Rebecca Reble and Dieter Staudinger presented on, Feeding the Future. The focus was on greenhouses in Leamington and the use of natural gas to heat them. The big five (not a safari) are tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce and strawberries. They said greenhouses can produce 8.5 times more tomatoes per acre than a traditional field. 

And the greenhouse business is the fastest growing industry in 2022. 39% of all fresh produce is exported and almost 99% goes to the USA.
 
Greenhouses are mostly heated by natural gas although electrical and solar have a small portion. Leamington in particular sits on huge underground caves that store natural gas. Greenhouses often use a half million dollars a month of gas which is a direct purchase meaning they bypass Enbridge.

 

 

 

Mike Moulden and Nancy Gray outlined Cycling Without Age. The program started in Denmark in 2012 and now has 133 chapters in Canada. In the Hamilton area there are 65 volunteers and since its inception here has offered over 1000 rides to seniors in longterm care or assisted living homes. Check out the website https://cyclingwithoutage.ca/hamilton-burlington/.

The Trishaws are motor assisted and along with the pilot can carry up to two passengers to ride on safe trails for up to one hour. Non profit homes get the service free whereas for profit homes must pay a fee.

The trishaws were featured in the Tour de Dundas parade.

  
District Governor David Alexander reviewed some of our successes as a club in the past year. He talked about a wide-range of topics focusing both on the club’s vibrancy and its contributions to the local and global communities. In particular, he highlighted our Youth Services, Foundation Contributions, “sweat equity”, fundraising (especially Shredding and Lobsterfest) and was intrigued with Sox and Skivvies. 

David presented President Russ Powers with the Citation Award.