Tell the chef to cook something proper! - Pledging for Change

Tell the chef to cook something proper! - Pledging for Change

“Oh for goodness sake, tell the chef to cook her something proper!”

I was so thrilled to hear this that I nearly leapt out of my chair and did a little dance of joy.

Why was I so thrilled? Well, I have this issue with pasta and risotto as the unimaginative de facto standard vegetarian option in pretty much every restaurant I ever visit.

So when I was invited to stay for lunch at C Restaurant in Vancouver [http://www.tourismvancouver.com/visitors/] while interviewing Executive Chef Rob Clarke, I explained that I didn’t eat meat or fish. The waiter started to suggest their one vegetarian option – the pasta. It was at this moment that Mr Clarke uttered the words I was so delighted to hear.

And what the chef came up with was amazing. Why it wasn’t on the menu already and why they chose tedious pasta instead, I cannot imagine.

My meal started with tiny bites of marinated fruits and vegetables on skewers. They were served standing upright on a glass tile, looking like multi-coloured flags of food. The main course was essentially “British Columbia on a plate”. The chef personally delivered it to my table and explained each item and where it had come from in the province. It seemed there was a delight on offer from almost every area, laid out on the plate like a work of art and with a good balance of vegetables and protein (unlike pasta or risotto which generally only contains carbohydrates and fat).

It just goes to show; this chef was far better than pasta. It’s a shame that so often vegetarians (or meat eaters who fancy a day off) are palmed off with sub standard fare. And Rob Clarke’s comment makes me wonder if in fact they are aware of this but perhaps choose the safe (lazy?) way out on their menus.

My plea to chef’s everywhere is don’t treat vegetarians as second class diners.

My experience of vegetarian food in British Columbia was generally excellent. I also visited (along with eight meat eaters) a seafood and sushi restaurant called Blue Water and we all tried a taster menu. Each course was beautifully presented and explained and wine chosen specifically to complement it. Quite often as a vegetarian I feel that I am missing out on the care and attention that a chef gives to meat eaters. Not so here. My food was carefully thought through, artfully presented and deliciously tasty.

Read more

The homeless humanitarian and a turning point in adoption - Pledging for Change

The homeless humanitarian and a turning point in adoption - Pledging for Change

This week, we learned from Ukraine that for the first time, adoption of orphans by Ukrainians had exceeded those made by foreign visitors

3 years ago, social business pioneer Terry Hallman started to examine the root causes of poverty in Ukraine. He realised that foster parents were paid only half what the state paid institutions where children, particular those disabled, were often neglected.

Terry is the American founder of a social enterprise based in the Forest of Dean who'd once been homeless.

He spoke out in an insightful and shocking article 'Death Camps for Children', which explored and exposed the key reasons behind the issue, such as a lack of funding, limited medical knowledge and large-scale corruption.

Exploring the issues in full public view by blogging, Terry then proposed the increase of adoption payments, creation of 400+ rehab centres and a policy of homes for all children. This became part of a strategy paper calling on US government for support in childcare reform, microfinance lending, affordable broadband access and a social investment fund to promote social enterprise

Within the next 2 years these childcare recommendations became government policy and USAID provided a new foundation to promote CSR and support social enterprise. The tide in adoptions then began to turn.

For Terry this was familiar territory, in 1999 just after Russia's economy imploded, he'd called on the US to support the creation of an economic development initiative in Siberia which led to the creation of 10,000 new microentrepreneurs.

It was back in 1996 when invited as an honorary researcher for President Clinton's re-election committee that Terry conceived the idea of a business with social objectives and delivered it as a white paper to the committee. It proposed an alternate economic paradigm, capitalism with compassion.

Shortly after, he lost his home through divorce and lived 2 years on the streets, until the situation in Russia offered the opportunity to apply his theoretical model, bottom up economic development to replace the top down efforts which preceded it.

For most, the concept of changing capitalism was beyond imagination prior to the credit crisis of 2008. A notable exception perhaps being Bill Gates who took the world by surprise at Davos by announcing that capitalism could be deployed creatively to address poverty.

In Ukraine, this turning point is far from a solution. Just 2000 domestic adoptions from a total of around 100,000 means more than 40 years to adopt those currently institutionalised, without considering the invisible who are disabled, or perhaps as many as 200,000 living on the streets.

Increasing the overall wealth of the people of this nation is what Terry offers in his solution, a 'Marshall Plan' directed at "hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos"

Sharing Nest Boxes - Pledging for Change

Sharing Nest Boxes - Pledging for Change: "Below is Passion for the Planet's new blog from Helen Chapman from the team. Read more here.

Below is Passion for the Planet's new blog from Helen Chapman from the team. Read more here.

I saw this story today and thought it was just soooo cute!

From the RSPB:

Renting out one of your rooms or moving in with friends are options that many people have taken during the recession but it seems some wildlife has had the same idea.

At the time of year when we're urging people to put up nestboxes ready for next spring, a surprising number of unusual shared occupancies have come to light.

Our wildlife enquiries team has been encouraging callers to clean out existing nestboxes and to put new ones in position so they are in place for when birds start to 'recce' possible nest sites in the spring.

Some birds will start to roost in them in the next few weeks as the weather turns colder too.

And the number of extraordinary reports of some species doubling up in nestboxes in recent years has come as quite a surprise.

Barn owl nestboxes seem to attract the most unusual tenants, with reports of the generous bird of prey sharing their nest boxes with birds like jackdaws, kestrels (see image) and stock doves.


Many birds are furiously territorial, especially when raising their young. And callers have reported that some birds sharing a home are constantly harassed when trying to get into their house-share, making it even more bizarre that they should persist.

Other birds that have been spotted nest sharing are blue tits and great tits and both of these species have been seen sharing with pied flycatchers too.

Experts believe one reason for the shared occupancies could include multiple cavities in some nest boxes, leading to the birds fledging from one cavity and returning to roost in the 'wrong hole' that is already occupied.

Another reason could be because they have unwittingly laid their eggs in the active nest of another species.

There may also be a lack of nesting sites in some areas. Many larger birds that nest in holes in trees or in older, undisturbed buildings are having difficulty finding suitable nesting sites, as buildings are knocked down or converted.

Richard James, one of our wildlife advisers says: 'Now is a great time to put up new nestboxes or give old ones a clean ready for the next round of breeding in spring. Long before eggs are actually laid and chicks hatched, the adult birds will start to scope out possible nest sites.

'It's great to hear that people are getting so excited about unusual lodgers and although its quite unusual, it just goes to show you never know quite what you might find in your nest box.

'You could be providing a home for all sorts of strange houseguests!'

If you discover that you have two species sharing a box, you should put up another box elsewhere in the garden for next year. Both species might want to breed in the area again the following year, so adding another box will ensure they have their own space.

Richard says: 'When two species both have young in it will get crowded, so the adults might have to wait their turn. They would both appreciate another box!

'Different species have different nesting requirements, but the general rule of thumb is to position a nestbox so it isn’t easy for predators to get in, and try and face it away from strong sunlight and prevailing winds.'

Visit the RSPB website to find out more.

Rainforest Medicine from National Geographic - Pledging for Change

Rainforest Medicine from National Geographic - Pledging for Change

The cure for cancer may be in the rainforests...but we'll never know unless we protect them and the people who live there.

We CAN save the the rainforests... and WE are...

Rainforest Plants - Brazil Nut - Pledging for Change

Rainforest Plants - Brazil Nut - Pledging for Change: "Family: Lecythidaceae

Genus: Bertholletia

Species: excelsa

Common names: brazil nut, castania, castanheiro do para, para-nut, creamnut

General Description: The Brazil nut tree is a tall rainforest canopy tree. It is the only species in the genus Bertholletia. This tree grows primarily in forests with full canopies; it is enormous, reaching heights of 150 feet or more.

The Brazil nut tree is one of many similar species that illustrate the amazing ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest, in which plants and animals depend upon each other for survival. Specifically, this tree requires the carpenter bee for pollination of its flowers. It also depends on the agouti (a rodent living in Central America) for dispersing its seeds. This rodent has sharp teeth and strong jaws, cracks the nuts open and then carries them throughout the rainforest floor.

Brazil nut trees grow very slowly, taking as long as 10 to 30 years before producing nuts, and sometimes producing as many as 300 fruits when mature. The fruits of the Brazil nut trees are handpicked as they fall to the ground beginning in November of each year."

Rainforests are critical to our health and the future of life on earth - Pledging for Change

Rainforests are critical to our health and the future of life on earth - Pledging for Change: "As scientists gain insight into how important the earth's rainforests, both tropical and temperate, are to maintaining a climate that supports life as we know it, they are becoming increasingly alarmed by the possibility that these fragile eco-systems will not survive. Other research shows that rainforest plants may hold the secret to cures for many of our modern diseases -- from cancer to heart disease to diabetes and more.

Although there is much to be concerned about, there is hope too. And that's vitally important. We can't sit around waiting for somebody else to do something. We can't get dejected and negative. Complaining won't help. We CAN save the rainforests. WE must! It's truly in our hands -- and we must take constructive action. How? That's what the Rainforests United group is all about! There are many ways that each of us can make a difference. Let's talk about those ways. Let's help each other be educated, smart consumers. Let's promote organizations who are doing good work to save rainforests across the globe. Let's make a difference! Do it now."

Sting sends his Rainforests SOS for The Prince's Rainforests Project - Pledging for Change

Sting sends his Rainforests SOS for The Prince's Rainforests Project - Pledging for Change

Sting re-works his classic 'Message in a Bottle' with a rainforest twist to launch his Rainforest SOS and encourage sign ups to the Prince's Rainforests Project



http://www.rainforestSOS.org