A great part about this weekend’s EPIC Expo was the diversity of exhibitors. From office products, to fair trade coffee, electric scooters, and bamboo underpants, EPIC pretty much lived up to its name. I really appreciated the Parks Canada display and DaveO had a chat with Coral over on the happy frog podcast. I stopped by briefly and noticed a large display featuring the Fisgard Lighthouse and Fort Rodd Hill.

The Parks Canada representative gave me some information about the National Marine Conservation Areas of Canada.

National Marine Conservation Areas, or NMCA for short, are marine areas managed for sustainable use and containing smaller zones of high protection. They include the seabed, the water above it and any species which occur there. They may also take in wetlands, estuaries, islands and other coastal lands.

Although they only currently exist in Ontario and Quebec, they are working toward incorporating two sections of BC coastal waters. The first in the southern Strait of Georgia and possibly another up north. However, determining a NMCA is a long process filled with feasibility studies and much-needed input from the population. The studies are expected to be completed sometime in 2008, which will allow the governments of the region to decide whether a NMCA would be practical and desirable.

The Strait of Georgia marine region is the smallest of five marine regions found on Canada’s Pacific coast, yet it is also one of the most productive. It includes a wide diversity of seascapes ranging from the fjords of Desolation Sound to the broad mudflats of Boundary Bay, and from the cloudy sediment plumes flowing from the Fraser River to the clear waters among the southern Gulf Islands. [Parks Canada]

Photo credit: neilbanas on Flickr

The second proposal for BC is the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. The 1470 square km area (part of The Queen Charlotte Islands) was made a BC Provincial Park in 1958 and a National Park in 1988.

The boundary between earth and ocean exists only on a map and the cycle of life in the diverse marine ecosystems of Gwaii Haanas encircles land and sea. Once the NMCAR is established, nearly five thousand kilometres of Gwaii Haanas will be protected. This will be one of the only places in the world where a representative area is protected from mountain top to the great ocean depths. [Parks Canada]

It’s pretty amazing what you can learn when you stop to talk to the good folks who make appearances at these exhibitions. Sure, the Parks Canada booth didn’t have free samples of coffee, wine, organic beer or vodka, but it was truly something I was interested in and I learned a lot just by stopping in for those few minutes.

Photo credit: neilbanas on Flickr

As a bit of a post-mortem since the EPIC Expo is now over, a huge thanks to happy frog (and our crew-chief DaveO) for having us on their team this weekend. They were the official social media sponsors of EPIC and I think we successfully generated a lot of buzz, not only for happy frog but for all the featured businesses and products we got to explore. You can check out all the content we churned out this weekend over on the frog blog.

This post was written for happyfrog at the EPIC Sustainable Living Expo

Here at the happyfrog.ca booth in the concourse of the EPIC Expo we’re blogging and podcasting up a storm. The show continues until 9:00pm tonight and will resume tomorrow from 10am to 5pm. You can’t miss this social media sponsor’s booth as we’re located directly in front of the entrance to the showroom.

Raul got to interview Adria Vasil for his first podcast EVER, which will be posted to happyfrog.

Everything you ever wanted to know about organic beer. Side note: It tastes great, the lager, the pale ale, and the lager… and the pale ale again…

Photo credit: DaveO on Flickr

Big shout out to Salt Spring Coffee for allowing DaveO to borrow a thermos of caffeine to keep us going.

This post was written for happyfrog at the EPIC Sustainable Living Expo

At this time yesterday Mike Holmes was in Toronto redoing a roof and getting a sunburn.

Although we can’t control our flip flopping weather in Vancouver, this city was sure grateful for Mike’s appearance. I had the chance to take some notes during his presentation although my blog post simply can’t express the passion and commitment this man emits, but I’ll try.

Over 7 seasons the TV show Holmes on Holmes has helped over 100 families, 365 days a year often working on 3-5 projects at a time. Mike announced that the final episode of the show will air in June and after that he’s moving on to bigger things.

Going to the next level of homebuilding, Mike’s new show Make it Right will see him in building houses in New Orleans and even heading to Africa to build 5 homes for children. Not only is he going international with the program, but he’s starting up a development company to make: “homes that will not burn down, fall down, blow down, will not mould, are totally enviro-friendly and ‘greener than green’.”

After we had been updated on various projects, and got over the sad news of the show’s ending (followed by the joy of knowing he’ll be spreading his knowledge across the world), Mike launched into his talk that contained so many energy-efficient tips I didn’t have the time to catch them all, but here are a few which he details as various “shades of green”:

Dark Green:

Mike shared a story about a local fire department that was asking him to help promote the use of sprinklers in buildings and homes. Unfortunately he couldn’t back their campaign, “why would I get behind something that would put more water into a house I’m trying to keep water out of?” - “build a house that won’t burn!”

Dark Green:

Lighter Shade of Green:

Even Lighter Shade of Green:

Mike used a few obscenities on stage and laughs them off, “I’m sorry, I’m a contractor!”. Other parts of the presentation were a little too technical for me, especially the explanation of a Thermal Break and Thermal Barrier. Gotta love those vapour barriers, folks.

Unfortunately too many homes are built to ‘minimum code’, and that won’t change until lives are lost. How often do you hear about 100 condos in a complex going up on flames? Minimum code needs to change - there is no reason why homes and lives need to be lost if things are built right.

After a long question and answer period followed by book signing, Mike was catching a flight out of Vancouver. His insights are appreciated and it’s nice to see someone with so much passion for the greater good who is thinking about the future its generations.

I wrote this post by request (although it was my pleasure) for the happy frog and EPIC expo blogs

The man behind the crusade for the honest homeowner is Mike Holmes, and he’ll be on the main stage at the EPIC Sustainable Living Expo this Saturday.

For the last seven seasons I’ve tuned into HGTV’s Holmes on Holmes to watch home renovation disasters be dismantled, torn apart, and re-done the right way.

“I was constantly being hired to do renovations a second time. I had to constantly fix bad work done by other so-called contractors. I hated doing things the second time and I hated the toll bad renovations took on families. Sometimes families spent their life savings trying to create their dream home and instead ended up with no occupancy permit…or a home full of mould…or a dirt foundation…or ice dams on the roof…or crumbling stucco. You name it, I saw all sorts of screw-ups.” [Holmes on Holmes]

The ultimate goal of Holmes on Holmes was to teach people to hire a reputable contractor to complete their projects. I admit, there’s no phrase uttered in Canadian television today that gets me more excited than, “we’re going to gut it!” Sledgehammers and crowbars in hand, the Holmes crew take their time, and bring in the right guys for the job. Showing up fully prepared for a challenge, full of Tim Horton’s coffee, some of the contractors and specialists who arrive on scene donate their own free time to help out the cause of the day.

“Trades people are absolutely critical to society but don’t always get the respect they deserve.” - Mike Holmes

© Holmes on Holmes

Despite the amazing contributions by the Holmes on Holmes crew - arming homeowners with the knowledge they need to avoid devastating damages, financial woes and even court appearances with shoddy contractors - Mike felt that this was still too ’small scale’. Kicking things off with the “Lien on Me” project in 2006, the Holmes Foundation was born.

The mission of The Holmes Foundation is to ensure that all residential renovation and construction in Canada is done right–the first time.

The Holmes Foundation will do this by partnering with schools, businesses and governments to raise the profile and reputation of all skilled trades in Canada, using Mike Holmes’ reputation to encourage young people to pursue careers in the skilled trades and to encourage employers to hire them. [Holmes Foundation]

Not only does Holmes ensure the job is done right, he also uses innovative energy efficient and sustainable methods in his homebuilding. His environmentally conscious efforts and unsurpassed expertise make him an innovator in his field. Also, it looks totally cool on TV when they’re applying that enviro-friendly spray foam insulation.

I’ve been a fan of his for years, even his coffee commercials made me chuckle, and I truly look forward to catching his talk this Saturday at 1:00pm.

I was a fan of the Amber Ale, while Keira leaned more toward the Lager. NatureLand Organic Beer is Canada’s first organic beer, pumping out two lovely samples of their 5% brew at the Green Living Show this weekend.

This Gold winning Ale has been recently introduced to the British Columbia market. This unique beer is certified organic by the OCIA - Organic Crop Improvement Association. NatureLand Organic Ale is brewed with 100% organic two row malt, 100% organic Hallertau Hops and the pure spring water from the pristine Caribou Spring. All ingredients are certified organic including the water which is sourced through a certified organic process. [Natureland Organic - Amber Ale]

A division of Pacific Western Brewing, responsible for the likes of Pacific Pilsner and Canterbury, NatureLand is pretty darn tasty.

We exchanged some banter with the booth dude about the naming of the brand and it as suggested that it may not be the most “macho” pint to ask for at the sports bar, but that’s probably the only minor deterrent we could spot. They are selling the Lager and Amber Ale in the food court region of the event as well as the free supply of samples on tap on the showroom floor.

This post is also available on the happyfrog Frogblog

Upon first inspection this looked like a booth that promoted some lovely soy candles, but it was actually more than that. The soy candles, that come in many delicious flavours like oatmeal (that made Keira smell like cookies), cucumber melon, root beer, peaches, tangerine pina colada, and strawberry banana also serve as a skin moisturizer.

Photo Credit: Keira-Anne on Flickr

As the candle melt the “wax” actually becomes an oil. Simply dip your finger into the oil and rub it on like you would hand or body lotion. It doesn’t leave a greasy residue and the soybean oil is actually better for your skin as they are pure grade essential oils. Also the wicks are cotton, containing no lead, and the candles last longer (3 times longer than paraffin candles) producing less soot.

All in all these soybean candles smell delicious, providing aromatherapy and a smooth skin - my hands and arms still smell like pina colada as I type this. Mmm - mmm!

Unfortunately this particular company does not sell their products in stores, they simply do the trade show circuit and provide products for fundraisers so if you like what you see be sure to take advantage of the Green Living Show sale.

This post is also available on the happfrog Frogblog

Tonight I attended the Green Living Show with the lovely Keira-Anne. We got free samples, test drove assisted power bicycles and rubbed some lovely soy and coconut oil all over ourselves. I’ll be writing more specific booth/product reviews but for anyone who is planning on attending the event, here is a quick preview with freebies, swag, samples and showstoppers.

Where: BC Place (more info)
When: Friday, Feb 29 – 12 pm - 9 pm, Saturday, March 1 – 10 am - 9 pm, Sunday, March 2 – 10 am - 6 pm

When you first walk in at the field level of BC Place (make sure to pick up your free cloth bag), on your right for the first few aisles will be clothing and cosmetics, along with some food products like the organic (and 72% cocoa) dark chocolate samples provided by Whistler Chocolates. You’ll also come across some hemp and bamboo clothiers, and although their shirts and skirts look amazingly comfortable and are unbelievably soft to the touch, I’m not sure I can bring myself to pay $170 for a tank top (as noted at one booth).

You can get your skin hydration tested. Apparently my “arm” test was WAY above normal (which is good) and my “face” test was normal for hydration.

Back to the food, there’s a fair trade coffee company and samples of blueberry juice which is across from Natureland Organic Beer who graciously provided two rounds of samples to these here girls (more to follow in another post). Right behind the beer sampling is a children’s theater featuring Bobs and Lolo.

Around the corner Fetzer from Mendocino County, CA was also doing free wine tastings. Talking to their rep about their sustainable winery they sounded pretty impressive, from solar panels to bio-diesel powered equipment.

Be sure to also check out Manitoba Harvest Hemp Food and Oils, including hemp seed butter (like peanut butter) and hemp milk, although after the organic beer our stomachs didn’t take too kindly to this. There is also yogurt sampling, in which I did not partake since I’m not the hugest yogurt fan, and then free thin crust pizza at the Ocean Wise/Vancouver Aquarium booth.

In cosmetic land, Lush was handing out their “Sexy Peel Soap”, and Rocky Mountain Soap Company had a mini bar of Nature’s Treat Foot Butter for all. Toward the back of the showroom (opposite the entrance) you can test drive electric scooters and assisted power bicycles around a little track. Further along that wall you’ll run into “home improvement land” with flooring, insulation and cleaning products.

There’s some great stationary courtesy of Mr. Ellie Pooh (yes, paper made from elephant dung), cutlery made from potatoes, and what look like plastic containers made entirely out of corn. Side note about the cutlery, it’s endorsed by Mel Silverback whom you might remember if you watched NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”.

There is a food court area of sorts, although it didn’t quite soothe our craving for a hot dog, and next to that you’ll find “Scent with Love“. These are soy candles that can be used as a moisturizer when you dip your finger into the melted wax - or soy oil in this case (again, more to come in another post).

In the middle of the showroom there is a small “forest” refuge area, and at the North end of BC Place (near the theatre/stage) you’ll find more political/cause oriented booths where you’ll probably be asked to sign petitions and volunteer for campaigns.

All in all it was an enjoyable evening and everyone was eager to tell you about their product, hand out a sample, and answer any questions you might have. I’ll have individual posts up soon about Natureland Organic Beer, Scent with Love and probably something else I find a brochure for in my swag bag.

This post is also available on the happyfrog Frogblog

As a part of the happyfrog Testing Team I’ve had some cash at my disposal to go ahead and spend at local businesses or on local products. I came across a super neat handbag in a magazine a few days ago and although the bags aren’t handmade in BC (they’re from NYC) the store in which you can purchase them is 100% locally owned and eco-friendly so I’m hoping my listing on happyfrog is justified.

I took the 19 Metrotown bus over to Burnaby the other day (a great alternative to bus/skytrain connections) and on the way back I hopped off at Main and Kingsway. After meeting up with John, we skipped down to Lark, which is at 2235 Main Street. They didn’t have the Beck(y) Sk8bags out on display so I had to inquire about them. The sales girl was very helpful and emerged from the back room with an armful of styles, including the square tote, two clutches and about a dozen iPod cases.

Now the iPod cases are pretty clunky - seeing as how all these bags are made from recycled skateboards, so the Lark staff suggested they be used as a camera case and showed us how their Canon Powershot fit perfectly into the satin-laced pocket of the holder. I tried it out on my iPhone and decided that a leather case with satin on the inside and a wood plank on the outside would be pretty safe for whichever electronic device I wanted to store inside.

I’m actually pretty sure anything would withstand being dropped in this case. I was pretty much sold on the items before I waked in the door but after a couple of handy suggestions I sealed the deal and bought a nifty holder. Why not go with the clutch ($135)? I usually have too many things to carry and a purse with a strap is my best friend. The square tote would have been perfect but with a hefty price tag (more than the clutch), it just wasn’t in my budget.

I understand that I did end up spending a heck of a lot on a simple device holder but this is pretty much what the happyfrog assignment was designed to do. Get me out of the house spending dough on enviro-cool items at local retailers or salons and reporting back about how you can look up even more places on the happyfrog directory.

I’ll be creating a listing on happyfrog for Lark since they have locally designed merchandise, like handmade scarves from an organic alpaca farm but also environmentally-conscious doo-dads like the PO-ZU biodegradable slippers:

They come in boxes made of coconut and natural latex which is also used for the cushion inside the sole. With the box comes a packet of seeds which can be planted in the winter in your home and then in the summer you can take the whole box and plant it in your garden and it will biodegrade. [Lark's blog]

Lark is located at 2315 Main Street, online at Lark8thAve.com and now on happyfrog under Fashion& Beauty.