Natural Building Videos and Books:

Off-The-Grid House in Ontario Canada:
Earth-Bag Dome Houses for the World:
Earth-Bag Building Book that I LOVE:
Garbage Warrior Trailer:
Building With Earth: Earth-bag Dome Houses:
Humanure Composting Toilets:
Another great video on how to make your own simple composting toilet for cheap:
Uncompromising Ecological Architecture (part 3/12)
Why Build with Earth? Amazing:

350 World Action Day for Environmental Change- Please join in!

Here are some videos about the World Action Day for Climate Change. Millions of people all over the globe are uniting for this single cause and we want you to join in too! Look in your papers and on the internet for what actions are taking place around you and just show up! That's all we are asking- even if it's for half an hour, just be there to show support. Maybe make a sign or banner, paint your face like the planet, showing up counts.

We will be at Queen's Park tomorrow (October 24th) in Toronto at 2pm to rally for change. If you are in the city we may run into each other. See you there!

The Mad Cowboy Documentary- Really Good!

This is the cattle rancher who went organic vegan for himself, the environment and the animals. Awesome.
part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Make your own mesh bags! Easy!

Here's my solution for using plastic bags for bulk food and fruit etc: Make your own bags in no time out of meshy fabric! They weigh almost nothing, can be washed, used over and over, and take up no space in your purse or nap-sac! And it only took me a few minutes to make two of them. I'm going to make more though. 1. Just cut out the size you want (one long rectangle works best so that you don't have to sew the bottom). 2. Fold the long rectangle in half so both ends are touching, and then 3. simply sew a straight line up both sides. 4. Finish them off with a zig-zag stitch over what you have already sewn to strengthen the bag, and leave the top unsown (doesn't need anything). Go for it!

You can also buy them from places like Grass Roots (in Toronto), and other eco shops if you don't have a sewing maching (or if you're a bit lazy), but they're a little pricy if you ask me. But then again you are saving yourself from using plastic bags that never biodegrade... ever.

Garbage Warrior Movie Trailer!

Building houses out of tires, bottles and earth. This is a good documentary to rent or watch on-line if you want to see how things can be done differently.

The Shift Movie Trailer- Really Good!

How much plastic is in the ocean you ask?...

This will help all of us understand exactly what we're talking about when we say PLEASE CUT BACK ON PLASTIC. Humans have gone through many different ages - The Stone Age, Iron Age, etc., well this is the Plastic Age. I'm not even kidding. Everything is made of it.

I failed on the first day of my challenge to go a week without buying plastic anything, as I had to get buns for Josh's birthday veggie burgers, and didn't want to put them in the basket because it was dirty. I always bring fabric bags to put the groceries in, but the owners might think I was stealing the buns if I put them in before I paying...I felt so stupid.

I'll go out and buy some see through small fabric bags that I can take to the store next time. They are sold at different places in Kensington Market, throughout Toronto at places like Grass Roots, and of course on-line. Or make them yourself if you can. Maybe I'll do that tonight.

Cancer Inc.

Here are some interesting things we found out about Cancer Inc. ...oops, I meant to say The National Cancer Institute:

1. The pink ribbon campaign was originally started by a woman named Charlotte Haley, who used peach coloured ribbons as a protest against the National Cancer Institute for only spending 5% of it's annual budget of $1.8 billion on cancer prevention.

2. "The co-founder and major sponsor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is AstraZenica (formerly known as Zeneca), a British-based multinational giant that manufactures the cancer drug tamoxifen, the most widely prescribed breast cancer drug. Until 2000, the company was also a leading manufacturer of agricultural chemicals, including the carcinogenic pesticide acetochlor. When Zeneca created National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1985, it was owned by Imperial Chemical Industries, a multi-billion-dollar producer of pesticides, paper and plastics. The company was named in a 1990 lawsuit by the federal government for allegedly dumping DDT and PCBs into the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. After buying up cancer clinics around the country, Zeneca merged with the Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra in 1999 to form AstraZeneca, the world's third largest drug company." (quotation from the book Not Just A Pretty Face, Not Just A Pretty Face Website)

3. Here's the vegan connection:
Pesticide authority Lewis Regenstein writes:
"Meat contains approximately 14 times more pesticides than do plant foods; dairy products 5.5 times more. Thus, by eating foods of animal origin, one ingests greatly concentrated amounts of hazardous chemicals. Analysis of various foods by the FDA shows that meat, poultry, fish, cheese and other dairy products contain levels of these pesticides more often and in greater amount than other foods." (taken from the Diet For A New America Website)

4. Nixon declared the War on Cancer back in the early 1970's. The National Cancer Institute has raised billions of dollars since then with their 'walks for cancer', 'runs for cancer', 'bike for cancer' etc. and yet cancer is a more massive epidemic than ever before.


So what we've learned here is that The National Cancer Institute has created the cancer-causing chemicals, runs the treatment centers, spends millions of dollars a year on ad campaigns to get people to "walk for the cure", which raises billions of dollars for them, they've got control over the studies, and they make a huge amount of money from the drugs they manufacture for cancer patients. A perfect full circle. Do you think they really want to find a 'cure' for cancer and get rid of this massive cash cow? There are some great books out there, loads of studies, articles and information on-line as well. These chemicals are in everything we eat and drink, and put on our bodies, so let's educate ourselves about what's really going on. Awareness is everything.

RAWvolution, by Matt Amsden

Hi guys! I bought Matt Amsden's book, RAWvolution quite a while ago and I absolutely love it, so I thought I'd give you the heads-up if you haven't heard of it. Matt is actually from Ontario, Canada, but now runs a famous restaurant in California that attracts star power every day. His raw recipes are very flavourful, simple to make (for the most-part), and beautifully photographed in the book. He also gives us simple explanations as to why raw food is so important to our bodies.

I like the personal touches with photos of Matt on a tractor, doing a crazy yoga position and making a beach picnic for his wife. If you're in Toronto drop by Fertile Ground Environmental Books and pick it up (instead of going to Chapters/Indigo). I help out at Fertile Ground a few days a week and get to bring in any titles I like. And as we all know vegan lifestyle is definitely environmentally friendly, so we carry a range of vegan books.

The Environmental Effects of Consuming Meat

This video I found really explains, in clear terms, why eating meat contributes drastically to the problems of environmental damage and food shortages for people around the planet. Have a look.

Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating

This is a book everyone should read as far as I'm concerned. I'll read you the back cover...

"Is your food safe? What the biotech industry doesn't want you to know... This explosive expose reveals how industry manipulation and political collusion - not sound science - allow dangerous genetically engineered food into your daily diet. Company research is rigged, alarming evidence of health dangers is covered up, and intense political pressure applied.

Chapters read like adventure stories:

-Scientists were offered bribes or threatened. Evidence was stolen. Data was omitted or distorted.
-Government employees who complained were stripped of responsibilities, or fired.
-Laboratory rats fed GM crop developed stomach lesions and seven of the fourty died within two weeks. The crop was approved without further tests.
-When a top scientist tried to alert the public about his alarming discoveries, he lost his job and was silenced with threats of a lawsuit."

Read it for yourself. A book by Jefferey M. Smith.

Wind Power: Renewable Energy for Home, Farm and Business... by Paul Gipe

This is a photo i took on the way back from Thunder Bay of a huge field filled with wind mills. You can't really tell from the picture but there were dozens of them in two fields.

We just got a book in the store that, those of you who are interested in exploring wind power, might want to seriously have a look at. This is the completely revised and expanded edition, and it goes into great detail about actually setting up wind power systems yourself. I haven't read it yet, but it looks like the most comprehensive book I've seen on the subject from what I can tell.

Lyn winter hiking

Ok so it's the dead of winter now and we Canadians have to somehow deal with it. So put on your many layers and brave the cold months by hiking, skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing and/or skating. Once you commit to being outside it can become an enlivening experience.

Even if you can't get out of the city there are many places you can get to by TTC.

This deer stopped and posed for me!

I took this photo on the road trip we took to Thunder Bay. I had no idea that it was soooo beautiful up there! I could have sworn we were driving along the ocean on the east coast at certain points. Well worth the effort if you ever get the chance.
Canada has so much to offer in terms of diversity of landscape and wildlife.

Dave and Azy Got Married!

Congratulations! It was a wonderful ceremony at the Toronto Botanical Gardens with beautiful, fully vegan food to follow. Surprise everyone!- vegans eat really really well.

Blue Gold: The Battle Against Corporate Theft of the World's Water

Well I've decided to say a little blurb about different books I like in the shop from time to time.
This is part of the back cover of the book Blue Gold, The Battle Against Corporate Theft of the World's Water: (by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke):
"Water is our most important resource; we literally cannot live without it. And yet, in almost every region of the world, it is being used up faster than it can be replaced. Alarmingly, a number of transnational corporations are positioning themselves to profit from water scarcity and are taking ownership of a resource that should never be sold into private hands."

Blue Gold goes into the grassroots movements that are fighting for people's rights to fresh water, and how we can help, in one manner, by choosing not to support certain corporations.

This book has received much attention and has become an international bestseller, so it has been updated from it's original form. Read it and find out what's been going on for yourself!

THE HUMAN-POWERED HOME EVENT

Well we were really pleased that the event we put on with UTCARE (University of Toronto Coalition for Animal Rights and the Environment) was a great success, despite the fact that the wrong address was printed in NOW Magazine. Somehow people found their way there and enjoyed the presentation and talk by author Tamara Dean. It was the last stop on her book tour, so we really appreciated the energy she gave.

Michael, our neighbor from Chocosol fame, came and brought rich chocolate for everyone to sample, while he talked about his company's involvement with Pedal and the pedal power movement. Chocosol's beautiful and tasty products can be found at farmer's markets across the city, such as Dufferin Grove Farmer's market and the Car Barns. We were all happy to see Michael... and his chocolate!

Tahini Squirrel

Well today was interesting. Jeremy and I opened the back door and found a squirrel who had apparently dropped off of the garage roof and into a large white bucket of what looked like a plaster of some sort. Without thinking Jeremy tipped it over to release the poor thing that had been scrambling and clawing to get out for some time now. The side of the garage was splattered in white paste from the squirrel's frantic attempts to escape.

He sort of slithered off collecting leaves and dirt that stuck to his tail and body. We realized right away that it was a mistake to have let him go without rinsing him off because he would probably die if he tried to lick it. I grabbed the bucket and followed suit thinking I might be able to catch the little guy and give him a shower under the tap; but it proved much more difficult than expected.

Even though he was exhauseted and couldn't climb trees he was fast enough to evade my efforts. I ran up and down the alleyways and streets in the neighbourhood until he settled under an S.U.V, which I circled about four times, bucket in hand, before realizing there was a man inside who, by the look on his face, thought I was mentally challenged. I stopped and informed him that I was not a crazy person, that I was just trying to catch a squirrel with my bucket. I'm not certain if that assured him, as he slowly drove away without saying anything at all.

I noticed neighbours staring from their porches and decided to give up my mission. But then, holding up the bucket I noticed the lable...Tahini. Tahini!? It wasn't paint or plaster after all. It was a giant container used in the restaurant business. The squirrel purposely jumped into the bucket to have lunch and got stuck! All's well that ends well I guess. What a day.

Dave after I mopped the whole floor of the back office (sorry)

Earthbag Building

Here we have the lovely Lyn (me) pounding some earthbags into shape around a window form during my Earth Building Workshop with Chris Magwood. It's harder than it looks, but I learned a whole lot! I have been reading Earthbag Building by Kaki Hunter and Donald Kiffmeyer, which is the absolute best book on the subject I have come accross. Basically if you have this book you can build your own house for almost nothing! It takes you step-by-step through every detail, including costs and where to get your equipment. It is written with humour, and is very easy to understand for beginner builders because it's filled with photographs and illustrations along the way. Building an earthbag house in Canada would require an straw bale insulation layer on the outside, which would then be covered with a cob mixture and plaster... so my partner and I are working with an architect to design such a thing. We'll let you know how that develops.

We have a huge variety of Natural/environmental building books in the store so come in and have a look!

Lyn with her hands in the mud

Here I am applying a cob mixture to a straw bale wall during the workshop put on by Chris Magwood at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. He had another workshop specifically on straw bale building previous to this one, and we were finishing it off. It went very quickly and we had a blast! I will be doing more of this sort of thing in the near future because I want to learn as much as I can.

Earth Building Workshop!

Chris Magwood did a two day workshop on different types of earth building techniques that I went to (Lyn). Chris is the author of More Straw Bale Building and is a world leader on the topic, especially when it comes to building in our drastically fluctuating climate here in Canada.

Some of our great titles

We always bring a wide variety of books on different topics within the environmental movement. Oil, Agriculture, Enviro Building, Vegetarian/Vegan Books (yes, being vegan is better for the environment), Enviro Business, Green Living, Urban Planning, Technology, History, Global Issues, Food and Solutions are some of the genres covered.

Dave and Jeremy (the 2 genius owners of Fertile Ground)

Jeremy hides behind the animals at the Halton Ecofest, where we met a lot of really great people who were into natural building (my personal favorite subject). I'm in the picture trying to look as if I don't know my photo is being taken.

Lyn and the frog

This is Lyn (me). I found a giant frog and tried to kiss him, but he was less than responsive. I just wanted to show my love of animals (that's why I don't eat them). Dave and I are vegan...we're still working on Jeremy.

zucchini and beans grown from seed!

our veggie garden in front of the book store!

This year we are growing organic zucchinis, green beans, tomatoes, rainbow chard, kale and mint from seed. We're also growing some marigolds (which were all eaten by the squirrels!), but that's ok. Who knew they loves marigolds?

Imagine what it would be like if everyone used their yard and roofs for food production! Let's do it guys! I challenge everyone to plant some organic seeds before spring and then put them in the gardens you will create once the weather warms up. It's so easy. And... we have tons of books on the subject! To grow food on my roof in the building I live in I just planted the seedlings in rubbermaide-type bins with some holes drilled into the bottom, that I filled with organic soil (not very expensive at all). Next spring I'm going to grow a big one with lots of variety. Anyone can do this.

This is Dave (one of the two owners)