Migration complete! Back in the Yukon.

I checked the stats on my blog, and apparently for last month I had 78 pageviews from the US, while only 24 were from Canada.  Very few American's I talked to while living in New Orleans had any idea as to where the Yukon was, so I carefully labelled the map below, just for you guys!

I arrived back in Beaver Creek, Yukon yesterday.  There's still a foot of snow on the ground.  It's 9:30pm and the sun is still pretty high in the sky.  Today I got started on germinating seeds.  

Wearing three sweaters at once never felt so good.

(fyi - Everyone talks like this in Canada.  Everyone.)

The necessity of community mobilizing and DIY EVERYTHING!: My time spent with Occupy Sandy Relief in New York City last month

Now and then, members of my family tell me I should write a book about the things I encounter while traveling.  Although this blog post may not be what they had in mind, it sure is a story worth sharing.

All videos were found on YouTube and were made by either television companies or volunteers working with various relief groups.

So.  This is a long post, but it's worth it.  Make the time to read the whole entry and follow all the links.  Here we go.
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Just a bit of a rundown for those of you who weren't watching the news post-Sandy:

1. Hurricane Sandy has been the 2nd costliest hurricane in North American history (the 1st being Katrina).  
2. New York City saw record storm surges of 14 feet during Sandy.

3. Sandy was the largest storm (by diameter) to ever hit the northeast and mid-Atlantic states.

4. Hurricane Sandy took 253 lives with her.  

5. Thousands of people are still without power and water (it's been a month and a half).. (and it's winter).

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Two important videos that will frame this blog post:

1. This video (recorded before Hurricane Sandy made landfall) forecasted how devastating Hurricane Sandy would be.

2. This video (also recorded before Sandy made landfall) shows how seriously Obama and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) were taking Hurricane Sandy.

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The story:

My friend Marina and I were in New York City one week after Hurricane Sandy left parts of the city flooded, ruined and without water or power.  While we were there, we volunteered our time to work with Occupy Sandy Relief in Brooklyn.

The two of us went down to St. Jacobi Church in Brooklyn (Occupy Sandy's headquarters) for 2 days.     This is where they organize most of their efforts, all of which seemed really well-organized and coordinated.  Whereas the first day was spent with Marina and I moving donated clothing from the Occupy Sandy headquarters to a local Salvation Army (people donated too much clothing and not enough time/love/labour), the second day looked a bit different than this.

During the second day,  I was sent out on a mission. Three volunteers and myself were sent to the Far Rockaway on the Rockaway Peninsula; an area of New York City which was hit hard by the storm(I can't stand the 'interviewer' in this one, but you get the idea).  We drove out from St. Jacobi Church in Brooklyn and it took us about 30 minutes to get there.  Our mission was to a) help with the movement of donations flooding into recently established 'community hubs', and to b) help our friend, a coordinator with Occupy Sandy, in completing 'Needs Assessments' on every community hub in the Rockaways.  We visited all of them (eight, I believe) and helped with the movement of anything from clothing, water, batteries, sanitation products, boots and cooked food while talking with victims alongside community hub organizers.  It had been seven days since Hurricane Sandy left the Rockaways.

When moving supplies from trucks into the most organized (by far) of community hubs,  it looked a bit like this.

The stories of residents and the scenes they were apart of appeared a bit like this (this video is of Day 14 without power nor water in the Far Rockaway).

National emergency relief organizations (American Red Cross, FEMA) had made it to the Rockaways only 2 or 3 days before we were there.  In other neighbourhoods where we were sent, there had been no aid nor relief given by any organized group from outside of the Rockaways.  Residents sat without power or water, waiting for relief which never came.  This was one week after Hurricane Sandy.

Picture not having power or water for a week.  Now picture not having power or water while you have a mix of sewage and salt water sitting in your basement from when the ocean was in your livingroom and when the sewage system began to backup.  Remember - one whole week.

Keep that all in mind, and ponder this.  And this.

It's complicated.

Have you ever thought of yourself to be a good problem solver?  Do you trust that the government or  an organized group will help you in an emergency situation or time of need?

Hmm.  To put it nicely, you may need to work on your problem solving skills.

In order to help complete the Needs Assessments for our coordinator friend with Occupy Sandy, one thing the four of us did at every community hub we went to in the Rockaways was talk to people.  We talked to people who brought supplies from small-scale relief groups, we talked to victims who waited outside of churches in long lines to get water, families who brought garbage bags of coats from out-of-town, volunteers who cooked food en mass, kids who sat patiently as their parents tried to talk to someone who knew what was going on, community organizers from various housing projects and residents who turned their homes into places of refuge for flood victims.  Based on the conversations the four of us had with these people it was clear:  Every national emergency relief organization failed at doing what they were suppose to do.

As least it was getting a bit of news coverage.

No one was prepared for Hurricane Sandy.  Not the residents, the federal government, FEMA, the NYC Subway System, Wall St., Occupy Sandy Relief, myself, other volunteers, Food Banks, media sources, shelters, insurance companies, Mitt Romney... no one.  

Time goes on.  One month after Hurricane Sandy, thousands are still without power or water.  The basements which had sewage and salt water in them are now growing mold.  Also, the "Rockaway Cough" is actually a new term used to describe a new localized sickness caused by the lack of relief.

Also, for those who do have water, issues of water contamination have surfaced.  Note that in the last two videos the issues being raised were not caused by Hurricane Sandy.  Rather, the more recent issues that residents of the Rockaways have been subjected to have been caused by the lack of accountability and relief.

Had national emergency relief organizations been more able to service vulnerable populations in preparation and response to Sandy, Rockaway residents would have been able to avoid being affected by the ongoing disaster; Hurricane Sandy and the lack of organized aid.

Apart from being the warmest and fuzziest (and definitely the most American...) video in this blog post, this video shows the difficulties associated with organizing, coordinating and logistics planning in a disaster environment.  When you have so many people informally working in one of the most unpredictable work environments you could possibly imagine, coupled with the lack of communication and power to help you accomplish a task, what do you do?  Really, all you can do is keep going and hope for the best.

So with all of this said, why am I writing about a Hurricane on a blog which is usually about growing kale and riding bikes?

Well!

The wind and water of Hurricane Sandy had as much to do with climate change and food security as  the mold currently growing in the basements of flood victims on Coney Island or the generators still powering housing projects in the Far Rockaway.

This story about Hurricane Sandy relief in New York City is merely an illustration, an example of what the future may look like for us and how we will have to adapt to it if we want any sort of change:

1. Must it take one of the largest hurricanes in recorded history to hit North America to get people talking about climate change and how it may be responsible for the destruction seen in the largest city on the continent?

2. In the future, how many environmental and social struggles are we going to be forced to endure to convince people that we may have to radically change the way we live?

3. Based on the response of relief groups in the Rockaways and the lesson and warning Sandy has given us, we can't depend on national emergency relief organizations to help with disaster recovery.

4. What I had learned (not the first time..) while volunteering with Occupy Sandy was this:  As in most socio-political dialogues where either political reform or a change to cultural attitudes is necessary to solve a problem which many feel is intrinsically necessary to be solved (i.e., climate change), don't wait.  

Don't wait for your municipal government to say it's legal for you to build a chicken coop in your backyard.  

Don't wait for the province / territory / state to allocate resources to food banks.  

And don't wait for federal agencies to say they're 'on it'.  They likely aren't, and there is too much at stake while we're waiting.


Find a way, and do it yourself.

"I'm afraid if we don't really get this situation under control, 
who knows what we are going to start finding when we knock
 on doors." 

- Shlomo, one of the many unpaid Occupy Sandy Relief Coordinators

The bounties of the rainforest, North Vancouver

Autumn in Vancouver means mushroom season.

While passing through the city, a few of us spent the afternoon in Lynn Canyon on a pouring wet October day.  We came out of the canyon with 5 - 7 lbs. of Oyster mushrooms.  Ahh, the bounties of the rainforest...

First Snowfall in Beaver Creek, Yukon - Sept. 8

 Made for a good morning bike ride.  Peas don't like it, but kale doesn't mind.

Yes it is August and yes it is Autumn

The other day I woke up to the first heavy frost and snow covering the mountains a little ways outside town.  Although it's only late-August, the weather, frost, and falling leaves seems to be the equivalant to early-November in southern Ontario.  That means it's harvest time.. just about.

Frost covers and snowy mountains

And check out the container setup!  Three container gardens built atop pallets.  With the help of a fortlift, you can move them to areas that get more sunlight come late-August.  Up here in the Yukon, the Sun moves so much, depending on the season, you gotta keep up with it.  Frost covers added for effect (yes, it's cold up here but not that cold -- these two pictures were taken early-August).  

Goats. Then emus. And then ostriches. (HAVANA)

I've had an obsession with Latin culture ever since traveling a bit of South America two years ago.  That and escaping portions of the Canadian winter (though it's January 29th and hasn't really arrived yet to Hamilton...?) to go to warm places where there is good music, a different language, cheap food and beer, and a lively growing season.   I spent a bit of time in Cuba this month where I was able to experience all of that, though perhaps the most interesting thing I experienced was a Cuban approach to issues of food security.

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There are 87,000 acres of land used for growing food in the city of Havana.  90% of all fruits and vegetables consumed in Havana are grown in Havana.  

Cuba's imports almost completely disappeared after the fall of the Soviet Union and the tightening of the US Trade Embargo in the early 1990s.  The country was forced to become as self-sufficient as possible in as little time as possible.  This period of time in the 1990s is known to Cubans as the Special Period.

While in Cuba, I was able to see a decent portion of the country.  I spent my time volunteering on a couple of urban farms (called Organoponicos) and talking with locals about the Special Period, Cuban food security, and the future of Cuba.

Imported food by % (1989)

Cereals:                            79%

Beans:                               90%

Rice:                                 50%

Total calories in diet:        57%

Change in imports by %

(1989 - 1992)

Petroleum:                      -53%

Fertilizer:                        -77%

Pesticides:                        -63%

Animal feed:                    -70%

The State had created the Organoponico system in the early 1990s as a way to combat the huge decrease of food imported from the Soviet Union.  Today, there are more than 7,000 Organoponicos in Cuba.  Many of them are found in cities.  They are cooperative in structure and local in distribution.  Everything grown is also organic.

The drastic decrease of imported petroleum, pesticides and chemical fertilizers during the early 1990s has lead to local innovation.  The ideas and structure associated with the Organoponico system are not seen on a national level in many other countries. Many Organoponicos in Cuba produce their own organic fertilizers.  Larger Organoponicos also produce their own humus as soil quality in urban environments is poor.  Oxen are used to till soil rather than tractors, eliminating the need for petroleum and decreasing the amount of soil that would be eroded by the use of tractors.
Although the Organoponico system in Cuba is extremely efficient and is a good model of a local food system - which as North Americans we could learn from -  food security in Cuba remains a huge issue 20 years after the Special Period.  While I was there, it was obvious that food security is very poor.  (*Note that if you have ever heard friends or family return from an All-Inclusive resort in Cuba to say that "the beach was nice but the food was terrible", this is why)

Since the imports of animal feed (or wheat, corn or cereals to produce animal feed) almost disappeared 20 years ago, there are very few cows in Cuba.  Buying beef in Cuba is either impossible or very expensive.  Pigs are more able to digest compost or household organic waste and so most meat you will find in Cuba is either ham or sausage.

Likewise, the fruits and vegetables that are available in Havana are almost entirely grown in the city, and therefore only certain crops are available at any given time of year.  Although it is possible to grow year-round in Cuba, the cooler, drier weather from October - March is better for growing most vegetables:  The plants don't get waterlogged (as they can in the summer) and it is easier to grow varieties of lettuce in 25 degrees Celsius rather than 35.  As a result, there are often shortages of fruits and vegetables during summer.

This is one reason why it has taken a long time for average daily protein levels and caloric intake levels to match those of the Soviet era.  In 1992, average daily protein and caloric intakes were 35% - 40% lower than 1989 levels.

After spending time on these farms and witnessing what food is and is not available in Cuba I concluded that North American's have a lot to learn from.  The organic methods (organic fertilizer, humus production) and social infrastructure (distribution networks, stakeholders) used by the Organoponicos did not spring up overnight.  With the drastic decrease in imports to Cuba and an economic situation (which, generally, mimics what peak oil may look like to North Americans) Cuba is well on a path toward a sustainable food system.

Canada and the US cannot say the same.  By the time the cost of oil increases drastically and therefore everything that we depend on as imports (keeping in mind the average Canadian meal travels 2500 km before arriving on our dinner plate) either disappear from store shelves or triple in price, how prepared will we be?

When I arrived back home to Hamilton the other day my Mom told me all about the new buzz at City Hall.  I'd consider her and my Step-Dad to be fairly politically engaged in Hamilton and so they usually have some pretty interesting things to say about municipal politics.  City Council is now reviewing the prospects of making it legal for people in the city to have chicken coops in their backyards.   Though it is a good move (and some Councillor's are for while some are against [see below]), we have a long way to go.  Bring on the birds.

“I tell you what is going to come next: goats. Then emus. And then ostriches” 
- Councillor Scott Duvall

Going to Cuba to learn from the experts

Tomorrow I leave for Cuba and will be there for a month!  Any city that can supply 90% of its food from land found within city limits is an intelligent city.  I hope to spend much of my time in Havana learning from the experts.

Enjoy the dead of winter, Canada.

Waterfront Development, West Harbour and Rheem

Proposed developments just left of the rail yard

The Stadium debate of last Summer and Autumn left waterfront development plans stagnant and many buildings purchased by the city vacant.

 

Though many suggest it's situation relative to the Harbour is ideal for recreational use, the nieghbourhood surrounding the old Rheem factory is left not knowing what the future holds for it.

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The West Harbour has been on the radar of the City for many years.  As time has gone on (and as all the industry in the North End has closed down) the waterfront is beginning to seem much more appealing than it once did.

In the last decade the City and the Waterfront Trust have been investing in a handful of waterfront development projects - the most recent (and popular) being the developments at Pier 8 including the Williams Coffee Pub and the newly acquired Discovery Centre.

The City has purchased a number of houses and warehouses around the West Harbour, further west of Pier 8.

With the stadium not being built here it leaves this area without a plan.  My guess is that the buildings which the City had anticipated demolishing will sit for a few more years until the City opts for demolition, leaving the lots vacant for another decade or so before they decide to turn much of this area into parkland - extending the recreational use of the West Harbour further west.

For now, rows of houses are boarded up and warehouses empty until a decision is made.

Listor Block Progress...

Almost done.  Last week they brought down the building to the left of Listor, 2 weeks ago traffic calming devices went in.

Glad that the City decided to go ahead and restore this giant building.  It was one of downtown's largest vacant buildings until not too long ago.  A little historical fact - this building was the first indoor mall in North America!

Before - February 2007

After - August 2011

On Leadership & Silliness: Derek Sivers @ Ted Talks 2010

Had to post this... found it on a friends blog.  Valuable lessons!

As a side note, this video has been edited since I uploaded it to the blog.  Today's date is Dec 11, 2011 and I am now, for the first time, seeing the advertisement in the last 2 minutes of this video.

                  "we have to move toward more sustainable fuels in the future.  It takes time. 

                  And in the meantime, we need to find the oil that we can to supply the earths 

                  needs."

This is greenwashing at its finest.  Whoever made the decision to attach this advertisement to the end of this Ted Talk is completely undermining the value of the videos' purpose.  Is this the kind of leadership - as Sivers would suggest - we should be validating?  I'll choose to follow a nut who has innovative ideas, rather than one who speaks about energy demands while obviously not understanding them.

Thanks for the lesson, Derek Sivers.

Beasley Neighbourhood Association creates "Neighbourhood Charter"

In the spheres of urban planning and social welfare, how much weight is given to documents which are not supported by municipal policy?  Can community organizations and neighbourhood associations create affective change even though their agendas are not officially supported by City Hall?  Moreover, where is municipal policy necessary and when should it be used to support community initiatives?

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I attended the Annual Beasley Neighbourhood BBQ a few weeks ago.  Although across the road from where I live is considered a different neighbourhood (according to lines drawn on a map perhaps 5 decades ago or more) the apartments on the east side of James St. North are considered to be part of Beasley.

The neighbourhood has a long history of neglect.  Since the 1980s, Beasley has been considered the poorest neighbourhood in the city of Hamilton.  There are many reasons for this which I may write about later.  Regardless, many attribute Beasley's present amount of community engagement to its history of neglect.  The fact that the new "Neighbourhood Charter" was introduced at the neighbourhood BBQ a few weeks ago shows me - even more - just how engaged and passionate a lot of community members are about where they live. 

Being perhaps the first neighbourhood in Canada to establish a Neighbourhood Charter, the purpose of the document is to redefine what Beasley is to its residents, and to determine what Beasley should look like in the wake of downtown redevelopment projects and gentrification; both which are currently encroaching on the neighbourhood.

Through working with City Hall, numerous organizations relevant to the area and countless individuals, the Neighbourhood Charter is said to define what the neighbourhood believes to be the best way to develop the neighbourhood in the future.

Although The Charter is generally thought of as a positive thing by City Hall and received ample support at the BBQ, I question how much institutional integrity The Charter actually has.  One reason why I question this is because of the newly proposed development at Cannon and Mary Streets.

A development of this scale seems too large for community groups to not put up a big fuss, especially considering the sites location across from the Good Sheppard Centre and Beasley Park.

Far more than its institutional integrity (or lack-there-of), the purpose of the Neighbourhood Charter, I am sure, is to deepen the organizational relationships which community groups and allied City Departments share.

This seems to be how community groups will be able to strengthen and legitimize their agendas - which over time may lead to policy.  As for now, one step at a time for Beasley.

Detroit and Urban Agriculture

If there is any city at the forefront of the urban agriculture movement it would, undoubtedly, be the city of Detroit.

Try looking at the City of Detroit from Google Earth and you'll see the amount of vacant land that exists in the city.  Currently, there are over 100 km2 of vacant land in Detroit.  The city of San Francisco could fit into Detroit's vacant land and there would still be room to spare.  Ever since the race riots of the 1960s, the decline of industry and our -recently-subsided- obsessions with suburbia, these vacant lots have been biologically regenerating.  In some areas through Detroit, deer populations have exploded, foxes are seen commonly and coyotes are heard howling in the night.

The residents of Detroit are increasingly using vacant lots as farmers plots.  

What do they see as the purpose and benefits?

1. They are engaging disadvantaged neighbourhoods in eating healthy food and having community events.

 2. They are solving the issue of living in food deserts by growning their own and selling it to independent grocers so others can also benefit from eating fresh produce.

3. They are choosing not to support the imported food of industrial agri-business.

 4. They are decreasing their ecological footprint.

The residents of Detroit are investing in their community and building a local economy.  

How can we do the same?

Downtown revitalization, walkability and Open Streets

The city I live in is quickly changing.

From the mid-1970s to the late-1990s the city was in decline.  The steel mills closed their doors and large malls were built on the outskirts.  Downtown began to crumble and funding for social programs was cut.  Hamilton's streets were unsafe.

James & Rebecca, beside Listor Block (April 2011)

Though the scars associated with 3 decades of neglect remain, the lower-city is doing the best it has since the 1950s.  The amount of change I can see even in my lifetime is huge.  Before I left this city to go to school 8 years ago there were near-entire blocks of vacant buildings downtown - hollow window frames and bad graffiti on red brick.  When I moved back last September into a neighbourhood in the downtown north end I saw those same buildings now as coffee shops and construction sites. 

Last year, a street festival called Open Streets began in the downtown north end, just outside the apartment a friend and I moved into last autumn.  For two afternoons last year they closed down the road for the festival which is an offshoot of the Latin American Ciclovia- a street festival built on promoting active transportation world-wide.  (active transportation, by the way, refers to any type of transportation which requires you being physically active to get to where you need -- biking, walking, riding the bus, rollerblading, etc. all good, respectable things.)

The difference between the two street festivals is that the Open Streets festival has added a unique spin to it's mission statement.  Since January, I have been sitting on the steering committee for the group and it's been pretty cool to see the direction we are steering the festival in.  Rather than merely promoting active transportation, Open Streets promotes healthy neighbourhoods and downtown living.

Last year at Open Streets, people played ball hockey on the road while buskers sang songs along side.  People jogged and rode their bikes on the street playing games while patios were packed.  NGOs and community groups handed out flyers of various community issues and events, artists sold their art on the sidewalk while parents bought their kids balloons.

What this comes down to is that choosing to be active (by riding your bike, or walking) is not merely a matter of choosing a particular type of mobility.  Rather, choosing to walk, take the bus, or ride your bike is choosing to be an active member of your community, your city and your natural environment. 

The purpose of using a car is strictly to get us from point A to point B in as little time and in as much comfort as possible.  It looks at all other variables - the sidewalk, saying “hi” to a friend on the road, waving to a kid in a shop window, buying a coffee on your way to where you are going - as obstacles.  Driving a car deems anything in between you and your destination as an interruption, a set of interferences, things of which you are not a part and things which should not, by any means, stand in your way.  Our entire notion of “space”, when driving, is diminished and we do not include ourselves in it.

The main point here is that individuals, if we choose, can be active members in those things which surround us.  Hamiltonians are learning this, and we are choosing to use this method to heal our city.  The ideology many Hamiltonian’s share is that healthy individuals (not cars) make for healthy communities, therefore making healthy cities and a healthier natural environment.

Get on your bike and ride it. 

And check out this festival if you’re in town!

Video: "From Mambo To Hip-Hop"

Check out this video I found about the genealogy of Latin music and hip-hop in North America...   The video tells the tale of the South Bronx in NYC from the 1940s up to the 1980s and describes how its people and politics were the key factors in creating some of the best rhythms we listen to today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS4yYHV0cJM