Places To Grow – Simcoe County
Join the discussion on recent changes to the Places to Grow Act for Simcoe County. A public meeting will be held at the Angus Community center on Saturday January 21 from 9:30-12:30.
Panellists include:
Claire Malcolmson of Environmental Defence
John Stillich of the Sustainable Urban Development Association
David Strachan of the Midhurst Ratepayers Association
For more information visit awaresimcoe.ca
Barrie Celebrates First Anniversary as a Fair Trade Town
On Tuesday, May 3 Barrie celebrates its first anniversary as a Fair Trade Town. From 9am to 3pm in the Barrie City Hall Rotunda the City of Barrie will host Fair Trade and ethical sourcing displays by Hamley’s Coffee and Tea, Nutrition Plus Natural Foods, Zehrs Markets, Mountain Equipment Co-op ®, and Natural Vines Fair Trade Organic Wines. Major Jeff Lehman will raise the Fair Trade Town flag and accept a plaque recognizing Barrie as a Fair Trade Town at 12:15pm.
Fair Trade Coffee will be served all day!!
In May 2010 Barrie joined more than 800 cities worldwide that have earned the international designation of Fair Trade Town becoming the largest Fair Trade City in Ontario. This achievement has sent a message to Canadians and the rest of the the world that Barrie is committed to the quality of life of millions of individuals in the developing world.
Increasingly shoppers are insisting on ethical treatment of those who produce the products that we consume. Consumers are voting with their dollars, and putting money where their values are by purchasing Fair Trade certified products.
The Fair Trade Town program was launched in the UK in 1999 to accelerate awareness of the growing consumer demand for Fair Trade products such as coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar, bananas, oranges, grapes, wine, spices as well as many others.
The purchase of Fair Trade products provides a minimum price to producers in developing countries, sufficient to allow for investment in their businesses, education and health services. Fair Trade products must be produced in a democratic environment, without forced child labour, and without pesticides and herbicides proven detrimental to the environment.
Qualification as a Fair Trade Town requires support from City Council and a broad range of community organizations, plus documentation of availability of Fair Trade products, and the presence of an active Fair Trade advocacy group.
In Barrie, diverse groups including schools, churches, the Barrie Public Library, the MacLaren Art Centre, Georgian College, the YMCA, the Huronia Symphony Rotary, Kiwanis, and Grandmother to Grandmothers have all participated in Fair Trade promotion events. Fair Trade Certified products are now available in over 50 Barrie locations.
Earth Day and Barrie’s Community Garden
Earth Day was the ceremonial ribbon cutting for the Barrie Community Garden.
Many people showed up, despite the chilly April breeze, and brought treats that were sold along with coffee and garden plants in an effort to raise money for a shed at the community garden.
Promotion for a greener planet
As part of Earth week celebrations Monster Factory has teamed up with the United Nations Enirnment programme and Moku Gift to plant a tree for every ‘monster’ sold. As part of their promotion Monster Factory has also begun a green blog campaign to help promote Earth Day celebrations.
Celebrate Earth Day and help the monsters help the environment!
In an effort to help the planet and to combat climate change, the Monster Factory is
launching an environmental campaign to celebrate Earth Day. During the week leading up
to Earth Day (April 22), Monster Factory will plant a tree for every plush monster purchased
online.
The Monster Factory is a character toy brand based in Toronto, Canada. The team designs
and creates engaging plush monster characters who live in a bizarre, yet strangely familiar
world. Their efforts have produced countless monsters, collected by fans of all ages. The
Monster Factory is dedicated to producing quality designs and humorous characters that
brighten your day.
Working with Mokugift, an official partner of the United Nations Environment Programme’s
(UNEP) Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign, Monster Factory will kick off this event
on April 17. For every online purchase between April 17-23, customers will receive an email
from Mokugift with a credit to plant a tree in their name, and can choose where in the
world they’d like to plant it (the UNEP’s trees are planted in depleted lands in Central
America, Asia and Africa). Don`t forget to check out Monster Factory`s virtual forest
[www.mokugift.com/ecopage/monsterfactory] and watch the forest grow!
Planting a tree helps mitigate climate change, and the Monster Factory team believes we
can all do a little bit to help the earth. On average, each tree planted in the humid tropics
absorbs 50 lbs of carbon dioxide every year for at least 40 years—amounting to one ton
over the course of the tree’s lifetime.
Thanks for helping us help the earth!
Monster Factory
www.monsterfactory.net
www.mokugift.com
Contact:
Bliss Man
bliss@monsterfactory.net
Green Drinks In Orillia
Congratulations to Orillia who will be hosting their first Green Drinks this Tuesday evening April 20 at Studebakers.
Their inaugural night will also feature music from Acoustic Mayhem.
See http://www.greendrinks.org/ON/Orillia for more information.
