Sustaining Our World - update

Here's an update on the details for the Sustaining Our World event coming up on October 27th!

For the Sustainability Fair in Gym D from 12-5pm, we have a great variety of people and organizations working towards sustainable solutions to come and share their efforts for our community, so come on down and see all the good happening in our world already!

Join us for hands on activities including a "Beat the Geek" gaming challenge with our friends from Free Geek, a creative recycling craft zone, marimba music fun, map out the green potential of our neighbourhood and enjoy workshops with the Urban Weavers and the Strathcona Green Zone.

If you and your friends or family enjoy a fun challenge, be sure to sign up for the 2nd Annual Britannia Race to Zero Waste which will have teams finding clues and working through activities together as they explore teh positive green world in our neighbourhood!

We'll end the day with a screening of the movie the Clean Bin Project from 7-9pm in the Britannia Secondary Auditorium. This film follows the ultimate zero waste challenge this community has ever seen and is bound to inspire you!

Any money raised from race registrations and donations for the film screening will be used for new green initiatives here at Britannia!

Stay tuned for more details on the event which we will post here as we get closer to the day, and we hope to see you there! :)

Please contact Kathy Whittam if you have any questions or feedback for this event at kathy.whittam@vancouver.ca

the Britannia Race to Zero Waste

The 2nd Annual Britannia Race to Zero Waste is shaping up to be a whole lot of fun for teams ready to race this year!

The race will begin at 2pm and will take approx one hour to complete. From the first challenge that will get you going, and clues that will take you the rest of the way, teams will get to experience adventure and a nice variety of green intitatives in and around our community. There are many opportunities to collect bonus points along the way and the team with the most points at the end of the race wins!!

Extra bonus points will be given to teams that come out for the race with some funky green attire to show their green team spirit (ie Team Gangreen came out for alst years race with great green capes decorated with the mobius loop!), and more bonus points for the group that shares the best green team cheer at the finish line!

"We're keen, we're green, and we leave the world clean!"

The route has been planned, the clues are ready and the challenges are set to go! Think you have a team of green keeners that can complete this amazing race with you?

Sign up now!!

Teams can be 2-3 adults/youth, or up to 4 people if one or more members are under 13yrs old.
(ie we had a team with 2 kids and 2 adults last year)

Cost per team is $20, and only the team captain needs to register.

Here's how:
Register with your online account at
http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/britannia-recreation-programs.aspxsearch for activity "65612.411BR"

or by phone at 604-718-5800(2)

or in person at Britannia either at the Info Centre or Pool cashier.
(if you would like to make a donation to register under $20, this must be paid in person)

Any questions? Please contact Kathy for more info: kathy.whittam@vancouver.ca or 604-718-5860

The Urban Weavers at Sustaining Our World!

The Urban Weavers will be leading free workshops between 1-4 as part of Sustaining Our World Festival! Here are some details for you:

* Joy and Todd will be teaching weaving spiders using English ivy with community - drop-in style so join in the fun anytime!

* Martin will be demonstrating processing flax into linen fibre and making natural dyes from park board green waste

* Sharon Kallis will lead a free (by registration) workshop on costume and disguise “Alternative green costumes”- registration open now: https://pbregister.vancouver.ca/safari_activitydetail.htm?activity_id=453397
An introduction to materials and techniques, Learn some basics and get inspired. Leave with a costume piece well underway and the knowledge to finish the project. Focusing on head, neck or shoulder adornment, there will be a group brainstorm on simple costumes. Supplies and tools included, bring along organic materials you would like to include. Ages 16 and up, limited spots.

The Clean Bin Project - screening details

We are very excited to host a screening of the Clean Bin Project to wrap up this years Sustaining Our World event on Oct 27th!
And even more exciting is that we will have Jen and Grant, the film makers here for a Q&A session after the film. :D

Here's the synopsis for the film:

Grant and Jen go head to head in a comedic competition to live zero waste for an entire year. This multiple award winning, festival favourite shares moments of humour, struggle, and hope in the cinematic and creatively executed story of a couple who ask the question “What can an individual do?” Described as a combination of An Inconvenient Truth and Super Size Me, The Clean Bin Project features laugh out loud moments, stop motion animations, and captivating interviews with TED lecturers Chris Jordan and Captain Charles Moore. A fun and inspiring call to environmental action that speaks to crowds of all ages.

And here's the trailer to give you a taste of what you'll get to see:



This eco challenge, which features many places in East Van, will provide plenty of inspiration and information for all of us who want to reduce our footprints and produce the least amount of waste we can.

Visit their site for more details on the film, and some info on their next documentary coming out in the spring of 2014 called "Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story" follows their challenge to eat only food that would normally be thrown out while exploring the truth behind 'best before' dates and other strange things about our relationship to food! www.cleanbinmovie.com
The film screening is by donation, and will be held in the Britannia Secondary School Auditorium from 7-9pm.

Sustaining Our World - poster time!

Sustaining Our World 2013

The Britannia Green Team is hosting a Sustaining Our World event to wrap up Waste Reduction Week with a Sustainability Fair, a Race to Zero Waste, and a film screening on Sunday October 27th.

For the Sustainability Fair in Gym D from 12-5pm, we have invited people and organizations working towards sustainable solutions to come and share their efforts for our community, so come on down and see all the good happening in our world already!

Join us for hands on activities including a recycling craft zone, marimba music fun and workshops with the Urban Weavers and the Strathcona Green Zone.

If you and your friends or family enjoy a fun challenge, be sure to sign up for the 2nd Annual Britannia Race to Zero Waste which will have teams finding clues and working through activities together as they explore positive green initiatives in our neighbourhood!

We'll end the day with a screening of the movie Clean Bin Project from 7-9pm. This film follows the ultimate zero waste challenge this community has ever seen and is bound to inspire you!

Stay tuned for more details on the event which we will post here as we go, as well as registration information for the race, and we hope to see you there! :)

Please contact Kathy Whittam if you have any questions or feedback for this event at kathy.whittam@vancouver.ca

Sustaining Our World - 2012 Highlights

The day was a little on the grey and drizzly side, but a little rainshine didn't stop our fun setting up the Sustainability Fair in the Britannia cafeteria! :)

We had a Creativity Zone for making crafty items with a wide array of recyled materials, a seed station, an area for mapping green stuff in the neighbourhood, a screening area for sustainability shorts (such as the Story of Stuff series), and we even had music to boogy to which was solar powered courtesy of the Vancouver Renewable Energy Cooperative!

 

We were also happy to have volunteers from Free Geek and BC Hydro who came out to share information and many fantastic ideas!

The highlight of the day was having two great teams signed up for the inaugural Britannia Race to Zero Waste - 'Felipe Squared' and the 'GangGreens' who brought plenty of keen-to-be-green team spirit!! Yay!

The whirlwind race had the teams following clues and completing challenges providing a tour of some great green intitiatives and inspiration in our community!

To highlight the food gardens that some of our students have helped to grow we began the race at the Britannia Urban Garden (BUG). The first challenge was turning compost with our food security guru Ian Marcuse.

Once their first task was complete they had to find the living wall at Grandview Park and let us know when it was unveiled. Those who live close by will know the park was re-opened in 2011, but how many have even noticed the lovely greenery outside the new washrooms?

The next clue was to find the business that sells 100% sustainable seafood and tell us what certification they require for all their seafood products. If you have yet to enjoy a fishy treat from The Daily Catch you may want to learn more about Ocean Wise which ensures that seafood is harvested in sustainable ways (no overfishing, no habitat destruction, etc)...and that's all they sell here!

Keeping the focus on water and shifting to conservation ideas, teams faced their next challenge at Victoria Park. Each member of the team had to take turns running water from one bucket to the other with a sponge and trying to lose as little as possible. Once all the water had successfully been transferred from one end to the other, they were off again!

Now they're on the lookout for a home that has taken advantage of new city by-law allowing backyard chickens. The generosity of people in this neighbourhood never ceases to amaze me as we actually had a family that welcomed our racers to explore their back yard counting chickens so they could tell us how many they saw before receiving their next clue. Though they have 7 chickens both teams only found 3 outside enjoying the misty air that day. Here's 2 that stood still long enough for a photo op ;)

The next clue was an investigation of savvy green re-design. Our local hub for theatre, The Cultch, is a historical building that has recently received a facelift. They now aim to be one of the first LEED certified arts centres in Canada. Teams had to tell us what LEED stands for to earn the next clue. Do you know what it means? Well, just in case you don't - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Around the corner teams were next on the hunt to find out who funded the herb garden at the corner of Adanac and Salsbury? Those of you with creative ideas for small neighbourhood projects might appreciate the 'Small is Beautiful' mindset of the Vancouver Foundation and their Neighbourhood Small Grants that have helped to fund small gardens such as this one, as well as community programming and other great projects. What bright green ideas could you use a small dose of seed money to help bring to life? 


Back on the Drive teams then had to find the place where clothing and household items are given a new life while helping a social enterprise supporting Women Working with Women. What is the name of this business? misc'cel'la'ny
 

If you've ever felt like you're swimming in garbage then the last challenge was for you! Set up near the pool teams had to sort a bag of garbage to see how much they could save from the landfill by sorting the waste into recycle and compost alternatives.

Along the way the teams were able to earn extra points by answering bonus questions, such as "what kind of alternative energy can you find on the fence beside the WISE Hall?", as well as for taking pictures of a team member with something from the list we provided. The GangGreens provide a couple of great examples with team members standing next to a recycling container and next to a vehicle that belongs to a car share program such as Modo, Zip or Car2Go.

 

We would really like to thank our racers for taking on the challenge and being the first to complete a Britannia Race to Zero Waste! Both teams completed the race with incredible speed and awesome team work! Thanks to People's Co-op Bookstore and Havana for their support and contributions to our prizes for the winners!

 Saving the best for last - all great events require many helping hands to pull off, so our organizing team is full of gratitude for all of the volunteers who came out to help us celebrate the day! (We're sorry some volunteers had left before we thought of the group photo idea!)

  

A couple of months ago we had an idea to organize an event that focused on Sustaining Our World, and we are happy with the day we were able to provide. And we are already planning for next years event so we can showcase even more amazing efforts being made at the local level - this community is full of them! :D

Many thanks to Latin American Youth Project and Britannia Secondary Environmental Club for helping the Britannia Green Team with a great day!

Sustaining Our World - Final Update

We are ready for a wonder-full day tomorrow for the Sustaining Our World event! We predict a nice break from the rain between the hours of 12-5 pm over Britannia Community Centre and the surrounding area for every one keen to get out and celebrate all things green with us! :)

Our Sustainability Fair will be held in the cafeteria of the Britannia Secondary school, and the entrance is right off the oval track & field. Here you can:
* enjoy some Sustainability shorts - a random sampling of amazing short videos to inform and inspire
* make seed bombs to spread new growth around your community
* create something beautiful from recycled materials
* help us map out the best green places in the neighbourhood
* chat with great people from Free Geek and BC Hydro
* support the Britannia Secondary Environment Club by bringing down your bottles, cans, cell
   phones, Ipods or mp3 players to contribute to their drives


Registration for the Britannia Race to Zero Waste will finish at 12:30pm so we can be prepared for the race to begin at 1pm. Teams can be 2-3 adults/youth and up to 4 members if 2 are under 12 yrs old. Recommended donation for the race is $20/team.

For teams who are not pre-registered, to be able to earn the most bonus points it will be helpful if you have a camera (or phone with camera capability). Prizes are for the teams who
* win the race with the fastest time
* earn the most bonus points
* show the most keen-to-be-green team spirit!! : )

See posts below for other information, or better yet just come on down and join us as we highlight all that is good and bright green in our community!

Sustaining Our World - update

The Britannia Green Team has a new logo with many thanks to Nana for her creative work! : )

The Sustaining Our World event is only a few days away - Sunday Oct 21st from 12:00 - 5:00 pm - so here's an update:

Registration for the Britannia Race to Zero Waste will now stay open until noon on race day. (instead of closing on the 19th)
With Mother Nature being so unpredictable in the weather department lately, we expect some fair weather teams may be up for the adventure of the race once they know the challenge won't include getting drenched to the bone. ;)

I know real Vancouverites won't let the weather stop them being part of a super fun time - so feel free to register your team in advance! (Activity # 65612.411BR)

Remember, only one team member needs to sign up, and teams can be 2-3 adults/youth, and up to 4 people if 2 are under 12 yrs. We already have one team with 2 kids signed up - if they can do it so can you!

The registration fee is by donation with a recommended rate of $20/per team.

If an amazing race is not your speed this Sunday, please feel free to come by the Sustainability Fair in the Britannia Secondary School cafeteria and see what's happening!

Sustaining Our World - The Britannia Race to Zero Waste

Have you ever wanted to know more about all the bright green initiatives going on at Britannia and around our community?

Do you like to have fun and enjoy a good challenge?

Have you got a friend or family member who is as keen to be green as you are?

Then you should sign yourself up for the Britannia Race to Zero Waste this Sunday October 21st!

The race is part of the Sustaining Our World event being hosted by the Britannia Green Team, the Latin American Youth Club and the Britannia Secondary School Environment Club.

We were inspired to organize the Britannia Race to Zero Waste as a fun way for families and friends to get out in the community for a hands on learning experience. A team may consist of 2-3 adults/youth, or you may register as a family team up to 4 members (ie 2 adults & 2 children 12 yrs and under).

Evergreen is an amazing organization which held a Green City Race back in the spring. My family participated in that race and had an awesome time, so we have modeled many parts of this race based on that experience - only this race is all within walking distance of Britannia and will not require any transit!

The Britannia Race to Zero Waste will have teams solving a series of clues that will guide them between gardens, businesses, homes and community spaces showcasing just some of the green wonder of our neighbourhood.

Along the way teams will have a few challenges that they will need to complete, and lots of opportunity to earn bonus points as well, especially for teams that bring the most funk and the most keen-to-be-green team spirit!

The race will begin at the Britannia Secondary School cafeteria (entrance at the oval track & field) with teams to meet up at 12:30 to get ready. The race will begin at 1:00 pm and should take approximately 2 hours. We will wrap up with some awards for the teams that win for best time, most bonus points and the most faboo funkyness!

Registration fee per team is suggested $20! One person from each team needs to register, (activity # 65612.411BR) and all racers who sign up early will be contacted before Sunday with any further information you will need for race day.

Get ready racers - this is gonna be fun!! :D

For more details please contact kathy.whittam@vancouver.ca

Sustaining Our World - The Sustainability Fair

This weekend is fast approaching and it's time to share some more details on the Sustaining Our World event to be held on Sunday Oct 21st.

A family fun Bike Parade will begin at Grandview Park with a decorating station set up with Kickstand for those who want to get festive with their bikes. The parade will end at the Britannia Secondary School Cafeteria.

Between 12:00 - 5:00 pm the cafeteria will be home to our Sustainability Fair which will feature a few green groups willing to share inspiration on ways we can save power, consume less and reduce our waste.

We will have a viewing area for people who are interested in watching short clips on sustainability issues, and an area for creative people to have fun making art with an array of recycled materials.


Please come on down and support the Environmental Club from Britannia Secondary by bringing along your refundable bottles & cans for their Bottle Drive with Return It!





The students will also be collecting used cell phones for the Recycle My Cell Challenge, and another drive for Ipods and mp3 players. Don't let those small unused techno gadgets clutter your drawers anymore!


Our event will also be solar powered with thanks to a portable power pack from the Vancouver Renewable Energy Cooperative!

A space for fun, learning, supporting students from your community and getting rid of your stuff - who could ask for more?

Well, the Sustaining Our World event does have another way to participate for those who are really green keeners - the Britannia Race to Zero Waste! Details on the race and what registered teams need to know are coming up next.