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

December 8, 2009 by Louise Livingstone

1. Give the gift of an experience this year, such as gift certificates for a massage or tickets to a concert or play. You might even consider making your own gifts certificates for offers of babysitting or a home-cooked meal. These are gifts that won't end up in a landfill and will last a lifetime.

Green Communities

What's Fresh: Local beef available in North Hastings

December 5, 2009 by Louise Livingstone

You can get local beef in North Hastings.

Local Agriculture

Know your farmer: Learning about milk with Doug and Bev Spencer

November 25, 2009 by Louise Livingstone

As part of Harvest Hastings' education program 19 Grade 10 students from Moira Secondary School visited Spencmaple Dairy Farm in late October, 2009 to learn about how milk is produced. Spencmaple Holsteins is run by Doug and Bev Spencer and their son Steven and his wife Meaghan.

Local Agriculture

Ontario farm foods need local logo: report

CBC News, November 12, 2009

Ontario consumers would prefer to purchase local meat, wine and produce, but are often unable to distinguish easily where a product is from, a report has found.

The report, based on a survey and focus groups, was conducted by the Ontario organization OnTrace Agri-food Traceability, in collaboration with Toronto research firm the Strategic Counsel.

Local Agriculture

OnTrace Survey confirms Ontario Consumers concerned about food origins

Guelph, On - November 12, 2009 – Ontario consumers really care about their food and the people who produce it. They care enough to want more knowledge and information about the food they buy for their family, where it is from and whether it truly is from Ontario. That was one of the findings in a new survey done by Ontario’s traceability organization, OnTrace Agri-food Traceability (OnTrace), in collaboration with Toronto research firm, The Strategic Counsel. The study was commissioned to understand what Ontario consumers thought about the food they buy and how they can verify where it originates.

Local Agriculture

His job is to see the forest for its trees

Elizabeth Renzetti Ripon, Yorkshire — From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009 12:00AM EST

The giant, gnarled tree on the grounds of Fountains Abbey has lived through history. Almost 500 years ago, when Henry VIII's soldiers galloped past with orders to dissolve the nearby monastery, this sweet chestnut was already a century old. It is the Prince Philip of trees - weathered, unbending, seemingly impervious to the passing of time.

"That is just a stunning tree," says the man at its base, who is a bit weathered himself. Actually he looks like an aging rock star, with his wraparound sunglasses and hand-rolled cigarette burning between two fingers, but Brian Muelaner, 58, has a much grander title than any pop star. He is the Ancient Tree Adviser for the National Trust, the British charity that looks after 25,000 hectares of woodland and some of the country's most famous historic buildings.

Caring for Land

The Tweed and Area Heritage Centre’s Annual Art and Artisan Christmas Show and Sale

November 19, 2009 by Louise Livingstone

The Annual Art and Artisan Christmas Show and Sale is at the Tweed and Area Heritage Centre in Tweed. The show runs from November 26 to December 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Local Agriculture

Local farmers could gain from study on processing local foods

By Megan Abraham, November 16, 2009 Stirling – Locally grown food could be processed and distributed in Hastings County as early as next summer.

Area farmers indicated they supported the idea in a survey and now funding has been committed to find out if there are customers for the product and partners willing to help meet the demand.

Local Agriculture

Lessons from a few good garden centres

by John Stanley Nov. 9, 2009 – John Stanley writes about a tour of garden centres and the marketing approaches they use."In August I led a tour of garden centre owners to the U.S. to search out the best of the best garden centres and to find what we could learn that could be used in other countries.

Local Agriculture

Group Urges Protection of Northern Forests

November 12, 2009, By John Lorinc

Climate Change