Hi Victorians, the Ancient Forest images by TJ Watt are available for sale at Ancient Forest Alliance store, 827 Broughton Street in Downtown Victoria…framed pictures, cards and postcards etc. The AFA shares space with Habitat Aquisition Trust (Quaker Fern Street Meeting House recently became part of HAT spaces).
Amazing images from TJ Watt of the Ancient Forest Alliance showing old growth Bigleaf Maple trees (aka Fanghorn Forest) and their hanging gardens of ferns and mosses, found in the Lake Cowichan area on Vancouver Island.
James Dyson didn’t just invent his Dyson cleaner, he established a foundation to encourage student inventors and he awards a prize of $10k to the best of the best every year. This year’s inventor is Eward Linacre from Australia with his water irrigation system.
youtube video is courtesy of Gizmag which, of course, features the latest ‘gizmos’.
Inside Harry's Bag
Nan's version
Harry's Bag
Nan loves ‘bling’.
Harry looks set for a day in town.
Moss Street Christmas Market takes place December 10 & 11 in Sir James Douglas School-Moss & Fairfield.
I am thrilled that I have finally found a local supplier of Bokashi Bran for my Bokashi Anaerobic Composter at the Good Planet store on Fort street in Victoria.
Bokashi Indoor Composter
This great little system allows you to compost everything from your kitchen, including bread, bones, cooked veggies, fat - everything but the kitchen sink. Another great little find is the Pharmasave on Fort and Richmond-they have the most interesting and unusual array of organic food. Their buyer must have the best contacts in the business.
This week’s eco tip - use vinegar to clean off your shower doors and in your washer as a conditioner.
recycled plastic chair
GreenCone Composter
Recycling your plastic bags is a good thing - recyclers can turn them back into many different kinds of products. But if there is even 1 biodegradable bag in the mix the product is useless, after all you don’t want your new recycled plastic chair to fall apart because there is a piece of composting plastic lurking somewhere. The moral of this story, put your biodegradables in the garbage when you are done reusing them so that they can happily decompose on that landfill in the open air (well sort of).
Furthermore, did you know that supposedly biodegradable compost bags will not decompose in your compost bin - these products need direct sunlight and a few years to fall apart. Meanwhile your poor bin is clogged with plastic - the oxygen for composting is reduced, the pile cannot heat up and the moisture is trapped - making for a very smelly, unappealing mess. If you already have a ‘bin full’, the only cure is to turn the pile and pull out all those bags (don’t shoot the messenger).
Visit Gerald Harris’ blog “bowkervalleyblog” and learn about Victoria’s local and accessible walk around Bowker Valley. Gerald is an accomplished photographer and poet - what’s not to enjoy.
from bowkervalleyblog
Recycle2shop returns to Moss Street Market on Saturday October 1 (in time for the rain, no doubt). The market continues until the end of October. Moss Street Market Christmas is December 10-11 this year.
Check our list of Christmas Fairs under the “Contacts” drop down list.
24 hours of reality is a worldwide event-24 videos that circle the globe - Victoria has its own hour at 24 Hour Climate Reality
Also hear/watch Al Gore talking on BBC - giving US politicians ‘wellie’ about their ‘paralysis’ on climate change action.
Another gorgeous sunny day in Victoria’s Centennial Square. Everybody’s spirits lift in the warmth and the Square has an atmosphere of community.
I love talking recycling and eco stuff with our visitors. This Sunday I met two delightful ladies from Victoria; Linda gave me a great eco tip via her great grandmother from the Philippines: How to eco-clean copper with, of all things, Tamarind paste (soak dried Tamarind in boiling water and mush into a paste, spread on the copper, leave for a few minutes and wipe off). I can hardly wait to try it. Thank you Linda. I have a big old coal scuttle that is a nightmare to clean so I avoid at all costs.
My last day in the Square. Please come visit Recycle2shop at Moss Street Market on Saturdays (10-2) until October Thanksgiving, unless it’s raining!
One day in August a visitor to Victoria stopped to chat recycling at Recycle2shop’s market stall on Government Street. Jim is a teacher in Montana and he told me about a Japanese scientist who has invented a machine to turn plastic trash into oil. Jim promised to send me the information so that I could share it with you guys. So here it is - courtesy of YouTube and Jim.