How to have a Bird Friendly Garden (Part 4) Why we must act now! By Mike Jones, for Sustainable Orillia
This series of articles on how to make your garden “bird-friendly” has been in support of Sustainable Orillia’s and the Orillia Naturalists’ Club’s efforts to obtain a “Bird Friendly City” certification for the City of Orillia. This is an initiative that more and more cities are signing on for. The Honourable Steven Guilbeault recently signed […]
It’s a new year and new opportunities abound!
Here in Orillia, we benefit from regular articles on written by David Hawke, one of our region’s most ardent and knowledgeable naturalists and photographers. In particular, his recent article in Orillia Matters captures the sustainable challenges and opportunities for the year ahead, better than any other we have found. With David’s permission, we are pleased […]
The ‘Little House” Part 3: In Search of a Net-Zero Heating and Cooling System.
After a long interlude, things are finally happening at the ‘Little House.’ Readers with good memories and a lingering interest may recall that this project was kicked off about a year ago, when the writer took the decision to retrofit and expand an aging ‘little house.’ The goal was, and continues to be, to make […]
Sustainable Orillia – Happy Holidays and a New Year Forecast for Our Supporters
Be Kind, Be Careful and Share I want to first wish you a safe and happy holiday season. Even though many of the restrictions have been lifted we all know that the triple threat of COVID, Influenza and RSV create a new set of problems to face. We also know that many in our community […]
A 2023 Sustainable Orillia update with Mayor Don McIsaac
Don McIsaac, Mayor of Orillia, recently set aside time to meet with Sustainable Orillia (SO)to talk about sustainability—short and long-term—across our community. It was an opportunity for him to reflect on the past year and to share his perspective on how we are doing as a community and, as well, how SO is doing as […]
Some Good Stuff (Sustainable Books, Videos, Articles, Events, etc.)
We don’t have too many suggestions for this edition – but stay tuned for our next round. As always, we recommend: The Minimum Viable Planet. An undepressing newsletter that helps people take positive and practical climate action. Highly recommended: Click here to subscribe. Closer to home, both Green Orillia and the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition […]
Sustainable Orillia Volunteers: Two Profiles in Making Actions Matter
In 2022, two major 2022 projects for Sustainable Orillia (S.O.) were the EV and All Things Electric Weekend at ODAS Park in September and the 2023 Calendar Project. These two projects were driven by the efforts of two S.O. volunteers—Dave Van Alstyne and Danny Epstein. Dave has recently become a Director on the S.O. Board. […]
Make Your Voice Heard
In spite of the low voter turn-out at election time, it seems today that more Canadians are trying to make their voices heard. There are so many causes and issues – ones to condemn, and ones to celebrate. Most of us have opinions about at least some of them. And the long-term sustainability of our […]
COP27 – An international success? Or too little, too late?
From November 6 to November 20, 2022, representatives from the world’s nations came together for COP27, a Climate Change Conference in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt to take action towards achieving the world’s collective climate goals as agreed under the Paris Agreement of 2015. The results? Good news, on the one hand, and disappointment on the other. First […]
Five tips for a Sustainable Festive Season
While any time is the right time to cut back on a few of our traditional excesses, this season is especially fraught with over-consumption. Are we making sustainable choices? Can we substitute experiences for material gifts? Can we ensure that we don’t waste food? Do we need to wrap our gifts with one-time wrapping paper […]