Our newsletter is also available on our website in English and French

October 2009
Montreal is being Permablitzed!

Message to Members

Message from the President of the Board of Directors:
Coop la Maison verte held its Annual General Meeting last May and the newly formed Board of Directors have met twice since then. (The Board usually meets once a month except during June and July.)

1. We wish to thank Mr. Yves Saint-Pierre for his participation on the Board as a representative of the support members. His contribution was invaluable both as a member of the Board and as a member of the Liaison Committee. Due to growing professional commitments, Yves had to leave his seat on both the Board and the Liaison Committee.



2. We welcome Mr. Ira Salman to replace Yves. Ira has been a long time supporter of the Coop in countless ways, and he justly deserves this seat. We look forward to his contribution to the Board and the newly formed executive committee which will be closely following activities related to the purchase of the building.



3. I hope you will contact any of us with comments or any concerns you may have about the Coop. Please address your correspondence to any one of your representatives. They are:
   
   - Support Members: Karl Marcuse, Peter McQueen, Ira Salman
   - User Members: Jennifer Grier, Helene Mayer, Janis Warne
   - Worker members: Jason Hughes, Kurt Houghton
   

We are here to help make your Coop the best it can be.

Helene Mayer
President, Coop la Maison verte

Organic market: Zephyr Farm will continue selling local and organic produce every Thursday, from 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM, and Saturday, from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM, until the end of October.

Ferme Mange-Tout is now accepting registrations for its community-supported winter basket program. Organic baskets consisting of greenhouse greens and storage vegetables will be delivered to Coop la Maison verte every two weeks starting November 3. For more information, call Dave Merson at (514) 942-8473.

Look Up gallery October artist: Lana Hensel

If you missed last month's Ottawa ACORN book launch, you can still buy a signed copy of Citizen Wealth, written by ACORN founder, Wade Rathke, at the Coop. Book sale proceeds will go to the Ottawa ACORN.

Nettoyeur Royal NDG, the subject of the recent Eco Logic article entitled NDG dry cleaning goes green: Local entrepreneur irons out the eco-wrinkles from a toxic industry, is located at 5866, Sherbrooke W and 5956, Monkland Ave.

Thanks to: Émilie Carignan (translation), Geneviève Tardif (translation) and Katerine Grandmont (revision).

The Coop would also like to thank Rémi Carmes, a dedicated intern from France who worked tirelessly to add products to our online store this past summer.

Volunteer opportunities: our search for contributors to our Eco Logic blog continues. If you are interested, please contact Franco Boriero at newsletter@cooplamaisonverte.com.

Please note that the Coop will be closed on Monday, October 12, for Thanksgiving.

Events

To sign up for an event, please call or visit the Co-op. Unless indicated, events are bilingual and free. For more information, visit our website.

Eco Logic

Montreal is being Permablitzed!

By Edward K. Yersh

Permablitzes have arrived in Montreal. You would be forgiven for thinking that this is a new kind of Eastern European deli food. They're not. Permablitzes are a novel application of the principles Permaculture, a burgeoning global movement that designs and creates human habitats that are in harmony with their environments and sustainable in the long term.

Permablitzes are a one day event in which a yard, or any other space where people live, is transformed into an edible organic garden. An experienced permaculture designer works with the resident before-hand to create a design for their space. Using the Internet, volunteers are coordinated to collect the necessary materials, mostly recovered from the city's waste stream. The materials and labour being mostly free, permablitzes involve very little financial outlay.

On the day of event, volunteers show up in the morning and get to work implementing the design and transforming the space. People of all ages and levels of gardening knowledge are welcome to pitch in. Elements incorporated often include herb spirals, no dig vegetable gardens, water-catching systems, small ponds, composters, medicinal plant gardens, to name a few. New skills are shared and learned as permaculture concepts are demonstrated and applied. Community is built as curious neighbours stop by to find out what all the fun is about. New friendships are formed among the happy blitzers, and at the end of the day, after a shared pot-luck meal, it is not uncommon for musical instruments to appear and even more good cheer to break out.

Permablitzes began in 2006 in Melbourne, Australia, where Permaculture was developed. Newly arrived Montrealer Clarisse Thomasset, lived in Melbourne for some time and was actively involved in the Permablitz movement there. On arriving in Montreal in 2009, she hooked up with the Montreal Permaculture Guild and together they introduced the practice here.

As concerns about peak oil and environmental degradation are grokked by the mainstream, more and more people are realizing that our best chance is to produce for our needs locally. Concordantly, the permablitz movement has taken off all over the world with active groups now established throughout Australia, in France, Texas, Uganda and now in Montreal.

Asked about the first season of Permablitzes here Clarisse said, “Our first permablitz was in Ville-Émard. We took a typical grassy front yard and turned it into verdant food production site that now has the potential to provide a significant portion of the resident's annual food needs. Additionally, it is much more engrossing than a simple grass lawn. The diverse plant life attracts birds and beneficial insects. The street-fronting location encourages interactions with neighbours who are usually quite delighted to see just how much can be done with a simple front yard. Permablitzes restore biodiversity, and eliminate the use of synthetic petrochemical products. The aim is to create a balanced, self-perpetuating micro-ecosystem that satisfies basic human needs without requiring intense inputs of human labour. We let nature do most of the work. A permaculturalized site takes pressure off the global industrial system that is placing such a strain on our suffering planet.“

In 2009, three locations in Montreal were permablitzed. With your involvement, there will be even more in 2010. Here are some links to get you started:

Permablitz Montreal
www.permablitzmontreal.blogspot.com/

The Montreal Permaculture Guild
www.montrealpermaculture.org/index.php/Main_Page

Permablitz International
www.permablitz.net

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Eco Logic is a place for members to write or suggest articles about environment or community-related subjects. Email your ideas to newsletter@cooplamaisonverte.com

5785, Sherbrooke street West, Metro Vendome + bus 105 - call us! 514-489-8000