The Medway Valley Heritage Forest - Extinction On The Forecast???

Over the last few years I have had the privlige to connect with and work with a number of local activist groups that are trying to ensure a healthy community for future generations. Just recently, a very sensitive issue has been brought to my attention.

The Medway Valley Heritage Forest is located in the northern area of London, Ontario. It’s name suggests why it is important. This forest has not been cultivated into a community park, it has been preserved since the birth of this city as a truly natural environment. This could change in the very near future.

Just north of this area, developers have recently stripped away a large area that is now being converted into luxury housing developments. The city planners want to build asphalt walkways and bridges through this heritage forest to connect two areas of the city.

Hmmm… sounds like a great idea at first! How could a walkway and bike path (which I’m usually in support of) be a bad thing? Upon further investigation, I became aware of the significance of this environment to conclude that it would be better if human impact in this area was decreased and not increased as planned.

Many wildlife species depend on this area for their survival. If development plans proceed then we will be pushing these species closer to their possible extinction.

The groups that are trying to protect this forest are trying to gain community support. Please visit this link to view a short documentary on this issue - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjHQfyvMB-I&feature=player_embedded

This group is asking for the support, in the form of a letter, to be communicated to London’s city planners as well as the mayor and city counsil members. The following is my letter, that I have just emailed to those concerned…
　
Dear Jeff Bruin

Many, many, many times I have had thoughts about directing my opinion about London’s expansion to whom it may concern. I find it completely baffling that our city is expanding in the way it is. Too quickly I am witnessing the destruction of our surrounding forestlands and farmlands for the purpose of creating housing developments. The families that buy into these developments must use their cars and vans to participate in any kind of community activity and we all know that cars are bad…. right?!!

In these days of global rise in environmental awareness people are looking for solutions. Why is London not a leader for a new ‘green’ community philosophy? Why are we being forced to continue to believe that these subdivision developments are the way that we must live? Why are we not building communities where we can walk to work, walk to the corner store, library, theatre, etc.??? There is so much information for us to educate ourselves about these issues and I’m seeing no examples that this is happening here in London.

The proposed development that will destroy the delicate and threatened ecosystems in the Medway Valley Heritage Forest is a perfect example of our city planners inability to find value in Nature. Do the birds, turtles, fish and other significant life forms that need these natural habitats to survive hold no value for our species? It is time to re-evaluate our needs and dependencies for these types of natural environments!

I am ashamed to think that future generations will think of our present actions in the most negative ways. We have known, for so long now, what ideals must be adopted to ensure the continuation of the human species. We must build communities where each household is partly self-sufficient. We must build communities where each neighbourhood is partly self-sufficient. Our communities must work together with neighbouring communities to increase this self-sufficiency, not only to increase our own quality of life but to increase the quality of life for every living animal and plant.

Since the wildlife that presently exists in this area does not have the ability to appreciate their possible demise, I write this letter as an advocate on their behalf. I strongly and whole-heartedly am voicing my opinion to state that I am against the proposals to build bridges and paved bike paths through the Medway Valley Heritage Forest!

Whole-heartedly,

Jim Kogelheide
　
I would like to urge you - my blog readers - to help with this effort. To make things very easy for you, I will suggest that you simply “cut’n’paste” my above letter into your email account and send it to the following people…

Jeff Bruin (city planner)- jbruin@london.ca
Anne-Marie DeCicco (London’s mayor) - adecicco@london.ca
Counsil members
Bill Armstrong - barmstro@london.ca
Bernie MacDonald - bmacdona@london.ca
Paul Hubert - phubert@london.ca
Bud Polhill - bpolhill@london.ca
Cheryl Miller - cmiller@london.ca
David Winninger - dwinning@london.ca
Gord Hume - ghume@london.ca
Harold Usher - husher@london.ca
Joni Baechler - jbaechler@london.ca
Judy Bryant - jbryant@london.ca
Nancy Branscombe - nbransco@london.ca
Paul VanMeerbergen - pvanmeer@london.ca
Roger Caranci - rcaranci@london.ca
Susan Eagle - seagle@london.ca
Stephen Orser - sorser@london.ca
Tom Gosnell - tgosnell@london.ca
Gina Barber - gbarber@london.ca
Walter Lonc - wlonc@london.ca

I’m remembering the lyrics from a song, “I hope the pen is mightier than any sword!”

Jim

Kms For Carol

A few years ago, a school bus driver by the name of Carol passed away because of cancer. The staff of Murphy Bus Lines felt a deep loss and became inspired to do something that would help others with this disease. Last year marked the beginning of the annual walk ‘Kms For Carol’. This is the second year for this event and I thought that it would be a good idea to participate.

The idea and plan are simple. We hop on a bus in Arva at 9:30am that takes us to the other bus terminal in Lucan, 22 kilometers away, and we walk back to Arva where a bbq dinner will be waiting for us. It should take less than four hours to make this journey. Everyone that walks asks friends and neighbours to sponsor them – in the form of a cash donation – and all the money goes to the Canadian Cancer Society.

In the last three days, I’ve raised over $50.00 without even trying. I had a dentist appointment, the other day and my dentist pitched in a $10.00 bill. The high school students that I drive gathered up another $10.00. I bumped into a friend and his brother as I was walking down the street and a few minutes later I had added another $15.00. Over the next two weeks I’ll bet that I can raise over $200.00 just from the few people that I know.

Imagine my surprise when two of my high school students asked if they could join the walk, as well. I asked my boss and she said that anybody could participate!

Two days ago, I posted my status on Facebook to tell my friends that I had signed up to do this walk. The next day I was overwhelmed with many responses. I wasn’t expecting this at all!!! Some of my FB friends cheered me on. Others asked if I would dedicate one kilometer of my walk in the name of a friend or relative that they knew, who had died with this disease. And others asked for information so that they could make a donation to support my walk! I wasn’t expecting this at all!!! I was deeply moved with all of this support.

I asked my boss for the information that my friends were wanting and I thought that I would post this information here, on my blog, in case some of you – my readers – felt like making a donation in support of this walk.

All donations should come in the form of a cheque made payable to “The Canadian Cancer Society”. These can be mailed to:

Kms For Carol
Murphy Bus Lines
Attn: Jim (#577)
21588 Richmond Street
Arva, ON N0M 1C0

All donations must be received before October 30, 2009.

Thanks to everyone!!!!

Most assuredly, you can count on a future blog with pictures and stories from this community event.

Jim

Dedicated II

As I’m sure you can imagine, I woke up the next day feeling a little stiff and sore – LOL!!! But after a relaxing morning and a delicious breakfast (Joanne used the potatoes that I had dug up to make homefries, our toast was lightly covered with homemade red currant jam, the two small pancakes were filled with the blueberries that we had picked last summer and the bacon was purchased from a local butcher specializing in free-range livestock) I was soon geared up to continue my day in the garden.


Soon, this…


… became this!


The morning sun was starting to rise overhead and I rested for a few minutes by taking some photos of the last blooming hostas.

In yesterday’s blog, I mentioned that I do realize the when I remove the weeds from the garden that I am changing the environment very dramatically. The moisture in the soil quickly evaporates, leaving the ground rather dry. Like a demon I have torn asunder the homes and habitats of many toads, insects and spiders.

First it is necessary to realize that this whole area has ‘gone wild’ over the many years of total neglect. This is its first year of controlled cultivation. During this first year, many of the original plants still have roots and such in the soil and they will grow back with an attempt to regain control of this area.

My effort is an attempt to create a self-sustaining garden that all works together to create an optimum environment for all species – both plants and animals (and toads and insects!) First I had to establish the most dominant plant – either berry bushes or flowers (day lilies, hostas, etc). Now that I’ve done this, my next job will be to establish an ‘undergrowth’ community of plants that will keep the moisture in the soil and create habitats for toads and spiders as well as adding diversity of flowering plants to attract the bees.


This spring, I shared a story about a small patch of purple violets and spring tulips. I had dug up the tulips and transplanted them into many different areas throughout the garden. I also dug up the violets and divided the large root mass into many smaller root masses.


This is what that area looks like, now. The violets have more than tripled their original size.


They grow to about ten inches off the ground and this is an excellent height for an ‘undergrowth’ plant. You can see that they grow with many levels of leaves, filling in an area very well, thus dominating other weeds that may try to grow. They are open enough for toads to wander about and when they are stronger they will produce a very pretty purple flower to attract the bees.

The plan entails that next spring this patch will be partially dug up and small chunks of root mass will be planted throughout the rest of the garden.


This is another ‘undergrowth’ plant that I have helped to double in size, this summer. I’m not sure what it is, but it sure is beautiful. It too, only grows about ten inches high, with multiple layers of leaves. Its flowers are very small and delicate and when it blooms it looks like the plant is covered in the finest dusting of snow.

The plan also entails that I dig this patch up, next spring, to transplant the many chunks of root mass in between the hostas and the lilies. With these plants intermingled with the violets, I’m sure that this garden will be a much happier place!

This is the first year that I’ve entertained these types of new ideas. Just a few years ago, I began to realize how I could blend spring and summer flowers together in the same space. This year I’ve learned how to establish a multi-level garden that will help control the weed population as well as create a healthier habitat for all the things that grow and live in gardens.

I can definitely foresee me learning more about these methods of gardening so that I will be able to experiment with a larger variety of plants. I think that I’ve accomplished quite a bit, simply learning about these two ‘undergrowth’ plants – for this year.


It was getting on, in the afternoon and I was a little tired. I had completed a lot of work and I only had a few hours of sunshine left to enjoy on my weekend away from work. It was time to relax, in the middle of my garden, with a good book…


… and a locally grown Ontario peach!!!

Ahhhhhhh! The wonders of the sun and the riches that it produces will never cease to amaze me.

Jim

ps - I just noticed that this is my 200th blog!!!!!

Dedicated I

Usually I fill my life with many little projects and tasks that fill my days with a variety of different activities. Occasionally, larger projects take the stage which require longer periods of focussed dedication. A few weeks ago I dedicated several days to my driveway repair. I stayed away from the library computers, posted no blogs and forgot about the rest of the world for a few days. It was just me, the saw, the sledgehammer and concrete learning how to work together. I always enjoy these periodic breaks and I accomplish a lot!


Two weekends ago I dedicated myself to the task of gaining control over my garden… again!!! What a great time – sun, nice breeze, sun, and a little more sun!

I’ve never been in any kind of rush to weed my garden. I usually go through my gardens just twice a year so that the weeds don’t totally take over. The main reason for this is that the weeds are somewhat beneficial. The provide a layer of green close to the ground which keeps the soil moist. Toads and many other animals and insects enjoy this environment. All weeds flower – cuz that’s what all plants do – and this adds to the diversity of the garden, which attracts a greater variety of bees (for pollination), insects, and spiders.

I realize that my weeding is changing this environment, but I’m not weeding simply to get rid of these plants… I’m weeding with another reason in mind. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.


Sooo… after the first four and a half hours of crawling around on my hands and knees, enjoying the sunshine, one quarter of the garden had been weeded. And not just weeded. A part of this area was used for growing potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions and beats – but only the potatoes and carrots were successful. After weeding and harvesting the veggies I used a shovel to turn most of this area over and then I leveled the area using a rake. You can see the garbage pail over-filled with the weeds!!!


In June, I shared an idea that someone had told me, concerning the growing of potatoes. The idea is that when the potato plant grows to seven inches of height that the bottom six inches of the plant is covered with soil. When the plant grows another seven inches, another six inches of soil is placed around the plant and so on. Apparently, this makes the plant produce addition layers of potato spuds. When I was able to attempt this, the plant had already grown to its full height. I was not surprised to find out that I had failed. This has encouraged me to pay more attention to these plants, next year, so I’m able to add the extra layers of soil at the proper time of the plant’s growth.


However, I was still able to pull out a nice amount of these veggies – enough for a couple of meals. Later, when I was heading in for the evening, I rang my landlord’s doorbell. When he opened the door I offered him two carrots and three potatoes, “Your rent, my lord!” I said. My landlord and I both laughed and he was very happy to accept this gift!


This is a closer look at my berry patch, which is home to three red currant bushes and one gooseberry bush. I stole these off-shoots from my parent’s garden, two years ago, and I think that they are growing very well. Last year, they were little sticks poking out of the ground.

It will take several more years until they fill a three foot square space… each plant, that is! That’s a big bush! Until that time, I’ve filled the spaces in between the bushes with some hostas. Next summer, the hostas will triple their present size, offering a low ground cover, which will keep the soil moist and provide housing for several toads. In another three years these hostas should be transplanted elsewhere, as the bushes will be getting very large.

Joanne brought a nice lunch out to the garden and we enjoyed it under the shade of our pear tree. But soon after… it was back to work.


Next on the list – since I wanted a change from the weeding – was cutting wood. This pile was created in the early spring, while I was cutting down misplaced trees and pruning others. These lengths are all very long, so I spent the next two hours cutting them into lengths that would make a better burning fire, come this fall.


I started with the largest of the branches first and as time went on, and my strength weakened, the branches got smaller and smaller.


I’m using the first opened area of the garden to stack the branches into two piles. One pile is for the kindling and the other is for the larger branches. In another week or two these piles will be quite large. I would estimate that there will be enough wood for about four evening fires, this coming fall.

Well, by seven o’clock I was feeling a little bushed. I grabbed a chair and a beer and sat in my garden for the next hour. Simply relaxing and thinking happy thoughts about all I had accomplished and learned on such a beautiful day! Most of my thoughts were planning my activities for the next day…there was still a lot of work to do!!!

Jim

Food Fair

Every summer, London’s downtown Victoria Park becomes a very active place for many different cultural events. This park is used to host events like The County Folk Festival, Sunfest, Gusmaker Basketball, and Ribfest to name just a few. In the early part of this summer Joanne and I went down to check out the second annual International Food Festival.

Jo’ and I like living close to the downtown because we get to attend many events in an environmentally friendly way. We ride our bikes or walk.

From our house we get to enjoy a variety of scenes as we make our way into the heart of the city. We ride past many beautiful old Victorian styled houses with colourful flower gardens before we hit the trails of a community park filled with children playing. We wind our way over a small bridge and watch the Thames River flowing underneath. Passed another open park, we emerge in the downtown core where thousands of people are enjoying the shops and patios of a huge variety of restaurants.


Last year, I wrote a story about how London’s community events are becoming ‘green’. Throughout Victoria Park – during these events – waste stations are set up to separate compostable and recyclable waste from landfill waste. During one event a station was set up to allow people to ‘rent’ plates and cutlery to enjoy their food. Once a meal was enjoyed, the plates and cutlery are returned to be washed and reused.

I was very disappointed to arrive at the park to realize that although the waste stations were set up, the plate rental station was not. I later found out that the rental station is only set up for just one of all the events that take place here. I am hopeful that this idea will build more momentum over the years and one day it will be a ‘norm’ in this city and many others.


Soooo… without the ability to rent plates and cutlery, Jo’ and I knew that our food choices would be limited. We know that it is everyone’s individual responsibility to make choices that place the environment above all other things, so we did not purchase any food that was served on styrofoam plates with plastic forks. We noticed that most – well… pretty much all – people didn’t seem to think about the fact that a ten minute meal would create garbage that would last for another thousand years.


We ate a lot of small hand-held appetizers. These were served on small paper containers or just a simple napkin, which were later put into the recycling waste stations. We laughed when we realized that our choices were allowing us to sample so many different varieties of food, instead of just one single meal. We really enjoyed all the varieties of food choices – representing all the differences that our world has to offer.

We made our way to the central bandstand in the park, where we enjoyed our food and all the people. There was a variety of entertaining performances by many local youth organizations and when the stage was being prepared for the next act, Jo’ and I would watch all the activity taking place in the crowd.


We spent a few hours enjoying our dinner and entertainment during this event – it was a sun-filled summer evening. We decided to take our time going home, so we rode our bikes through a few more parks until we noticed that the sun was getting ready to set. We arrived home as the first stars were beginning to appear, with happy bellies still full of wonderful food.

The world offers each of us so much beauty and bounty to enrich our lives. I think that the time is well overdue for us to start making these simple (yet profound) realizations so that we can act accordingly to ensure that future generations have these same opportunities.

Jim

Classroom On A Bus????

You can learn something important from everyone you meet. It doesn’t matter if that person is a window washer, mechanic, farmer… or bus driver! I’m hoping that the children that ride my bus walk away with a little bit of knowledge about art – how to use different mediums and instruments to create their art, how to compose a design layout, how to gain knowledge about the subject that you are creating art about and most importantly… how to gain confidence to realize that it is the ‘effort’ and not necessarily the ‘result’ that counts. I’ve never created a peace of art that is perfect – every single creation has had mistakes. It is our effort to express ourselves in positive ways that will enable us all to grow.

Two weeks ago, I asked the students that ride my bus to create ‘peace-art’ for The Peace Bus. Since then, I’ve been totally overwhelmed with their enthusiasm and their marvelously colourful art creations…

I must have sounded like the teacher from a Charlie Brown cartoon to some of the younger children. I think that what they heard me say must have sounded like, “Whoh whoh whoh whoh decorations whoh whoh whoh whoh art whoh whoh whoh whoh colourful.” Their art did not have any peace symbols… but it sure is colourful and full of peaceful inspiration…


I still have to add the student’s name to the following artworks – before I print them off and prepare them to decorate my bus, but I’ll share the images with you anyway…


It doesn’t bother me that some of the peace symbols are drawn improperly – what counts is the effort of expression that the children are putting forth. The young artists love it when I use their art as a teaching tool. Whenever I hold up one of their drawing I can hear the artist whisper to their friend, “Hey! That’s my drawing!” and I’ll look to see a big smile on their face as they listen intently to what I have to praise about their work.

Instead of holding up a drawing that doesn’t have the correct peace symbol and saying, “Okay – this is how we don’t draw a peace symbol” I will hold up another drawing and say, “Just a small reminder for all you artist to remember that this is the correct way to draw your peace symbols. Let’s also remember to fill the entire drawing area with colour. We don’t want a picture of a peace symbol on a page with nothing else around it – leaving lots of blank space. That’s boring. What’s exciting is seeing a peace symbol surrounded by other things… like other peace symbols, hearts, trees, flowers, birds, planets and stars… that sort of thing.” I’ll see their heads nodding and I’ll know that my twenty second speech communicated to them the same lessons that could take an entire class to learn.

It may have taken me the last three hours to scan their images and add borders and names and to write this blog – on my Saturday off (LOL – never any rest for an artist!!!), but it will be worth it when the students get on the bus on Monday morning to see that I’ve added fourteen more drawings to the ceiling of The Peace Bus!!! They will be so excited and proud of themselves… as they should be!

Jim

Patricia

Two days ago, I mentioned that the elementary students that ride my bus have created so much peace-art for me to decorate the bus with that it would take me several blog entries to share it all with you.


I always think it’s great when students create art for me. I think it’s even greater when I find that I’ve inadvertently created an ‘art machine’ – LOL!!!


That seems to be the case with Patricia. Patricia is in grade 1 and she is an unstoppable art machine!!!!


Daily, she brings me her peace-art creations, with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. When I see that twinkle I feel like I’m looking deep into the heart of universal love. I think that’s why Patricia’s peace-art has (on many occasions) incorporated the heart design into her creations.


I think that this is my favourite one, so far – LOL!!! I love the dramatic design elements in this creation. The use of colour is very advanced for such a young artist and the patience that she illustrates by using pointillism techniques is outstanding!

Thanks, Patricia for going above and beyond…!!! I’m sure that we’ll all be seeing more of her creations, very soon.

Jim