One Sky has shifted it's base to Gibsons, on the Sunshine Coast, just an hour north of Vancouver. This provides us access to policy discussions and public engagement in the Vancouver area, while continuing to plant roots in community sustainability here on the Sunshine Coast.
These opportunities to meet with Wilber are few and far between, as you may know that his health has not been well and has thus reduced his public appearances to a bare minimum. He has generously offered to have our Integral Without Borders group come to his loft for an afternoon, as part of this weekend retreat.
As one of IWB's board of directors, Wilber consistently supports the work we are doing, as a global community, to bring a more integral approach into international development and social change. Though indeed he is a philosopher working with generalizing orientations, he is one that can share insights that greatly clarify the work on the ground.
Given that his loft only accommodates a certain number of people, we first invited a certain number of IWB members who have been more active and participatory in IWB meetings, sangha calls, and projects. We are now moving this into an open registration. It will be sent to our entire IWB network as well as go out on Integral Life. We are already half full, so if you are interested, please hold your spot by paying your deposit soon.
This retreat will continue our on-doing discussions on integral praxis, and will weave together some of the themes we have explored in past events, such as self-as-instrument, engaging social holons, and the Basic Moral Intuition. IWB members are active in solving real world problems in innovative ways, and so this will be an engaged and inspiring group of folks to go on retreat with!
This is the place to bring your deep-seated questions, doubts, and reflections, to explore in a community of like-minded souls who care just as deeply as you do for the state of our planet.
We hope you'll consider accepting this invitation by paying a deposit to hold your place, and/or the entire registration fee. Space is limited. Email us here, if you have any questions.
The Brazil Nut tree grows in pristine rainforest environments. By working with Brazil Nut farmers, traders and exporters as well as companies that buy Brazil Nuts we are working to ensure that communities are more resilient and the environment is protected in one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet.
This project is in collaboration with one of the largest retailers in North America on their brazil nut value chain, an innovative company that is frankly and deeply concerned with the fact that certain global issues will put at risk their supply chains. They contracted One Sky to work with members of the entire value chain (from local producers in native communities through to exporters in Lima) in a program that will support them to protect their supply through greater sustainability. They were interested to work with one sky primiarly because of our theory of change and the innovative methods we take to engage in change. Though we can indeed finetune this collaboration, there are a lot of insights we can derive from it, namely: that CSOs and private sector have a lot to share and can create powerful synergies.
While private sector is in the business of large scale finance; CSOs are in the business of social change. We know most intimately and sophisticatedly how change happens across a society, and so are well situated to carry out this change process. And, climate change requires nothing short of a transformative change across multiple sectors in society, which is simply something better carried out by CSOs than directly by business. While, at the same time, the private sector is increasingly seeing their own need for this change to occur.
The program has held the objective of laying emergent ground for transformation of this value change, towards an intrinsic sustainabilty and community resilience. It has included five leadership and sustainability retreats in Peru and Bolivia, with the last one to occur this October 2014.
The Basic Moral Intuition in the Context of Social Change
By Michael Simpson, Executive Director of One Sky and Co-Director of IWB
“The intuition is given; the unpacking is our moral dilemma, always.” Ken Wilber
Are you inspired to change the world and to reach your own potential? To leave this planet a better place for future generations? Ever wondered where to focus your efforts? There is no shortage of good causes and worthy deeds. How do we determine our priorities? Is guiding the very first steps of a faltering toddler as worthy as solving a global crisis or tackling climate change? Maybe addressing your own needs is as important as those of others? Should we focus our efforts on individuals or the greater whole? You have limited time and resources. You cannot commit to everything so how do you choose?
It is 2014. The concept that we will save all species from extinction, alleviate poverty or achieve gender equality by next year through reaching the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), or even succeed in achieving the most minimal of climate change targets has become yesterday’s dream. So, how does this situate us as global social change agents today? The definitions of sustainable development have always focused on “meeting our needs without compromising those of future generations,” yet the moment where that might have been achievable passed many years ago.
As an example, let’s review some recent species extinctions. As of 2013, the Formosan Clouded Leopard is now officially extinct and the last Black Rhino died in 2012. The last of the Japanese River Otters died in 2011 and the last remaining Pinta Island Tortoise, affectionately called Lonesome George, expired on June 12, 2012. These are just a few examples of the estimated thousands of species that scientists estimate we are losing every year. Some put the figure as high as 50,000. Historically this has been a huge loss of biodiversity on our planet and we face an increasingly serious future. Some argue our species is perilously close to instigating systemic collapse. Whether that’s true or not, we are definitely steadily losing ground when it comes to maintaining species and ecosystems for future generations.
While our species is struggling on this front, we have managed to achieve remarkable, unprecedented gains in others. We are interconnected like never before. We can share information at an exponential rate and technological achievements like the Internet have literally changed our world. And, recalling the Arab Spring, using these new forms of communications and other social networking possibilities enable people to participate in changing the world in ways they never had before. Our collective knowledge is doubling every five years, building up an immense resource of information and wisdom that is available to anyone anywhere, by a few clicks on a track pad. Our world seems to be able to handle increasing levels of complexity and the human mind has access to achieving higher and higher levels of potential like no other time in history. We have overarching frameworks such as the International Human Rights Charter to aspire to. Most nations do in fact agree with the MDGs; whether or not those have been achieved, it is an achievement in and of itself that most nations agree with such a worldcentric set of goals. Some collective systems, such as fiber optics and computer networks, can literally move ideas regarding, for example, spiritual and moral development around the planet at the speed of light. We are living in remarkably complex times!
The Basic Moral Intuition (BMI), a concept outlined by Ken Wilber in his groundbreaking work on integral theory, helps us orient ourselves in such a complex world. Wilber (and before him Koestler’s) notion of holarchy explains the concept of interconnected whole-parts, where each part is autonomously and yet simultaneously part of a larger whole. These holarchies are everywhere. Atom, molecule, cell, and organ. Seed, seedling, sapling, and oak tree. In a pyramidal way, the earlier holons, such as atoms and seeds, are always in greater number, or in greater span. Whereas the later holons, such as organs and oak trees, are usually in smaller number, and yet they have more depth, meaning that there are more levels of complexity present in their make-up. For an oak tree to exist, it has to have at least these three levels of the holarchy present: seed, seedling and sapling, thus it has greater depth than just a seed for example. The atom on the other hand has more foundation because of its span. Millions of atoms are needed to create a seed and if you take away this earlier more foundational level of the holarchy the seed does not exist and neither does the oak tree.
The BMI suggests that we intuit the need to protect and promote the greatest depth for the greatest span. We intuit it’s preferable to eat a carrot than to eat a primate. Or, another example as Wilber describes: “What’s worth more, one ape or a thousand frogs? Perhaps it is an ape…. On intrinsic value alone, we would choose the ape. But, if we discover that the frogs are part of a fragile ecosystem and their death would disrupt the entire system [since they have more fundamental value than the ape], then we would choose to save the frogs, since that would preserve the greatest depth for the greatest span, including probably the lives of other apes.” We are constantly and intuitively working out such moral decisions as we act in the world.
The BMI explores this relationship between depth of complexity and span of numbers—or simply, depth and span—and brings a whole new way of understanding the moral decisions that must be tackled regarding our planet’s future.
Wilber’s point is that while we need the earlier holons for their fundamental value, we cannot only protect those earlier holons at the expense of the later, more complex holons. So, the physiosphere is the foundation upon which the biosphere (the sphere of life) and the noosphere (the sphere of mind) function, we cannot only orient toward protecting the physiosphere and not also attend to the greater depth present in the biosphere and the noosphere.
Simply put, social change can’t only be about the numbers of trees standing. It has to also be about the poet or songwriter or an obscure-yet-transformational-philosophy-book-on-a-dusty-shelf-somewhere, matter. These matter, because they hold greater depth and, thus, may have potential to protect greater span. They have to be factored into our intuitive moves in the world today.
The key to understanding Wilber’s concept of the BMI is that without a physiosphere and without a biosphere, humans have no ability to exist or move toward complexity. Without chemicals you have no life, and without life you have no poetry. Poetry, he argues, has more complexity than a rock or a stone, and should have an important place in our moral decision-making.
Perhaps, for some, he is stating the obvious but his work introduces a major conceptual twist based on an exquisite articulation of holarchy that has not yet been brought into the current debate regarding the state of the planet.
Although we are undoubtedly worse off when it comes to the foundational value of biodiversity or ecosystem health, we are arguably a significantly more interconnected and complex global society than we were just twenty seven years ago when the term sustainable development was first coined by the Bruntland Commission. Depth and span are related, but not on the same axis. And this has important ramifications for today’s moral decisions.
The definition of sustainable development, for example, posits “a desirable future state for human societies in which living conditions and resource-use meet human needs without undermining the sustainability of natural systems and the environment, so that future generations may also have their needs met.” That speaks only of span and not of depth. What depth of consciousness needs to be protected and promoted and included in this conception of sustainable development to provide humanity with the interior scaffolding to carry out such a vision?
The BMI is something that is intuited. But, how to implement this basic moral intuition is not given with that pure intuition. How to grapple with these moral dilemmas and implement decisions become part of the intersubjective and cultural and social project that all of us must discuss and decide. Or, as Wilber puts it:
“The intuition is given; the unpacking is our moral dilemma, always.”
Unpacking the BMI is the challenge of this century. How do we focus our efforts? Do we spend our time tackling a globally pressing issue like the radioactive water leaking from Fukushima, which is affecting entire marine ecosystems and impacting our planet for tens of thousands of years or do we work with a single child who may grow up and, given the opportunity, evolve in complexity to solve these kinds of foundational problems. Where in the map of span versus depth do we reside? Are there tipping points or fulcrums of change, leadership opportunities, or historical vantage points we can see in this map or do we play this particular game of life by ear; working one moment on larger scale issues, the next moment on the intensely personal? How do you decide? Wilber argues that this decision is entirely personal and it depends on where your talents and passions lie. Do you know where your talents and passions lie?
This simple statement—‘protect and promote the greatest depth for the greatest span’—changes the entire sustainable development game. No longer is our collective challenge just about survival of numbers, or ensuring the broadest spectrum of species gets a chance to live. It is also about ensuring that each conscious being, from an ant to an artist, gets a chance to achieve her fullest potential. Suddenly we have a framework to understand the matrix of Millennium Development Goals and the world consensus on Agenda 21 while at the same time understanding why spiritual development, academic achievement or pushing our human understanding of music, poetry or art is equally valid and worthy. The human rights charter comes into perspective as a statement not just about our equal right to live but also our equal opportunity to achieve our greatest depth of consciousness possible. Definitions of poverty change from poverty of material goods to include poverty of depth, or that is, a poverty of complexity of mind and extension of care.
Are you interested in joining this discussion on the BMI in development and social change work? Are you willing to bring your own moral dilemmas to the conversation, helping us all deepen our practice, and laying some emergent ground for enacting this intuition in the future? One Sky is hosting an international weekend retreat May 9, 10, 11 in Gibsons, B.C. Social change practitioners will gather to discuss the BMI using voice dialogue and other methods in a peer-learning environment. More information can be found at www.onesky.ca look under stories and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find site and venue information or integralwithoutborders.org or e-mail Mike Simpson directly at mike@onesky.ca. Participation is limited.
One Sky is excited to partner with the Integral International Development Center (also known as Integral Without Borders) to host a learning event and world tour in Peru this winter...
NOTE: DATES HAVE CHANGED
Dates: Oct 16-Oct 26, 2012
Application deadline: August 1, 2012
Cost: $1500 (Includes accommodation, in-country travel, food, entrance fee to ruins, organization and facilitation. Does not include airfare.)
The theme for the Peru event is “Engaging Cultures, Societies, and Systems: An Integral Approach to Sustainable Development in Peru." In partnership with One Sky, the Association for the Conservation of the Amazon Watershed (ACCA), Drishti and Integral Institute, we’ll explore the nuances and complexities of engaging social groups, cultures, and systems in development issues. We’ll visit the Amazon, the internationally acclaimed city of Cusco, the Sacred Valley of the Incas, and Machu Picchu. See here for more information.
By Etim Omini, President of AIDEN
Today, we hold the second AIDEN International Conference in Calabar. We consider this very significant because Calabar has always played the role of a birth place for many revolutionary social movements in history. For example, it was here that a revolutionary International Development Professional, Mary Slessor, in the 18th century, started the great social movement that led to the abolition of stigmatization of twins, here which later spread to all parts of Africa, thereby saving millions of lives over the years.
Today we are here launching yet another social revolutionary movement, which has the potential of transforming the entire African continent through a leadership approach that transforms the self and all, both within and without. This cutting edge approach is based on Integral Theory, which views reality from all perspectives, bringing together all breakthroughs of the classical studies, science and technology and the distilled wisdom of all religious studies of all ages. Solutions to human problems emerging from this kind of comprehensive analysis become balanced, accurate and sustainable.
Leaders around the world are now fast embracing the Integral approach as a way of living; African Integral Development Network (AIDEN) is a pioneer in this revolution within the African continent. This conference is designed to introduce this cutting edge knowledge and application to intellectuals, professionals, leaders and the general public all around Africa.
This conference is significant as it offers all the opportunity to share experiences and explore possibilities that will enable all to make significant contributions to the transformation of Africa. It will also advance Integral research, knowledge and application in the continent. AIDEN implores all to contribute in the discussions as the outcomes will set a new thinking on leadership in Africa.
The Conference is hosted by AIDEN in collaboration with the University of Calabar and supported by One Sky Canadian Institute of Sustainable Living, Canadian University Services Over Sea-Volunteering Services Over Sea (CUSO-VSO), Cross River State Tourism Bureau and the Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM). More than 500 leaders from different sectors and professions from different countries have been invited to attend this conference. We express sincere welcome to all for participating in this epoch making conference.
AIDEN emerged out of the work of One Sky’s project entitled “Leading From Within: Integral Application to Sustainable Living in the Niger Delta, Nigeria” which started in March 2009, with 30 leaders from the NGO sector in the Niger Delta. The program offered the participants the opportunity to transform themselves, develop their leadership capacities and conflict resolution skills for three years. As part of the program, participants used the new skills and ideas acquired to Execute Community Development projects in communities in Cross River State. This community development projects served as laboratories for participants to replicate their learning. It is these 30 participants that labored hard to give birth to AIDEN and formed the foundation membership. Now new members are joining rapidly and all are hereby invited to join. The birth of AIDEN is to promote the development of Integral Theory and Practice for the transformation of Africa. We are the first to embrace this approach in Africa and we are determined to achieve our vision.
AIDEN has an effective and efficient governance structure with a board of trustees and advisers, an elected Executive Council, Committees and Members.
Our vision is a transformed, harmonious and sustainably developed African society. To realize this laudable vision our programs and projects target positive social change, human development, research, policy and analysis. AIDEN strategically utilizes partnership, collaboration and participatory approaches driven and guided by the Integral approach. We therefore extend hand of fellowship to all organizations represented here.
AIDEN is a platform that provides mutual support for members’ professional development and advancement in their diverse field. AIDEN membership is drawn from different disciplines and sectors but united by the Integral framework. The framework is transdiciplinary and its application advances sustainable solutions to all problems. In AIDEN we share a common vision and devoted to creating a cadre of dedicated and qualified leaders with the appropriate mindset and values that will bring about the transformation of Africa. We are ready to nurture the growth and development of second-tier oriented individuals and groups in all sectors, actively connected to the global integral movement to build synergy, and pull resources together to impact society.
AIDEN is working to support and promote the establishment of an Integral Institute in Africa. We are using this opportunity to appeal to all stakeholders especially the Cross River State Government, University of Calabar, Nigeria Institute of Management and One Sky Canadian Institute of Sustainable living to come together and put strategies in place for the establishment of an Integral Institute which will be the first in Africa and second in the world, after the pioneer Integral Institute in Boulder Colorado, United States of America. On our part, we are willing to share our Leading From Within experience and we entreat all to join AIDEN.
Finally, I wish the conference a complete success and all the participants, our partners and friends, a good time in the paradise city, Calabar.
On September 8th and 9th, 2011, One Sky-Canadian Institute of Sustainable Living in conjunction with Bulkley Valley Research Center, Northwest Community College, Office of the Wet’suwet’en, with funding support from BC Hydro, we will be hosting a two-day community event. The event combines community organizing with policy dialogue, and will include adaptation scenario planning, asset mapping, community conversations on resilience, and energy conservation.
Interested participants should sign-up by contacting Gail Hochachka by email before September the 7thor at the One Sky office, as spaces are limited.gail@onesky.ca
Moving Towards Resilience - an inquiry into leadership and energy in the Northwest
One Sky, as many of you may know is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable living, energy conservation, renewable energy, and sustainability leadership. We have done projects in regards to these themes in places such as Africa, Sierra Leone, in the Andes and the Amazon of Peru, and in our own Bulkley Valley. Our goals in British Columbia are to lead by example, tackling the energy issues derived from an ever-changing world with demanding energy needs, by promoting sustainable living and alternate energy resources as well as promoting energy conservation.
Our focus on the project ‘Moving Towards Resilience’ is to initiate and foster leadership, energy conservation and community resilience starting locally in the Northwest of British Columbia. We will also explore climate change impacts and adaption, focusing on the skills, capacities and consciousness needed for sustainable living.
Moving Toward Resilience intends to bring people together to explore energy issues in the context of climate change and to move toward community resilience in the Northwest. The event will connect existing efforts, identify gaps, and unite diverse actions taken at multiple scales. Come strategize, reflect, and discuss on how we, as individuals, organizations, and as a community, face energy decisions in the situation of climate change today, and how can we develop and sustain our own leadership for resilience in the Northwest.
The first July meeting is for a smaller group of participants to identify key themes, to do big picture thinking, and to design an agenda for the larger workshop. The larger workshop, held in early Sept, is open to anyone interested in these issues. We hope you’ll plan to attend!
September 8-10th
Smithers, BC
Venue TBA
Last day includes site visits to renewable energy systems in the Bulkley Valley
Using an on line video tool similar to Youtube One Sky has launched a video channel capable of hosting longer high definition video documentaries on Vimeo.
We think it is pretty cool and are curious if it works for you? As we get to know how to use it we would love to hear your feedback. Send us an e-mail and tell us how we can improve it. Go to Channel here
The African Integral Development Network was recently formed as a result of One Sky's Leading from Within leadership program. Dr. Oliver Ngodo is the author of an article on AIDEN in Integral Leadership Review. Read more here.
One Sky welcomes Dr. Oliver Ngodo to our Calabar One Sky office. We located Dr. Ngodo in Malaysia where he was finishing his dissertation on transformative leadership for his recently completed doctorate. Oliver is a CUSO/VSO cooperant who will be joining us for 18 months. His adventures with One Sky started in October when he came to Canada. He spent some time with us in Vancouver before doing an orientation training with CUSO in Ottawa. He then participated in our 9th leadership intensive before ten days of field work on monitoring and evaluation with executive director Mike Simpson. The intense trip involved visiting all of One Sky's breakthrough initiatives in rural and urban Cross River State as well as a side excursion to Akwa Ibom to visit a gas flaring site. Dr. Ngodo brings an amazing amount of enthusiasm and knowledge, as a native Nigerian from Abia State, and a proponent of integral theory. We are excited to have Oliver on board
Oliver listens to community leaders in northern Cross River State on the issue of HIV/AIDS
One Sky is proud to announce that its GO2 Carshare Cooperative won "Environmental Business of the Year" at the Smithers District Chamber of Commerce Community & Business Awards on October 23, 2010.
The award is great recognition by chamber members that businesses and social enterprises can be both environmentally and financially sustainable. We thank all chamber members for their support - and a big shout out to our mystery nominator!
Want be a member of this respected, progressive organization? Join GO2 Carshare today!
The Rural Writers’ Network, in cooperation with One Sky, hosted its first-ever Rural Writers in Residence. This retreat-style event took place Oct. 21 to 24 at a Driftwood Lodge in a relaxing setting just outside Smithers, B.C. It included workshops designed to further professional development, personal project development time and group discussions about challenges and benefits to being a writer in northern British Columbia. Partipants got their creativity flowing with (optional) morning yoga classes and afternoon walks.
The event initiated the Rural Writers Network, which will be an ongoing, community-building presence for northern B.C.’s professional writers. The Rural Writers Network assists in building a sustainable rural economy, where writers contribute their insight, creativity and information into the culture and society of the north.
For more information, email Coordinator, Amanda Follett afollett@bulkley.net
Who was this for?
The event was held for anyon involved in writing in a professional capacity (such as, jouralists, people in communications positions, authors, poets, and more) as well as those who might be intrigued to hone their writing in a personal sense. Also, consultants and those other positions that require excellent writing skills attended. If you have questions or need more clarity, please email Amanda at afollett@bulkley.net.
One Sky's GO2 Carshare Cooperative is one of three finalists for the Smithers District Chamber of Commerce's "Environmentally Friendly Business of the Year" Award.
Nominations by the public were submitted to the selection committee earlier this summer, and the three finalists will now be voted on by the more than 200 chamber members. The winner will be announced at the chamber's Community and Business Awards ceremony on Saturday, October 23, 2010 at the Aspen Inn.
Wish us luck! We'll be sure to report back after the event to let you know if we were successful.
This month's World Cafe event features premieres of two documentaries: a locally produced film about One Sky's groundbreaking work in Peru followed by "Where Hope Resides: A last chance for wild salmon and people to coexist." Both films centre on human connections to land and resources and particularly on collaborative conservation and management frameworks that recognize indigenous knowledge and rights. The event is supported by partnerships with both the Bulkley Valley Research Centre and SkeenaWild Conservation Trust.
One Sky's aim for the evening is to bring people together for some thoughtful discussion on how we can apply lessons from local conservation efforts to international work and vice versa.
A new partnership with the Toronto-based charity Athletes for Africa has given One Sky an exciting new outreach and fundraising opportunity. Anyone looking for ways to get involved with and support One Sky’s work now has two new options: sponsor a One Sky athlete or become one yourself.
To view One Sky’s online platform at the Athletes for Africa site, find out more about the partnership and log on as a participating athlete, click here. To learn more about individual One Sky athletes and their goals, click their name below.
If you're interested in becoming an Athlete for Africa or would like more information about this program, please email us. We look forward to hearing from you!
One Sky – Canadian Institute of Sustainable Living will host a climate change speaking presentation at the Old Church on Thursday, June 15th at 7:00 p.m. The event, “Fire and Ice,” features four local experts on global climate change and solutions including senior ecologist Dr. Jim Pojar, One Sky Executive Director Mike Simpson, Energy consultant Greg Brown, and Dawn Hanson, a Community Capacity Facilitator.
The event takes its name from One Sky’s current work in regions of Nigeria that are heavily impacted by the oil and gas industry and from its upcoming expedition in the Canadian Arctic.
“There are fires in Nigeria and they’re melting the poles,” explains One Sky Executive Director Michael Simpson, referring to unnecessary industrial gas flaring in the Niger delta and rapidly melting arctic sea ice. “We need to solve the problem of climate change in a very short period of time. The best thing to do is find strategies that are easy and cheap.”
This summer Simpson will undertake a 650 km kayak trip along the inlets and waterways of Baffin Island from Igloolik to Pond Inlet to draw attention to the interconnectedness of environmental issues and the importance of scaling up individual actions to help influence international policy.
Senior ecologist Dr. Jim Pojar brings a strong conservation message based on the findings of his research and peer-reviewed report “A New Climate for Conservation” released earlier this year.
“Climate change is forcing us to re-evaluate the way we protect nature,” says Dr. Pojar. “A minimum conservation target of 50 per cent is what's necessary to give our plants and animals a fighting chance to adapt.”
Greg Brown, who earlier this month travelled to the Gulf of Mexico with a delegation of BC Coastal First Nations, has returned with a cautionary tale from his firsthand experience of the BP oil spill that has now spread throughout the wetlands of coastal Louisiana.
The event is by donation. All proceeds support One Sky’s project supporting transformative leadership for sustainable development in Nigeria.
For more information: Emily McGiffin or (250) 877-6030
Energetic Olympics lives on! The City of Terrace, the Energetic Olympics gold medal winner in the Heavyweight division, has used its prize to support the efforts of the Greater Terrace Beautification Society. The society is a group of volunteers who are committed to promoting beautification of the Terrace area. They have been working for years to transform an abandoned gas station site in downtown Terrace into a green space, and this year with the support of the city and its Energetic Olympics prize, it is becoming a reality.
The city collaborated with the society and used the prize money to purchase native plant seedlings and supplies, with Terrace Mayor Dave Pernarowski and city councillors pitching in to help society members.
Check out their efforts and results below! You can also view media coverage of the event or find out more about the society.
Mayor Pernarowski (centre) and society President Chris Hansen (to right) hard at work
The results!
The GO2 Carshare Cooperative is officially up and running. Individuals and organizations interested in joining can call (250) 877-6030 or find out more on the website. You can also email the carshare.
As a bonus for Earth Day, anyone joining the co-op on April 22nd will get a $10 credit on his/her account!
The G02 Carshare will launch in April 2010. However, before our official launch, interested individuals can check things out by booking the Prius on a trial basis to see how it works.
Whether you need wheels for a couple of hours or a couple of days, booking the carshare’s Toyota Prius will give you a feel for how the carshare works, and allow you to benefit from the low hourly and mileage rates without the commitment of membership. Call Kim at (250) 877-6030 to find out more.
Why should you consider joining the G02 Carshare Cooperative? There are two main benefits:
If you are interested in joining, either as a member or a board member, please call Kim Struthers, One Sky, at (250) 877-6030 or .
One Sky is currently developing a car share cooperative for the Bulkley Valley. This is the first time a northern, rural car share organization has been developed, and as such, we need as much input from the community as possible. Please take a few minutes of your time to fill out the attached questionnaire, and fax it back to us at (250) 877-6040. You can also to Kim Struthers, Project Coordinator.
The second part of the questionnaire is a travel/trip log, which tracks all your travel for one week. This is important as it helps us learn about people’s transportation and travel habits. By looking at how people are getting around, and how often, we can see if it would make sense for them to join the co-op.
To find out more about the car share initiative, check out Smithers Car Share Cooperative in our Projects & Programs section.
Download the questionnaire here: Trip_:_Travel_Log.doc
One Sky’s Executive Director, Michael Simpson, and Godwin Ugah, our EO guest speaker from the Council for Renewable Energy in Nigeria, were in Terrace, BC, on Monday, October 26, 2009 as a delegation to city council.
Watch the You Tube video of their Gold Medal (Heavyweight division) cheque presentation to Mayor Pernarowski and council, and see Godwin’s compelling presentation about the energy situation in Nigeria.
Nigeria is the world’s seventh largest crude oil producer yet 70% of its population lives on less than US $1 a day. Nigeria’s citizens do not benefit from the significant wealth generated through its oil production; they live in the fifth most polluted country in the world and they suffer through poverty and violence. See why your energy conservation efforts here really can make a difference to those around the world.
One Sky in Peru
Over the last decade, environmentalists increasingly see that conservation objectives require a connection to the local culture. This is primarily because, at the end of the day, local people not only live in those ecosystems, but have lived in them for literally generations. We would like to think that all environmentalists have moved beyond wielding one's conservation objectives without this cultural sensitivity (or, perhaps worse, cloaking one's conservation objectives behind a veneer of cultural sensitivity). However, too often environmentalists continue to miss the critical importance of authentic connection with community and culture.
With our Peruvian partner ACCA (Associacion de la Conservacion de la Cuenca Amazonica), we are exploring ways to fully connect with local communities and cultures, in a 'transcend and include' manner of working towards shared objectives. That is, including the objectives of both communities and NGOs but transcending their exclusivity into a greater whole—a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Much like how two mechanical parts of a clock alone cannot tell time, but, together, they can.
So, what does this actually look like in practice? Truly, it can take myriad forms. In September, it took a form that was unprecedented for both community and NGOs. Members of One Sky were made hosts of a three-day festival for la Virgen de Chanka, a revered deity of communities in the Andes of Peru. We were the first foreigners to receive this role. And, we had never ourselves been asked to participate so centrally in such a festival in any of the countries we've worked. It was a unique, unprecedented, and likely singular life-experience for us all.
And it was challenging! We found it difficult to explain to our Canadian friends and colleagues why we were supporting a religious ceremonial festival in another village half way across the planet. For a country like Canada, in which most NGOs retain a firmly secular public engagement, that is quite an unusual way to engage in conservation work! Here, we share more on the big picture of why we supported this festival, and also describe some of the endearing details of this festival in Peru.
Conservation and Community
Just a short 30-minute drive from Challabamba community, even a shorter walk on footpaths that intersect the switch-backed road, lies the incredibly diverse cloud forest ecosystem, aptly called the 'Andean Amazon.' Explained on the ACCA website, this is:
One of the world's most important biodiversity hotspots, where the eastern slopes of the tropical Andes meet the Amazonian lowlands. Tremendous climatic changes occur as the landscape sweeps from snow-capped mountains to the treeless plains and dry valleys of the altiplano before a sudden descent into steep cloud forests and the broad expanse of the low-lying Amazon floodplain. This topographic complexity has resulted in an exceptional array of habitats sustaining a vast number of species.
Efforts to conserve this Andean Amazon have had mixed results. ACCA has conserved a large area of land (1,450 acres) and built a research center, called Wayqecha, located at 3,000 meters above sea level. It exists not only for cutting-edge ecological research, but also environmental education. The latter is clearly important, since the nearby communities still let their cattle graze from the slopes above down into the forest itself! Deforestation is always a risk, and since the slopes are so steep and easily eroded, that once the forest is gone,… it is gone.
This year, through a shared project with Canadian NGOs One Sky and Drishti and Canadian company Greenheart, ACCA built a canopy walkway through the cloud forest. This aligns with their objectives of research, conservation, and education as well as offers a way to generate income for communities through their involvement as guides and interpreters.
At the outset of this project, we went to the surrounding communities to explain the intention and to generate interest in the guide-training program. Initially, we were greeted with bewildered looks. The open-mouthed response was, 'you want to build whaaat? A bridge in the trees?!' The cross-cultural gap was very evident: while local people were just trying to make ends meet, these environmentalists were wanting to build what amounted to them as a crazy structure more appropriate to monkeys than humans! At some point, however, someone mentioned that we were the hosts of the festival for La Virgen de Chanka that year. Almost immediately, there was an increase in their interest and commitment in the canopy walkway project, not really because of the project itself, but rather because of our evident commitment in their life and culture. A four-month guide-training program ensued, with 6 women and 6 men from the local communities of Suchabamba and Challabamba. It included skills-training on walkway construction and maintenance, as well as sought to develop some subjective capacities required in becoming a guide, such as strengthening self-esteem and affirming cultural identity.
Panning out from these details, what we find are two groups with two sets of objectives and perspectives, attempting to work together. Environmental NGOs have an objective to conserve an extraordinary cloud forest ecosystem, attempting to connect to local communities whose objectives are to address poverty and to support local livelihoods. NGOs are often operating with a secular worldview whereas Peruvian communities tend toward a religious worldview. What kind of an approach could make sufficient room for these different objectives and perspectives? And, what could become possible as both are transcended and included?
Integrating Perspectives
One of the most amazing things about honoring another culture and worldview is that it is not possible without shifting your identification with your own. That is, if I am rigidly identified as a secular, Canadian environmentalist, then I won't be able to authentically and fully honour the Peruvian culture and worldview. Releasing the exclusivity on your own cultural identity does not mean it disappears, rather it becomes more spacious to include others' lives, expressions and beliefs.
Had we held tightly to our identifications, we probably would have declined this role as host of the Virgen de Chanka festival. We likely would have said, No, I can't accept this since I am not Catholic, I don't live in Peru, I am spiritual but not religious, etc. Or, we might have said, “No, I am here to work for conservation only, not to support communities.” Instead, we said, yes, allowing room for both secular worldviews as well as the religious ones, for both conservation objectives and community objectives, curious to see what new emergent would come from uniting these. The alluring, ever-present question is: If two parts of a clock can come together to create time, could our perspectives come together to create a sustainable world?
What has emerged so far is a conservation project that is intimately tied to local community development. ACCA could have easily built a canopy walkway that was completely disconnected from the surrounding communities, a project aimed to raise money for the NGO itself. Instead, this canopy walkway has community people as guides and will become an income-generating alternative for those communities. This is a quality of conservation that is enabled by trust between both entities and is surely enriched through collaboration. The Virgen de Chanka festival was a good illustration of what this trust and collaboration looks like, this year and moving forward.
The Festival
Over the year, we collected donations for the festival. For each donation, we added a bead on a string, until we had a full rosary. This idea was originally from Buddhist social-action whereby a mala is created of donations for a social cause. To align with the Peruvian context, we adapted this from mala to rosary (both of which are essentially prayer beads, one from the East and the other from the West). We returned to Peru with this rosary of all the North American donations that contributed to their uniquely Latin American festival. When we presented this at the festival, the gently spoken two-word response was 'que bonita. How beautiful.
The festival consisted of dancing, music, feasting and drinking--all in honour of their most blessed goddess figure. It reminded us of community celebrations elsewhere, such as a First Nation's potlatch, with pervasive generosity and a sentiment of collectivism. Everyone who entered the house received a generous meal, drinks, and dancing. Over the three days, we fed close to 400 people and danced with most of them!
One of the most inspiring moments was when an 84-year old man danced the marinara folkdance with a young 21-year old, the span of more than 60 years between them evaporating with each step, each flick of the wrist, each swing of the hip. This spoke to resilience in the face of hardship, as well as showed us the energy accessed by this old man through the traditional dance itself.
Another sweet moment was when a young Quechua child became fascinated with the rosary draped over the icon of the Virgen de Chanka. As he softly touched the beads, I felt the metaphorical connection with all those who had touched him via donating to this festival. I couldn't help but also wonder when his school class would visit the canopy walkway, and whether one day he would become an ambassador of the cloud forest ecosystem, a proud contributor to its conservation.
To everyone who donated to this Festival and to the larger sustainable development goals, we extend gratitude and appreciation.
To read more about the project, see: Developing Capacity for Conservation in Peru
One Sky’s Energetic Olympics team is currently touring the province, making stops in the 16 communities that participated in Energetic Olympics, plus a few more for good measure! In each community, they are meeting with, and making presentations to, municipal government representatives, community groups, and residents. From October 16-19, 2009, the team is on Haida Gwaii, participating in the Sustainable Living Fair (One Sky’s ED, Mike Simpson is the key-note speaker on Saturday evening) and attending as a delegation to the Village of Queen Charlotte’s council meeting on October 19th.
In addition to sharing the great results of the competition (Click here to see our winners), One Sky is also proud to introduce our two guest speakers from Nigeria, Godwin Ugah and Juliet Olory. Godwin is the Program Director for the Council for Renewable Energy in Nigeria (CREN), and Juliet is a Project Coordinator with Development in Nigeria (DIN). They will speak to audiences about their personal and professional experiences of living and working in Nigeria, a country with significant socio-economic challenges. Godwin will speak more specifically about the issues of access to energy, unsustainable energy use, and climate change, while Juliet will talk about the links between poverty and energy in her country.
Their knowledge and expertise will hopefully continue to help British Columbians better understand the concept of global energy equity. Energy plays a critical role in economic development and developing countries need increased access to clean, safe energy supplies. Through Energetic Olympics, One Sky hopes to build awareness of how North America’s carbon emissions are contributing to climate change and desertification in Africa, just as deforestation in Africa impacts Canada’s arctic regions.
One Sky would also like to recognize the support of the BC Council for International Cooperation (BCCIC), which is hosting two of our events in Comox and Prince George. BCCIC is a coalition of individuals and non-governmental organizations (like One Sky) working to achieve sustainable global development in a peaceful and healthy environment, with social justice, human dignity, and participation for all. Visit BCCIC’s website to find out more.
The Energetic Olympics team will visit the following communities in the coming weeks. Give us a call at (250) 877-6030 if you would like to get involved!
October 26th: Terrace
October 27th: Burns Lake
October 28th: Vanderhoof & Fort St. James
November 2nd: Ladysmith
November 3rd: Comox & Courtenay
November 4th: Gibsons & Sechelt
November 5th: 100 Mile House
November 6th: Prince George
November 10th-13th: Smithers
For the past two years, sixteen B.C. municipalities and their residents have been reducing their energy consumption through One Sky’s Energetic Olympics competition. Communities have reduced their carbon footprint as they’ve scored points in five “events”: transportation, heating, electricity, goods and services, and food and consumption.
Only two weeks remain in the competition, so participants are reminded to log their energy-friendly activities on the Energetic Olympics website. Individuals can score points for shopping at the Farmers’ Market, carpooling to work, using energy-efficient light bulbs and reducing the amount of packaging they use. Gold, silver and bronze municipal winners will be announced after the competition ends September 30, 2009.
The villages of Queen Charlotte, Burns Lake and McBride currently hold down the top three spots in the Lightweight division (for towns with populations of less than 5,000 residents). The Heavyweight division (for towns with populations of 5,000 or more residents) is led by Terrace, Prince Rupert and Smithers. But anything can change over the next two weeks, so be sure to register your points today and help your community get on to the Energetic Olympics podium!
To register, or to update your points, click here. For more information, call Kim at (250) 877-6030 or .
Click here to read the article
One Sky began an anti idling campaign in 2008 in Smithers, initiating local awareness and education around the issue of idling within the transportation sector. In the Smithers Community Energy Plan it was identified that 60% of the GHG emissions released in the community comes from the transportation sector. Given each municipality in BC will be required to become carbon neutral by 2012 according to the Union of Municipalities of British Columbia Climate Action Charter and the required target for individuals to reduce their GHG emissions by 33% by 2020 to reach the BC Climate Change target, reducing idling is one step that can make a big difference for everyone.
In the Bulkley Valley we have some challenges to overcome given our distances from large centres, our reliance of transportation for many of our daily needs and lack of sustainable public transport options, but we can all learn to be more efficient with our driving habits and needs. The aim of the project is to decrease idling within the Bulkley Valley, thus reducing transport related Green House Gas emissions which are not only one of our biggest GHG emissions in Smithers but in all of Canada. The benefits of reducing idling also enable fleet owners, businesses, individuals to save on fuel, save on engine wear and tear, improve our air quality and potentially enable alternate and more environmentally healthy and sustainable transportation options to become viable within the community.
In 2009 One Sky’s Smithers Anti Idling Campaign is working with many levels of the Smithers community , including the Town of Smithers, School District # 54, Provincial Government offices, residents both urban and rural, fleet managers and car dealerships.
Our program includes educational outreach workshops enabling individuals to learn about the myths surrounding idling, drive smart workshops, engine care and maintenance education, fleet management options, alternative transportation and an overall awareness on reducing our carbon footprint locally to address the global issue of climate change.
One Sky’s Smithers Anti idling Campaign also ties in with our Community Bike Program and the Energetic Olympics. The Bike program offers alternative sustainable transportation options around the town of Smithers, where short haul driving and idling can create the greatest emissions impact. Having businesses and individuals embrace anti idling habits will also benefit the challenge of reducing their energy consumption which can count towards points for the Energetic Olympics increasing Smithers chances of gaining a medal.
It’s all about energy solutions for the individual, the community and the planet. One Sky helps to bring awareness and options to reduce our consumption that will benefit us all globally, from a local perspective.
So, how can you make a difference?
1 Reduce your warm idling
Contrary to popular belief the best way to warm up your car is to drive it at a moderate speed. Even on the coldest of days, after 30 seconds of idling you’re good to go.
2 Turn off after 10 seconds
If you have stopped for more than 10 seconds, turn off your engine. It has minimal impact on your starter switch and idling for more than 10 seconds uses more fuel than it would to restart your engine
3 Avoid using remote starters
These devices encourage you to start your car before you are ready to go, which means unnecessary idling.
4 Use a block heater
In the north we have many cold days so consider using a block heater to warm up the engine before starting your vehicle. This reduces wear and tear on your vehicle and reduces your emissions
5 Plan your trips
Avoid quick errands around town, plan your journey for the most efficient routes and don’t leave your car on while you run into the fast food store or corner shop. Park and walk in, this saves you money and reduces your emissions.
It’s as easy as the turn of your key!
From Natural Resources Canada’s office of Energy Efficiency at http://www.idling.gc.ca
December 10, 2008 - Last week, One Sky participated in the annual meetings of the Joint Public Advisory Committee of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The purpose of this session was to explore the relationship between environmental sustainability and competitiveness from a North American perspective, and identify opportunities for regional cooperation (within Canada, the United States and/or Mexico).
The one-and-one-half day event featured the participation of some of North America’s top experts in the environment, free trade, industry, transportation, business performance, health and competition, and those issues’ effects on the region. Leading innovators such as InterFace Inc., ZENN Motor Company and General Electric-Ecoimagination, also participated at the meeting. It consisted of three panel discussions, followed by a more focussed conversation about the transportation sector.
Panel I: Drivers and barriers to improvements in environmental performance
What motivates industry-wide improvements in environmental performance? How are those forces likely to change in the future? How are different firms in the industry responding to those forces?
Panel II: Drivers and barriers to environmental performance innovation
What motivates industry-wide improvements in environmental performance? How are those forces likely to change in the future? How are different firms in the industry responding to those forces?
Panel III: How are corporate improvements in environmental performance influencing business competitiveness?
Are improvements in environmental performance or its drivers affecting competitiveness? How? What are the most important factors in this relationship?
Are there specific considerations for this within North America?
The discussions and debates came from various, and sometimes conflicting, perspectives. This made for animated conversations exploring, among other things:
- eco-labels for products (similar to the nutritional information found on current food products)
- the value of government regulations and its impact - positive or negative - on internal business operations
- drivers of environmental actions from industry (i.e. toxic chemicals companies)
- the role that certification schemes can play on improving internal processes and incorporating them in an Environmental Management System (EMS)
- using innovation as a tool to remodel the way a company like Interface Inc., manufactures carpets while striving to become carbon neutral
- “environmentalizing politics” rather than “politicizing the environment”
- new metrics coming out that place a tangible value on formerly intangibles
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The Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America is an international organization created under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), signed by Canada, the United States and Mexico in 1994. The CEC operates through three bodies: a Council of the highest environmental authority of each member country, the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) and a Secretariat headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
The Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) is composed of fifteen members, five from each of the three countries. The members, as independent, individual citizens committed to preserving and improving the common environment, offer recommendations to the Council on issues related to the NAAEC.
One Sky has recently published a comprehensive Community Energy Plan for the Village of Burns Lake. Click here to read it.
With the BC Government’s Carbon Tax introduced in July, funding is available for the conceptualization of a Community Energy Plan. Having already produced a CEP for Smithers and Burns Lake, we at One Sky would like to work with more communities and municipalities.
A community energy plan (CEP) is a long-term plan that evaluates a community’s existing energy use and supply with the goal to reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency, and increase renewable energy supply. It encompasses land use and transportation planning, site planning and building design, infrastructure, and renewable energy supply.
In November, the Community Action on Energy and Emissions (CAEE) will have completed its inventory of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of every municipality in B.C. The CEP uses this data as the foundation behind a community-based set of targets and recommendations.
The benefits of energy planning go far beyond just reducing energy bills:
For most communities, 70-80% of money spent on energy leaves town, going to utilities, oil companies, and provincial and federal taxes. By investing in energy efficiency or local renewable energy projects, a large portion of that money will remain in the community, stimulating the local economy. In addition, energy efficiency and renewable energy investments create local employment both directly and indirectly.
Reduced reliance on outside energy sources can insulate residents and businesses from worldwide energy price shocks and supply shortages.
Energy planning leads to more efficient communities based on more compact and efficient use of land, leading to shorter travel times and lower operating costs for businesses and residents.
Reduced energy use can lead to improved air quality and associated health benefits. Efficient land use and transportation planning can also increase walking and cycling versus automobile use, thus promoting a healthier lifestyle.
Completion of a CEP can help increase the chances of future funding. The provincial government’s commitment to reducing GHG emissions means that grant applications from communities taking action on climate change are looked upon favorably.
One Sky is offering its support and would like to work with BC communities to produce a comprehensive and practical Community Energy Plan.
For more information, please contact Benoît at 250.877.6030 or email .
One Sky recently hosted a trainer from Reclaiming Youth International to deliver a Circle of Courage/ Response Ability Pathways training in Smithers (September 23-25) http://reclaiming.com/. A variety of youth workers and community leaders participated to learn about strength-based approaches to working with youth in need. A second session of the same training will be held in the coming months, contact for further information.
In the well-known 2007 movie Blood Diamond, after numerous life-like violent scenes depicting Sierra Leone’s armed conflict provoked by the illegal diamond trade, the lead actor turns to his African counterpart and says, “At least we don’t have oil.†That one line, in many regards, is the central point of the entire issue—namely, conflict over natural resources from which wealth can be made more often than not results in violence and corruption.
Nigeria directly faces this issue today—it has both copious reserves of oil as well as violence and corruption. In the Niger Delta, environmental conflict over oil is persistent. Perhaps more insidiously, across the country, on-going corruption at every level of the private sector, including also the public sector, leaves the country bereft of state services like electricity, roads, schools, and more. As the six richest oil producing country in the world, this country should rank much higher than 158th out of 177 countries on the Human Development Index. This intentional creaming of money off the top leaves tens of millions of others without basic needs, not to mention a heavily degraded environment upon which economic livelihoods depend. The Niger Delta is the 5th most polluted ecosystem on the planet. How does Integral Theory serve these types of complex, intense, and heart-breaking global issues?
This is the inquiry for many integral practitioners working in international development. This week, the Canadian NGO One Sky—Canadian Institute for Sustainable Living was awarded a $500,000 grant from the Canadian International Development Agency for a project entitled Integral Applications to Sustainability in the Niger Delta. The Executive Director, Michael Simpson, and lead consultant on the project, Gail Hochachka, are both members of Integral Without Borders, a network of integral practitioners working in international development that grew out of Integral Institute’s Integral International Development Center.
“This grant is a testament to the exceptional work that One Sky has performed and to the value of an integral approach when facing significant systemic complexity,†said Robb Smith, CEO of Integral Institute. “We are thrilled that the Institute’s IIDC and IWB could play a role in helping to coalesce the talent and vision evident in this and other integral international development efforts. With the help of Gail Hochachka and others we plan to devote more resources to the development of integral development solutions as we move forward and look forward to the results of this program as they are published through the Institute’s Integral Research Center.â€
Four other members of Integral Without Borders were part of this project visioning team (Lee White, Adam Jones, Sandra Thomson, and Greg Brown), as well as Nigeria partner Patricia Eyamba and others on the One Sky team, illustrating the potential of such a global integral network.
From a previous four-year project with five Nigerian NGOs in sustainability and poverty alleviation, One Sky began to see that Right-hand quadrant interventions (such as organizational development, financial management, improved communications, and policy influence), while critically important, could not be held in place without more Left-hand quadrant interventions (such as personal leadership, self-awareness, moral intelligence, and interpersonal skills). Or, put simply: the complex array of sustainable development issues in Nigeria, requires leaders with the mindset, values, and competencies that can fully understand and respond to that complexity.
With this recent grant, One Sky is designing and delivering an integral leadership program that creates the emergent conditions for leaders to meet the complexity at hand. This project will develop the capacity of 30 young Nigerians currently working in toward environmental and economic sustainability in the Cross River region of the Niger Delta. These 30 practitioners come from ten organizations, doubling One Sky’s initial five NGO partners in their first project in Nigeria.
The project essentially involves engaging a personal development process (I), held in place with learning communities and a new social discourse (We), and enacted in breakthrough initiatives in their home organizations (It/Its). The project design recognizes and connects to what Wilber refers to as “Eros tiltâ€â€”the unfolding evolution of consciousness, culture, behaviors and systems. This unfolding dynamic will be engaged in various ways. In a systems sense (LR), the project will galvanize a holarchy of an established and strong civil sector network meshed with the multiple scales of government and socially engaged private sector interests. In a social sense (LL), the project design supports learning communities formed by the three participants from the ten organizations that engage in regular, formalized dialogue, both within their own organization and as a cohort, providing the container for a new level of thinking and social discourse. And, in a personal development sense (UL), the project engages the nuance of personal growth and the development of various capacities associated with transformative and translative leadership at the altitudes most appropriate to the individuals and their contexts.
Each participant will engage four times annually in intensive leadership development “retreats†to develop both the interior resolve and will, the personal skills, the cultural awareness and contacts, and the organizational and logistical capacity to be an effective leader. While a person cannot be “trained†to be a leader, they can be given emergent ground and enabling circumstances for leadership to emerge. They can be supported socially, morally and logistically while this leadership strengthens and these results can be effectively measured using both qualitative and quantitative measurements.
Which raises another key attribute of this project—how it will be assessed and evaluated over the three years. This project includes a pre/post assessment informed by Integral Research and funded in part by Integral Institute, so that at the end of three years, we will be able to really know if and to what extent change occurred in all quadrants. This Integral monitoring and evaluation approach is currently being designed and field-tested in Peru and will be brought into the Nigeria project later this year.
In a time where a complex world requires an equally complex response, it is enlivening to witness a larger donor agency like CIDA respond to this field-tested and innovative project proposal. From a foundation of experience, a decade of international work and four years in Nigeria, One Sky proposed the need for a more Integral approach to sustainability and poverty alleviation. When a donor responds to innovation—in this case, integral innovation born directly from field experience—they can surely enact care and compassion for all.
With much gratitude and excitement, we invite you to stay tuned for details on how this project unfolds!
One Sky is involved in an integrally informed capacity development project in Peru that involves an eco-tourism development and the support for nearby communities. Using an “integral” methodology we have been working with our partner organization the Amazon Conservation Association to develop participatory methodologies to increase sustainable livelihoods. What does all this mean. It means that we are working to take into account local world views, values and behaviours as well as developing economic systems for human well being. A Canadian company Greenheart Conservation Company it building a cloud forest canopy walkway which local guides, including women, are being trained to build, maintain and run. Canopy walkways have become popular in forest regions of the world as an alternative to cutting down the forest while still bringing in tourist and research dollars.
Recently One Sky was in Peru along with Drishti, an NGO that specializes in integral methodologies to carry out gender sensitive guide training. At the invite of the community of Challabamba we participated in the local celebration of the Virgin of Challabamba. Below are a few pictures of the festivities.
John Kelson and friends
Gail Hochachka and the Virgin
The 2008 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of ONE SKY shall take place on THURSDAY, October 2, 2008
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting (the "Meeting") of the members of ONE SKY (the “Organization") will be held at the One Sky office 3768 2nd Ave., Box 3352, Smithers, British Columbia on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. (PST / Smithers time), for the following purposes:
To receive the financial statements of the Organization for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008 and the report of the auditors thereon;
To elect directors to hold office for one-year terms until the close of the 2009 annual general meeting;
To appoint auditors of the Organization to hold office until the close of the next annual general meeting;
To transact such further or other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof.
DATED at Smithers, British Columbia, this 4th day of September 2008.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD
SANDRA SMITH AND SANDRA THOMSON
CO-CHAIRS
This past weekend, the Green Building Trade Show took place at the 89th
Bulkley Valley Fall Fair and was a great success! Green building
professionals and enthusiasts alike came out to showcase and discuss
everything from natural building techniques to renewable energy systems.
Highlights included a presentation by Nathan Cullen, MP and NDP environment
critic, on a green building strategy for Canada. Also of note was the straw
bale playhouse built by local ‘green’ builder, Dave Jones. The
playhouse, which was built over the course of the weekend, acted as a
demonstration of how to build with straw, and was the much sought-after
prize in our raffle. Congratulations to our winner: Miriam Colvin! Thanks
goes out to our sponsors: VanCity, Real Estate Foundation of BC and the BV
Credit Union as well as to the many volunteers that made this event
possible. One Sky hopes that this will become an annual event and looks
forward to seeing it grow!
At the end of June, every adult in British Columbia will receive a $100 cheque in the mail from the government, and every child will receive $30. It’s your personal Climate Action Dividend, part of BC’s new Carbon Tax that kicks in on July 1st.
How will you spend your $100 cheque? Here are 30 ideas that can help you to reduce your carbon footprint – and the amount of carbon tax you pay. If you don’t live in BC - well, this may still be of interest!
In Your Home
1. An ecoENERGY home assessment, that will give you a list of energy upgrades that will make your home more efficient, and access to various grants from ecoENERGY and LiveSmartBC. ($150)
2. 30 compact fluorescent light bulbs (Phillips are the best.) ($100)
3. 3 new LED light bulbs ($108)
4. Programmable thermostats for your 2 or 3 of your most commonly used heating zones. ($100)
5. $100 of weather-stripping, caulking, and window film, to reduce heat-leaks in your home.
6. A Kill-A-Watt meter that will show you how much energy each of your appliances is using. ($30)
7. A Smart Strip Power Bar that you can use to control your stand-by power. ($30)
8. A low flow showerhead that will save water and power. ($12)
9. A 20-foot retractable clothesline for your backyard. ($15)
10. An Eco-Fan for your woodstove, that will spread the heat around. ($150)
Travelling
1. A month’s bus pass ($42 to $99)
2. A used bicycle to enjoy the summer ($100), or a bike a tune up ($50).
3. New bike lights, gear, and a new helmet, for safer riding ($100)
4. A cycling commuting skills course, to make you a safer cyclist
5. Put it towards buying an electric bike ($700 to $1600)
6. For your car, pool your money to buy a Scan Gauge, that will give you a real-time fuel consumption read-out which you can use to train yourself to do “eco-drivingâ€, and use 10%-15% less fuel, saving up to $250 a year ($160)
7. A pack of 4 LED tire pressure indicator lights which you can use to use up to 3.3% less fuel by keeping your tires properly inflated, saving up to $50 a year. ($34.95)
8. Membership in the Victoria Car Share Cooperative or Vancouver’s Cooperative Auto-Network ($400 - $500)
9. A good camera/microphone for your computer, so that you can substitute web conferencing instead of travelling.
10. A new pair of running shoes, to encourage you to hit the trails. The more fit you are, the further you can cycle and walk.
In Your Kitchen & Garden
1. A good vegetarian or vegan cookbook.
2. $100 of local organic food for a celebratory organic feast for your friends.
3. $100 of seeds, tools, and compost that you can use to start an organic garden, using simple Lasagna Gardening
4. $100 of organic food delivered by Small Potatoes Urban Delivery, grown as locally as possible.
5. $100 worth of organic food to accompany a free a Vegetarian Starter Kit.
For the Next Climate Emergency
1. A St. John Ambulance Emergency Ready Kit, to help you survive the climate change related storms and power outages ($59.95) and a Ready Meal Kit ($44.95)
2. A Freeplay Solar Wind-up Radio ($59) and LED Wind-up Flashlight ($32)
Carbon Reducing Offsets and Gifts
1. Spend it on good carbon offsets. $100 donated to the Solar Electric Light Fund will offset 10 tonnes of CO2 by helping villagers in Nigeria to use solar lighting, instead of kerosene. $100 donated to Quest Outreach will ensure that $1200 worth of wasted food is used to feed people, putting its embodied carbon to good use in someone’s stomach and stopping it from releasing methane in a landfill.
2. Give it to an environmental organization that is working to tackle global warming or save BC’s forests, such as the David Suzuki Foundation, the BC Sustainable Energy Association, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, the Sierra Club of BC, or The Land Conservancy.
3. Give it to one of the 50 “Green Your Campbell Cash†carbon-saving projects that are being proposed on The Tyee’s website.
Compiled by Guy Dauncey, with help from BCSEA members.
If you found these suggestions inspiring, why not put your Dividend towards purchasing a membership
One Sky promotes sustainable living globally.
An environmentally sustainable and socially just world.
One Sky seeks to make a significant difference in the next five years by:
At One Sky, it is our belief that we need to be active on the ground to be able to walk into the halls of policy making, and to know existing policy to be able to leverage implementing changes at the grassroots. At One Sky, we also believe that the way we treat each other along the path toward change is integral to our success. Regardless of what environmental issue we are working on, we are always striving to live our values and are committed to:
- acting proactively and with intention
- working in difficult places (such as Nigeria, Sierra Leone and out of northern BC)
- taking risks by trying new ways of working
- being bold and willing to enter new terrain
- promoting solutions
- creating patterns of change
- being a small but significant difference
- remaining hopeful despite working on tough issues in tough places
- enabling others in their work through intentional leadership
- life-long learning
- engaging in shared visioning
- providing opportunities for transformational change
- serving as a catalyst for personal growth and change
- raising awareness and enhancing sustainable livelihoods
World centric/Respect:
- showing respect for people, nature and all living things
- keeping in mind we all live under ‘one sky’
- working as “weâ€
Collaboration:
- working in global partnerships
- using strategic networking
- developing multiple leadership
History:
Mike Simpson founded One Sky to foster a global perspective on environmental and social issues with a particular emphasis on the links between the developing world and Canada. One Sky explores and promotes practical solutions and appropriate technologies for our environmental, social and economic challenges.
We started One Sky in the year 2000 in Smithers, BC to form an international partnership with Sierra Leone. We’d been inspired by the partnership work of the Gaia project of the Sierra Club of BC, by the hands-on approach of the Fallsbrook Centre in New Brunswick, by the successful youth outreach of Lifecycles in Victoria, BC and by the philosophy of the Centre for Appropriate Technology in El Salvador. A visit to Sierra Leone in June and July, 2000 started the process and One Sky has continued ever since.
Young Canadians wanted for challenging journey’s overseas. Small wages, hard work, constant difficulties. Personal fulfillment and self-discovery guaranteed.
Building on the success of our previous programs, One Sky is offering six internship positions for 2008/09. Positions are available in Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Mali, and Peru. Follow the link for further details about the 2008/09 internship postings. Please note some of these are restricted by CIDA criteria, but our Open Internships are not, for instance for an Open Internship you only need to be young at heart.
Internship Positions 2008/09:
1. Organic Agriculture Field Assistant, Sierra Leone
2. Ecotourism Development Assistant, Sierra Leone
3. Project Development Assistant, Cameroon
4. Ecotourism Development Assistant, Peru
5. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Specialist, Peru
6. Renewable Energy Communications Intern, Mali
Benji Kamara gives an update from Sierra Leone on the Sowing a Seed project.
Hello All,
I woke up this morning by the heavy wind of Harmattan, hearing noises from the branches of the palm tree outside my bedroom window. The wind was fresh and cool. I love the harmattan season, it is a breezy season and it’s a good balance for the heat because it keeps you cooler when the sun is too hot.
The Sowing a Seed project is coming along positively in Freetown. Since I came Judah, Toesman, Bounamin and I have been meeting with teachers, head teachers and families to identify needy kids in different communities in order to give them the opportunity to go to school by paying school fees, providing text books, exercise books and uniforms for them. Among the kids that have benefited so far this year are 102 primary school kids and 50 boys from Cathedral Primary school benefited by providing text books for them.
Providing the text books for the boys was done on the advice of their head teacher Miss Koroma, who used to be my grade 5 teacher. She emphasized about the poor reading skills of the kids and how to empower them by providing reading materials for them; she also gives many many thanks to the people that are contributing towards the Sowing a Seed project in Sierra Leone and Canada.
Fifty girls benefited at my former elementary school, United Methodist Church Primary school in the eastern part of Freetown. Mr Francis Kamara, who used to be my grade 6 and 7 teacher, is still there at UMC and always happy for his former student Ibrahim Kamara bringing back to his school. It is amazing to see Mr Kamara’s face, he is full of joy and feeling proud for what we are doing and also making me feeling very good about my work.
18 secondary school kids have benefited so far. 13 of them are girls and among these girls 7 of them benefited from our programme last year. They are attending the Freetown Secondary School for Girls. 5 of these girls were promoted from Junior Secondary to Senior secondary. It is difficult for young girls to reach this level of education in Sierra Leone but these girls have committed themselves to continue their education and their head teacher Miss Davis said these girls have great potential. The support that we are providing for them is going to go a long way toward bringing them a brighter future.
I have more stories to tell when I come back!
Ibrahim Kamara (Benji)
For more on Sowing a Seed in Sierra Leone or to donate.
When it comes to raising funds, the local school kids of the Bulkley Valley seem to have the golden touch. In support of One Sky’s Sowing a Seed in Sierra Leone, Bulkley Valley school kids from Telkwa and Smithers have raised over $2,300. The project aims to provide eager students in Sierra Leone with the opportunity to attend school and who better to identify and support that cause than our own school-aged children. Smithers volunteers were also active at craft fairs during the holiday season to promote the project, raising funds and spreading awareness about the project, bringing in close to $3000! The grand total fundraised as of December 18th is over $8000 - surpassing the total raised from last year and still a week left until Christmas.
Our volunteers in Freetown have been making contact with elementary and secondary schools in Freetown to identify students to support, and following up on last year’s students. The school fees will be paid in the new year, when school resumes after the Christmas holiday. Benji and the team in Freetown have been putting a special emphasis on supporting girls again this year, particularly in junior and senior secondary schools where the level of attendance by girls tends to drop significantly. The Freetown team have also decided to support some post-secondary students in technical vocational training - nursing and trades primarily. This will also include paying fees for the volunteers there for their own schooling, so that the ripples will spread out in them being able to support their own families.
We will send out an update on how many children are supported likely at the end of January, beginning of February...as the donations get bigger, so does the task of spreading it out throughout Freetown! Our main emphasis is to make sure the money gets spent effectively where it’s needed most, which takes time.
A big, big thank-you to all of the volunteers who contributed their time and enthusiasm to the Sowing a Seed project. What a great Christmas present you have all given to school children in Sierra Leone!
Job Posting
Energy Programmer
November 8, 2007
Are you interested in working for a young, ambitious, fast-moving non-profit organization? Are you interested in sustainable living, the environment, leadership, international cooperation and human rights? Would you enjoy living in a small town nestled in the Northern coastal mountains of B.C. with spectacular wilderness opportunities? Would you enjoy being plugged in to the exciting world of renewable energy, energy conservation and climate change?
One Sky is looking for a full time energy programmer to help us run a public engagement program targeted at B.C. municipalities and the reduction of local energy footprints leading up to the Vancouver Olympic Games. There is a strong possibility of an extension into a related job position after one year. We are looking for someone with strong project management skills, media and public relations skills to assume the responsibility of coordinating this project for up to 22 BC communities. We require someone with experience in both domestic and international energy related issues who is willing to explore alternative philosophical approaches and models to both environmental sustainability and international cooperation. At One Sky we enjoy exploring the nexus between theory and application. We are keen to humbly and enthusiastically try new concepts yet we also recognize the complexity of the subject matter. Candidates who are convinced they know how to solve the world's energy dilemma (if we just do this or just do that) need not apply. In a similar vein we are not looking for candidates with a particular technology to promote. We are looking for a project manager with enthusiasm for the subject matter and an open mind. We need someone with a sense of humour, with a sense of purpose, who is good with narrative and financial report writing, is able to discuss energy conservation and renewable energy production, is able to speak about energy efficiency policies to local governments and practical applications to home builders, and can see how important it is to run a non-profit efficiently, professionally and ethically.
You will join a qualified and dedicated team working out of our own sustainable office building. If you care that your computer is powered by solar panels, the office hot water is generated by the sun, that there is a bicycle program operating in the backyard and if it matters to you that we recycle, that we run a resource centre and that visitors come to talk about energy issues almost daily, and if it does not bother you to be interrupted at work because our internship program is running a leadership and conflict resolution workshop (just when you were hoping to get some books done) and finally if you noticed that this is a run-on sentence and you are squirming to fix it this might be the job for you.
However, you will need to be qualified because we run a demanding environment! People love to work here and we are proud to run a tight ship with meaningful results. While it is true that we close shop when there is more than 20 cm of new snow (so everyone can go skiing) and we encourage people to lead balanced, healthy lives, we are also a highly motivated team that manages close to a million dollars of programming every year in some of the most demanding places and environments in the world. We work in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mali, Cameroon and Peru. We facilitate several networks and run local energy, food security, internship, and leadership programs. At times you will wonder how it all gets done and it will make sense to you that we needed to hire someone skilled, intelligent, dedicated and fun to ensure that the many energy related projects we have are properly resourced, managed, evaluated and promoted.
If you intend to apply, don't be modest! The competition can be intense. We read cover letters, we look for details and we search for soul as well as technical capacity - you will be an important part of a team that cares about each other and cares about the world. We will be looking for hard skills but we are not spring chickens when it comes to the desire to work with good people. Expect to be asked questions about your personality type, why you really want to work on sustainability issues and what keeps you busy in your spare time. Life is short - this is not just a job, it is a perspective on the world. The pay is not great and probably never will be but the hometown is outstanding, the One Sky community and work has meaning and you will be challenged on many fronts to perform. It is a job with heart.
You will be supported in your work yet have an enormous amount of independence and decision-making regarding a rapidly evolving project on the issue of renewable energy and efficiency. Sound interesting? To apply you must:
This is a full time position for a one-year contract with potential for renewal. The salary is commensurate with experience. To apply send us a resume or C.V. and a really good covering letter explaining who you are, why you want to work for us, why you are interested in living in Smithers, what you do for fun and anything else pertinent that might make us want to interview you (do not limit yourself to one page!). Send your application to . Unfortunately, due to the large volume of applications that we receive, we will only get back to you if you have been selected for an interview.
The deadline to apply is December 3, 2007.
The position will commence January 15, 2008
For more information on One Sky visit our new website at http://www.onesky.ca
November 8, 2007
Are you interested in working for a young, ambitious, fast-moving, non-profit organization? Are you interested in sustainable living, the environment, leadership, international cooperation and human rights? Would you enjoy living in a small town nestled in the Northern coastal mountains of B.C. with spectacular wilderness opportunities? Would you enjoy being plugged in to an exciting world of international travel and international projects that range from working in West Africa and Peru to working on leadership development with young social change agents?
One Sky is looking to replace our program director for a period of one year while she is on maternity leave. There is a strong possibility of an extension into a related job position after one year. We are looking for someone with strong project management skills to assume the responsibilities of several international projects (Peru, Sierra Leone, Nigeria) as well as oversee our domestic and local programming including an internship program. We require someone with international project experience who is willing to explore alternative philosophical approaches and models to both environmental sustainability and international cooperation. At One Sky we enjoy exploring the nexus between theory and application. We are keen to humbly and enthusiastically try new concepts yet we also recognize the complexity of the subject matter. Candidates who are convinced they know how to solve the world's dilemmas (if we just do this or just do that) need not apply. Candidates with a background in integral theory or experience with applications in integral sustainability are particularly encouraged to apply. We need someone with a sense of humour, with a sense of purpose, who is good with narrative and financial report writing, is very capable in cross cultural communication and can see how important it is to run a non-profit efficiently, professionally and ethically.
You will join a qualified and dedicated team working out of our own sustainable office building. If you care that your computer is powered by solar panels, the office hot water is generated by the sun, that there is a bicycle program operating in the backyard and if it matters to you that we recycle, that we run a resource centre and that visitors come to talk about energy issues and if it does not bother you to be interrupted at work because our internship program is running a leadership and conflict resolution workshop (just when you were hoping to get some books done) and finally if you noticed that this is a run-on sentence and you are squirming to fix it this might be the job for you.
However, you will need to be qualified because we run a demanding environment! People love to work here and we are proud to run a tight ship with meaningful results. While it is true that we close shop when there is more than 20 cm of new snow (so everyone can go skiing) and we encourage people to lead balanced, healthy lives, we are also a highly motivated team that manages close to a million dollars of programming every year in some of the most demanding places and environments in the world. We work in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Mali, Cameroon, Peru and El Salvador. We facilitate several networks and run local energy, internship, and leadership programs. At times you will wonder how it all gets done and it will make sense to you that we needed to hire someone skilled, intelligent, dedicated and fun to replace the person who dreamed much of this up.
If you intend to apply, don't be modest! The competition can be intense. We read cover letters, we look for details and we search for soul - you will be an important part of a team that cares about each other and cares about the world. We will be looking for hard skills but we are not spring chickens when it comes to the desire to work with good people. Expect to be asked questions about your personality type, why you really want to work on sustainability issues and what keeps you busy in your spare time. Life is short - this is not just a job, it is a perspective on the world. The pay is not great and probably never will be but the hometown is outstanding, the One Sky community and work has meaning and you will be challenged on many fronts to perform. It is a job with heart.
You will not be inheriting faulty programs and we are not looking for someone to rescue anything. You will be supported in your work yet have an enormous amount of independence and decision-making. All of the current programs are up and running and have institutional history. We run a fiscally sound shop with a refined set of books on par with the best non-profit, financial systems out there. Our funders have independently audited us, we undergo an annual financial audit and we have a discerning board of directors with an experienced executive director. Sound interesting? To apply you must:
Be a nice, friendly person whom we would like to work with everyday and whom we trust to represent our philosophy and organization in a variety of contexts locally, nationally and internationally.
Be able to think outside the box.
We like the idea of diplomas and degrees in environmental studies, international development or related studies but what really matters to us is can you run a project- and can you prove it through experience?
Be confident and capable with confusers, the usual software, e-mail and the internet.
Background in integral theory an asset. Spanish is an asset and any experience in West Africa or Latin America would be an asset.
Be eligible to work in Canada and in excellent physical and mental health in order to travel and work in other countries under demanding conditions.
You have experience in managing budgets cumulatively totaling several hundred thousand dollars in non-profit environments where we wring every last penny out of a dollar spent. You have demonstrated solid relationships with funders including strong narrative and financial reporting skills, and establishing new funding relationships. You are committed to achieving project deliverables at the highest possible standard and are willing to go the extra mile.
You value and are good at building relationships with diverse groups of people, whether with community members in Smithers, BC involved in a local food security project, farmers in Sierra Leone, project officers in the Canadian government, or low-income people walking through our door looking for a loaner bike for the day.
You have great people management skills. You can balance a need to get results with mentoring interns and giving them room to learn through experience. You are willing to sit down and help a young person find their path without telling them what to do. You are enthusiastic about mentorship and innovative approaches to leadership development.
You are used to working under strong leaders, and can find a balance between expressing your opinions and listening to the opinions of others, taking guidance and integrating your own experience, skills and knowledge. You are comfortable both receiving and giving feedback.
This is a full time position. The salary will be commensurate with experience. To apply send us a resume or C.V. and a really good covering letter explaining who you are, why you want to work for us, why you are interested in living in Smithers, what you do for fun and anything else pertinent that might make us want to interview you. Send your application to . Unfortunately, due to the large volume of applications that we receive, we will only get back to you if you have been selected for an interview.
The deadline to apply is December 7, 2007.
The position will commence January 15, 2008
For more information on One Sky visit us at http://www.onesky.ca
One Sky is pleased to announce the launch of its new website! As One Sky has expanded, so our website has had to grow and expand. We’ve revamped the website based on the theory of holarchy...don’t worry, it’s not essential to read or understand the theory in order to use the website. All you need to know is that we’ve put an emphasis on YOU in our website design, providing clear information on the many ways that you can get involved in One Sky. The new website not only showcases our new projects like the Energetic Olympics and Peru Mapacho River project, but also builds upon the success and accomplishments of our ongoing and past projects like Sowing a Seed in Sierra Leone, the Cross River Environment project in Nigeria, and our very popular CIDA-funded Youth Internship Program. Stories from the field and photo galleries help bring our projects to life, in Canada and internationally while the news and events sections let you know the latest of what’s happening in the world of One Sky and ‘beyond’.
As part of our website launch, we are initiating a membership drive...our aim is to sign-up 100 new One Sky members as they come visit our new site. Please share the website with your friends and colleagues who may be interested in joining us or learning about our mission to ‘promote sustainable living globally’. One Sky is an organization made up of many individuals; we also work in partnership and networks that make us part of an even greater global movement toward sustainability. However, it all comes back to one person - you - and that is where it all begins. So take a walk through the new website and see how you’re part of our picture.
Special thanks to bc designworks who developed the amazing new One Sky website you are looking at. A website this complex is outside of our budget and they kindly offered a stiff discount. We could not have done this without you!
Sowing a Seed in Sierra Leone re-launches in 2008!
Give the gift of education this Christmas. Make a donation to the “Sowing a Seed” project in the name of a friend or relative this Christmas season, and see what the spirit of giving can really accomplish!! Your donation of $25-$100 will pay for school fees, uniforms, books and exam fees for eager students in Sierra Leone.
Sowing a Seed will be coming to Smithers craft fairs - Smithers Secondary Craft Fair and 10,000 Villages at Muheim on November 16 - 17th and WinterGold on November 23 - 24th.
Learn more about Sowing a Seed.
One Sky’s project coordinator, Kristin Patten, travels to Terrace on Friday October 26th to speak with youth at the Global Youth Forum, put on by Terrace’s Rotaract Club. Kristin will engage youth in interactive activities that illuminate global distribution of our natural resources and challenges of sustainability, and show slides of One Sky’s work enacting solutions at home and overseas. Youth from Smithers, Terrace and Prince Rupert will attend this inaugural event - a great opportunity for youth from BC’s northwest to learn more about global issues and how to engage in positive actions. Other speakers include Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen, CIDA’s Joe Knockaert, and representatives from the Terrace Rotary Club and Youth Challenge International. It promises to be a great event!
Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
There are over 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds. As signified by the motto Service Above Self, Rotary's main objective is service in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world.
Hillary Gladish and Tricia Kapelari recently made a presentation (summer, 2007) to the Smithers Rotary Club while Michael Simpson, the executive director, was recently asked to speak on Sept 11, 2007 at the St. Helena Rotary Club by Beverly Davies-Mes and Servaas Mes of the Somatic Health Centre. This led to two more presentations in the Napa Valley in California with the Napa Valley Rotary Clubs in October, 2007.
The subject of his presentation was entitled “The Boundary Between Self and Other” and was a philosophical overview of the why we work in service of “others” and how this is reflected in our views regarding human conflict. The discussion was central to the mission statement of Rotarians. Showing slides and telling stories from our work in Sierra Leone was well received by the Rotary Club members who asked many questions and had a lot of comments. Thanks to Servaas and Beverly for hosting us in the Napa Valley and facilitating these presentations. Thanks also to the Rotary Clubs of St. Helena and Napa Valley for their interest in One Sky!
is a nongovernmental organization located in northwest British Columbia near the proposed oil and gas fields of the Bowser and Sustut Basins. One Sky has been successfully working in the Niger Delta region of West Africa since 2002 on environmental capacity building with Nigerian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Our work in the Niger Delta, an area known for its volatility, has been noted by international institutions, the Nigerian government and independent reviewers for successfully building regional coalitions and cooperative working models among NGOs, communities, government and business. Known as a "Type II partnership", our efforts to develop solutions that include all three sectors of society in an integrated approach have met with considerable success despite Nigeria's reputation for conflict. Given our experience in the Niger Delta region, our working knowledge of Northern B.C. and our unique understanding of these two contexts, we have produced this report on the potential for resource conflict regarding the acquisition of Shell Canada by Royal Dutch Shell. The report includes recommendations for avoiding resource conflict in a potentially explosive region of Northern B.C.
Ten years ago, British Columbia was dubbed the "Brazil of the North" and an international movement to save its temperate rainforests emerged with such force and conviction that it resulted in the largest mass arrests and civil disobedience in Canadian history. Over eight hundred people were arrested, thousands took part in blockades, and valleys both fell and were protected in a "war of the woods". It left companies and shareholders shaking their heads, First Nations barricading traditional lands, environmentalists hanging in trees and the courts jammed with paperwork. The fight began over the coastal temperate rainforests of Clayoquot Sound, long considered to be the jewels of Canada's West Coast and quickly spread to include the whole B.C. coastline including the now protected "Great Bear Rainforest". For the companies it was a nightmare. Business as usual became business through negotiation. Nobody could have predicted the sophistication of the various players. Trans-border alliances were created, international media summoned via satellite and internet, and focused market campaigns initiated in Europe that left Canadian companies stunned by the global capacity of the "green" movement. The net result, a completely different way of doing business and a latent environmental movement capable and ready to fight.
British Columbia, unlike many parts of Canada, never signed treaties with the 27 distinct First Nations that have lived here for millennia. British Columbia is also relatively young with little over a century to have worked out a relationship with First Nations. At first decimated by disease and later devastated by the residential school system, British Columbia’s native population have only recently begun to recover from a federal legal framework that denied them access and control over traditional lands. But the era of building dams, logging forests and mining minerals without consulting First Nations came to an abrupt legal end in the 1990s with the Supreme Court decision regarding Delgaamukw. Located in the far north of British Columbia, adjacent to the oil and gas interests of Royal Dutch Shell, the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en First Nations successfully established their legal right to control their lands and resources. No longer under the overt control of government, First Nations now negotiate and do business nation-to-nation with Canada and the Province. The private sector has taken note and few business deals are broached anymore without first consulting British Columbia's First Nations.
Read more. DOWNLOAD the report >whengasexplodes_web.pdf
Celebrate eating food grown and raised from within our region by taking the local eating challenge. Today, ingredients for an average Canadian meal travel between 2,500 to 4,000 kms - a fact that not only contributes to climate change, but also compromises our local economy and food security. Discover the joys (and challenges!) of switching to a local diet for a day, week or month.
This year’s challenge will take place between August 27th and September 23rd, 2007. When you go to the sign up form (button below), let us know how long of a challenge you are going to do, and what percentage (if you're using exceptions).
Other than for a one-day challenge, the default exception for everyone is salt and oil (canola, sunflower, olive, etc). You don’t need to sign up for it. For any further exceptions, deduct 10%.
Finally, remember that for the purposes of this challenge, "local food" is defined as food grown, harvested, and processed within a 100 miles (160km) of your home.
Take the Pledge & FILL OUT OUR CHALLENGE FORM
See the 100 Mile-radius around Smithers,
or visit 100milediet.org to calculate 100 Miles around your home town.
Video on integral leadership for sustainable development in West Africa
