Come walk with us!  Did you know that a walk in the woods reduces stress no matter what your age?  Enjoy the great outdoors at RBG and spend healthy, active, quality time with friends and family.  Keep an eye out for bald eagles, fox tracks, deer, and other seasonal sightings.  Note:  Our trails are rocky and muddy.  Baby carriers work well, and the kids love the views.  Most trails are not suitable for strollers unless designed for off-sidewalk use.  Dress for the weather.

There are walks starting from other points on the first, third, and fifth Sundays.

• Container gardening 
• Fair Trade products
• Canning/preserving food
• Fruit Tree Project
• Locke St Market.
• The Good Food Box
• Victory gardens
• Food advocacy, food security action
• The Hill St Community Garden
• Community Kitchens 
• Rain barrels
• Composting/green binning 

and much more!

All Welcome. Event is Free.
Contact:
Beatrice Ekwa Ekoko
bekoko@faith-commongood.net
905 549 0900

http://greeningsacredspaceshamilton.blogspot.com/
www.greeningsacredspaces.net
http://environmenthamilton.org/

You are invited to apply to become a member of the Ward 1 Participatory Budgeting Advisory Committee (PBAC) to advise Councillor McHattie on how Area Rating Dollars should be spent in Ward 1.

Area rating is the method used to assign specific program costs to different areas within the City for the purposes of taxation. In April of 2011, Council approved the transition to an “urban/rural” model of taxation for the area rated services.

As a result of these changes, an Area Rating Special Capital Re-Investment Reserve has been set up for Wards 1 to 8 (the former City of Hamilton). The purpose of this reserve is to aid in addressing the required infrastructure investments within the former City of Hamilton. Ward Councillors are being asked to identify infrastructure priorities within their wards.

Councillor McHattie would like to involve the community to help identify these priorities through a process known as “Participatory Budgeting”. First developed in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Participatory Budgeting directly involves the community in making decisions on the spending priorities for a defined public budget.

The Ward 1 Participatory Budgeting Advisory Committee (PBAC) will be made up of twenty (20) members. The priorities identified by this committee will be presented to the wider Ward 1 community at a series of public meetings and residents will have an opportunity to submit their preferences for the projects.

If you are interested in applying to sit on the PBAC, please complete and submit an application. An interview process will follow, once all applications have been submitted. Meetings will take place in May and June, 2012.

Please forward this to your neighbours and Ward 1 friends. We are trying to reach as many Ward 1 residents as possible.

Application forms are available at the following locations:

· Councillor McHattie’s website at http://www.brianmchattie.ca

· Councillor’s Reception, Hamilton City Hall, 71 Main Street W., 2^nd Floor

· Locke Street Library

· Westdale Library

· Ryerson Recreation Centre

· Dalewood Recreation Centre

Applications can be returned by email to dale.brown@hamilton.ca, by fax to 905-546-2535 or by mail to Ward 1, 71 Main Street West, 2^nd Floor, Hamilton, ON, L8P 4Y4

The deadline for submission of applications is Friday, April 20^th, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. to Councillor McHattie’s Office.

Participatory Budgeting References:

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/03/29/participatory-budget/

http://www.participatorybudgeting.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_budgeting

April 14, Saturday, 5:00-6:30 p.m.:  Spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the Charles Family Defense Fund.  Canadians for Lucene Charles is a grass-roots group dedicated to keeping all five members of the Charles family intact and here in Hamilton.  The fund has been established to help with their significant legal costs.  Donations will be managed by St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Westdale.  For more information or to donate online, visit http://lucenecharles.wordpress.com/charles-family-defense-fund/ or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DontDeportLuceneandAjohkeCharles?sk=wall .  The dinner will be catered by East Side Mario’s (Queenston Road location) and features spaghetti and meatballs, garden salad, and a selection of desserts. Advance ticket sales only, available until April 11 at McMaster University’s OPIRG office, Student Centre, Room 229, or at Bryan Prince Booksellers, 1060 King St. West; $10 per person, children five and under free.  The dinner will be at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, 1140 King St. West.