Barry Thompson

Barry attended Mohawk College in Hamilton and graduated with a diploma in Energy Systems Technology.  Barry has worked at Ontario Hydro, the Borough of East York and presently for the City of Barrie.  Barry was project manager for what was at the time the largest water conservation program in Canada, implemented by the City of Barrie in the mid nineties. He works now for the City in developing energy and water conservation projects to try and limit infrastructure expansion in the future…

Erich Jacoby-Hawkins

Erich is a world-travelling English teacher who has decided to settle and establish roots here in Barrie, and hopes his garden will do the same. When he’s not volunteering for one cause, then he’s pitching in for another, so perhaps you know him from housing issues or the Barrie Film Festival or through the local Green Party. He really puts the ‘mental’ in ‘environmental’.  erich@livinggreenbarrie.com or erich@livinggreen.info.

Gwen Petreman

She is very passionate about eco-friendly herb and veggie gardening. She has been actively involved with the Arboretum Committee where she helped spearhead the tallgrass prairie plot which contains a riot of flowering plants and tall grasses all of which are indigenous to Simcoe County.
She just recently launched a children’s book called The Blue Bottle. It’s a fantasy story with a very important environmental message that targets 6 to 9 year olds.  She wrote the book to get the message across to young people about the critical role trees play in creating a balanced and healthy environment where people and animals can thrive. Her focus is on the importance of preserving the Amazon rain forest. Hopefully, as parent and child read this book together, the parents will be inspired to plant as many trees as possible on their property.

What fascinates her most about the many benefits of trees is the fact that the cheapest, safest, most effective and most beautiful method of mitigating climate change is to simply preserve trees and plant more trees!
 In the light of the fact that scientists generally agree that a natural tree cover of 30% is the minimum amount needed to best protect watersheds she has created a PowerPoint presentation focusing on the important role played by the Amazon rain forest for primary students. $1 from each student attending the presentation will be donated to the school here in the Barrie area. Hopefully, the school will use the funds to plant a mature tree on school property.

Heidi Andres

Heidi is very concerned about a variety of environmental issues. She runs a local Information Technology business and ensures that all equipment is recycled in Canada. Further will recycle old equipment.  She also enjoys organic gardening and helping to increase biodiversity.

Karen Fox

Karen Fox has lived in Barrie since 1969. She attended Georgian College in the Art and Interior design program, raised 3 great children and has been a local Realtor since 1987.  She currently works at Re/Max.  Photography is her hobby and her volunteer work includes delivering meal on wheels for the past 10 years to local seniors, being an active member of the Barrie Downtown Neighbourhood Association and one of the original founders and  steering committee members of Transition Barrie.

Kyla Cotton

Kyla’s belief about the environment and life in general is to live simply and enjoy the small things that our world has to offer. Kyla’s background in the horticulture and agriculture industries is extensive. Kyla’s passion for food security, environmentalism and creative love of gardening has driven her to teach others about the methods of edible landscaping.

She has recently restarted her business Urban Harvester, which specializes in consulting for edible landscaping, www.urbanharvester.ca.

Mike Fox

Mike has been a resident of Barrie since 1987 but has spent most of his life if the area. A graduate of Georgian College, School of Business, Mike’s professional career has included everything from executive positions with a few multinational corporations, to running his own business. Mike is currently living and working in the Downtown Barrie area, where he is actively interested in building a resilient, sustainable community. He is a founding member and steering committee member of Transition Barrie and sits on the steering committee of the Barrie Downtown Neighbourhood Association.  Passionate about the outdoors, Mike is interested in reducing our consumption of resources and eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels and imported foods.

Peter Bursztyn

Peter  graduated from McGill University in Physics and Physiology. Taught Physiology at: University of East Africa, Nariobi, Glasgow University, University of Southampton and took a teaching sabbatical at the University of Zimbabwe. Returned to Canada in 1988 after 21 years abroad, I worked as an Industrial Chemist specializing in health and safety issues relating mainly to solvents. Appalled at the waste of energy in Canada, I became an instant environmentalist. Have spoken to many groups on various energy or water related subjects.  

Interests: Energy Issues: power plants, vehicles, emissions, climate change, renewable energy, etc. Also water: effects of dam building, irrigation, wetland drainage, etc.
Additional Expertise: As part of my work I have access to several databases containing information on industrial chemicals, toxic and otherwise.

Ruth Blaicher

Attended University of Waterloo.  Volunteer nature interpreter for B.C. Parks.  Local Barrie Realtor since 1984.  Interested in issues of sustainable lifestyles, deep ecology, voluntary simplicity, urban sprawl.