e-sage

Edmonton City Council: Please Fully Fund Cycling Infrastructure

2009-11-16T23:33:00.000-08:00

(Our fabulous friends at the Edmonton Bicycle Commuters Society alerted us that this issue was coming up - join them if you're interested in cycling infrastructure, if you want to learn how to maintain your bike, or if you need a cotter pin to fix the loose pedal on your old beater.)

Dear Mayor Mandel and City of Edmonton Councillors,

The Transportation and Public Works Committee is voting on the Active Transportation Strategy tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday, November 17th). We have read the report at http://www.facebook.com/l/978d8;ereg2.edmonton.ca/sirepub/cache/2/0tdddp2qbsyr3x45myv31a45/1325711122009114753247.PDF - and we are disappointed in the relatively small investment being made in cycling and pedestrian infrastructure in this proposal (down from the original combined total of $286M over 10 years to about $22M over 3 years).

We formed Edmontonians Supporting A Green Economy (E-SAGE, www.e-sage.ca) two years ago with the goals of supporting the development of a vibrant local living economy and providing the resources Edmontonians need to take the 'next step' in making their lifestyle more sustainable. We do this through our informative newsletter (now distributed to over 1200 members), hosting of networking events and educational workshops, participation in local festivals, and creation of the Shop Local Guide (www.shoplocalguide.ca), in addition to our collaborations with other local community groups.

We appreciate that the City of Edmonton is working hard to craft policies that support a more sustainable future for its citizens. However, we worry that in limiting the immediate funding for the creation of cycling infrastructure - and combining it with the funding for pedestrian infrastructure - that the City may miss a golden opportunity to capitalize on a boom of interest in commuter cycling by making it easier and safer. Making it safer to cycle in this city will result in fewer accidents (both bicycle-auto and bicycle-pedestrian), and will encourage more people to use their bicycles. More people cycling to work, or combining cycling with public transit use, would translate into less vehicle traffic and more parking in congested areas like Downtown and Old Strathcona. It would reduce requirements for road repairs and road widening, and subsequently save the city money in the transportation budget. It would help the city meet its goals for reducing its carbon footprint, along with other environmental and public-health benefits. Making it possible for families to do without their cars, or for two-car families to make do with only one, would provide them with additional disposable income that would be spent in our community, stimulating the local economy.

Relative to the costs of maintaining and servicing an ever-expanding network of roads, a one-time investment in creating cycling infrastructure is a bargain. We suggest that deferring some of the projects planned for roadway expansion outside the Anthony Henday ring road system would be an appropriate way to find the funds to speed up creation of on-road bicycle lanes, separate cycling paths, bicycle parking, and public transit solutions for cyclists, without jeopardizing much-needed funds for revitalization of Edmonton's older neighborhoods.

For more information about the benefits to cities of increasing cycling infrastructure, we invite you to read the following articles:

The Economic Benefits of Bicycle Infrastructure Investments (a point-form summary on EcoVelo of a policy research report by The League of American Cyclists): http://www.ecovelo.info/2009/08/18/the-economic-benefits-of-bicycle-infrastructure-investments/

How To Get More Bicyclists On The Road, an article from Scientific American:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=getting-more-bicyclists-on-the-road

Bucking The Cycle (an article from the Los Angeles Business Journal about the connection between cyclists and shoppers at local businesses): http://bicyclefixation.com/bikebucks.html

Thank you for your efforts to make Edmonton a greener, more sustainable city.

Locally yours,
Tad Hargrave, founder
Deborah Merriam, volunteer community organizer
Terra Fleenor, volunteer community organizer
Edmontonians Supporting A Green Economy (E-SAGE)

Edmonton Earth Day - rescheduled

2009-04-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately Edmonton Earth Day, is being rescheduled, the projected cold for tomorrow, snow, ground conditions, and required cancellation of MANY of our exhibitors by their volunteer organizations. We will be meeting on Monday to reschedule the event.

Thanks for your understanding,

Janice

You can contact Janice by phone at 780-760-1756 or by email at edmontonearthday@shaw.ca with any questions

Growing Food and Making a Living – Is it Possible?

2009-04-16T16:01:00.000-07:00

April E-SAGE Meeting

Growing Food and Making a Living – Is it Possible?
Ron Berezan the Urban Farmer and Becky Lipton

For those of you who couldn't be there, we've got the slide presentation and audio from the lecture.

Becky's Presentation
Slides (1.8 MB)
Audio (455 MB)

Ron's Presentation coming soon
Slides (MB)
Audio ( MB)

*The audio was recorded using an iphone - so it is not a professional quality recording. You can play this audio file using the free Quicktime media player from Apple. (click here to download the player)

Our Eco Expo Experts!

2009-04-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

We would like to acknowledge the people who volunteered to be experts in the E-SAGE Conversation Cafe at the 1st ever Go Green Eco Expo. These people are a wealth of information and I encourage you to contact them for information about these topics.

Food & Gardening:

Ivor Mackay - Ivor is famous for doing the 100 mile diet, and is active is creating food security in Edmonton, and was one of the organizers for the Food Today Tomorrow Together Conference held this January. He has also started a traditional skills group, and does talks on simplicity. If you are interested in contacting Ivor please email him at ivormack@telusplanet.net.

Cherry Dodd & Diana Baragar
Edmonton Naturalization Group
The Edmonton Naturalization Group is an informal group of people in the Edmonton area who like to grow native plants and promote their use in gardening and landscaping to a wider public.
Find out more at:
www.eng.fanweb.ca
engedmonton@gmail.com

Housing & Community:

Stephani Carter
Eco Ammo & Green Alberta
EcoAmmo provides tools and services to educate and excite those that work in the building industry about sustainable design. We offer services such as Sustainable Building Materials and Green Design Education, Conference Speaking and Independent LEED® Project Facilitation.
www.ecoammo.com

Green Alberta is a growing online resource of green building products and materials.
www.greenalberta.com
Suite 600A 10117 - Jasper Avenue
Edmonton, AB
780-466-7616

Nanda Gruss
Living in Unison Feng Shui
Offers on-site and remote feng shui consultations, space clearing ceremonies, workshops and Art with sacred geometry products.
www.livinginunison.com

8946 - 78 Avenue
Edmonton, AB,
780-297-8975
nanda@livinginunison.com

Nathalie Jackson
Village Lifestyles
Village Lifestyles is an intentional community that honors each others' gifts, talents and passions. We are a group of individual-owner businesses that will be collectively supported and nurtured by the community. Rental Space Available - 24 hours, 7 days a week.
www.villagelifestyles.com

10429 - 79 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
780-988-8804

Energy:

Alexander Polkovsky
GAIA Energies Ltd - CleanTech Research, Consulting, Construction, Project Management
www.gaiaenergies.com

#2222, 13 Mission Avenue
St. Albert, AB
780.443.GAIA (4242)
alexander@gaiaenergies.com

Health & Wellness

Basia Urbanski R.N. CHt.
Pure Access Hypnotherapy
"Clearing the way to real newness"
www.pureaccess.ca

201, 8225 - 105 Street
Edmonton, AB
780-436-3776

Monique Schoenau
Natural Body
(Workshops - teleseminars - public speaking)
"Women in midlife are women on the verge of a total breakthrough."
www.natural-body.ca

9856 - 89 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
780-966-9338

Go Green Eco Expo

2009-04-02T23:02:00.000-07:00

April 2, 2009

Go Green Eco Expo

April 4, 2009
10:00 am - 8:00 pm
U of A Butterdome
E-SAGE is hosting the Conversation Cafe
We are providing an opportunity for the visitors to the expo to talk with the real experts about sustainable living. There will be 5 areas of conversation:
1. Food
2. Housing
3. Energy
4. Transportation
5. Health & Wellness

We want to provide top quality information to these people and are looking
for volunteers to take a shift over the course of the day. This is not an
opportunity to openly promote your company and products to these visitors,
but a chance to build relationships and share your knoweldge. If you are
interested in being one of these "hosts" please contact Maureen at
maureen@e-sage.ca and let me know your area of expertise, name, business or group name and what time you can be there.

Food & Gardening Topic (gardening, heritage seeds, growing food, xeriscaping, Permaculture, preserving food, vegan, raw, vegetarian diets, organic, local food, )

Examples of groups that would fit here (if you are in this list you still need to sign up for a time slot):

Edmonton Naturalization Group

Ron Berezan - The Urban Farmer

Edmonton Food Security Network

City Farm

Bedrock Seed Bank

Guerilla Gardeners

Re-Fresh

D'lish

100 mile diet

Vegetarians of Alberta

food co-op

http://www.doodle.com/vdz2cdt4xkh36ydn

Energy Topic (solar, wind power, solar hot water, bio-diesel)

Examples of groups that would fit here (if you are in this list you still need to sign up for a time slot):

Off the Grid

Trimline Design

Gordon Howell

Earth Friendly Electric

Gaia Energies Ltd

http://www.doodle.com/r4ek6vayzdczee3c

Housing Topic (Straw bale, Net Zero, retrofit and renovations, Healthy Buildings, LEEDS, Eco-villages, Co-housing, lifestyle audits)

Examples of groups that would fit here (if you are in this list you still need to sign up for a time slot):

Green Alberta

Carbon Busters

Raising Spaces

Net Zero

Saito Kai

Eco-Domestica

Eco-Butler

Village Lifestyles

landscaping

http://www.doodle.com/66ht2uka7ig64724

Health & Wellness Topic (energy healing, nutrition, yoga, massage, coaching, feng shui)

Examples of groups that would fit here (if you are in this list you still need to sign up for a time slot):

Living in Unison

Reiki

economics of happiness

wholistic medicine

sustainable products and services

http://www.doodle.com/cket7kmaaerrb8dt

Michael Shuman - The Whirlwind "Smallmart" Tour

2009-03-08T23:03:00.000-07:00

As promised, Michael Shuman was here at the end of February to share his wisdom on Local Economies, and let us know how important it is for the health and prosperity of a community to shop local first.

He was here for 4 presentation, and if you weren't able to make it to a presentation, you are in luck, because he gave us copies of his presentations. You can download them as pdfs from the links below.

Wednesday, Feb 25/09 (2 - 4 pm) - Business Owner Presentation

Thursday, Feb 26/09 (1 - 3 pm) - Economic Development Presentation (Click here for Audio - 17.7 MB)

Thursday, Feb 26/09 (7 - 9:30 pm) - Public Lecture U of A (audio coming)

Announcement! Michael Shuman is coming and doing 2 events!

2009-02-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

Business Owners Event

Wednesday, Feb 25th
WHEN: 2:00 – 4:00pm
WHERE: City Arts Center (10943-84 Avenue)
COST: Suggested Donation of $5 - $10

While business tends to be painted as the enemy of the environment and social justice – there is actually a powerful role that local, independent businesses can play that non-profits can’t. The Small Marts can be a much more powerful force for social change than many entrepreneurs realize.

This event includes:
- the often overlooked and underestimated role for small business in developing a sustainable local economy
- examples of what local networks of independent and sustainable businesses have done to create prosperity and social change in their communities
- planning next steps KEO and E-SAGE members can take to develop our own sustainable business network
- networking with other cool, local entrepreneurs

Public Event

When: Thursday, February 26
Time: 7 - 9:30 pm
Where: Telus bldg (87 ave and 111 Street) room #150, at the University of Alberta Campus
Cost: $10 - $20 sliding scale , tickets available at Earths General Store and at the door

Sure - Walmart's an easy target.

So are the rest of the multi-national chain stores.

And buying local is important.

But why?

What do we tell our friends who say, "But Walmart brings in jobs! And
it's lower prices mean that the poor can afford things. Are you
against the poor?"

Come and hear a compelling perspective to address your niggling doubts
and wonderings in the whole "global vs. local" debate.

Michael Shuman: A Voice Leading the Small-Mart Revolution

For the past 25 years, lawyer, author and economist Michael Shuman has been an articulate voice of clarity in the rapidly growing Small-Mart Revolution. He has been taking on the Wal-Mart style Goliaths of multinational, big box chains and championing the local Small-Marts. Over the past 25 years Shuman has given an average of more than one invited talk a week – to universities, cities, legislators, economic development groups, and grassroots groups in nearly a dozen countries.

His work turns traditional ideas around Local Economic Development on their head and systematically challenges the assumptions of old, worn out models to show how we can live greener, more creatively, wealthier, happier and healthier lives by 'going local first'. Think you need to attract a big box store to your community to generate jobs and money?
Think again.

You've probably never heard of him - but his work is recognized as some of the most important written about the role that small, locally-owned business can play in creating a vibrant, local living economy.

He is the vice president for Enterprise Development for the Training and Development Corporation (TDC) of Bucksport, Maine. He has authored, coauthored, and edited seven books, including “The Small Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition” (Berrett-Koehler, 2006) and “Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in the Global Age” (Free Press, 1998). The Small-Mart Revolution was just awarded a bronze medal for best business book by the Independent Publishers' Association.

In recent years Shuman has led community-based economic-development efforts in St. Lawrence County (NY), Hudson Valley (NY), Katahdin Region (ME), Martha's Vineyard (MA), and Carbondale (CO). He is currently preparing studies on state business subsidies for the Kellogg Foundation and on global models of local food businesses for the Gates Foundation. He served as a senior editor for the recently published Encyclopedia of Community. And he is a cofounder and active participant in the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and a founder of Bay Friendly Chicken, a community-owned company located in Salisbury, Maryland.

Shuman received an A.B. with distinction in economics and international relations from Stanford University and a J.D. from
Stanford Law School.

Why support Local independent business?
Because a San Francisco study compared the impact of $1 million spent at a local bookstore VS a national chain and found that just a 10% shift in spending to independent business would result in $192 million in increased economic activity and 1300 new jobs! You don’t have to change WHAT you buy, just WHERE you buy it!

It has been shown that local businesses redistribute about 65 – 75% of their profits in the community, while global businesses only contribute 15% of their profits to the local economy. Therefore, money spent at a local business has 3 times more economic benefit to the local economy than money spent at a global retailer.

A healthy local independent business community is the key to developing a sustainable economy. The City of Edmonton has indicated a keen interest in being a leader in sustainable practices. Take the opportunity to attend a special presentation with Michael Shuman - an expert in developing policies and strategies that encourage sustainable local economies.

Agricultural Land and Food Security

2009-02-17T09:49:00.000-08:00

FOOD SECURITY ISSUE: If you live within The Capital Region, but outside of Edmonton, we need you.

WHAT: WE NEED DOZENS OF REGIONAL CITIZENS ON FEBRUARY 19TH, 2009- 9 A.M.

The Greater Edmonton Alliance has had a major impact in our work to preserve high yield farmland in the Capital Region.

The "This Land is our Land Campaign" has put food security, a local foods economy and land preservation firmly on the agenda of the City of Edmonton and the Capital Region Board of the twenty-five mayors.

BUT THERE IS STILL TENSION: The mayors of the rural counties are resisting the preservation of high yield farm land because they DON'T WANT TO BE TOLD WHAT TO DO WITH THEIR LAND!

They mostly believe they have the right to develop that land as they see fit and that food security and local food economies are not important.

The Vote on how much land will be preserved and how it will be preserved will likely take place on the 19th. The Greater Edmonton Alliance will be presenting a set of win-win solutions in conjunction with Green Hectares, a new group working to get young people into farming at the next CRB meeting.

* * *

WHO: We need dozens of REGIONAL CITIZENS to attend this meeting to show these regional mayors that working out a solution to preserve high yield farmland is critical.

People from the counties, towns and cities outside of Edmonton are needed

WHEN: Thursday, February 19th, 2009, 9:00 A.M.

WHERE: Chateau Louis Hotel Conference Centre, 117th Street and Kingsway

RSVP: If you can make it, please RSVP to jessie@thebluepear.com Please include what town or region you live in.

No Interest Banking

2009-02-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

Wow is it already February! Where did January go? Things are moving so fast these days, we've already had the food security conference, and our first 2 E-SAGE meetings.

Mark's talk last night was great! We had about 40 people out and we talked about everything from what is money and how do our banks work, to alternative banking models, local investment and alternative currencies. There was lots of discussion and we could have talked all night, but we decided instead to continue the discussion at another time. We had a sign up sheet for anyone who was interested in talking more and working with others to create a sustainable "money" system locally. If you are interested in being part of the discussion, you can contact Andrea Jones at andrea@raisingspaces.com.

Further Resources:

http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=3232

Paul Gringnon Money as Debt Video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279

E-SAGE 2009

2009-01-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

2009 Community Meeting Topics

We’ve decided that we are going to have one meeting a month where anyone can come to learn about sustainable topics and network with like-minded individuals. Here's what is going on for the next year.

Jan 23 – Food Security & the Global Food System

Feb 6 – No Interest Banking (Mark Anielski)

Feb 26 – Michael Shuman, “Small Mart Revolution”

Mar 11 – Nutritional Therapy

Mar 31 - Peter Brown, "Right Relationship Building a Whole Earth Economy"

Apr 4 – Go Green Eco Expo (U of A Butterdome)

Apr 16 – Urban Agriculture

May 8 – Green Homes & Eco-villages

June 4 - Alternative Energy (Solar Electric)

July 7 – How to be a Good Edmontonian

Aug 5 – Ancient Wisdom

Sept 10 – Organizing for Social Change

Oct 2 – Growing a Local Economy

Nov 2 – Arts & Transformation

Dec 11 – E-Sage 2nd Anniversary Party

You are welcome to attend the meetings!

Time: 7:00 – 9:30 pm

Place: Village Lifestyles (10429 – 79 Avenue)

The meetings start at 7:00, and our guests usually present for between 1 and 2 hours, and then we have a nice amount of time for mingling and networking.

Business Meetings

We've made a decision to try something different this year with the business meetings. Because everyone seems to really like the guest speakers and networking that goes on with the community meetings, we are going to have those every month - and encourage anyone who has a business connection to the topic to attend the meeting so that you can be involved in the discussion and networking that goes on. We are still going to set aside time and space for the business meetings, but that time is dedicated time for the committees working the projects below to meet and work on them. That being said, we are looking for people to be on the project committees. Read on for more details.

We been asked to collaborate on some exciting projects and we need your help. Please read the project summaries, if you have any interest in these projects & have a few hours to spare each month, we’d love to hear from you.

Email maureen@e-sage.ca or call 780-435-5683

1. Develop policies to support & encourage sustainable businesses

Last spring the City of Edmonton’s Office of Environment and Energy invited us to help develop policies to encourage more green businesses in the city. This year we are looking for people to be part of a committee to complete this task. We are starting from scratch: developing a method to collect information, conducting interviews and meetings, analyzing the results and making recommendations. One of the perks of this project is getting to work with Michael Shuman when he visits at the end of February.

2. Develop an online directory of sustainable, green, local, products, services, organizations, & events

E-SAGE is building an online directory that will act as a central link to all the great sustainable lifestyle resources that are available in the Edmonton area. This directory is unique because of our “sustainability” ranking system. For example, the first requirement is that a business or organization must be local, which means 51% of the ownership and decision-making power is located in Edmonton. After that there are a series of criteria which measure the commitment to meet environmental, social and economic standards that promote overall sustainability. We are looking for people to help refine the sustainability index, nominate possible candidates to include in the directory, interview them using the sustainability questionnaire, determine their rank, and add them to the online directory.

3. Organize and Host Green Trade Shows

One of the main purposes of E-SAGE is to facilitate connections and create synergy between the people in the “green economy”. We have met so many awesome people who do fantastic, creative work – we want them to meet each other and find out if there is some way they can work together. A regular series of trade shows would allow our business members to showcase what they do to other business people and the wider community, and maybe spark some collaborative projects!

4. Organize and Host Green Job Fairs

There are so many opportunities for the entrepreneurial types out there. We’ve had many comments at our meetings from people who wish they could find someone to do this or that – but no one is doing it...Yet. At the same time there are many people who have decided to leave the traditional careers they have trained for or worked in to find something more meaningful or fulfilling.

We believe there will be more and more opportunities to shift into green careers as our economy falters. There is already one green job fair being planned for March 5/09 to be held at the U of A campus, we are welcome to help with the planning of that event and host another one in the fall.

Further reading:

http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=2966

5. Co-Create our Organization

The fundamental question comes up in any group, “How do we make ourselves sustainable?” This is a question E-SAGE is considering right now. We’d like to know what our meeting attendees think of that. If we were to organize into some form, what form should it be? What are the pros and cons, and what value does E-SAGE hold in the community? If you are interested in exploring this question and helping to make sure E-SAGE can continue to provide great education, networking and action opportunities, we invite you to get involved.

E-SAGE 2009

2009-01-15T14:44:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!
this is going to be an exciting year! We've already planned out our talks for the year and they are going to be great. More details to come as the dates approach.

January 23/09 - Local Food Security and the global food system - who cares?

This is a note I saw posted at my local SAFEWAY store this week:

Due to extreme weather related issues and road closures; we are experiencing temporary gaps on supply with some commodities. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to be back in full supply as soon as the conditions improve.

This really brings home the point that our food supply is vulnerable to all kinds of circumstances. Is it really a good idea to import 80% of our food? Is it smart to be that dependant on things out of our control? What is really going on with our food?

If these are things you have thought about or want to know more about, come to our meeting on January 23rd, at the Village Lifestyles (10429 - 79 Avenue) at 7pm.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! As Christmas approaches we are wrapping up the year and getting ready for 2009.

We've finalized our meetings dates for 2009, all of them are held at the Village Lifestyles (10429-79 avenue) Community Meetings between 7 - 9:30pm, Business Meetings between 10am - 12 pm.

If we have details beside the date that means we have speakers or topics booked, but the blank dates are open for suggestions. If there is something you've been dying to know more about, or if you would like to do a presentation, please let us know by email maureen (at) e-sage.ca!

Community Meetings (7 - 9:30pm)
January 23
February 11

February 26 - Michael Shuman, Author of the Small-Mart Revolution will be giving a public talk on the importance of buying local, and the impact our habits have on local economics.

March 11

March 31 - Peter Brown, an ecological economist, is doing a tour to promote his new book - "Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy" (Berret-Koehler) His four co-authors, including environmental law consultant Geoffrey Garver, are all members of the Moral Economy Project, a Quaker initiative to promote a new vision of economics, that promotes environmental stewardship.

May 8
June 10
July 7
August 5
September 10
October 2
November 2
December 11 - E-SAGE 2nd Anniversary

Business Meetings (10am - 12pm)
This year we have lots of ideas of what we could do at the business meetings, but we are open to ideas from you. We know there are already lots of excellent resources for small business owners who want more information on day to day operations (BusinessLink) or networking events (Chamber of Commerce). But what do you want to get out of an E-SAGE business meeting? Why do you come? We have some ideas of our own what could happen at these meetings but we would like your feedback. Email us at maureen (at) e-sage.ca

Should we have a few tradeshows where you can showcase your products or services to the E-SAGE members?

How about a job fair to match up people who want sustainable careers, with opportunities waiting for someone to make it happen?

Is anyone interested in working with the City to do a focus group and develop policies for promoting local independant businesses? This would tie in with Michael Shuman's work with the BALLE organizations in the USA.

We would like to build a skills inventory along with the Sustainable Business Directory. Is that something you are interested in helping us develop?

January 26
February 24
March 26
April 24
May 25
June 22
July 21
August 20
September 18
October 16
November 16

Thanks again to the over 300 people who have come to meetings, spread the word about our group, and supported us over the past year. We look forward to seeing you in the new year!

Best Wishes for the holiday season and an joyful & abundant 2009!

Maureen, Terra & Tad

After the Party...

2008-12-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

Well, our party was a great event. We had about 60 or so people come and go through the night. There was great music and entertainment, fabulous potluck food, wonderful local beer and wine, plus other holiday favorites.

Special thanks to Terra for all her help in organizing the event it wouldn't have been possible without her dedication and attention to detail!

Thanks also to Nina who came and helped set up for the evening, and to our "doormen" & bartenders Ron & Laura Berezan, and Laura Kate Jeffreys. Thanks also to our DJ - Pat from Joy One and all the muscians who came and entertained us - Tophie & Jenika, Nineca and Gord Oaks, Jill & her uke, & Khadija.

The silent auction was a success too - we raised about $1500 - which will go towards paying the rent for our meeting space for 2009. We appreciate the beautiful space provided by the Village, and thank them for their support over the past year.

Thanks to everyone who donated items to the auction, and thanks to everyone who bid on the items and helped us raise this money!

Seasons Greetings!

Maureen, Terra & Tad

E-SAGE is 1 Year Old!

2008-12-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

Well it's finally happened, we've been around for 1 year, and we couldn't have done it without you! So come and celebrate with us.

Party Details:
Date: Thursday December 11, 2008
Time: 6:00 – 11:30 pm
Place: Village Lifestyles
10429 – 79 Avenue

The potluck dinner starts at 6:00. We will have local wine from En Sante Winery, (including a dinner session about wine pairing and fruit wines) and local beer from Amber’s Brewing. We will also have live music and entertainment for your enjoyment. Bidding for the silent auction closes at 9:00 pm.

And for those of you have been looking for a way to support us to grow and do more in the coming year, now is your chance. We are having a silent auction to help raise funds for basic operations and building the online directory. If you have a business and could donate an item to the silent auction, please let us know by Dec 8 by replying to this email or calling 780.435.5683. If you need more information or reasons to donate, keep reading...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good Day!

We’re writing to invite your support for e-sage in helping us create a vital financial nest egg (without giving us a dime)

Seriously. We’re not asking for money.

There’s a way you help us (in a big way) and it will only take you about 5 minutes but could help us make big strides towards becoming more financially stable.

Here’s the deal:

Up until now we’ve done all our work (more on that below) through passing the hat at our meetings. However, to keep it up and take this group to the next level, we need to generate an operating fund.

Why? The main reason is that we want to be able to hire people to work on E-SAGE as a full time basis – not just a volunteer venture. A paid staff person will then have the time to do the more substantial work of grassroots fundraising and grant-writing.

So – here’s how you can help:

On Dec 11th we’re holding a silent auction at our anniversary party.

We’ve chosen to approach local independent businesses like yours because the unique products and services you offer appeal to our members. This is a great way to promote your product or service and a practical way to encourage people to shop locally.

Could you donate an item for the silent auction? If so, we need to pick it up by December 8, 2008, and would appreciate if you could include a slip of paper with the item that lists this information:

- your company name and contact info
- the name and description of the item being donated
- the approximate value of your donation

Two good reasons to donate something . . .

You might get more business for yourself. If you have your own product or service, this is an inexpensive way to promote it to a lot of new people (who may be just your kind of client). Silent auctions can be a great way to get exposure and also reduces anxiety for people who want to try something new.

It’s an easy way you can support Edmonton’s Green Economy without needing to donate any money (of course – financial donations are welcome as well). For the past year, E-SAGE has been one of the only groups in Edmonton providing consistent & energizing opportunities for green business owners and passionate people to gather and network about sustainable alternatives. And we think that’s worth celebrating (and supporting).

Who or what is E-SAGE?

This abbreviation stands for Edmontonians Supporting A Green Economy. E-SAGE is an Edmonton-based network that encourages Edmonton area businesses and community members to become greener, to think local first, and to make informed socially-responsible choices in the ways that they earn and spend their money. We work to support them in contributing to the development of a vibrant local living economy, community and environment through networking events and workshops.

What do we do?

We do what we say we will do.

When we started this group, we asked our members what they wanted most. Their top 3 wishes were:

to network with like-minded people.
to find out what others are doing, or where to find “green” businesses.
to DO something, not just talk about it.

We inspire people. Our meetings are energizing. People meet others they can REALLY talk to and connect with. In less than 1 year our mailing list has grown to over 320 members, and our Facebook group has over 480 members.

We educate and empower people. Our monthly meetings cover topics ranging from urban gardening, greening your home, eco-villages, alternative energy, local economics & business to the 100 mile diet. We are building an online directory of sustainable businesses, products, services, organizations and resources to help people take daily action on their decision to live more sustainably.

We support events & organizations that are making a difference.

We worked with the City, and Keep Edmonton Original to have November 2008 proclaimed as “Shop Local First” Month.

We worked with the Greater Edmonton Alliance to bring 600 people out to the hearings to preserve Edmonton’s agricultural lands at city hall on November 12, 2008.

We promote community events for other groups like the Sierra Club, ESPA, and help to bring in world-class speakers like Kevin Danahar, Michael Shuman and others.

Thanks you so much for your contribution,

Maureen, Terra & Tad
E-SAGE
maureen@e-sage.ca
780.435.5683

P.S. not sure what you could donate? It could be any product or service you think that a progressive minded crowd would appreciate. Here are some examples of other items being donated:

2 hour “Breakfast Conversation” with Mark Anielski –author of “The Economics of Happiness” at the Sugar Bowl. Approx value $300.

1 hour “Urban Landscape Consultation” with Ron Berezan, “The Urban Farmer”. Approx value $150.

½ hour “Marketing Consultations” with Tad Hargrave of “Radical Business”. Six sessions valued at $100 each.

1 hour Sustainability Consultation (for technology, economics, development and investment) With Joey Hundert. Approximate value $200.

Update on the city council hearings Wednesday night.

2008-11-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who was able to come out to city hall! It was humbing and energizing to see so many concerned citizens exercising thier democratic rights. Based on news reports there were between 550 and 600 of us there! Not since the decisions about expanding West Edmonton Mall have there been that many people at city hall.

It seems as though our presence and presentations have had an impact. Three city councilors have asked for further information and a specific plan for preserving high yield farmland.

Thanks to everyone who made passionate and intelligent presentations in favor or preserving the agricultural areas and pointing out the need for gathering more information about how Edmonton can be sustainable in the decades to come.

There has been a good amount of press on this issue and awareness is growing about what is happening in our city - which is great. I have put links to media stories and to updates from the Greater Edmonton Alliance facebook group. If you know of any others you think people would want to see, send to me to add to this page at maureen@e-sage.ca

We will keep you posted on any other developments. This is only a beginning, but it is a great one.

Thank you again for your support!

Maureen, Terra & Tad

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Media

Edmonton's defining moment (pdf)

Edmonton Journal - Nov 13/08 (pdf)

Edmonton Journal - Nov 14/08 (pdf)

Edmonton Journal - Scott McKeen (Nov 14/08) (pdf) or click here (link)

Global TV - Nov 13/08 (link)

This Land is our Land (GEA Facebook Group)

E-sage (facebook group)

Important Upcoming Event!!

2008-11-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

The city council hearings on the Municipal Development Plan next Wednesday night at 7pm. One of the items to be discussed are the plans for rezoning of the agricultural lands surrounding the city. If you haven't heard about this yet - there is more information below.

If you have heard about it, you may be confused about all the different information you are getting. Some people have said there never were any evening public hearings, some have said they were cancelled, and others have said that they were rescheduled.

The latest information we have from the city clerk's office is that a recommendation has been made for city council to extend the hearings on Wednesday until 9:30pm to allow working people to give their input on the Municipal Development Plan.

Should you be at City Hall next Wednesday, Nov 12 at 7pm? The answer is YES!!

We have handed out 5000 flyers about this event, and sent out hundreds of emails and invitations through facebook and other groups. We need to have hundreds of citizens there to show council that we expect them to do some research before making such an important decision.

Why should you be at City Hall next Wednesday? Here are some reasons...
- The city of Edmonton and surrounding areas is home to over 1 million people
- studies show that it takes approximately 640 acres to grow enough food to feed 1000 people, so based on our population, we would need 640,000 acres to be self-sufficient.
- the farmland in the NE is 12,000 acres, the farmland in the SW is about 6,000 acres
- this land is considered THE BEST soil in the province, it is a microclimate that gives an extra 2 week growing season, and it is right near the river for easy irrigation if required
- farmers and market gardeners like Riverbend gardens and Kuhlmans are located in that farmland. They own some of the land and rent some from from land speculators who have bought up about 40% of the land
- even at current limited production levels, they supply about 5% of Edmonton's fresh produce market
- We import about 80% of our food
- Imported food needs to be processed, packaged and preserved to survive shipping. All of these processes reduce its nutrient value.
- We have about 3 days worth of food on the grocery store shelves
- Most produce/fruit is picked at least 2 weeks before we buy it at the store
- Most of our food is transported a minimum of 1500 kms The average Canadian food item travels 2000 km from field to fork
- most transport trucks run on diesel fuel, which is being rationed in Alberta, (in some places truckers are limited to buying 250 litres at a time)
- multinational corporations that control the global food supply depend on healthy credit markets to finance their operations which includes shipping the food. Credit collapses are becoming more frequent of late
- 40% of the farmland in the NE is owned by land speculators. These people buy land, wait for it to go up in value, then sell it - usually to developers or corporations. The only way they can see to make money on this land is to use it for something other than farming.
- the land speculators we met with had no interest in working with us to find ways to preserve farmland
- City council is considering rezoning the agricultural land to industrial or for residential development
- City Council has never turned down a request to rezone agricultural land
- The municipal Development plan is over 120 pages. Food security is mentioned in 3 sentences.
- Many of the City Councillors we met with did not think protecting farmland was their concern

Do you understand our concern?

If so, we hope to see you at city hall next Wednesday, Nov 12 at 7 pm. It occurs to me that this is the day after Rememberance Day, there has to be some irony in there somewhere.

Food Basket Update

2008-10-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here is an update on the Food Action that happened on September 20. It was a great success! Thanks to everyone who signed up for a basket and came to pick it up. There were about 290 of us there, showing our support for the local farmers, and learning more about our place in the food system.
Well that was just the beginning...

The Background
As many of you know, a local food system is very important for the sustainability of a city, and we need your help to ensure that our city has a sustainable food supply. As it stands, we currently import about 80% of our food. With the rising cost of fuel, climate change, health concerns and economic unstability across the border - it makes sense to start focusing on a local food strategy.

There are 12,000 acres of prime farmland just northeast of Edmonton. Food for almost half of the population of Edmonton could be provided, with that much land. This land has class 1 soil and a micro-climate that provides a longer growing season. Kuhlmans, Vissers and many other families who vend at the farmers markets have had gardens in the area for decades.

The Issue
This land was annexed by the city 20 years ago, and now it is under threat of development.
In Mid-November our city council will make a decision whether to rezone the land from agricultural to industrial, which will allow upgraders and other industrial development to proceed.

By supporting the work of The Greater Edmonton Alliance, E-SAGE hopes to try and convince council to give permanent agricultural status to this land, & prevent it from being developed in to a "Nisku North" or additional housing.

The Action
If you are at all concerned about a sustainable, local food supply for you and your family, we ask you to give some of your time to help with this initiative. This is an opportunity for you to make a difference by just showing up.

Wednesday, November 12 @ 6:45pm - council hearings on this issue. We will need people to attend the city council hearings and fill council chambers when this issue is going to be discussed. We will be meeting on the big stairs at city hall - downtown Edmonton.

If you care about the long term future of food production & food security in Edmonton, this land is a critical piece. This is an issue that will impact our region & local food production for the rest of our lives. It may well be the most important decision this city council faces.

If we can get the right people involved and act in an organized, strategic manner, we feel this land is something we can protect for future agricultural purposes.

I know many of you are the right people to be involved in this. If you are interested in participating in these hearings, please reply to this message, and we will give you further information about the meeting times and places.
Thanks for your support,

Want more information about what others have to say about sustainable food supplies? Here's an article from the NY Times you might find interesting. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html?_r=2&ref=magazine&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Michael Shuman Events Cancelled!

2008-10-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
I have disappointing news. We just heard from Michael Shuman at the airport in California. He does not have his passport - so he cannot board his plane.

Therefore, we will be rescheduling his visits to the new year.

This means that all 4 events are cancelled:

October 20, public talk at the University of Alberta at 7pm
October 21, entreprenuers talk at Village Lifestyles from 9 - 11 am
October 21, special afternoon business session downtown from 1 - 3 pm
October 21, private dinner at the Blue Pear from 7 - 10pm

Anyone who bought tickets is entitled to a full refund - we were at the door in front of TL-B1 tonight to give refunds, and if you missed that, you can go to Earth's General Store tomorrow after lunch to get your refund - bring your ticket with you.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused!

We will reschedule this event for some time in mid to late January so keep checking back fro updates.

Maureen, Tad & Terra

Michael Shuman

2008-10-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

Michael Shuman: A Voice Leading the Small-Mart Revolution

For the past 25 years, lawyer, author and economist Michael Shuman has been an articulate voice of clarity in the rapidly growing Small-Mart Revolution. He has been taking on the Wal-Mart style Goliaths of multinational, big box chains and championing the local Small-Marts. Over the past 25 years Shuman has given an average of more than one invited talk a week – to universities, cities, legislators, economic development groups, and grassroots groups in nearly a dozen countries.

His work turns traditional ideas around Local Economic Development on their head and systematically challenges the assumptions of old, worn out models to show how we can live greener, more creatively, wealthier, happier and healthier lives by 'going local first'. Think you need to attract a big box store to your community to generate jobs and money?
Think again.

You've probably never heard of him - but his work is recognized as some of the most important written about the role that small, locally-owned business can play in creating a vibrant, local living economy.

He is the vice president for Enterprise Development for the Training and Development Corporation (TDC) of Bucksport, Maine. He has authored, coauthored, and edited seven books, including “The Small Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition” (Berrett-Koehler, 2006) and “Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in the Global Age” (Free Press, 1998). The Small-Mart Revolution was just awarded a bronze medal for best business book by the Independent Publishers' Association.

In recent years Shuman has led community-based economic-development efforts in St. Lawrence County (NY), Hudson Valley (NY), Katahdin Region (ME), Martha's Vineyard (MA), and Carbondale (CO). He is currently preparing studies on state business subsidies for the Kellogg Foundation and on global models of local food businesses for the Gates Foundation. He served as a senior editor for the recently published Encyclopedia of Community. And he is a cofounder and active participant in the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and a founder of Bay Friendly Chicken, a community-owned company located in Salisbury, Maryland.

Shuman received an A.B. with distinction in economics and international relations from Stanford University and a J.D. from
Stanford Law School.

Why support Local independent business?
Because a San Francisco study compared the impact of $1 million spent at a local bookstore VS a national chain and found that just a 10% shift in spending to independent business would result in $192 million in increased economic activity and 1300 new jobs! You don’t have to change WHAT you buy, just WHERE you buy it!

It has been shown that local businesses redistribute about 65 – 75% of their profits in the community, while global businesses only contribute 15% of their profits to the local economy. Therefore, money spent at a local business has 3 times more economic benefit to the local economy than money spent at a global retailer.

A healthy local independent business community is the key to developing a sustainable economy. The City of Edmonton has indicated a keen interest in being a leader in sustainable practices. Take the opportunity to attend a special presentation with Michael Shuman - an expert in developing policies and strategies that encourage sustainable local economies.

E-SAGE*, (Edmontonians Supporting A Green Economy) are proud to announce that renowned local economies expert and author, Michael Shuman will be in Edmonton for 3 Exclusive, “Small Mart Revolution” Events, October 20 - 21, 2008.

Monday, October 20th
WHEN: 7:00 to 9:30 pm
WHERE: University of Alberta, Tory Lecture Building (room TL-B1)
COST: Tickets on a sliding scale from $10 - $20, available at Earth’s General Store and at the door.

Sure - Walmart's an easy target.

So are the rest of the multi-national chain stores.

And buying local is important.

But why?

What do we tell our friends who say, "But Walmart brings in jobs! And
it's lower prices mean that the poor can afford things. Are you
against the poor?"

Come and hear a compelling perspective to address your niggling doubts
and wonderings in the whole "global vs. local" debate.

Tuesday, October 21st
Small Business Session:
While business tends to be painted as the enemy of the environment and social justice – there is actually a powerful role that local, independent businesses can play that non-profits can’t. The Small Marts can be a much more powerful force for social change than many entrepreneurs realize.

WHEN: 9am – 11pm
WHERE: Village Lifestyles (10429-79 Avenue)
COST: Suggested Donation of $5 - $15

This event includes:
- the often overlooked and underestimated role for small business in developing a sustainable local economy
- examples of what local networks of independent and sustainable businesses have done to create prosperity and social change in their communities
- planning next steps KEO and E-SAGE members can take to develop our own sustainable business network
- networking with other cool, local entrepreneurs

Tuesday, October 21st
Invitation Only “Local Economic Leaders Forum”:
We’ll spend an afternoon delving into high-level, cutting edge perspectives, studies and findings about how to foster a thriving and sustainable local economy.

WHEN: 1pm – 3pm
WHERE: 10303 - Jasper Avenue, Canadian Room (basement)
COST: Please be our guest
DRESS CODE: Business casual, pants and shirt is fine, no tie required

This event includes an exploration into:
- how the rising price of oil, the rapidly growing ‘green economy’, the trend towards ‘shop local first’, an inefficient global distribution systems and decline of the U.S. dollar (plus more than a half dozen other specific trends) are increasing the competitiveness of small business around the world.
- cutting-edge perspectives on what we can do to capitalize on these trends in Edmonton.
- A chance to get relevant economic information and recommendations for proven policies and strategies for Edmonton from Michael Shuman.

Tuesday, October 21st
Invitation Only “Local Economic Leaders Dinner Party”: Enjoy an exclusive and intimate dinner with Michael Shuman at one of Edmonton’s finest independent local restaurants – The Blue Pear.

WHEN: 7pm – 10pm
WHERE: The Blue Pear Restaurant (10643 - 123 street)
COST: To Be Determined
Dress code: Monday evening, jeans would be fine.

This event includes an opportunity to:
- discuss your ideas and questions directly with Michael Shuman and the other VIP guests
- experience local dining at one of Edmonton’s excellent independent restaurants

August Update

2008-08-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

Good evening! This will be a short message because there will be more on the blog very shortly, but I just wanted to say how awesome this month has been for meetings!!!

We had 3 meetings; one on local food and eating local - Jessie did a fantastic job explaining the food system and why it costs more now to eat local - but it doesn't have to be that way forever. And for those who want to participate in the food action, here are some details and a link to the pledge form.

Have you ever wondered why it costs more to buy eggs at the farmers market, or whether you could do a 100 mile diet? Are you concerned about the distance food travels to get to our tables? Have you noticed that the good farmland surrounding Edmonton is being sold to developers? Did you know that we only have 3 days worth of food on the grocery store shelves? What does all this mean to you and your family?

These are questions some of us are thinking about as we become more aware of the role food plays in the health of our bodies, and our communities at large.

Remember at the very start of SAGE you told us that you wanted 3 things out of this group: networking, information, and ACTION. This is your chance to take action and make a difference!

SAGE has become a supporter of GEA's (Greater Edmonton Alliance) Shake the Hand that Feeds You local food action. We invite you to find out more about this simple plan to participate in improving the fabric of our community. If you weren't able to attend the meeting, you can still find out what is happening and take part by reading this document.

The basket pickup will happen on September 20 from 11-11:30 am at a local grocery store to be announced. We need to have money in by September 8, so if you have already filled in a sheet, we will be contacting you soon for payment. If you want to print out a sheet from the link above and send it in with payment to GEA, all the instructions are on the form itself. Thanks in advance for your thoughtfulness and support.

----------------------------------

The next meeting was for local independent business to start gathering people together so that we can all support and grow together. Did you know that a local independent business generates 3x as much economic benefit in a community than a global business? You can find out more details like this right here on the website, when we get the slide show from Jessie - it is very eye opening. Thanks to Jessie again for presenting this information to us. You can also visit her websites to find out more information.

www.keepedmontonoriginal.com
www.originalfare.com

--------------------------------------

And last night, was Mark and Joey talking about co-creating a civilization of love and the fun of economics - who would ever believe there were so many people interested in these topics, but there were over 60 people last night, ranging from 8 to 80 years of age. It was truly magical and inspiring - thanks to everyone who came, and we hope to see you at our next meeting!

------------------------------------

The next community meeting will be Sept 29 at 7pm at the Village (10429-79 ave), and Ivor Mackay will be speaking about his experience doing the 100 mile diet and about local food.

Ivor would also like to know if anyone knows people who are interested in teaching learning, and developing traditional and "Primitive" skills. These skills would be everything from spinning and natural dying of wools, to making cordage, baskets, bow, arrows, tanning, pottery, preserving food and much more. There is a very wide variety of skills. We are not experts. We are keen to work with like minded people to create a wealth of knowledge.

If you can help in this project please contact Ivor or Lona at ivormack@telusplanet.net

You may also want to visit this website too http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/

And if anyone is interested in building an Apple press. Ivor has the plans and is looking for assistance. You can contact him at ivormack@telusplanet.net

Hmm, I guess that wasn't really short was it? Oh well, there will still be more on the blog next week, so check back then.

take care,

Maureen

Sticky PLU Labels on Fruit Provide Useful Health Information

2008-08-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
our meeting on local food is tonight, and I just got an email today that explains the stickers on fruit. If you don't already know this information it may be helpful to you.

Maureen

Sticky PLU Labels on Fruit Provide Useful Health Information
by Heidi Stevenson (see all articles by this author)
Originally published July 28 2008

(NaturalNews) Who would have imagined that those irritating little labels stuck on fruit would provide helpful information? Their purpose isn't, of course, to help the public. Nonetheless, the codes identify whether fruit is full of pesticides and grown with petroleum-based fertilizers or organic, and even when it's genetically modified.

When those stickies first started appearing on fruit, it seemed a tad strange. As if the supermarkets were determined to add another level of frustration to already-stressed lives. The aggravation of pulling a label off a perfect fruit, the embodiment of nature's bounty, only to have part of the peel come off too was... well, infuriating. And the fact that there was yet another code designed not to enlighten, but to obfuscate, to keep information from us simply added insult to injury.

Still, those disgustingly wasteful labels that end up in the landfills and take up your precious time to peel off do more than speed up the checkout process in the supermarket. They can help you avoid eating chemicals and genetically modified organisms.

The Labeling System

The codes are applied not only to fruit, but also to vegetables, herbs, and nuts, though labels are normally stuck only on fruit. They consist of four or five numbers. The system is quite simple. Fruit is divided into three classes: conventional, organic, and genetically modified.

All four-digit coded fruit is conventionally raised. So, if you don't see five digits, then it's safe to assume that the fruit is contaminated with pesticides and petroleum-based fertilizers, and is grown in depleted soils.

Five digit codes are simply the four digits with a single number added to the front: 8 or 9.

If the first of five numbers is 9, then it has been grown to the standards defined by the National Organic Standards Board. This is obviously preferable to conventionally-grown fruit.

If the first of five numbers is 8, the fruit is genetically modified. It means that it has been grown conventionally with poisons in depleted soil, from frankenseeds.

For example, let's take a simple Valencia orange. Its code is 4014. 84014 is the code of a small genetically modified Valencia orange. 94014 is the code of a small organic Valencia orange.

* 4 digits: The fruit likely comes with a burden of poisons and was grown in depleted soil.

* 5 digits, first is 8: This fruit is genetically modified, a GMO. It contains genes that were not put there by nature.

* 5 digits, first is 9: This fruit has been grown to an organic standard. Although the standard is not as strict as some produced by the most serious organic farmers, it is certainly superior to conventionally-grown or GMO fruit.

Who's Behind PLU Codes

It all started back in 1949. The Produce Marketing Association (PMA) was founded for the purpose of taking advantage of new packaging technologies and the developing style of self-service grocery shopping to promote the produce business. Since then, agribusiness has taken over most farming and PMA has grown accordingly. It has become the focal point of coordination in large-scale national and international produce marketing.

The International Federation for Produce Standards (IFPS) is associated with PMA. It assigns and administers Price Look Up (PLU) codes -- those numbers on sticky labels -- and keeps a database of them.

Originally intended to speed checkout in supermarkets, PLU codes are now being pushed as a means to provide quality accountability and to limit the costs involved in tracing bad products that have already been distributed.

More Info From PLU Numbers

If you're interested in finding out more about PLU numbers, simply go to the IFPS website, which provides the PLU database online (http://plucodes.com/search_wizard.aspx?s=1)

You must fill in four fields, but the information requested is not personal and cannot identify you. From there, you can find out what codes are used for particular types of produce and information associated with any code. Do not look for the first digit (8 or 9) of a five-digit code. Only four digits are included. (Keep in mind that the 8 or 9 is merely tacked onto the front of a four-digit code.)

For example, if you pick up an avocado with the code 4221 on it, you could look it up and find that it's classed as a small avocado that was grown in the eastern part of north America.

Every Little Bit Helps

Information available from PLU codes isn't as complete as shoppers should have. Nonetheless, it's nice to know that a tool intended only to provide information beneficial to agribusiness and supermarkets provides a real benefit to everyday consumers.

Remember: If the code is five digits in length, check out that first digit carefully. If it's an 8, put it back -- and consider making a complaint to the supermarket for stocking it.

About the author
* Heidi Stevenson, BSc, DIHom, FBIH
* Fellow, British Institute of Homeopathy
* Gaia Therapy (http://www.gaia-therapy.com/)
*
* The author is a homeopath who became concerned with medically-induced harm as a result of her own experiences and those of family members. She says that allopathic medicine is the arena that best describes the motto, "Buyer beware."
*
* Iatrogenic disease is illness, disability, and death caused by medical practice. It is common, resulting in huge costs to society and individuals. It's possible - even common - to suffer an iatrogenic illness without realizing its source.
*
* Heidi Stevenson provides information about medically-induced disease and disability, along with incisive well-researched articles on major issues in the modern world, so members of the public can protect themselves.

New Website Format

2008-07-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

you will notice that the website is a bit shorter now. I've finally converted all our past updates into a blog, which you can see by clicking here. I've moved the interesting links section to the blog as well to make this site more manageable.

Looking back we've done a lot in the past 7 months! It was fun to see that a lot of the areas people said they wanted to know more about have been covered in our past meetings.

So far we've had speakers on these topics:
Urban Gardening - Ron Berezan
Alternative Energy - Harold Verburg
Greening Your Home - Shanthu Mano, Stephani Carter, & Andrea Jones
Sustainable Economics - Mike Nickerson
Eco-Villages and Co-housing - Lorie Saito & Shanthu Mano

and coming up this fall...
Alternative Economics
Buy Local
Food Security

And there are so many things happening in the city...

A food security conference is being organized as we speak,
so is a conference on local governments for sustainability,
There will be a Shop Local month to spotlight our local businesses,
Eco-villages are being built and Co-housing Associations are being formed,
Alternative energy choices for our utilities are around the corner,
a closed loop paper recycling facility is being built - the 1st one on the continent!
and so much more, I could go on for pages.

It's an exciting time to be here, and we invite you to join us on the journey!

Tad & Maureen

Get Ready for August!

2008-07-23T18:58:00.000-07:00

What great weather we've been having. You may not like the rain, but my garden loves it, and the bees love my garden, and I love the bees. With so many dying every year (colony collapse disorder), I'm happy to welcome them into my yard and give them food.

On Sunday (the 20th), Tad and I we're out at the Devonian Botanical Gardens for the >1st annual green festival. It was a great day to be outside and there was a good crowd there that grew with each presentation. There were talks on Green investing, the sage group and local economies, alternative power sources, composting, carbon busting and more. We are looking forward to seeing it grow next year.

We've wrapped up all the July meetings, but August is coming fast and is sure to be interesting. We've got 3 meetings next month because there are so many exciting things happening we need more time to tell you about them.

Special Interest Community Meeting

Who cares about Local Food?

August 6, 2008 - 7pm @ the Village Lifestyles (10429-79 Ave)

Guest presenter - Jessie Radies of Original Fare

Have you ever wondered why it costs more to buy eggs at the farmers market, or whether you could do a 100 mile diet? Are you concerned about the distance food travels to get to our tables? Have you noticed that the good farmland surrounding Edmonton is being sold to develpers? Did you know that we only have 3 days worth of food on the grocery store shelves? What does all this mean to you and your family?

These are questions some of us are thinking about as we become more aware of the role food plays in the health of our bodies, and our communities at large. And we'll answer them at this meeting.

Remember at the very start of SAGE you told us that you wanted 3 things out of this group: networking, information, and ACTION. This is your chance to take action and make a difference!

SAGE has become a supporter of GEA's (Greater Edmonton Alliance) Shake the Hand that Feeds You local food action. We invite you to find out more about this simple plan to participate in improving the fabric of our community. If you aren't able to attend the meeting, you can still find out what is happening and take part by reading this document.

Business Meeting

Creating a local living economy in Edmonton

August 18, 2008 - 7 pm @ the Village Lifestyles (10429-79 Ave)

PLEASE NOTE THE TIME FOR THIS MEETING IS THE EVENING!!!

Usually we have the business meetings in the morning, but we needed to accommodate the schedule for our special guest presenter, Jessie Radies.

This is a special meeting. When we first started SAGE, we wanted to create a movement in Edmonton like the BALLE networks in the US. We weren't really sure how to do that, so our past few meetings have focused on entreprenuer experiences and networking. Now we have a plan for action, and we aim to put local business on the map in Edmonton.

We have invited Jessie Radies from Keep Edmonton Original, and also the owner of the Blue Pear will be speaking about the importance of local business to the economy and community where they operate. Our goal from this meeting is to gather together local Edmonton business to find out what kind of support they need from the community and the government to sustain their business and make it thrive. From there we can formulate the steps to make it happen.

Community Meeting

The fun of economics!

August 19, 2008 - 7pm @ the Village Lifestyles (10429-79 Ave)

I know, 2 meetings in a row, what was I thinking? But I am really excited about this month's meetings because they are all inter-related and they are being led mostly by members of the SAGE steering committee.

You are in for a treat tonight because Mark Anielski (author of the Economics of Happiness) and Joey Hundert (entrepreneur extrodinaire and super smart too) will be presenting together on the in and outs of economics, our economy and how we fit into the whole world banking system. What are the alternatives to the status quo? Are there other ways to do banking? What about alternative currencies like Calgary Dollars, or LETS? You will learn about all this and more, plus an exciting announcement about new ethical investment opportunites in our city.

The SAGE Summer Soiree

2008-07-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

July 7, 2008

The day after the party! I'm writing this from the future, but I can tell you the party was great! Even though it was rainy most of the day, it cleared up right around 4 when the party started and we had about 60 people enjoying the food, music and company. The rain stayed away until the last band played so everyone came in and danced.

So many people helped make this event a success, and we'd like to thank you all.

First of all - thanks to everyone who came!

Thanks to everyone who helped to set up the hall and clean it up afterwards.

We had a huge selection of homemade vegetarian potluck dishes - thanks to everyone who brought something!

Thanks to all the kitchen helpers who made lemonade and ice tea the old fashioned way. (Jenika, Azley, Mair, Diane & Lona)

Andrea Jones of Raising Spaces for the door prize

Terra Fleenor helped plan the party - everything from finding a venue, to finding musicians, to taking tickets at the door to getting the kegs to work, and being the mc for the night! Thanks so much Terra!

Nanda Gruss of Living in Unison is a talented feng shui consultant and she helped set the mood in the hall and transform the gloomy day into a celebration!

Mike Tulley of MKT Systems was our tireless sound tech, and he transformed the Riverdale hall into a super concert venue. Thanks for looking after all the musicians needs and keeping things on track.

Thanks to all our musicians! Without you it wouldn't have been a party! As you can see from the list below, we were spoiled.

Tophee Davies
Ken Stead
Mike Ehlers and Zizi
The Urban Coyotes - with our own Ron Berezan! I didn't know you were in a band, where do you find the time?!
Isoul
Tracy Reed

Ambers Brewing provided some of their locally made, special brand of beer. Thanks for all your help and they even deliver!

So if you missed this one, don't fret - we're having a 1 year anniversary party on DEC 11, so watch for more details and mark your calendars.

Eighth SAGE Meeting

2008-07-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

July 2, 2008

Our community meeting this month was on Eco-Villages and Co-housing and we had a great turnout and really interesting information.

Our guest speakers were:

Lorie Saito of SaitoKai is a straw bale expert from way back. She has been interested in "green" building for almost a decade and was a part of the Riverdale Net Zero Project. She is now involved in setting up a co-housing association in Edmonton with one of the designers, Alan Carpenter from Windsong, BC. To find out more visit www.cohousing.ca.

If you are planning to visit Capital X, you can see Robert and Lorie in the Northlands Green Zone. (Which is in the kidszone area of the midway - I hear they are behind the rides and games) they’ve built a straw bale structure complete with solar power and solar thermal heat.

Shanthu Mano of Carbon Busters. Well, Shanthu wasn't really there, but I did an great impression of her. They are building an eco-village just south of Beaumont that will be amazing, and of course carbon zero. If you are interested in knowing more about the village and how you can be a part of it, contact Shanthu at contact (at) carbonbusters.org (to reduce spam I have spread out the email address, to send a message just replace the (at) with @ and remove the spaces).

The start of summer!

2008-06-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

It's officially summer, and it was a great start to our new season yesterday! The festivals have started and gardens are growing, and farmers markets are in full swing.

The community meeting last Wednesday was awesome! Shanthu and Godo presented some surprising information about our footprint here in Edmonton, Stephani brought out attention to the ways our homes are unhealthy - and what to do about it, and Andrea gave us some practical adivce where to go for eco-friendly renovation materials, and rebate programs. And we have a special treat for those of you who couldn't make it to the meeting, the session will be available online to watch here - Todd of 3D Productions was there filming the whole thing - so you can watch it through our facebook page for now, and youtube is coming soon.

Coming up this week...

Wednesday June 25 - Mike Nickerson is coming to town to promote his new book, "Life, Money and Illusion". Here is the write-up for his book;

In recent years, unchecked economic growth in the Western world has led to resource depletion and widespread environmental degradation. Life, Money & Illusion was inspired by the dilemma of having an economic structure that has to grow to remain healthy while facing the necessity of reducing our footprint and establishing a stable state economy to secure ecological viability on a finite planet.

The book launches a review of economic expansion. It examines how growth came to be a goal and how that goal, though once hugely beneficial, is now the propellant for catastrophe. Then, by showing how the economy can be restructured to remain within planetary limits, it points the way to a sustainable future.

Life, Money & Illusion advocates change by shifting the dominant economic paradigm from growth to sustainability. Techniques include:
- Measuring well-being through genuine progress
- Encouraging sustainable investment
- Practical changes such as tax shifting, carbon taxes and monetary reform
- Honoring the Golden Rule instead of the Rule of Gold.

An engaging and empowering vision of the future that celebrates humanity’s extraordinary ability to adapt and evolve, Life, Money & Illusion will appeal to social activists, environmentalists and all those who are committed to a sustainable future.

About the Contributor(s)
Mike Nickerson is a longtime environmental activist, popular educator and the author of three books on sustainability including Bakavi: Change the World I Want to Stay On andPlanning For Seven Generations: Guideposts for a Sustainable Future. He is a founding member of the Green Party of Canada and helped draft the Canada Well-Being Measurement Act.

We are having a party!

Yes it's official, we will be holding a SAGE Summer Soiree on Sunday July 6th. It will be at Riverdale Community Hall (9231-100 avenue) starting at 4pm and ending around 10pm.

What will be happening at the party? I say, "What isn't happening at the party?". There will be live music from some awesome local bands (that's right plural), locally produced beverages from Ambers Brewing, locally produced organic snacks and salads from local gardens, and we invite you to bring a potluck item for the picnic supper (please bring your own plates, cups and cutlery too so we can reduce our waste footprint at this event). We'll have fun and games for the whole family - so feel free to bring your kids.

COST: This Soiree is part community gathering and part fundraiser for the SAGE online business directory so we're asking people to contribute on a sliding scale. Ticket prices are as follows:

Sliding Scale
Adults - $10-15
Students: $5-10
Children under 13 - Free

Tickets will be available at our next meetings (June 25 and July 2), or contact us directly by e-mail, or call 435-5683. If there are any left, they will be available at the door too.

SAGE at CBC and Mike Nickerson

2008-06-16T16:51:00.000-07:00

Tad and I will be on the CBC Center Stage today - Monday, June 16 during the lunch hour, to talk about SAGE, so if you have only heard about us so far and want to meet us in person ;), come on down to the studio at Edmonton City Center and give us some moral support. Other special guests will be Michael Kalmanovitch of Earth's General Store, and Conrad Norbert of Green Edmonton.

Don't forget about our upcoming Community Meeting next Wednesday (June 18 at 7pm at the Village). The topic is Greening your Home, and our special guests are Stephani Carter of Green Alberta and EcoAmmo, Shanthu and Godo of Carbon Busters and Andrea Jones of Raising Spaces.

We are hosting a touring author at 7pm on June 25 (at the Village-10429-79 avenue). Mike Nickerson is travelling across the country promoting his new book, Life, Money and Illusion. The book launches a review of economic expansion. It examines how growth came to be a goal and how that goal, though once hugely beneficial, is now the propellant for catastrophe. Then, by showing how the economy can be restructured to remain within planetary limits, it points the way to a sustainable future. Suggested donation of $10 - $20 to support Mike on his tour.

Joey on CBC!

2008-06-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

Listen to CBC Radio One tomorrow at 4pm for a special guest appearance by Joey Hundert

Hello all,
exciting news! One of our own - Joey Hundert, will be on CBC Radio One at 4pm to talk about local food production / security, etc. Joey is an excellent speaker and an authority on the subject, and you are sure to learn more about what is happening in and around Edmonton.

Hope you are able to tune in and give him some support!'

Way to go Joey!!

Maureen & Tad

Stephani Carter - SAGE Green Business Series

2008-06-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to our SAGE Green Business Networking Meeting, and shared about their business adventures.

We were treated to a fantastic presentation by Stephani Carter. I feel honored to have such an intelligent and enthusiatic individual as part of the SAGE community. Her energy and vision is contagious and inspiring. If you haven't met Stephani or found out about all the great and ambitious work she is doing through Green Alberta and EcoAmmo, you are missing out! Come to our meeting next Wednesday night and meet her yourself.

Farmers Market Opens and other June Events

2008-05-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

Hello all, I just sent out the invitation to the June Meetings and I promised a link to the farmer's markets around town. So here is a list created by one of the vendors, and it has a lovely personal commentary on each of the markets based on her perspective as a visitor. Thanks to Patty from Lola Canola Honey for this great summary!

We also wanted to let you know that we are going to have a party in July!!! It will be at Riverdale Hall, and there will be locally produced food, and *drinks*, games for young and old, live music, and a green business trade fair. Tickets will go on sale soon. Stay tuned for full details.

***********

Our Green Business meeting is on June 2 - and features Stephani Carter of Green Alberta and EcoAmmo. Details are in the calendar at right.

**********

Our community meeting is on June 18 - and the topic is Greening Your Home. Come and hear three of our resident experts on reducing your footprint, renovating green, and choosing green, ethival and healthy materials for inside and outside your home. Our guest presenters are Stephani Carter, Andrea Jones and Godo and Shanthu.

***********

On June 25, We are happy to present Mike Nickerson who is touring with his latest book, "Life, Money & Illusion: Living on Earth as if we want to stay." The book details the differing views on how to be successful in our changing times. One, the "Life" perspective, says we need to preserve and enhance ecosystems and communities, the other, the "Money" perspective, says we need to continuously expand production and consumption.

The event will be a talk and discussion about how these two approaches differ significantly on how to deal with today's most serious problems. "Life, Money & Illusion" outlines new ways of organizing mutual provision (the economy) and a change in priorities that can lead to a long and joyous future.

The presentation will be at the Village and starts at 7pm.

**********

We look forward to seeing you at the meetings!

Maureen & Tad

Community Announcement Alert

2008-05-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

May 8 - Community Announcement Alert

Anyone wanting to know more about Bill C-51 please have a look at our community announcement page. I don't claim to be an expert, but I am concerned about how this Bill could affect our health in the future. I have posted what information I have been able to collect so far, but if you happen to have more information or insights to share with our members, please send it on and I'll add it to the announcement page.

Maureen

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

May 8, 2008

Tonight I went to an Eco-Fashion show at Savoy on Whyte Ave. It was organized by Andrew Gonzales of Lucid Lifestyles. The bar was packed with people eager to see what kind of fashions were in store. We were treated to a 20 minute parade of casual and formal fashions produced of natural fibres like organic cotton, hemp, soy, bamboo, tencel, merino wool, silk and more. Whenever possible the clothing is from fair trade and ethically produced sources. The show featured chic and casual apparel, and active/yoga-wear for men and women.

The clothing was available to touch but not for sale at the show. You can see and purchase these items for yourself during the month of May in the funky tent on Whyte Ave, between 104 and 105 street, across from Julio's Barrio.

For more information contact Andrew at 953-4376.

Sixth SAGE Meeting

2008-05-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

Good evening. Just a quick note to thank everyone who came out to our May meetings this month. Yes I know it's only the first week, but we've already had them both!

Harold Verburg spoke at our community meeting on May 1st and gave a very interesting talk on alternative energy sources like solar power (PV) and solar hot water, wind power and grey water recycling. There was a lively discussion and question and answer session, and I personally learned a lot that I didn't know. Harold is the owner of Trimline Design Centre and training centre, so if you are interested in alternative energy or bio-fuels, or straw bale construction or many other topics, you might want to sign up for a course at their website www.trimlinetrainingcenter.com.

We also had our business meeting this Tuesday May 6. Ross Goodine spoke about his experience as a green entrepreneur with his business, Prairie Dawn Naturals, which I can tell you from personal experience is the best lip balm I ever tasted!!

He also gave us an interactive demonstration of the kind of work he does in his other company - Hidden Dynamics. For those who missed it, Ross will be having an introductory workshop, details below. Click here to find out more about the workshop.

Creating Abundance by Healing the Family Soul
Free Introductory Morning
Saturday May 17th - 10 am -1 pm

Full Workshop
Saturday May 17th - 10 am-6 pm
Sunday May 18th - 10 am-6 pm
Registration begins at 9:30 am

Location: Ritchie Community Hall 7727-98 St.
To register or for more information contact Ross Goodine 432 3732

Fifth SAGE Meeting

2008-04-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

I write this as I look out at a sunny day, and it makes me anxious to get out into the yard to start raking and planning my garden. Ron's Berezan's talk last night on the Edible City was very inspiring. Everyone I talked to got great value from Ron's presentation and I'm sure they were inspired and educated as I was. Thanks to all who attended! We had about 50 people out and we were happy to see so many new faces!

If you missed Ron's talk last night - you can find out more about him and the variety of workshops he offers at his website http://www.theurbanfarmer.ca/

On another note, we've redone the website a bit - what do you think about the new logo? We'd love to hear from you. Click here to send us an email.

We are also moving along with the task of formalizing the SAGE group. We've chosen a steering committee and will be having a meeting soon to discuss all the things a "real" group like this should be doing. Once things are confirmed, we will let you know who our steering committee is and our plans for the future. There are lots of exciting things in the works!!!

Our meetings for April are finished, but May is coming soon and so are the next meetings.

Community Meeting
May 1, 2008 @ 7 - 9:30pm Village Lifestyles (10429 - 79 Ave)
Harold Verburg of Trimline Design Centre presents:

“Alternative Energy Options” - Eco-solar tour

Trimline Design Centre began over 5 years ago to offer you the newest in Renewable Energy Solutions and products. These include solar hot water systems for domestic hot water and space heating, wind turbines systems for producing electricity, solar PV systems for producing electricity, personal biodiesel processors for making your own biodiesel from cooking oil, and grey water recycling systems to recycle at least 30% of your household water.

We manufacturer our Integral Drainback Flat Plate Collectors and Data Logging Solar Controllers here in Edmonton and have developed other products such as the Integral Drainback/Storage Tank which we have manufactured in Canada also. A truely made in Canada solution.

Increasingly, the biggest job has been to educate our clients about the technology, and demand for this technology is escalating. In response to this need, we have opened the Trimline Training Centre, a state of the art facility showcasing renewable technologies with hands-on training. We offer courses every month, year around, to accommodate the high level of interest in the emerging awareness of the various technologies. So if you are not afraid of getting your hands dirty, stop by and take a course or two.

Business Meeting
May 6, 2008 @ 10am - 12pm Village Lifestyles (10429 - 79 Ave)

Occasionally at our 'Growing your Green Business' meetings we'll do profiles of successful local green businesses. The meeting is not for them to come in and plug their product or service. It's to discuss their journey as an entrepreneur - what mistakes they've made, what lessons they've learned, what works and what doesn't work for them in growing their business. We think it's incredibly important that we come together to share our stories and learn from each other.

The format will be: 5-10 minutes of presentations about what their company does. Then 10-15 minutes for the moderator to ask them a series of focused questions. The final 35-40 minutes there will be the opportunity for the group to ask them questions.

Guest Entrepreneurs:

Stephani Carter of EcoAmmo and Green Alberta

Stephani Carter is a LEED® Accredited professional. She graduated from NAIT Interior Design Technology with honours in 2001 and has been very pleased to be able to return for the past four years to lecture to the graduating class on sustainable design and products and materials. Stephani worked for a couple design firms in Edmonton including Manasc Isaac Architects where she lead their “Green Interior Design Department”. Stephani was actively involved with creating the Alberta Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council in 2003 and has remained on the board ever since. She currently holds the roles of Vice President and Edmonton Program Committee Chair. Stephani is a self proclaimed "volunteer-aholic" and also volunteers for the Riverdale Net Zero Healthy Home, Clean Air Strategic Alliance - Indoor Air Quality Team , and she recently joined the steering committee for "S.A.G.E" (Socially-conscious, Alternative, Green Edmontonians) Network . (HURRAY!!)

Ross Goodine of Prairie Dawn

Ross Goodine is an entrepreneur and Systems Constellation facilitator who assists individuals and businesses in releasing barriers to their potential.

Ross founded Hidden Dynamics Consulting in 2006 and specializes in working with clients wanting to grow to a higher level in their life, career or business.

Prior to starting Hidden Dynamics, Ross founded Prairie Dawn Natural Body Products Ltd. in 1998 and currently serves as President. Ross developed and launched Prairie Dawn Natural Lip Balm, which was a Finalist in the Canadian Grand Pr ix New Product Awards in 2004, competing with industry giants like Proctor and Gamble.

Ross has been featured in Alberta Venture magazine and has been interviewed on CBC radio.

We hope to see you at the next meetings!

Maureen and Tad

Fourth SAGE Meeting

2008-03-31T16:44:00.000-07:00

Another month gone by and spring is officially here! It is so good to have longer days. A lot has happened in the past month, and I'd like to share some of the highlights

We've changed our name, so now the group is called SAGE, which stands for socially conscious, alternative, green Edmontonians. We did this to better reflect the mission and vision we have for this group to serve business and community members. Please read our mission and vision statement for more details.

We had a great meeting about creating the resource directory. About 20 people came out to brainstorm about what kind of directory they'd like and what they want it to do. In my opinion this directory is going to be better than Google!

It's going to list all the green, local or sustainable businesses, have a section for green job postings, a wiki-type glossary of terms, a 5 "foot" rating system so you can search for businesses with the smallest footprint, "5 foot" business profiles, a place to nominate businesses and organizations for inclusion in the listing, and a place to give feedback on businesses similar to e-bay, a community calendar, a search feature that lets you search by business type, product type, or issue - like businesses to help you reduce your impact on the earth, a locator to help you find business within a certain distance of your house or work, a collection of articles and resources submitted by members, a green dating service, and links to the many, many awesome websites that are already out there.

We also had a celebration meeting to share how far we've come and from now on we will be having 2 meetings each month, one for business people, and one for community members. The dates and topics for the next 6 months of meetings is posted on our calendar at right. Our next meetings are coming up soon.

Business Meeting
April 7, 2008 @ 10am - 12pm Village Lifestyles (10429 - 79 Ave)
Tad Hargrave presents :

"Marketing for Green and Local Entrepreneurs"

I've spent the last five years traveling around North America, working hands on with
locally owned, green and community minded businesses like you.

Most conscious businesses I know struggle with attracting enough of the right kinds of clients and keeping cashflow strong. So, we thought it would be a good conversation to start off our business series with (and we left it too late to find any other guest presenters).

Basically, I'll share the 5 minute version of what I do and then we'll open it up into a group Q&A and discussion that I'll facilitate to explore our issues around marketing for an hour or so. My goal is to keep this session very practical, nuts and bolts and focused (vs. wandering, meandering and a chance to soap box).

Community Meeting
April 16, 2008 @ 7 - 9:30pm Village Lifestyles (10429 - 79 Ave)
Ron Berezan presents:

“The Edible City – cultivating connections to our food”

Cities around the world are currently experiencing a tremendous growth in the urban agriculture movement. Whether we hunger for environmental sustainability, for health and wellness, for community, or for a reconnection to our food source and our local bio-region, growing some of our own food can be an immensely satisfying and meaningful experience. This workshop will explore a variety of models for growing food in the city from backyard gardens, to edible landscapes, to rooftop gardens, to permaculture edible forest gardens. Ample opportunities for discussion and visioning will be included.

We hope to see you at the next meetings!

Maureen and Tad

The Online Directory

2008-02-26T16:42:00.000-08:00

Good evening, Since I just sent out the invitation for our next meeting, I thought it would be a good time to update the site a bit.

The next meeting:

Thursday Feb 28 - 7pm
Where: Village Lifestyles
10429 - 79 Ave
Edmonton, Alberta
Behind the post office

What are we talking about this time? There are 2 parts to this gathering:

1. Well, now that we've come up with our vision and mission, based on previous discussions at the meetings, we feel it's time to start working on the things you have told us you want most. There were three areas: networking and connecting, taking action, and a list of resources. This meeting we will focus on the best way to create this list of resources, how it should be organized, and gathering the resources we already know about.

2. relax and connect with each other while watching some mind expanding and inspiring videos.

And this time, Tad is out of town so Joey has graciously agreed to co-chair the meeting! Thanks Joey!

So of course we welcome you to come and mingle and connect, but if you aren't able to make it and would still like to help create this resource directory, please email or call with your suggestions. After the meeting we will be sharing the framework for the resource list and will still be accepting your contributions and ideas.

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Community Announcements!

Several of you have sent announcements that need more explanation/exposure than the calendar provides, so I have set up a section for that in the right hand column called "Announcements". Please feel free to check it out and send in your announcements.

The CORE Meeting

2008-02-19T16:41:00.000-08:00

Wow, Tad and I just attended a great ECAT/ABC Tech networking dinner! There were over 100 people there from all walks of life, who came together to find out this "eco-thing" everyone is talking about. There were 4 predinner sessions and in ours sesion, we got to meet a bunch of the other groups in the city who are doing amazing things to make their working environments more sustainable, while finding a way to balance the planet, people and profits!

E-SAGE had another meeting on February 13th, and we had packed the room at Trimline Design Training Center - thanks to Harold for letting us use the room! If you are interested in courses on sustainable energy, housing or fuel you can find information there.

At the meeting we broke into groups and talked about specific projects that our group could do or help other groups do. The total list is being complied and we will have the full information soon. We also had the feeling that people wanted a bit more structure and wanted to know more about the purpose and goals of E-SAGE. Tad and I got together on Sunday and spent the whole day working it out, and we're proud to share our new mission and vision statements with you. We appreciate your feedback.

Some things to note:

Our next meeting is February 28th at the Village, more details on the calendar. At this meeting we will be starting the skeleton of our resource directory. Bring a list of all the websites, stores, restaurants, books, people, organizations, etc. that already do something sustainable, or provide goods or services that others need to know about. If you can't come to the meeting, email your ideas to us.

Nominations for the Emerald Awards close on Feb 29th. Check out their website for more information and the nomination forms.

Third SAGE Meeting

2008-02-11T16:40:00.000-08:00

Another month has gone by and the excitment and support is still growing. So many awesome things are happening around the city in so many areas it's hard to keep track of it all! (See the calendar at right >)

It's almost time for our first core group meeting! If you are interested in contributing to the group in an organizing capacity - please join us on Feb 13 at Trimline Design Center - see full details in the calendar (at right >).

If you just want to come out and see what all the buzz is about - come to our next group meeting on Feb 28 at the Village. (Details also at right >).

We are also attempting to share some of the other cool things happening around town that you may not have heard about yet. Please check out the calendar - at right for full details.

Hot Dog, we were in the paper today! Check out the pdf version of the article in the box (at right >) to read about the group from some other people's perspective.

And if you would like to know a bit more about Tad and I, you can click on the photos of us in the box (at right).

For all of you who were at the last meeting, you may have noticed that I am still employing my repetitive marketing techinique. So where can you find most of the new information on this page? ______ ______

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Resources

At the last meeting there was a request that we share the information that has come from our discussions, so here it is.

The first meeting we broke into groups and answered the same question.

"What do we think we know about creating and living in a sustainable community?"

Since there were 8 groups we had 8 versions of the answers. I put all these answers into a spreadsheet and looked for common themes. You can see the spreadsheet here common themes.

At the second meeting we used the common themes from this question to guide our group discussions. Using the following 4 focus question below, we joined the group that we were most passionate about and shared with the others. Click on each of the topic headings below to see what we talked about.

Focus Questions
What projects can we do together that we can’t do alone?
What partners can we identify to work with?
What partners are out there we should find out about?
What ongoing projects do we know about?

Topics
1. Food and Agriculture Issues
2. Building Design
3. Alternative Forms of Energy
4. Food Security
5. Eco village
6. Education
7. Community Building
8. Media

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Other News...

We are starting to work on an online directory of resources. If you would like to be part of this creation process let us know by sending an e-mail.

Happy New Year

2008-01-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

Wow!! There seem to be lots of reasons to celebrate. I like to spend New Year's Eve reflecting on my accomplishments over the past year, and although it was very good, I am really excited about the coming year. It feels like there are positive events happening simultaneously all over the world in all aspects of life. Not the least of which is the activity and momentum initiated by the first E-SAGE meeting.

To keep this momentum going, we have continued to talk about building sustainable communities. Several people who attended the first meeting indicated that they would like to be involved in a core capacity, so here's your chance! There will be a meeting to talk about core issues and possibilities for the network on February 13th. More details can be found on the calendar to the right. Just roll your mouse over the colored square and a popup window will open.

To move to the next month, click the >> arrows at the bottom of the calendar.

The next large group meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Time: 7 - 9 pm
Place: Climate Change Central
Western Canadian Bank Bldg (see map)
10303 - Jasper avenue
Western Room located in the basement of the building -
take the escalator down and then go to your left

Feel free to invite others who would be interested in a network of people
who are building a sustainable community.

See you there!

Maureen & Tad

Winter Solstice

2007-12-21T16:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Solstice Everyone!

This is an update on the events at the first E-SAGE meeting last week. It was a resounding YES! I mean success. There were about 50 people who ranged from local businesses, non-profit groups, and government bodies, to concerned citizens. We even had some guests from the Camrose and Stony Plain areas!

Thanks to Enid, Natalie, Tanny and the rest at The Village - It was a great venue with lots of space for the gathering. Thanks also to Earth's General Store for their donation of fair-trade, organic coffee and all the paraphenalia that goes with it.

We had introductions, and a short film about the Sustainable Connections group in Bellingham to whet our appetites. Then we broke into small groups and talked for a few hours about "what we believe we know about living in sustainable communities". The conversations were thoughtful and animated, and many people connected with others who shared the same passion and ideas. We then had time for people to connect people who "needed to meet". All-in-all it was a good vibe! Thanks to everyone who came!

The guests filled in a short questionnaire at the end of the night from which we are compiling a database we will post the final results here when they are ready.

The common vision people shared for this networking group is to:

1. Meet and connect with others
2. Find out what is going on locally
3. TAKE ACTION!

At the next meeting we will continue to generate ideas about developing a sustainable community in Edmonton, and how various businesses, groups and individuals can participate in that.

The details for the next large group meeting are below:

Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Time: 7 pm
Place: Climate Change Central
Western Canadian Bank Bldg (see map)
10303 - Jasper avenue
Western Room (holds 70 people)
If you have any comments or questions please send an e-mail.

Hope to see you at the next meeting.

Maureen & Tad

First SAGE Meeting

2007-12-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

I am very pleased to invite you to participate in the creation of a new networking community in Edmonton.

Networks strengthen local economies by supporting their members while being respectful of social and environmental principles. Local networks can link regionally to other networks, nationally to BALLE Canada and internationally to a BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) The purpose of this network is to encourage and support local businesses and individuals to make sustainable lifestyle choices.

There have been other attempts to gather together the threads of the "green" community in Edmonton. Some of you may have been or are currently involved in such projects. This invitation is intended to help connect the various groups and develop a place where everyone can work together for a common goal.

Who can join the group?
What is its purpose?
When will we meet?
Where will we meet?

These are all questions we can answer together. If you know of others who would be interested in being a part of this group please forward this invitation to them.

What: The inaugural meeting of the Edmonton Socially-Conscious Alternative Green Entrepreneurs Network (or E-SAGE for short)

When: Tuesday, December 11, 2007
7:00 - 9:00 pm

Where: Village Lifestyles
10429 - 79 Ave
Edmonton, Alberta
Behind the post office
Who: if you have any questions or want to RSVP, call Maureen Abram @ 435-5683, or reply to this email.

I believe that to create a sustainable lifestyle one must consider, evaluate and choose the best options based on certain criteria. Transportation, housing, food, health, education, family, work, and relationships between local and global communities are part of our lifestyle. With the right information it is possible to make the best choices. Educating members about each other's businesses is one of the many functions of a networking group.

Here are some of the other reasons I want to be part of this networking group, and I hope some of them resonate with you.

- To meet socially with like-minded people in the local community make new friends, and work together to accomplish shared goals.

- To develop working relationships with experts in related fields. It is great to be able to work on a project with others who share the same values and can offer fresh perspectives on an issue from their professional experience.

- To feel supported in maintaining a lifestyle change. The decision to break away from old habits can be traumatic if you don't know what to do or who to talk to when questions or problems arise. Meeting others who have "been there", who can share inspirational success stories as well as their frustrations and failures helps to create a safe space for meaningful relationships and a caring community to develop.

- To access a collection of resources and strategies for people working to create "living economies" and sustainable lifestyles. These resources
would include articles, newsletters, product catalogs, local business directories, case studies, web links, step by step instructions, guest presenters, workshops and anything else that helps people live more sustainable lives. Some examples are on the toolsforchange.com and davidsuzuki.com websites.

- To be part of a unified community of like-minded people who are a significant portion of the population. When it comes to influencing the decision makers there is strength in numbers. I'm sure everyone can think of a time where a certain number of signatures on a petition, letters to an MP, or people at a meeting would have made a difference. The problem has always been how to get the word out to the right people, at the right time.

I hope to see you at the meeting!