Category Archives: Health & Wellness

Getting our daily dose of “Vitamin G”

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Last September, over 200 participants took part in a unique forum in Vancouver to discuss nature and health – more specifically, the impact of spending time in nature on health, and the contribution of parks and protected areas to healthy communities. The forum sought to share knowledge, foster linkages between diverse sectors, and to identify best practices, strategies, and tools.

One of the things discussed by presenters and attendees was how people intuitively know that being in nature, simply put, makes them feel good. Whether getting a dose of ‘Vitamin Green’ helps to relieve stress, lift the spirit, or provide a bit of perspective on life, getting out into nature seems to contribute to enhanced wellbeing. While everyone intuitively understands this, our reductionist North American tendencies have had us questioning how and in what ways nature has this effect on health for the past decade or so. Well, good news for those of you scientific folk out there (you know who you are!) – the quantitative evidence supports a nature-health link. Our intuitive selves have been right all along! As discussed by keynote speaker Dr. Frances Kuo, research has linked healthy urban ecosystems to stronger, safer neighbourhoods, lower crime, reduced AD/HD symptoms, and reduced aggression, with benefits still being found even when income and other factors that could explain a nature-health link are taken into account. Additional quantitative evidence exists at the physiological level as well, with benefits having been measured objectively through such indicators as blood pressure and immune system functioning. For a comprehensive review of the literature, check out this National Recreation and Park Association report written by Dr. Kuo.

So now the evidence is there to prove what we kinda knew all along. What’s next? Well, at an individual level, we can all get outside more. If you’re like the bulk of urbanites, you may not be close to mountains, lakes, and forests (although a shocking number of us here in B.C. actually are – not to rub it in, Toronto). Forum presenters actually addressed this, and made it clear that nature can be found anywhere – a nearby park or stream by your house, a patch of trees outside your work – and even the smallest exposure to nature has been found to be beneficial.  In addition, urban planners and health professionals have been starting to act based on this ever-growing body of evidence. For example, some physicians are now prescribing time in nature to their patients.

Getting past the urban/nature divide may take some work ... but it can be done

It’s clear that to address this at a population level, an interdisciplinary approach is needed, with health professionals, urban planners, and environmental specialists being just a few of the disciplines who need to be at the table to ensure that all Canadians have access to diverse and regular sources of nature. If this forum is any indication, these various disciplines are ready and willing to come together to focus on this in creative and holistic ways.

 

 

99 Ways to Leverage Our Humanity – Part 3

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[Editor's note: I must start by saying that what unfolds below is a team effort - thanks to everyone who has contributed to this list! So, for better or worse, many parts of the world have been recently occupied - and in some places, like Vancouver, this may or may not be coming to an end. Many elements of the Occupy Movement have issued demands. Personally, I see many problems with demands, as they imply binary-negotiating and/or unchangeable beliefs. Personally, I see more value and possibility in ideas and collaborative brainstorming - though this is a much harder process for certain. Some other folks share a love for collaboration and they have kindly offered their ideas in world-changing list-form. So, without further ado, here is part three of a four-part series that is meant to get our community thinking about how our brilliant, passionate, inspiring, adaptive, funny, delicious, healthy, and innovative humanity can make the world a better place. Thanks for the memories, everyone!].

How can we leverage our humanity to solve the world’s problems?

Here are ideas 1-25. And here are ideas 26-50. And here are ideas 51-75:

  1. Hike.  Get out in nature’s bosom.  Commune with the forest spirits.  Skinny dip.  Roll in dirt.  It’s clean.  Sit.  Listen.  Yell!  Pee your name in the snow (men only, I think).  Play capture the flag.  Know Nature.  Know Its value to you personally.  Because you can’t want to protect something if you don’t even know what it is.
  2. Cycle.  You’ll see more and feel good.  Buy rain pants and suit up.  You’ll be dry under you clothes (and naked!).  Be visible.  Cyclists are the future:  fuckin non-motorized, non-electronic cyborgs on wheels.
  3. Draw.  Not for art’s sake.  For communicating.  Long before we wrote, we drew.  On cave walls and on bark and hide.  Appreciate the symbolic nature of signs and symbols, and the miracle that allows all humans to interpret them.  Ed Emberley is a prophet.
  4. Drink.  Water.  H2O.  Its ubiquity only adds to its many mysteries.
  5. Learn.  A language.  Or several.  Or even just a smattering of words.  Knowing another’s tongue is the quickest way to break the ice and will allow you to more easily understand ‘the other’.
  6. Objectify.  Be partial.  Know that your opinions are opinions and based on what you believe you know.  Do not mistake passion for rightfulness.  Choose to be emotional; do not make emotional choices.
  7. Listen.  You talk too much.  Listening allows for ideas to reveal themselves to speakers who may not even know they have such ideas.  If you can’t listen, pretend to listen, as this often has the same effect.
  8. Keep.  Imbue physical objects with meaning.  A ring, a rock, or even a house.  We are physical creatures living in a physical world, not virtual avatars.  Don’t tear down old buildings.  Believe in ghosts and spirits.
  9. Teach.  To teach is to learn well.  Whether it be abstract or practical knowledge, by teaching it you will learn it deeper, and it will become you.
  10. Smile.  In monkeys it lowers tension and creates group harmony.  We are all monkeys.  Faking is acceptable as it often leads to the real thing.  Emotions and your facial muscles are inextriclaby linked. You can fool your own brain.
  11. Don’t.  Don’t do anything.  Eke.  Survive.  Be simple.  Learn the art of inertia.  Laziness is godliness.  The planet will thank you for it.
  12. Think critically. Do not accept things for what they are and ask lots and lots of questions.
  13. Perform. Sock puppets, Shakespeare, Improv, and Musicals are great ways to tell stories as well as tackle the pesky problem of fearing public speaking.
  14. Dance with people. And, to quote a wise man named Jim, “never let the rhythm control your dancing.”
  15. It might’ve been said before but it bears repeating: learn another language. This will help when you visit other places. And it will really help you visit communities not just tourist attractions.
  16. Have heroes and role models who exist in the real world, not the hyper-sexed and overly violent fictional worlds of so much media.
  17. Send handwritten thank you cards. First, because it’s the right thing to do. Second, people love getting mail and, let’s face it, the cards are outstanding advertising for your personal brand!
  18. Be skeptical and question authority. This doesn’t mean rebelling against anything and everything; it just means that you shouldn’t take everyone at their word all the time.
  19. Strive to be a bit more of an armchair economist so that you can understand – and share knowledge about – the complex workings of the global financial system.
  20. Commit to keeping the complex complex. Sometimes simple solutions come at the erosion and sacrifice of necessarily complex and important things.
  21. Remember that the things you own end up owning you. The only logical solution here is for you to give your things away so that they can own other people.
  22. Take off/out your headphones and/or earbuds and listen to the world around you. This will expose you to funny things, interesting things, and things that will inspire you to engage members of your community in conversation.
  23. Collaborate. Like a symphony. Working together is the only way that we’re going to pull ourselves out of this mess.
  24. Find common ground with someone who has a totally different worldview than you. It’s possible. I mean, Kurt and John do it every day on this blog!
  25. Recognize that humanity’s adaptability will see us through tsunamis, earthquakes, peak oil, and the zombie apocalypse; however, there will be catastrophic collateral damage and many of us will not survive the next 100 years. Try your best to be okay with this fact and also try really, really hard to not be a weird survivalist who makes people super uncomfortable while riding the bus…

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Masthead photo courtesy of Kurt Heinrich, who is awesome.

Digital Fill – Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation Infographic

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In the past we’ve written a few articles about the Dr. Peter Center and Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation and what they do for a community of some of our most marginalized and sick citizens. We’ve detailed how the DPC has been a leading advocate for drug policy reform and harm reduction in the ongoing battle to convince our conservative federal government that Canada’s current policy of criminalizing drug use just doesn’t make a lot of sense, neither from a “law and order” or from a health perspective.

Recently the DPC released a groovy new graphic which sketches out all the great work they do everyday with folks. It neat because it effectively maps out the wide range of services provided by the centre. Have a look and prepare to be inspired. If you’d like to kick in some money there way this holiday season, you can do so here.

Mackenzie Noot – The All-World Neighbour

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Who are you?

How can I attempt to answer this question at 1:30 in the morning?! I am Mackenzie of Clan Noot of Driffield Rd. Eldest child of two fantastic individuals, Tim and Theresa, both of whom instilled solid values and nurtured a love of life and adventure in their offspring. I’m a sister, a daughter, a granddaughter, and an auntie of two little munchkins. I’m an advocate for healthy living, I’m a westcoast girl, a gumboot wearing deckhand on the Titanium, and a surgical nurse. I am a collector of the world’s greatest friends. Although I have no “special” talent, I can easily be convinced that I’m the next lead singer in Aerosmith or a backup dancer for Britney. Some may say that I have courage to a fault. Those people are merely disillusioned ;) Overall, I’m a small town gal of Merville, a somewhat charasmatic nerd with really cool friends and family.

What do you do for fun?

Well I’d have to list eating (especially seafood), sleeping and laughing as my top three fave hobbies. Although I also like anything to do with the ocean – aside from sports fishing – too boring. My major passion is getting out and about in the world experiencing new people and places. This year I spend 3.5 months “having fun” travelling. And, my secret fave thing to do is deep chest compressions on a patient. This may sound morbid, but there’s nothing more satisfying than doing everything you possibly can to bring someone back to life – including breaking ribs. Work is fun for me.

What is your favourite community? Why?

My fave community would be hands down that of Rennie Road. Nowhere else have I encountered neighbours and friends who lend out anything from baking essentials to automobiles to skill sets to hugs. If you need a hand tackling pigs to building garages to putting on a wedding, we’re on it. Y2K no big deal on Rennie Rd … we practiced baking over woodstoves for months before New Years and would have monthly neighbourhood potlucks to celebrate. Growing up there, you always had extra parents and a herd of playmates – those off all whom remain good friends and second families. The support, kindness, friendship, and love of those that live in this small community is something to be cherished and is, I fear, quite uncommon.

What is your superpower?

I honestly wish I could say flying. However, I’ll settle on a super human ability to connect with those around me? Yep, I suppose that’d be it.

How do I use it to build community?

Well, the super human power of connecting with others is key in bringing my community together. If thats just a social meeting of friends, or workmates or neighbours … people tend to meet, greet and be merry. Which in the end makes me happy. Although a superhuman flying ability would be cooler.

My Three Favourite Things About Mackenzie Are…

1. She comes from good stock. Mackenzie’s family is all about kindness, hardwork, being local, and, you guessed it, family. I love the Noots’ big hearts, their athleticism, their sense of adventure, their entrepreneurial spirit, and the fact that the Noot Clan’s senses of humour truly run the gamut of sensation; from slapstick to wordplay to funny-hat-prop-comedy. Oh, and she – and the rest of her family – all proudly sport gumboots, too.

2. Hilarity and Adventure become her. One need only befriend Mackenzie on Facebook to get a sense of her, um, sense of adventure. She’s traveled to many continents. She’s inspired and been inspired by many people and places. And she made it on many news programs on April 29, 2011 because her and some friends wore fancy hats to the Royal Wedding and know a thing or two about self-promotion. Positive, laugh-inspiring energy like Mackenzie’s hits your community like a train and, in my opinion, it’s in your best interest to hop on board and enjoy the ride!

3. Connectivity. A few months ago my sister got married and Mackenzie was one of the guests – well, she was much more than that. Truly, Mackenzie was one of the connectors at the event. She helped out, played games, pulled people on to the dance floor, cleaned-up, engaged introverted strangers, and definitely left a positive impact on the weekend. This was a window, I think, into how Mackenzie just plain connects with people.

Emergency Prepared Community

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My partner and I recently put together an emergency kit for our home. Getting organized was fun and we both learned lots through the process. The most important lesson is this: by being prepared, we’ll be better positioned to help.

Shortly after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year, I attended a Vancouver Coastal Health public information session about preparing for natural disasters.  The session was eye-opening and I had been meaning to get on it since then. One Sunday night last month, I was going through my neglected in-tray at home and found the emergency preparedness literature. I finally had a proper look through it and started pulling together what we needed to be self-sufficient for 72 hours.

Being prepared for a minimum of three full days without public assistance and without access to utilities, fresh water and communication channels is recommended by our municipal government and provincial health authorities.  It’s a good idea to prepare three-day emergency kits for your home and for your car.  A step further is to build a second kit for your home that includes supplies for an additional four days so you’re covered for a week.

We started with getting a three-day kit together for our home.  We already had most of the stuff we needed, scattered through camping storage bins, first aid kits, and in the garage. That first night, our three-day home kit was assembled into a backpack containing medical basics, flashlights and batteries, duct tape, matches, scissors, rope, plastic bags and a few other odds and ends. We had also created a to-do list of missing items, like work gloves, energy bars, and spare keys.

The best part was talking about our emergency plan.  We assumed that we would not be together, that we would not have cell phone coverage, and that we would be on foot.  Our meeting point is our home and if it’s unsafe to be there, it’s our local community centre.  We’ve stashed a Sharpie, paper and tape in a baggie on our porch so we can leave a note if we do make it home but decide to leave.  Our plan is specific: meet at the NE corner of Ontario and East 33rd Ave.

The second part of our plan is getting to our young daughter.  We assumed that she would be with my parents, who care for her while we’re both at work, and that they will be at their home in North Van.  We plan to ride our bikes over the Second Narrows to gather with the rest of my family.  We also agreed who we would call outside of the city to check-in.  My aunt in Edmonton will be my family’s communication hub so if we can’t get to one another, at least we can let someone know we’re ok.   Deciding upon our emergency plan started our whole family talking about emergency what-ifs.  We all feel better for it.

Before considering emergency preparedness, I guess I just assumed that we would be ok/taken care of when shit goes down.  We often hear of communities pulling together during crisis.  I now realize that being prepared positions us to help our neighbours because our chances of staying healthy are increased.  That sounds like a good plan to me.

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Masthead photo courtesy of Earthworm

Rendezvous with Madness

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Last night I attended the Rendezvous with Madness film festival. I was invited by a friend in the final year of her psychiatry residency that was on the panel following the film screening.  It is the second time in a couple of weeks that I was at an event that had a focus on mental health. The other was at the Excellence Canada Performance Summit that I attended on behalf of a colleague. It had a session on mental health at work. These types of events and discussions are part of a longer-term trend of better understanding mental health and how to integrate dialogue about it into our community rather than hiding it away, sometimes literally (see this great Active History paper on how the stories of those in Toronto’s insane asylums, who used to be hidden behind walls they help build).

The session at Excellence Canada offered examples of how workplaces across the country are taking steps to better address metal health as part of their workplace health and wellness programs that have more traditionally focused on physical health. The activities and topics covered were broad reaching during the discussion, including identifying risk factors in organizations, employee access to benefits when experiencing mental illness, and approaches for how organizations can help their employees cope with challenges and stress in the workplace. The Bell Mental Health Initiatives was one of the projects covered. It is a $50 million commitment to enhancing the lives of Canadians by increasing awareness, understanding and treatment of mental illness across the country by focusing on anti-stigma, care and access, workplace and research. When large corporations like Bell are undergoing a paradigm shift with mental illness (or at least want to brand themselves as having done so), it is a good indicator of how far we’ve come.

The Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival is another indicator. The festival has been around for 19 years. The film I saw was “People in White” and told the stories of psychiatric patients through reenactment with other patients (and a handful of actors representing the stories of real patients. It showed the complexity of the doctor-patient relationship and raised questions about power dynamics and treatment method. It opened a discussion about how realistic these relationships were depicted and how dramatically things have changed in the couple of decades since the festival started, including that such a film that focuses on the stories of patients never would have been told until recently. The venue for the film screening was Workman Arts, an organization dedicated to working with artists with mental illness and promoting art that creates greater understanding of mental illness. It was inspiring to hear how far this project has come and how they have observed and reflected the changing perceptions of mental illness.

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Masthead photo courtesy of floodllama

VanValley is delicious!

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I signed up for the VanValley Buyers Club in July and it’s been such a fabulous experience, I had to share.  We paid about $600 up front for 17 weeks of amazing produce.  Each week, we’re pretty much set for fruit and veggies except for a few extras here and there, like California grapes and avocados from Chile.  I’ve always supported the philosophy of community supported agriculture (CSA), but this is the first time I’ve been directly involved.  And it’s been awesome to be a part of.

From their website, the focus of VanValley is to provide buyers club clients with the best LOCAL produce at competitive pricing. We believe that through food and supporting sustainable LOCAL food systems we are also building relationships and community (http://vanvalley.wordpress.com).  VanValley started this year and from my perspective, it’s been a smash hit.

We’ve signed up for weekly delivery of organic produce before and I didn’t love it.  No matter how many cool-packs were included in the bin, the produce would always be a bit sad by the time I got home from work to fetch the delivery from our sunny front step.  Unfamiliar produce would often end up in the compost as I didn’t know what to do with it. And it was expensive.

In contrast, VanValley offers value, convenience and fun.  Volunteers staff a pick-up table at our local coffee house from 4 to 7pm once a week.  That means we can peacefully make our way there after work.  Most evenings, we go as a family and end up chatting with neighbours and the amazing volunteers while we’re there.  And usually, we munch on farm-fresh cucumbers from Surrey or peaches from Keremeos on the walk home.

Administration has been seamless from the start, which I must admit was a pleasant surprise.  I’m not sure why, but I expected a period of working out the kinks.  There wasn’t one and I’m still impressed by how efficient the process is.  Members of the Buyers Club receive a weekly newsletter that includes a list of the produce we’re getting, recipes featuring that produce and news from the farmers.  Plus, there’s a trades box at the pick-up location and I love that.  We have lettuce in our edible garden, so we can swap out greens from our weekly box and replace it with something that another member passed on (like blueberries – yum!).  It’s such a simple idea and it makes for an even better experience.

It’s been wonderful to eat seasonal produce.  We loved the radishes and stone fruit through summer, the tomatoes and potatoes as we approached Labour Day, and now the deep purple beets and beautiful green squashes as we settle into fall.  It’s such a natural way to eat and so incredibly satisfying because the food matches the season.

The beauty of supporting local producers and sustainable food systems has become somehow less important than the experience of participating in community in this way.  We signed up because of our politics, but interestingly, our ideological motivations have sort of faded into the background because the practice makes perfect sense and the experience is just so darn great.

Like most Vancouverites, I’m already looking forward to next summer.  And our next summer will definitely include VanValley.  In the meantime, I’ll go back to shopping on the Drive for my organic produce.  And I expect that I’ll buy California grapes and avocados from Chile less often than I did before.

Masthead photo courtesy of Augapfel.

“I Am Enough” – Wholehearted Communities

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I just finished watching a very awesome TEDx Talk by Brene Brown, who is Research Professor at the University of Houston’s Graduate College of Social Work. As a self-described Storyteller – though she admittedly downplays this colloquial title in the academic community – Professor Brown’s talk is all about what it takes to create and inspire connective communities.

And at the centre of it all is the concept of vulnerability. And how being vulnerable creates authenticity. And how this inspires a sense of worthiness. And how this reflects a need for love and belonging. And how this is achieved through connectiveness between people and our communities.

To say it’s worth 20 minutes of your time is a bit of an understatement.

Enjoy!

One of the most compelling parts of the talk – and certainly something that resonated with me – is the point about how we humans numb our sense of vulnerability. Here’s a list of some things that make us vulnerable:

  • Being turned down for a date
  • Not getting that job or promotion or being laid off
  • Saying “I love you” – oh those three terrifying words – and hearing “thanks…” in return
  • Having a great idea rejected
  • Knowing that a bunch of people were invited somewhere cool and you weren’t

Professor Brown also acknowledges – with sorta scary matter-o-fact-ness – that we North Americans are the most in debt, obese, addicted, and medicated population in the history of populations. And her argument is that we do these things to numb our vulnerability. “We have a couple of beers and a banana nut muffin,” is what she says.

The sad thing is that, while we numb pain, we also numb joy, gratitude and happiness. And we try to impose structure and certainty on uncertain things as we strive to achieve an unachievable perfection and then blame others for when they don’t share our vision of certainty or challenge and/or sacrifice our idea of perfection. Look no further than the blaming and mean-spirited tone of our modern political theatre for proof of our collective choice of shouting certainty instead of discussing ideas.

“I am enough.” This is the message on the presentation’s final slide.

As our communities practice joy, gratitude and happiness – rather than pretending, blaming and numbing ourselves – we can showcase the wonderful idea of “wholehearted people” who inspire courage, compassion and connection because of our authentic embrace of vulnerability.

Sure, we are enough. But only if we own who we are. Especially the parts we’re kinda sorta scared of. For example, I’m vulnerable for the following reasons:

  • I need to be liked, which makes tough-decision-making hard.
  • I can’t do math or use Excel and these things are important business tools.
  • I can’t stand silence or tense moments and use humour to fill gaps, which is often inappropriate, probably reflective of awkwardness/pain-numbing, and definitely inauthentic.

Luckily, I’m pretty good at admitting when I’m wrong and owning my mistakes. And I continually strive to be genuine. Such things, however, are incongruently matched with my love of banana nut muffins and delicious beer.

Crap.

Jokes defend vulnerability yet again!

The thing is, I like being myself. Besides, everyone else is already taken.

On Getting Old

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Courtesy of Paul Stevenson, Flickr Creative Commons

It’s Saturday afternoon. As I type this every part of my body is throbbing with the dull ache of stiffness, fatigue, defeat, and aging. On Thursday night, my basketball team was thoroughly trounced by our younger, sprier opponents. The nine of them defeated us by 18 points and even had time to split a pack of cigarettes at half-time; oh, and they didn’t so much out play us as they ran faster than our team did.

To say the least, it takes my body a lot longer to recover from intense exercise. Plainly, I’m getting old.

And it’s not just the basketball game that has me thinking about mortality and the like. This morning I attended the Open Minds Symposium at the Chan Centre Auditorium at BC Women’s and Children’s Hospital. The morning’s final presenter, Dr. Wendy Loken Thornton, delivered a very exceptional talk about how people can understand and improve memory in older age. Essentially, it was a lecture about how to sustain our cognitive abilities as we get older.

Dr. Thornton’s subject matter was not lost on me at all. I have two grandmothers who are in possession of 90-year-old minds and bodies (and all that such a thing entails) and two parents who are North (and almost North) of 60 years old. And, one day, I’ll be a senior citizen, too. More importantly, that afternoon I was feeling like an old person.

In conclusion, Dr. Thornton’s research shows that, more than anything else, healthy diet and exercise – combined with social engagement – represent an effective recipe for a deliciously aged life. In particular, brisk walking followed by a meal of fish, flax, walnuts, butternut squash, citrus fruit, red wine, and dark chocolate represent some of the most important ingredients in the recipe of aging mindfully. Oh, and consider covering everything in turmeric.

Personally, I’m going to embrace it all. I want to play sports and board games that are leisurely and competitive – ideally this will eventually involve besting younger men with my speed, skill and smarts. I want to continue to eat well, and I thank the lovely, talented and healthy Michelle Burtnyk-Horn for keeping my other life partner, cheese, at a healthy distance. Finally, I will continue to be engaged in my community in myriad ways. After all, healthy minds thrive in – and are products of – healthy communities.

Oh, and I will absolutely embrace any kind of memory lapses and/or senility with the best sense of humour and “old-man-curmudgeonly-spirit” as is possibly imaginable. Friends, I long for the day when my grandchildren roll their eyes at “Old Man Horn” stories…

Because healthy communities respect their elders!

Vote for Community, Provincial Edition

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Ontario is on the cusp of a provincial election.  It is one of a number of provincial and territorial elections that will be happening before the end of 2011, including Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Yukon, and Northwest Territories.  In Ontario the Liberal party has had a majority in the province for the last 8 years.  Before that the Conservative Party was in charge for just over 8 years and before that the NDP for just under 5.  Polling for this election indicates a close race between the Liberals and Conservatives, with the possibility of a minority government.

Similar to my previous post on the federal election I feel that these elections will have an impact on your community.  Provincial governments provide, support or influence a number of services including health care, education, welfare and intra-provincial transportation.  The government will make important decisions about things like how electricity is generated, how our cities grow, how much university costs, and how our healthcare system works.  They also have a lot of influence on municipal governments, deciding their areas of jurisdictions and which services or powers will be “uploaded” (responsibility shifted from municipal to provincial jurisdiction) or “downloaded” (responsibility shifted from provincial to municipal jurisdiction).

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario has been lobbying all parties to consider the current division of service delivery and seeking a funding model to make it easier for municipal governments to deliver front-line community services.  In particular AMO determined a top 12 list of priorities and provides assessments of each of the mainstream parties’ platforms against these 12 priorities.  This allows voters to assess where the parties stand on the services and investments that are made into their local government. 

But municipalities are not the only part of our community that will be impacted by the election.  A number of organizations aiming to improve the sustainability of our communities have launched campaigns to inform voters and garner the support of politicians.  My two favourites are Sustain Ontario’s “Vote ON Food & Farming” and the Heart & Stoke Foundation’s “Healthy Candidates”.  The Sustain Ontario campaign is to raise awareness around food and farming among both candidates and voters.  It is focused on the positive impacts that a sustainable food system can have on the economic, health, environment, education and community well-being of Ontario.  As well, it offers questions to ask candidates to find out more on where they stand on food and farming issues.  The Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Health Candidate Campaign is focused on getting every candidate in Ontario to pledge to invest in health promotion.  It makes it really easy to see which of your candidates has made the pledge (as seen below for my riding).  As well as offers a tool on their website to encourage your candidates to sign up.

The point of this post is not to promote a particular party, but to encourage everyone heading to a provincial election this year to consider how that election will impact what is important to them in their community.