Justin is home in Sutton! Now I get to try things out.

Hi everyone,

This is a long overdue posting that I meant to write ever since I decided to finish my part of the tour. Yet it allows for more of an update of what I am doing these days back in Sutton and ideas of how what I have learnt from the PEDAL project can be applied to my life back home.

For a while on the tour I had this reoccurring thought that I was thinking more about home and Elm Grove Farm (a farming project that Kristi, Garrett and I had worked on in summer 2009) then the tour itself. Not that I was not enjoying the tour and all the wonderful things we were learning, I just realized that going across Canada was enough for me and that I was super excited to try all the cool technologies and sustainable practices that we were learning about and documenting.

We had not even reached the States yet, and we had found so much already!

Here's a bit about what I did prior to taking the train back home:

In Vancouver I was starting to think I had traveled as far as I was interested in going, however it seemed too early to turn around, also it felt a bit anticlimactic since we just arrived in western Canada after all that distance! It made sense to check out the west coast at least until Portland, which is sort of a goal for me to see sometime, due to it being an "environmently friendly city" says wikipedia!

So I went with the group to Vancouver Island, where we went to stay with Garrett's relatives, who were swell. One of the best things we did, after it was all organized, was take a ferry to Salt Spring Island, where we were able to connect with some environmentally minded folks. One place we visited was someone who used to live in a Yurt, and is now building a "hemp-bale" (instead of strawbale because of the amount of rain they have, hemp is better for moisture) house, plastered with natural clay, sand, lime and/or flax "goop". For lunch we met with someone who is involved with the transition community on the island, which is transitioning the island from using petroleum based living (gas powered cars, gas heated homes, etc.) to alternatives, like cycling and solar energy. Then after lunch we got to see a straw clay (rammed into forms) and timberframe house!

Also around Vancouver Island was some great cycling paths from the ferry in Swartz Bay to the city of Victoria, as well as in the city of Victoria. There was even a bridge that recorded as much as 800 cyclists traveling over in one day.

I also went on a nature walk/service activity with some people from the Baha'i community. We learned about  Garry Oak ecosystems which are becoming quite rare due to increasing building development on the west coastal regions. The ecosystem supports the Alligator Lizard (http://www.bcreptiles.ca/lizards/alligator.htm) which I had never expected to live there. We also worked on pulling out invasive species that were choking out the natural vegetation.

Also, Viera and I managed to attend the screening of The Clean Bin Project documentary movie. (http://cleanbinproject.com/) It was great to see because we saw Grant Baldwin and Jen Rustemeyer in Northern Ontario. What a cool project!

Anyways, I heard about super seat sales on VIA Rail from a friend, and then after doing some comparisons of time, money and reasoning, I decided to take the ticket from Vancouver to Toronto instead of continuing to Portland, Oregon.

I sent everyone off on the ferry to Washington State, the next day I took the ferry back to Vancouver and stayed with our friends Marena and Zach at their apartment. It was pretty weird being apart from the group! It was sure comfortable staying with Marena and Zach at the apartment! They also had some couchsurfer's staying too. The next few days I spent getting ready for the train, getting food, books and a game. I also baked a "butt load" of bread for the train and experimented with flax crackers, which turned out amazing.

Flax Crackers:
Boil ground flax until it is "goopy" and egg like or slimmy, depending on how you would like to describe its unappetizing texture! Mix some salt in for seasoning, just a pinch, depending on how much you are making. Then pour it thinly over an oiled baking sheet. Bake it at low temperature like 150 deg to 250 deg. It may take an hour or 2; as it dries out it will let go of the baking sheet, otherwise if you try to take it off too early it will stick. Be patient! If you are really into it, build a solar oven as well, these would do great in one of those and use zero direct energy in the process!

So the train was fun. The first stretch was in the dark because I boarded 8:30 PM in Vancouver, therefore missing the beautiful mountains of the west coast (thats ok I saw them by bike, haha).

I woke up in Kamloops, and briefly chatted with the people around me the night before. I was tired and stiff from sleeping on seats. The dome car was nice and warm for sleeping!

Most of the day I spent in the dome car meeting people and reading and looking at the mountains. We past by Mount Robson. I met a man from Northern Ontario who builds houses in the summer and cedar strip canoes in the winter. I talked with him a lot about construction and about the PEDAL project. He also lives in an off-grid home that uses solar panels!

I also met a man who was bit by a squirrel in Stanley Park in Vancouver, now he has 5 stitches on his finger, the same finger that he cut the end off a year before! He was fun to talk with, his wife too.

I also met a guy from the Navy who has reduced prices for the train and he was enjoying the scenery.

There was a young guy and his aunt who were transporting a female dog and her 2 puppies to Ottawa. He was working in Keremeos (which we bicycled through in the Okanagon Valley)  picking organic fruit in the summer! I helped them take the dogs out for a pee because they only had a short time to get them out, while the train stopped for passengers and fill up on fuel.

One evening a musician on tour and partnered with VIA Rail was playing in the lounge below the dome. She is from Guelph and named Ambre Mclean! Super cool person who I have watched at the Hillside Festival and plays amazing music. http://www.myspace.com/ambremclean/music/playlists
She used to play at "Manhattan's" on Gordon Street, in Guelph
My favorite piece is Me, My Heart & The Moon

It was great to see Canada the other way and by train. I also took 10 years ago with my family. This time it was cold and snowy, especially across the prairies!

When I came into Toronto I was quite disorganized, not having any phone numbers, cell phone or set time to meet anyone. Plus the train was 2 hours late.

So I hopped on my bike all loaded up, said some goodbyes to people I met on the train and headed up north to Sutton, which is where I am from. Wow! It is good to be free!

I had previously organized to get a ride with my brother Vince who was working about an hour north of the station and about an hour south of Sutton, but did not have his number on hand. I decided to drop by Kristi's parents in North Toronto (closer to Vince) and give them a "cough" surprise "cough". They were happy to see me, and I was able to connect with Vince as well. I updated them with the project and how things were going out west. I also got a chance to phone Kristi and Garrett who were out in Eugene, Oregon.

Now I am home and busy as ever. I cleaned up all my gear and bags and settled in at home. I have a lot of reconnecting to do with friends and find time to do all the things I would like to do.

We are building and rebuilding structures on Elm Grove Farm now. I am preparing my thoughts for farming in the spring. It would be good to start marketing things, like new pamphlets and perhaps a website. I need to think about what sort of crops to grow. How many people should I grow for? Would it be a good idea to look for a partner or 2? Do we have a space for people to stay, could they stay in tents? I would like to build a solar outdoor shower. The buildings are under construction, where will I store things? Where am I going to wash produce? Where are people going to park? Where am I going to sleep/stay/prepare food?

Many, many, many questions and more.

I am also working on designs for a yurt. I would like to try building a small temporary structure to live in for the summer. There are some cedar trees growing that were planted about 20-25 years ago to be used as hedge trees, now they are close together and tall and straight; good for building.

I also managed to connect with a friend who is building a house (conventional construction) near Lake Simcoe. So I have a paying job for now too. Although it is getting cold and snowy. The roof is also unfinished. Soon it will be closed up, so we can do inside and warm work. He is a Baha'i and hopes that it will be a home that can host community activites, for youth programs and studying, which is why it is a big house. It is great to work on a building that is intended to be used for the betterment of the world.

Now that it is snowy and cold outside I have to find inside things to do. What sort of sustainable projects can be worked on inside during the winter?

Happy reading!
Justin