Author: beachunited

The church building is quiet, but nature and the church garden do not stop – – and so the gardening team continue the work of tending it, to keep it looking beautiful. A few members of the garden group are around every Sunday morning at 10.30 am to check out how things are coming along – cleaning up garbage, weeding, pruning or whatever needs looking after.
At least a dozen mid-summer flowering plants are brightening the garden right now:

• Roses of Sharon
• Japanese Anemone
• Russian Sage
• Bee Balm

Interesting fact about the Beach United Church garden is that it needs very little watering – in fact virtually none, with only rare exceptions.

How come? All the plants are naturalized to Southern Ontario conditions – hot dry summers and plenty of moisture over the rest of the year. They send down deep roots to the water table. And the new parking lot probably helps too – its surface is designed to allow rain and snow to percolate down rather than run off into the drains like a regular asphalt surface would.

Exceptions?

• the vegetables in the raised beds – they need watering because of course they can’t reach down to underground water
• some recently planted items, like the Hosta along the south wall, which were hit with the July heat shortly after being planted, and before having time to adjust to their new location.

The success of the Mahonia Oregon Grape is an interesting example of this approach. Although originally a native of west coast rain forests, it has adapted well to our hotter and dryer environment. This spring it grew a new set of bright green leaves. An evergreen, it keeps its beautiful foliage throughout the year, and brings colour in mid winter.

The big project last fall was landscaping along around the parking lot. That included the area where the south wall meets Wineva Ave, which is also a bus stop where people are, of course, waiting for a bus.

• To protect the plantings, we put up a temporary barrier of coloured string. And we are rewarded with Joe Pye Weed in flower right now, with its purple flowers brightening the sidewalk at the bus stop.
• In addition, paving stones are placed where people might sit and await the bus.

An Invitation: The gardening team, (Sally Evans, Geoff Vernon, Matt Canaran, Hastings Withers, Jennifer Chin, Lyn Barger and Barbara Brown, Dayna Browne) welcome any one to join in, whether a member of the congregation or not. Call the office for more information, or, JUST COME ALONG!!!

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
~ Jane Goodall

What can we do differently in our homes and communities to protect the environment? Beach United’s Environmental Action Group came up with this list of ways to care for creation.

There are 31 suggestions here, one for each day in August, but you can start any time you like!

We encourage you to see how you can add these habits to your life. (Maybe you are doing some of them already. And maybe some are beyond your reach at the moment, but will inspire other ways you can make a difference.)

Together, the changes we make will have a beneficial impact on the world we share.

Food & Water & Getting Around

1) Reduce food waste. This step has a significant impact on our carbon footprint, because it takes a lot of resources to grow, package and deliver food to our kitchens. Check out Love Food Hate Waste for ideas. Here are some tips:

• Plan ahead so you know what meals you need to prepare
• Use up what you already have in the fridge, pantry & freezer
• Buy only the food you need
• Learn recipes for soups, smoothies & casseroles to use up leftovers
• And if you have too much food, share it!

2) Eat less meat. It takes a vast amount of resources to raise animals for meat. Eat more plant-based meals, and when you do eat meat, choose meat that was raised and fed sustainably.

3) Save water. There are lots of small ways to reduce your water use, and they can add up to a lot. Take shorter showers. Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth or shampooing your hair. Boil only as much water as you need for your coffee/tea. Keep a pitcher of water in the fridge instead of running the tap until the water gets cold. When you wash the dishes, save the rinse water and use it on your plants. Don’t use the hose to clean your driveway. Install a rain barrel to collect water for your garden. And fix any dripping taps!

4) Compost! Keep food scraps out of landfills by using the city’s Green Bin service or start your own compost in your backyard. If you live in an apartment, consider vermicomposting.

5) Plant something. Herbs on your windowsill, a vegetable garden, a tree….do what you can to add more green to the world. No space for more plants or trees? Support the work of 1000Trees to help restore natural habitats.

6) Get around in a green way. Walk, cycle or take public transit when you can. If you need to use a car, consider auto-share programs or electric/hybrid vehicles.

Shopping & Stuff

7) Refuse single-use items. Takeout containers, water bottles, coffee cups, plastic cutlery, paper napkins and other throwaway items are a wasteful use of resources.

8) Avoid buying things with lots of packaging. You can buy many food, toiletries and household cleaning products in bulk shops, and may be able to supply your own containers for what you purchase. If bulk items aren’t available, consider buying large quantities of packaged items and sharing them with your friends and family, to reduce the number of packaged smaller items. Check out these bulk shops in east Toronto:

Urban Bulk & Refill (Queen & Greenwood)
Bare Market (1480 Danforth near Cowell)
Moberly Natural Foods (2044 Danforth near Woodbine)
Green & Frugal (2432 Kingston Rd near Midland Ave)
Strictly Bulk (Danforth at Pape)

9) Refuse plastic bags. Bring your own reusable bags when you shop. Many stores have changed their COVID-19 precautions and now allow you to use your own bag for your purchases.

10) Buy second-hand first. Thrift shopping can be a bargain and it’s also good for the planet. It reduces the drain on resources to make new things, and it keeps discarded items out of landfill. Check out these local second-hand shops:

Pegasus (931 Kingston Rd at Silverbirch)
St. John’s Thrift (2155 Danforth at Woodbine)
Habitat ReStore (3 Carlaw Ave at Lakeshore)
Salvation Army (60 Overlea Blvd)

And don’t forget the online marketplaces like Kijiji & Freecycle too!

11) Buy local. When you can, buy products that are manufactured or grown close to home. This saves the energy and pollution created when goods are shipped long distances.

12) Fix it, don’t nix it. If an item is broken or damaged, see if you can mend it before you throw it out.

13) Recycle smartly. Use Toronto’s Waste Wizard website to see what belongs in your recycling and green bins. Re-purpose or donate old clothes to thrift stores instead of throwing them out. And some businesses may recycle items like dead batteries, dry pens and markers, toothbrushes, etc.

Cleaning Up & Powering Down

14) Be green when you clean. Use vinegar, castile soap, lemon juice and baking soda as climate-friendly alternatives for most household cleaning jobs. Or buy refillable cleaning products to avoid unnecessary plastic packaging. And instead of paper towels, use fabric or microfiber cloths.

15) Use a clothesline. Save power by hanging your laundry to dry instead of using the clothes dryer. To save even more energy, wash your clothes in cold water.

16) Go commercial for your car wash. When you wash your car in your driveway, you rinse grease, oil, cleaning products and other toxic chemicals into the stormwater drainage system, where it can pollute the water. Instead, use a commercial car wash. These facilities are required by the city to treat dirty water safely.

17) Turn things off. Save energy by unplugging appliances that aren’t in use (including computers) and turning out the lights when you leave the room.

18) Offset your electricity and gas. You can sign up your home or business with Bullfrog Power to support green energy. The fee you pay to Bullfrog will ensure that electricity and gas from climate-friendly sources are put into the system to offset the amount you use.

19) Keep your electric water heater cosy. Wrap it in a CSA-certified insulated blanket to reduce energy loss by up to 40%.

20) Plug the leaks. Add weatherstripping to your windows, doors, outlets and vents to keep your home energy efficient.

Make A Switch

21) Break your plastic habits. Examine how you use plastic in your life and think about ways to do it differently. Jars or beeswax wraps instead of saran wrap. Bamboo toothbrushes. Pencils instead of ballpoint pens. Soap and shampoo bars instead of bottles. Metal or wooden utensils. What other replacements can you think of?

22) Use less paper. Switch to online magazine and newspaper subscriptions. Use scrap paper instead of buying sticky notes and notebooks. Print on both sides of the page. Limit your use of paper towels and tissues. Reuse wrapping paper or use fabric to wrap gifts.

23) Green your investments. Consider moving your money to ethical funds that support sustainable energy instead of fossil fuels.

24) Look for energy-efficient appliances. If you’re buying a new fridge, laundry machine, stove etc., look for the “Energy Star” rating to ensure your new appliance is as energy efficient as possible.

25) Recharge your batteries. Switch to rechargeable batteries and if you need to dispose of old batteries, recycle them instead of sending them to landfill.

26) Switch your light bulbs to LEDs. They’ll last longer and use less energy than conventional bulbs.

27) Drive electric. Getting a new car? Look for an electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid.

Keep The Momentum Going

28) Talk about it. Your family, friends and neighbours are probably also thinking about what they can do to help the environment. Discuss ideas with them and see what solutions you can work on together. And watch this TEDTalk: The Most Important Thing You Can Do To Fight Climate Change: Talk About It.

29) Keep learning. Books, blog posts, documentaries and podcasts – there’s lots of information out there to help us understand solutions to the environmental challenges we face.

30) Add your voice to the cause. Check out organizations like Lead Now , the David Suzuki Foundation and PlasticFreeTO to learn how you can advocate for positive environmental change.

31) The next step is yours. What other changes can you make in your home and your community to care for creation?

Toronto is often described as a city of ravines, but it’s also a city of orchards.

Fruit grows abundantly in gardens, parks, schoolyards, commercial properties and unused lots across Toronto. And each year, a group called Not Far From The Tree helps ensure that fruit is picked and shared with hungry people.

Not Far From The Tree connects people who have fruit trees and grapevines on their property with volunteer pickers. A third of each harvest is donated to food banks, community kitchens, supportive housing programs and community health centres. A third goes to the property owner and the remaining third is split between the pickers.

This season’s harvest began with sweet and sour cherries, mulberries and serviceberries (aka saskatoons). Crabapples and apricots are ripening now, and soon peaches, plums, pears, apples and grapes will be harvested too.

In early July, I volunteered as a picker, tackling a mulberry tree with five other volunteers on a hot Sunday afternoon. To pick mulberries, hold a tarp under the tree while someone shakes the branches. The blackberry-like fruit falls like purple hail, staining everything it touches. In one hour, we harvested 12 pounds of mulberries.

That experience, multiplied across the city, has led to over 1,000 pounds of fruit being picked this summer so far. It’s a practical, community-oriented solution to food waste, food insecurity and environmental stewardship in our city.

Want to help? If you have fruit trees or grapevines on your property, or you are interested in joining a picking team, contact Not Far From The Tree to get involved:

info@notfarfromthetree.org
416-658-0724

www.notfarfromthetree.org

Is anyone still counting the number of days of “COVID Confinement”? Or, have you moved on to counting the number of weeks, or months?

With our attention being focused on the pandemic, and systemic racism, the media and others have forgotten that the Earth is concurrently in a climate crisis. Some aspects of our natural environment have improved while “the economy” has been operating in slow motion. Air quality has improved in many cities as people drive and fly less; carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have not risen as much this year as in the past years; we hear the birds in the morning rather than traffic, and so on.

Many people are now looking forward to a “return to “normal”. Do you remember what “normal” was doing to the Earth’s environment?

• A world of species extinction and hyper-consumerism
• A world of an ever increasing disparity of wealth / equity / and racism
• A world of the car culture and the combustion engine belching polluting gasses

BUT, we don’t have to return to that “normal”. Before the pandemic arrived, BUC’s Environmental Action Group was working to make a better world on three levels: personal, community, and as a society. Now is the opportunity to make a difference because change is in the air, and many people don’t want to return to the “old normal”. As Dr. Kwame McKenzie says, “Normal was the problem.”

What would the “New Normal” look like? Some examples, for our consideration, are:

• A society that puts people – and inclusion – first, recognizing our inter-relatedness with all people, and all of creation
• A society that does not pay $40 Billion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry
• A society that retro-fits housing and other buildings to reduce their carbon footprint
• A society that uses public street space for additional forms of transportation, such as buses, bicycles and pedestrians

We need to talk! As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” The Environmental Action Group at BUC is talking about “where do we go from here?”

• How do we want to live as Christians in the “New Normal” – both individually and as a community?
• How can we be effective in advocating for an economy that puts people before profit, and includes people of all cultures and skin colours? What groups will be our partners?
• How will we care for each other, and the Earth, in the “New Normal”?
• How will we, “seek justice for the Earth and its people” (BUC Green Charter)

We will put our energy into action; join us for a Sunday Session via Zoom, August 23, 10.30 am

“The next few months are precious. Things have changed quickly.
We can imagine the “New Normal”. Naomi Klein