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October 2000 Vol. 1, no 1

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Recycle those autumn leaves!

Each year, tons of leaves manage to find their way to the city dumps. At best, they are composted at municipal or private sites but costs are amazingly high. Meanwhile, many homeowners remain unaware that these leaves are one of the best foods for friendly earthworms to provide us with great humus.

The easiest way to go about this is to shred all your leaves through the lawnmower as soon as they hit the ground. Avoid waiting for them to pile up and operate several times a week if need be. In the end, it is far less work than picking them all up everything and stuffing them into plastic bags.

Too many leaves will choke your lawn so I suggest you spread them out onto your flower beds or keep them in bags near your composting bin, adding them in gradually later. Keep in mind that the secret to quick and odor-free compost is to always mix up brown matter (leaves, straw, etc.) in equal parts with greens & humid table scraps.

As a matter of fact, if you feel overwhelmed at this time of year, why don't you reduce the size of your lawn to make way for a shady corner garden? All you need to do is to add a thick coat of leaves onto your lawn to get rid of unwanted grass. In the spring, you may plant ground cover through the leaves.

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Environews

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Federal Government to take a stand on pesticides this monthFederal Government to take a stand on pesticides this month The Federal Government's official response to the report on pesticides made public in May by the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee is due this month. Honorable Allan Rock, Canada's Health Minister will be delivering on October 16. The report had recommended a ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides throughout Canada within five years (www.parl.gc.ca/InfoComDoc/35/2/ENVI/StudiesReports/envi01-f.html) Canadian families and environmentalists are setting their views on the government's will to value the health of people, wildlife and the environment ahead of political and economic interests. Contact�: Ms. Genevi�ve Tellier Health Canada (613) 957-0200 (telephone) (613) 952-1154 (facsimile) Honorable Allan Rock Ministre Health Canada [email protected]

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Calendar of events Expo Manger Sant� October 14-15, Coll�ge de Maisonneuve - Montr�al October 21-22, Coll�ge N.-D.-de-Bellevue - Qu�bec Natural foods � Organics � Ecology & Health CBC Market Place October 17, 8:00 PM EASTERN New Organic food trends & markets in North America http://cbc.ca/consumers/market/ CAP Municipal Affairs Committee October 19, 7:00 PM � 116 Cartier St., Roxboro Workshop on actions and strategies taken by citizens and professionals to lead to a pesticide ban in West Island municipalities � For more info, contact�: (514) 683-5701

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