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

Farmer to Farmer Workshop: Cheese making

June 29, 2013 - 10:00

Forget pipelines – Canada must prepare for a post-carbon world

The expansion of oil-sands operations and various pipeline proposals to get bitumen to market have incraseingly been topics of conversation in Canada, from debates in the House of Commons to discussions around the dinner table. Much of the discussion has focused around tangible things that we can see – devastation of the Alberta landscape from surface mining operations, pollution of downstream rivers, the threat of pipeline spills, and the danger of accidents involving supertankers along the British Columbia coast.

Climate Change

Green Donkey Tea Room open for Tourism Week.

May 16, 2013 by Louise Livingstone

In connection with the Tourism Awareness Week in Hastings County, we are opening the Green Donkey Tea Room this Thursday, Friday & Saturday, May 16, 17 & 18th between 10 a.m and 4 p.m. We will be serving Tea and Scones only (no lunches). We will also have the Black River Farm preserves for sale. Fresh rhubarb and maybe asparagus (Sunday and Monday nights really hurt it). Hopefully we will have new growth. We also have some potted plants - rhubarb; chives and iris for sale. A reminder that we still have some places available on the Father's Day Weekend. Reservations are required for this event.

Event Date and Time:

May 16, 2013 - 10:00 - 16:00

May 17, 2013 - 10:00 - 16:00

May 19, 2013 - 10:00 - 16:00

Planning application submitted for largest UK rural Passivhaus scheme

Churchman’s rural masterplan for developer Archihaus has been submitted for planning in Herefordshire. The scheme is the UK’s largest Passivhaus housing scheme in a rural setting and constitutes the first stage in realising an ambitious vision to transform both the quality and the sustainability of developer housing in the UK.

Green Communities

Forum: Resilience to climate change

Guelph - Be creative, uncover social capital, protect farmland and support local agriculture. These tips were identified by agricultural and rural leaders at the 2013 Farmland Forum as key elements to building resilience to climate change and rising energy prices in rural Ontario.

Climate Change

Charles: 'Climate change sceptics are turning Earth into dying patient'

Heir to throne intervenes on issue dividing coalition, making outspoken criticism of attempts to tackle global warming

Prince Charles has attacked corporate lobbyists and climate change sceptics for turning the Earth into a "dying patient", making his most outspoken criticism yet of the world's failure to tackle global warming just when the heir to the throne is assuming a growing number of the duties of what is supposed to be an apolitical monarchy.

Climate Change

Marmora Farmers Market

May 9, 2013 by Louise Livingstone

Marmora Farmers Market opens on Saturday, May 11. The kick off event is on May18 will show case vendors and activities for children. Please contact the Tourism Centre for information 613 472-1515.

Event Date and Time:

May 11, 2013 - 08:00 - 13:00

Growing a healthy environment with native trees

University of Toronto PhD student uses Mitacs-Accelerate to discover the huge benefits of planting native trees in urban areas

Less than half of all tree species now growing in urban areas around the world are native to the local environment. While imported tree species are chosen for aesthetic reasons, it has a huge impact on wildlife.

Native trees are known to support local ecosystems much more effectively, providing a home and food source for local insects and wildlife. But the exact benefit of using native trees has never been studied in Canada.

Green Communities

Stewards of the land

Caruana, 51, is the Hastings Stewardship Council's new co-ordinator.He said the council helps residents make a difference in tangible ways.

“It's just practical environmentalism,” he said.“There's lots of stuff you can't do about the bigger picture.“This is hands-on. This is what we can do right now in our own local environments to be stewards of it. And there's a lot we can do.”

Local Agriculture

Quebec Use of Wood in Construction Charter

The Minister of Natural Resources, Ms. Martine Ouellet, Minister of Labour and Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity and Minister responsible for Status of Women, Ms. Agnès Maltais , today presented the government’s vision to promote the increased use of wood in construction in Quebec Charter of wood.

“Our government is demonstrating today, by the Charter of the wood, the firm will develop more effective ways to promote the use of locally processed material. In addition to consolidating and even create jobs for our communities and regions, increased use of wood is a tangible contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, “said Minister Martine Ouellet.

Climate Change

NASA: Warming Climate Likely Means More Floods, Droughts

The Earth's wettest regions are likely to get wetter while the most arid will get drier due to warming of the atmosphere caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, according to a new NASA analysis of more than a dozen climate models.

Scientists ran simulations of 14 different models, starting with CO2 concentrations at about 280 parts per million, which is similar to preindustrial levels but well below the 400 parts per million today. The amount of carbon dioxide was then bumped up by 1 percent per year, an increase that is consistent with a "business as usual" trajectory described by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, NASA says.

Climate Change

Sustainability

Sustainability

Latest Articles

Upcoming Events

May 16, 2013 by Louise Livingstone

May 9, 2013 by Louise Livingstone