From Trampolines to Disco Balls: The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

Looking for a fun way to spend a few hours outdoors with your family making a difference for the environment? The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup awaits you.

What it is

The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is a national conservation program which encourages Canadians coast to coast to make a difference by removing litter from along local shorelines, thereby protecting our oceans and waterways.

This is the 17th year the event has been held. According to Jill Dwyer, Manager of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, the first event was held in 1994, when a handful of Vancouver Aquarium employees and volunteers decided to get Canada involved in the International Coastal Cleanup.

Some of the more unusual items to show up over the years include a message in a bottle (the message said, “Please don’t litter”), false teeth, a living room set, a canoe made out of duct tape, wedding dress, disco ball, a hotel safe, a toboggan, a mini trampoline and a clothesline complete with poles and pins.

Last year, nearly 57,000 Canadians registered to cleanup 1,568 sites across Canada. Nearly 161,000 kg of litter was removed from a cumulative distance of 2,500 km of shoreline (roughly equivalent to the driving distance from Vancouver to the Manitoba/Ontario border). And Canada earned the distinction of having hosted the third largest shoreline cleanup in the world—an impressive achievement, given that we are a relatively small country, population-wise, notes Dwyer.

This year, there are already over 700 cleanup sites registered across Canada—including over 240 in Ontario alone.

The event is popular with families, corporate groups, and youth organizations. (Over 50 percent of participants belong to youth groups, Boy Scouts, or Girl Guides, according to Dwyer.)

How it works

There are two ways to get involved: as a site coordinator or as a cleanup participant.

If you choose to become involved as a site coordinator, you choose the site you want to clean up, set the date and time for the cleanup, and recruit participants.

If you prefer to be a cleanup participant, you simply show up on the date and time that the site coordinator has established for the cleanup. (It's a good idea to bring gloves and a garbage bag, says Dwyer.)

At that point, you'll receive basic instructions about the cleanup. (In addition to collecting litter, one member of each team records data about the litter that has been picked up.)

Why your family might want to get involved

Participating in The Great Canadian Shoreline Community is a lot of fun. It's a great way to give back to your community. And it's something you can do to help the environment.

"It's easy to feel overwhelmed by environmental issues," Dwyer explains. "The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup gives you something to do that is hands-on and easy. And when you combine what you're doing with what people at other cleanup sites across Canada are doing, it's pretty huge."

How to find out more

This year’s Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup takes place from September 18 to 26, 2010.

For more information or to register please visit shorelinecleanup.ca.

The Top Five Litter Items

367,010 - Cigarette butts
    116,138 - Food wrappers
    74,276 - Plastic Bags
    63,471 - Caps, Lids
    40,799 - Cutlery and Dishes

The top five litter items
removed from
Canadian shorelines
during the 2009
Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

Money Isn't Everything: Financial Advice for Families Needs to Make Sense as Well as Cents

This afternoon I tuned into a webcast sponsored by insurance giant MetLife. The webcast featured a panel of experts speaking on the topic of family finance:

• Stacey Bradford, author of The Wall Street Journal Financial Guidebook for Young Parents;
  
• David Port, author of The Caveman's Pregnancy Companion; and
• Beth Hirschhorn, Senior Vice President: Global Brand and Marketing of MetLife.

Much of the content was quite useful.

Port provided a roundup of stats on the cost of a university education south of the border ($170,000 if your child attends a publicly-funded university or $350,000 if your child attends a privately-funded university) that should minimize the griping amongst Canadian parents when it comes time to pay Junior's tuition bill this fall. He also provided some solid advice on keeping your family on-track financially. (Note: I may return to Port's portion of the program in a future post. Both Bradford and Port's books are on their way to me, so I've got a reason to write about family finance issues again.)

And Hirschhorn produced a handy (although slightly horrifying) formula for calculating how much insurance the insurance-industry experts estimate you need at any given time (60% of your annual income x your number of years to retirement). If you can't afford that, total up all your debt plus five years' annual salary and purchase that amount of insurance instead.

Unfortunately, where the MetLife seminar lost credibility (and I mean lost it in a major way) was in the "money saving tips for parents" portion of the program, which was delivered by Bradford.

Bradford was asked to deliver 10 money-saving tips for parents for each of the baby, toddler, and school-aged parenting stages. Most of the tips fell into the category of same old, same old (the stuff you've read a million times before, which is okay: she was rounding up this material and presenting it all at once, which is the purpose of a webcast like this one).

But some of her tips definitely missed the mark. The underlying advice was either unsound or it simply didn't ring true.

Here are the most annoying examples, based on the notes I took during the webcast.

"Borrow gear." "Buy used baby gear." "Accept hand-me-downs (for toddlers)" "Consider consignment shops." There's nothing wrong with shopping secondhand or borrowing certain types of baby or toddler gear from friends and family-members, but it's important to know which types of items are safe to purchase second-hand (or borrow); and which ones aren't. That crucial point – that some items are best purchased new - and you need to do your homework in order to keep your baby – should have been raised at least once during the webcast, particularly given that variations of this same tip were raised four separate times (see subhead, above). It's a message the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the US and Health Canada have issued repeatedly, and for good reason: children die each year because of accidents involving dangerous goods purchased second-hand.

"Ask your pediatrician for free formula – and be sure to get more free formula at the hospital." This was offered as a fabulous money-saving tip for breastfeeding moms as well as formula-feeding moms. "If you're breastfeeding, you'll need to supplement or to give some formula to your mom when she's babysitting," said Bradford. Later, during the question and answer period, all of the webcast participants offered additional advice on how to get additional free formula samples. "Write to the formula companies." "Ask the hospital for extras." "The formula companies will give you plenty because they know that once you start with their brand, you're likely to stick with it." At no point did anyone mention why bringing a can of infant formula home might not be such a great idea – or the bargain you think it might be – if you intend to breastfeed your baby, despite considerable research in this area; and World Health Organization (WHO) policy frowning on such practices (pdf). I was shocked.

"Skimp on a stroller and a high chair." Splurge on a car seat and a breast pump instead. While I agree a good car seat and a top-notch breast pump are essentials, I don't know that you want to skimp on a stroller ("All you need is a light umbrella stroller") or a high chair ("Just buy a $30 seat that attaches to a chair"). I'm thinking about things like back support and durability.

"Delay preschool. You'll save thousands. Have play-dates instead." Preschool tuition isn't a line item in the budget of every family. Many families are already scheduling playdates, paying for childcare, and holding down two (or more) jobs. I was also a little offended on behalf of ECEs (early childhood educators): to imply that early childhood education can be replaced by a playdate -- well, that's selling ECEs really short.

"Shop the sales. You can save 20% to 50% on next year's wardrobe." Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes it is difficult to predict what size and shape your child will be a year from now.

"Don't wait too long to potty-train." To this, Bradford added, "This piece of advice is a bit controversial. I would never suggest you push your child. Do it when it's the right time for your child." Huh? I'm having a bit of difficulty reconciling the two pieces of advice. Don't wait, but don't push?

"Take semi-private lessons." Sign your school-aged child up for semi-private tennis and violin lessons rather than private lessons, says Bradford. You can fork over the cash for private lessons when they are older and their talent is more established. No comment from me on this one....

"Share a hotel room with your child when your family is traveling. You will save $150 dollars per night." My reaction: (1) This is a tip? (2) This works well until your family size reaches or exceeds six. Then you will be forced to spring for that second hotel room in most hotels.

Financial advice for parents, like other types of parenting advice, needs to take all of a family's realities into account, including important health, safety, and lifestyle information, not just the family's financial situation. Otherwise, the financial advice isn't of much use to moms or dads; and the company providing it risks looking woefully out-of-touch with the very customers it is trying to woo.

* * *

I actually got a lot out of this webcast -- although it wasn't quite MetLife intended. The webcast reminded me just what is involved in communicating effectively with parents. It's not as easy as it looks. It's only when things start to fall apart that the mental glue that usually holds everything together becomes obvious. (Hopefully, that won't happen the next time I sit down to blog or I'll be awfully embarrassed after writing this hard-hitting post. But, hey, sometimes things need to be said.)

Hot and Bothered About Census Changes? You Bet I Am. And You Should Be, Too

School boards, health departments, researchers, and others who need best-in-class data to make decisions about our kids aren't going to have the same quality of data from the Canadian Census after 2011. Not after Stephen Harper is done with it.

Alright, I confess. I am the kind of gal who has RSS feeds set up for all the major university research departments and who has been known to devolve into a fangirl while interviewing a researcher in a field I am particularly passionate about. But this is about so much more than that: it's about an attack on public data for purely political reasons. Partisan political reasons, at that.

As a journalist, author, mother, and a Canadian, I am offended by Stephen Harper and Tony Clement's decision to mess with the data that will be gathered during the next Canadian census. As Haroon Siddiqui so eloquently explained in his column last Saturday, the data gathered every five year during our national census is relied upon by businesses, governments, and non-government organizations across the country and around the world. It provides them with a vital snapshot of our country and its people.

What makes the situation even worse is that, by messing with the quality of the data that will be gathered during the next census (in 2011), Harper and Clement will reduce the value of the data that came before. (You can't compare apples to oranges.) What a waste.

If this were simply a cost-cutting measure, you could almost forgive Harper and Clement. After all, isn't fiscal Conservatism supposed to be their schtick? But changing the Census rules is actually going to cost more. $30 million more.

So what's this about, then? "Harper’s penchant for secrecy, obfuscation and controlling information," according to Siddiqui. In other words, he's willing to contaminate the data pool to prevent inconvenient truths from floating to the surface.

But wait! It gets worse. Several other surveys that report on and analyze how Canadians are faring at work and at home, are being chopped or redesigned, Siddiqui reports. One of my favorites, the Survey of Household Spending, which provides a powerful snapshot of how the economy is affecting the lives of upper, middle, and lower income Canadian families is on the list of surveys that provide too much information, at least in the opinion of Harper and Co.

There's only one way to ensure that Stephen Harper comes to his "census": let him know that he's on the wrong side of public opinion on this one. Write to your MP. Write a letter to the editor. Talk to your friends (both online and in the real world). Spread the word that a pseudo-census is no substitute for the real thing.

Related:

Reader Letter: Census Too Important to Gut

Editorial: Census Changes Will Handcuff Researchers

How to Have the Summer Vacation from Hell With Your Family

Anyone can have an ordinary family vacation. It takes special planning to have the family vacation from hell. Here are a few key tips to keep in mind as you go about planning yours.

Share the family travel love. Invite your favorite (and not-so-favorite) relatives to join you on your family road trip. Isn't this what vacations are all about: maxing out family togetherness time?

Plan to cover as many miles in a day as you did in your pre-kid days. Circulate a copy of the daily itinerary at breakfast each day so that the toddlers can take note of the times you have scheduled for meal and bathroom breaks.

Put your family on the family diner diet. Eating in motel and roadside establishments that serve whipped cream and fried batter-based meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner will ensure that the kids end up riding the blood-sugar rollercoaster all day long. (Hey, it makes for cheap entertainment if you can't afford admission to a real amusement park.)

Hit as many tourist attractions as you can, even if you have to cancel naps and keep the kids up extra late to fit everything in. After all, you didn't bring the entire family all this way to miss seeing the [famous tourist attraction], now did you?

Late to bed, late to rise: make that your vacation motto, especially when you're staying in a motel. That way, you can start each morning in sprint mode, trying to beat the motel check-out clock. (Can you can get everyone up, washed, and packed (with no favorite stuffed animals left behind) by the time you have to hand over your motel key? Sure you can.)

Ramp up your caffeine intake if you feel your energy level starting to dip. You've got to play hard when you're on vacation, right? And as for annoying side effects like restlessness, edginess, and caffeine-induced insomnia? They'll wear off once you push yourself to the point of full-blown exhaustion, don't you worry.

If at first you don't succeed, etc. If your vacation from hell fell short of your expectations, simply vow to try harder next year. That unforgettable family vacation is well within your grasp.

Ann Douglas is the author of numerous books about pregnancy and parenting. She is also a family vacation survivor.

FilmPossible, Grandparent Care, and Teen Brains

FILMPOSSIBLE

Holland Bloorview is putting a call out to budding film-makers to enter filmpossible, a unique online video contest which will showcase the possibilities for children living with disabilities.

Film-makers have until Aug. 31 to submit their videos.

"Filmpossible is a unique opportunity for film-makers to dispel myths, perhaps by showcasing achievements or showing changes we can make," says Christa Haanstra, Senior Director, Communications and Public Affairs. "By entering this contest, you can help Holland Bloorview change the way the world views childhood disability."

I don't know about you, but I love the idea of this contest: putting the focus on the possible. After all, the world tends to do quite the opposite when your child is diagnosed with a disability: focusing on what may no longer be possible (at least according to some study or statistic). To find out how to enter, what you could win (yes, there are all kinds of fabulous prizes), and how the entries will be judged, visit the project's website, filmpossible.ca.

GRANDPARENT CARE

A recent article by BBC News education reporter Katharine Sellgren noted that the UK is lagging behind other European countries by failing to recognize the important role that grandparents play in providing childcare. (One in three mothers in the UK relies on her children's grandparents to provide childcare.)

According to Sellgren, steps taken by other EU countries to assist grandparents in providing care to their grandchildren included "allow [ing] parents to transfer parental leave to grandparents, letting working grandparents take time off if their grandchild is sick and, in some circumstances, paying them for the care they provided." (via Workplace Flexibility 2010.org). 

TEEN BRAINS

"One of the big discoveries [about adolescent health] has been about brain development. During adolescence there’s a massive pruning of the synapses [neural connections] of the brain, and this process doesn’t really stop until around age 24. And the last part of the brain to develop is the prefrontal cortex, which helps us in cognitive thought and making good decisions in our behavior. So that partially explains why teenagers are sort of known worldwide for their risk-taking behavior."
- Center for Adolescent Health director Freya Sonenstein, PhD, Director of the Center for Adolescent Health at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, quoted in the current issue of John Hopkins Public Health Magazine.

Note: The Center for Adolescent Health has just published a guide to adolescent health entitled The Teen Years Explained. You can download a copy of the book (in .pdf format).

This is What Excellent Health Care Looks Like: Snapshot From My Family Album

My son had dental surgery earlier this week. Because he has a seizure disorder, everyone involved agreed that the best way to proceed would be to have the two teeth that needed to be removed taken out under general anesthetic at the local hospital.

The day before his surgery, he and I took a tour of the out-patient surgical department so he would know exactly what to expect before, during, and after his surgery.

We talked about what he'd experience once he was admitted to the hospital, who would be taking care of him, what types of anesthetic he would be receiving (a combination of skin-numbing cream, a needle, and nitrous oxide via a mask), and we walked the route he would be following on surgery day.

Everyone did what they could to help him to prepare, in other words.

But when it came time for us to part ways at the double-doors that led to the operating wing, he became upset. I hugged him and tried to reassure him.

At that point, a nurse interrupted me and told me I was welcome to go into the operating room, too. Someone handed me a giant blue bag. I started to put my briefcase and my purse inside it.

Apparently the bag was a not a bag. It was a pair of one-size-fits-some overalls. I was supposed to put it on over my denim skirt (no easy task, that) and don the matching hair net.

My son found this hilarious.

I was the last one to make it into the operating room, as a result of my wardrobe challenges. Things were moving quickly by this point. I stood beside my son's left shoulder, echoing the reassuring words of the nurses and doctors. "You're strapped on the table because they don't want you to fall off." "The doctor needs you to breathe deeply so you can get some of the anesthetic into your lungs." "I know it's scary." "I'm right here." "I'll be waiting for you when you wake up." "It's okay." "I love you."

"He's asleep," the nurse said. My eyes were watery and my voice was shaky when I left the room and surrendered my blue suit. But I was grateful.

I can't imagine how much more afraid he would have been if I hadn't been able to talk to him, hold his hand, and pat his chest while he was trying to make sense of the scary sensations of going under general anesthetic for the very first time.

Actually, I can. I remember what it was like, a generation ago, when kids had to make that journey through those doors in the company of strangers, without the reassuring presence of mom or dad. We are lucky that providing health care to a child today emphasizes the care as much as the health. That's how it should be.