A back alley market in Hanoi

Confessions of a Tree Planter

TREE-HUGGING HIPPY or MONEY HUNGRY MARGOT

          Tree planting was my summer job.  Up in Northern Ontario, I spent my days walking the slash burned, chemically killed, unscarified land that was once a lush forest, planting trees every seven feet.  Making an average of ten cents per tree, I often daydreamed of the non-monetary costs of deforestation; the effects it has on biodiversity, natural habitats and greenhouse gas emissions.  “Deforestation is the permanent removal of forest cover from an area, and the conversion of this previously forested land to other uses” says Natural Resources Canada.  Deforestation is such a large industry because of the value of trees and the land they reside on as a scarce resource. Timber and other tree-related products such as paper are valuable products in our global economy, as well as: clearing forests for agricultural needs, housing, and industrial and urban infrastructure. Deforestation is without a doubt, a lucrative endeavor.

            Deforestation is a phenomenon that dates back almost half a million years—ever since humans began deliberately making fires.  Many think deforestation to be a modern activity, beginning somewhere in the nineteen fifties when tropical rainforest began to disappear.  However, the only thing that has changed since the mid twentieth century is the escalation to scale of this primitive activity—it is now possible for mass deforestation to take place thanks to new technologies and a more demanding marketplace. The scarcity of trees and the land they occupy as a resource is increasing; therefore the demand for this resource is increasing as well—making deforestation a large industry that is highly competitive. Light has been shed only recently on this ancient practice because of the sensitivity of our environment and the irreversible damage deforestation has imposed upon it.

     I know all of the above, however I also know that if i push myself from 7am to 6pm I can plant $500 worth of trees.  Pushing myself however, means clearing my mind, not getting distracted by wilderness sightings, not collecting moose antlers as I encounter them, and essentially, not stopping for a lunch break.  Doing all of this means, not being true to myself.  I love the wilderness, and everything associated with it.  Most would believe this to be enough to be a successful tree planter: sleeping in a tent, void of any sort of regular hygiene practices, and planting outside all day every day regardless of snowstorms in June, are things only Nature lovers can endure.  The opposite, however is how I feel.  When I plant, although the brutally laborious work and harsh conditions are greatly rewarding, I dispose of my nature-loving self, and adapt a money-hungry demeanor.  Its the only way I can justify traipsing over kilometer upon kilometer of scarce brown land full of felled trees, sawdust and discarded liquor bottles. So if you are someone looking for a prosperous career in tree planting, prepare yourself for mother nature punishing you for what our kind has done to her.  Expect the harshest conditions and a devastating landscape, and remember, to leave your tree-hugging hippy persona at the door. The costs of this industry are much greater than ten cents per tree.

           

          Beyond the environmental impacts, as a tree planter, you can expect to see a dramatic decline in your personal values and self dignity.  Funneling bottles of wine, giving yourself DIY tattoos and sitting around a bonfire of burning baby trees, letting their chemically fertilized soil emit toxic smoke into your eyes and lungs are not below you.  You WILL pick up smoking, and you WILL hate trees by the end of your experience.  You WILL also come frighteningly close to death by insect bites/stings (see image below) and consider feeding yourself to a Grizzly or a rattle snake as not to feel the ridicule from your crew mates if you simply 'quit.'  You WILL hang out at a laundromat all day on your only day off, and consider a half-star Northern Ontario motel paradise. This can only be justified, potential planter, should you make lots of money. Put your head down, clear your mind, Good luck. 

Who wants to play Monopoly?

          As Canadians, our climate is not able to support the growth of many of our favourite foods: bananas, oranges and other fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes cannot survive our harsh winters, or flourish in our mild summers.  In our communities however, we are lucky enough to walk into almost any supermarket and find exotic foods during all seasons of the year: coconuts in January, and fresh pineapple in March.  These foods are certainly not coming from inside our country, and thus little is known of the costs of importing these goods other than the considerably small fee we pay at the checkout counter.

            The food industry starts off quite simply—a seed is all it takes.  Everything we eat and rely on to fuel us day-by-day begins with a seed:  grains, fruits, vegetables, and feed to nourish the livestock we consume.  The growth process of a seed is commonly practiced throughout the world.  The seed is planted, tended and harvested by gardeners and farmers and botanists everywhere, with the intent of producing food, but also with the intent of producing more seeds to be used in next year’s process.  Once a farmer has a healthy crop, they also have seed to plant for the forthcoming harvesting season: it is how plants have evolved to regenerate themselves.  In an ideal situation, once a farmer has purchased their original vat of seeds, considering their crop was in good health after the first season, they should have healthy seeds to plant for the following year.  If a farmer is able to put forth an initial investment for the purchase of seeds, all crop yield is profit—an asset to their farm and business.  Farmers in developing countries often do not have the money to put forth a lump sum investment at the start of their farming venture and thus are forced to purchase their seeds off companies willing to sell for the lowest market price. 

           

Enter Monsanto.

           

Monsanto is a company known to have controversially purchased a patented technology off of an innovative agriculture company called Delta & Pine.  This patent is known colloquially as the ‘terminator seed,’ or ‘suicide seeds’. These seeds are genetically engineered so that when crops are harvested, all regenerated seeds from this particular yield are sterile, and cannot be re-planted for next years season—they terminate the most significant genetic trait plants have: fertility.   Because most seed companies expect their investors to be, for the most part, single purchasing clients, in order for them to make any profit seed prices have a set minimum market price.  On the other hand, companies such as Monsanto with terminator seed technology, can afford to lower their prices below the competition’s rates, with the assurance that their clients will need to purchase more seeds the following planting season.  We may see this as an easily avoidable issue—do not purchase seeds from companies with terminator seed technology.  The reality is that small scale and subsistence farmers in lesser-developed countries don’t have the means of investing a lump sum of money into their business; making cheaper annual purchases is a more feasible option.  This is how monopolizing companies such as Monsanto succeed.

            The scope in which these seeds are affecting food security are much widespread than the small scale farms in which they are planted.  It is estimated that a minimum of 1.4 billion people rely directly on the harvest of poor, small-scale farms—the target of terminator seed companies.  There is also concern that these seeds will end up on the farmland of neighbouring farms to terminator seed users; not immediately harming natural crops, however sterilizing seeds for the forthcoming year’s harvest.

            Narrowed down to its simplest form; farmers in lesser developed nations are left with no choice—they do not have the money, nor the education to attenuate their dependence on multinational companies that offer the cheapest prices for their products.

           If people's 'Buy Local' Bumper stickers perviously meant nothing to you, consider Monsanto and their bully-like monopoly before you buy from Multi-National Corporations trying to save a buck.

International Development and The Bachelorette

     I have a guilty pleasure: curling up on the couch every Monday night and watching city TV’s reality trash hit, the Bachelorette.  I also have a not so guilty pleasure: staying current in the realm of international development.  Last week when I was indulging in my Monday night ritual, the Bachelorette took us to a group date where the contesting husbands were revamping a children’s orphanage in Thailand.  It has always been a pet peeve of mine when development initiatives take shape of North Americans undertaking light tasks such as painting murals, building a wall or constructing a desk is considered humility.  My annoyance isn’t in the lack of education of the theory that development means painting walls, my annoyance is that a hit show such as The Bachelorette has the capacity to sway its viewing demographic into supporting a cause.  Should INDEVOURS be on this show, we would have enough support to cover the cost of all of our field placements abroad.

            This episode got me thinking further about the show and international development.  If America is willing to spend millions of dollars to watch twenty eligible bachelors to follow a five-foot tall bachelorette around the world just to follow the drama of heart break and ache, where do our priorities lie?  And why am I, an educated individual of the economic issues of the world supporting this massive expenditure?  Furthermore, how can organizations tap into this market of viewers so that they can collect even just the equivalent of the airfare of all of the bachelorette participants—enticing America to empathize with their charitable cause as they do with Ashley Herbert’s heartache? 

            So, Bachelorette, I ask you this… when the winner of the orphanage painting date stole your heart by demonstrating extra effort by painting an elephant on the wall, how much praise would one of these eligible bachelors receive if they decided to pay their own airfare to the next Asian destination on the show, and donate what the show would have originally spent to the orphanage? How romantic is it when someone is covering their own expenditures as they chase you around the world, on top of donating to a charitable cause! I think you’ve found your husband…

OMG THATS SOOO INDEV!

   Meet INDEVOURS, a group of international development students preparing for an eight month field placement in Ghana, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Vietnam, Peru and Botswana.  Fundraising initiatives are underway... Stay posted for upcoming news and events!

Blog: INDEVOURS.blogspot.com
Facebook: Indevours
Twitter: indevours
Email: indevours@gmail.com

Found in the archives: Statement from a first year International Development Student

THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

                 
      Ever since I began my studies at the University of Waterloo in the Environmental International Development Program, I have seen my passions mould into obligations.  I have personally been dedicated to sustainable living for a some time now, however, since I have developed a knowledge in the field of international development, and sustainable living in lesser developed countries, I feel obliged to follow my passion through to these destinations.  This is essentially, where my personal and professional goals collide: on the quest to promote sustainable living with a high quality of life everywhere.  My enthusiasm for the environment and the natural world begins with the work I do in the summers.  I am a canoe/wilderness guide for students aged ten to eighteen years of age.  Being a part of the transformation these students undergo just through experiencing the world in its purest, most natural state is enchanting.  The lessons I have learned from the natural world are numerous, and it saddens me to see this meaningful teacher dissipating before our eyes.  My goals for my life, my field placement, and for my professional career, stem from this passion, and my aspirations to preserve it for the well being of future generations.  

                  I have long dreamed of travel, with a specific infatuation with the continent of Asia.  The fact that Asian people and their culture differ so much from the culture I have grown up with, and am accustomed to is exciting to me; with the hopes of exploring new terrain and associated environmental and social issues.  Within Asia, my hopes are to work within the sector of sustainable rural or agricultural development.  Harmonization between developing communities and the natural environment is something I have an immense amount of interest in.  It is a sector of international development that I am extremely passionate about, and therefore feel I could be dedicated to.

                  In the past, I have had the opportunity to travel to South Africa with friends, and around Europe through the international high school I attended.  These travel opportunities taught me lessons about the world that no amount of time spent in a classroom could ever teach me.  I was enlightened to the call of adventure and the desire to experience how people live in all the different corners of the earth.  By moving away from the city, country, people and lifestyle I am acclimated to, I hope to be pushed out of my comfort zone and into a place of learning.  When you are not accustomed to anything around you, everything is a lesson, and an opportunity to learn.  In my field placement overseas, I hope to learn first hand the issues that affect people living in rural communities in lesser-developed countries, and as a result, how this has affected the natural environment and their quality of living.  By living in Asia, however, I wish to learn everything I can of differing cultures and lifestyles to my own. 

                  Throughout the work that I do over the summers, leading youth through the wilderness, I have reflected a lot of what being a leader is, and how I can embody a leadership position by incorporating my personality, goals and values into it.  Being a leader, and having some sort of responsibility allotted to me is something I strive for and react well upon.  In instances where there is some form of pressure, I often do my best work.  In the field of international development where most aspects of the subject of study are unpredictable, flexibility is something that is valued—I consider myself very flexible in this manner, and eager perform under time constraints.  Communication comes naturally to me, and is something I thoroughly enjoy, in hopes of gaining new perspectives on matters.  I love doing field-work, and being put into situations where I can communicate and learn in a hands on way—experiencing what I am learning or working on personally.  Learning of sustainable international development in Waterloo, has excited me for experiencing development in real situations first-hand. 

                  The entire notion that I am going to be thrust into a foreign environment, working with an organization that works on the things, and explores the same development territory that I am passionate about, is exciting all together. I look towards my field placement as an adventure, where I will learn as much as I can, and work as hard as I can to build a platform of knowledge of which to build my future career.  This field placement is the experience of lifetime, and something I will embrace with the importance of such.  I look forward to working with knowledgeable and influential people, who can teach me a lot about their field of work and past experiences. I am excited to meet mentors in the field of social development and environmental sustainability, for I am sure they will influence my perspective of this field of work. 

                  As you can see, I am very passionate about adventure and experiencing new cultures, countries lifestyles and living environments.  This passion may also be my greatest challenge during my field placement abroad.  With so much excitement of being in a new environment, I will need to pay close attention to the organization of my time, and to the focus of my attention.  I am, without doubt, very interested in the field work I will be doing, however it will require a conscious effort on my part, to organize my time when there is opportunity for new adventures, outside of my workplace.  I often get so absorbed in new experiences that my focus can divert from the task at hand and onto new escapades and adventures.  

                 

                  

MDG'S: goals or proof of statistic?

     As North Americans, when we hear of issues arising in the field of international aid, our go-to solution, (should we choose to react) is to give more, and donate more, in hopes of making a difference.  Although commendable; the amount of aid given by Canadians to Latin America through government and NGO’s, the pertinent issue is not how much money is being given, but where the money is being distributed upon its donation.  The Millennium Development Goals are a set of goals to be used as guidelines for the social development of lesser-developed countries.  These goals are used to measure success, but also to guide donor countries to where they should target their international aid dollars. Initialized at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, one of the MDG’s is to halve the number of people living in absolute poverty (living on less than a dollar a day) by the year 2015. International aid needs to be scrutinized under the public eye in order to ensure it is going towards where it is needed the most.  Using the Millennium Development Goals as a guideline, we should be able to see equal distribution of aid in the realization of every goal—not just the ones that are easiest used to ameliorate statistics.

Critical thinking leads to innovation

Critical thinking or “thinking critically,” as I perceive it, is about filtering information and reacting accordingly.  It is the active process of interpreting information for its value—and utilizing it.  Critical thinking is an important skill to acquire and to practice at every possible opportunity—it sets one apart from the common stream of thought and on track to interpreting every conversation, every thought and every bit of information as a resource. 

            A character trait that I value as one of my primary inspirations to be in the field of international development is innovation.  Having the creativity to see and interpret things the way most would not, and acting upon these interpretations it is something I strive to succeed at throughout my lifetime. Being able to approach a topic, keeping in mind everyone and everything this topic affects and relates to is an important factor of thinking critically. The key to innovation is critical thinking. 

            My first year of university I enrolled in an elective course in the philosophy department titled “critical thinking.”  This class taught me a lot more about the theory of thinking critically, (being able to detect biases, fallacies etc…) as opposed to teaching me about critical thinkers themselves.  At first I was slightly let down, however found by the end of the semester to be thinking more critically myself.  On a day-to-day basis, I found myself often getting into small debates with friends and looking at topics of interest from many different perspectives and points of view—using everything and everyone I interacted with as a resource. As I began exploring different viewpoints and interpretations of things, I found my creativity evolved, and I am now able to discuss topics from an innovative standpoint. Learning about the world around me, and acting and reacting in innovative ways to help the evolution of development in lesser developped countries is essentially what I would like to do with my life—thinking critically about everything I can is the only means of getting there.

Pee Poo Genius

PeePoople Genius!

   In Developing nations that require prompt action to assure the prosperity of its people, land and culture, one must not start at such a large scale—Infrastructure, governmental revolutions and other such grand plans are not going to work. Not yet.  Smaller scale, simple, local projects that will make an immediate differences that are measurable to the people/land it is helping are the way to begin the crisis of over and under development on this planet.

            The Millennium Development Goals proposed by the United Nations outline a strong need for the participation of economically prosperous countries to alleviate many development issues amongst third world countries.  Hygiene and Sanitation issues have been determining factors in many of the issues discussed in the millennium development goals such as: child mortality, health, and environmental sustainability.

            PeePoople is a Non Government Organization that has taken the idea of simple, small and local into great consideration with their innovative product to help with the sanitation of urine and fecal matter: the Peepoo bag.  The Peepoo bag is essentially a single use toilet that does not demand any sort of water flow infrastructure, or structure at all. It is a personal bag that measures 14 by 38 centimeters in which people who lack the everyday amenity of a toilet can use to safely dispose of urinary and fecal matter.  The materials of the bag contain enzymes that react with urine and feces that raise the PH levels of the material, allowing natural hygeinisation to begin. Dangerous Pathogens found in urine and feces are killed after two to four days in the Peepoo bag, which would otherwise end up infecting nearby groundwater, streams and ponds.  These bags then biodegrade and act as fertilizer to the land they occupy. 

            Currently these bags are made from 45% reused materials, and have a fairly low cost of production.  The cost however is not low enough—developing nations have not yet adopted this method of sanitation, nor have they been educated of its usages and benefits.
           Let's get this out there!

Do we have the right to measure poverty?

   "The poor themselves—the only set of people who can realistically make a difference—are often left out of the discussion" -Imprint

  We have homes, cars and wireless internet on our smart phones that allow us to access all the information in the world. We have it all, we know it all—or so we believe.  We study, then we solve—we study poverty: the vicious cycle, how small businesses can alleviate monetary stress, and other solutions. We donate.  We then go overseas and preach; telling small villages they have it all ‘wrong’, and to ‘know their rights.’ We have never experienced extreme poverty, therefore we don’t have the knowledge to teach about poverty. Only the people living the life of the poor have the knowledge, we simply know the stats and figures.  We need to learn from people, not from our textbooks about how poverty is affecting their lives, their families’ lives and the lives of generations to come.  Let us learn the truth so we can utilize all of the resources we so fortunately have access to, to get to the root of the issue of poverty. 

   Measuring poverty is one of the most challenging things to do—especially to people who are unaccustomed to experiencing what poverty is.  There are classifications used to measure certain aspects of poverty, such as: income poverty, relative poverty, human poverty and absolute poverty.  But how do these categories compare to basic human needs?  Shelter, health, hygiene, safety, nutrition, social involvement and respect are all aspects of life no one should be expected to live without.  Measuring poverty is always a problem, especially if you recognize that just using money is not enough.

   Our global free market has offered many successes and many collapses to our world’s economic situation.  Whichever side you find yourself pertaining to, the globalization of our marketplace has significantly increased the gap between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ in our world.  Lesser-developed countries were forced to open their economies to the global marketplace and the result was parlous competition.  With every country struggling for economic prosperity, it became a competition between states of the global south to provide lower standards, reduced wages and cheaper resources to any country that would invest.  This spiraling race to the bottom only increased the power and wealth of more developed nations and lessened the capability of lesser-developed countries to prosper economically.

Show me where the money's going

 Business: the rise and demise of our globalized world.  From an international development standpoint, we are taught to challenge large businesses: to identify their potentially corrupt means of attaining wealth.  However, with the creation of large corporate businesses also came many great things; comfortable lifestyles, lucrative employment opportunities, evolving technologies...aspects of our social society we are all quite dependant upon. With this rise in overall living standards came a rise in excess, (another word ‘indevians’ are weary about) but even excess does not have to be thought of as bad—excess money can mean charitable donations, philanthropic generosity and humans helping humans—This was the original jist of Aid: giving away excess to help those whom don’t have enough. So how is it that aid has now turned into a business, (the kind that makes us cringe)? 

            Aid has become a business—not the kind of business fostering the evolution of social society, economic growth and living standards, but the fraudulent kind that needs to be obliged to a transparent operating system and under public scrutiny.  If people are giving their money, it should be imperative that they are able to track its progress all the way through to its beneficiaries. Because of the precarious reputation of aid distribution, people are becoming reluctant to donate, and official aid is at the lowest it has been the past twenty years.  

thoughts while looking around my room, feverishly typing on my mac

   As Canadians, we don’t directly suffer from HIV/AIDS, malaria, or tuberculosis epidemics, for the most part. Here, in the Developed world, we have created our own epidemic—the spread of affluenza.  Affluenza is described as: the unsustainable addiction to over consumption and materialism exhibited in the lifestyles of affluent consumers in Canada and other countries. Affluenza is the main cause of overconsumption in our lives.  It is the dissatisfaction with what material possessions one owns, and the yearning for more. It seems ironic that epidemics in developing countries are caused by lack of resources and material objects such as contraceptives, hygiene products and medicines/vaccinations, whereas our epidemic is the exact opposite.  As residents of a developed country, we are damaging the earth and depleting its resources, not to mention poisoning our bodies with an excess of material objects and our incessant desire for even more. In order for humans to begin to repair the damage done we must re-evaluate our primitive urge to compete with one another, the harm we are inflicting on the earth by overconsuming, and ways to live a simpler, less disruptive lifestyle.

            As a child, battling my older sister for her toy was an everyday enterprise, as a preteen, obtaining the trendiest jeans was a must. Out shining others is a natural human quality instilled at some point in our early lives.  However, its not just humans; beyond our species, competition reaches the realm of the animal and plant kingdoms. As Darwin once explained: in order to survive, trees grow taller to consume more sunlight than their shorter neighbours, their roots grow deeper to seep up more water than the vegetation beside it—our world revolves around competition.  Nowadays, however, competition is different than simply competing for survival.   Larger homes, bigger cars, brand names, and globalized corporations; competition’s new motto is “the bigger the better”.  Affluence, is, without doubt a major cause of overconsumption in the developed world—people filling the void of their empty lives by purchasing material goods for temporary satisfaction.  Affluence is essentially competition.  If humans were not competing with one another, there would be no need for excess.  Nice cars would not be a valued possession—an old jalopy could suit anyone’s transportation needs, assuming the car worked properly.  What are 10 watches, when you only need one to tell the time? Because we feel the need to show others our social status and success and compete with one another in these categories, we are overconsuming. 

   We are consumers.  Every living thing, takes some sort of materials from the earth in order to survive—the earth can support this kind of consumption.  Over consumption is when a species takes more than is directly necessary for use, or more than the earth can sustainably provide.  Humans in developed countries have mastered this phenomenon. The earth cannot support everyone in the manner to which Americans have become accustomed. Over consuming has catastrophic impacts on our natural environment: it has caused the degradation of many of the earth’s natural resources, decreased the quality of life for people living in third world countries, and it is even serving the over consumers more harm than supposed therapeutic relief.  The destruction of natural habitat is occurring all around the world to make way for industry, mass farming, and other development—all to feed our need to consume.   The deterioration of North American resources is probably the most noticeable damage to the over consuming population. However, even with damage being done so close to home, perhaps even under the floor of your home, most consumers have no idea of the impact their purchases have on the environment.  We have destroyed more than fifty percent of our wetlands, ninety percent of our old growth forests, ninety nine percent of tall grass prairie and over four hundred and ninety species of native plants and animals.  As people of developed countries spend more money, and purchase more material goods, we use more of the earth’s resources and leave less for people who cannot pay the sums of money we can, and for people in future generations. Since the nineteen fifties, Americans have consumed more resources than; the entire third world population, the Romans during the age of the Roman empire and every human being who lived prior to this time.  It seems, really, that no good is coming from over consumption—one would assume that the only party winning in this battle is the consumers themselves.  However, studies show that people who have consciously made an effort to cut back on consumption habits are happier than people who have not. Why are more people not joining in?

Noble Winter: what's in a name?

   In Vietnamese class the other day we were asked to choose our Viet names.  I didn't realize this is why at the University of Waterloo there are so many Peggy's, Destiny's and Holly's who do not look as though they come from places in the world where these names exist.  I didn't realize when you move to a different Country, you get to choose your own name.  Some people choose the equivalent to their name in the new country's language, however Vietnamese doesn't exactly provide you with this option.  In Vietnam, names are formulated by words with associated meanings, names like chrysanthemum and warrior.  It troubled me however, that i could not choose a name such as 'loyal soldier,' because Viet names are extremely gender sensitive.
   I immediately saw this as a culture flaw: how can men and women expect to be of equal social status when women are names after precious jems and flowers, and men after ferocious animals and fighters?  I pitied myself as I scanned the names and tried to come up with one that was of feminine orientation, but had some sort of edge to it.  'Noble Winter' was the best I could do, but ideally i would have gone for something more along the lines of 'aggressive lion.'  As I felt for the Vietnamese women growing up under the identity of a precious stone, i wondered the meaning behind my own name, of French decent given to me by my Canadian parents.
   Margot, much to my shock and surprise, the name I have lived with my entire life means 'Pearl!'  A gem from the earth, strung around women's necks as a sign of sophistication and economic status!  After a moment of dismay came a glimpse of clarity: I have been living my life for my entire life named after a pearl, and never, not once have  I felt inferior to a male or someone with a different name.
   A name is not a label, it isn't even an identity, no matter what country you're in.  A name is simply a name.

If i saw you in an elevator, this is what I would say..

I am Margot Phillips, also known as cao quý mùa đông, which means ‘noble winter’ in my Vietnamese class.  I am taking Vietnamese because come September, I am going to be living and working for an environmental NGO in Vietnam.  Pan Nature is an NGO that works to bring economic prosperity and environmental sustainability to communities in Vietnam that struggle through daily life. These communities lack access to the household amenities that we take for granted, such as primary education, potable water, and public sewage systems.  I want to be an international ambassador for Pan Nature by bringing my learning’s from Vietnam back to Canada, through my blog.  I hope to inspire Canadians to realize their privileged lifestyles and encourage them to donate some of that privilege to Pan Nature and their efforts for change. In order for my voice to be loud enough to spark change, I need as much support as I can get. I have much to teach, but even more to learn. Follow my adventure, my voice, and my lessons at noblewinter.blogger.com.