Another opportunity to get the word out. Ignore the misspelling of my name, and, no, I am not Heidi. But otherwise well written. Review the CBC article here

Very soon, Sunrise Funeral Co-operative, will be incorporated in NL. With the help of the Network of Funeral Co-operatives (FCFQ; mainly Quebec, but several members in Atlantic Canada, US, and South America) and the NL Federation of Co-operatives (NLFC) a steering committee of local members – which I joined in April – has been working with a support group of experts towards establishing this community co-operative in the province. Recently, CBC did an interview with one of the experts, David Emond, about this project. You can listen to this interview here. I am excited about this soon to be new member of the co-operative movement and network in NL.

This show looked at a new co-operative incubator pilot program on the northeast Avalon Peninsula. Host Adam Walsh spoke with folks about the ideas they’ve pitched, which include composting, assisting seniors, securing car insurance for newcomers and helping people overcome barriers to the commercial fishery.

Mid-January we received confirmation from the NL Federation of Co-operatives (NLFC) that our project “Killick Coast North Seniors Co-operative – ‘Aging Well At Home’ has been selected as one of the five co-operative incubator pilot projects (https://nlfc.coop/start-a-co-op/co-op-incubator/). Yay! . This was only possible through a dedicated effort of a committed project team, through the endorsement of various community, municipal, and provincial organizations, and through the connection with and support of the Village-to-Village Network (https://www.vtvnetwork.org).

From February through to July 2024, NLFC will guide us through and support us in mastering the process of creating and incorporating the co-operative. Further, a seed funding amount of $ 5,000 will be awarded to the project upon completion of the program. The project team will meet next week to discuss next steps and to move the project forward.

Stay tuned

On March 1, 2023 I have retired from the University of New Brunswick. At the same time, we relocated to our new home in Pouch Cove, NL. Currently, we are settling in and while my writing projects continue, my focus is on reorganizing and reenergizing. Stay tuned for future updates!

Just in time for the Thanksgiving season, on September 24, I published Practicing Gratitude together with Mary Stewart. Mary is Professor Emerita of the Department of Art at Florida State University, an artist, and a former artist in residence at UNB’s Faculty of Education (Atlantic Centre for Creativity). In this edited book, available in various formats on Amazon.ca, twenty-three essays by fifteen Canadian and American authors explore the implications of treasured objects, the power of empathy and the ways in which difficult family dynamics can lead to transformative insights. Thirty-seven photographs punctuate the design and create a lively dialog with the text. A section on writing encourages anyone to begin practicing gratitude and eleven mouth-watering recipes at the end of the book celebrate the joy of cooking–and eating!

Contributing Canadian authors are (all from NB, mostly WFNB members):

• Charlene Cormier-Pellerin
• Jeremy Thomas Gilmer
• Joseph Koot
• Kathy Mac
• Thomas Mengel
• William (Bill) Randall

https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-5275-7059-7

Over 100 copies already sold, and royalties (over CAD 100) paid to David Suzuki Foundation and WWF 🙂