How to Drop Heat + Electric Bills and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint by 85% - 95%!

November 14, 7 pm Schubert Centre. This free talk on Clean Energy Retrofits and ZeroCarbon new-builds will provide healthy choices for you now and in future. Find out about major cost savings from clean energy retrofit work of the non-profit homezerocollective – and sign up to get a VERY low cost retrofit! Also, hear how Vernon’s Zero Carbon building code will make homes much more affordable for all of us, all while benefiting our planet and our health. Everyone is welcome at this free event. Co-sponsors: Home Zero Collective (homezerocollective.com) and SENS.

A Lumby Chamber of Commerce forum is set for October 10, 7:30 – 9:30 pm at White Valley Community Centre.

For Vernon, Lumby and Coldstream residents:

The October 3 Environmental All Candidates Forum is now available to watch on livestream at this link: https://www.facebook.com/sensociety/videos/1055992036174681

PLEASE NOTE: the actual forum starts at around 25 minutes. The time before that was used for set-up to ensure that the livestream worked.

You can read their responses to 5 questions asked pre-forum here.

For the  Vernon Chamber of Commerce forum this is the link: https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-510451-2-.htm#510451

Come down for our annual general meeting, complete with FREE Seed/Plant swap and garden speaker will be Thursday, March 28, 7 – 8:30pm, Vernon Library.

Mark your calendars and bring any extra seeds/plant cuttings, pen, and envelopes!

Documents powerful solutions for our Climate problem, including creation of good jobs that will help mitigate global warming. Discussion on benefits of the “Green New Deal” to follow. This film is the third of three in the library’s February Sustainability Film Fest. Free! Bring your questions and a carload!...or walk?

Thursday February 29, 7pm, Vernon’s Okanagan Regional Library.

Tuesday, February 27, 7 pm, Vernon’s Schubert Centre

Join Jamie Kneen of Mining Watch Canada as he explains the toxic legacy of BC mines and their impact. All are welcome to this free event. Bring your questions! Bring a carload!

Sponsors: Sustainable Environment Network Society (www.sensociety.org) and Crannog Ales.

Do you live in the Salmon Arm Area?

Jamie Kneen will be present this topic February 22 at Salmon Arm’s Okanagan College, 7 pm.

Download the PDF here

With Seth Klein, September 18th, 7 pm, Vernon’s Performing Arts Centre. Seth’s focus is on ‘Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency”.

As author of “A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency”, Seth has researched and written for decades on solutions to the complex problems we increasingly face, for Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and for his class work at Simon Fraser University. He provides clear thinking and ideas for improving our natural and built environment as we combat this global climate crisis.

Bring your questions, a carload, and your hope to this free event!

June 18, 11 – 2pm at the large parking lot in front of Kal Tire's Head Office on Kalamalka Lake Road in Vernon.    Electric bicycles will also be on display and possibly an electric boat! Everyone welcome at this free event. View (and test – drive?) one of the best ways to reduce Green House Gases and improve air quality!

Join Myrna Pearman on a journey of nature observations through photography and stories. Hosted by The North Okanagan Naturalists’ Club.

Home Energy Retrofits (May 11th, 7 pm, Vernon’s Schubert Centre): Absorb lots of ‘how-to’ on pre/post audits, incentives, costs, rebates, electrical considerations, and even choosing from solar, insulation, heat pumps, and hot water tanks, as Ted Spearin, P. Eng., shows how his home will generate much less impact on the environment. Everyone welcome at this free event. Bring your questions and a car-load of friends!

Vote on or before October 15, 2022!

Voting Information:

For any questions on voting (eg, eligibility, advance poll locations and dates, etc), see: https://www.vernon.ca/elections-assent-voting/general-election-2022

Why Vote: 

Although climate change efforts are necessary across all levels of government, local governments are especially well-positioned to respond to climate change. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) estimates that over 50 percent of emissions are under the direct influence of local governments, in areas such as energy use in buildings, land use, transportation, waste, and food. 

Also, since local governments are the level closest to the community, they are also on the front lines of response efforts when preparing for the impacts of climate change. 

Strategic Voting:

It is often not strategic to use up all your votes. In Vernon you will be electing one mayor and six councillors, which means you can place one vote for mayor and six votes for councillor. 

However, if there is a smaller number of councillors that you actually want elected, you are better advised to vote for only those ones, to avoid diluting your vote. For instance, if there are two candidates you really support, voting for another four candidates you are not that enthusiastic about will reduce the chances of your two favoured candidates being elected.

Pre-election Information:

An Environmental All-candidates Forum was held September 24 at the Performing Arts Centre.  The Sustainable Environment Network Society (SENS) and Climate Action Now! (CAN!) co-hosted the event.  Watch the September 24 livestreamed evening on SENS fb here: https://fb.watch/fLBTl9gRJV/

Pre-Forum Question:

CAN! and SENS created just one pre-forum 3 part environmental question for all readers to peruse and compare for responses. Candidate answers are at www.sensociety.org  Enjoy the read! 

Vital Vernon Questions: 

Also, for even more information on each candidate (on key local economic, social, health, culture, environment issues), check out the non-partisan website: https://www.vitalvernon.com/ which the Community Foundation of the North Okanagan (CFNO) has created using ideas from local experts. All candidates have been asked to respond to a series of pertinent questions on this site. By September 23 the CFNO will have uploaded all candidate responses to  https://www.vitalvernon.com/

Vital Vernon is a research booklet put out by the CFNO every 2 years that rates how we, locally, are doing in 5 different areas: economic, health, social, cultural, and environmental. All candidates were asked to provide their thoughts on questions from these 5 areas.

www.greenokanagan.org   a sustainability non-profit, will also provide  Q &A from candidates living in other areas of the Okanagan, available on September 26. Let your Okanagan friends not from Vernon know! Click on ‘election’ on their home page for the responses. 

Vernon & District Chamber of Commerce Forum: 

October 4, 6:30 – 8 p,m Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre. For Mayoral candidates only.

School District 22 Trustees Forum:

October 3, 7pm, Vernon Secondary School

PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHER VERNON VOTERS!

For Mayoral candidates only.

Held at Vernon Secondary School.

SENS and Climate Action Now! (CAN!) are co-sponsoring a live and fb livestreamed Environmental All Candidates Forum, September 24, 7 – 9 pm, at Vernon’s Performing Arts Centre. Masks appreciated. Rush seating.  Everyone welcome.  Councillor and Mayoral candidates will be in attendance. SENS has asked only one question of candidates, pre-forum, which will be posted on this website within the week.

Also, the Community Foundation is supporting a non-partisan website to give citizens information on all the candidates at www.vitalvernon.com  . Questions, related to environment, social, culture, economics and health are already on the site.  Answers of all candidates will be posted on the same site on September 23. Check out questions ahead of time, then check out answers of ALL candidates on September 23!

Follow the link to donate or sign the petition to protect 30% of our lands, water and oceans by 2030.

https://worldoceanday.org/take-action/conservation-action-focus/

Please contact Terry  at  terrydyck80@hotmail.com  or  250 545 0191

a) if you have an electric form of travel you wish to display for everyone who attends OR 

b) if you can assist Terry with directing parking of displayers or with door prize and electric travel information set-up.

SENS’s annual free tree giveaway is on for April 23, 10am – noon, or as long as trees last at Nature’s Fare in Vernon.

Thank-you to Nature’s Fare for the space and to John Barling and Terry Dyck for facilitating this event!

Vernon’s Schubert Centre.

Join SENS for our (7 minute!) Annual General Meeting, followed by a free presentation by SENS director John Barling and technical expert Josh Persaud on solar installations, how they work, the economics of systems, the compelling reasons to go solar now, and much more! Questions welcome. Schubert Centre may still expect proof of vaccination and masks for all attendees to protect seniors who use the facilities. We’ll keep readers posted on their expectations closer to the date.

The first one of the season will be April 14, 8 am to 1 pm behind Kal Tire Place. SENS will have a stall there to give away free seeds and information on gardening, pollinators, alternatives to pesticides and more! Drop in and say Hi!

SENS and CAN! (Climate Action Now!) are co-hosting a climate action - environmental sustainability All Candidates Forum, live stream, at Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre, November 10, 7 – 9 pm. You can listen and watch the live stream via the SENS facebook page, and ask a question via chat. If you wish, use the ‘contact us’ form at www.sensociety.org to email your short, climate, environment, or sustainability related question before November 8 and note to which candidate (s) it is to be directed. The SENS website will post answers given by candidates to questions SENS and CAN! sent to them earlier. More details may follow later.

There are TWO options for watching the Nov 10 , 7 – 9 pm Vernon Council Byelection A-C Forum:

1.  ZOOM:

Watch via Zoom using this Meeting URL:
https://ubc.zoom.us/j/64827099301?pwd=a3ppQXh2OFB0U3dZeFdlOTdvNzFYUT09&from=addon

Meeting ID: 648 2709 9301
Passcode: 763456

Phone one-tap: +17789072071,,64827099301#,,,,,,0#,,763456#
Phone connection: +1 778 907 2071 (Vancouver)
We will have someone monitoring chat for questions there as well.

2.  FACEBOOK:

SENS Facebook event page – livestream – using this link: https://facebook.com/events/s/sens-municipal-forum/729853027928562/
You can send in a question using Facebook chat.

ALSO…

SENS website:  https://www.sensociety.org/news/climate-action-environmental-sustainability-all-candidates-forum

and the Facebook Events page: https://facebook.com/events/s/sens-municipal-forum/729853027928562/ have posted all the pre-forum answers to 7 questions sent to the 11 candidates for  Vernon‘s vacant  council position.  

Check out their thoughts on working to improve Vernon’s future.

SENS is pleased to welcome back Dr. Warren Bell to share his thoughts on CAPE (Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment) from its mid-1990s origin ‘til today, outlining successes, miscues, current and future plans, and initiatives - with a particular emphasis on what's happening in BC. Questions and comments welcome! Peruse before the evening: Cape.ca .

Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81825862057?pwd=WjRmTGZHbkdFZ3huanpzL0ljUHdpQT09

Meeting ID: 818 2586 2057

Passcode: 926857

Dial by your location

+1 778 907 2071 Canada

Everyone welcome! Link in a bit before 7pm to meet and greet! Sponsor: Sustainable Environment Network Society(SENSociety.org)

*** Dr. Warren Bell is a founder of CAPE!

On Friday, Sept 17th from 4 - 5:30 pm, join the North Okanagan Land to Table Network and the five federal candidates from the North Okanagan-Shuswap riding for an online food forum!

Everyone is welcome to come hear from our candidates, ask questions, and become more informed about their positions on food sovereignty, along with other food topics such as food insecurity, resilient local food systems, decent work & justice for food workers, and more.

Learn more about the event and register to attend at: https://landtotablenetwork.com/eat-think-vote-2021 

QUESTIONS?

Please contact Liz Blakeway, Land to Table Network Director
Cell: 778 886-3718
liz@landtotablenetwork.com

Join Chris Walker, host of CBC Daybreak, as moderator for the Livestream Environmental All Candidates Forum. Watch this livestream forum via the SENS Facebook page.

Contact us here to email your short, environment-related question before September 1st and note which candidate it is to be directed. Also, check the SENS website after August 30 for answers given by candidates to environmental questions sent to them 2 weeks ago.

Sponsor: Sustainable Environment Network Society.

Everyone welcome to Zoom with us, March 25, 7 - 8:15 pm, to hear from experts on how we can benefit our surroundings via forests, agriculture, and beaver and willows in wetlands. Questions welcome. The sponsor, Sustainable Environment Network Society (SENS), will also hold their VERY short annual general meeting (AGM).

Link to SENS's habitat restoration evening. A very powerful group of talks with lots of positive ideas. The talks start at about the 5 minute mark, after the SENS AGM. A very interesting share-discussion continued for about 15 min after the presentations.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oUFxmaYauF41-VA1eDp31N90l2yZ1oDO/view?usp=sharing

Chat comments:

19:42:55 From Margo and Erik to Everyone : Kim- I am working with Sqilxw Apna on a challenging habitat restoration site more like aforestation. We are interested in learning about cottonwood propagation techniques to use on a south facing slope. Cottonwoods are of interest due to their capacity to mulch, as well as, elder, aspen, birch, pines, etc. We are wearing ourselves out (mostly volunteers) carrying mulch to assist plantings and really want to maximize the system to work for us. Would you be willing to be in touch with us for some online learning sessions? I am at mikass347@gmail.com — Erik Hrabovsky — 1(250)859-6302

20:02:03 From Erik to Everyone : Way to go Terry and John! My daughter and I planted 120 Larch trees in our group’s habitat restoration project today, with compost and wood debris each!

20:09:13 From Tracey to Everyone : Gord, do you have any links for where people can apply for that funding for those trees or the trees themselves

20:10:22 From Gord Hiebert to Everyone : https://www.canada.ca/en/campaign/2-billion-trees.html

20:14:40 From Tracey to Everyone : Erik, do you think UBC students could be interested in a tree planting binge?

20:15:26 From Don Elzer to Everyone : Its really important to restore native understory when we plant trees.

20:17:32 From julia Lissau to Jane Weixl(Direct Message) : A super evening!

20:23:04 From Erik Hrabovsky to Everyone : This planting project, Tracey, is working within the community specifically to build the community ownership, knowledge, involvement, and we have all the workers we can support at this time. Folks need to plant where they are, too!

20:23:13 From Gord Hiebert to Everyone : gordehiebert@gmail.com

20:23:25 From adrian to Everyone : Adrian nelson Adrian@humanesolutions.ca

20:23:36 From Kim Fulton to Everyone : kfultondr_fish@yahoo.ca phone 2503096535 please don't hesitate to call

20:27:12 From julia Lissau to Everyone :manual that list ways to make your plantings successful: www.treeproject.org.au/manual/grower-manual.htm

20:27:44 From Erik Hrabovsky to Everyone : Yes! We need to collate this info together to argue for our food forests!

20:29:42 From Shelaigh to Everyone : edenquest@me.com Shelaigh Garson

20:31:19 From Erik Hrabovsky to Everyone : Yes, Don! The forest is also the animals and people in part of the circle. People are so important, with culture, connectivity, memory all building up the soil, harbouring life, promoting the planting, meaning, understories, and more ;)

20:33:42 From julia Lissau to Everyone : Would be nice to have a large planting done on the BX ranch land space - food forest as well as mixed.

20:34:45 From Erik Hrabovsky to Everyone : Erik Hrabovsky- N’Sis’ooloxw Project — Sqilxw Apna Society Email me or call: mikass347@gmail.com or 250-859-6302