Anna Nicolle's Blog (10)

In the poorer communities surrounding the Senegalese capital of Dakar,
researchers from Canadian-based, International Development Research centre tested the technical and socioeconomic feasibility of
exploiting aquatic plants, like water lettuce, to convert household
wastewater into water fit for irrigating small market gardens. The experiment was successful!

It's August 13, 2020, my birthday. Although I am in my 50s and should have grown out of this by now my birthday remains my favorite day of the year.



It's dusk and I am at my cottage in Nova Scotia with my husband, kids and family. My grandchildren are chasing fireflys in the garden while we, the adults, sit in the screen porch and enjoy the evening breeze. In the distance, out near where the water meets the sky I can just make out the shadow of the windmills that are helping to power… Continue

Every evening the last chore of my day involves I turning on my dishwasher and letting the rushing water scour and scrub the food particles from my pots, pans, dishes, mugs and gla****. Every morning I get up at 6 and the first act of my day is to stumble, half asleep into my kitchen and turn on my coffee maker. What if I could combine these actions, using the energy of one to power the other? My idea is to capture the energy of the water rushing around… Continue

A team of engineers at Cambridge University in England has created a giant gravel battery that can store energy produced by windmills and solar panels so that energy will still be available even when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining. The gravel-based battery stores the intermittent energy that is produced and the feeds it back as a consistent and reliable energy source. The system consists of two silos filled with gravel that store the energy that has been converted into argon… Continue

It's April 30, 2020 and I'm cooking at the community dinner that is put on each week in my apartment building. Each apartment building in the city hosts a dinner once a week ( on different days) and posts an invitation on the electronic boards located at each major interesection of the city. People sign up for a dinner location and receive a ticket that entitles them to attend the dinner. It is a social event that encourages people to get out, and meet and support each other. It's also a… Continue

I joined, Just Food, a local organization working toward food insecurity in my city. I have put my name down as a volunteer for the community garden where I will be helping to grow fresh vegetables that will be provided to low-income families.

I live in the capital city of Canada. Visitors to Ottawa often comment on the abundance of well-cared for public spaces and the well-organized public activities and events. For many people, it's a very nice place to raise a family. However, for 28 per cent of the population Ottawa is a place where, on daily basis you must choose between buying food for your family and paying your rent. A single mother on social assistance with two children will (after she pays her housing costs) have about $100… Continue

It's 2020, I'm living in a small house on my land in Nova Scotia. My home is powered by sustainable energy and I grow most of own food or trade for what I need. I am able to work remotely in my employment as a Future Security Analyst where I contribute to the global efforts to contain global warming and mitigate the impacts of climate change. When I am called to contribute in some way to solving the food problem in Toyko, I am able to quickly mobilize a network of colleagues and friends with… Continue

I decided to follow Johon Wood, founder of Room to read, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving education (and gender equality in education) and literacy for children in developing countries. I think education is a powerful tool for social change. I have posted a link to the room to read site on my facebook page, signed up to follow Mr. Woods' twitter page and posted a link on my own blog,…

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Do the hard work needed to find a simple solution.

As Leonardo da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the ultimate

sophistication”—and it is the key to this type of design work.



I work for a large organization with a social service mandate. Lately, I have seen our senior managers asking the question, " who is this serving?" In large organizations I think it's particularly easy to lose track of this core purpose of the work we do.



Embedding that question… Continue