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About EarthCare
The Canadian EarthCare Society (EarthCare) is a non-profit environmental organization with a mandate to protect Earth's environment through advocacy and public education...
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| The Green Vacation Challenge: An Initiative from EarthCare and Bearfoot Canada |
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What's New?
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Rainbarrels
are a great way to conserve water
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Because
Every Drop Count$
EarthCare has painted
and plain rainbarrels for sale year
round. You can purchase a rain barrel
for $50.00 including taxes and a
garden watersaver kit adapter for
$25.00 plus GST. Please call 861-4788
to order your barrel now.
Read More
Information on Rainbarrels....
Rainbarrel
FAQ
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Spring
Water Conservation Products Now Available
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ZEBA
Zeba is a biodegradable, non-toxic,
odourless, corn starch based super-absorbant
product that promotes healthy lawns,
landscapes and houseplants with less
watering.
For more details and sale information
follow the link.
Read
more ...
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Pesticide
Free Organic Lawn Care Company comes
to Kelowna
Turf Logic is a
Nation-wide Natural Lawn Care Franchise
for residential customers with everything
you need for a beautiful, natural
lawn. Turf Logic has used the science
of nature to improve lawn care and
has developed an environmentally
friendly solution for today’s
lawns. The Turf Logic trained professionals
will analyze your lawn and apply
your customized pesticide-free treatments
for a lush, healthy pesticide-free
lawn.
Visit http://www.logicalliance.ca/turf/ for
more information or call Gary Klammer
at 826-0729.
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March
15 deadline
to register for the Pesticide
Registry
Do
your Health a Favour, Protect Your
Family and your Pets, Sign up now!
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A
typical pesticide application in
a residential neighbourhood
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TO REGISTER please phone (250) 469-8556
or email enviro@kelowna.ca.
You must provide your name, phone
number and address, including your
postal code. You must specify whether
you want previous-day or same-day
notification. As well, you must state
the reasons for your concern about
pesticides near you.
More
Important Info...
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ALSO,
come in to Earthcare and receive a
free "Pesticide
Free" sign
and stake for your lawn, and a free "Earth-Friendly
Natural Recipes" carabiner keychain
when you sign up for the pesticide
registry.
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Pesticide
Bylaw Update
Dec 11th, 2007
On Monday afternoon Kelowna City
Council passed Option 2 which does
the following:
A pesticide by-law will be drafted
and this will ban the use of cosmetic
pesticides by homeowners in the community.
EarthCare has supplied a copy of
the draft by-law that Bill Andrews
drafted to the City Clerks office.
The public will have a year before
they have to comply and in that year
an extensive education program will
be introduced.
Commercial applicators will be excluded
from the by-law. The City of Kelowna
will seed PlantHealth BC accreditation
and once they have it, they will
force commercial applicators through
the bylaw to have that accreditation
before they can apply pesticides.
The commercial Pesticide Notification
Registry will be continued which
allows the public to be notified
of pesticide application adjacent
to their property provided they have
signed up.
Although we did not achieve a full
ban on cosmetic pesticides, we will
have a bylaw in place and there is
a good possibility that we can continue
to put pressure on City Council to
amend it and knock out the commercial
applicators. EarthCare will continue
on this campaign during the next
year and intends to make it an election
issue in the upcoming municipal elections.
Action to take: We continue to encourage
you to write City Council and request
that they amend the pesticide bylaw
to ban commercial applicators from
spraying cosmetic pesticide in our
community. You can email City council
at mayorandcouncil@kelowna.ca.
Thank
you.
Lloyd Manchester Director
EarthCare
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For
Immediate Release
Dec 10th, 2007
"Kelowna
City Council has taken one step forward
and two steps
back. Passing a pesticide bylaw that
ban’s the use of pesticides
and provides an education program
for the public is good, but does
not go far enough. To allow the pesticide
industry to have an ‘open market’ on
the spraying of poisons in our community
is ludicrous.” says Lloyd Manchester
Canadian EarthCare Director in response
to City Council’s decision
to allow spray companies to continue
to operate outside of the bylaw.
“The City has consistently
stated that it should be able to
continue using pesticides while the
public can not. Council’s decision
to use a new organization, (PlantHealth
BC) shows that we already have a
problem with spray companies. The
application of cosmetic pesticides
should not be allowed,” stated
Manchester
Manchester says, There are currently
145 communities across Canada that
have adopted pesticide bylaws. Spray
companies have been forced to seek
organic solutions for lawn care.
“Based on this decision, Kelowna
can not be considered ‘a green
community’ as a result of their
recent decision,” stated Manchester.
For more information please contact:
Lloyd Manchester at 878-9352 or 861-4788
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Green
Initiative Defeated
“Kelowna City Council has taken
a huge step backwards in protecting
the health of our citizens by refusing
to recognize the need to curb the use
of pesticides in our community,” says
Lloyd Manchester Canadian EarthCare
Director. Manchester’s comments
are in reference to City Council’s
decision Monday to not support adoption
of a proposed pesticide bylaw.
Read complete press release here.
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EarthCare
granted Intervener status by the
B.C. Court of Appeal in the
case Gehring vs. Chevron.
B.C. Court of Appeal to hear from
environmentalists on Chevron contaminated
site liability
Madame Justice Rowles of the B.C.
Court of Appeal announced that the
Kelowna-based environmental organization,
Canadian EarthCare Society, will be
allowed to make submissions to the
court on Chevron’s liability
for gas contamination at a former gas
station in Salmon Arm. Canadian EarthCare
had applied to become an intervener
in the appeal of Gehring v. Chevron,
a precedent setting case that will
set the rules for who will be required
to pay for the clean up of contaminated
sites in British Columbia.
To view the ruling please to the
following link:
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/ca/07/05/2007bcca0557.htm
View the press release here.
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PESTICIDE
BYLAW UPDATE...
YOUR COMMENTS NEEDED NOW! |
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Deadline
for comments
to City Council:
Deadline for public comments extended
to November 26 at 4pm
The City of Kelowna is seeking input
on the recommendations of City Staff
on a pesticide reduction program
which includes the implementation
of a pesticide bylaw.
Your input is needed
now. Please
respond to the recommendations directly.
For example: I support recommendation
Number 1
(which recommends a bylaw)
To view the recommendations click
on this link
pesticide
reduction strategy.
Written comments should
be sent to City Clerk's at cityclerk@kelowna.ca before
4 p.m. October 15th.
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Please feel
free to call or meet with City Councillors.
Their phone numbers are:
Barrie Clark 764-7062
Brian Given 979-1313
Carol Gran 861-7837
Colin Day 861-0695
Michelle Rule 762-3749
Andre Blanleil 862-5092
Norm Letnick 864-2260
Robert Hobson 469-6224
Mayor Sharon Shepherd 469-8980 |
Further
reading on pesticides ...
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Pesticides and Health:
Battle on the front lawn |
Pesticides and Cancer:
A Need
for an Effective Bylaw
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What we don't know about pesticides
can hurt you |
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Pesticide
Bylaw
Kelowna City Council deferred making
a decision on implementing Pesticide
Bylaw and education program at their
meeting of July 9th.
Your help is still needed to keep
the pressure on to implement a Pesticide
Bylaw.
You can still download and
send our sample letter to the Mayor
and Council or you can e mail it to: mayorandcouncil@kelowna.ca.
Medical Doctor rebutt's the Pesticide
Industry. Please click
here to view...
Thank you for your support
on this issue.
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LOCAL
COMMUNITIES HELP SHAPE
NATIONAL PARK PROPOSAL
The Parks Canada national park reserve
feasibility study is now
about half way towards the completion
of a
park proposal in late
2007. Over the past several months,
First Nations,
stakeholders, and
local communities have been providing
input
to an emerging vision
for a potential national park reserve – what
we (Parks Canada) are calling a draft park concept.
This handout
provides an overview of
what we have heard, how this input will
be
used, and the next
steps in the study – building a
park proposal. Fall 2006
To view the pdf click
here.
Also available E-News January 2007 in
pdf.
Click for Feasibility
Study (July 2007)
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Community
Program helps Earthcare
Don't leave home without it. By using
this card when you make purchases at
Huskey / Mohawk stations you can help
raise money for Earthcare.
Contact the office to participate in
this program which so far has raised $250.00
for our programs. |

from Capital News |
Opening
up parks for commercial resorts
Why should the public subsidize developers
by allowing them access to public park
lands on which to build their commercial
enterprises?
At best, it’s simply unnecessary, and at worst, I can envision this government
permitting hot dog stands and souvenir stalls in our wilderness parks next.
read
more...
EarthCare joins Campaign for B.C. Parks
Visit the Friends of the Campaign for
BC Parks
website to read fact sheet and sign petition
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Pesticide
Bylaw
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Encourage Council to
adopt a pesticide by-law in our community
that would ban the use of cosmetic pesticides such
as 2,4-D.
read
more...
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HOW
SAFE IS YOUR DEODORANT/ANTIPERSPIRANT?
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All anti-perspirants
and some deodorants contain aluminum.
Aluminum clogs your pores and is the
element that keeps you from sweating.
Inhibiting a natural process by which
you release toxins from your body is
essentially unhealthy. As well, aluminum
is absorbed and accumulated in the body,
and has been linked to serious illnesses
including osteoporosis, extreme nervousness,
anemia, headache, decreased liver and
kidney function, forgetfulness, speech
disturbances and memory loss.
read
more...
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Solutions
to make your lawn healthy and how to
use native plants to reduce water consumption

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Is
a National Park Reserve Feasible?
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South Okanagan-Lower Similkameen is part
of the "Interior Dry Plateau",
a region of rolling plains dissected
by deep
valleys and long narrow lakes
with a particular ecosystem. This area
is one
of the most interesting and
ecologically diverse parts of Canada
with many native
plants and animals,
and natural communities found nowhere
else
in Canada. The Interior Dry
Plateau Natural Region is currently
not represented
in the national parks
system. Parks Canada and the province
of British
Columbia are examining the
possibility of protecting this area
by identifying
a certain park boundary. Read
more... |
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Uranium mining in the Okanagan Valley
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Update: Coalition Organized to Oppose Uranium Mining in British Columbia
EarthCare has joined the Uranium-Free BC Mining Coalition.
Read the Press Release Here.
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We will be updating our site on this issue as time permits. In the meantime, we encourage you to write letters to the government requesting that Uranium mining not be allowed in British Columbia and that a moritorium be enacted. Read More....
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| In this article: Pesticide
regulation is examined in the context
of Health Canada’s
Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s
assessment of the chlorophenoxy herbicide
2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic
acid (2,4-D) for turf. 2,4-D. Read
More... |

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City Of Kelowna Launches "Be Pesticide Free" Campaign
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| The City of Kelowna is
launching a new campaign encouraging residents to reduce pesticide
use and explore pesticide alternatives for the home and garden.
To promote the "Be Pesticide Free" campaign, the Environment Division is offering Pesticide Free lawn signs and carabiner key chains that include "recipe" cards for creating eco-friendly pesticide alternatives such as "hot and spicy pest repellent", "vinegar weed eradicator" and "orange zest". Read More... |
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City of Kelowna Considers Enacting Pesticide Bylaw
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| Kelowna City Council, in their meeting on Monday, considered creating a bylaw prohibiting the use of certain cosmetic pesticides, citing existing support for such a bylaw and the need for education of the effects of pesticides on groundwater and wildlife. Read More.... |
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EarthCare Kicks off the Green Vacation Challenge
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Katimavik
Volunteers
Katimavik volunteers Karen Ka-Yan
Cheung from Burnaby (left) and Jennifer
Brooks from Mackenzie B.C. take in
the sites of Kelowna from Knox mountain.
Jennifer is working with EarthCare
while in Kelowna
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Katimavik
Volunteer
Katimavik volunteer Jennifer Brooks
from Mackenzie B.C. shows off two rainbarrels
that she painted for EarthCare.
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For Older Updates, See our ARCHIVE
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EarthCare has used appeal processes, the court systems, discussions with politicians, corporations and stakeholder groups to create an atmosphere that fosters positive change. Over 90% of our work is educationally based.
We support the public in voicing their concerns on environmental issues that affect their lives. EarthCare hopes that you will utilize our website to become aware and effect change. Please use our take action section!! It is important to let decision makers know how you feel.
Our mission is to create change in a positive manner for the benefit of all. We hope you will join us.
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* Contact information for BC MLAs, the Minister of Forests and the premier is available on our "links and resources" page.
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The Canadian EarthCare Society is always looking for community concious individuals who would like to do more to help.
Volunteers are a big part of our organization. If you feel you fit this bill then we encourage you
to please fill out our volunteer application...
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