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Earth Day events were hosted on Friday and Saturday in an effort to support the need to protect and help our environment.

Students from Eel Ground First Nation with support from the Atlantic Chiefs' First Nations SchoolNet Helpdesk (http://firstnationshelp.com) hosted a national video conference with other schools from across the country. The archive of this special event can be found at http://webcast.knet.ca/fnhelp (Page 6) under the session entitled "Earth Day".

The session began with a special prayer from a local elder providing the teaching of the four directions as a guide for each of us to live the good life. INAC Minister Prentice provided a strong message about protecting the environment. Industry Canada Broadband Program Director, Kathy Fisher, spoke about the importance of video conferencing as one way to save on the use of fossil fuels. The session ends with a special combination of poetry, photos and music that celebrates our relationship with our mother earth.

Environment North in Thunder Bay hosted a special meeting on Earth Day, see Chronicle Journal article below ...

from http://66.244.236.251/article_5817.php

Environment North on the rebound
By CHEN CHEKKI - Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal -Apr 23, 2006
 
Earth Day is a time to think about how to make positive changes to the environment, a new director with Environment North said Saturday.

Graham Saunders, one of nine people elected to the environmental advocacy group’s board of directors on Saturday — Earth Day — said people can do something to prevent climate change.

He believes it is the biggest environmental problem facing society, and said people are trapping themselves if they use more fossil fuels, which leads to more climate change.

Climate change can then alter wildlife and crops, Saunders said. Reducing the use of fossil fuels and other consumption is a way to prevent climate change.

“Climate change is so interconnected with our energy policies and decisions,” he said.

Environment North was founded in 1972.

But it fell dormant in recent years, dwindling from a membership in excess of 300 down to about 10.

An effort to rejuvenate the group is underway. More than 30 people attended Saturday’s meeting and the group hopes to draw more participants over time.

Saunders said Earth Day symbolically recognizes that “we, as Earthlings,” have a connection with the planet.

Protecting land, water and air is Environment North’s focus, said the Chronicle-Journal columnist.

Environment North will push for bylaws to stop people from beautifying their lawns with pesticides, which can get on children playing in yards and contaminate ground water.

Saunders said the group also wants regulations governing the cutting of certain trees in the Northwest that have medicinal value. The trees could be part of a new economy in the region, he said.

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