100 Mile Easter Dinner

In the month of April, there are very few vegetables and even fewer fruits that grow within British Columbia's Fraser Valley. However, with the help of my family, we managed to serve a delicious "100 mile" turkey dinner with only a few exceptions.
The ingredients:

Salad
Lettuce: Windset Farms, Delta
Cucumbers: local hot house
Pea Shoots: Misty Mountains Farm, Richmond
Tomatoes: hot house, Delta
Stuffing
Chives: our garden
Oregano: our garden
Leaks: our garden
Parsley: our garden
Mushrooms: Misty Mountains Farm, Richmond
Bread*
Mashed Potatoes
Potatoes: British Columbia
Milk: Avalon Dairy Ltd., Fraser Valley
Turkey
Turkey: JD Farms, Langley
Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp
Rolled Oats: Chilliwack
Honey: Sweetcane by Everland, Burnaby
Flour: Anita's Organics, Chilliwack
Butter: Avalon Dairy Ltd, Fraser Valley
Rhubarb: our garden
Strawberries (frozen from last summer): Emma Lea Farm, Richmond
Yogurt: Fraser Meadow, Agassiz Harrison Valley

*" A Bread Affair" in Vancouver makes 100 mile bread, but we found this brand after making the stuffing

Where did we buy these ingredients?
Choices: Burnaby
Donald's Market: Quay, New Westminster
Drive Organics: Commercial Drive, Vancouver
Sweet Cherubim Natural: Commercial Drive, Vancouver

To avoid the extra carbon emissions it would take to drive to all these stores and gather the ingredients, we used transit and our walking shoes!

yum
until next time,

half of a tree

aka Hannah

Party for the Planet!

Check out this brilliant video about our experience at a carbon-neutral-earth-day celebration! You are gonna wish you went...hopefully next year it will happen again! If it looks like we are having your kind of fun, go check out other earth-friendly events near you. You'd be surprised how many you can find these days. Or perhaps, if none are already happening, you could make an event of your own!

Until next time,

Under A Tree

aka Marie-Claire and Hannah

Waste Verdict

After going to Southern United States for 6 days, a place where Styrofoam is a necessity and recycling is a foreign word, the small amount of garbage we produced during the 'paste your waste' challenge seems insignificant. However,after recording the amount of hidden garbage displayed the harsh reality: PLASTIC IS EVERYWHERE! The amount of products we use every day that are doused in plastic and swimming in chemicals is disgusting, almost inevitable...but not inescapable! There are countless products we can stop buying. To avoid being overly overwhelmed try starting with these:

AVOID COMPLETELY
Bottled Water...the most ridiculous of all products
Granola Bars...closer to a chocolate bar than oatmeal anyways
Disposable Cups...challenge yourself to bring your own thermos everywhere. Some coffee shops will even give you a discount!
Plastic Shopping Bags...If you can carry it to the counter, you can carry it to your car! If you are incapable, bring a large purse or a reusable shopping bag.
Plastic Garbage Bags...so let me get this straight, before we send our plastic to sit in a landfill, we cover it in another layer of plastic..? Is it to make sure our garbage has the greatest impact on the environment possible?
Plastic Wrap...yuck...please use Tupperware.

We have already discontinued our use of bottled water, granola bars and plastic bags! Our challenge now is to avoid disposable cups, plastic wrap, zip lock bags and paper towel. We are also going to use reusable bags for produce (available at IGA).

WE CHALLENGE YOU TO DO THE SAME!

Until next time,

Under A Tree

Words of Wisdom

 "Eco" comes from the Greek word oikos, meaning home. Ecology is the study of home, while economics is the management of home. Ecologists attempt to define the conditions and principles that  govern life's ability to flourish through time and change. Societies and our constructs, like economics, must adapt to those fundamentals defined by ecology. The challenge today is to put the "eco" back into economics and every aspect of our lives.

David Suzuki
The Sacred Balance, 2007

 I came across the above quote while reading "The Sacred Balance" by David Suzuki. I have thus far only read up to page 47, but I have already placed 11 sticky notes marking passages that made me say "WOW". His insightful philosophy brings spirituality back into the increasingly scientific views of our earth. I understand now that taking care of the earth is not the same as following the care instructions when doing the laundry or bringing the family car in for an oil change. Truly taking care of the earth is like placing a bandage on your child's knee or hugging a friend who's having a good sob. Despite the physical, chemical and biological patterns examined by scientists, our earth has an unpredictable, passionate and lovable spirit that must be respected.                                          

Sincerely,

Half of a Tree

aka Hannah