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City launches online poll to select Barrie’s official bird

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                     City launches online poll to select Barrie’s official bird   (Barrie, ON) – The City of Barrie is looking to the public to help select Barrie’s official bird. Residents are invited to visit  buildingbarrie.ca/BirdPoll  to cast their vote for which bird should officially represent the City of Barrie.   The following short-list of birds were chosen by the Barrie Bird Friendly City certification team in consultation with  Nature Barrie :   Barred Owl Belted Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker Pileated Woodpecker White-breasted Nuthatch American Goldfinch Red-winged Blackbird   To read descriptions of each bird and vote, visit  buildingbarrie.ca/BirdPoll . Voting ends on March 31, 2024, and the City will reveal Barrie's official bird on World Migratory Bird Day (May 11, 2024). 

World Migratory Bird Day's Slogan id "Protect Insects Protect Birds"

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  World Migratory Bird Day's Slogan for May 11, 2024 is “Protect Insects Protect Birds.” The State of the World’s Birds Report released every 4 years shows globally 49% of bird  species are declining and 1 out of 8 is threatened with extinction! And, most of the decline has been by birds that depend entirely on insects. Terrestrial birds that rely mostly on insects for their food sources have declined by an astounding 2.9 billion in the last 50 years. And it turns out that the birds that do not rely on on insects for their main food sources have actually gained by 26.2 million! Birds provide us with more than a dozen benefits! One of the most important ecological benefits of birds is the fact they play a huge role in the regeneration of forests. When they fly here and there, the tree seeds they have eaten are dispersed through their droppings. The fertilizer from the poop helps new tree saplings to grow. It turns out, birds are the very best animal

This Week Is Kindness Week

  This Week Is Kindness Week Be kind to yourself.  Be kind to others.  Be kind to all wildlife. Be kind to Mother Earth. Kindness cost nothing. Kindness is contagious. You can be a carrier. You can easily spread kindness.  Let’s start a kindness revolution.  Let’s hope it turns into a global pandemic. 

I no longer buy or eat shrimps, so I can save lives. Can you connect the dots?

  I no longer buy or eat shrimps, so I can save lives. Can you connect the dots? The coastlines of more than 80 countries around the world contain vast stretches of tropical forests known as mangrove swamps. The mangrove swamps offer an excellent defense against hurricanes and cyclones. Unfortunately, countless mangrove swamps have been destroyed to create huge shrimp farms. In 1999, when a super cyclone hit the coast below West Bengal, where the mangrove swamps had been destroyed, more than ten thousand people were killed and 7 million were left homeless. The villages located near the country’s second largest mangrove swamp reported no deaths. The mangrove swamps had protected them from the deathly cyclone.  

Greening Your Christmas

  Greening Your Christmas stop buying non-recyclable wrapping paper printed with petroleum based inks and dyes use wraps made out of recycled paper use a gift bags that can be reused many times over and over again Use materials from around the house such as old wall paper, the Sunday comics, old fabric etc. more than 300 000 trees are felled each year to produce all the holidays cards sold in North America to save money and trees send e-cards instead of paper cards, check out www.hallmark.com , www.Americangreetings.com , www.bluemountain.com make your own cards from recycled materials if you are determined to send cards choose cards made from recycled paper and that benefit non-profit organizations hometown.aol.com/naturecards/page1.html to save on fossil fuels support your local artisans by buying local arts and crafts look for stores that sell gifts made from recycled materials rather than

DON'T TREAT MOTHER EARTH LIKE A GIGANTIC GARBAGE BIN

 DON'T  TREAT MOTHER EARTH LIKE A GIGANTIC GARBAGE BIN On Sunday, October 15, the Barrie Garden Club ventured out on a dark, dreary, and drizzly day to pick up litter, along Highway 26 close to Wilson Avenue. As I was picking up all kinds of litter such as license plates, chairs, discarded clothing, plastic bags, lots  of cigarette butts, and a myriad of discarded coffee containers, I began to reflect on all the problems triggered by litter. Here in Canada, we are very lucky to have an organized system where most municipalities and cities  make sure that there are regular pick-ups for your garbage, compost, and recyclables. So it boggles my mind why so many Canadians do not use the readily provided containers, but instead  treat Mother Earth like a gigantic garbage bin. I simply cannot understand when someone buys a cup of coffee, they then go for a long hike, they  manage to carry the cup full of coffee, but the minute it’s empty, they simply cannot manage to carry  it back home a

Why We Should Curb Our Use of Bottled Water

Globally 0ver 200 billion bottle of water are consumed annully. A disturbing number of people in Ontario who had access to regularly inspected municipal water supply primarily drank bottled water. Many people believe that bottled water is purer and safer than tap water. Before buying your next bottle of water please consider the following facts: Some bottled water actually comes from municipal water supplies, so you are paying twice for the same water. The City of Toronto inspects its water every four hours. Bottling plants are inspected only once every 3-6 years! Some studies have found concentrations of arsenic and mercury in bottled water. Bacteria in bottled water can multiply very quickly when stored over long periods or exposed to intense heat. Our oil supplies are peaking and gas prices are sky rocketing, making plastic bottles for North America alone consumes millions of barrels of oil. Manufacturing a plas