Letters – Our Readers Write: Winter 2016

Letters published in the Winter 2016 edition of In The Hills magazine.

November 22, 2016 | | Departments

Water Taking

The water imagery and words in the summer issue are lovely [“Where Rivers Rise”], but I was surprised that, in spite of the excellent emphasis on protecting our water, there was no mention of the huge amounts of water that Nestlé removes from our region (for next to nothing). This summer was especially hard to bear as Nestlé continued to remove millions of litres of our water daily, after their permit had expired, during a drought.

We in Hillsburgh have witnessed our springs dry up and our water levels drop. If we don’t speak up, share information and voice complaints to government officials, nothing will change. For those who may feel overwhelmed or hopeless about protecting our precious water, Wellington Water Watchers is an excellent resource.
Rochelle Rubinstein, Hillsburgh

The Region of Peel introduced new garbage, blue and green bins in January. Photo by Pete Paterson.

The Region of Peel introduced new garbage, blue and green bins in January. Photo by Pete Paterson.

Backyard composting beats green bins

While not wanting to weigh in on Peel Region’s new waste bins themselves [“Big Bins, Big Bother” autumn ’16], what concerns me is the big silence about backyard composting. From both your article and Peel’s waste web page, it’s as if no one composts on their own property or even contemplates doing that. All that Peel says online is “Composters are seasonally available at any Peel Community Recycling Centre for $21.85 (including taxes).” There are no information, tips or encouragement to compost at home.

It’s a good thing that Peel’s organics collected doubled in tonnage from January to March 2016 over the same period in 2015. But backyard composting, for those who have a backyard, seems to have been left behind in the dust – or more appropriately, the earth. A cynic might even suggest that backyard composting is being discouraged. It’s all about feeding the big green-bin machine.

I do buy compost from the Peel waste management site in Caledon and appreciate that it’s made available for such a reasonable price (3.5 cents per kilogram) – but on our property we use it only for flowers and shrubs. I can’t imagine putting that compost anywhere near our vegetables, because who knows what Peel residents are putting in their green bins as the basis for that compost? Peel Region provides no information online about the quality of their compost. That’s precisely why we have four backyard composters – because we’ll put on our vegetable garden only compost the quality of which is guaranteed – and that’s the compost we make ourselves.
Linda Pim, Inglewood 

Canines in the classroom

My husband and I are the puppy raisers featured in the article about COPE Service Dogs [“These Students are Going to the Dogs” autumn ’16] and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We thought that Gail Grant wrote it in an extremely compassionate way and yet was also able to showcase so many important elements of the program. We appreciated her attention to detail and desire to get the story right. She and a fact checker contacted us a few times to ensure that all of the information was correct.

In the classroom (bottom – left to right), Sheldon with Kaiko, Michaela with Winston, Hanna with Brandy, Hannah Claire, Alyssa with Luna, and Sukhmeni with Sunny take a moment to relax during a training session with the dogs. Photo by Pete Paterson.

In the classroom (bottom – left to right), Sheldon with Kaiko, Michaela with Winston, Hanna with Brandy, Hannah Claire, Alyssa with Luna, and Sukhmeni with Sunny take a moment to relax during a training session with the dogs. Photo by Pete Paterson.

The article is going to be an extremely important memento for the Canines in the Classroom students past and present, and will be invaluable in helping to spread awareness about COPE Service Dogs.
Lynn Acri, Volunteer Lead, COPE Service Dogs Caledon Chapter

Nine-Fifty?

Re: “Puzzling Conclusion – Creative Thinking in Stanley Park” [autumn’16]. I didn’t get the same answer as puzzle creator Ken Weber, but perhaps a more elegant solution?

letterspuzzzles

Always a good read.
Dave Pounds, Caledon

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