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Green Your Campbell Cash: The Big Winners

Five projects proved most popular, but all of us won.

David Beers 31 Jul 2008TheTyee.ca

David Beers is founding editor of The Tyee.

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In the spring, we at The Tyee wondered how we might help our fellow British Columbians make the most of the $100 climate change dividend cheques destined for our mailboxes.

We came up with the idea to create a showcase, and a marketplace, for exciting, innovative grassroots projects for fighting global warming in B.C.

The idea, by lots of measures, has proven a great success.

Thanks to all who participated, the Green Your Campbell Cash website, launched here on The Tyee 50 days ago, became home to:

The Green Your Campbell Cash site remains alive in cyberspace. Feel free to drop in and look around!

Now the voting for top projects is closed and tallied, however, and the winners have been identified. Here are the five most popular climate change initiatives on the Green Your Campbell Cash website, calculated by multiplying number of votes received by the average rating given by visitors.

Each of these will receive $500 from The Tyee to further their aims:

The UBC Farm -- 1093 votes x 4.9 rating = 5355.7 score.

"The UBC Farm is the last working farm in Vancouver. The farm provides fertile ground for a wide mix of learning, research, and community projects for learners of all ages. The farm is currently embarking on a new project entitled, 'Changing the Food System to Change the Climate'…"

Rail For The Valley -- 669 votes x 4.8 rating = 3211.2 score.

"Today, the Fraser Valley has close to a million people… Instead of being stuck in traffic, why not ride the train? Re-establishing Interurban passenger rail service from Chilliwack to at least as far as Scott Rd. Skytrain in Surrey station is a no-brainer, because: 1) the track is still intact, and is under-used by freight; 2) only minor upgrades are necessary for passenger rail service; 3) the government already owns the Interurban right-of-way as well as the rights to run passenger rail on this track An initial service could be implemented in less than two years…"

Vancouver Public Space Network -- 351 votes x 4.6 rating = 1614.6 score.

"The Vancouver Public Space Network promotes creative, community-friendly urban design and devises innovative ways to re-green the city. Current projects include starting community gardens throughout Vancouver, greening urban landscapes, working with community partners for better cycling infrastructure, holding public workshops on subjects like eco-density, and more…"

Reynolds Green Spaces Project -- 345 votes x 4.6 rating = 1587 score.

"The Reynolds Green Spaces Project will provide numerous tangible benefits to the students and staff of Reynolds School as well as to the larger community. There are planned physical changes that will restore the Garry Oak meadow at the front of the school, redevelop the inner courtyard to include sitting areas, stage, artwork and planting beds, allowing a great deal of flexibility in the use of the space. Students will assist with planning, planting and fabrication…"

Nature School -- 329 votes x 4.8 rating = 1579.2 score.

"Nature School enables teachers to move their classrooms to the Ruby Lake Lagoon Nature Reserve for an entire week of hands-on exploration… Students participate in diverse activities, such as: Learning about energy and water conservation at the Iris Griffith Centre -- a model green building featuring solar power, solar hot water, green roof and rainwater catchment [and] assisting with wetland restoration and trail building in the Nature Reserve. The program helps ensure that children form the personal connections and sense of environmental responsibility and stewardship..."

We are gratified to note that the five winners span B.C., including the Sunshine Coast, the Gulf Islands, the Fraser Valley and Vancouver, with a range of ideas about how to meet the challenge of global warming.

Much appreciated

Many thanks go to Michelle Hoar, Lisa Manfield and Trish Mau at The Tyee for their creativity and hard work in pulling together this project, as well as our Green Your Campbell Cash co-founding partners: Pembina Institute, David Suzuki Foundation, Voters Taking Action on Climate Change, and Western Canada Wilderness Committee.

We'd also like to thank other members of the news media who reported on the initiative, helping to spread the word. Those we know reported on the Green Your Campbell Cash campaign include Urban Rush on Shaw Cable TV; CBC Radio's BC Almanac; Radio 1410's Morning Show; Radio Canada; CKNW's The World Today; The Globe and Mail, The University of Victoria Martlet, Williams Lake Tribune, and Canoe.ca.

Special thanks, as well, to Alex Grunenfelder who designed the Green Your Campbell Cash site and Rob Ellis who programmed it.

Together we accomplished much with this project, not only encouraging and supporting some great projects, but demonstrating how the Internet can be used to strengthen local, community efforts. The Tyee was proud to play its part in making Green Your Campbell Cash a success, and we applaud everyone who contributed so much creativity, good will and climate-cooling energy.

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