario. Larissa plans to one day build an off-grid straw bale home herself, but also turned out to be an accomplished print maker and water colour artist. A lady of many talents!

A summery stroll through our fields full of flowers produced a gorgeous field bouquet, the perfect subject for two water colour paintings she did that same evening (in about the same time we need to do the dishes).
Here's one of them:

water colour by Larissa McLean, July 2011

Most of our guests share sweet, funny or inspiring stories with us and leave delightful comments in our guest book. Not many leave a piece of artwork behind, a delicate souvenir of summer and a reminder of another wonderful guest.

Get Me To The Market!

2011-07-10T23:00:00.004-04:00

Have you noticed? Local country markets are sprouting up just about everywhere. More and more people are aware now of the the many benefits locally produced produce and baking offer. Here in Nolalu the local local market went into its second year, with even more vendors than before. It found itself a new place, too, on the Nolalu Community Centre's parking lot, well visible and easy to find, every Friday from 4:00 - 7:00 pm.

So next time you're heading out to the lake or going for a drive in the country, stop by at the Nolalu Country Market for delectable pies, fresh veggies, baking, plants, even some arts and crafts. You'll get to meet the folks who grew/baked/made it all themselves, you know it's as fresh as it can possibly be, and you're supporting the local economy. Oh, and did I mention it's healthier and tastes noticeably better, too?

Buying local is a big part of a greener life style. Everyone benefits of a strong and healthy local community, it's a win-win situation for everyone. And as far as shopping experiences go, buying at a local market sure beats going to any super market, any time.

You'll find the Nolalu Country Market every Friday afternoon from 4:00 - 7:00, until October 1st. And if you're not in this area, go shop at any of the many other local country markets! Enjoy!

(for the latest info, visit the market's Facebook HERE.)

Firewood? Must be summer!

2011-07-04T12:17:00.006-04:00

After a long winter that just didn't seem to want to let go, summer's finally here. And with the hot, seemingly endless days, the summer chores kick in: putting in gardens, setting up watering systems (thank you, water barrels!), some basic house maintenance, encouraging a few dozen insecure 3-year old trees using home-made compost, but most of all: getting next winter's firewood bucked, split and stacked.

The distant sound of chainsaws whining is the tell tale sign that we're not the only ones working at it. Common wisdom has it you'd better have your wood bucked and split by Canada Day (July 1st) so it has enough time to dry out before winter rolls around again. It's hard, hot work, yet strangely satisfying. We pretty much hit that target, most of our wood is ready for next winter and it even looks like there's enough left for the winter after - bonus!

Getting your firewood done is one of the bigger chores connected to living in the country. It's also a vital one: no firewood, no heat! And given our long cold winters and temps that routinely hover around the -30C to -40C mark, you'd better have your woodstove going!

Fortunately our large straw bale house proves very well insulated, using only about 3.5 cords of wood each winter - about one half to one third of similar sized homes out here. That saves a lot of work! And as I'm slowly working my way through what seems like a mountain of wood in the summer heat and surrounded by hungry mosquitoes, that's something I'm very grateful for right now...!

Going, going...

2011-06-22T19:50:00.002-04:00

Life has been too busy for regular blog updates lately: putting the vegetable garden(s) in, work, new studies, setting up new courses through Confederation College - and a full blown estate auction.

Good friends of ours are moving away and asked to have their estate auctioned off from our property. We happily agreed, as this was a great opportunity to get rid of some of our own things, too.
Jacomyn quickly realized that an auction like this is not just an occasion to sell stuff, it's also a community event. Posters were distributed, people informed, and judging by the number of phone calls we got, pretty soon the community was aware of this upcoming event.

Auctioneer Peter Kantola in action on a large Douglas fir timber

Just after 8:00 am that morning the first lookers dropped in to go through the many things waiting to go, and around 10:00 auctioneer Peter Kantola kicked things off to rapidly work his way through the long list of items. Chairs, hammock, mud buggy, power wood splitter, paint, tractor, timbers, buckets full of screws and nails, power tools, scaffolding, you name it.

It was a lovely (and windy) day, turnout was great and the mood was excellent. Just after 1:00 everything was sold, often for next to nothing. A good time was had by all, we met some new neighbours, and on top of that our property got cleared of a lot of stuff we otherwise wouldn't have known how to get rid of.
Our friends also got rid of all their things and are now getting ready to move on. That's one thing this auction removed: a good friendship. We'll miss them.

Yay for Terrace Bay!

2011-05-15T21:48:00.002-04:00

There aren't many recurring events we make a point of attending, but the Green Trade Show at Terrace is an exception to that rule. This year marked already the 4th time we attended; it's almost routine now and we now look forward to seeing the friends and familiar faces who make this show the success that it is.

Despite this town's modest size of 1800 souls and a depressed resource-driven economy, they somehow manage to organize one of this region's better "green" shows. Near-flawlessly organized, infectious of mood and a pleaser of crowds it's a true community event and the reason we keep coming back.

This time things were a little different: as we pulled into Terrace Bay, the clear Lake Superior air got replaced with the smell of the town's paper mill which had finally re-opened. Good news for the community that depends on the mill for jobs, but not necessarily good news for the environment. It encapsulated the difficult tension between economy and ecology...

Once again a shout out to the indefatigable Sean Irwin and his tireless team of volunteers who made it happen. See you all next year!

Opening speeches: show coordinator Shaun Irwin (right) and the mayor of Terrace Bay (left).

Nolalu Unplugged

2011-05-02T20:42:00.004-04:00

So Nolalu is maybe not the centre of the universe. And maybe you think we don't have easy access to any culturally relevant entertainment (other than watching our amazing starry nights and northern lights).

Well, okay, maybe. But then our friend and neighbour Larry Watson thought: if we can't go to the entertainment, the entertainment shall come to us. And he organized a wonderful concert in his big and acoustically excellent woodworking shop.

And so, between wood planers, band saws and press drills, about 30 people enjoyed an exhilarating evening with the unique and exciting music from BC's Fish and Bird, as they made a stop-over here on their Canada tour.

Fish And Bird performing amidst woodworking equipment (for better acoustics)

Despite the fact that the 5-piece band (plus "road manager") only arrived about an hour before the show started, their performance was tight, musical, absorbing, and a qualified success (click here to hear some samples of their music).

Those in Thunder Bay who would like to enjoy what we in Nolalu enjoyed first, your chance will be May 30th in the Apollo. Highly recommended!
And to give this entry the required green edge: very soon this band will be touring this vast land of ours in a van that runs on vegetable oil!

Thank you to Fish and Bird for a wonderful musical experience in every sense of the word. And a big shout out to Larry and Liz who organized this neighbourhood concert and offered the band meals, beer and a place to spend the night.

Earth Day 2011

2011-04-24T19:11:00.004-04:00

March 26 was Earth Hour, and a few days later on April 22 that hour turned into a full day: Earth Day. Here in in Thunder Bay we had a number of initiatives, including a brand new one: an Earth Day event on April 16 at the Thunder Bay Country Market.

picture: Raili Roy

About 15 different organizations and businesses were offered a free booth to show local shoppers what is being/can be done to improve our environment. Anything from recycling programs to composting toilets (hmm, not all that different come to think of it) to beekeeping and soil testing. We were there, too, and thoroughly enjoyed the positive buzz that was in the air (with warm thanks to Raili Roy for organizing it all!).

picture: Raili Roy

The world was first introduced to Earth Day on April 22, 1970, when an estimated 20 million Americans attended rallies around the country and helped clean up their local communities.

This first attempt to start something of this scale on the national level brought all kinds of people together in their neighbourhoods, starting grassroots campaigns to help revolutionize the way we handled waste, recycling, power consumption, and conservation in general.

41 years on, the event has turned into something of a global phenomenon, a time to stop and think about our earth and our impact on it. Some cities even instigated Earth Week. Kinda makes you hope for the next logical steps: Earth Month and Earth Year...

What I like best about it is it empowers people everywhere to make change happen from the bottom up. No point in expecting politicians to make the change and blaming them if nothing happens. We are the change, and politicians better pay attention.
(Oh, and speaking of politics: you do vote green this coming election, right...?)

Earth Hour 2011

2011-03-26T20:00:00.006-04:00

Of course I don't have to explain you what that is. And of course you will turn off the lights from 8:30 - 9:30 tonight and be part of a global movement that is part of the solution - not the problem. And hey, if you live in Thunder Bay, you may even have decided to throw an Earth Hour party or event (and maybe qualify for one of the prizes awarded by City of Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay Hydro, EarthWise and EcoSuperior).
Good on you!

So here's a question. After 9:30 and your lights are back on again, ask yourself: now was that such a big deal? Should I do this only once a year - or maybe more often..?
Ask yourself, what else can I do to conserve my energy consumption and limit my carbon footprint (and my power bill)?

To inspire you and maybe even nudge you to be part of this great initiative, here's a great little Earth Day commercial all the way from Australia. So is this a global movement or what?
(okay, I'll admit I'm a sucker for that Ozzie accent)

Greencouging

2011-03-21T22:35:00.006-04:00

I learned a new word today, an effective new word: greengouching. It's what happens to you, your wallet and possibly your health if you fall for the "green claims" touted by countless "green" products that are flooding the (super)market these days. Green shampoos, green clothing, green detergents, green wines, green cosmetics, green you-name-it-they've-got-it.

"Peeling back misleading green labels" (CBC's Marketplace)

A solid 95% of those "green" claims are (gasp): "vague, irrelevant, unproven or just patently false" according to CBC's "Marketplace". In other words: almost all of the green hype is hogwash and lies. Greenwash.

The article points out that just about every manufacturer especially of cosmetics, skin care and baby products now has a seperate (and more expensive) line of "green" products on the shelves. It goes on to say that these products no longer are limited to a niche market but have gone main stream, making oodles of money for their manufacturers. (I guess it also explains why the accompanying picture shows 2 puzzled women: men don't clean the house, don't look after children and are of course never puzzled.)
I recommend reading the article, if only for a good chuckle on how creative some of those lies - sorry: claims can be.

What bothered me about the article, though, was the sole conclusion it came to: the reason for this problem is the lack of any regulating body. We need more rules.

Now don't get me wrong: civilized societies need rules. The free market is not necesarily always a good idea and regulation can prevent excesses (just look at the unregulated US banking system and what happened there). I just don't think regulation can solve the underlying problem.

The underlying problem is the assumption we need all these products. As long as we think we need toxic products in order to clean the house, suppress body odours and have movie star hair, the problem won't go away. The real problem is not just false advertising, the real problem is us buying wholesale into the illusion we need these products.

Thank goodness there are saner alternatives. There are cleaning products that are actually natural, like baking soda or soap nuts.
There are small scale local manufacturers who make great cosmetic and skin care products manufactured with respect for our environment and (get this): actually do your skin good. A good place to start here in Thunder Bay is Bare Organics, we're so lucky to have them here.
And if you're still using those yuckie deodorant sticks or sprays, consider using Deodorant Crystals: effective, safe to use, non-polluting to manufacture and much cheaper in the long run.

Okay, so these alternatives may be a little bit harder to find. You can't blame them for it, they don't have the glossy million-dollar advertising campaigns. But once you look for them you'll quickly find they are everywhere. Oh, and did I mention you'll meet the wonderful people who make and use them? Try that with a Johnson & Johnson shampoo!

Stop the greenwash, refuse to get greengouched and set your own course to a healthier and saner, truly greener lifestyle.

Pet Peeves (1)

2011-02-06T19:56:00.004-05:00

Rant alert. About the Drive-Thru phenomenon. Any Drive-Thru. For coffee, fast food, banking or postal services. There are even drive-thrus for getting married and getting buried, seriously (US residents only, thank goodness).

I don't get them, drive-thrus. Why do people prefer to wait in their idling car, wasting time and fossil fuel instead of just parking the car and walk over to get that same coffee much quicker? Saves time, and in the process you get a little bit of exercise (some walking) and an interactive experience (with that cute server and maybe some other customers).

Point in case: I drive past a Tim Horton's almost every day, and each morning there's a line-up of at least 12 cars there. Often there are so many cars the line-up stretches well into the main road.
One day I stopped to time them how long it took to get their coffee: three and a half minutes. It would have taken me less than 3 minutes to park my car, walk into the restaurant, order my coffee and walk back to my car. Faster, with no engines idling.

An idling car consumes about 2 litres of fuel an hour (even more for trucks and SUVs). Twelve idling cars burn about 24 litres an hour, 12 hours each. Cars that are going nowhere, doing zero miles per gallon. Drive-Thrus are directly responsible for a lot of unnecessary carbon monoxide and other toxic gasses, just because we don't like to get out of our bubble. Heaven forbid we might get wet. Or cold. Or hot. Or (gasp) have a conversation with someone.

Let's face it, folks: drive-thrus don't belong in a green live style or any other saner life style. So next time you feel the urge, just park that car, get out, walk to the counter and order that coffee. You can do it, you'll save some time & fuel, and hey, you might even enjoy it!

Rant done, thank you. And tell that cute server I said hi.

Cool Courses Coming Up

2011-01-16T17:16:00.003-05:00

Winter's darkest days are behind us and each day we're clocking a bit more sunshine (read: sun power). From a distance the Nolalu Eco Centre may seem to be hibernating, but the relative silence is misleading. We're already planning this coming summer's activities, and there's always a steady stream of folks dropping in for house tours and B&B stays.

One activity is coming up fairly soon, even: the ever-popular "Living Green" classes as part of Confederation College's Continuing Education program. The first class will be February 23: "Introduction to Solar Power", and the second one March 9: "Living Off the Grid". Follow the links for more information, or check The Key's winter issue.

The great thing about these courses is you don't need to be living in Thunder Bay to enjoy them. The College has a number of "virtual class rooms" all over NW Ontario, hooked up to the actual class room via closed circuit TV. Very cool!

There's always a high turnout for these courses, and with the recent (and impending...) price hikes for Hydro, propane and gas we expect they will sell out even faster now. Interesting how the economy can be part of the drive to be green...

snowshoe tracks at dusk

One of our favourite winter activities doesn't require any electric or combustible energy to enjoy: snowshoeing. The conditions this year are just glorious, so you'll find us breaking trails when ever time (and the weather) permits. Call me crazy, but I love winter for it.

Dancin' and Prancin'

2010-12-06T19:25:00.002-05:00

Who says nature is boring? A few days ago we were treated to a private show by a big red fox having a whale of a time in the December snow. The -14C and cold winds didn't seem to bother him as he played around, diving and dancing, taking his sweet time, even catching the occasional rodent.

(click to enlarge)

Perfect timing, style and gracefulness, just a joy to watch... Foxes are creatures of habit, so we're keeping our eyes open for a repeat performance!

Snow And Straw

2010-11-21T19:42:00.008-05:00

Let it snow, let it snow, I wrote last week. Be careful what you wish for, they say. Well, we did get lots more snow (yay!) - and had to cancel our informal get-together that was planned for Sunday afternoon (boo!).
We had been asked to host an afternoon with 2 folks who work in North Japan on local social and ecological issues for the United Church of Canada and were looking forward to meet them, together with a few good friends. Well, thick heavy snow prevented it from happening. That's how it can go in this neck of the woods; we like to think we're in control of what happens, but really we aren't. Oh well, another lesson learned.

Fortunately our straw bale presentation at renowned architectural firm Kuch Stephenson Gibson Malo went ahead as planned, last Friday. "Kuch", as the firm is affectionately called here in Thunder Bay, specializes in buildings that make more sense environmentally; they have been asked to work on an exciting new straw bale project in the town of Red Rock, not too far from here. We thoroughly enjoyed being invited at "Kuch's" and talking to the open-minded folks there.

The ambitious project is to build a 4000 square feet multi-purpose straw bale building on the rejuvenated harbour front, facing the lake. The challenge will be to make it as environmentally friendly as possible within the serious restrictions of a public space.
Kudos to the Red Rock city council for having this vision, the stamina to stick with it and for getting the complex financing in place! It's now in "Kuch's" capable hands to come up with a proposal that will satisfy the many complex and opposing demands, not an easy task. But having met them we now feel if anyone can pull it off it's them.

First Snow...

2010-11-16T21:11:00.006-05:00

Last Sunday morning we woke up to a beautiful white world outside. A good 10cm of snow had fallen overnight and the late afternoon before. All those dreary fall browns and grays outside had suddenly morphed into a sparkling brand new world. Our neighbours tell us "This is it, this'll be on the ground till next spring".

Somehow that first snow is always a bit exciting and magical; shades of childhood, of snowmen, snowball fights, snow forts, trying the ice...
There's less squeeling and peals of laughter in our lives now when seeing the world covered in its first white robe of the year. Yes, there's still that sense of excitement, mixed now with the knowledge that after the very busy fall things will slow down a bit. We don't exactly go into hibernation, but we do hole up more, spend more time indoors. We eat more, too, mostly with good friends. And personally I like to revisit a few old Hollywood classics in our solar-powered mini cinema.

What I like best about winter is it doesn't have that urgency summer and fall have, of things that got to be done. Get firewood ready, work the gardens, do maintenance and renovations, organize workshops, house tours, feel guilty about not doing that canoe trip we promised ourselves...

Instead, the snowshoes have been prepared for another good workout and the snow blower topped & tuned up. I know I'll feel different about it in 6 weeks or so, but right now I'm ready for the cold season, secretly squeeling with delight inside.

Carbon Emissions Be Gone!

2010-10-30T13:57:00.005-04:00

We recently spent a week in Toronto for a big-city-fix, our first vacation in 6 years! Isn't it interesting to notice how your sense of vacation changes depending on where you live? "You can take the boy out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the boy", to coin a phrase.

Because we only had 1 week, driving down there wasn't an option; it would have meant 5 days on the road, leaving 1 measly day to enjoy our destination. So I booked a free flight (thank you Aeroplan!) but felt bad about the ecological footprint involved. Canadians spend too much time on planes, and no matter how you cut it: planes ain't good for our environment and are part of the growing greenhouse problem.

Granted, Canada is just too darn big to travel by other means and still get there within a reasonable amount of time. So what to do? The answer: purchase a carbon credit!

When processing our online bookings I was pleasantly surprised when a window popped up asking if I wanted to offset the carbon emissions for these flights by purchasing a corresponding carbon credit. Turns out that in our case of two return tickets Thunder Bay - Toronto, the carbon credit cost us less than $25.00 - a no-brainer, of course.

Carbon credits are getting increasingly popular with consumers and industries alike. The basic idea is that by supporting alternative energy programs, like investing in solar and wind generation, planting trees etc., we can offset the carbon emissions created through the burning of fossil fuels in transportation and industries.

Now mind you, even though I felt not as bad about the flights, it isn't the solution. It's tempting to think we can maintain a basically destructive lifestyle simply by buying more carbon credits. Sorry, it's not the fix we need, it's only a band-aid. Ultimately, we have to drastically change our lifestyle, a tall order to fulfill.

So until then, purchase those carbon credits whenever you can. It does help, and hey, you'll feel a lot better, too!

Plastered Again!

2010-10-19T21:21:00.006-04:00

It's been a long time coming, but our straw bale guest house finally got its second plaster coat, just in time for winter! A dedicated crew under the guidance of master plasterer Dan worked for a full day getting the job done, inside and out.

A big shout-out to Mark who helped out with, well, just about everything, Kelsey who effortlessly out-plastered the guys, Jacomyn who tirelessly worked the noisy paddle mixer, and your humble narrator who was just happy to survive the day intact.

There aren't many straw bale homes around here (although the number is growing!), let alone straw bale guest houses. Once this one's finished it will be available year-round: nice and cool during the hot summer months, warm and cozy during our stone cold winters. It's got a great location overlooking the beaver pond (if you're quiet you can see the beavers at work) with lots of privacy, yet close enough to the main building should you need anything.

Now we can move on to finishing the place and make it into the coolest-ever guest house that we have in mind. All that's left now is to put in the ceiling and insulation, put in soffits and facias, finish the floor, build a small kitchen, two bunk beds and a table, put in a woodstove, install a basic solar electric and hot water system... Hmm, don't call us for any guest house bookings just yet, it may be another year or so.

Getting Ready For Winter

2010-10-13T18:54:00.003-04:00

Happiness is... a full wood shed in October

Life's been too busy to write any weekly blog updates for the past few weeks, but we're back again! A brand spanking new woodshed has been built, about 6 cords of firewood (enough to heat the house for 1.5 cold winters) have been cut, split and stacked in it, the South porch has been tiled & provided with a handsome ceiling, and our "green" fall courses through Confederation College's Continued Education program have been another resounding success.

Heck, we even managed to squeeze in a full week of vacation! Yes: seven blissful days of "dolce far niente" for the first time in 6 years - and it sure felt good.

With our batteries recharged and enjoying a gorgeous indian summer we're ready -well, amost ready- for winter. There's one project to sink our teeth in: plastering our strawbale guest house tomorrow with its last plaster coat before the snow flies. Check next week's blog to read and see more about that! After that, we'll dig in for winter and semi-hibernate for the next 6 months.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, and may all your turkeys be free range!

Endings and Beginnings

2010-09-07T14:31:00.005-04:00

This weekend was Labour Day weekend, marking the last long weekend of the summer, always a sweet and sad occasion. Camps and cottages get closed for the winter, the countryside is busy with the traditional fall fairs, and ice cream places see their last line ups of sun-burned customers before the cool weather moves in.

It was a pretty busy weekend for us, too, with a number of EcoB&B guests staying with us (always delightful company), the cutting and splitting firewood for the winter (and stacking it in our brand new wood shed), and a few house tours.

One house tour stood out from the others: about 20 students from Confederation College's Architectural Technology Program with their program coordinator Butch Petrone as part of their Orientation Week.

It was great to have architecture students visit with the specific purpose to learn and experience more about unconventional methods of building and designing. After all, these are the folks who will be part of the new wave of environmentally more sustainable ways of building, and we were pleasantly surprised to notice their keen interest and smart questions.

It was an encouraging experience for us, seeing the enthusiasm the next generation of designers and builders has for new ideas; it's all about being open-minded and interested in new concepts, avoiding the traps of conventionality.

A warm thank-you to Butch Petrone for getting his students to tour this unconventional place, and for introducing them to environmentally saner building methods. We're looking forward to continue this relationship!

Dancing Spirits

2010-08-30T22:28:00.007-04:00

The sun has been very subdued over the past 3 years so they've been absent for a long time, but after too long without them we were finally treated again to a majestic display of the northern lights the other day (night).

This time I tried capturing them with my camera, elusive as they are. It didn't work out too bad, as you can see below. In this first picture you can even see the northern lights outlining our solar array and wind turbine, although this kind of solar energy didn't register on our panels:

This second picture gives a better feel of the curtain-like motion that the northern lights often display, gently waving on the solar wind.

We're so fortunate here to have the clear, wide open skies to take it all in. Seeing them in person is quite an experience that never fails to grab you. Everyone who sees them senses something mystical about them, something more than just the solar wind ionizing the outer atoms of the earth's atmosphere around the magnetic poles. The native Cree call them the Dance of the Spirits, and somehow that seems very appropriate.

They also say you can make them move and dance by softly whistling at them, others claim you can hear them. All I know is we look forward to seeing more of them; and I don't think I'll inflict my whistling on them...

Just Add Water

2010-08-21T22:40:00.020-04:00

It's been exactly 1 year since we got help from 24 Ontario Junior Rangers painting the centre's exterior. The Eco Centre is a fairly big place, so painting it was a big job. That didn't stop the girls, though, who were done in 4 hours flat.
This weekend we had the pleasure of having a new group of Junior Rangers whom we asked to give the house another coat and patch up any bald areas. And again they exceeded our already high expectations.

The paint we used was a Milk Paint. Made from, yup: milk; with specific plants and/or berry elements added for a wide range of colours. It comes as a powder, just add water. It's absolutely environmentally safe, doesn't off-gas, leftovers can be safely dumped in the sink or in our field and is easy to work with. Just keep it away from your cats who may want to drink it (ours was constipated for about 2 days). And it's probably the only paint you'll have to put in the fridge at the end of a hot day :-)

Taking stock of how the first paint job had held up after being exposed to our harsh climate for a full year: pretty darn good. There are some minor spots where rain or melting water had been streaming lots, showing in somewhat paler colours and the occasional bald spot. But generally speaking, about 90% looked just fine - especially considering the first paint job was only 1 coat!

This time we added 2 more coats with slightly thinner paint (just add a bit more water) so it would absorb better into the straw bale house's plaster skin. The girls were cheerful and hard-working and an absolute pleasure to have. They did an awesome job, making the Centre look its very finest ever; good vibes all around.

So here's to this positive group of Junior Rangers and their leaders; also a thank-you to the friendly folks of Homestead House Paint Co. in Toronto for taking the time to be as helpful as they could be and for making us this lovely (and perfectly matching!) colour - and for making a great product in general.

(Junior Rangers: click to download full-sized picture)

Maintenance Day

2010-08-15T15:44:00.021-04:00

Saturday was Wind Turbine Maintenance day. Any wind turbine needs to be checked annually for any wear and tear, loose bolts, unbalanced or chipped blades, things like that; they have a lot of moving parts that get get worked hard year round - unlike maintenance-free solar panels that just sit there, quietly and efficiently making power.

For the past few years we've been combining it with servicing our friend Jane's smaller wind turbine. Frank the Solar Guy is in charge and does any repairs if necessary; he designed and installed both Jane's and our wind turbines as well as our solar arrays, so if there's anyone qualified for the job it's Frank.

As has become a good custom, we started the morning off at Jane's place with a sumptuous breakfast outside on the deck, enjoying the morning's sunshine and each other's company. It creates just the right mindset to start work on Jane's 70-feet tower, lowering it relatively painlessly using a manual winch (except it was a hot and sticky day).
We were glad to see that no repairs were necessary, just some loose-ish bolts in need of some fastening. Pulling the tower up was a bit tougher (hot!) but went just fine.

Next, it was off to the Eco Centre. Our tower is 100 feet tall with a bigger turbine, so here we needed the help of 2 trucks to do the pulling. Our own beat-up truck was one, and the other came with our neighbouring friends Larry and Liz in it who generously offered their help for the afternoon.

Once everything was hooked & cabled up, the tower came nicely controlled down. We were again happy to see that no repairs were necessary, except for the tail vane that showed some micro cracks from too much play between the vane and the tail rod. An extra rubber washer would help, which Larry made from recycled parts of one of Jacomyn's old rubber boots. They're even green, eco all the way!

By the end of the afternoon the tower was back up again; the wind had picked up, so we spent a few satisfied minutes just watching the turbine spin and make power. Boy, does that ever feel good!

Beers, snacks and lots of good food shared with excellent company was the perfect finish of a great day. If only it was possible to do all our maintenance chores this way, the world would be a better place...

Spread the Word!

2010-08-08T21:28:00.002-04:00

This week we received an email from the Green Party of Ontario about the province's spectacularly successful MicroFIT program which put Ontario at the top of the list of governments who take solar power seriously. Was it getting too successful? Please read...

"Last year, the Ontario government announced the MicroFIT program as a follow up to the Green Energy Act. Under the program, citizens who installed small solar energy projects (up to 10 kilowatts) were entitled to sell power to the grid under a 20-year contract at a rate of $0.802 per kilowatt hour. The government publicly said that this rate was to apply for both roof mounted and ground-mounted solar panels and would stay in place until a planned review in September 2011.

However, over the July long weekend, Minister of Environment and Infrastructure Brad Duguid decided to make a sudden change without warning. He announced that the feed in tariff for power from ground-mounted projects would be reduced by 27% to $0.588 per kilowatt hour. At the time of his announcement, there was a backlog of nearly 10,000 applications from citizens awaiting approval for ground mounted projects.

This cut is being imposed by the Liberal government and will potentially set back community based solar power in the province by years. Not surprisingly, demand for solar projects collapsed following the unexpected announcement, leaving solar installers and distributors to lose millions in inventory and training costs. The cuts also penalize thousands of Ontarians, mainly farmers, who took the government’s word and applied for MicroFIT contracts. In many cases, they invested tens of thousands of dollars based on the price advertised by the government. The present government's deception will be remembered for years and undermine the credibility of the efforts of any future government to support community renewable energy.

The MicroFIT program is administered by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) which closed its period for comments on the rate cut yesterday. Ultimately, the rate cut will be a cabinet-level political decision which is likely to be finalized over this next week.

Given the short amount of time before the proposed cuts are finalized, we are asking for five minutes of your time to (...) send an email to your MPP to advise them/her of your opposition to these destructive cuts. The text of a model email is available at the GPO MicroFIT campaign web site."

'Nuff said; please follow up, no matter how you vote. Thanks!

Winds of Change

2010-08-03T22:25:00.006-04:00

We get hundreds of visitors through the Eco Centre for house tours, and we always enjoy having them; some even become friends. We're in our third summer now, long enough to notice some shifts in the questions that get asked. Some questions will always be the same, but other questions emerge or disappear depending on what's in the news or is talked about.

This summer I noticed a new recurring question: "How come your wind turbine is so small?" At first it surprised me (after all, the tower is a solid 106 feet/33 metres tall), but then I realized these visitors were expecting a wind turbine big enough to power an entire village; you know, the type you see on the news and in glossy magazines. Those 250 feet tall monoliths dotting entire mountain ranges, their massive white wings gently wooshing along.

Small...?

So understandably, when see see our "little" turbine with its measly 6-feet wing span, well, some visitors may not be too impressed. Of course they understand when I explain that this turbine is only designed to help power 1 super-energy-efficient house, not an entire village or subdivision of power hogging homes.

But it made me realize how even over these past 3 years some conceptions have begun to change. When our Eco Centre just opened and our wind turbine went up, it made the regional media. It was something new, an inkling of green things to come. Since then, wind farms have gone up all over this part of the province, some highly successful, some hotly debated. And all of them much in the public eye.

That wasn't the case only 3 years back. And it makes me happy. Sure, there may be some misunderstandings about wind energy's different applications, but I'm sure that'll change, too. Point is, things are a-changing.
Wind energy has become a household word; most of us now know what a wind turbine does and why. Most of us now "get it". And that's a good thing. Let's hope things keep changing in this direction, and who knows where we'll be 3 years from now!

Singing' in the Rain (Barrel?)

2010-07-25T20:53:00.003-04:00

Never thought I'd say this, but we love our rain barrels. We picked them up in Thunder Bay at Eco Superior a few weeks ago: two sturdy 220-litre barrels. We paid $60.00 each for them, but if you're a Thunder Bay resident you get 'em even cheaper if you bring your water bill with you.

Because that's the whole idea behind these rain barrels: to save on tap water when watering your garden, and use free rain water instead. And with the summer heating up it's safe to say our veggie garden is very happy with them. Without this free, clean water our veggies wouldn't be looking as healthy as they do now.

And in cities, rain barrels also help reduce the load on storm sewers and waste water treatment facilities.

The other very cool thing about these barrel is they're a recycled product. In a previous life they were used to store and transport Greek olives. They were slated to go to the landfill, destined to become part of the growing garbage problem our society is experiencing.

Well, not if it's up to the non-profit organization Rainbarrel.ca! They obtained tens of thousands of barrels and retrofitted them with a spigot at the bottom, a 6" hole and a filter basket at the top and a simple yet effective overflow hose which also doubles as a connector in case you're hooking up multiple barrels (as we will).

These recycled barrels are environmentally friendly (in several ways), durable, cost-effective, and people all over Canada just love 'em. Oh, and did mention they'll save you money in the long run? So give Eco Superior a call (at 624-2140) to arrange a time to pick one up. Or more than one!

The Babees Are Safe

2010-07-18T20:17:00.015-04:00

The last 4 weeks have seen little blog action, but we're back again! Not that there was nothing to blog about, but life has just been too darn busy for any weekly updates; and being on an intensive 2-week film shoot followed by a week out of town didn't help much, either.

Still, much has happened and is happening. We'll be offering our "Intro to Solar Energy" and "Living off the Grid" evening classes through Confederation College this fall again, dates will be posted shortly. We're also mulling a full-day "Advanced Wind Power" workshop, and will announce more as soon we have made a final decision.

Our House Tours also prove to be very popular, with a steady stream of folks visiting our place. Word on our Eco B&B is getting around, pulling more and more guests, all of them lovely people we thoroughly enjoy having.

In the mean time, our previous blog about the bee hives that beekeeper Tom placed on our property drew a lot of response, many expressing concerns about the fact that there was nothing in place to scare the bears off. Of course they were correct in this, and of course Tom was aware of this issue as well. So 3 weeks ago he installed an electric fence around the hives, specifically designed to keep bears at bay.

So call us solar geeks, but what we like about it it's a solar-powered electric fence; and I can tell you first hand that it works. In case you're wondering why the hives are sitting on those cement blocks, that's to keep them out of reach of another predator: skunks, of all animals. Skunks love burrowing into those hives with their long sharp claws and aren't deterred by any stinging.

So far we've had a pretty good, almost average summer, making happy bees (and people). Our fields are filled nectar-filled wildflowers and clover is growing abundantly; I can't think of any better excuse to go easy on cutting the grass...

Our New Babees

2010-06-13T22:40:00.009-04:00

It's nice to have a lot of land that hasn't been sprayed for decades. Especially if you're a beekeeper and are looking for just that to place your bee hives.

Tom is just such a beekeeper who placed 2 hives not too far from our house today. It's a great spot with lots of southern exposure, mature trees providing shelter from the elements, and surrounded by lots of clover and wild flowers that the bees are so fond of. More hives may follow if this works out as hoped.

Northwestern Ontario holds a unique position in the Western hemisphere; it's the last remaining enclave that is free of bee mites and other diseases that currently kill honey bee colonies on a massive scale pretty much everywhere else. Mono cultures, widespread use of pesticides and large-scale intensive bee keeping practices are just a few of the reasons for it.

So far our bee-healthy pocket has been able to keep it that way, thanks mostly to the ever-vigilant regional beekeeper's association and its inspectors. Bees are an essential component in this fragile house of cards called the environment. No bees means not only no honey, but also no pollination of flowers, trees, vegetables, fruits. You know, the stuff we humans need to live.

We're looking forward to see how these colonies will do, the first official honey bee population on our property. Of course it's not an entirely selfless act, as I'm sure there is some great honey in it for us - from our own wild flowers!
Here's hopin' our resident bear won't find out about it...

Save The Planet: Pee In The Shower!

2010-06-08T20:13:00.014-04:00

Okay guys, fess up: we've all peed in the shower from time to time. We all do it, yet nobody will ever mention it. It's almost as if by not talking about it it's not happening. There's a stigma attached to it; for some reason in our overly puritanical North America, peeing in the shower is, well, not done (technically).

But why? Is it filthy? Not really. Impolite? Oh come on. Unsanitary? Nope, urine contains no bacteria. So why are we so self-conscious about it?

The Brazilians asked themselves the same question and not only realized there's nothing wrong with it - it's even beneficial for the environment! The logic is simple and undeniable: each time you pee in the shower, you don't have to flush the toilet: tadah, some serious water savings.

So the federal government of Brazil commissioned several PSA's (Public Service Announcements) to encourage this aquatic activity. And what better way than to have kids make the call (kids love a good pee joke, plus they're not self-conscious - yet), and what better medium than animation?

Hey! Wasn't that Mahatma Gandhi peeing in the shower...?!

Nolalu's Very Own Country Market

2010-05-29T15:30:00.004-04:00

Noticed how Farmers Markets and Country Markets just seem to pop up all around us? Same for the small rural community of Nolalu: as of yesterday we now have our very own Country Market, thanks to Leo Hunnako and Jacomyn Gerbrandy who made it happen!

You'll find it every Friday from 4:00 till 8:00 pm at the intersection of Hwy 588 and 590 at St. Urho's parking lot (a variety & hardware store, restaurant, bar, gas station and golf course all in one).

This first edition had 6 vendors selling their wares from the back of their trucks and vans, from plants and vegetables to handmade soap and artwork - and much more. More vendors will join as the growing season progresses.

Local markets selling locally grown food and handmade items are a wonderful addition to any community. You know you're getting excellent value for your money and whom you're getting it from (not some anonymous multinational but your hardworking neighbour), the money spent stays in the community, you don't have to travel all the way into town (smaller carbon footprint) and it's just plain fun to hang out and chat for a bit. And should you feel like something to eat or drink, Jacob's Cafe is only a few steps away.

Local markets are also a significant step on the way towards food security. Food prices are rising at the same pace as the steadily rising price of gas (oil). Here in our part of the province most of our food gets trucked in from enormous distances, making that food more and more expensive - not to mention what it does to the quality of the food and the carbon footprint involved. Country markets can be an answer to this issue.

Hope to see you some Friday afternoon at the Nolalu Country Market. You can't miss it, just look for the signs!

Knock, Knock. Who's There?

2010-05-25T22:19:00.009-04:00

A soft thumping sound revealed a smaller kind of wildlife last Saturday: a turtle trying to get in, probably looking for a sheltered place to lay her eggs.

The unseasonable warm weather must have brought her out early this spring. The long range weatherforecast predicts balmy temps and lots of sunshine, so her eggs stand a good chance of making it (not inside, though!).

Hope her baby turtlets grow up to be as beautiful as their mom.

Backyard Moose

2010-05-16T19:32:00.011-04:00

I sometimes joke that we don't need to go anywhere to spot wildlife, we only have to look out the window and there it is: deer, bears, eagles, moose, you name it. Still, some wildlife appears more frequently than other, moose being of the more elusive kind.

It's always a treat to encounter a moose, that icon of the north woods - especially if it happens to amble by in your own back yard. I've spotted this female a few times now, always at dusk. This time she gave me just enough time to get my camera.

I always marvel at how hard to spot they are despite their bulk (think horse-sized), and how graciously they move.

Unfortunately we're seeing less and less of them. The moose population has dropped rapidly in this region over the past few decades, from several thousands in the 1980's to a few hundred now. At the same time, the deer population increased dramatically.

Climate change is the main culprit; the milder, shorter winters are great for the deer who now survive in much larger numbers. However, deer transmit a brain parasite (the "deer tick") that is fatal to the moose. Basically, a lot more deer also means a lot more dead moose.

Second, in longer, hotter summers moose tend to eat less, and as a result their odds to survive the winter (on less fat storage) decrease proportionally. On top of that, longer and hotter summers also result in less wetlands for the moose to graze and cool off in, which doesn't help, either.

What it means for Northwest Ontario's moose population is anybody's guess, but it's safe to assume things will get a lot worse for the moose before it gets any better.

As for us, we're just happy to have over 30 acres of beaver ponds for the moose to roam around in. And don't feed those deer...!

Ain't It The Truth

2010-05-09T18:43:00.008-04:00

(click to enlarge)

Sometimes I feel like that guy with the glue brush... (with thanks to Wiley Miller and his brilliantly perceptive comic strips).

Green Fiction and Good Food

2010-05-02T16:13:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago we were pleasantly surprised by a request for a book presentation here at the Eco Centre. Turns out that Kathy Ashby who just published her first novel "Carol, A Woman's Way", was visiting Thunder Bay and in the process of planning a book tour in the area where she grew up. That, together with her book's strong environmental slant, made our location a natural fit.

We felt this was a great opportunity to invite a select number of friends for a "literary potluck" with Kathy as our guest of honour. And that's how this past Saturday afternoon, about 15 people were introduced to Kathy's fictional heroine Carol, and her "one-woman's battle for all she holds dear - her husband, her son, her land and her inner peace" (quoted from the back cover).

The lively discussion that followed proved Kathy had piqued her audience's interest, and it was good to see a number of (autographed) books leave with new owners that evening.

"Carol, A Woman's Way" is published by Dream Catcher Publishing; Kathy can be reached at ashbykathy @ gmail.com (first remove the spaces in the email address - spam protection), or follow her on twitter at http://twitter.com/awomansway.

As for us, we thoroughly enjoyed this format of friendship, food, fun and fabulous fiction and are open for similar intiatives, so stay tuned!

Terrace Bay's got a Good Thing Going!

2010-04-25T15:36:00.001-04:00

Okay, so it may not be the centre of the universe; in fact, not many people may know where Terrace Bay can be found on the map. But Saturday April 24 was a special day for this town and the surrounding communities on Lake Superior's North shore.

Battered as these small communities have been and still are as a result of the declining forrest industry, they just refuse to roll over and die. On the contrary, many are determined to view this economic crisis as an opportunity to move forward instead of backwards.

Hustle and bustle in the hockey arena

One way to move forwards is by refocussing on the future rather than the past. And of course the one big issue that will very much determine our future for a long time to come is the unfolding environmental crisis, forcing us to re-think much of what we've considered "normal" so far.

Terrace Bay's Green Trade Show, organized by Sean Irwin and his happy, hard working team is a great example of this notion. Somehow, this small town of about 1500 souls manages to get just about anyone who is anyone in the green sector to its hockey arena for this one day in April. It's a great opportunity to meet folks in this isolated stretch of the province, to network, inform, inspire and get inspired.

Nolalu Eco Centre's booth

With 72 exhibitor booths and close to a 1000 visitors it's safe to say this year's (only 2nd!) edition was a resounding success. And because admission was only $1.00 (or a non-perishable item for the local Food Bank), the show was accessible for anyone, making it a community-building event rather than commercial event.

Terrace Bay's got a good thing going; kudos to Sean and his crew for making it happen. We're already looking forward to be back next year!

A Toast To The Environment

2010-04-11T21:14:00.011-04:00

Those who read my Greenwash Of The Red (Wine) Variety rant on this blog may remember I have a low tolerance for eco bulls**t. Too many companies are jumping on the green bandwagon, tauting the many "green" or "eco" qualities of their products. In most of the cases those qualities are dubious at best, and in too many other cases plain & simple fabrication.

So when I noticed this bottle of Fuzion last week, a red Malbec from Argentine, and saw the paper collar claiming "Sustainable By Nature", I gave it a pass at first. Yet another blantant example of greenwash, I thought.

But then I read a bit further and learned that the bottle was designed to be 17.5% lighter in weight (requiring less energy to manufacture and to transport), that this family-run winery invests in social welfare programs and 100% sustainable farming, and plow some of their profits back into their community, I thought: Hmm, even if this only half true, it's still a lot more than most wineries can boast.
That, plus the fact that it was a modest $7.50 (yes, I'm cheap) made me decide to take it home.

Checking out their website I wasn't able to find out much more than what the collar said (parts are stil under construction), so I'm still a bit suspicious as to the extent of their claims. Still, they don't claim to be "eco" just because they didn't kill all the wildlife in their surroundings as a certain other wine does, so the verdict for now is: deserving the benefit of the doubt.

(And in case you were wondering: great value for for its price.)

Nice Paint Job

2010-04-04T18:03:00.003-04:00

It's been 3 seasons now since the Eco Centre got its creamy-yellow exterior pain coat, energetically and cheerfully applied by a gaggle of Ontario Rangers (see our "Yay And Hooray" post). Emerging from this winter, we were curious to see how this experiment had held up with 3 harsh seasons under its belt.

Because a bit of an experiment it was; the paint we used wasn't just any exterior paint: it was a milkpaint, arguably he most environmentally friendly paint in existence. Made entirely out of milk components, with berry and plant extracts added to provide a wide range of gorgeous colours. Non-toxic, non stinky, easy to work with. It comes as a powder, just add water.

Still looking good, after 3 rough seasons

Just 2 caveats: it can only be applied to porous surfaces (e.g. drywall, wood, concrete, etc), and it isn't specifically designed for oudoor use. So our decision to paint the entire Eco Centre's exterior with it was a bit of a calculated risk.

We had already applied milkpaint on our Red Pine ceilings, used as a stain to tone down the prominent knots and provide a protective coat at the same time. On the washroom ceilings we sealed the stain with 2 coats of linseed oil, because of the higher humidity there.

First impressions: the exterior paint has held up pretty good. There are some spots where rain or melt water had been streaming lots, showing in somewhat paler colours.
Also, a few small spots had begun to peel a bit here and there. But generally speaking, about 90% looked just fine.

We happen to like the paler areas, it gives the house an elegantly weathered look (some designers call it a "distressed look", I believe). As for the limited amount of peeling, we figure this is the result of the paint having been applied a bit too dry last year. It had been a hot day, and the the freshly mixed paint was beginning to thicken as some of its water content was beginning to evaporate. Oh well, live and learn. On the upside, any touch-ups are quick and easy to apply, we'll do those once the weather gets nicer.

A warm thank-you to the friendly folks of Homestead House Paint Co. in Toronto for taking their time to be as helpful as they could be and for making us this lovely colour - and a great product in general.

Love 'Em Or Hate 'Em

2010-03-21T15:10:00.005-04:00

Big banks. We love to hate 'em. Canadians agree on 3 topics we love & hate to discuss: the weather, hockey (that's ice hockey, for those who are not of the Canadian persuasion) and banks. The banks who nickle and dime us to death with their silly service charges. Who have us on a leash with their mortgages. Who make record profits in times of desperate economical hardship.

Still, it could be worse, and there are alternatives. We bank at a local credit union, owned and controlled by its customers. It's small, friendly, and most of its profits get plowed back into the community. I like that concept; it's called good citizenship.

But love 'em or hate 'em: unless there's some sort of sudden monetary revolution, those banks are here to stay. So better get used to them. And as their customers, it's up to us tell them what we expect from them. How we think they should behave as good corporate citizens.

Some banks seem to listen. The TD Bank, for example, has a little-known division called "TD Friends Of The Environment Foundation". It's not big and operates on a modest budget (God forbid we seriously invest in our environment!), but has its heart in the right place.

It awards modest grants to environmentally friendly initiatives all over the country. Any Canadian organization with a charitable status can apply, and it's not complicated to do. What I like about it is does its thing quietly in the background, not blowing its own horn (much). It seems to suggest it's just something any corporation should do. I like that concept.

We only found out about it because Jacomyn was asked to participate in the board of the Thunder Bay chapter. Of course she said yes. This is a wonderful opportunity to witness from up close and personal how a big bank lives up to its promise to be a good corporate citizen. Or, will it turn out to just be another example of Greenwashing...?

For now, just the fact they invited us is encouraging. We'll keep you posted!

Must Be Spring

2010-03-14T21:04:00.013-04:00

This weekend we "sprung forward" to Daylight Saving Time, and we had the Seed Swap event in the Gillies Community Centre. All sure signs that spring will be soon upon us. That, and the fact it was a steamy 13C.

The Seed Swap is a wonderful local initiative, bringing people together to share, well, seeds for their gardens. Healthy, wholesome, pesticide- and genetic manipulation-free seeds. This local event has expanded beyond seeds, and now includes composters, local beekeepers, water awareness, planting & growing tips and much more - anything related to feeding a small community in an environmentally sustainable way without "big agro".

We went home with a good collection of new seeds, lots of new ideas & inspiration - and something unexpected: a brand-new cold frame, donated to us!

A cold frame, you may well ask, what the bleep is that? It's a glass-covered frame used to protect plants and seedlings from frost as well as for hardening off seedlings before they go into the ground. Very low-tech and very effective.

Our spiffy cold frame before going outside to help germinate veggies

This particular cold frame was designed and made by Jessie Pineault, a grade ll student at ESC de la Verendry in Thunder Bay. He did a great job on it, using left-over acryllic sheets used for window insulation.

So thanks to Jessie, we'll now be able to get a head start on our veggies, grown from organic seed-swap seeds!
Life can be good. Must be spring...

Cool Kitchen Tools

2010-03-07T19:10:00.009-05:00

One more thing about last week's Duluth Sister Cities delegation we had the pleasure to host. Not only was it a pleasant experience, they also left us an interesting gift: a very cool cutting board made out of recycled card board, made locally (i.e. Duluth) by Epicurian!

It's well-designed, tough, knife-friendly, even dishwasher safe. And it's got these cool-looking silicone gripper edges so it won't slide all over your counter top.

And not only that: the company has some inspiring ideas about how to run a business in an environmentally responsible fashion, investing in wind power, using renewable and/or recycled resources, diverting nearly all excess heat and materials to a co-generation plant, and only using non- or low VOC-emitting manufacturing processes.

You gotta love it when a company sees the bigger picture and not just the bottom line - and makes a good product to boot! Check them out at http://www.epicureancs.com/

Sister Cities

2010-02-28T20:05:00.003-05:00

Friday was a busy day for us - and for the Duluth/Thunder Bay Sister Cities delegation. It was Thunder Bay's turn to receive the Duluth Sister City folks who were touring a slew of "green" intitiatives in and around town for their very full 3-day stay.

We were pleasantly surprised and honoured to receive a phone call from Sarah Kerton, Thunder Bay's Community Environmental Action Plan Coordinator, to be included in this tour. Sarah was in charge of the program and responsible for making it all happen - not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.

The delegation's stop at the Eco Centre was scheduled at the end of a busy day that included visiting the harbour front development, Eco-Superior, the Water Filtration Plant - and the frozen solid Kakabeka Falls en route to the Eco Centre, of course.

We weren't sure what to expect, but what ever it was we expected, it wasn't this cheerful, almost giddy bunch of wonderful, warm and interested people. It was a treat to show them around, answer their many questions and see their enthusiasm grow by the minute.

Of course it helped there was some excellent food to be enjoyed (thanks to Jacomyn's excellent French carrot soup and some superb catering by the Metropolitan Moose). And the fact that they had brought their own wine & beer didn't hurt, either.

So here's to cross-border collaborations and inspirations, may we learn from each other on many more enjoyable visits!

Want More?

2010-02-20T19:59:00.005-05:00

Well, the first trial series of Confederation College's Green Adult Education classes is behind us, and with a total of approx. 65 students attending we're very happy to report it was a success. Two of the 4 classes sold out, even.
We're also very happy to see the student evaluations ranging from positive to absolutely delighted with many asking for more; could we be on to something here?

"Please Sir, may I have some more?" (from the movie "Oliver Twist")

It looks like we'll be back for the spring session, and if that's even remotely successful as this winter series we may well become the "green fixture" on the Adult Education program.

This winter the classes were limited to "Living Off The Grid" and "Introduction To Solar Power". Our question to you: are there any other green topics you'd like to see us cover? Wind power? Energy Conservation? The Meaning Of Life? Other ideas, suggestions? Let us know, drop us an email, post a reply!

Looking forward to hearing (reading) from you - mabe see you this coming spring!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-13T12:57:00.007-05:00

While I'm sure your sweetheart treats you well, just think about what Mother Nature does for you. She gives you fresh water, food, shelter, and even the air you breathe. Without those, you sure as heck wouldn't be celebrating Valentine's Day, now would you?

This weekend is a great opportunity for you to show your appreciation and to give something back. Here's a suggestion: instead of that over-priced box of chocolate, purchase a nature-helping eCard from the David Suzuki Foundation and send it to your special someone.

The best thing about it: an anonymous donor will match your donation. The second-best thing about it: no chocolate is involved, so no guilt feelings about stuffing yourself with it anymore!

Hmmm... gotta re-think that chocolate part a bit more, though...

Dashing Through The Snow

2010-02-07T18:24:00.008-05:00

The days are getting longer, the sun is getting stronger; winter seems to be retreating a bit... We created a nice network of snowshoe trails over our property and we like to hike them as much as we can. My favourite time of day for it is near dusk, when the sun's long fingers caress the tiniest detail in the landscape just before it dips below the horizon. A magical moment of transition and tranquility.

Snowshoe tracks weaving their way from our Eco Centre, near dusk

Yesterday we experienced a snowshoe moment of a very different kind at our friends' Graham and Kerstin, who organized their own Olympic Winter Games. The Green Edition, of course. On the program was the 100 metre Snowshoe Dash. Snow was flying, muscles aching, lungs working overtime.

Good company, great fun, excellent food. Really, winter doesn't get much better than this!

Jacomyn (centre) taking the lead!

A Techno-Sceptic Converted (somewhat...)

2010-01-30T15:40:00.013-05:00

I'm a techno-sceptic. It's not that I'm afraid of technology (in fact I often have to suppress these urges to buy the next must-have hi-tech toy), I just don't believe that technology is the silver bullet that'll deliver us from the environmental mess we've gotten ourselves into. Worse, I suspect it's partly thanks to technology we're finding ourselves in this current pickle, with not many graceful exits remaining. Even silver bullets kill...

Having said that, I was pleasantly suprised when I stepped into the room I was scheduled to teach our first "Living Off The Grid" evening class at Confederation College. Turns out we had a student (Tom) from Sioux Lookout, a town at about 375km away from the college. A long drive for a 3-hour class...

Buttons, screens, microphones, computers, keyboards - even students!

The solution: the only distance Tom had to travel was to Confederation College's local campus, find the room that was set up for videoconferencing and position himself in front of the screen & camera. He could see & hear us perfectly, we could perfectly see & hear him. And because his image was projected on a big screen it almost felt like he was physically present in the room with the 14 other students.

I like to use a lot of visuals for my classes (hello PowerPoint), and technology helped out again; want Tom to see what the class sees? Just press this button to go from camera (the class) to computer (the visuals), and press again if you want to go back. It worked like a charm and I loved it.

Very cool, very effective and environmentally helpful. Want to experience it for yourself? You still can! There's 3 more classes left (February 6, 17 and 20); just make sure you're somewhere far away from Thunder Bay and sign up. See ya on the big screen!

"Befriending the Earth"

2010-01-24T20:13:00.008-05:00

Maybe I'm on an art streak after last week's installment (the hand-made necklace out of re-used materials), but I thought I'd share one of our favourite pieces of artwork on our wall. It was made by Marg Janick-Grayston, a United Church minister who works at Calling Lakes, an educational centre in Saskatachewan - but also a gifted textile artist.

"Befriending the Earth" (click to enlarge)

I had the privilege to participate in a 2-year course that Marg taught; she also spent some time with us here at the Eco Centre. That's how we became friends.

One time she brought this wonderful wall hanging she made just for us. It's based on a photograph (taken by her daughter) of a big soap bubble floating in the air, reflecting a peculiar view of the landscape all around it: our environment encapsulated in a fragile bubble. Marg called it "Befriending the Earth".

We love and cherish these very special gifts, they make our lives so rich. Our place has several other personal hand-made mementos, I may bring them up later this year.

Eco-Chic

2010-01-17T16:48:00.005-05:00

Last Monday was Jacomyn's birthday (yaaay!), always a happy source of birthday cards, emails, phone calls and gifts. One of the gifts she got was from her sister Annemarie, back in Holland. Annemarie made this very cewl necklace, a real conversation piece. And the coolest thing about it: it's entirely made out of discarded and reused materials!

kewl or what?

The funky black bits are from a bicycle's old inner tube (the Dutch pretty much live on their bikes) that has been cut in a certain way to come out like this; the wood beads have been reused from an old necklace that had special meaning for both Jacomyn and Annemarie.

Now admittedly, my fashion sense is at about the same level as my sense of direction (I'm somewhat challenged in these departments); but I'm a sucker for all things hand made and well-designed that tell a personal story and are eco-chic to boot!

Tramping The Trails

2010-01-09T18:48:00.011-05:00

We're enjoying a temporary relief of the cold we've been experiencing lately (see last week's entry). The days are sunny, and a balmy -11 C makes it perfect for one of our favourite winter activities: snowshoeing.

We love our snowshoes; they're of the traditional kind, fashioned out of hardwood and rawhide, hand-made in Montreal by a small Metis-owned company.
Okay, so they're a bit pricier and slightly heavier than their modern aluminum offspring, but at least their frames won't freeze, they provide better "floatation" on powder, make no annoying creaky-squeeky sounds, and let's face it: their design is just of a timeless beauty.

calling it a day...

Winter's thick snow blanket seems to radically change our 311 acres personality (130 hectares. And yes, a landscape has a distinct personality). There are no bugs, sounds are muffled, animal tracks everywhere (some of them pretty impressive), everything's absolutely quiet, familiar summer spots unrecognizable, bright sunshine bouncing off the snow illuminates the darkest corners. But the best part: areas that are inaccessible in the summer can now be explored on snowhoes.

It's a great workout, and for some reason an incredibly satisfying way to explore your property; I love to re-aquaint myself with places not seen for almost a year, notice the subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle changes, and work myself through knee-deep snow making trails.

In the far distance we can hear the muffled roar of some folks tearing around on their snowmobiles. I guess there's a place for those, but not on our property. We prefer our surroundings quiet and without exhaust fumes - and I'm sure the countless animals we share it with do too.

Snug As A Bug In A Straw Rug

2010-01-04T21:03:00.006-05:00

A nice, sunny Sunday morning. It's 9:00 a.m. I waddle over to check the outdoor thermometer - and don't need my wake-up coffee anymore. Ouch: -34C... And judging by the wind turbine there's also a stiff breeze. Hmm, better stay inside till it warms up a bit!

Inside the fire's not on yet, still it's a relatively comfy +16C. Not bad, considering we stopped feeding the fire around 10:30 pm the night before, and we're keeping the house at 18-19C during the day. In other words, no heat for about 10 hours straight, as the outside temperature dropped - and dropped.

So in case you had any doubts about the effectiveness of straw bale insulation: doubt no more, it works just fine. It'll even help you wake up without adding any caffeine!

Eco Funnies

2009-12-26T12:05:00.014-05:00

Our deteriorating environment is on everybody's mind. The world's political "leaders" managed to blow the opportunity for real change that "Copenhagen" offered. Yet another Christmas produced about 30% more toxic landfil for December than any other month of the year.

Discouraged? Depressed? Time for some eco funnies! I came across these in our paper the other day:

(Click to enlarge)

Let’s Settle This Once And For All

2009-12-20T15:56:00.022-05:00

A quick primer for those who have been blissfully ignorant of “The Freshcut Christmas Tree vs. the Artificial Christmas Tree” debate: proponents of the freshcut Christmas tree point at the fact that it’s a natural product, often grown locally or regionally.

Proponents of the artificial Christmas tree point out the fact that the cut tree is a disposable item that gets thrown away after only a few weeks of use, whereas the artificial equivalent will last for many years.

So who’s right? Well, if you like the smell of freshcut pine and don’t mind the needle mess, then go for that real tree.
If it’s about low-cost convenience, then the tree of the collapsable plastic variety may be your thing.

Charlie brown got the right idea way back in the '60s

(from "A Charlie Brown Christmas", 1965)

Things get a bit more complicated, though, if we ask ourselves which option is less damaging to the environment. It all boils down to Carbon Footprints: how much energy was involved in creating a product from scratch and getting it into your hands? This number considers all energy that's involved: extracting resources, manufacturing, transportation, packaging, advertising, final disposal - and everything inbetween.

Turns out that the artificial tree (85% of them are made in China) has a pretty big carbon footprint. With 3505 Watts it’s over 20 times more energy-intensive than a real tree.
Artificial trees are also a petroleum-based product; manufacturing them involves a long list of toxic by-products.
Also, artificial trees will not last forever and break down after 6 to 10 years. Any petroleum-based will breakdown into toxic components, many of them cancer-inducing.
And lastly, when that old artificial tree becomes landfill, it will be there for hundreds of years, slowly oozing contaminants into our soil and water table.

Freshcut old Christmas trees will decompose (or get mulched) nicely; they helped remove carbon from the environment and provided a home and food for wildlife while they were growing. That stops the moment they get cut, of course. And if you live in an area where they don’t grow naturally (say California, the Arctic, most of Europe), then that tree has to be trucked in from very far away.

So there you have it folks, you heard it here first: the freshcut tree is definitely the lesser evil.
The even better solution: get a live tree, and replant it after the holidays. And if you’re fortunate enough and have firs growing near your house (like we do): decorate a tree on the spot, passers-by will love you for it.
Merry Christmas (trees)!

Winter Driving's Ecological Footprint (wheel print?)

2009-12-12T16:16:00.015-05:00

It took a bit longer than usual, but winter’s definitely here now: we’ve had our first snow storm and the next one’s in the forecast. Temperatures dip to around –24 at night and haven’t been above freezing since Nov. 30. But the surest sign winter’s here is: the winter tires are back on again.

After a few close calls in the past we opted for studded tires this time. Wow, what a difference; unbelievable traction.
Noisier, too. Which made me wonder if all that extra traction translates to extra fuel consumption…

Mmm, studs...

Well, the good news is: no, so far studded tires seem to get the same mileage as their standard non-studded winter tires. The bad news: no matter how you cut it, winter driving uses a lot more fuel than summer driving.

It’s not just the tires, of course. It’s mostly the frigid temperatures that make your engine run a lot less efficient. It takes the motor much longer to warm up, and even then it often doesn’t reach ideal combustion temperatures. Add the energy required to run your lights, defrosters, cabin heater (and seat heaters for the whimps out there), and you get the picture.

As a certified ego geek I try and drive as environmentally conscious as possible, resulting in great mileage for our ancient ’97 Ford Escort. During the warmer months (April – October): around 6 litres/100 km (that’s 39 Mpg for you non-metrics). But once November comes around the numbers quickly get less glorious: around 7.8 litres/100 km (30.1 Mpg).

Maybe not too bad compared to most cars (and trucks for sure), but still: a whopping 25% drop in fuel efficiency…
Guess there’s only one way around it: drive (25%) less!

The Eco Centre’s Coming To Town!

2009-12-04T14:04:00.003-05:00

Maybe your life’s just too busy to make it to Nolalu to visit us. Maybe you’re afraid you won’t be able to find us (if your sense of direction is anywhere like mine). Or maybe you just hate winter driving. Whatever the reason, we’ve had numerous requests to “do something in town”.

So when Thunder Bay’s Confederation College approached us to do a series of courses for their Continued Education Program we were just tickled pink. Finally, the Nolalu Eco Centre will be coming to town this winter!

We’ll be offering 2 different courses: “Living Off the Grid” (on Wednesday Jan. 27 and Saturday Feb. 6) and “Introduction to Solar Power” (Wednesday Feb. 17 and Saturday Feb. 20).

Both are brief introductory courses that will give you a very practical bird’s eye view of what’s involved in a seriously greener life style, the challenges and rewards.
It’s practical, hands-on information from folks who live what they preach. And with a fee of only $36.00 it’s hard to go wrong.

If you live in Northwestern Ontario, check your free winter issue of The Key, and go to the brand-new “Living Green” section on page 71 for more information. The same information can be found online here.

It won’t replace the experience of visiting the Nolalu Eco Centre of course, but hey, at least you won’t get caught in a snow storm!

Our Big Fat Energy Credit

2009-11-29T15:29:00.019-05:00

Anyone depending on sun & wind to power their home dreads the month of November. It's usually the darkest and wind-stillest month of the year. Drizzle and wet snow will come straight down; compare that to the blizzards we can expect very soon, and I suppose we should be grateful for it...

A typical November day: no sun, no wind...

For solar and wind-powered folks like us things are a bit different. We almost welcome those howling storms that make the snow fly horizontally. It means lots of energy is being produced and stored in the battery banks. Same for those bright January and February days, when you can't go out without your sunglasses and sunscreen on: lots of sunlight bouncing off all that snow produces lots of solar energy. Call us crazy, but we can't wait till it gets cold & windy!

Until then, we'll just have to sit this dull November out. Looking at our charts I see we produced a measly 12.5 KW/hrs of solar energy and 9.5 KW/hrs wind energy over the past 7 days; that's a total of 22Kw/hrs. We typically produce that in 2 good days.

Still, the lights stay on at the Nolalu Eco Centre, together with the stereo, the fridge, our computers and even the big-screen video projector for those must-have movie nights.

Of course we're a bit more careful when using power, but what really saves our free-range bacon: it's days like these that we happily dip into the credit we've built up with the Power Utility. Each summer and fall we produce hundreds of excess Kilowatt-hours that all get pumped back into the power grid, producing a big fat credit at Hydro One. Think of it as a Power Piggy Bank that we're now taking some change out of.

Of course we should still be careful how much power we're using, as even big fat credits will come to an end. But at least we don't have to worry too much about those long dark days. And thank goodness, we can still have our movie nights!

Greenwash of the Red (Wine) Variety

2009-11-15T20:29:00.006-05:00

The digital ink of my previous post had hardly dried or I came across yet another fine example of greenwashing. Or more accurately: I fell for yet another fine example: this bottle of Eco Trail, an Ontario-made red wine by Pelee Island Winery (a VQA, no less).

That's right: Eco Trail. So being a certified green geek, I made a bee line for this bright green label the moment I spotted it at our local liquor store.
It had all the trappings of the environmentally responsible purchase: a local -or at least regional- product (Ontario), environmentally acceptable packaging (glass), an eco label ("Eco Trail") and a non-impulse purchase (hey, I happen to like a good glass of wine, okay?).

So how come I feel taken advantage of?

Well, upon reading the bottle's fine print on the back label, it appears this winery isn't as "eco" as its label suggest. For me, an environmentally responsible wine maker doesn't use pesticides, doesn't use petro-based fertilizers, doesn't over-irrigate, only uses local varieties of grapes, you get the idea. None of this is mentioned on the loftily-phrased back label.

So why does this vinyard consider itself greener than the competition? Well, there's extensive talk about a near-extinct type of frog which used to live there in large colonies before someone with a business plan turned this frog's natural habitat into a winery. However, a few frogs managed to survive and according to the back label, the winery decided to let them be and not eradicate them (there probably weren't enough of them to do any serious damage).

Somehow I don't think this is "eco". Somehow I don't really think this actually makes our world a better place. Somehow I think: it would have been better if those frogs hadn't been killed in the first place.

My verdict therefore: greenwash of the very first order.
But I must admit, it was a very nice wine...

Green Wave or Green-washing...?

2009-11-09T21:06:00.011-05:00

Halloween had hardly left the building or Santa lept on the stage. Judging by his zeal I'm sure he could hardly wait. Already we're surrounded by Christmas songs, Christmas decorations and Christmas advertising. After all, Christmas (the most important time of year for most retailers) is all about buying and selling and excessive consumption, isn't it? And with everyone jumping on the Eco bandwagon, expect to see a lot more "green gifts" and "eco presents".

A good example is this "Eco Dollhouse With Furniture" by Playwell, proud member of the Canadian Toy Association. Their ad claims "This eco-efficient dollhouse is made from chemical-free rubberwood and features replicas of alternative energy sources (including a windmill, solar panels & electric inverter), recycling bins & an adjustable blind to control sunlight & air circulation. It also includes 5 rooms of furniture made from organic cotton" (suggested retail: $269.95).

Why, it's a mini Eco Centre without solar hot water collectors (although they beat us on the organic cotton thing)...!

Only... I'm not so sure what to think of it. Okay, I guess it's better to have this house concept available as it represents a saner life style than the standard consumerism one, but still... I can't shake this feeling something's wrong with it. Maybe it's the whole political correctness-thing of it (forget the kids; their eco-conscious parents can't wait to show it off to their similar-minded friends). Or maybe the nagging feeling that it's very likely "made in China" - the other side of the world, burning oodles of fossil fuel to reach our toy stores' shelves, like 95% of our toys.

Christmas for me is not about $270-dollhouses, no matter how "eco" they may be. Christmas should be less about consuming and more about sharing & restoring. My verdict for now is this is an example of "green-washing", giving consumers the feeling they're helping the environment while conveniently not requiring to change their life style.

Oh, and just for the record: don't ever think of mounting your windmill onto your house - a recipe for disaster.

Morning Snow

2009-11-01T12:43:00.016-05:00

Just a picture of two young bucks (that's male deer, for those who don't live up here) in our snow-dusted field this morning. The nights are getting colder, the days shorter, we've gone back from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time (Daylight Wasting Time...?), all sure signs that the cold season is closing in.

Pretty soon our fields will be permanently covered with snow, and wildlife (including ourselves) struggling through what promises to be another long cold winter. The wood stove is on most of the days now, just a small fire as our thick straw bale walls keep the house nice and warm.

The Nolalu Eco Centre will be going into hibernation mode, too. Workshops and the Eco Hero contest are done, house tours and presentations are slowing down for the winter, only the occasional B&B guest drops in. New plans and initiatives are in the works, though, there's always plenty to do.
And I just realized our snowshoes haven't even been touched up yet from last year's intensive use...!

It's Little Things That Make Our Day...

2009-10-25T18:46:00.006-04:00

It was only a small gesture, but it sure felt good when we picked up the Saturday newspaper and unexpectedly came across this "Thumbs Up" notice:

Who ever it was, thank you for being so thoughtful and for making our day!

Embracing My Inner Geek

2009-10-18T17:18:00.012-04:00

I'll be the first to admit that my passion for all things green borders on the realm of geekyness. I realized this when we got a shipment from the U.S. in; some fragile items that had to be packed with some protective material to avoid damage.
Opening the package I went all oo and ah the moment I saw what was used for protective material. Instead of the common foam chips there were these folded paper triangles. Not made of (toxic) plastic foam or bubble wrap, not made of (extremely inefficient high-embodied-energy) corn starch - no: just plain and simple paper.

A bunch of environmentally-friendly Expandos

It's called Expandos and hails from Denver, CO. I never thought I'd be reading the entire website of a packaging materials manufacturer, but I did. I was looking for a catch (there always is one, right?), but no: it's made out of recycled paper using Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) practices. It's bio-degradable and fully recyclable. It uses low-energy manufacturing methods and produces no toxic by-products or waste. Oh, and did I mention it works as good as if not better than conventional packaging materials?

Up close and personal - hi there, handsome...

Okay, call me an eco geek, but it's little things like these that make me happy. It almost makes me me wish we had lots of fragile stuff to ship out. They even offer this option to have your name printed on each individual triangle. Hmm, I can just see our logo there right now...

Cutting It Pretty Close...

2009-10-10T15:44:00.012-04:00

Our Eco Centre has thick straw bale walls that are plastered. Plastering is a tough job, especially if one section is out of reach of any conventional rental scaffolding, as was the case with our East gable. Perfectly tucked away out of anyone’s reach, this section been sitting there waiting to be plastered ever since we finished construction 3 years ago…

Of course this meant that whenever we had a serious rain or snow storm coming from the East, that wall would slowly erode and seep water in. Also the sun’s damaging ultra violet rays were beginning to leave their marks (thank you, hole in the ozone layer).

So this year we really had to get around to plastering that section from hell. Winter is lurking behind the fall-red maple bushes, and once it’s snowing you can forget about any plastering for the next 6 months. If only we knew how to get up there…

And just when we started to get slightly desperate: presto, our farmer neighbour Mo turns out to be a serious scaffolder with just the right equipment for this kind of job. Mo arrived with his truck full of bits and pieces, and 3 hours later we could get up there - finally!

Presto again, and our friend and neighbour Dan Bigelow offers to help us out with a paddle mixer and lots of plaster pointers. Heck, he even offers to do the plastering himself! Dan happens to be a concrete & plaster specialist, so what he says goes (plaster-wise that is).

Plastering away with Dan up top, Hubert as his Vanna White

And after 3 years of head scratching and finding excuses, the East gable finally got finished yesterday! Just in time, it appears, as this morning we woke up to this fall’s first snowstorm. Winter has moved in, the plastering season is officially over…

24 hours later: 3cm of snow and -6C...

A big shout out to Mo and Dan for helping us out just in time!

And The Cape Goes To…

2009-10-04T16:27:00.008-04:00

About 30 people got together here last Saturday to share some fellowship, ideas and -just as important- some good food & drinks. But the real reason for this festive get-together was to honour North Ontario’s very first Eco Hero Jeanie Gaudette, and runners-up Laura Ogden and Gary Peacock.

They all received a certificate and an environmentally-friendly prize package, sponsored by local businesses. Winner (and elementary school teacher) Jeanie Gaudette also received a congratulatory letter from the contest’s honorary patron, Canadian astronaut and environmentalist Dr. Roberta Bondar who compliments Jeannie writing: “(…) It is very important that our children learn ways to protect the environment. You are a wonderful role model not only for your pupils but everyone around you!”

North Ontario’s very first Eco Hero(ine) Jeanie Gaudette (Centre), flanked by runners-up Laura Ogden (right) and Gary Peacock (left)

We had a blast with this contest, learning about all these initiatives to help our fragile environment, and especially meeting the people behind them. It’s incredibly encouraging to see how much is happening on a grassroots level, ideas that slowly but surely perculate into ever-wider circles.

Don’t worry if you missed this year’s contest, the Eco Hero will be back next year. I’m just thinking, some contests have a crowning ceremony, so maybe we should introduce a “caping ceremony”. You know – super heroes, capes?
Okay, maybe not…

Dining With The Stars

2009-09-27T16:38:00.012-04:00

Fall is definitely here now; geese are gathering to head South, the trees are working on their fall splendor, and last Saturday we hosted our last workshop for the season. We had a wonderful group together for this Astronomy workshop, great company to "dine with the stars" with. After our salmon dinner with home-grown organic veggies and potatoes (and decadent dessert, of course) we headed to the Thunder Bay Observatory for a private presentation and some serious star gazing at Canada's largest privately owned observatory. Just before we got there and right on cue, the clouds dissipated to make place for near-perfect viewing conditions.

This astronomical gem was designed and built by Randy McAllister, who did a wonderful job in getting everyone involved with and in awe over the mysteries of the universe. We watched the moon's peaks and valleys (I even took my first moon close-up!), witnessed an eclipse on Jupiter and saw nebulae & galaxies hundreds of light-years away.

Someone noted that we should be doing this as an Earth Day initiative, as witnessing the cold, inhospitable vastness of space really makes you appreciate the beauty and fragility of this tiny speck we call Earth.
Hmm, maybe not a bad idea...

Bad Movies You Got To Love

2009-09-20T17:13:00.014-04:00

I love my movies. All 400 or 500 of ‘em (well, almost of ‘em). There’s nothing like finding an unknown film in the Two For $5.99 bin, pop it in the DVD player – and enjoy an unexpected little gem: “Kitchen Stories”, “10 Items Or Less”, ”King Of The Corner”, “Off The Map”… Just because they stayed out of the Hollywood marketing machine doesn’t make them any less enjoyable.

Sometimes I slip, though, and pick a movie that friends told me I should watch. Like “Evan Almighty”. Of course it turned out to be a paint-by-numbers theology-lite comedy that didn’t live up to the exclamation-marked hyperboles on the cover. Okay, it gave me one or two brief chuckles, but its most redeeming quality was that it was short.

Still, there is one thing about this movie I really enjoy: it was produced with a Zero Carbon Footprint. After the shoot wrapped, the entire set was recycled. Carbon-offsets were calculated and purchased. Even the DVD was environmentally friendly manufactured, with packaging made out of recycled and bio-degradable materials.

Now this is not the first movie that was produced and distributed this way. Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” was probably the first one, and if you check the end credits for the Cohn Brother’s “No Country For Old Men” you’ll see it says “This movie was produced with a Zero Carbon Footprint”.

“Evan Almighty” moved this practice beyond the “eco geek” label that came with Al Gore, or the “art house” label you’d associate with a Cohn Brothers film. To my knowledge “Evan” is the first big-budget crowd-pleasing blockbuster to adopt this production model.

That’s something to be happy about; it gives hope more movies will follow suit.

I’m now almost grateful for this dud.

The Sweet Smell of... Hay?

2009-09-13T19:49:00.013-04:00

For about a week the Nolalu Eco Centre could have passed for a working farm: around us cutters, balers and tractors were very busy clearing our fields of hay. With the poor summer we’d been having, many farmers didn’t have enough warm & sunny days to get their hay in on time.

Moe Thiboutot from Mile Hills Farms was one of them, until he saw our fields. And with the beautiful fall weather we’re experiencing, he didn’t wait long to get his equipment over and get hayin'. Pretty soon the air was filled with the intoxicating smell (and dust) of freshly harvested hay.

Our fields now look like they must have when this property was still a mixed farm. The original settlers who arrived here over a century ago cleared the dense forest of trees, an incredible job considering they only had a horse (two, if they were lucky), their own two hands and some very basic equipment.

It was sad to see the fields slowly growing back in, so we were more than happy to help Moe out. His cattle will have enough to eat this winter; and as things go around here, Moe will barter us something in return.

Announcing the 2009 Eco Heroes!

2009-09-05T18:04:00.021-04:00

North Ontario’s first Eco Hero Contest has successfully wrapped! We received lots of wonderful nominations for lots of encouraging initiatives happening all over the region. The jury consisting of Graham Saunders, Kirstin Muth and ourselves had a pretty tough time selecting the winners, but finally came up with these 3 names:

1) Jeannie Gaudette (Murillo),
2) Laura Ogden (Thunder Bay), and
3) Gary Peacock (Neebing).

Congratulations to all, and a big warm thank-you to our sponsors and CBC Radio (Gerald Graham, who graciously gave us the the air time to kick the contest off earlier this summer and the opportunity to announce the winners yesterday, drum roll and all).

The winners have been notified and will receive their prizes at an informal get-together here at the Eco Centre, early October.

Missed out on nominating someone (or had hoped to get nominated)? No worries; this first contest generated so much positive response and was so much fun to organize (okay, and hard work, too...) that we decided to do this annually!

Check our website and click the Eco Hero button to learn more about the winners as well as the thoughtful folks who nominated them.

Storing Our Daily Food

2009-09-03T21:45:00.008-04:00

Summer (or what passed for it) is winding down; there’s a crispness in the air, the first local frost warnings have been issued and regional Fall Fairs are popping up around us. It’s also that time of year when it’s hard to keep up with all that our garden is producing: potatoes, carrots, beets, chard, Brussels sprouts, cauliflowers, rutabagas, onions, cabbages... you name it.

Of course there’s no way we can eat all this bounty as it suddenly becomes available, it’s just too darn much. We’ll have to find a way to store it for the winter, but the fridge is already full… Sure, we’ll cook & freeze some of it, but not everything can be stored this way. Besides, the freezer is getting full, too.

Many homesteads all over rural Canada had (have) a root cellar or cold storage room. They’re small rooms that can be kept at just above freezing by controlled venting to the outside, while warmth from the house or thick earth berms prevent it from getting too cold. No power required…
Since our straw bale insulated garage usually doesn’t get colder than around –6C in even the coldest of winter, we figured it would be a good place to build our own cold storage room there. So we built one, well-insulated to keep the warmth in (sorry, no straw bales this time – just left-over fiber glass batts). A 60 Watt light bulb can be switched on for some additional heat in case the temperature dips too low.

Our cold room is pretty much done now, awaiting its shelving. It’s a bit of an experiment, we’ll have to see how it goes. But if it works, we’ll be eating the fruit (okay: veggies) of our labour until spring!

Our Daily Food

2009-08-30T21:54:00.013-04:00

To continue this blog’s food-themed focus: today we had our first full home-grown organic supper! Beets, chard, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, zucchini… Sure, we’ve been eating plenty of veggies from our garden for weeks now (despite this crappy summer), but this time everything on our plate came from there! No pesticides, nothing genetically altered, no chemical fertilizers – just Mother Earth doing her thing (okay, with lots of help from Jacomyn).

Not only is this food very healthy and extremely flavourful, there’s also something intensely satisfying about growing and eating your own food. We’ve become so alienated from our food sources, we often don’t know where it comes from, who grew it and how it was grown. The food and fertilizing industries are colossal entities, only designed to make profits for their share holders – at any cost.

We’re lucky here in Nolalu where we have plenty of space and good enough soil to grow our own. Friends and neighbours around us provide us with organic eggs, chicken meat, beef, pork and even more veggies & fruit than we can ever dream of growing ourselves.
All we need now is a way to store all this yummy goodness for when winter comes…

A Greenhouse For –40C Winters…?

2009-08-21T11:40:00.029-04:00

Our North Ontario winters are crazy long & cold. If you want to do any serious vegetable gardening, you’ll need some sort of greenhouse to beat the short growing season – or it will beat you. Add to this free trade and low oil prices, and it’s no wonder that most of our produce here is trucked in from vast distances, losing much of its freshness and nutrients in the process.

Some people are getting a little nervous about that. For with oil prices steadily climbing, so has the price of that trucked-in produce. And with energy and environmental crises breathing down our neck, they are beginning to wonder what may happen if those crises will make it impossible to get our food here. How will we feed ourselves then?

Enter Nolalu resident Leo Hunnako. Leo’s got a Big Idea: to build a greenhouse for North Ontario’s mind-numbing cold winters. Yep: winters. You know, our long plug-your-car-in, square-tire winters. That’s when Leo’s greenhouse will be happily producing fresh organic veggies. Solar powered, almost all year round. Mind you, this is not your (grand) daddy’s greenhouse. This one’s super-insulated and sheltered from the biting winds. Lots of thermal mass will retain the sun’s warmth that pours in during our short but sunny winter days. Solar hot water collectors will store even more solar heat that gets piped through a sand-filled wall and underneath the veggie beds. Insulated double pane windows will be covered up with more insulation material at night to keep the warmth in.

It’s scheduled to be operational by early October, the first of its kind. The idea is that with Leo’s help (and after extensive testing) many more will follow. We can’t wait to see how it will perform.
Our survival may depend on it.
Leo Hunnako can be reached at leoh @ tbaytel.net (first remove the spaces in the email address - spam protection)

Toys we really need (no, really)

2009-08-15T12:02:00.013-04:00

Click, clunk, whirrrrrrr – crrrack!! And repeat. And repeat. And repeat...
Now that our wonderful new chainsaw has produced the 5 cords of firewood required for this winter, there’s one more task to do: splitting it (well, there’s also the stacking it and building the woodshed, but that will have to wait till this fall).

Of course you can take your trusty axe and wood block and do it all by hand, but believe me: that’s only fun and games for the first hour or so. The other umpteen hours… some may call it invigorating, but “back breaking” is closer to the truth.
Enter the electric log splitter, courtesy of our wonderful friends Ron & Kelly (who also own a camp near us, a little piece of heaven with a sauna overlooking a quiet lake – but that’s another story). And suddenly, that big wood pile seems a lot less daunting.

Some purists will prefer the blistered hands, the aching back, the sweat-drenched shirts, and hey: go for it if that turns your crank. I prefer the elegance and convenience of this electric miracle. Click, clunk, whirrrrrrr – crrrack! Powered by our own renewable energy, of course.
The only disadvantage: this is only a loaner… Anybody got a small electric log splitter they want to get rid of…?!

Things That Go Bang! in the Night

2009-08-08T19:06:00.017-04:00

Our solar hot water system has been out of commision for a while now. It had been doing just great – until one cold night this past winter (-32C plus a nasty wind) we heard a loud bang: the system had frozen and burst, despite the glycol in it (a biodegradable type of anti-freeze).

Of course we had to wait repairing it until the frost was gone (which took well into June this year!), and then we just got too busy to actually get to it. But yesterday we finally got up on the ladders, took the solar tubes off and temporarily stored them (picture below) and took the manifold down for a closer look. Frank Ilczyszyn (below, right), who designed and installed our entire solar and wind system, was once again our go-to guy to help out with this 2-person job.

Fortunately the damage wasn’t all too bad, we should be able to repair it later this week. I'm looking forward to get the system up and running again, it does a great job at producing hot water from the sun, even on overcast days. Last summer we used solar hot water exclusively, it was so efficient we could simply turn our conventional water heater off. I got quite a kick out of that. I'm telling ya, nothing beats a steaming hot solar shower in the morning!

Heroes Are Hard to Find These Days...

2009-07-31T20:30:00.079-04:00

... or are they? Not if it's up to us! We know from experience that heroes are just about everywhere. Just don't look for muscular characters with silly capes, secret identities and impractical "super powers" saving the planet. Instead look at your friends, neighbours, relatives, colleagues. I bet they're up to something "heroic" like, well... saving the planet. Only no capes involved this time, and definitely no super powers.

Yes, I'm talking about people doing their bit in helping our battered environment. By recycling, commuting by bike or public transit, composting, insulating their homes, installing low-flow toilets, changing to CFL lights, buying locally, driving less, you name it. The kind of stuff that stays under the radar but is important nonetheless.

How important? Well for one thing, without them we wouldn't have a livable planet Earth much longer. Important enough for modern-day heroes like Canadian astronaut Dr. Roberta Bondard and Juno Award winning singer-songwriter Susan Aglukark to support this initiative. They want to see it happen and you can make it happen.

Those who live around here you may have heard about it on CBC Radio One's "Voyage North", seen the posters or picked up a brochure. If you haven't and want to know more, simply go to our website and click on the Eco Hero button, top left.

Now go find your heroes and let us know about it!

I Love My Chain Saw!

2009-07-31T17:43:00.033-04:00

I never was much into doing guy things. I don't care about cars (or trucks, if you live in NW Ontario), I like classical and folk music, don't fish or hunt, am not particularly fond of working the BBQ, don't -dare I say it?- follow sports, and even less guy-like: I have no problem talking about feelings.

But something happened about 3 weeks ago: our grumpy old chain saw officially became a serious safety hazard. The big bloody gash in my upper leg told me loud and clear: don't use this tool ever again if you hope to live to a ripe old age. Or live, period.

New chain saws are expensive, though, until friends of ours told us about their Echo saw they picked up at Roslyn's Hardware Store. I now am the proud owner of a brand new saw, and I love it (thank you, Wendy & Kevin!).
Now I'm looking for excuses to fire her up and cut down stuff. I dream of felling trees, making them drop with uncanny precision. No more ear drum-piercing whining, no more foul smells, no more guzzling of gas & oil, no more struggling to get 'er goin', no more parts falling off, no more fretting if we have enough firewood for this winter, and especially: no more worries about safety and reliability. Ahhh...! Yup, life is all about balance.

Disclaimer: no live trees are being harmed in the process, only dead, sick or blown over ones. And for bucking, we're using a solar-powered electric chain saw. Hey, we're an Eco Centre!

Jay And Hooray!

2009-07-29T19:26:00.012-04:00

Finally, the Eco Centre got the paint job it (she?) needed! We'd been putting it off for about 2 years now and were all set to ignore it for another year, when presto: help emerged in the form of 24 girls from the Ontario Rangers program. They simply called us to see if there was anything they could help us with for a full day. Well, we said, the house needs painting... No problem, was their response, just provide the paint, we'll bring our own brushes and lunches.
And they weren't kidding. That morning 2 big vans pulled up, and out of them piled the 24 able-bodied girls, roaring to go. After a fun house tour and something to drink we started mixing the paint, and off they went.
It was probably the best crew we ever had: focussed, cheerful, fun and hard working. At 3:00 pm the house was all done - except the garage's gable ends over our solar hot water collectors, a very tricky spot that we did the next day (as the picture below shows).
The paint we used was a Milk Paint, by the way. Made from, yup: milk; with specific plants and/or berry elements added for a wide range of colours. It comes as a powder and has to be mixed with water (1 part milk paint powder to 9 parts water for a milk paint wash or stain. Three parts powder to 1 part water for an opaque (house) paint). It's absolutely environmentally safe, doesn't off-gas, leftovers can be safely dumped in the sink and is easy to work with. Just keep it away from your cats who may want to drink it (ours was constipated for about 2 days). And it's probably the only paint you'll have to put in the fridge at the end of the day :-)
It's a regionally manufactured products; we got ours at the Homestead House Paint Co., a small & friendly family-run business in Toronto.

So here's a big shout-out to the Ontario Ranger girls for a wonderful job and for being a blast having around. The Eco Centre looks even better now!
Also a big hug for our dear friend Jane Oldale who not only helped out but also baked solar chocolate chip cookies in her solar oven right here on the spot.

Blog's On!

2009-07-29T19:13:00.004-04:00

Blog's on!

The Nolalu Eco Centre has a blog - and not just any ol' blog! This is the place you want to go to to read about all the things we do here to show that it is possible to live a comfortable life style that's more in harmony with our environment. No boring lectures or long-winded articles, just accessible and practical bits and pieces. Simple stuff that works great and not-so-simple stuff that may not work as well. Check back often to see what's going on - and believe me, there's always something going on!