The Garage Sale to End All Others

Photo Credit: David Kawai, The Ottawa Citizen

It's back!!! The GREAT GLEBE GARAGE SALE!!!!

Okay I will be the first to admit that the items are overpriced; and the merchandise is sometimes questionable; and the road is long (with many a winding road); but come on, it's the GREAT GLEBE GARAGE SALE people! And although it is no Free Store, it has its redeeming qualities.

For those of you that are not in the know this is the premiere garage sale of the City of Ottawa. Not because it is the best, or because it has the best stuff, but because it is simply the largest. Yes you heard it right, this is the largest garage sale in Ottawa and therefore I contend that it is one of the green events that puts Ottawa on the map. And yes this is a contentious issue so allow me to defend my position.

1) The Sale is a massive event that basically covers all of the Glebe. This is great except that it limits people who would like to be involved in the selling but don't live in the Glebe. You can of course rent the lawn of someone who does live in the Glebe for the day but this might be a little intense for a chance to sell old junk.

2) The sale does have a component of fundraising for charities, like the Food Bank, but it is generally recognized that the majority of the people that are in it... are in it for their own personal profit.

3) The stuff being sold at the garage sale is an homage to the overconsumption of people that live in one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Ottawa. For some, the sale acts as a means to liberate some of the space in their homes so that they can buy more stuff; thus contributing to the vicious cycle.

Yeah yeah yeah, I get all that, but I also like the idea that the whole event can be a kick-ass opportunity to get the whole community together doing something that (whether they realize it or not) has positive environmental spin-offs. I also like that I get to see basically all my friends wondering the streets; because sooner or later you see everyone at the sale. And finally, I like the idea of getting the opportunity to do some walking around the City.

So, lace up your shoes, grab your rickety old shopping cart, make a scavenger hunt list of rarities and oddities for you and your friends, and... have fun cause that's what it is all about.

http://www.glebeca.ca/events/garage_sale.html

-jon

Last Dance

This is the experience of myself, at a place I never thought I would work (or more like being volun-told). This is also my first real blog that I have done, so go easy on the criticism eh?

I came late in the Katimavik Program and therefore did not get to experience life before the famous Dump-N-Run program that has brilliantly put in place by Jon and Brigitte; however I found the concept thoroughly intriguing. Getting people to donate (for them more like throw away) any old, used, or just unwanted things (whether it be clothes, books, bedding, bathroom accessories, dishes, electronic equipment, etc) instead of throwing it in the trash. So Eco friendly!!

There has been MANY an hour sorting through clothes, washing and folding sheets and towels, doing dishes (ugh those nasty dishes!!) nonetheless I have quite enjoyed myself! (I know, odd eh? The act of enjoying this slavery has even mystified myself) I’ve met numerous wonderful people that I do wish to keep in contact with, and see again throughout the course of my life.

No matter what anyone tells you (even themselves) Brigitte and Jon are two wonderful people to work for.

I dread the thought of going to work back home, for that is the awesomeness of these two! (if either of you two are reading this now, don’t let it go to your head tho haha)

Hmm what else to write?? Well, I suppose I can leave you with one last bit of wisdom: One persons trash is another’s treasure. Before you decide to throw out those clothes, give them to a salvation army, a thrift store, homeless on the street, or invite a bunch of friends over to do a clothes swap!

Take care of yourself !

Jerrica Thibeau, “Katimaslave” of 2010 J

All in a Days Work

Photo credit: czechmatediary.com

The weeks are flying by here, and somehow, the gigantic Dump&Run mountain of clothing, food, dishes and other miscellaneous items has nearly entirely been reduced to easy-to-donate boxes. There’s still some work to do yet, but we’re now heading out of the woods rather than trying to figure out how to dislodge ourselves from the brambles.

This past week, I had the opportunity to mention where I work to a lot of people I know, and ended up fielding a lot of questions concerning the bottled water ban. For the most part, the response was incredibly positive; however, regardless of their responses, I found that very few of the individuals in question were adequately informed of the logic behind the ban, and the extent (in all fairness, we are still working on the latter). The students have to be informed, or, as is the custom in large groups of poorly-informed people, speculations and rumours will come to be accepted as the norm, leading to a whole host of other issues to deal with in the future. In order to avoid this situation, and to have this ban be widely accepted, our next step is clear: we must create a more effective communication network for the next phase of this initiative.

- vedrana

Dump $ Run Fiesta

Hey again!

Yet another week wraps up here in uOttawa’s Sustainable Development office, and man, has it ever been busy. This week, we were sorting and folding up a storm to try and get all of the diverted waste from the Dump and Run organized and ready to be donated. There’s still a lot to be done, but we are leaps and bounds farther down the line than we were on Monday. There are clothes that need folding, dishes that need washing and a whole bunch of miscellaneous items that need a purpose (once we figure out exactly what they are, mind you). Our hopes are that we’ll have everything done by the end of next week, at which point there will be photos and videos aplenty to share!

It’s been a remarkable experience just seeing the sheer volume of items that we are diverting from landfills and knowing that deserving people will be getting some much-needed items to boot. At the same time, though, realizing that a lot of the stuff that’s being thrown out has never been used or worn is a bit disheartening. However, I’ll choose to focus on the positive side for now, and work on finding a solution for the negative one.

-vedrana

Hello All!

My name is Vedrana, and I’m one of the new students working for this wonderful office on campus. My first week has come to a close, and I figured I should just pop in to share my impressions of both working here and the University’s sustainable initiatives. I came into this position with only a basic knowledge of what was being done on campus, and was massively surprised to find out how little I knew! Over the course of five (well, six) days, I began to develop a much deeper understanding of what sustainability is and how I can play a part. Naturally, I bring this understanding and awareness back home to my family, in hopes of making my household more sustainable.

My summer goal is to make a drastic change towards the better in my home; in addition to the initiatives I will be both spearheading and assisting with on campus itself. If all of us were to take the time to educate our families and introduce them to simple steps to reduce their carbon footprint, we’d all be better off. With that said, the first major change introduced into my household last week was the elimination of bottled water.

We used to consume massive amounts of it, and though we recycled all the bottles, it was still a tremendous amount of plastic being consumed. It was tough getting my parents and brother to agree to do this (there were grumblings, complaints and sighs aplenty), but I made them realize that we would be helping save both our Earth and our wallets (roughly $250-350 a year!). I don’t doubt there will be struggles along the sustainability path, but with enough information, and the aid of batting eyelashes, change will come.

With that said, there will be many more exciting blog updates about campus projects and “Household Reform 2010” to come.

-Vedrana