The Chilliwack Progress Wednesday, January 28, 2015
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015 The Chilliwack Progress
Health Care: An Eye on Innovation Leading the Way in Life-changing Surgery
by: Jessica Peters
K
aren Gibson is sitting quietly in a hospital waiting room chair. An ‘x’ is drawn in black marker above her right eye, and that eye’s pupil is growing larger as the minutes tick by. At the age of 60, Gibson is about to have a cataract removed. In half an hour, she’ll begin to see clearly again. She looks around the room, smiling excitedly. All around her, nurses and doctors are interacting with other patients, who each bear the same black mark above an eye. As they arrive, each one is screened by a physician for potential complications. Some of the more nervous patients are just starting to feel the effects of mild sedatives. They all wait to be moved along the queue, and closer to the operating room. That line moves quickly and efficiently under the watchful eye of two registered nurses, Brenda Roberts and Denise Deworth. While it’s just a typical work day at the Eye Care Centre at Chilliwack General Hospital, the Dr. David Heinrichs performs cataract surgery on patient Karen Gibson at Chilliwack General Hospital. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
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Health Care An Eye on Innovation
by: Jessica Peters The hospital shifted to an ambulatory care model in 2003, following planning sessions that included Heinrichs, Fraser Health, the CEO of the hospital, an OR nurse and local ophthalmologists. Their vision became a reality thanks to hefty donations from service clubs, businesses and individuals who believed in the project’s worth.
from page B2 centre is anything but ordinary. There is innovation at work at every turn, from wait times to resource management. Dr. Heinrichs, one of the clinic’s six ophthalmologists, notes that the centre is highly regarded in the world of medicine. “It’s truly a gem,� he said. Other hospitals have visited the centre to emulate its success, and SFU’s school of business analyzed the centre’s innovative business plan. Gibson is about to undergo one of the 5,000 eye surgeries that will take place at CGH this year. She’s arrived from Aldergrove, but other patients travel from as far away as B.C.’s Interior region, and further north. On the day Gibson visits, the centre will treat about 25 patients with cataracts. Some learned they have cataracts through an eye exam in their home town. Others may have been living with vary-
“Conceptually, it’s a unique idea,� Heinrichs said. They renovated that year, dedicating two operating rooms on the second floor of CGH that are connected with a scrub sink hallway. An adjoining room serves the waiting and recovery area.
Patient Karen Gibson’s new lens. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
ing degrees of blindness for years. All are about to feel the real impact of advancements in ophthalmology. “Thirty years ago, patients would come into the hospital for cataract surgery and stay for three days,� explains Dr. David Heinrichs. The surgery would take more than hour,
and was “fraught with potential problems for the patients.� The surgery would have taken place within the rigid structure of the main operating rooms, requiring patients to change into gowns. In those days, they were lucky to get in 12 or 15 surgeries a day.
But with today’s advancement, and his finely-honed skills as a surgeon, Heinrichs will complete Gibson’s surgery in seven minutes. She’ll be sent home that day, provided there aren’t any complications. It’s pain-free, and she will stay in her own clothes, awake and aware of the procedure.
“Being under the main OR structure involves a lot more protocol,� Heinrichs said. “Because of this change to ambulatory care, we can now have people walk in, with no gurney or corridors to be pushed through. It’s just as simple as going to the dentist. It’s way more relaxed.� Continued: pB8
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015 The Chilliwack Progress
Bright Ideas Agriculture: Light Recipes for Plant Growth
by: Eric Welsh
O
ne of Chilliwack’s largest greenhouse operations believes a little light can go a long way in growing bigger, healthier, and maybe even tastier plants. Rainbow Greenhouses (43830 South Sumas Road) has recently adopted a new lighting technology developed by California-based LumiGrow, using light-emitting diode (LED) spectra to speed up growth cycles. “We have currently installed 600 LumiGrow LED 320 lights into our propagation area, focused on rooting cuttings and growing bedding plant seedlings,” said Rainbow Greenhouses boss Stan Vander Waal. Here’s how it works. The LED lights are capable of emitting finely tuned parts of a light spectrum. Turns out a lot of plants thrive under blue light, while many also enjoy reds and greens.
Rainbow Greenhouses is currently testing an innovative system of light delivery, one that uses LEDs to deliver a precise mixture of light that caters to individual plant needs. JENNA HAUCK. PROGRESS FILE
“The basis of the technology is simply to deliver a higher percentage of light to the plant that the plant can use for photosynthesis,” Vander Waal elaborated. “The LED’s can supply different levels of blue, red and green light which is all usable photosynthetic light.” Continued: pB5
Building careers in Chilliwack for over 13 years! As the largest employer in the community, we have helped countless residents of the Fraser Valley build successful, rewarding careers. But there is more to us than meets the eye … We are excited to announce that Convergys has completed its acquisition of Stream, creating a world-class customer management firm made up of 125,000 employees working in more than 150 service centers and 31 countries. Both companies are known for providing exceptional service. Now, combining the best assets of each, we offer greater expertise and services for our clients and many more career opportunities for our talented employees.
Did you know???? • Convergys Chilliwack added two leading-edge tech clients in 2014. Our people now represent Flir and Oculus VR. • Flir, a global leader, specializing in thermal imaging, video surveillance and monitoring systems. • Oculus VR, a ground breaking virtual reality gaming platform owned by Facebook. • Convergys Chilliwack also serves amazing brands in entertainment, a Canadian telecom provider and computer hardware. • Convergys promotes from within. This year alone, more than 50 of your friends and neighbors have taken on new roles at Convergys. • Convergys Chilliwack employs more than 700 local residents
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Bright Ideas Agriculture: Light Recipes for Plant Growth from page B4 Before installing the LumiGrow system, Rainbow Greenhouses was using HPS lighting.
University of California-Davis. One of LumiGrow’s prominent hires, Dr. Melanie Yelton, has a Ph.D. In plant molecular biology.
HPS is an acronym for highpressure sodium.
In the 1990s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) experimented with these same concepts.
HPS lights are higher in the yellows, oranges and infrared light that plants aren’t all that fond of. “Therefore, by only giving the plant the majority of the light it can actually use to grow, we are not wasting light,” Vander Waal said. The technology is, in a way, complex. But operating it is remarkably simple. “Actually, it is pretty much just flipping a switch and they’re on,” Vander Waal said. “We do, however, have software and environmental controls that tell the lights when to go on and off, depending on the crops and their requirements.” The theory behind the LumiGrow system traces back to research done at the
LumiGrow was founded in 2006 by Kevin Wells, but only recently has the technology started to find commercial traction. The main reason is cost. At one point LED lighting was prohibitively expensive, but the cost has dropped dramatically. Combine that with the fact that LED lights can use approximately 70 per cent less energy to run, and the LumiGrow system now makes economic sense. “We are still evaluating the cost effectiveness,” Vander Waal said. “We are currently projecting a maximum payback of seven years with the energy savings we’ll be
by: Eric Welsh using the lights is accelerated plant growth, earlier flowering and stronger root systems.” And taste?
Stan Vander Waal. owner of Rainbow Greenhouses. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS FILE
getting. We also have to wait and see how long the lights themselves last and if we get as many hours out of them as the manufacturer claims.” As of November, LumiGrow now claims to have 3000 customers in 32 countries. Part of their sales pitch is the notion that plants can be made to taste better by consuming certain types of light. Tomatoes, for instance, like blue light. But Lumi-Grow researchers said a tomato that absorbs high frequency blue light can taste different than
one that absorbs low frequency blue light. LumiGrow also sells the idea of a higher yield. Where an open-field operation might produce seven kilograms of tomatoes per square metre, the company claims its lights can help produce 75 kilograms. “What we expected, or maybe a better word was hoped, to see was as good or better plant growth as we were getting from our HPS lights,” Vander Waal noted. “What we observed since
“There is research being done to support some of those claims,” Vander Waal explained. “One study is claiming that they can manipulate the flavours of basil and other herbs with the different light spectrums you can provide using LED lights. We have not conducted any trials so I cannot comment first hand.” Founded in 1985 by Stan and his wife, Wilma, Rainbow Greenhouses has 530,000 square feet of growing area. The company has sought to stay at the leading edge of the technology curve, adopting things like the Agronomics and Visser Robotic Transplant system, automated pot fillers and assembly line planter systems. Get info online at rainbow. ca/about-us.html Learn more about LumiGrow at lumigrow.com
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015 The Chilliwack Progress
Tapping the Craft Beer Market Crafty: Raising a Glass to Innovation
by: Jennifer Feinberg
“Y
ou will brew the beer you were born to brew.”
ing picked up awards for his own tasty suds along the way. But he also made it clear that he is consistently thrilled and amazed to discover how delicious some of the locals’ brews are. Many ask him to do a taste test.
That’s the ambitious promise from the folks at True North Brew Supply of Chilliwack. Owners Calvin and Carole Quaite opened the shop in 2011 on South Sumas Road. They thought they would just cater to the dozen or maybe 20 diehards who were making their own home brew from scratch.
“I can tell you there are world-class beers being brewed right across the valley,” he enthused. Several local breweries have started coming to True North Brew Supply for small batch supplies to test out recipes.
Today they have the largest retail selection of malts, grains and hops in the province.
“And it just keeps growing,” explains Quaite. “We’re the only place in the Fraser Valley that offers fresh ingredients.”
It’s fresh grains, and fresh hops from all over the world, including two local hop farms, as well as 70 strains of yeast. Commercial hop growers in Chilliwack that supply True North include Sartori Cedar Ranch and Chilliwack Hop Farm. The business started out serving a niche market, but gained a loyal following as
It’s basic, but not. Calvin and Carole Quaite, seen here with just some of the dry ingredients they offer, run a one-stopshop for beer brewers. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
their inventory grew, and Quaite’s expertise expanded. More than 100 home brewers in the Fraser Valley
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“Beer making hasn’t changed much in four millennia, but it has taken constant innovation to make the beer more consistent,” he said. They’ve been open for almost four years, shipping Continued: pB7
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Tapping the Craft Beer Market Crafty: Raising a Glass to Innovation
by: Jennifer Feinberg
from page B6
sourcing high-quality ingredients.
recipes they share in the store with thousands more online.
supplies and equipment worldwide, but the retail market from a 100-mile radius is very strong, too, Quaite said.
They stay on top of trends, as clients seek out the makings of different beers for different seasons.
They supply brewing supplies regularly to sections of northern Canada, like the more remote parts of Ontario and Quebec.
“It’s also the information and help that we give people. That has been a big part of growing the homebrewing culture. There’s infinite room to learn something new.
He’ll offer brewing demos occasionally, and research the answers to customers’ questions about the best techniques or flavours.
So why is craft brewing so popular right now?
There are 1200 beer
“We can make any beer in the world,” he said. “If you get the temperatures right and the sanitation mastered, you will always make a drinkable beer.”
It’s a combination of factors. “It’s people who are concerned about buying local ingredients, about making beer with no preservatives, and maybe even the rise of the hipster movement.” Many home brewers start by being curious about how to make an excellent craft beer. “At its core, beer is only barley, hops and water,” he said.
Fresh hopps ready for harvest at Sartori Cedar Ranch in the Columbia Valley near Chilliwack.
But the real unique aspect of True North is found in the care and attention paid to
The real unique aspect of True North is found in the care and attention paid to sourcing high-quality ingredients, says Calvin Quaite. JENNA HAUCK/ THE PROGRESS
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Health Care An Eye for Innovation
GLOBAL MONTESSORI
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What is Montessori Education? We are an independent school with curriculum based on the Montessori Method of education. Our school provides an educational and respectful environment where children are accepted for who they are and are encouraged to reach their full potential. We are driven to establish a solid foundation and love of learning for 3-5 year old children. The first 5 years of life is the most crucial stage of development. We strongly believe that children of this age naturally absorb knowledge through their environment. The impressions they receive during this absorbent stage from their minds- they are not merely observed. The Montessori Prepared Environment, including the academic and non-academic materials, are a wealth for this stage of life. This structured early learning is natural, satisfying and necessary to developing confident, happy, independent individuals. The Montessori activities promote the development of social skills, emotional growth, physical coordination and cognitive preparation. The holistic curriculum, under the direction of specially trained teachers, allows the children to enjoy the experience of learning and time to enjoy the process. “It is the spirit of the child that can determine the course of human progress and lead it perhaps even to a higher form of civilization.”
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Dr. David Heinrichs performs cataract surgery on patient Karen Gibson at Chilliwack General Hospital. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
from page B3 The ambulatory model has freed up the regular operating rooms for other surgery needs, and the wait times for cataract surgery at CGH have now gone from more than a year, to about two to three months. In some special cases, Heinrichs said, that wait can be shortened even more. A man from northern B.C. recently learned that cataracts had brought his vision to the critical 20/50 level. “He’s a truck driver, and so he lost his licence,” Heinrichs said. “The wait in Prince George is at least a year. We expedited it and he will be done treatment within a few weeks.”
Your hospital foundation since April 2000 Building on Chilliwack’s long history of giving back to the community, we continue to partner with individuals, community groups and businesses to raise funds in support of Chilliwack General Hospital. The state-of-the-art new emergency department is just one example of what we have done together.
So, instead of losing
Visit us: www.fvhcf.org Follow us: @FVHCF Like us: Facebook.com/FVHCF Or drop by and see us in the Main Lobby of the hospital!
income for an entire year, he’s lost less than a month of work. And once the surgery is done, that patient will appreciate how bad his vision slowly became. For some patients, the growth of the cataracts are so slow they can go unnoticed. And for those who are legally blind from their cataracts, a difference in wait times can mean fewer injuries from falls, and more enjoyment of life in general. Only one eye is treated at a time, with a wait time of about a week between surgeries. All cataract surgeries are now completely covered by BC Medical, making the medicine available universally. The day after surgery, the patient visits their ophthalmologist in his or her private practice.
“We get them seeing again,” Heinrichs said. “I have the best job in the world.” Gibson’s cataracts are “fast growing” and were found by her eye doctor in Aldergrove, in October 2014. “My older sister had one, so I guess I’m following in the family tradition,” she said, laughing. About 15 minutes after arriving in the waiting room, Gibson is moving into an operating room. She is met by the RN, an OR tech, and the doctor, and is quickly prepped for surgery. A television screen shows Gibson’s eye up close, as Heinrichs begins to use sound waves (phacoemulsification) to break up the cataract. A small Continued: pB9
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Health Care Eye on Innovation from page B8 incision is made and the fluid from the lens is drawn out. Water is continually flushed into Gibson’s eye, as a soft lens is inserted into her eye. It slowly unfolds and takes it place, and Gibson can see light like “a kaleidoscope of colours.” In another few minutes, the doctor is heading out of the room to the adjoining hallway, where he’ll clean up in preparation for the patient being brought into the second operating room. As Gibson leaves her surgery room with the help of a nurse, the room is cleaned and ready for yet another patient.
throughout the day and allows the ophthalmologists the ability to focus on the task at hand. All the staff are trained for all the jobs within the centre, and they rotate tasks in the day to “keep things fresh.”
Delicious
The centre couldn’t operate without their dedication to their work, Heinrichs said.
Delectable
“They’re as valuable as gold,” he said. The patients think so, too. In addition to flowers and gifts that arrive regularly from past patients, Roberts says they see the joy in their patients’ eyes daily. “Oh yes, we get hugged every day,” she said.
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Dr. David Heinrichs with patient Karen Gibson at Chilliwack General Hospital. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015 The Chilliwack Progress
People Power Sustainability: Living the Eco Life
by: Jennifer Feinberg “I fell in love with Yarrow while house-sitting years ago,” Jones said. “But I couldn’t afford to live here because of the land prices. Living at the Ecovillage was the answer.”
They are almost full at the Yarrow Ecovillage in Chilliwack. With 31 of 33 units spoken for, only two upper units remain unsold in the co-housing community known as Groundswell.
The community dinners make life infinitely easier for the mom of three kids.
“The real innovation is the people,” said Ecovillage resident Linda Jones. “Everyone is so driven here to live the better life.”
“We have a community meal set up four nights a week,” said Jones. “It means I don’t have to think about meals, plan them, or clean up after.”
Yarrow Ecovillage is on a sprawling site on Yarrow Central Road which used to be a dairy farm. There are 20 acres of certified organic farm land, in addition to the 33 units of multi-generational co-housing built on a smaller parcel.
Of course everything is optional. You can share a meal in the common house — or not. You can socialize — or not.
Jones said she enjoys taking part in Parents’ Group activities with her fourmonth old daughter Raquel and her neighbours.
From left, Sheila Muxlow and son Timothy Rose, Steve Woolf and son Zen, and Linda Jones and daughter Raquel, spend time with each other during a parents’ group get together at Yarrow Ecovillage. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
They get together monthly to share food, ideas, recipes, and diapers. The best part is Jones said she can walk to her friends’ homes, to school and to nearby shops. The most “eco” thing about ecovillage life is being able to walk everywhere, she added.
Yarrow Ecovillage was actually the first in Canada to see the term “ecovillage” incorporated into a rezoning. Chilliwack council approved the plan to redesignate the zoning at the site from rural residential to the newly established ‘ecovillage zone’ in 2006.
The homes are strata-type residences and the community has been flourishing in recent years on the western edge of Chilliwack.
Using the term ‘ecovillage’ underlined the residents’ desire to live sustainably and cooperatively in an intentional community. The group built
a biological wastewater treatment system that allows for treatment and reclamation of all their waste water on-site. They have their own private residences but share amenities like a new common house, and the natural swimming hole. The sprawling common house is perfect for holding community dinners, crafts, housing guests, doing laundry, and much more.
“I like that you can be as private or as social as you like to be,” she said. “I treasure that.” For stay-at-home dad Steve Woolf what is inherently different about life at the Yarrow Ecovillage is the strong emphasis on collaboration and teamwork within the community. “There’s a security and freedom provided here that you can’t really buy.” As a family with three kids, they opted to move here from California and buy a home in part because of how family-friendly it is. Continued: pB13
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True Grit Resource Development: Improving Safety and Efficiency
O
ne of Chilliwack’s leading innovators wants to be part of the solution where fracking is concerned. Rosedale-based Tycrop has produced a new product under its Propell Oilfield Equipment wing, one that promises to make fracking job-sites safer while increasing efficiency and profits. All that, and protecting the environment, too. The SandStorm is a mobile proppant handling system designed to thwart the threat of silica, one of the highest industrial carcinogens.
ment, the stuff flies all over the place. Not only does it create a health hazard, it also wastes material. Search ‘cabot site silica’ on Youtube for examples of how much can get away. By comparison, one of Tycrop’s SandStorm customers happily reported receiving nine million pounds of proppant, and only losing 100 pounds of it to waste. “Our system literally leaves behind a few shovels worth
of sand as opposed to what you see in those videos of the competition,” said Tycrop’s branding and marketing manager Bob Fugger. The SandStorm is the result of industry input followed by years of product development. “Our product development teams are cross-functional from all areas of the company,” Fugger said. “We utilize staff from our supply chain, manufacturing, customer care, etc. — not just engineers
by: Eric Welsh and prototyping — to ensure that what we design can be built, sourced and supported effectively. It can take years to develop the initial product.” The SandStorm is big. On site, it can be set up in two configurations. One measures 125 feet across by 76.5 feet deep. The other measures 120 feet across by 57 feet deep. Each of SandStorm’s (up to) six ‘GravityBoxes’ can handle 550,000 pounds of material, transferring it onto
Silica sand is an ingredient used in fracking (hydraulic fracturing), an environmentally controversial process where natural gas is extracted from layers of shale rock buried beneath the ground. When not properly contained, silica dust can be inhaled by workers, leading to a condition known as silicosis (also miner’s phthisis, grinder’s asthma and potter’s rot). On some sites, with some equip-
conveyer belts without the help of motors, blowers, dust filters or augers. A single engine runs the entire thing, reducing noise, maintenance and fuel expense. The entire thing can be run by just one person. “Customers love this system because it saves them time, money and personnel while being safer for them and the environment,” Fugger said. The SandStorm is a load to deliver. It takes a month to build, and the GravityBoxes need oversize permits on the highways. But units have found their way to several spots in Western Canada and various U-S locations including Texas, Pennsylvania and Colorado. The SandStorm costs a lot — well over $1,000,000 — but short term pain is offset by long-term gain. Most importantly, the Chilliwack born-and-raised solution helps companies
Tycrop’s SandStorm promises to make job-sites safer while increasing efficiency and profits.
Continued: pB15
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Wednesday, January 28, 2015 The Chilliwack Progress
Agriculture The Poop on Innovation
by: Jessica Peters
A cow steps over a slow-moving machine that is used to scrape manure and sand bedding out of dairy stalls and into a compartment to be recycled at UBC Dairy Research Centre in Agassiz. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
N
elson Dinn gently taps a dairy cow on the back, and she shuffles happily along and out of his way. Dinn, manager of the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre in Agassiz, is eager to show reporters the innovative system they’re using to save money, while lessening their environmental impact.
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Below the cow’s hooves, Dinn points to a metal sweeper that slowly drags up and down the barn’s floor. The cows step over the sweeper nonchalantly, while it pushes their manure to an open trench at the far end. From there, the waste drops out of sight to an underground pipe to carry it away.
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But the scraper isn’t just pushing waste out of the barns. It’s also capturing bedding sand that’s been kicked out of stalls throughout the day and mixed in with the manure. On average, Dinn estimates their 500 or so cows kick out 15 kilos of sand per stall, per day. Sand is the “gold standard” in bedding choices for dairy cows, Dinn said. It’s inorganic, leading to lower incidences of infections like mastitis caused by organisms like E. coli. It
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The innovative system has made a massive impact at the farm. They’re now purchasing 80 per cent less sand, leading to lower operating costs. But the environmental impact is also impressive. Buying less sand has a trickle down effect that results in fewer truck deliveries to the farm. And the resulting fertilizer is more concentrated, requiring less transportation across the fields. The furthest field is seven kilometres from the barn, so the costs, labour and impact on the land, once again, is quite dramatic. The UBC Dairy Farm was the first farm in Canada to install the system, created by DariTech. It’s just one example of innovation at work in the farming industry.
“We use automation as much as possible to make this as efficient as possible,” Dinn said. Dairy farms are growing larger and farm labour is harder to find, making automation a desirable solution. As often is the case with successful innovation, economic benefits are hard to ignore; the sand recovery system in place at UBC is expected to pay for itself within seven years of first being implemented.
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So, for the last year they’ve been extracting it from barn floor waste with a high-tech machine that cleans it with water recycled from the farm. The sand, organic material, and water are each extracted through a series of steps, including the use of a Sand Cannon and a separator (the DT-360), and stored for later use. The sand can then be re-used, and the manure is ready to be used as fertilizer for the 155-hectare operation.
“There’s a lot of automatic equipment on farms today,” Dinn said, including feeding and milking systems. Many farms are also taking a very close look at recycling their waste.
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also provides better traction, leading to fewer falls. But sand is neither cheap, nor renewable.
Manure is one of the two end products. As an added benefit, students studyNelson Dinn says the cow manure recying agricultural practices at UBC are cler they use at UBC Dairy Research seeing how innovation pays off. Centre in Agassiz separates the sand from the manure which initially gets “They’re learning that are other mixed together in the stalls from the ways to do things,” Dinn said. cow’s sand bedding. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
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B13
Sustainability: Living the Eco Life
Loving God... Loving Each Other... Loving Our Neighbours
Ecovillage pals Zen and Raquel spend time with each other during a parents’ group get together at Yarrow Ecovillage. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
from page B10 “People collaborate in a way I haven’t seen happen outside this community,” Woolf said. “You see it in the business world but the scope here is bigger. So instead of it being me and my family against the world, you get a whole group looking out for you.” For Jones, it’s much appreciated to have so many varied skill sets covered, including growing food. “As a gardener I love having gardeners living here to share wisdom.” Woolf agreed there’s lots of knowledge at the Ecovillage to draw on.
“Every topic is covered from babies teething, to planting leeks or building sheds. There’s a collective wisdom you can tap into. If you want to do something, there it is.” In some ways they are out to recapture everything good about village life, intentionally, and as a group.
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Green Power Research: Freestream Glider Fails to Take Off
In
a world that desperately needs as many cleanenergy options as it can get its hands on, government sluggishness is putting one promising technological advancement on the shelf. Joel Atwater’s HydroRun Technologies Ltd. spent the last two and a half years developing the Freestream Glider, a device that promised to harness the power of fast-running water to power 30 homes. The Vancouver-based company did large-scale testing on the Pitt River and small scale testing on a section of the Fraser River between Agassiz and Hope. The device performed as expected. In an Agassiz Observer article from early April, Atwater enthusiastically extolled the virtues of the Freestream Glider (also known as the HydroKite), expressing hope it would be the power source of the future. “We see these being put in rivers all over the country,” he said. Contacted last week by The Progress, Atwater was in a
by: Eric Welsh “We had great interactions with them. Council and Chief (Maureen) Chapman were fantastic to work with,” he said.
much different place. “Things have changed quite a lot, and not in a good way,” he explained. “Essentially, we had to shut down the company.”
But, other local First Nations groups weren’t as receptive, which may have contributed to the delay.
With the testing phase all but complete, Atwater was planning a demonstration of the Freestream Glider for his investors, hoping to set up at the Fraser River site. For that to happen, he needed permits to use a 40 metre by 40 metre spot in the middle of the river. Atwater said he successfully got permits from Transport Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, both certifying the Freestream Glider as safe for marine life and the environment. “We received permits quite quickly from both agencies,” Atwater said. “But the Province of B.C. essentially took two to three times as long as it said it would to address our land-use application. Combined with the recent changes in energy prices, the process dragged on too long. Our investors weren’t
“I suppose there were political challenges in relations between other First Nations groups that threw a monkey wrench into the works,” Atwater conceded. Joel Atwater had hoped his HydroKite (above) would provide easy energy solutions.
in position to wait.”
month.
Atwater said the government’s service promise was three months to get a permit addressed.
“It’s one of the risks of tech development and startups, where we kind of get one shot at it,” Atwater said. “To keep staff on we need money to pay them. We don’t have other revenue coming in. It’s totally investor driven. As a startup we couldn’t survive the time it took to get that permit.”
“They didn’t even open the file until eight months,” he said. During that time, HydroRun Technologies was still paying for staff and other expenses (including a team of engineers), burning through approximately $150,000 a
One of Atwater’s valuable partners was the Skawalook First Nation.
Whatever the reason, the promising technology is now ‘being shelved.’ So what’s been lost? The Freestream Glider is a hydrokinetic device that looks like an airplane lying on its side (see picture). Anchored in the river by a tether, it was meant to sit beneath the water surface, sweeping back and forth, generating lift that in turn generated power. Outfitted with radar, sonar and something called machine vision, it was designed to avoid river debris. Continued: pB15
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Hydro solution “They keep swimming merrily on their way,� Atwater assured.
from page B14 It was also created with fish safety in mind. “It is absolutely benign to fish for two reasons,� Atwater elaborated. “Fish want to be at the bottom and sides of the river, where the flow is the lowest. We want to be in the fastest.� Fish that did venture near a Freestream Glider would be protected from the sudden water pressure changes characteristic of conventional turbines — which can burst their swim bladders — by the shape of the kite.
Atwater said one kilometre of river space reserved for Freestream Gliders would produce one megawatt of electricity, enough to power 800 homes.
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