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April Adventures of a Different Sort
 Last April we were rowing and towing our boats out of Scotland and through England; a year ago to the day, we slept across from Windsor Castle (the Queen’s adobe) in a tent nestled amidst scraggly trees and shrubs lining the Thames River.
In comparison this April has been less adventurous….well sort of. We didn’t have Scottish gales and 12 hour days of rowing to content with, but talking to thousands of students and starting a rowboat company comes with its own set of challenges, as does keeping up with Penticton’s King of Walking and a couple of Aussies hell-bent on getting more girls in the outdoors. And of course there are our ongoing home renovations, or ‘greenovations’ as Colin likes to call them (you can read all about our adventures insulating our attic for free in Colin’s article below).
Three weeks ago we took a trip to Penticton and Summerland, and spoke at all the middle schools and an elementary school. By the time we reached our fifth and final student-packed gymnasium, I was convinced that this part of BC has some of the best and brightest kids in Canada. Anyone who laments today’s youth should visit a Penticton middle school. Maybe it’s something in the water or more likely it is linked to the community’s dedication to innovative programs, especially those promoting healthy living. We were here as part of http://www.healthyheart.bc.ca/, an initiative lauded for successfully motivating students to participate in new physical activities and creating enthusiasm for following healthy lifestyles.
On Earth Day, we were again reminded of the contagious enthusiasm of students. This time in our own community, Comox. We spoke to a highschool gymnasium packed with uber-attentive teenagers as part of their Earth Day celebrations, which also included picking up litter and sampling local farmer’s market goodies.
Besides meeting outstanding youth, we often get the opportunity to meet and befriend exceptional people who have made great contributions to their community through their commitment to their beliefs. Our host in Penticton, Bob Pope, is one of these people. He’s the city’s Recreation Programmer and spearheads countless life-changing initiatives centred on inspiring people and getting them active. He organizes talks and events, brings in rousing speakers and is the founder of a wildly successful pedometer-based walking program called Steps Out that has now been adopted by almost 50 BC communities. Thousands of people have taken billions of steps, shed considerable weight and improved their health, and it all started with Bob. Needless to say when we visited we brought our walking shoes and did our best to keep up with him and his wife Lynda.
We also had a chance to do some hosting of our own when two adventurous Aussies stopped by on their whirlwind tour to promote a web resource for girl explorers. Just because we smell better and aren’t covered in facial hair after a week in the woods doesn’t mean we don’t like to get rough and dirty. Marjorie Morgan, founder of GO! Girls Outdoors, is a perfect example of this. She’s tall with an athletic build, and has been an outdoor enthusiast all her life and an outdoor educator for much of it. After staying with us Marjorie went on to spend three more weeks at various US locations and then she’s heading back to Australia. Check out her website at http://www.girlsoutdoors.org/.
And finally, there are the rowboats. We have partnered with a skilled boat builder and engineer in Vancouver Malcolm Chaddock who owns Taliesin Works Small Boats. Malcolm is using his considerable expertise to help create the plans and manuals for the boat. His warehouse is outfitted with all the technology and equipment needed to produce kit boats, including a CNC cutter, and beginning in October we will have kits and plans available. The first model we’re producing is the Expedition, which is the exact same boat we used for our Scotland to Syria trip. The Angus Rowboats website (http://www.angusrowboats.com/) is the place to find out more about the boats and how the development is proceeding.
If you’re a Toronto or Vancouver resident, you may want to come out to one of our May events. I’m speaking in Toronto on May 6 and May 7 as part of the eh List Author Series, a great event that brings top-notch Canadian writers to Toronto, including Governor General Award winner Nino Ricci, Miriam Toews, and Austin Clarke. I am thrilled to be a part of this event, and for you the good news is it’s free. I’ll also be in Hamilton on May 5 at McMaster University for their Alumni Gallery where I’ll be recieving the Arch Award.
And if you’re in Vancouver, how about spending Victoria Day (Monday May 18) afternoon with us? We’ll be at the Hollywood Theatre showing a couple of our films along with Nisga’a and Squamish Tribe dancing performers as a fundraiser for Tribal Journeys. Find out more about our upcoming events at www.angusadventures.com/tour.html.
Thanks and have a great May.
- Julie
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Featured Adventure: Sam Whittingham Shatters Human-Powered Speed Record
 Of the 100 billion or so humans that have ever existed there is only one that has travelled faster than 130 km per hour using only his muscles. Canadian Sam Whittingham of Quadra Island, BC has propelled himself faster than any Olympic athlete or Tour de France hero in his custom-made bullet-shaped recumbent bicycle. His success is attributed to a combination of athletic prowess and the design genius of Georgi Georgiev, creator of Whittingham’s bicycle.
Whittingham first took title for fastest human in 2000, clocking a speed of 117 km/hr over a 200-metre course in Nevada. Since then he has broken his own record numerous times while competitors have remained far behind.
Being the fastest in the world became secondary to an even more formidable challenge that Whittingham and Georgiev began preparing for: to break the renowned deciMach barrier, a speed one-tenth that of sound (stated to be 132 km/hr at the elevation of the course).
Read about how Whittingham once again shattered the speed record.
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Home Greenovations: Insulating Your Attic...For Free
 There are many reasons why homes are less efficient than ideal, with the most common excuse being cost. Despite potential long-term savings in making a home greener, people often balk at having to spend money to make this happen. Well, for all you penny pinchers wanting to save money on your energy bills with no upfront costs, we’ve got the ultimate project for you.
One of the first home reno projects we’re subjecting our 1970s home to is an attic insulation upgrade. Like many Vancouver Island homes of this vintage, ours was built with minimal attention towards energy savings and the attic insulation is relatively paltry. If you peer into our attic you’ll see a layer of blown in cellulose insulation about 3.5 inches deep, which according to our home energy audit provides an R-value of 11.9. R-value is a measure of how well something insulates: the bigger the value, the better the insulation. BC Hydro recommends an R-value of at least 40 for our region.
We decided to up our attic insulation from R11.9 to R52, which more than quadruples it. This should, according to BC Hydro, cut 20-60 percent on our heating bill, meaning we will save $2000-$6000 over the next ten years. But the cost savings are much more immediate than that.
By exploring the numerous grants and incentives provided by the Canadian government we learned that the upgrade would be entirely free even before factoring energy savings. Rebates are offered by several bodies, and each one varies depending on the scope of the project and other factors. For those in a similar situation, with mediocre insulation presently in the attic, this is your winning lottery ticket. Let’s celebrate, keep the money secret from friends and family, and start insulating.
Read about how you too can insulate your attic for free.
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