Maybe the Province read my article on the crumbling infrastructure around this province?

$272 Million Invested in Smaller British Columbia Communities: Applications Open for Building Canada's Communities Component

For the first time, smaller British Columbia communities with populations of less than 100,000 can now access more funding for cleaner water, better waste management and flood mitigation thanks to a $272 million investment by the federal and provincial governments through the Building Canada Plan.  read more »

I’ve got another blog project coming up, the details are still in very preliminary stages, but all things point to another niche, (both geographic and topical), to be better informed on the web.

Postings for this project will more likely be weekly, rather than the almost daily posting here, so I’m not expecting much conflict with UrbanWorkbench’s schedule.

Chickens and Goats

With the letter in last week’s paper, conversation around town has been interesting. People who didn’t realize that we had written the letter were asking me what I thought of the idea, people who knew told me of friends and family who are totally in support.

Now if I could just have a few days off to revive…

How many times have you seen a road like this?

A pavement in this condition is a ticking timebomb ready to self destruct. An asphalt pavement is meant to serve as a wear course for vehicles to drive on safely, but just as important is it’s function as a barrier against the elements. When cracks like this occur, water can penetrate the base and sub base courses, breaking down the structural integrity of the road. The pavement also becomes much more susceptible to frost damage in cold climates.

Reading articles like the following is enough to make you wonder what it is going to cost to replace all the roads in Canada, (and the water and sewer pipes underneath as well)!  read more »

"Maybe they just don't like goats?"

This was our first impression following the last council meeting, it seems that some of the elected representatives of the City of Castlegar have a different perspective on food security and sustainability than many people in this City and region.  When presented with an opportunity to review the current animal control and zoning bylaws to permit small-scale "urban agriculture", as is permitted in cities such as Seattle, it seems our Council, rather than having a rational discussion, opted instead to poke fun at the suggestion that urban hens and miniature goats may be a step closer to a sustainable Castlegar.  read more »

This spring, we planted Wheat, Oats and Amaranth. Here’s where we are up to. This is some of our Amaranth…  read more »

A few years ago, a guy I worked with asked me, "why do we now call all these swamps wetlands?". At the time I answered, "must just be the way to get people to think about them differently, you know give them some value." The word swamp conjures up images of stinky stagnant water with a greenish tinge.

However, as I've since found out, swamps are just a type of wetland. Which kind of makes sense. There are actually a number of categories of wetlands out there, check these links if you are interested in learning more…

US EPA Wetlands

Swamps on Wikipedia

Wetlands on Natural Resources Canada

By the way, the five types of wetland are (from the Canadian guide):

• Bog
• Fen
• Marsh
• Swamp
• Shallow Water