Solar Farms in Ontario

It has been a while since I last posted, but here is an update on what is going on.

I am still contacting organizations in Forestburg and meeting with people to determine if they need any sort of help.  Some people know they need help, others say that they need help but know of other organizations needing more help than they do, and some organizations do not require any form of assistance. I don't have too much to write about Forestburg for this past week because I ended up taking a last minute trip to Ontario for a funeral.

Ontario is where I spent the first seven years of my life, until my family moved to Alberta, but I have a lot of family in Ontario and a lot of my relatives have farms.  When most people think of rural areas they don't think of rural municipalities, but more of farms with crops and livestock. While driving in South- western Ontario between Sarnia and Petrolia my uncle pointed out a farm that was like none I had ever seen before.  It was a solar farm.

This is the solar farm. Rows and rows of solar panels.

This solar farm sells energy to the Hydro Company which then sells the power to those in the area.  A few farmers have also invested in solar panels on their farm while others have created a co-op to help cover the initial cost of the panels, with the aim of dividing the money that comes in when the excess energy is purchased. Solar energy is sustainable and even though the initial cost is significant, the reward over the next few years and decades are worth it.

Most farmers  are not able to use an entire field for solar panels, nor would they have the funds to "plant" the solar panels, but having a solar farm is an interesting concept.  The field that these arrays are "planted" in is what some locals called "not good farming land" because it was usually flooded in the spring and lacked drainage needed to grow any sort of crop.  I guess if you can't plant anything at least you can harvest sunlight.

Here is another picture from my trip, nothing related to work, or rural areas or anything like that.  It's just one of my favourite spots to visit when I go home to Ontario to visit my relatives.  This is the Bluewater Bridge, and it may look like any other bridge, but an interesting thing about it is that it connects Canada(Sarnia, Ontario) and the USA(Port Huron, Michigan).  I did not bring my passport to Ontario with me on this trip so I couldn't cross over to the States, but about half way through the St. Clair River is the border between these two countries, and the land on the other side is the United States.  I appreciate the water and am always amazed that Sarnia has a Coast Guard, but it has to in order to protect this border.

The Bigger Picture

A lot of major news events have occurred this week including the Air Canada strike and Canada post strike, the Vancouver Canucks losing game 7 and allowing the Boston Bruins to hoist the Stanley Cup, and the rain.

I hope I get a lot of
strawberries, but right
now I only have 4.

The rain has definitely been nice because the fields were dry, gardens were dry, and there was always a fear of fires starting and spreading quickly.  There are hopes that this rain will have come at just the right time and just the right amount to create the perfect growing season for a good crop, but I feel that farming always involves a little bit of hopes.  I know that I am really hoping for this rain to help the rhubarb and strawberries grow in my backyard.

While the weather can be an interesting topic to discuss, one major discussion that has occurred lately has been the Canada Post strike.  The post office in Forestburg has remained open, and was only affected by the strike when mail delivery was stopped in Edmonton and Calgary, which is where the mail passes through at some point in time. That meant for a fairly slow day at the post office, but the regular visitors still stopped in just to see if they had any mail. This has not really had a significant impact on people, but I am now beginning to question the impact that the Canada Post lock out will have on rural areas.  I know people in larger, more urban centres have not been significantly impacted by this postal strike/lock out, and while some people expecting checks from the government can go to a government building to pick up their check, I have been struggling to find, if I was hypothetically anticipating a check, where to pick it up.  Government buildings are not listed in an online database to know where I could potentially pick up my hypothetical check, but thank goodness I was able to find on Google a news article stating that I can call Service Alberta to arrange a pick up location. 

From anywhere to anyone... as long as
we're not on strike.

Now this may seem all fine and dandy, but talking to people who work in municipal offices, the lines to contact Federal as well as Provincial offices have been “experiencing a larger than normal volume of calls at this point in time.  They will now hang up and you can try again later.” Okay, so that may be an issue, but now where do I pick up my check?

Again, the news sources I have read all state you can receive your check or drop off important mail at “the nearest provincial office” due to their “inter-office mailing system”. So this got me wondering, if I lived in Forestburg where would the closest provincial government office be?

Stettler Alberta Service Centre 1hr 11mins

Camrose Alberta Service Centre 1hr 17 mins

Coronation Library 1hr 29 mins

Wainwright Alberta Service Centre 1 hr 56 mins

Red Deer Alberta Service Centre 2hr 14 mins

Leduc 2hrs 23 mins

Edmonton 2hrs 31 mins

Drumheller Alberta Services Centre 2 hr 37 mins

View Larger Map

So these are locations of government offices, not very close to Forestburg at all.  After some further investigation and almost an hour of my time I found a news release from the government with a link to a list of locations you can drop or pick up government mail and checks.  I was relieved to find out that there are 2 locations in Flagstaff County that were not included in my initial search. These places are:

Killam Mental Health Centre 40 mins

Sedgewick- Flagstaff Building 50 mins

So according to Google maps, if I were to require an assistance check I would have to drive a little under an hour to get my check.  Now this may not be so bad, except for the fact that these offices are open during business hours, on week days, and not everyone has a car. 

I know this may sound like I am complaining a bit, but after considering some of the issues faced by rural Alberta, it is important to recognize why something so simple could be an issue. I did not think that a postal strike would have such an impact on people, and I feel very fortunate that it has not impacted me, or that the ways it could have impacted me have been minimal due to allowances by different departments or different organizations.  This postal strike has really opened my eyes to the problems faced by people in rural Alberta and I am now aware of the expectations of people in rural Alberta from the government to be able to drive and travel in order to meet their personal needs.

Things are Bumpin' in the Burg

So another week has flown by, and again I have found myself enjoying my summer job.  Last Thursday, June 9, Meaghan and Odessa came on a little adventure to visit me and check in.  Here is a photo collage I made of Forestburg and some of the wonderful sights around the area.

This collage includes pictures of the grain elevators, the power plant on the Battle River, some of the mining machines at Diplomat Mine Interpretive Site, and the municipal office that I work in. All of these are places I see on a regular basis and are the places that I showed Odessa and Meaghan on their trip here.  After an afternoon of touring we headed down main street to the deli for a snack.  Meaghan and I chose the basic ice cream while Odessa was feeling adventurous and went for the Ice Cream Sandwich. 

Odessa demonstrating how to properly eat an ice cream sandwich.

If you think that's impressive you should check out her blog about video making and traveling Alberta.

I hope everyone is having a good week and I will post again later this week.

Another Week Done

This is me officially graduated.

Wow, another week has literally flown by in my summer internship in Forestburg.  This week was exhausting, not because of work, but because of the convocation celebrations throughout the weekend for the Augustana Grad Class of 2011.  It was an exciting weekend and it’s official that I am Kendra Kerrigan, B.A.. So that was exciting!

This week was great with myself contacting a few more local organizations and setting up meeting times with them to determine where they could use my services.  I have enjoyed hearing what people in this community want, and other than specific organization wants like a treasurer or other executive members, a major “want” is a summer event.  It seems as though the village almost shuts down for the summer.  Businesses still run, everyone still works, some organizations still have meetings, but as of right now Big Knife Villa (the seniors lodge) is the only organization with something going on (monthly lunches open to the community for a small fee).  The next major events aren’t until the summer is almost over in August or September.  I asked about a Canada Day BBQ or some event and everyone keeps telling me that they have to go somewhere else for Canada Day celebrations.  Luckily there are numerous communities in the area that have some sort of parade or celebration during the summer, but Forestburg does not.

I am still meeting with organizations to determine what they want or need, but right now I am thinking that a community BBQ to bring the community together with booths for organizations to recruit volunteers and make themselves visible could be in the works for the summer (pending approval and the overall cost). Talking with the organizations so far I have realized that there is no volunteer recruitment strategy.  They wait until someone comes to them looking to volunteer rather than actively seeking out community members.  I know recruitment takes time and effort, of which most people’s time and effort are directed towards the organization they are involved in because their resources are really stretched.

This week has been full of learning opportunities and meeting great people and I am really excited to actually start working with the various organizations.

Purpose

 

This week has been a success, not that any of the past weeks haven’t been successful, but this week has been what I would consider my most productive week, making it successful . I feel like I am finally finding my purpose.  Here is a song about someone else finding their purpose. 

* Sorry for any words that may be offensive to some in this song, it was used for entertainment value and its purpose is not to offend people.

Initially I struggled with being an intern, not really knowing what I was doing, who I would be dealing with, or what was expected of me.   There are a few things that I feel helped me to find my purpose.

1. Getting to know people

Having the opportunity to find out what goes on in the village, what has went on, and what has impacted the people here, has really helped me gain a deeper understanding of Forestburg.  Most of the people working in the office have only been working here for a few months although some have lived in the village for a few years, but the information they have about the village has helped me find where I will fit in.

2. Having a job description

I was confused as to what I would be doing, but I have created a job description for myself which has helped me to know what I am expecting of myself. I feel that the job description will help me to be able to recognize my own boundaries and limitations while still helping others.

3. Getting out into the community

This was what inspired me to write this blog.  I was out and about and was approached by a member of the community who is involved with many community groups. We had a lovely chat on main street and she was really excited to meet me and for me to help her groups.  Knowing that this is something that people want, even if it is only one person, showed that it is a possible position that could grow and be useful in the community.

 
While these have helped me find my purpose, maybe they will help you, and if not, I am sure you will be able to find your purpose through some other means. While having freedom to create my own job title and the ability to do what I want, rather than having a set list of things on how to complete a task, has been a struggle, but I feel that with this sense of purpose I will be able to complete everything that has been set in front of me.

Superhero Interns

It’s amazing how a village office can be impacted by provincial and national occurrences.  Since being in the village I have realized how interconnected the world we live in is.  Whether it is about Slave Lake or the possibility of a Canada Post strike, the Village of Forestburg has been affected by these events, whether it is through finding where to donate for Slave Lake or getting the newsletter, water bills and tax notices out on time before a strike is announced.

Many people believe rural Alberta is “out in the middle of nowhere” and that it doesn’t have “big problems like the big city”.  I initially believed this as well, but if anything, rural villages, towns, and areas have problems like in the big city and although they may not appear to be as big of an issue, it could be a big issue because there are less people to deal with the problem, less man power to completely fix things, and the entire community is depending upon one, two, or (if you’re lucky) three people to take control of the situation.  This is a lot of stress for one person to deal with.

This is my GANTT Chart

While it is great believing that, as an intern, I could “change the world” or have a lasting effect on the community I am working with, I have realized that it’s not about a big project, it’s not about the GANTT chart, in fact it’s not even about research.  Today has changed my view on my intern experience.  Most of these municipalities don’t need big events and research about anything and everything.  What they need is people to work for them. Whether it is updating the website, answering the phone, or responding to e-mails, all of these tasks need to be completed to allow the municipality to function.
 
Today I was working quietly at my desk when I was asked to fold newsletters. (Click here to see the INFOrestburg newsletter and past newsletters) I do not mind folding newsletters, especially when I get to talk with my co-workers and find out the latest news or major changes that have occurred over the past five years, but as I was folding newsletters I realized that many rural municipalities need people to work for them, as I have heard so many times lately they need “warm bodies” and “boots on the ground”.

As interns, we can all enter our communities expecting to re-write policies, change the way things have been done, plan a major event, or be the person in the community that everyone knows, but we can’t all be superheroes.  Most communities don’t need superheroes, they already have them.  Superheroes are the people working in the municipal office, the people running local businesses, and even the volunteers that run different events, programs, and activities for the community.  They don’t need an intern to come in and do that for them.  What they need is someone to do the simple tasks that need to get done, the tasks that may appear pointless and mundane, the tasks that no one notices when they have been completed, but if the task is not done there will be a major  problem and people will notice.

Just your average superheroes interns.

* Referring to superheroes was inspired by the blog of Mr. Gordon Naylor to view his blog, which is highly recommended, click here!