Our Polar Bear Project is composed of many mini-projects. We thought it might be helpful to summarize them. For greater detail scroll through the individual blogs.
I Project: Leafing CO2 Behind
Objective: To encourage rural neighbours to plant shelterbelts, hedgerows, and wildlife habitats and to support suburban dwellers to plant fruit and native trees. This helps conserve soil and water, manage snow and wind, improve air quality, protect yards and livestock, stabilize crops and enhance habitat for wildlife.
Action: Trees were purchased from a local business that grows them as a renewable resource and information on the Prairie Shelterbelt Program was shared so participants could enroll and receive free trees.
Response: 1,375 trees planted this year with 1,500 trees and 500 shrubs to be planted spring 2008.
Impact: each tree removes 2,204.6 lbs and each shrub 1,102.3 lbs of CO2 in its lifespan
2,875 trees X 2,204.6lbs CO2 = 6,338,225lbs or 3,169.1 Tons of CO2
500 shrubs X 1,102.3 lbs of CO2 = 551,150 lbs or 275.6 Tons of CO2
TOTAL
6,889,375 lbs or 3,444.7 Tons of CO2
II Project: More Cents for the Environment
Objective: To reduce the environmental impact of mining and minting coins partially brought about by ‘hoarding’ of change.
Action: Penny drives in schools were encouraged with contests to promote friendly competition. “Pennies for Polar Bears” is a coin outreach for donations for education, research, and funding for a new polar bear enclosure in Winnipeg. We also sold environmentally friendly Kat Grass at Boo at the Zoo for loonies and toonies ($1 and $2 coins) and held a raffle for a limited edition sofa throw.
Response: current funds raised, approximately $1,380. Forty schools will be holding a penny drive in January of 2009 and we are actively speaking with school boards to enroll more.
Impact: We have collected the equivalent of an 10 gallon container of coins (approx 700 pounds of pennies)
Water Saved: 6,844 gallons
Energy Saved: 511.4 kwh
Geological Waste Reduced: 39,977 lbs
This project has an ongoing impact with future involvement demonstrated. Establishing the penny drive in each school offers opportunity to teach about polar bears and climate change and show our video. It is impossible to measure the impact of education/research and its far-reaching capabilities…Priceless!
III Project: Moo-ve Over & Feel Baaa-d About Mowers
Objective: To employ environmentally friendly alternatives to mowing large acreage to reduce the impact of gas and electric mowers.
Action: Owners of larger properties were canvassed and encouraged to:
· Plant natural islands of trees and bushes for reduction of grass and to encourage habitat for wildlife
· Let portions of property grow wild or plant native wildflowers
· Leave grass longer between mowing
· Tether sheep, goats, cows and horses for natural grass trimming
Response: A total of 25 acres in our and other municipalities were enrolled in the livestock alternative. Participants employed the use of mobile fencing to move their animals for grazing. Many others chose areas of wildflower planting, leaving grass longer and even planting potatoes!
Impact: each acre takes approx ½ hour to mow. The Environmental Protection Agency states that 25 hours worth of mowing produces 87 pounds of CO2, or 3.5 pounds per hour, as well as many noxious chemicals.
25 acres X .5 hour mowing= 12.5 hours weekly mowing time
24 week of mower free cutting X 12.5 hrs/week = 300 hours
300 hours X 3.5 lbs CO2 /hr = 1,050 lbs of CO2
A 1,000 square foot lawn produces 300 pounds of clippings that end up in landfills.
25 acres X 43,560 sq ft/ac divided by 1,000 sq feet X 300 lbs = 326,700
TOTAL:
1,050 lbs or 0.53 Tons of CO2
326,700 pounds or 163.4 Tons of clippings kept out of the rubbish
IV Project: Victory Garden, the War on CO2
Objective: Educating our community in the role that transportation of food plays in environmental pollution and the part that livestock plays in methane production, water usage, and pollution of water resources. This knowledge allows the public to make sound choices in purchasing local produce, buying food in season, and planting gardens of all types.
Action: School friends, work acquaintances, and neighbours were approached to plant gardens of all sizes, even container pots for tomatoes and cucumbers. Decorative flower gardens to support bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, insects, and small animals were also promoted. We also encouraged giving your body and the environment a rest by ‘fasting’ meat one day each week. We placed emphasis on conservation methods for garden upkeep. (Project: Thank You Very Mulch)
Response: We had over 100 participants planting gardens ranging in size from container pots to a 3-acre ‘community’ garden.
Impact: we considered each ‘family unit’ at 2.5 people (erring on the smaller size) and our garden harvesting to last 3 months of the year
· Reduction in non-biodegradable packaging
19.2 lbs/month X 100 gardens X 3 months = 5,760 lbs CO2
· Eating approx 2 lbs less beef each week
2,500 gallons of H20/lb beef = 5,000 gallons/week per family
5,000 gal X 100 gardens x 12 weeks = 6 million gallons of water saved
· Decreased car travel
(We chose 2 mile round trip 3X week for most city dwellers, our ‘country’ neighbours tend to shop X1 week and travel 10-50 miles) 1 mile = 1 lb of CO2
2 miles X 3 trips/week X 12 weeks = 72 miles
72 miles = 72 lbs CO2 X 100 families = 7,200 pounds of CO2
Other Impacts We Could Not Accurately Measure
· Reduction of stress and enjoyment from gardening
· Attraction of beneficial insects and bees
· Health benefits of organic produce
· Sharing abundant crop with family and friends (National Zucchini Day)
· Reduction of CO2 air, train, and truck transport
TOTAL:
12,960 pounds or 6.48 Tons of CO2 reduced
6 million gallons of water saved
V Project: Thank You Very Mulch
Objective & Action: To encourage those who planted gardens (Project: Victory Garden the War on CO2) to use conservation methods in tending. Having local farmers employ conservation tillage to create mulch on the soil surface to hold carbon in the soil to reduce greenhouse gases
Response: Our 100 gardens ranged in size from pots to 3 acres, so we estimated 5 acres of garden in total. Of this 5 acres approximately 3 were heavily composted and added organic matter
Impact: Enriched soil with 7.7% organic matter contains 2.5 pounds of carbon per square foot (see project update II for equations)
3 acres = 130,680 sq. ft X 2.5 lbs carbon = 326,700 lbs kept out of atmosphere
Fertilizing 1 acre of lawn at the recommended rate of 137 lbs per acre results in 405 pounds of CO2 equivalent emission. Thirty (30) ¼ acre city lots and 10 acres of country lawn owners refrained from using commercial chemical fertilizers on their lawns.
17.5 acres X 405 lbs CO2/acre = 7,087.5 pounds CO2
TOTAL
333,789lbs or 166.9 T of CO2
VI Project: Go for the Gold(fish)
Objective: To return areas of our municipality to functioning wetland to provide ecological, economic, water purification and recreational benefits.
Action: Talking with neighbours and the community to make ponds with native wildflowers and annual seeding to provide food for wildlife. Offering discounts on fish for ponds for environmentally friendly mosquito larvae control. To generate discussion with council members for larger acres of marginally productive low-lying land.
Response: A few people actively purchased or built ponds in their yards and sought out National Wildlife Federation certification. We built a small fishpond in a day to complement our 150ft slough. There is ongoing dialogue with our elected officials.
Impact: The entomology department found minimal to no mosquito larvae in our ponds (in comparison to the thousands in our community ditches). In a survey of pond owners the general consensus was an enjoyment of the sound of water, watching the fish and local wildlife that was attracted. Now that our fish are indoors we are still reaping the benefits of reduction of blood pressure that is clinically proven to happen when observing fish in an aquarium. (Especially before exams and Saturday chores!).
Dialogue with the municipality is proving a much slower process and we are learning a gentle letter writing and phone calling campaign. “While there’s life there’s still hope” is becoming our motto here.
VII Project: Interview With the Bears
Objective: To ‘interview’ people on the streets of Winnipeg to ascertain their knowledge of climate change, polar bears, and opportunities to reduce CO2. This gives us opportunity to encourage, exhort and educate.
Action: Strategically placing ourselves by many of the “Bears on Broadway” statues we talked with dozens of individuals. Participants were each given a Manitoba provincial emblem pin as our thanks. (Generously donated on behalf of the Manitoba Legislature)
Response: We found those who had a strong knowledge base of climate change were aggressively seeking opportunities for improvement, even to the extent of campaigning their elected officials. Those who had a lesser knowledge were delighted to find out just how simple it is to reduce CO2 and pledged to do their part.
Impact: We firmly believe that the people we talked with will share their knowledge with others and cause a positive domino effect coupled with their personal goal to look for opportunities to modify their own lifestyle and make greener choices.
Although the Port of Churchill is many kilometers from Winnipeg we feel a strong sense of protectiveness and Provincial pride in, what we so often hear spoken, OUR bears. The media coverage and recent passing of Debby (our 42 year old Polar Bear at the Assiniboine Park Zoo) has highlighted the plight of Polar Bears and refocused attention on Global Climate change.
An extra for us was talking with the Deputy Minister of Conservation, Don Cook who discussed Manitoba’s role in protecting the Polar Bear on a local, national, and international level.
This project inspired us to design our “Good Neighbour Pledge”.
VIII Project: Ways to Help Save the Planet
Objective: When faced with a need to change individuals often feel overwhelmed and experience a paralysis of action. We wanted to present a list of green alternatives to illustrate the simplicity of sound environmental choices and the personal, monetary, and planetary rewards of doing so.
Action: From our list of 33 “Ways to Save the Planet” we highlighted 5 and designed our “GOOD NEIGHBOUR PLEDGE”. By changing 5 incandescent bulbs to CFLs; using curbside recycling; turning the thermostat up or down; using power bars to stop phantom energy use; and employing cloth bags for shopping you can reduce 4,330 lbs of CO2 emissions in just one year. (See project for references). We made fridge size reminder copies of the pledge and a larger list of 14 more options. (All on recycled paper, double-sided).
These were taken to “Boo at the Zoo” and we gave the public opportunity to learn about “Ways to Save the Planet” and sign the “Good Neighbour Pledge”. They were able to view pictures of polar bears in Churchill and examine information that brought these facts ‘closer to home’.
Response: Over 1,000 families heard about Polar Bears, climate change and their opportunity to make a difference. In all 769 families signed the “Good Neighbour Pledge”
Impact: 769 X 4,330 lbs CO2 = 3,329,770 lbs or 1,664.9 Tons of CO2
TOTAL
3,329,770 or 1,664.9 Tons of CO2
IX Project: Green Gazebo
Objective: You should be willing and actively making changes in your own lifestyle before challenging your neighbour to do the same.
Action: We have a very ‘green’ approach to our acreage and decided to compliment it with an equally green gazebo. Using recycled and reclaimed material the 7 members of our family each contributed to its construction. (Some placed emphasis on eating the organic food from the garden while supervising)
Response: The gazebo took less than 2 days to build and paint. This 10 X 12 structure, furnishing and lighting included, cost less than $50. (Which mom took out of our education fund stating, “I trust you learned something here.”)
Impact: A person will make a change more willingly if they understand the positive outcome. We hope by building our recycled gazebo and having an environmentally friendly yard that visitors will feel inspired to take these changes home and see they involve little more than “just elbow grease and tweezers to pull out the slivers.”
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