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 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.

The grass is greener when you're green :)

Someone left an article in our staff room recently with the sad news that the earth is warming faster than we knew..."read it and weep"

It is so darn easy to get down when the world is so messed up!

But becoming overwhelmed and sitting around doing nothing doesn't make us feel any better, and it doesn't fix the problem. If everyone says "there's nothing we can do!" then we are absolutely right.

So green keeners like me find even the smallest things we can do to try and make a difference. And guess what? This is actually good for you!

Here are 10 reasons why green people are happier. Maybe one or 2 of these can help if you are feeling blue about how red hot things are getting :D

www.ecohustler.co.uk/green-happy


Also don't forget that there are sooooo many people around the world and close to home that are working on solutions to a better world, and if young folks like Boyan Slat keeping building on their ideas, there is hope for us yet - so don't give up!! We may get those oceans cleaned up one day!

Check out this site for your break time viewing boyanslat.com and see what I mean. Do you think his plan will work?

Sustaining Our World - poster time!

Story of Solutions

I have been a big fan of the Story of Stuff Project from the very first video they produced! Today they launched another great one - The Story of Solutions. Enjoy :D
Story of Solutions



Cheers to changing the game and working towards something better! We can do it people!!

Have more time to watch good stuff? Please visit the Story of Stuff web site to check out more of their great videos, such as the Story of Bottled Water, The Story of Make up, and the Story of Change.
www.storyofstuff.org

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

Celebrate the Strathcona Green Zone!

There are great things happening in the Strathcona neighbourhood and garden and if you haven't had a chance yet to visit their Resource Park, be sure to check it out on Saturday Sept 28th!

For more info: http://strathconabia.com/2013/09/join-us-for-the-strathcona-bia-resource-park-1st-anniversary/

A world of good

Feeling like the world just can't be saved? Tired of all the bad news that has you believing humans don't care about the earth any more?

Then here is your break time viewing for the day - a dose of inspiration from Paul Hawken, author of many books including "Blessed Unrest". The revolution to build a better world has been under way for a long time, and in this video you will see "how the largest movement in the world came into being...and why no one saw it coming". Enjoy!

Recycle a bottle, flash mob style

Here's a way to make everyone feel good about putting garbage & recycling in its place - imagine a crowd cheering you on!



People who pick up after others deserve applause daily :)

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 - 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

Vibrant Green Inspiration from the Bronx

The vision, passion and energy of this teacher is truly inspiring! All of you will feel full of hope and enthusiasm after watching this TED talk given by Stephen Ritz, a teacher who empowered children and youth by connecting them to the beauty of seeds and growing food. Their efforts have evolved into the Green Box Machine and his story on the efforts of his kids is a thrill to watch!