Sustainability

The County of Hastings County includes Hastings County, the City of Belleville and the City of Quinte West and the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, with its forests, farmland, lakes, rivers and small and large communities, is well situated to lead in the field of alternative energy development, conservation of natural resources, sustainable agriculture and forestry and artisan food production.

Harvest Hastings is about living lightly on the land. Sustainability has four sections on land stewardship, tree planting, managing woods and wildlife at Caring for Land; discussion about Climate Change; finfd out about Green Communities, and read about what's happening in Local Agriculture. There are Audio, Videos, and a Photo Gallery. Look for "Know your farmer" video or audio interviews with local farmers and other producers. Web links has l links to local organizations as well as provincial ones. Check Coming Events to find workshops, agricultural events, community meals and much more. Above all get outand explore

Latest Articles

March 9, 2013 by Louise Livingstone

Hastings County has historically and continues to support a strong forest-based economy. As a large and diverse County, most of the forest resource is located in the central and northern sections of the County while many of the jobs are located in processing facilities situated in the south. Regardless of the sector, the single most important component of all forest-based industries is the local forest resource and its capacity to supply a sustainable source of forest products over time. Creating awareness at the industrial and community levels is essential to maintaining the quality and productivity of our forest resources.

Caring for Land

The Local Landscape: Selecting, Growing and Propagating Native Plants for Property Owners.

March 8, 2013 by Louise Livingstone

On March 13, the Hastings Stewardship Council presents Peter Fuller speaking on The Local Landscape: Selecting, Growing and Propagating Native Plants for Property Owners. This is the third evening in their Winter Speaker Series, and it takes place at the Thurlow Community Centre, north of Belleville, at 7 pm.

Peter Fuller is the owner of Fuller Native and Rare Plants located just east of Belleville on Airport Parkway. Peter’s slide show will display a wide variety of recommended plant choices from ground covers to shrubs, from sun to shade, and from wet to dry areas. He will also give techniques for propagating your own plants from the abundant possibilities that surround us in eastern Ontario. Peter has long been an outdoor enthusiast, combining his interest in the natural world with his interests in horticulture.

The nursery propagates perennials, grasses, ferns, shrubs and trees, mostly from seed, to supply property owners with plant material. Whenever possible, local seed sources are used, as well as ethical seed collection practices. The nursery promotes habitat conservation and encourages people to develop naturalizing projects and shoreline restoration projects, as well aspropagation skills to increase enjoyment of our native flora. A percentage of Fuller’s sales is donated to local conservation efforts.

Native plants provide a host of interesting, hardy, and ecologically sound options for home gardeners and landscapers. Learning a good mix of native plants can increase site diversity, attract pollinators and birds, add colour and texture to natural areas, and ensure plants that are adapted to our local conditions.

Peter Fuller’s presentation will give gardeners new skills for planting and propagation, plant lists to take home, (and enhance your dreams of spring gardening), along with new perspectives on a host of native plants for a bountiful garden. This colourful show will “sow the seeds” of new planting ideas to help preserve our heritage.

All are welcome at the Thurlow Community Centre on 516 Harmony Road, (north of Belleville) on Wednesday, March 13 at 7 pm. There is no charge, but donations at the door will be gratefully accepted. Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact the Hastings Stewardship Council at 613-478-6875.

Beyond the City Lights

March 8, 2013 by Louise Livingstone

The registration packet is attached below.

Now is the Time Ontario! Grow Organic Grain

March 7, 2013 by Louise Livingstone

Ontario Soil and Crop Association

Agenda

James Sculthorpe – President, Yorkshire Valley Farms (10 min.)

History of Yorkshire Valley Farms, where we are today and what our goals are, and the amount of grain that is required to meet the demand for our product.

John Molenhuis – business management lead OMAFRA Brighton (30 min.)

Cost of production, organic v. conventional cropping

John Molenhuis has been OMAFRA’s business analysis and cost of production program lead for 12 years working out of the Brighton office. Annually he, with help from OMAFRA’s field crop team, updates the Field Crop Budgets publication, which includes six organic grain budgets. He also wrote the OMAFRA fact sheet ‘Guide to cost of production budgeting’. He has a B.Sc. (Agr.) in Agricultural Business from the University of Guelph.

Hugh Martin - retired OMAFRA organic crop lead (45 min.)

With today’s record prices, now is the time to transition to organic.

Hugh Martin was a soils and crop specialist, weed specialist, and Organic Crop Production Program lead with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for almost 34 years. He has worked with organic producers and the organic foods sector since the early 198’s to develop fact sheets, and transfer crop technology to the organic sector. He graduated from the University of Guelph with a M.Sc. and a B.Sc.(Agr). Hugh is currently a certified crop advisor and organic farm inspector located in Guelph.

Brad Torrie – Bognor, Ont. 1000 acres organic and 1000 acres conventional (45 min.) Torrie Farms have a herd of 70 organic milk cows.

Experiences from the field and lessons learned

Event Date and Time:

March 13, 2013 - 13:00 - 16:00

Location

Millenium Room

88 Alma Street Norwood Community Centre

Norwood , ON K0L2V0

Canada

44° 22' 47.892" N, 77° 58' 8.5188" W

See map: Google Maps

Loss of wild pollinators serious threat to crop yields, study finds

Wild bees and other insects twice as effective as honeybees in producing seeds and fruit on crops.

The decline of wild bees and other pollinators may be an even more alarming threat to crop yields than the loss of honeybees, a worldwide study suggests, revealing the irreplaceable contribution of wild insects to global food production.

Local Agriculture

Farmers' lack of bees might be solved by going wild

Wild bees pollinate orchards more efficiently than rented honeybees, and for no cost, a study finds. They may provide the solution to the mass die-off of the domesticated bees from disease.

Local Agriculture

Climate change 'causes wild weather'

The cause of much of the recent extreme weather across the world is climate change triggered by human activities, scientists say. The paper suggests that man-made climate change is repeatedly disturbing the patterns of airflow around the northern hemisphere.

Climate Change

Winter speaker series: native plants and the local landscape with Peter Fuller

February 23, 2013 by Louise Livingstone

Selecting, growing and propagating native plants for property owners

Fuller Native Plants

Peter Fuller is the owner of Fuller Native and Rare Plants located just east of Belleville on Airport Pkwy. Growing up in Northern Ontario, Peter has long been an outdoor enthusiast combining his interest in the natural world with his interests in horticulture. The nursery propagates perennials, grasses, ferns, shrubs and trees mostly from seed to supply property owners with plant material for gardens, naturalizing projects, shoreline restoration and landscaping. Whenever possible, local seed sources are used. The nursery also promotes habitat conservation and provides property owners with services to help identify wild plant material, recognize invasive species and choose appropriate plants for their site. Gardeners are encouraged to develop propagation skills as a way to enjoy our native flora.

Whether you're looking to enhance your formal gardens or planning a naturalizing project, native plants provide a host of interesting, hardy, ornamental and ecologically sound options for home gardeners and property owners. Increase the diversity of degraded sites, attract pollinators and birds, add colour and texture to natural areas and include plants in your landscape that are adapted to our local conditions. The presentation will present a wide variety of recommended plant choices from ground covers to shrubs, from sun to shade, and from wet to dry. It will also look at techniques for propagating your own plants from the abundant possibilities that surround us in Eastern Ontario.www.fullerplants.com

Event Date and Time:

March 13, 2013 - 19:00 - 21:30

Location

Thurlow Community Hall 516 Harmony Road, ON K0K 1V0

Canada

44° 14' 23.82" N, 77° 23' 28.3956" W

See map: Google Maps

Winter Speaker Series The changing arctic with Janet and John Foster

February 23, 2013 by Louise Livingstone

A slide show will be based on 40 years of shooting TV documentaries in the high arctic and Greenland, with personal adventures and comparisons of the arctic then and now, and some indications of how polar bears are handling climate change. Plenty of beautiful arctic landscapes, immense icebergs, and wildlife -- and some ideas and tips for anyone who loves to shoot ice or just carry a camera into wilderness country. John and Janet are television producers, cinematographers, and still photographers specializing in natural science television programs, and nature photography.

They will close with a four minute video, set to music, featuring wilderness and wildlife from all over Canada. There will also be some DVDs of the CBC Newsworld program "Polar Voyages" and some DVDs of one of their Discovery Channel programs "Leave it Wild." These will be available for $10.

Event Date and Time:

March 6, 2013 - 19:00 - 21:30

Location

Thurlow Community Hall

516 Harmony Road Gerry Masterson Hall

Belleville, ON K0K 1V0

Canada

44° 14' 23.82" N, 77° 23' 28.3956" W

See map: Google Maps

Forest cover: growing and maintaining healthy forest cover in the Quinte Region

February 22, 2013 by Louise Livingstone

rees Ontario and Hastings Stewardship Council present

7 p.m.: “Forest Cover: Growing and Maintaining Healthy Forest Cover in the Quinte Region”

The Ministry of Natural Resources along with Trees Ontario and OPG will host a tree planting workshop focused on tree planting techniques and incentive programs for landowners. Attend to learn more about available subsidies, financial incentives and technical tree planting expertise. This is a good chance to have your questions on tree planting answered.

8 p.m.: Importance of Forest Cover: Perspectives from Perth County where forest cover is less than 10 per cent”

Marvin Smith: Registered Professional Forester from Perth County. It is critically important to maintain farm forests. They provide products and recreation but most importantly help conserve the soil that we depend on. Forested land has a huge ability to soak up and store water. Where tree cover is low, water reaches the waterways much quicker and carries soil particles and nutrients with it. Windbreaks and fence rows may also help in reducing loss of moisture and soil to wind erosion. Marvin Smith will discuss challenges in maintaining forest cover in Perth County where the current forest cover is only 8-9 %.

Pre registration is encouraged. You can register online at www.treesontario.ca or by calling

1-877-646-1193.

Event Date and Time:

February 27, 2013 - 19:00 - 21:00

Location

Ramada Inn

99 Glen Miller Road

Trenton, ON K8V5P8

Canada

44° 7' 39.6768" N, 77° 34' 49.9296" W

See map: Google Maps