Basically, here's the deal: one can take part two ways, either as a tree owner, or as a gleaner (a fruit picker). Those lucky enough to have a mature, fruit bearing tree on their property need do no more than let the good people at Not Far From the Tree know about it and offer up its bounty.

Those without such good fortune (like myself) can make themselves available to harvest those luscious fruit-filled branches and vines. Once the harvest is complete, the haul is divided three ways: one-third to the tree owner, one-third to the gleaners and one-third to charity. It saves home owners from a sticky, stained mess of rotting fruit in their backyard, builds community among those involved and provides fresh fruit to a needy cause — win, win, win.

My inaugural gleaning experience began with a hefty bike ride north. As a South-of-Bloor kind of guy, I often forget the treacherous terrain that lies in the badlands of St. Clair West — crooked, meandering roads; extended patches of unleveled, rolling green-space; and enormous, mature oak trees blocking out the sun that would otherwise grace the oversized residential lots. Regardless, I made it to a lovely home just north of St. Clair and Vaughan Road with enough time to refuel at Dutch Dreams before the harvest. Once my ice cream levels had been equalized, I made my way to the back to meet the team.

The supreme gleaner (that's the real title) for this mission is Malgosia Halliop, a long time volunteer and neighbourhood local. I was the first peon to arrive, but was soon joined by two others to harvest today's bounty: grapes.

The first thing we did was familiarize ourselves with the crop (that means we ate some). Backyard grapes are much different from the standard grocery store variety, the skins are much thicker, the insides more gelatinous and the flavour more complex. These grapes reminded me vaguely of lychee fruit both in texture and flavour, but with a distinct sourness balancing out the sugars. They're also much smaller than Loblaws grapes and wear their imperfections on their sleeve which I chose to read as a sign of their unmatched authenticity.

For things like apples and pears, NFFTT has cool harvest gadgets affixed to long poles to pluck the delicate fruits from high above and return them to earth with nary a scratch, but grapes need a little more care. Admittedly, my expertise is scant in the area, but I'd venture to say that backyard grape picking technology has remained stagnant for the past - oh - millennia or so. Ok, when were pruning shears invented? That's when the great grape picking minds gave up and said, "that'll do."

Not that things are lacking of course, to clear a grape vine one needs three things: a ladder, some pruning shears and a vessel in which to hold your rewards. If you're into things like safety (boring!), you also need a human being to hold the ladder for you--and maybe chat with, but that's basically it.

Generally, picks last about two hours and are scheduled any day of the week between roughly 10am - 8pm. Once you're on the list your inbox will be inundated with opportunities, but you've got to sign up quick because gleaners are eager people and the spots disappear in a flash.

Unfortunately, the harvest has been fairly light this year. Imperfect growing conditions during pollination season, combined with a nasty tree fungus have left this year's urban haul a scant fraction of years passed.

On first look, today's vines looked a little bare as well, but I quickly learned my eye for the harvest is untrained. In a quick hour the vines were bare and we were all headed home with bushels.

I left with a big bag of fresh grapes; more than I could possibly eat before they went bad so I decided to make grape juice, which was super simple and pretty fun. First I just squeezed the juice through a sieve with the blunt end of a ladle, which produced a really tasty, fresh flavoured juice. But then I got to thinking how much flavour was probably still stuck inside all that pulp and seeds and skins so I added a bit of water and simmered it a while. The result was really tanning and had the vague flavour of apple juice, which is super delicious. Rumour has is they also tap Maple trees for syrup, which is just about the greatest thing I can imagine and has inspired me to plant a forest of trees on my back patio — we'll see what the bakery below thinks.

As far a specific boundaries go, for the purposes of this project, Riverdale will be defined as the area bounded by Pape Avenue, Logan Avenue, Danforth Avenue and Langley Avenue, while the Junction consists of the area with the CPR Railway tracks, Annette Street Clendenan Avenue, and Runnymede Road.

In addition to help from Project Neutral staff, the Junction will also receive aid from local environmental group Green 13. Both communities will be provided with a detailed survey that'll be used to establish their baseline energy and water usage (and, by extension, carbon footprint). After that, the plan is to provide individual households with reduction strategies and to monitor the results at quarterly intervals. After such steps are taken, community strategies like grant applications for funding to implement photovoltaics will be on the agenda.

Ultimately the success of both projects will depend on the level of community engagement. Participation of individual households and businesses is completely optional, which will make the goal of carbon neutrality a challenging to say the least. For a look at how a similar project has played out in a small community west of Toronto, check out the Eden Mills project website.

Launch parties are scheduled for both neighbourhoods are scheduled on the 18th (Riverdale) and 19th (the Junction) of June.

Photo by purplepick on Flickr.

Nevertheless, they're damn cool looking. That is all.

Update (April 24th):

Here are some very cool photos from Billybee57 on Flickr, who caught the cloud just as it arrived at Toronto's skyline.

Photos one and two by dieburg401 and Jim Bartlett, respectively.

Here are some Earth Day events scheduled for the coming week:

GasLand: Screening and Discussion
When: Monday, April 18
What: Documentary screening on domestic gas drilling
Where: Annette Street Public Library
Cost: Free

Biodiversity In Toronto
When: Tuesday, April 19
What: Lecture on Toronto's biodiversity series
Where: Toronto Reference Library
Cost: Free

Celebrating 21 years of Earth Day in Canada
When: Wednesday, April 20
What: Networking with greenies, raise money for Earth Day Canada Charity
Where: Horizon's Lounge, CN Tower
Cost: $30

Keep it Green: Organic Lawn Care
When: Wednesday, April 20
What: Expert advice from Cathy Wall on how to grow and maintain an organic lawn
Where: Don Mills Library Branch, 888 Lawrence Ave. E.
Cost: Free

Centre for Environment Research Day
When: Wednesday, April 20
What: Research presentations by U of T faculty and graduate students on a variety of topics
Where: FACULTY CLUB, 2nd floor, 41 Willcocks St.
Cost: Free

Volunteers in Conversation
When: Wednesday, April 20
What: Discussion on how to improve environmental conditions worldwide
Where: Stella, 1261 Bloor Street West
Cost: Free

Earth Day at Downsview Park
When: Wednesday, April 20
What: Main stage, Green Pavilion, recycle yard, and more
Where: Downsview Park
Cost: Free

Earth Day Celebration
When: Thursday, April 21
What: Attempt to make world's longest picnic table, live music, opening of Evergreen Garden Market, and more
Where: Evergreen Brick Works
Cost: Free

Waterlife Conference
When: Thursday, April 21
What: Discussion on aquatic ecosystems around the world
Where: Royal Ontario Museum
Cost: Free

Earth Day at Toronto Botanical Garden
When: Thursday, April 21
What: Rain barrel design competition, potato challenge, and more
Where: Toronto Botanical Garden
Cost: Free garden tours from 12p.m. to 2p.m.

Party for the Planet
When: April 22 to April 25
What: Education, programs, EcoKids exploration
Where: Toronto Zoo
Cost: Free with admission

Earth Day Concert
When: Friday, April 22
What: Hydraulophone concert, which makes music using water
Where: The Music Gallery
Cost: Free

People's Assembly on Climate Justice
When: Saturday, April 23
What: Panels, workshops, info on how to reuse old t-shirts
Where: Ryerson Student Centre, 55 Gould Street
Cost: Pay what you can

Earth Day Festival
When: Saturday, April 23
What: Tree tour, opening of Bike Works, other eco-activities
Where: Evergreen Brick Works
Cost: Free

Have I missed something? Feel free to add a 2011 Earth Day event in Toronto to the comments below.

Photo by Josh Jensen in the blogTO Flickr pool

Toronto's Live Green Membership Card Program seems to offer both. The card, which you can receive for free, will save you money at more than 250 local stores and businesses, while at the same time serve to promote green initiatives and environmentally friendly products and services.

But the program has not gained the momentum anticipated back in November during its launch, at least according to some local businesses. They say that since signing on (also free for businesses) they've seen few customers whip our their cards. So is the issue that Torontonians don't know about the program, or are they just not using their cards?

Well, according to Annemarie Baynton of Live Green Toronto, more than 10,000 Live Green membership cards have been mailed out thus far. I'd say that's pretty good, considering the program is just entering its sixth month. Baynton tells me that the initial launch relied heavily on word of mouth, spearheaded by Live Green's 1000 or so volunteers, as well as booths at local events and some ads in and around TTC vehicles.

The concept being promoted was simple: Torontonians show their cards at local businesses (either those that have been approached by the city or have completed the online application to sign on) and receive discounts on green products or services. Business owners work with Live Green staff to determine a suitable offer, and the details are posted on the Live Green website. Businesses then receive a free welcome package containing a window cling and other materials to let customers know they can use their Live Green cards in store.

However, it seems not all businesses have used those promotional materials, and perhaps that's part of the problem. Balzac's Coffee, for example, doesn't post any signs advertising its Live Green deal, which entitles cardholders to 10% off fair trade coffee (though the details are available on Live Green's website). "We just signed onto the program recently," the manager tells me, "and the owner has to decide if she wants to put the signs up." As of yet, though, the manager hadn't seen anyone take advantage of the discount. A barista at Balzac's didn't even know what the Live Green card was.

Still, it doesn't seem it can all be chocked up to lack of visibility. I spoke to Freedom Clothing Collective, which has been with Live Green since the beginning, and they said they hadn't seen anyone take advantage of their buy one, get the second 20% off Live Green deal. "We have a sign on display in the window," a woman at Freedom told me. "But no one seems to notice."

Of course, there are some businesses that report slightly higher usage. The owner of Kensington Natural Bakery, which offers 10% off organic products with the card, estimated about 15% of customers take advantage of the Live Green deal. A woman I spoke to at Grassroots on Danforth, too, had higher numbers to report, saying she had seen eight people use the card just last week. Though, she also admitted that those numbers were unusual, as typically she would just see a card every one or two weeks.

Baynton acknowledged that some businesses may not have seen a whole lot of Live Green cards just yet, attributing the slow start to the freshness of the program. She hopes that the warmer weather will bring out more customers, and, by extension, more usage of the Live Green cards. "The whole idea is about matching green-minded shoppers with businesses that have made a commitment to green initiatives," she says. "I hope that as the program grows, it will become more visible, more recognizable, and we'll see a lot more opportunities to use your cards."

For now, Live Green seems to be making all the right moves. It has a Facebook page and Twitter feed with news and updates, new businesses still signing on, and may even consider plans to track card usage in the future. But for now, it seems people are still paying full price for their Steam Whistle tours, even though they can get two for one. How else can you convince Torontonians to save their own money?

According to Toronto Hydro, energy consumption between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. last night dropped 115 megawatts. That sounds okay — until you compare the savings to past efforts. Last year, which we also deemed a disappointment, witnessed a decrease of 296 megawatts. Thinking in percentages, that's about a 10 per cent savings, while 2011 was a little less than half that. In 2009, on the other hand, the city experienced about a 15 per cent decrease in energy consumption.

Colder temperatures do play a role in all this. Checking back through historical weather records reveals that it was roughly 10C in 2009, just above the freezing mark in 2010, and about -5C last night. Those differentials alone are bound to skew the energy consumption data considerably.

But the primary reason the event was so disappointing this year wasn't even about the numbers. Insofar as Earth Hour is symbolic more than anything else, it's significant to note, for instance, just how few local photographers bothered to capture images of the darkened skyline. In past years, Flickr was quickly stocked with before and after photos when the lights went back up. This year, there are just a handful of uploads tagged and/or titled with "Earth Hour Toronto."

This alone might not be surefire proof that interest is waning, but the relative lack of buzz on other social media sites was obvious as well. That's anecdotal evidence as well, but I'd be thoroughly surprised to hear someone claim that the event hasn't lost some of its luster around these parts.

So despite the fact that more and more countries are participating globally, perhaps it's time to change things up or re-brand the event somehow. As much as it's true that cutting one's power for an hour each year isn't a license to burn energy the rest of the time, if the main goal of Earth Hour is to foster awareness of our energy consumption, it'd be nice to see it regain some steam.

Earth Hour over the years (check links for more images)

2010

2009

2008
Second image by Patrick Molicard-Chartier.

Better Place, a much-hyped provider of electric vehicle infrastucture, has opened an interactive electric vehicle education centre at Evergreen Brick Works now open to the public. The exhibit features a mock-up vehicle charging station, a replica of the eight now up in running in Ontario, each of which can support two electric vehicles at a time. The demonstration also includes information about fully battery-powered cars, charge spots and battery switch stations, and electric vehicle car software designed to optimize battery use.

Photo by Dennis Marciniak

The application process is open until February 25, and despite the fact that the project hasn't received much press, two communities have already submitted proposals for consideration. That may sound like a rather modest number, but given the level of commitment that participation in the project will entail, I'd say that it's a decent start. As the project gets more attention -- as it surely will -- I'd be surprised if there weren't a few more proposals submitted.

Regan Smith, one of Project Neutral's co-chairs, told me a little bit about the process over the phone yesterday. Inspired by a similar initiative underway in the community of Eden Mills (just under an hour northwest of Toronto), her and her partners were eager to see if such an effort could be brought to an urban setting. Although a LEED building boom might be underway in the city, Smith tells me that "the challenge with this project is to see what we can do to improve the environment within the existing neighbourhood fabric."

When asked what criteria her group will use when selecting a potential partner, Smith explains, "we're looking for a neighbourhood that already has strong leadership. There has to be engagement. This isn't something that can be foisted upon people." It remains to be seen if even a community with strong leadership will be able to rally around a pursuit that involves such sacrifice, but there's no question that this has to be the starting point.

It strikes me that getting a whole neighbourhood on board to reduce its carbon footprint in a city as diverse as Toronto will pose a greater challenge than what faces community leaders in Eden Mills, the population of which is around 350. Perhaps in acknowledgment of this, the Project Neutral organizers are keeping the definition of what constitutes a neighbourhood fairly loose. "We're letting the applicants define what a neighbourhood is, but ideally the smallest size we'd work with would be a local delivery unit [LDU's are the last three digits of a postal code and generally account for a city block or so]. That's important from a tracking and data standpoint."

The organizers aren't closing the door on selecting two applicants just yet, but that'll depend on the strength of the submissions. Once a winner is declared, the Project Neutral staff will provide the community in question with a detailed survey that'll be used to establish its baseline energy and water usage (and, by extension, carbon footprint). After that, the plan is to provide individual members with reduction strategies and to monitor the results (ideally on a monthly basis, but more likely at quarterly intervals). Finally, once everyone is pitching in individually, community strategies -- like grant applications for funding to implement photovoltaics -- will be discussed.

Of course these last steps are still a long way off. But the project itself sounds fascinating, and like anything that's being undertaken for the first time, there's lots of potential for it to serve as a building block for other carbon reduction projects across the city. Stay tuned for an update on the project once a winner is selected and the process gets underway in earnest.

To take a look at the neighbourhood application form, follow this link.

Photo by hollypagnacco in the blogTO Flickr pool

As with most green initiatives, the short-term is not where success can be effectively measured, but let's take a look at the new and notable projects this policy fostered in 2010:

The City Hall Podium
Leading by example, Mayor Miller revealed City Hall's expansive courtyard 5 months after the bylaw came into effect. PLANT Architects led the development of Toronto's largest publicly accessible green roof.

Hugh Garner Housing Co-operative
This 181 unit, multi-family building in Cabbagetown is on its way to having the largest residential green roof in Canada. After the initial phase was completed in 2007, the opening of its 8000-square-foot garden was celebrated this past May. A secondary 14,000-square-foot green roof is scheduled for development as part of the final phase.

Idomo
After 40 years in business, Gerrit de Boer (the Guy With The Beard) closed-up shop in 2010. Moving on from selling teak furniture (and making charming commercials), he has settled on property development as his retirement 'hobby'. With a $2.5-million do-over, the Idomo building at Sheppard and Allen will become a commercial office space - complete with green walls, a green roof, and a vision to become the greenest office in the GTA.

YMCA
Technically a 2009 build, the Metro-Central YMCA won in the Green Roof category at the 2010 Green Toronto Awards. Built with recycled materials, and featuring outdoor meditation space, a running track, and water fountains, this YMCA is almost spa-like.

Evergreen Brickworks
Short-listed by National Geographic in its Geotourism Challenge, this LEED Platinum project is the crown jewel in Toronto's eco-achievements to date. Not enough can be said about this cultural and environmental oasis buried in the valley that separates our city's East and West ends. A requisite visit for any resident!

While these initiatives have garnered praise across Canada and internationally, two future projects are also generating buzz:

A dramatic overhaul of St Lawrence Market could make us seriously jealous of Jarvis St residents.

The Ontario Provincial Government took over the old Sears Canada HQ (also on Jarvis), and is turning the monstrous upside-down pyramid into a green beauty.

While I'm lucky enough to work in a building with a green roof (and a Dark Horse - just to rub it in), it seems inevitable that the positive examples set by these early adopters - and the financial incentives provided - will allow many Torontonians to benefit from the daily delights of life in a living building.

Writing by Laurence MacSween. Photo by StudioGabe in the blogTO Flickr pool.

So far the City has taken small steps to pave the way for the electric vehicle. Notable among these is the Toronto Atmospheric Fund's EV300 Initiative, adopted in April of 2009, which established a goal of getting 300 EVs on the road in the GTA by 2012. The point of the project is to foster infrastructure implementation and prepare for the coming trend in general.

While plugging in an EV at home only takes a 240 Volt plug (the kind your dryer likely uses), because of the generally limited per-charge range -- usually about 130 or so kilometres -- one of the chief questions facing Toronto and other cities on the cusp of embracing this technology is where and how public-use charging stations will be incorporated into the urban environment.

As of July 1, 2010 the provincial government has offered incentive packages between $5000 and $8500 to early adopters of plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles. And along with the cash, drivers also enjoy use of HOV lanes regardless of the number of passengers they're carrying and, when installed, access to public charging facilities at GO stations and government parking lots.

GO expects to roll out the first set of charging stations at the Aurora, Lincolnville and Whitby station parking lots in the early part of this year. Due to the shorter distances electric vehicles can travel on one charge (versus a tank of gas), having such publicly accessible stations is crucial to convincing consumers that these cars are a viable alternative to gas-powered vehicles.

So what about the core (or Toronto-proper)? Well, Sheraton Hotels in Toronto and Montreal recently announced that they'll offer charging stations that will be GPS-equipped and thus easy to find, but the key to ushering in electric vehicles on a grand scale will be wider availability of places to "fill up." Toward that end, a proposal by a group of U of T student engineers sounds like it has promise. They suggest, somewhat naturally, Toronto Parking Authority lots as an ideal place to offer such infrastructure.

On its list of 15 "must haves," Project Get Ready, an organization devoted to helping cities prepare for the adoption of EV technology, notes that private businesses must play a role in infrastructure deployment along with the various levels of government. And with GO and Sheraton's first charging stations imminent, ideas of this nature are likely to come to fruition sooner rather than later. Not only that, they might just provide a reasonable indication of how future implementation will shape up.

Photo by Nscale7 on Flickr.

Despite the fact that there are competing claims over the effectiveness of plastic bag taxes in eliminating waste, I'd argue that the program has been a successful one -- if only in the way that it's altered the habit of automatically providing an often unnecessary bit of plastic to consumers. Looking outside of Toronto, when places like Ireland and Washington, D.C. implemented a similar bag charges, each city experienced a massive reduction in the use of plastic bags. Toronto retailers have also reported drops in in plastic bag use (and a rise in the use of re-usable bags), but because the program doesn't have a tracking or accounting provision, it's tough to provide hard numbers.

Critics of plastic bag taxation will argue that even as free grocery-style bags have been reduced, the purchase of specialty green-bin bags have soared. While formerly free plastic bags aren't generally deemed reusable, most people do of course manage to get one additional use out of them as a receptacle for waste. But, to some extent, both of these criticisms are beside the point.

Not only are they not at the forefront of Ford's desire to scrap the tax, but they fail to take into account what is arguably the program's greatest strength: fostering awareness of unnecessary bag consumption. It's a rare occurrence that I buy anything without being asked the question, "would you like a bag?" As insignificant as this might seem, it represents an important change. 90 per cent of the time that I'm asked, I decline the bag. In the past, when most of us were on auto-pilot with regards to the use of plastic bags, this basically never happened.

So as much as one might make the argument that the plastic bag tax is merely symbolic environmentalism, it's crucial to remember that these types of initiatives remain valuable even if they only get consumers thinking about the decisions they make. For some this thought-process relates to the five cent charge. But let's be honest and realistic about the type of money we're talking about here.

Prior to the implementation of the program, an waste audit estimated that the average Toronto household used around nine plastic bags per week. For the sake of argument, let's just say that number hasn't changed. At that rate of use, were one to pay five cents per bag, he or she would be forking out just over $23 a year.

That's an amount that I'd be more than comfortable to pay for the increased awareness the program provides. And besides, I'm not paying that much anyway, as it's clear from other cities who've implemented similar programs that the tax reduces overall use anyway.

Photo by ravenswift in the blogTO Flickr pool.

With the most recent Nanos poll showing the current deputy mayor at 16.8 per cent of the decided vote, his odds of victory are remote. Like Sarah Thomson's bike plan, Pantalone's desire to "roll out the green carpet" will most likely come to naught - which, if you care about the environment, is a shame.

Nevertheless it's worth a look at what the Pantalone campaign has to say about environmental policy, if only as a base of comparison with the other candidates. Once you wade through the generality - promises like "Joe Pantalone will be Toronto's green jobs champion" or that he'll "direct Build Toronto to partner with green industries, especially in more economically disadvantaged areas of our city" - there are some solid policies outlined.

The highlights:

Pantalone would...

• "Build Transit City - including the subway extension to York University, and 120 km of European-style high speed trains, reaching every neighbourhood in Toronto at 1/5 the cost of a subway, with streetcars built right here in Ontario - the only plan approved by the city, province, and Metrolinx.
• Send green construction to the front of the line, by accelerating applications for new residential and commercial construction and retrofits that meet Toronto's Green Building Standard.
• Expand the successful Live Green Toronto program, which is building community infrastructure with our non-profit and community partners.
• Expand access to local food by doubling the number of community gardens and farmers markets, expanding food incubators and community food centres, and planting thousands of fruit trees.
• Achieve 50 percent local food procurement in city operations.
• Maintain public ownership of Toronto Hydro so our community asset can continue to meet our green goals of renewable energy and conservation, while paying dividends that help fund city operations. Hydro has already returned over $2 billion to the City of Toronto over the last 11 years."

Compared to Thomson's environmental platform - the highlight of which is push for an all-hybrid taxi fleet in five years - Pantalone's plan is far more comprehensive, even when lacking in details. As for the other candidates, with the exception of George Smitherman (whose focus is on solid waste diversion), environmental policy has not played a role in their campaigns to this point.

Photo by Amy Stupavsky

In a build-your-own worm tower workshop lead by former horticultural teacher and Norfolk County spokesman Dave Zeldon, we built vermicomposting (that means worms do the composting) towers that (at full capacity) can process 5-8 pounds of food per week and will house up to 12,000 worms.

Dave brought one of his own worm tower composters as an example. It is 6 years old and eats up the scraps for his whole family of five. Emily from FoodShare told us that worm composting has been going on in the city for years, but tower composting is relatively new.

We didn't learn a lot about the science behind vermicomposting, but I think that was the point. The indoor system we built is easy to use, relatively compact, and doesn't require a lot of upkeep or mixing like traditional composters. The worms do most of the work for you.

Dave tinkered with worm composting for years before finding the tower system. Originally, Dave's worms were dying because there was no drainage for the "compost tea" and it was getting too hot and moist for the little wrigglers.

Eventually he learned that the worms commonly used for composting (Epigeic worms, often red worms) like to move up to their next food source, hence why a tower system where they can crawl up to the next layer works so well.

It was a fairly straightforward workshop, after a brief intro we got to building the towers, which involved drilling holes into plastic shoe boxes (the most time consuming part) and then filling the first layer with bedding, worms and a little starter food. Dave brought melon peels because he's found it's what they like to eat best.

The whole kit can be built for what I estimate to be about $30-$40 and the only special equipment you need is a drill, a 2 ¼ inch hole saw, and a homemade jig (a wooden pattern for sawing). Dave has been using the KISS shoebox system sold at Canadian Tire for years. Then all you need are your red worms, some wet newsprint and food.

The towers we made had five layers: the bottom layer is for drainage and catches the compost tea. The second layer is where you start by adding bedding (wet newsprint), worms with some earth, and food (plus a little Pro-Mix on top to curb the fruit flies). When your second layer fills up with worm castings, start adding food to the third layer. When that's full start adding food to the fourth layer.

When your topmost layer is full, you pull out the bottom layer and empty the worm castings. By this point, most of your worms should have moved to the upper layers and the casting are ready to be mixed with soil and used as slow-release fertilizer, or dried out for later use. Now your empty layer becomes the top layer where you can start adding food again and the cycle continues.

I think the whole group ended up feeling like elementary school students again as we were lead through the drilling by teacher Dave, and then got all giddy when he dumped out a bucket of worms onto the table. I certainly had fun. FoodShare will be hosting another workshop again in the future, so if you're interested keep an eye out on the events section of their website.

Photos by the author.

During February, local businesses in the Annex bid against one another in order to host Toronto's first Carrotmob, and G's Fine Foods won the bid by pledging to spend 100% of their revenues from the consumer mob on energy efficient renovations for the store. They also pledged to start carrying 15 new Local Food Plus (LFP) certified products.

Here's a clip explaining how Carrotmob works:

Carrotmob is a growing network that came out of San Francisco in 2008. Since then, over 50 businesses have been mobbed by local consumers from Berlin to Bangkok - with an estimated $115,000 being reinvested by business owners for environmental upgrades and initiatives.

What will "energy efficient upgrades" mean for G's Fine Foods? Along with York University Professor Jose Etcheverry, Windfall Ecology Centre will be providing energy efficiency policy and technical advice to make sure the money goes to making the biggest impact in the store.

Nico Koenig, a graduate student in the Adult Education and Community Development Program of OISE/University of Toronto, has been at the helm of organizing the first Carrotmob in Toronto and is already looking ahead at what could be done next.

Because the Carrotmob concept is a form of activism (or as Nico explained to me "social technology") that no one owns it means anyone can organize their own event, in their own neighbourhood. So it doesn't have to be grocery stores or energy efficiency, it can be any type of business and any type of social change, anywhere. Nico plans on organizing two more events in the summer and fall, and hopes that others will take up the Carrotmob torch too.

So on Saturday, environmentally minded Torontonians can flex their consumer muscle by descending on G's Fine Foods and supporting their efforts to make the store more energy efficient.

The attack happens at noon on Saturday, at G's Fine Foods (corner of Bloor & Huron). You can get more info at the Carrotmob Toronto website and on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

Photos from Stamp Media, Go Green Charleston and Carrotmob Berlin courtesy of Carrotmob.