Photo from The Toronto Bruce Trail Club

How does going for a hike outside the city sound this time of year?

If you're stuck in the city without a car, you might think your options for a walk in the woods are pretty limited. If you're lucky, you live near an urban getaway such as High Park. But even then its not quite the same experience as actually getting out of the city.

I'm going to share with you a great way to enjoy the a gem of the golden horseshoe area: hiking on the Niagara Escarpment. The Bruce Trail contains 40 great official hiking routes spanning 845 km of main path and 430 km of side trails. Sounds great, but for many of us its simply inaccessible.

That is where The Toronto Bruce Trail Club comes in. The club offers weekly bus trips out to various locations on the trail accommodating up to 48 people to take part in day trips. The trips are open to the public and you can just show up at the pickup location- one of three spots- York Mills and Islington subway stations and Clarence Square. Check out their schedule of public bus trips which is in full swing as spring is upon us.

Photo from WATERFRONToronto

A vacuum trash collection system is potentially coming to Toronto. Last week a report went to City Council seeking support for building vacuum waste pipe connections in new homes in the West Don Lands development. If made a reality, it would be the first of its kind in Canada

Its a technology that has the potential to make garbage disposal extremely convenient and clean for residents. It uses pipes in the ground connected to your home to move trash to central collection spots. Basically, a user puts their waste into one of three chutes (organics, paper, garbage), and it gets sucked away to underground to collection areas. Out of sight, out of mind.

Proponents claim the systems can increase diversion rates (more convenient to sort) and cut costs by eliminating curbside pickups.

Photo from Chris Jordan photographic arts.

Talk of banning plastic bags is nothing new. In fact its a pretty hot topic in Toronto and across the province. But the issue has recently been spurred on by a possible move by the provincial government.

As reported by the CBC and elsewhere in the media in recent days, Premier McGuinty is considering banning the use of plastic bags by its LCBO stores. Stopping short of saying a ban has been decided on, the premier was quoted as saying "I think we should give that some real consideration... It's something that obviously we should take a look at."

Photo created using images from Harper Collins Canada.

Tim Flannery, bestselling author of The Weather Makers, will be joined by Bridget Stutchbury this Thursday evening at Bloor Cinema as the featured speakers for RSGC's Focus on the Environment Speaker Series. The event, titled "The Weathermakers: The History and Future Impact of Climate Change", will see the two authors present lectures based on their new books followed by a book signing.

Event starts at 7:00 pm (doors open 6:30) and tickets are $25 general admission, available at the door (if not sold out) or through the RSGC Event Tickets link.

Flannery is known for using analogies of conventional war when talking about what is necessary to win the fight the against climate change. He is scheduled as the houseguest today on CBC Radio's Here and Now from 4-6 pm and you can also download the podcast of his 2006 radio interview on Quirks and Quarks.

No science fiction here. With the spring thaw around the corner, some in Toronto are asking for the latest news on invasive species in the Great Lakes and Lake Ontario in particular. It's been about 20 years since the infamous zebra mussels arrived, so what's happening with that anyway?

This was the focus of a recent get together of the Hart House Underwater Club, where Dr. Nicholas Collins (a biologist with U of T Mississauga), reported on the current situation.