-small.jpg)
The rural countryside in our backyard is a diverse home to native trees and rare species; the Niagara Escarpment specifically, a pristine 450 million year old UNESCO world heritage site, is home to 40% of Ontario’s rare species and houses trees that are over 1000 years old. The land here is irreplaceable once it’s lost, and it’s threatened every day by industry and urban encroachment.
When an aggregate company recently put forth a proposal to remove another 200 acres from Mount Nemo, Sarah Harmer, who grew up with this natural landscape in her Burlington, Ontario backyard, refused to sit idly. She co-founded PERL (Protecting Escarpment Rural Land) to stop the destruction of her hometown landscapes.
Her move to act is not a lone battle; campaigns like these are being waged across the globe, many right in our own backyards. Ancient forests, wetlands and valleys are irreplaceable once they are lost, and we must act to keep them alive. Don’t wait for your Neighbour to do something about a problem. Take action now.
Please support the following organizations that Sarah is affiliated with:
www.sarahharmer.com
PERL of Burlington
• Sign the petition against the proposed new quarry at Mount Nemo.
• If you live in Toronto, send a letter to your local Councillor to put a stop to these intrusive gravel-extraction processes and attend the Planet in Focus Film Festival screening of GreenHeroes: Sarah Harmer on Friday, October 15 at 7 p.m.
• To stop these acts in your backyard, send a letter to your provincial MPP: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon.
• Donate to PERL to help protect threatened species in your backyard.
• Share your voice on Sarah Harmer’s profile page and in the comment section below.
• Tell 10 friends that there are over 300 species of birds, 55 mammals, 36 reptiles and amphibians, 90 fish, and 100 varieties of flora in the 450 million year old Escarpment, which will lose their home if developers continue to destroy their habitats.
• Share Sarah Harmer’s GreenHeroes webisode using our neat Sharelizer widget. You can post GreenHeroes.tv videos on your blog or website by simply following the directions on our site.
• Follow PERL on Twitter.
• Become a fan of PERL on Facebook.
• Become a voice for your community: Use guides from the Conservation Council of Ontario and the successful community activists of Site 41 or become a community leader with resources from the David Suzuki Foundation.
• Tell your neighborhood story with help from Jane’s Walk.
• Lead a community clean up or take part in the Shoreline Cleanup.
• Be a steward where you live, and help restore the natural biodiversity in your backyard.
Remember – in the battle to save the planet, you can make a difference in your backyard. What actions are you taking to make a difference in your community? How are you acting locally to affect global change? Do you know someone who is a change agent in your community? Share your story here for your chance to win a prize in our contest
You can either register for a contest profile, enter your personal information to the left, or sign in with your Facebook account by clicking the button below.
Login with Facebook
Having passed Sarah hiking on the Escarpment a few times over the years, I can certainly testify to the fact that she has an obvious love for the land on which she's making this admirable stand. I speculate in moments of reflection while out there myself that the simplest approach might just be going for a stroll along the Bruce Trail or hanging out at Webster's Falls in autumn with the quarrymen, but upon descending back into civilisation, I am usually jolted back to the realisation that the battle must be fought led by soldiers like Sarah on the fields where the would-be conquerers camp and with the weapons they fear, first among which is usually open, public debate.
Dear Sarah, Bruce and friends at PERL,
It is great to see this mini documentary out there and the work of PERL going onward! I was at this concert featured in the video back in 2008 and was blessed to meet many of you personally. Although I have moved on from living in Southern Ontario a part of me remains there with you and I totally support the cause for which you are fighting. Together We Shall Overcome and Be not overcome by evil but overcome evil with good!!! AMEN!!! sincerely in solidarity, Thomas Reinhardt
Sarah Harmer is a gem. Both for her music (the new album is great!) and her environmental activism.
Sarah, through all of your success you haven't forgotten where you came from. Your passion and love for our beautiful escarpment is an inspiration to us all. Keep up the amazing work you are doing to save our planet!! I am so happy and proud to be a PERL supporter.
Hey Sarah - Great to see this mini-doc and it brings back such great memories of the concert from '08. Thanks for all of your hard work, advocacy, persuasiveness and of course, your music. Keep singing so sweetly!