The Fine Art of Composting

With so many dedicated gardeners here at Pacific Gardens, you would think the folks living here would know exactly what goes into the composting bin.

We have passionate discussions on the importance of layering brown material with green material, fool-proof methods of keeping down the fruit-fly population, and when to turn or not to turn, so we should be experts by now.

Well, maybe not.  Our indefatigable recycling, garbage and compost duo, Mia and Gloria, have made some interesting discoveries when checking out the compost bins for, shall we say, non-conforming items.

Oh, what they found! A plastic jockey figure.  A watch.  A plate. A fork. A spoon. A wine-bottle stopper.  A ping-pong ball.  A net-bag. Ribbon.  A ruler.  And a compostable bag - full of non-composted food!

This was in addition to the usual offenders -  bits of plastic, foil wrap, twist-ties, and different varieties of string, both plastic and non-plastic.

So they included this in the display of what not to compost at their most recent educational evening.

Creative composting from cohousers!

But as usual, they made it fun, with prizes, treats, popcorn and a movie, the only one our children had not seen yet, "The Gods Must Be Crazy", which demonstrates what can happen when you throw away a pop bottle!

There's obviously a fine art to composting, and recycling, but we're lucky to have Gloria and Mia, who teach it with creativity - and a certain amount of comedy.

Kathryn

Adventures in Recycling at Pacific Gardens

When I first arrived at Pacific Gardens, I thought I knew everything there was to know about recycling. I was wrong.

I soon learned from our indefatigable recycling team, Mia and Gloria, that there is an art as well as a science to recycling, about which you never stop learning.

It's not enough that you separate your recyclables, crush your cardboard boxes, wash out your soy and dairy containers, and rinse your refundables.

You have to put the right item in the right box, and figuring that out can sometimes be a puzzle, even for the most dedicated.

For example, last week we had the mystery of the fertilizer bags.  Someone had put the bags in the bin for soft plastics, but had not emptied them out.

I was delegated to send out an e-mail to try and discover the culprit.  This caused great consternation amongst the garden group, as we don't use chemical fertilizers - ever.

Who could have been using that stuff on our gardens? Well, it turned out that the bags had been full of ordinary garden dirt and mulch, so no worries as to the contents, at least.

Then Roz e-mailed me. She had put them in the garbage first, but then Mia, who hates putting anything in the garbage if there's any chance it can be recycled, rescued them and put them in the recycling.

The mystery was solved. I told Roz I would give her the golden garbage bag award for rightly putting the bags where they belonged!

Kathryn

Elderberries party hearty!

Last week Roz held a fabulous party for us older folk - or elderberries as she calls us - at Pacific Gardens.  She said the reason was she wanted to clean out  her fridge, but I know better - she just likes to party!

True, there was a slightly more serious reason.  Some of us are on the cusp of elderberryness, and wanted to glean some wisdom from those in our community who have had more practice.

The food was wonderful.  My favourite was the roasted root vegetables and the delicious rhubarb custard crumble - yum!  Roz also followed the Pacific Gardens recycling mantra when she made some hot mulled wine with leftover vino from another party.

The best part was the conversation.  We went around the table and told tales of our Christmases past, and they were both heart-warming and funny - mostly funny.

Susana told us how she nearly blew up her family's kitchen in an attempt to cook her father's favourite English dessert in a pressure cooker. The star-shaped pattern left by the exploded contents remained on the kitchen ceiling for years.

Michele recalled how the sisters at her convent got rather tipsy munching quantities of bourbon balls, while Clare described one holiday celebration where the main entertainment was making a nativity scene out of day-glo playdough - and then baking it in the oven!

Others remembered their childhood excitement waiting for the arrival of mandarin oranges that came by ship from Japan, or enjoying a Christmas dinner of succulent duck with red cabbage and apricot stuffing.

It was a great evening.  We left slightly older, perhaps a little bit wiser, and definitely much merrier.  Thank you Roz!

Kathryn

They Aim To Inspire

This is Mia, one of our inspiring recyclers!

"We aim to inspire!"  That's the motto of Mia and Gloria, the two women who look after our recycling at Pacific Gardens, and boy, do they ever.

You may not have known it, but this week past, October 15th to 21st, was Waste Reduction Week in Canada. Now that's not something that would turn most people's cranks. It certainly didn't excite me, and I'm an avid recycler.

Just the title alone conjured up images of a self-righteous green-weenie lecturing me on the excessive use of styrofoam, or 497 ways to use egg cartons in your interior decorating scheme.

But the dynamic duo of Mia and Gloria turned it into a fabulous, fun event, with bright-coloured posters, a movie night with popcorn, and artistic displays showing us what not to put in the recycle bin.

I wasn't able to attend the movie night - which featured a quadruple bill, with a special feature for the kids - but what I heard from those who did go was that it was a wonderful, community-bulding event.

And that's what really heartens me about the contribution that these two dedicated women make to our community.  It's not just that they spend hours and hours on doing this.

It's that they also do it by incorporating our values - making it inclusive, educating without being judgmental, and celebrating our community.

To Gloria and Mia: I raise my empty juice box (well-washed before being tossed  in the recycle bin) in a toast in grateful recognition for all that you do to help us reduce, reuse and recycle at Pacific Gardens!

Kathryn

Reuse, reduce, recycle, refuse

Mia's post about our recycling room doesn't do it - or her - justice, I think. Not that I'm bragging, but, we have the best recycling room ever, and that's not just from me - the guy who picks up our recycling every week says so, and he should know.

Mia, and another lady from Pacific Gardens, Gloria, spend hours every week making sure that all our recyclables go in the right place - newspapers, cans, glass, batteries, soft plastic, juice and dairy cartons, metal and plastic lids - as well as looking after our freecycle cupboard, where second-hand treasures from our residents can be taken home, at no cost.

Gloria and Mia  also have fun and interesting educational workshops on recycling, with great prizes.  Gloria has prepared pretty,decorative signs that show us where everything should go, and they both work hard to keep the recycling room spotless and clutter-free.

I think if we had a contest for the best recycling room, like they have for loos in Scotland, we would definitely win first prize.  Here's to Mia and Gloria, our recycling mavens - long may they thrive!

Kathryn

Our fabulous recycling room!

Here is one of my favorite  amazing little treasured hangouts in our community. People do the reuse and reduce and recycle and refuse footprints.    I foxtrot about with my broom and sweep the floor  to give the space the respect recycling efforts deserve in our century. The clear  signs totally helped.


Mia

That's why I'm here

Yikes!  It's been almost a week since I last posted.  It's been too hot...at least that's my excuse. Today we're supposed to have a thunder-storm - a rare event on Vancouver Island - and it's not the first. The weather's been crazy everywhere.  Climate change is happening, and what we're seeing this summer is only the beginning.

It was my concern about climate change that was the major deciding factor when I joined the group that was developing Pacific Gardens.  If I was going to be living in a world shaken by the effects of a changing climate, I wanted to be in a caring, supportive community, where we looked out for each other.

Most importantly, I wanted to be with people who had the imagination and wherewithal to look at different ways of living - growing our own food, recycling, bicycling, walking and car-pooling to places, sharing resources, reducing consumption, making our own entertainment and fun, networking with others to build on what we have.

I haven't been disappointed. Yes, we have struggles and conflicts, just like any other group of people, but because we share a common vision of a better world, we try to solve them. And as I look out my living-room window at the multitude of beautiful flowers and fruits and vegetables growing in people's gardens, watch the myriad butterflies and the birds, and hear the children playing, Pacific Gardens seems like an oasis of tranquility in this troubled old world.

And that's why I'm here.

Kathryn