What is sprouting from the Seeds of Change?

On March 28, 2009 I attended the Climate Change Innovation Symposium at the beautiful Aeolian Hall, London Ontario. All attendees were treated to an array of wonderful speakers in the morning, including Dr. Gordon McBean, Noble Prize recipient as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. What we heard from many of the presenters was there is still time to turn this crisis around. There is HOPE. The use of technology to connect through Skype to Montreal and Peter Brown, author of Right Relationship, Building a Whole Earth Economy, provided an added dimension to the symposium - although at times it was a challenge to stay connected.

Several of the workshops in the afternoon were presented by local organizations working in various disciplines towards a better world. These included Community Gardens, the Food Co-op, the Electric Vehicle, the Council of Canadians, Water Protection Committee, and many others.

Waste Free World provided a workshop on "Eliminating Waste: Are there sustainable solutions?" The response was that indeed there are and it mostly comes down to individual choices on purchasing practices and group/company choices on the types of products they make and sell. If we don't eliminate waste - the earth will require life support.

The response to this symposium was very positive and generated a great deal of discussion that will spill out into the community in unknown ways. Attendees were served a vegetarian meal on reusable dishes making this a Waste Free Event. More and more we are seeing the impact our small organization is having on the behaviours of individuals and groups when it comes to looking at ways they can reduce their wasteline.

This was a family event with activities for the children including building a birdhouse and a solar oven. Many seeds of change were planted at this event and as we move into the month of April and Earth Week it is most likely there will be many actions sprouting up around the city as testimony to the positive outcomes of the symposium.

The only regrettable note was that not one member of the media choose to attend this highly energized, educational session on the most crucial issue of this decade.