From the monthly archives:

March 2009

Introduction to Permaculture 12 Hour course – #YYC events

Thumbnail image for Introduction to Permaculture 12 Hour course – #YYC events March 31, 2009 by Ryan Slifka

From the website:
In a world of fluctuating food and energy costs, Permaculture design offers a positive sustainable way forward. This course will show you how to apply sustainable design to many situations from the patio to the pasture. Come and get a taste of what Permaculture has to offer.
Learn how to design and redesign all [...]

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Concerns about backyard chickens are valid, but solutions exist

Thumbnail image for Concerns about backyard chickens are valid, but solutions exist March 31, 2009 by Ryan Slifka

A while back, the Georgia Straight published an article by Leanne McConnachie, director of farm animal programs for the Vancouver Humane Society, opposing the legalization of backyard chickens by Vancouver city council. McConnachie argues that many people lack the “financial resources, husbandry knowledge, or permanency in their housing situation to properly care for their animals”. [...]

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Hosting a Community Dialogue on Local Food Systems

Thumbnail image for Hosting a Community Dialogue on Local Food Systems March 30, 2009 by Jon Steinman

The New Resilient now features Deconstructing Dinner, an award-winning weekly radio podcast about local and international food issues brought to you by Kootenay Coop Radio CJLY FM in Nelson, British Columbia. You can download the latest episode here, stream it here or subscribe to it on iTunes.
Over the past few years, Deconstructing Dinner has involved [...]

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Towards Sustainability: One Couple’s Working Model (Part I)

Thumbnail image for Towards Sustainability: One Couple’s Working Model (Part I) March 30, 2009 by Jonathan Wright

Over the next few weeks, the New Resilient will be featuring several articles penned by Jonathan Wright, a Calgary area farmer and co-founder of one of the city’s first community supported agriculture programs. Jon operates a zero-emission farm called Thompson Small Farm near Carbon, Alberta with his partner Andrea.
I used to be a conservationist. [...]

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1+1=83%: Canadian Beef Consolidated Further

Thumbnail image for 1+1=83%: Canadian Beef Consolidated Further March 27, 2009 by Jon Steinman

“This is a problem with a dysfunctional marketplace that is taking more and more of the wealth that farmers produce and distributing it to other players in the cattle industry.”
– Fred Tait, Manitoba Coordinator, National Farmers Union
In light of last year’s largest recall of meat in Canadian history, Canadians have become quite aware of the [...]

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Michael Pollan on Bill Moyers’ Journal

March 26, 2009 by Ryan Slifka

“My path was through the garden. -Michael Pollan”
If you’re reading this from Canada, you’re probably very much aware of the state of journalism in this country. While the economy tanks, the Calgary Herald prints Spock and the U.S.S. Enterprise as the cover story. I enjoy Star Trek as much as the next person (perhaps even [...]

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A Crisis in Awareness & Participation: Michael Ableman

Thumbnail image for A Crisis in Awareness & Participation: Michael Ableman March 25, 2009 by Jon Steinman

The New Resilient now features Deconstructing Dinner, an award-winning weekly radio podcast about local and international food issues brought to you by Kootenay Coop Radio CJLY FM in Nelson, British Columbia. You can download it here, stream it here or subscribe to it on iTunes.
Michael Ableman is a farmer, author and photographer. Since he moved [...]

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“Keep Calm and Carry On” for our “Econopocalypse”

Thumbnail image for “Keep Calm and Carry On” for our “Econopocalypse” March 24, 2009 by Mike Soron

A modern day equivalent of the United Kingdom’s wartime “Keep Calm and Carry On.”
Extra special, it’s Creative Commons licensed work. So take, print, distribute, enjoy. Thanks to Matt Jones through Flickr!
(via Cory at BoingBoing)

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Regional Autonomy & Community Ownership: BC MLA Corky Evans says ‘farewell’

Thumbnail image for Regional Autonomy & Community Ownership: BC MLA Corky Evans says ‘farewell’ March 24, 2009 by Ryan Slifka

The following is the farewell speech from British Columbia M.L.A. Corky Evans on the subject of his retirement from the legislature. I’ve followed Evan’s career with interest, and it is clear that his political philosophy embodies much of our own at the New Resilient. Conrad St. James Evans has always been a fierce advocate for [...]

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DIY Cradle-to-Cradle: Futon Flowerbeds for Most Glorious Revolution!

Thumbnail image for DIY Cradle-to-Cradle: Futon Flowerbeds for Most Glorious Revolution! March 23, 2009 by Richard Rawnsley

With Victory Gardens back in vogue lately, even the new US secretary of agriculture is putting on his sunhat in the name of local food security. It seemed perfectly fitting, then, that I consummate my recent move to a more temperate clime (Vancouver) with an urban agriculture adventure of my very own: I too could be [...]

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Potato Famine “Facts”: the Real Dirt on Farming? Part II

Thumbnail image for Potato Famine “Facts”: the Real Dirt on Farming? Part II March 20, 2009 by Jon Steinman

The following is a continuation of the March 6, 2009 column featuring excerpts from Jon Steinman’s talk given in early February 2009 at the Annual Policy Conference of the Dairy Farmers of Canada in Ottawa. In the spirit of Deconstructing Dinner, the talk focused on the deconstructing of an industry and government-funded publication produced in [...]

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The dilemma of year-round local food in Calgary

Thumbnail image for The dilemma of year-round local food in Calgary March 19, 2009 by Ryan Slifka

You hear it often, even from those dedicated to the cause. Sure, you can eat locally in Calgary—but not year-round. A friend of mine from church worked for Alberta Agriculture in the 1970’s, when there was a push for Albertans to eat more Alberta food products. One refrigerated storehouse for carrots, he argued, burned more [...]

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Open Source Solutions: Housing

Thumbnail image for Open Source Solutions: Housing March 18, 2009 by Mike Soron

Can the tremendous advantages of the open source movement help alleviate our housing needs?
Housing is undergoing tremendous change. The global mortgage collapse is a major part of this, but so are two decades with little or no government support for affordable housing, a century of atrocious land-use planning, and substandard built-stock due much to profit-seeking [...]

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