Restoration work is now underway to get the planks ready for the harvest table. To learn more about the workshops, check out the Our Green Change Tumblr page: http://ourgreenchange.tumblr.com/ You can also check out the Pinterest page of the ideas for the project: http://pinterest.com/jennzia/green-change/
The Centre for Green Change is going to be a community-driven sustainability centre in the heart of Toronto’s Jane and Finch neighbourhood. After months of collaboration with community members, staff, academics, and business owners, the project took another major step on Valentine’s Day.
Nine of us came together on the Wood Farm in Essa, Ontario, to select the material we plan to use for the furniture in the new centre. Thanks to the generous donation, we were able to find stunning pieces of 100+ year old solid wood with a rich history; Professor David Wood, the owner of the farm, tells us that the wood is from the trees that were originally on the farm, and were later used as boards inside the house . Beneath the wallpapers lie layers of newspaper from 1890’s and pieces of denim fabric. It’s here that we realise what we are about to do with the wood is nothing new, but rather a continuation of long history of “sustainability”. Our plan for the wood, and the centre, is not limited to creating a harvest table for the kitchen/café (see the beautiful sketch that our volunteer furniture designer and maker, Lubo Brezina, has created since the trip!); our goal is to honour the stories we have inherited throughout the process.
This project is about far more than just saving trees: It’s about all the people that collaborated on a joint-vision. Not just the nine people that came together on Valentine’s Day, but everyone who has participated in the process; anyone who has ever shared their ideas during the design charrettes in Jane/Finch, the coordinators that have worked relentlessly on every single detail of the project, the furniture designers/craftsmen that have dedicated their time and expertise (including Emanuel Calleja from Old-Fashioned Restoration, and the generous donors that have opened up new doors for Our Green Change. It’s this continuous sharing of ideas and stories that have made the project complicated and wonderful at the same time. And I’m looking forward to the changes and challenges that lie ahead in the upcoming months.
To learn more about the project and its many contributors, please see the following links:
2013 is going to be an exciting year! Especially if you agree with these statements…
· The UN climate change negotiation process is flawed and flailing.
· People power for climate action is sweeping the world.
· An urgent transition to the renewable energy revolution is vital.
· Forests are fundamental for our future
· Youth have the power to inspire and provoke both citizens and politicians.
· Climate action = climate justice.
· WE ARE ALL DECISION MAKERS.
Would you support a documentary film that highlights these concepts?
You can! Today! In fact, we URGENTLY need your help.
We are a small, independent production company based in Australia and we have an exciting film ready to be edited and released in 2013.
2 Degrees features rainforests, the UN process, a campaign for solar thermal power and the voice of Youth.
We are wanting to build a community of supporters around the project and it would be great if your organisation would consider joining us. We need to spread the word quickly about our current crowd funding campaign and also start to forge relationships with groups who would like to be involved with screenings and associated events.
There are now just 21 days left on our crowd funding campaign. PLEASE support us if you can.
DONATE HERE at Indiegogo.com/2degreesmovie
and importantly, please forward this email on to others…
We wish to partner with groups around the world in order to start preparing for the launch of the film. You can help to start to build our prospective audience, and we can help you with a tool to bring more people into your organization via screenings. We want to be able to direct our followers to action groups on the ground all over the world, and we also need help to set up screenings where groups can give presentations about their projects, have stalls and sell resources. We’ll be offering arrangements whereby you will be able to raise money from selling our DVDs or hosting screenings.
Please support us by :
1. Donating to the film if you can – if 2000 people donate $100 we’ve reached our goal!
2. Forwarding this email to your contacts or sharing with members of your organization via a blog or newsletter. We can provide text for ‘guest blogs’
3. Connecting with us on Facebook or Twitter – simply search 2 Degrees Movie
4. Endorsing our film – reciprocal links/logos on websites
As an active participant in the climate arena you will appreciate the importance of facilitating the general public’s understanding of climate issues, such as those mentioned above.
2 Degrees has been in the making since 2009. Driven by an experienced, dedicated team of film makers, 2 Degrees will help provoke climate dialogue, provide inspiration and help to show a pathway to a future where, as a species, we live in balance with our planet and with each other.
The film will foster understanding about the urgency of the situation not with facts and figures or scaremongering, but with compelling stories of people determined to make a difference for reasons of justice, health and for our children. In 2013, as momentum builds for mass change to the way we humans are managing our existence, 2 Degrees has the potential to be an exciting and powerful catalyst for action.
Why Climate Justice? The stories revealed in the film are driven by strong, committed characters working hard to fuel new ideas for the benefit of both local communities and the Earth’s ecosystems. Kevin Conrad leads the Coalition for Rainforest Nations through the high level multilateral UN maze in their bid to gain compensation for the poorest peoples on Earth so that they may keep their precious tropical rainforests intact.
Joy Baluch, Australia’s longest serving woman mayor represents a town which suffers universally from terrible respiratory health problems due to years of living in the shadow of coal-fired power stations. She fights for solar thermal technology to be introduced whilst also struggling for her life. At 80, cancer has its grip on her.
The stories are interwoven with poignant commentary from inspired voices such as scientist Kevin Anderson, journalist George Monbiot, political commentator Clive Hamilton and charismatic youth leader, 12 year old Xiuhtezcatl Martinez.
Find out more about the film and watch clips at our website
The film industry, like many, is really struggling right now but somehow all those dull, high budget reality TV shows and action films still seem to hit our screens. What we’re missing is these intelligent and thought provoking stories that actually relate to things that really matter…like our collective survival!
We are currently looking for volunteer production assistants on this project. If you have time to help us over the next 2-4 weeks, or longer term, please contact me immediately.
If you would like to be kept in the loop about 2 Degrees, hosting screenings etc please fill out the form on our website. Or please feel free to contact me by email to explore how we can help each other.
I sincerely hope you can join our support crew! Thanks for ANY support you can give us.
Warm regards
Ange Palmer
Co Producer
Green Turtle Films
P.O.Box 301
Clunes
Australia 2480
Mr. GH is a Stong House resident at 3105 Steeles Ave. The first time I met Mr. GH was in early May of 2012. I was having lunch, sitting on the main entrance stairs of the Stong House. We did not talk too much, we just stared at each other. After three months of frequent encounters around the forests and trees of Keele campus, we both were more comfortable in our communication. Although we weren’t able to talk directly, I understood his plea for me to help “keep the forest alive”. 
Keeping the forests and trees alive is a matter of life or death for Mr. GH. He has built a subterranean infrastructure around campus in order to get access to food from trees, mostly Austrian pines that, for some reason, are in severe decline.
Keeping the physical and natural infrastructure are key elements in achieving SCBO’s vision of a sustainable campus. Wild animals, trees, and forest – natural infrastructure – provide a number of services for our community in terms of human health, economics, ecological and aesthetic benefits. With the ongoing and future development on campus – TTC and PanAm Stadium – we can expect a negative impact on our urban forests, tress and wild animals. CSBO will be challenged to conserve and improve the present forests as requested by Mr. GH.
I am a student in the Master of Forest Conservation program at U or Toronto and have been doing my internship with SCBO for the past three months. In summary, my work was to assess to quality and quantity of urban trees on the Keele campus as part of what will become an overall Urban Forest Strategy.
Mr. GH is a Groundhog (Marmota monax) and I do not know how big his population is. Actually, I do not even know if Mr. GH is “He” or “She” or why GH is building an underground system around the campus Austrian pines and Oaks. That brings opportunity for biological research and an opportunity to engage students and staff with the need to conserve the natural infrastructure in Keele campus. I hope my internship’s results will be a step closer to attend Mr. GH request. Understanding the forest structure and functions are essential knowledge for the design of a sustainable Urban Forest Strategy.
I want to express my sincere thanks to all the CSBO staff for eat support I received enabling me to complete my work. I met some wonderful people and got to see what York is really like from the inside. I will always remember my summer with fond memories.
Leopoldo Rocca
Master of Forest Conservation student
University of Toronto – Faculty of Forestry
Interest in market-based approaches to reduce poverty has grown substantially in the last decade. To date, however, explanations in the management literature of how this can be achieved have focused on viewing the poor as consumers at the base of the economic pyramid, as microentrepreneurs in need of microfinance loans, and as potential employees of local small and medium-sized enterprises. Missing from the core of the management conversation has been an adequate understanding of the poor as primary producers and an explanation that situates them within their broader market and institutional context. Drawing on an in-depth study of market-based poverty alleviation initiatives for smallholder farmers by a non-governmental organization in a least developed economy, this dissertation offers the first theoretical model to explain the process by which a non-state organization can strategically enhance market practices in ways that reduce poverty for poor producers and improve overall market functioning. Findings suggest that meaningful improvements in income can be explained by the enhancement of market practices that redistribute social control toward poor producers in ways that reduce market and government failures. In addition, data revealed that the effectiveness of market development and poverty alleviation strategies is moderated by the extent of institutional leveraging to incentivize market changes in alignment with existing norms and logics. The model offers an integrated explanation of how market-based approaches can alleviate poverty and grow inclusive markets for poor producers. Findings suggest a number of business implications, including the importance of rebalancing power relations and enhancing productivity throughout an entire value chain. In addition, findings contribute to the literatures on business and poverty alleviation and the literatures on institutional change.
Kevin
I began working at IRIS in 2007 starting as a Graduate Assistant, quickly becoming Coordinator until 2009 when I finished my Masters program. My experience at IRIS prepared me for my present career as a Regulatory Specialist at the Sahtu Land and Water Board in the Northwest Territories, where I have been since December 2011.
Working at IRIS gave me the confidence to lead projects, and helped me to develop skills related to research, analysis, administration, and project coordination. All of these skills, have contributed significantly to my present career. Working at IRIS with an interdisciplinary team of colleagues gave me the necessary expertise to now work across disciplines in the regulatory field; from technical scientific fields to policy and legislation. As a Regulatory Specialist, I am responsible for administering and managing land use permit and water licence applications for development in a remote land claim region of the Northwest Territories. The region I work in has mainly oil and gas exploration. Given the remote and ecologically fragile nature of the Northwest Territories, environmental considerations are top of mind when it comes to any development. My work at IRIS, with its various interdisciplinary projects, prepared me for this career in balancing environmental, social and economic considerations.
I owe IRIS and particularly Professor Bazely immensely for the experience I gained at IRIS, which has fundamentally contributed to my current unique and challenging career.
Tony Morris
Former IRIS Coordinator.
November 24, 2012
There was once a time when a love for the winter season was tied with a sense of Canadian identity. Winter was exciting because it was that chance to break out the skates, find a sweet hill to toboggan on and build the most stylish snowman in the neighbourhood. While this affinity for the season may still be true for some places in Canada it seems as if the love is just no longer the same in Toronto. We hear it everyday when we turn on the news. If the temperature is above seasonal the weather person will declare it “a great day!” (without the slightest reference to climate change). But if the temperature is in fact seasonal then better take a seat, because they've got bad news for you!
I've already stopped watching the weather channel over my frustration for this attitude but it’s getting harder to escape. The other night it snowed a bit in Toronto and my newsfeed on facebook was overtaken by status updates along the lines of: “Go away old man winter” and “Can global warming hurry up already and stop making it so cold!” While these statements may seem harmless, it serves to reinforce a hideous culture that trivializes the seriousness of climate change and is quick to pin any person conscious of the issues as a radical, treehugger, crazy, whatever.
We shouldn’t have to wait for events like Hurricane Sandy to be our wake-up call. We are living in climate change and the alarms should have been ringing years ago. For me, the snowfall the other day was comforting given the fact that there was hardly any snow last year and in 2009, for the first time in 162 years, there was no snowfall at all in November!
In short, I think it’s time for us to stop and embrace the winter season again. Maybe then we can be able to turn our disappointment for what is sure to be another year of record breaking mild temperatures into outrage, the kind of outrage that demands City Council keep their ban on plastic bags, pushes for bike lanes and advocates for a meaningful long-term energy strategy.
Will this change in attitude solve all environmental problems? Probably not. But it’s a step (amongst many) that should be taken to start a real adult conversation about important issues.
By: Enrique Miranda
Professor Babatunde Ajayi (School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Nigeria)) and Mr. Isaiah Owolabi (Project HACEY, Nigeria), York University accredited delegates to COP 18 of UNFCCC can be seen, at left, with Philosophy Department professor, Idil Boran, along with other pictures of Doha and the convention centre.
Here is Professor Ajayi’s biography – WELCOME to the York University Delegation during COP 18!
- See more at: http://www.irisyorku.ca/category/blog/director-blog/#sthash.gxRVI9Pj.dpufNigeria), York University accredited delegates to COP 18 of UNFCCC can be seen, at left, with Philosophy Department professor, Idil Boran, along with other pictures of Doha and the convention centre.
ABOUT PROF. BABATUNDE AJAYI - profile kindly supplied by Project HACEY
"His area of research is the production of Bio-composites materials from wood and agricultural wastes. Currently, he is working on the production of plastic bonded composites using virgin plastic (HPDE), recycled plastic (LPDE), and used car battery case as binders. He is also investigating the suitability of agricultural wastes for the manufacture of cement bonded composites as affordable products for core low cost housing for low income earners. Professor Babatnde Ajayi was born on 25th August, 1955 in Ijan Ekiti, Nigeria. He obtained his Diploma in Forestry at the school of Forestry Ibadan, PGD in Timber and Material Technology at High- Wycombe, UK in 1986, MSc in Forest Industries Technology at Bangor, UK in 1990 and a PhD in Wood Science and Bio-Composites Technology from the Federal University of Technology, Akure in 2000. He assumed the status of a Professor in 2010 and he is currently the Head of Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. He has published more than 50 papers in reputable local and international journals and presented papers at 33 conferences and professional meetings.
In 2011, he received a Merit Award for Local Raw Materials Content, Research and Development from the Raw Materials Research and Development Council of Nigeria at TECHNO-EXPO 2011 (A Technology and Innovative Fair) in Abuja, Nigeria. He also exhibited his work at the United Nations Geneva- 2010 Exhibitions of Innovative Wood Products and for the 2011 International Year of the Forest.
He is a member of many professional bodies including the Institute of Wood Science, U.K., Commonwealth Forestry Association, U.K., Forest Products Society, U.S.A., Forestry Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Society for Environmental Management, Forest and Forest Products Society, Nigeria, International Union of Forestry Research Organization, International Inorganic Bonded Composites, USA and Society of Wood Science and Technology."
About SAAT - from the website.
Over the past years, the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology (SAAT), like every other school or faculty in Nigerian Universities, focused essentially on teaching and research (basic and applied). It determined its teaching and research agenda within the framework provided by the National Universities Commission, the main regulatory body, and the perceived needs of the society. The scope of this teaching and research agenda has been severally limited by the relatively dwindling government funding for the universities. This has led to most teaching and research facilities (laboratories, lecture rooms, libraries, office accommodation, communication and information equipment. etc) becoming obsolete, and inadequate to satisfy the aspiration of the school to meet the challenges of teaching and research in Nigerian Agriculture in the 21st century. In order to be at the cutting edge of agriculture and agricultural technology and impact positively and significantly on Nigeria’s rural, agricultural and agro-industrial landscape, the school has accepted a paradigm shift towards “the town and gown”. In this new paradigm, SAAT will not only teach and research, but will also render services that can transform the Nigerian socioeconomic and technological landscape. The services will be rendered to its stakeholders within the university and in larger Nigerian society.
The implication of the new paradigm is that SAAT’s work programme agenda will be needs driven Teaching and research will become more tailored to needs of the society than were previously case while SAAT will devote a substantial proportion of its resources and expertise to rendering services to its stakeholders within the larger Nigerian society. A further implication of the new paradigm is that the school will be more involved in the activities of the larger Nigeria society, by rendering services and soliciting for support in terms of collaboration, patronage, grants and endowment.
Akure is NE of Lagos, about a third of the way to Abuja."
View Doha UNFCCC COP 18 in a larger map
In addition to our York University professors, who are at the UNFCCC in Doha (see map above, and skyline at right), two members of Project HACEY, a capacity-building NGO working in the health and sustainability sectors, were able to be accredited through York, as NGO Observers at the UNFCCC COP 18. We will have more about our Project HACEY colleagues in a future post. Project HACEY is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Dawn Bazely
"Greetings from Doha. I want to begin by saying that the conference has been
incredibly informative. I went to some impressive panels and met very
interesting people.
The country negotiations are, as you know, going slowly and the expectations are
modest.
The side events, panels, and initiatives are absolutely fascinating. As the
negotiations are going slowly, there is an impressive effort at figuring out
alternative pathways for attending to the issue of climate change. The
dominant idea at Doha 2012 is the need to think in innovative ways on how the
issue can be dealt with. I also found that there is a heavy focus on
instruments other than traditional policy approaches. For example, the idea of
"innovative and green financing" is central to the discussions. So is the idea
of considering Development Banks as instruments that could facilitate climate
financing, transfer of green technology, and green development.
Yesterday, I went to a fascinating panel on women and climate change, where the
idea of making climate instruments gender sensitive was advanced.
I hope to give a full account of all my observations on my return. I haven't
had too much time writing, because I am trying to maximize my observations and
have been focused on absorbing new insights as much as possible"
