upcoming events

SMARTNet Alliance's Virtual Green Drinks August
Thursday, August 12 - 6:15pm
On Zoom

Don't miss the SMARTNet Alliance's Virtual Green Drinks August event, where they'll be discussing some of the projects happening  at Ecology Ottawa!

On Thursday August 12th SMARTNet welcomes three Ecology Ottawa team members - Natasha Jovanovic, Cheryl Randal, and Sana Badruddin - to talk about some of the important projects they are working on that are helping make Ottawa a greener place to live.
Join us Thursday, August 12th starting at 6:15 pm EST by registering via this link!
ENVIRO-ADVOCACY  BE HEARD!
​Canadian forests are being logged and used to produce wood pellets which are exported as a green biomass fuel to replace coal in the production of electricity, despite its being more polluting than coal.

Canadian forests are being lost at such a rate that they are losing their ability to act as a carbon sink. It will take decades to centuries to regain this ability if ever (see today's Envirobit). 

Sign Stand.Earth's petition calling on decision makers to stop logging whole trees for wood pellets.
ENVIRO-BITS
Canada is the world's second largest exporter of wood pellets, which go mainly to the UK and Japan were they receive subsidization as a carbon neutral fuel source, a green substitute for coal.

​In fact, pellets burn with higher emissions than coal. In addition, these pellets are meant to come from deadfall, tree branches and waste wood, but the incredible demand for the product has elicited an increasing use of whole trees including old growth forest.

Canadian forests are in the process of moving from carbon sink to carbon emitter.
Read more here!
ENVIRO-ACTIONS
August Activities
For August we offer you a list of some of the many environmental organizations active in Canada. We suggest you select several of these about which you would like to know more, follow their links  and read the "About" or "About Us" section.
Choose one (or more) you would like to support and, depending on what they offer, try any or all of the following:
  • Sign up for their newsletter
  • Make a one-time OR monthly donation
  • Volunteer to work with this group
  • Watch one or more of their webinars
Send a Letter to Councilor Scott Moffatt, and the Environmental Committee, recommending the City of Ottawa demand that Ontario cap green-house gas emissions at the 2017 level ASAP and phase out all gas-fired power plants by 2030. 
​Find a sample letter here
Find the email addresses of the Environmental Committee here

The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is looking for support in their advocacy pressuring the Government of Ontario on this issue. Click here if you would like to help.

Write to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan,
encouraging them to divest from their sizable fossil fuel holdings and to reach net-zero by 2025 rather than 2050.
Send a letter through ShiftAction, ​encouraging them to divest from fossil fuels.
Sign Leadnow's petition on the same subject.
IESO Stakeholders' Meeting
We must direct our advocacy toward the Government of Ontario, not the IESO.
Watch the June 24 IESO Meeting HERE
Read comments from the FirstU BoD here

For Our Kids Ottawa/Gatineau Demonstration:
In July, we attended a demonstration at Lisa MacLeod's office to tell her of our concerns about increasing gas powered electricity.

What Would Happen if Ontario Phased Out Gas Plants? More information available here.

The Ontario Clean Air Alliance recommends a response to climate change that includes a balanced plan of energy efficiency and renewable energy. Read more here!

Natural gas makes up about 6% of Ontario's electricity generation but produces the majority of its emissions. Click here to read more.
Summer Suggestions
We hope you managed to find an environmentally themed book for your July reading enjoyment.  We will leave the Summer Reading Booklist up until the end of August for your use. We also hope you are keeping an eye out for photos which inspire stories to submit to our Hope in Action Facebook group.

Use your Green Bin to compost items - like kitty litter, dog feces and food soiled cardboard - that can't go in your home composter.
Learn more about What Goes In Your Green Bin

Lee Valley is offering store credit in exchange for clean, carefully broken down shipping boxes. (Summer only). Learn more here!

Investing with the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative (OREC) means you become a co-owner of all 23 OREC projects across Ontario. New round of community investing is open. Learn more here.

good news!

Environmental Promises - More Than Blowing Smoke?
We hope the trio of promises made by the federal government this month are more than just pre-election posturing. Undertakings include light rail funding for the Green Line in Calgary, high frequency intercity rail for the Quebec City-Toronto corridor, and federal funding to replace coal fired production processes at Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie with electric arc furnaces for green steel production. Read more here!
Electric Busses for Ottawa!
Those of you who spoke up in person or by mail supporting the adoption of Energy Evolution, the City of Ottawa's action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050, will be pleased to hear the announcement that the Canadian Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is promising a $400-million loan to the City of Ottawa to purchase 450 electric buses by 2027.
More information available here.
Ongoing Action: ​  Fridays for Future Ottawa
​FirstU on Facebook:   Unitarians for Climaction
Hope In Action:   PhotoVoice

Photovoice feature

Patricia S
The first picture is a monoculture rapeseed (canola) field in Europe. In North America the monoculture crops are wheat, soy and corn. I feel distressed when I see these large scale farming operations using a lot of fertilizer and pesticides.
 The second picture is fruit for sale at a farmer's market. I try to support local small farmers as much as I can by going to farmer's markets and ordering through Ottawa Organics. They deliver fresh organic fruit and vegetables once a week right to my doorstep.
One action I can take to help Mother Earth is to save my money for a worm composter to convert all those vegetable scraps to compost for my balcony container garden.
PhotoVoice: Hope in Action - We welcome you to post new photos and stories to our Hope in Action Facebook group.
How to Participate: Choose two photos, one distressing and one calming, and tell the related story of hope by answering these three questions: Why did you choose these photos, What were your feelings, and What is one action I can take to help Mother Earth become healthier?
THEN
Join the PhotoVoice Group on Facebook (contact Maury Prevost at photovoice@firstunitarianottawa.ca to be invited to join).  Post your carbon footprint action and/or your photos and story at PhotoVoice .  If you are not on Facebook, email them to Maury and he will post them for you.

green sanctuary accreditation

Picture
​​"The Green Sanctuary Program is one way that Unitarian Universalist congregations in Canada and the United States live out our seventh Principle and recognize our responsibility for environmental and climate justice. Through it, congregations examine their environmental impacts and move toward more sustainable practices grounded in Unitarian Universalism."
In October FirstU Board approved the Environmental Action Group's proposal to apply for Green Sanctuary Accreditation. Read on to learn more about this progressive and thoughtful UUA program.

the ajashki project

As part of our Green Sanctuary Accredation, we have partnered with Indigenous youth from from Kitigan Zibi to create the Ajashki Project.
Ajashki, which means "soil" in Anishinaabemowin, fulfills the accreditation requirements for working with traditionally marginalized communities in our area. It is one of many actions being taken by the FirstU community to recognize our responsibility for environmental and climate justice.
​Ajashki is FirstU’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s “Call to Action,” the United Nations’ ​
Sustainable Development Goal #2 to end poverty, and UNDRIP’s effort to reduce systemic racism. Ajashki wants to harness the potential of youth leaders by promoting access to Indigenous language and culture related to ancestral gardening practices.
​Find out more about the Ajashki Project HERE.

Green Sanctuary 2020
​a uu Faithful, whole-congregation response to climate urgency

The Congregations engage leaders, members, and friends in bold, urgent, and effective climate-action and climate-justice work that moves the congregation in a long-term cycle of community work and re-evaluation on climate justice. This starts with awareness/assessment, moves to inspiration and planning, then leads to concrete, effective actions that contribute to each of the following Green Sanctuary program goals:
​Mitigation, Adaptation and Resilience, and Justice.

MITIGATION

Mitigation is action to reduce the causes of global warming. Mitigation is essential for climate justice and a livable future without disastrous climate impacts.
​FirstU's Environmental Action Group provides weekly suggestions for small acts of Mitigation we can take in our personal lives, as well as ways to encourage those with the power to enact sweeping change - municipal, provincial, and federal governments - to do so.

ADAPTATION & RESILIENCE

Adaptation is the process of (a) reducing vulnerabilities to the harmful effects of the climate-change, and (b) making the most of potential beneficial opportunities associated with positive responses to the crisis.
Resilience is the capacity to maintain function in the face of external stresses created by the climate-change crisis.
When we say "Adaptation & Resilience", we mean it for natural systems, the congregation, and the larger community.
​

JUSTICE

Justice means working in partnership with impacted communities and addressing the reality that the greatest impacts of the climate crisis are disproportionately imposed on those (a) least responsible for the crisis (b) with the fewest resources with which to face the crisis, and (c) future generations.
FirstU's Environmental Action Group thanks Karen Brammer, manager of the UUA Green Sanctuary Program,
For her Climate Urgency leadership and service.
"We acknowledge that our campus is located on traditional, unsurrendered and unceded Algonquin Anishinaabeg Territory;
and that the work of reconciliation is a responsibility of our congregation, and of all Canadians.  "Our goal is to educate ourselves and all
who have ears to hear, to be of service to those who are at risk, and to advocate for justice.