Still Chicken about Urban Chickens?

Well hello there! Have you forgotten that there's actually a second author on this blog? :D

I'm popping up here to give an old post a little bit of a bump, because lately there has been some activity on the topic. A new group calling themselves the Kitchener Hen Association has been formed, and they are currently in the planning stages of approaching Kitchener City Council to examine the issue. Exciting! If you'd like to follow the group's progress (or get involved) check out (or join) the Facebook group or the Yahoo Groups mailing list.

Here's what I originally wrote on April 12, 2011:

I love the idea of urban hens. There is nothing I would like better than to have a small flock of hens merrily existing in my back yard. It's just another brick in the wall of my plan to turn my back yard into a little urban farm! (This plan still exists mostly in my head, and is being implemented extremely slowly, over the course of years. But it is a plan nonetheless!)

But it seems the City of Waterloo has struck another blow against urban chickens. For the past two years, the City has been running a "pilot project" of sorts, where certain registered households are permitted to keep hens under close scrutiny. After the two years was up (and after lots of study, public consultation, report-writing and bylaw-drafting) at a recent Council meeting the matter was voted on, and came down to a tie. It means the grandfathered hens are still safe, but the motion was defeated.  What's going to happen going forward?? I am a resident of Kitchener (though we are oh-so-close to Waterloo, with the property line of our back yard falling right on the city boundary) and while we in K-Town are expressly prohibited from keeping hens by the letter of the law, I had hoped that if Waterloo went ahead with allowing urban chickens, Kitchener City Council would be inspired to follow suit.

There is a blog post HERE that talks about some of the reasons why the motion might have been defeated, and touches on the possibility of an underlying fear that city-dwellers might have against the erosion of the boundaries between urban and rural existence. It's quite interesting.

Of course, bylaws are only enforced when there are complaints, and there are many households in the city of Kitchener with hens! But I'm just not brave enough to do it...I'm terrified of the idea of having to "get rid" of the birds once I have them and my neighbours complain. So, I continue to watch the issue, and fantasize about moving to the darn country where I can do these things....

Dreaming of Spring Gardening

Welcome to the Earth Day Blog Carnival

This post is part of the Earth Day Blog Carnival hosted by Child of the Nature Isle and Monkey Butt Junction. Each participant has shared their practices and insights of earth friendly, environmentally conscious, eco-living. This carnival is our way to share positive information and inspiration that can create healing for our planet. Please read to the end of this post to find a list of links to the other carnival participants. Happy Earth Day!

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Note from Erin: this post was written a couple of weeks ago for inclusion in the blog carnival. Things are looking a little different in the back yard right now. Watch for an update post coming soon!!


Well, so this is what my backyard looks like right now. (As you can see, the Spring Indicator is still standing. And yes I DID manage to catch a chickadee on the bird feeder with my Blackberry camera, go me!!) Anyway. Snow. SNOW!! I've had enough of it.

Over the last few years, I've been making some conscious efforts to "eat local". Food transportation costs have always bothered me. Why should I eat an apple from another continent when we're so close to one of the biggest fruit-growing regions in Canada? And I've promised myself that as the growing season gets rolling here in Southwestern Ontario, I am going to make more of an effort this year to bypass the grocery store produce section and buy directly from the farmers...we have so many great farmer's markets around here. But what could be more local than my own back yard??

Those lovely raised beds back there are all filled up, just waiting for warmer weather to come. I'm so excited about gardening this year! Last year, I planted seeds and seedlings then went away for seven weeks, and came home to a ridiculous jungle. Hopefully this year I'll be able to maintain it a bit better as it goes along.

Last year, we were signed up with the Fertile Ground CSA, which was completely and utterly awesome. But we're not doing it again this year, the hope being that with TWO raised beds, we can produce enough veggies on our own to keep us going without the CSA share. I'm planning to grow tomatoes (heritage varieties, of course, obtained from the Little City Farm seedling sale), various greens (lettuce, spinach, tatsoi mustard, rapini), green beans, zucchini, leeks, green onions and "lemon" cucumbers. Maybe carrots, if I have enough room. And possibly some other things that I'm forgetting at the moment. I'm also planning to dig up the sod next to the garage on the left there, and make that the new spot for the herb bed...they didn't do so well last year hidden away behind the hop trellis. Oh yeah, we're growing hops again, too. That's what the pole on the right is for. Local hops for the home-brewed beer, yeah! And I'm really, really hoping that the asparagus I planted last year delivers a few spears this spring.

I've also been learning how to do some basic cheese-making at home. I've been enjoying some amazingly delicious homemade cottage cheese lately, and hope to perfect the mozzarella-making technique. My eventual goal is to make a completely homemade pizza...just need to get some local flour for the dough, and make a simple margherita, with tomatoes and basil from the garden and homemade mozza. It's going to be so awesome. And you can't have any. Well, maybe if you ask real nice...

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Visit Monkey Butt Junction and Child of the Nature Isle to read all about the Earth Day Blog Carnival.
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Going Green in 2011 - Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama discusses the way she and her family are going “greener” in 2011.

Our Greatest Teacher - Amanda at Let’s Take the Metro shares her experiences with her children and nature, their greatest teacher.

Dreaming of Spring Gardening - Erin of the Waterloons talks about the ultimate in local food, her backyard garden.

Earth Conscious Minimalism - Nada at miniMOMist thinks minimalism can help you save the world — as long as you don’t just toss everything in the trash! Check out Her list of places to donate (bet you haven’t thought of them all!).

Blessings to the Earth - Amy at Anktangle believes that a simple act, such as being intentionally grateful for our food, is just the catalyst we need to bring about large-scale change.

Eight Movies to Inspire Change - Mrs Green at Little Green Blog shares her top 8 movies that have inspired her to take action to make the world a better place. She’d love to hear your suggestions to add to her viewing list!

Can I Have a Green Period Too? Kelly at Becoming Crunchy shares the environmental impact of switching to sustainable menstrual products, along with offering a great Mama Cloth giveaway for anyone interested in making the switch (and for those who already have and want to increase their stash!).

An Eden to Call Our Own - Lucy at Dreaming Aloud shares how learning to care for the Earth starts in her own garden.

Elimination Communication - Melissa at the New Mommy Files discusses the environmental impact of diapering, and why elimination communication was the best choice for her family.

The Living Earth: A Meditation in Science and Reverence - Seonaid at The Practical Dilettante asks you to pause to wonder at the blessing of the fact that our living planet is here at all.

Earth Day Anthem - Amanda at Let’s Take the Metro created a poem in honor of Mother Earth, women and nurturers everywhere.

The Plasticity of Compromise - Zoie at TouchstoneZ shares how she is working to compromise on healthy family living and avoiding plastics whenever possible.

Earth Day Resolutions - Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama shares why she has decided to make Earth Day resolutions, what those resolutions are, and how they are a step up from her current efforts at green living.

Is it time for you to say “Enough!”? Mrs Green at My Zero Waste asks you to rise up and say ‘Enough!’ on Earth Day.

Homeschooling with the Earth - Terri at Child of the Nature Isle shares her desires and dreams for Earth-based learning and the ways her two young children have already started a natural curriculum.

Beyond the Green Sheen - Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction offers some advice on how to avoid greenwashing and make purchasing choices that really have a positive impact.