Annual General Meeting Excitement!

Mark your calendars for Environment Hamilton’s Annual General Meeting, scheduled to take place on Tuesday, March 24^th, at 7pm at the Freeway Café, located at 333 King Street East at Wellington. This year’s AGM includes a fantastic keynote speaker, the launch of our Climate Change Action Campaign and an opportunity to hear about plans we have for new initiatives over the coming year.

Sustainability for the Jaded - Dr. Bob Gibson to speak at 2009 AGM

Environment Hamilton is pleased to announce that Dr. Bob Gibson will be the keynote speaker at our March AGM. Dr. Gibson is a professor of Environment & Resource Studies in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at the University of Waterloo. He will be speaking about sustainability for the jaded, in recognition of the fact that many communities (including Hamilton) have struggled with notions of sustainability but have failed to succeed in implementing meaningful plans. We encourage you to join us for Dr. Gibson’s talk on March 24^th.

Night Hike with Richard Reble

The 2 hour night hike last Thursday, Feb. 26 was attended by 16 enthusiastic hikers (including children and a dog!). It started at the foot of the escarpment stairs on Dundurn St. S. We hiked the Bruce Trail up to the mountain stopping to look at some historic sites such as the former Centre for the Insane!! (We learned it used to be a completely self -sustaining village, with a bakery, shoe maker, brewery etc)

As usual, Richard's hikes end with a pub stop. This time, the stop was the West Town Bar and Grill on Locke St. S.

Door to door Walk There! Blitz

Saturday, February 14th

About 10 volunteers went door to door in the Kirkendall neighbourhood with postcards promoting our new website mapping tool www.environmenthamilton.org/walkthere.
It was a lovely morning and we had a lot of fun!

Website urges you to walk more

Environment Hamilton project shows what's within reach on foot

Eric McGuinness
The Hamilton Spectator

(Feb 4, 2009)

Lots of people use Google Maps or MapQuest to plan a road trip.

Now there's an Environment Hamilton website for walkers.

The idea of Walk There is to make you think twice before jumping into the car for a short trip by showing how quickly you can walk to schools, churches, Tim Hortons or other places within two kilometres of home.

The web address is www.environmenthamilton.org/walkthere.

You enter your point of departure, then pick from a destination category such as movie theatres or hair salons, and the software will show you where they are within a two-kilometre circle. Click on one of the pointers to get the name, address and walking time in minutes.

Jarah West of Environment Hamilton said volunteers had "scraped" the list of locations from other websites and that it needs to be refined and expanded, so users are invited to submit additions and changes.

The Kirkendall neighbourhood in southwest Hamilton is the most complete so far, because Environment Hamilton has been working there for a year to encourage residents to walk more. There have been street-by-street surveys of what makes walking attractive or difficult; police workshops on safe walking and cycling; and a series of guided walks with themes such as history and food.

In demonstrating the website at Ryerson Middle School yesterday, West told students that walking more would make them healthier while helping reduce vehicle emissions that contribute to global climate change.

Cindy Gangoram, teaching about the value of setting goals, then invited the students to make personal commitments to walk more.

"Maybe you can't walk to school every day, maybe every other day, but you can set a goal, and the only person you can impress or let down is yourself."

West said she hopes the website will help people realize the grocery story is only a six-minute walk away, and knowing that, they'll think about walking rather than clearing snow off the car, putting on seatbelts and driving a short distance.

emcguinness@thespec.com

905-526-4650

local warming

Dave Braden gives a tour organized by E.H. of his off-the-grid house in Flamborough, Ontario on a snowy Sunday.

KNA Pedestrian / Cycling issues committee

January 12th 2009

Another very mobilizing, well attended meeting.

The KNA Pedestrian/Cycling Issues Committee were joined by Councilor Brian McHattie, Lorissa Skrypniak from the city's traffic planning department, Daryl Bender, who is the city's alternative transportation co-ordinator, as well as Lynda Lukasik from Environment Hamilton.

The focus of the meeting? Hearing and learning from these individuals about Traffic Management Plan reviews, Public Information Centres (PIC), City Hall, and what we need to know to influence public process and effectively participate in the democratic process in Hamilton.

Lynda was very helpful in referring folks to the regional Official Plan (OP). This document is one "that we need to be waving about," as Lynda puts it. It is being revised but it clearly outlines a vision towards a sustainable region that we need to be pushing.

McHattie made a very exciting suggest- 10% of the budget that funds consultants (for city transportation management plans) ought to be handed over to an NGO in the neighbourhood undertaking management plans and reviews. Grassroots folk have a different perspective than engineers will have since they walk the streets.

We have to let the consultants know that we want a face to face meeting at the next Public Information Centre (PIC).

In the case of the highly dangerous and highly debated intersection at Dundurn and Main St, the group has decided to talk to the local MPP to get the province involved.

Little piece about the jingle bell walk

Jingle Bells Promote Walking To School At St. Josephs
Ken Mann
12/16/2008

Students at a catholic elementary school in Hamilton literally had their bells on.

Over 500 strong, the youngsters at St. Joseph's elementary have walked with bells on their feet, as part of an event to support both physical activity and pedestrian safety.

Principal Flora Nordoff says they are one of many schools which have a problem with traffic congestion, in part because of the number of parents who drive their children to school in the morning. The school also brings students into the area by bus for its French immersion program.

Nordoff hopes that the Jingle Bell Walk, combined with other planned activities, will encourage students to make walking part of their daily routine.

http://www.900chml.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocalGeneral/Story.aspx?ID=1047146