The power of “good bacteria”
richard.mahoney@eap.on.ca
with the Hawkesbury area recycling
V ANKLEEK
H ILL
committee.
The Cooter Muck Brewery has been
producing kombucha, beer, and wine and
“Don’t be afraid of good bacteria!”
experimenting with ways to make tasty treats
Thatis justoneofthecatchphrasesAdam
and useful products from beneficial bacteria
Webster and Scott Russell use to promote
since 1990. “We enjoy working with our
their Compostgénie seeds.
Photo Richard Mahoney
invisiblemicroorganismhelpers,andteaching
Good bacteria is the basis of their Cooter
Pyramids? Not quite. Snow-covered piles of chipped trees are all that remain of a
our community about their benefits and how
Muck Probiotics, which is “reintroducing
wooded area in East Hawkesbury Township. The land has been cleared to make way
to harness them,” the company web site
people to awesome mirco-organisms”
for crops.
www.compostgénie.com says.
through the Vankleek Hill company’s
“In 2008, we decided to start making some
Forest loss forum
Compostgénie composting system.
of our products available to the public, while
They say the “superheroes included in
continuing our missions to create delicious
Compostgénie are naturally occurring and
newsroom@eap.on.ca
recommends that at least 30 per cent of the
and useful products and share them with the
healthy for people to be around – and they
landscape be maintained in forest cover to
A VONMORE
community, and to teach people how to make
produce better compost!”
provide for a multitude of environmental
them themselves.”
SincetheinventorsmovedfromMontréal
benefits–fromwildlifehabitattowater.The
The seeds are safe –Webster regularly eats
to Vankleek Hill last March, Compostgénie
Forest cover loss in Stormont-
forumwill address the following questions:
the granules during promotional events.
has been growing in popularity. The line is
Dundas-Glengarry will be discussed
Whyshouldarurallandownerkeepaforest?
The seedmixture is reallymaterial left over
now sold at chains such as Home Depot and
at a forum February 24, from 8:30 a.m.
What can we do to preserve forests? What
fromprocessingorganicwheat,oatsandother
Home Hardware as well as some Your
to 2 p.m. at the Avonmore community
support systems do government agencies at
grains. “We use it as a neutral material on
Independent Grocer stores.
hall.
the federal, provincial and municipal levels
whichthebeneficialmicroorganismsthatmake
The firm, which employs six, has visions
Formoreinformationonthemeeting,
offer to private woodlot owners? Agencies
the Compostgénie systemwork can grow. It’s
of expanding to the United States, first to
sponsoredbytheResourceStewardship
including Ontario Ministry of Natural
also absorbent, so it reduces moisture, which
Vermont and eventually San Francisco.
Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry Council
Resources, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture
helpstheprocessalongandpreventstheodours
A $35,000 grant from the federal
andtheSD&GCertifiedForestOwners,
and Food, SD&G Counties, Municipal
some “swampy” organisms might produce in
government announced last week by
contact stewardship coordinator Jim
Property Assessment Corporation, Eastern
a wetter environment. We call them seeds,
Glengarry-Prescott-Russell MP Pierre
Hendry at (613) 933-7671 or
OntarioModelForest,andCanadaRevenue
becausetheyholdsomanysleepingorganisms
Lemieux will help develop new products.
jim.hendry@ontario.ca.
Agency have been invited to attend. There
that wake up and grow when you add food
Oneofthemisacatlitteradditive,Littergénie.
Surveys conducted by local
will be a “listening panel” to hear the ideas
and water.”
“It takes about $50,000 to develop one
conservation authorities and others
andsuggestionsputforwardbyindividuals
AttheoperationinVankleekHill’sindustrial
product,” says Scott Russell.
show that the current amount of forest
and stakeholders. The event is open to
park, themixture is dried and packaged using
He and Webster have lots of other ideas.
cover in SD&G is about 28 per cent and
everyone and is scheduled to run Ontario.
labour-intensive methods. The installation of
For example, they see the development of a
is declining at the rate of at least one per
Refreshments will be provide but please
new equipment lately “has made us 600 times
compostingsystemthatgenerateselectricity.
cent per decade. Environment Canada
bring your own lunch.
more efficient,” says Webster.
There is no shortage of raw material,
He andRussell note that with the growth of
observes Webster. About 50 per cent of all
urban composting programs, their
the garbage produced is food.
Fiddle tour
Compostgénie will be a natural choice for city
They are also discussing the possible
dwellers.
launch of a regional composting program
chugs into
Vankleek Hill
newsroom@eap.on.ca
V ANKLEEK
H ILL
Champion fiddler Scott Woods and
his band steam into Vankleek Hill with
their “All Aboard!” tour for a 7 p.m.
March 30 show at Knox Presbyterian
Church.
Ticketsfortheshowthatwillhelpsend
children to aChristian camp inGracefield
are available at the Vankleek Hill
Scotiabank branch or by calling Leigh at
613-678-3404 or Verne at 613-678-2626.
Showcasing the talent of Woods, a
Photo Richard Mahoney
CanadianGrandMastersfiddlechampion,
Cooter Muck owners Adam Webster (centre) and Scott Russell explain to Glengarry-
this is a two-hour fun-filled musical
Prescott-Russell MP Pierre Lemieux how their Compostgénie product works.
journey sure to delight audiences of all
ages.
Recycle costs stable
Scott Woods studied classical violin
newsroom@eap.on.ca
fromage four. He also plays several other
H AWKESBURY
instruments, but his favourite is fiddle -
whether it’s classical, jazz, big band,
country, swing, Celtic, or old time music.
Taxpayers’contributiontowasterecyclingservicesintheHawkesburyareawillremain
Scott Woods
Hisloveoffiddlinghasbeenpasseddown
unchanged this year, according to estimates presented to Hawkesbury, Champlain and
throughsixgenerationsofhisfamily.Two-
somersaults and step dance while playing
East Hawkesbury councils.
time winner of the CanadianOpen Fiddle
the fiddle. For seven years Scott was the
Municipal levies will total $357,534 this year, compared to $357,634 in 2010, Hawkesbury
Contest,two-timewinneroftheCanadian
musical director and played the part of Don
area joint recycling committee coordinator Robert Lefebvre related in a recent report.
GrandMasters Fiddling Championships,
MesserinMemoriesofDonMesser’sJubilee
Expenditures are expected to decrease from$570,054 to $534,300, while total revenues are
and Canadian Fiddle Entertainer of the
which toured extensively in Canada.
anticipated to dip from $563,858 to $534,300. Municipalities’ shares, based on the number of
YearareperhapsScott’smost-prizedtitles.
ScottWoodscombineshissuperbplaying
households, will shift slightly, withHawkesbury’s portion going from $173,981 to $174,449,
However, he has won competitions and
ability with a wonderful sense of humour,
Champlain’sallotmentrisingfrom$133,272to$133,398andEastHawkesbury’sbilldropping
performedthroughoutCanada,theUnited
along with other talented musicians who
from $50,380 to $49,686. Total tonnage collected this year is projected to be 1,475, compared
States and Europe. Scott can turn
join him onstage.
to 1,408 in 2010. The per-household cost is expected to be decline from $34.30 to $34.27.
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