"Back to the Island" website

The website for "Back to the Island: The Back-to-the-Land Movement on PEI" is now up and running. It features interviews I conducted in 2008 with members of Prince Edward Island's back-to-the-land community. It also includes a narrative written by Alan MacEachern and some fantastic photos from George Zimbel. Go take a gander, and if you happen to be a Prince Edward Island back-to-the-lander, past or present, with stories you'd like to share feel free to contact us here.

Funeral for the Don River

One of Pollution Probe's first high profile events was the Funeral for the Don. Held on Sunday, November 16, 1969, it was an act of guerilla theatre designed to attract attention to the fact that the once majestic Don River had become an industrial waste sink. Beginning with a funeral procession from Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto, an estimated two hundred mourners headed to the Prince Edward Viaduct. Once there, a forty minute ceremony was held. Meredith Ware, assuming the role of Elizabeth Simcoe, read a journal entry detailing the river's past grandeur, while Tony Barrett, portraying fictional industrialist Sir Simon Greed, was pied in the face for his transgressions. The theatrical nature of this event garnered significant media attention. As Ware infomed me during a recent interview: "I was on the cover of newspapers across the country. I have an aunt in Vancouver and she phoned my dad and said 'Meredith's on the cover of the Vancouver Sun!'"

The poster seen above was used to promote the event. If you left click on the poster it will enlarge. As you can see it provides a map of the funeral route, as well as a brief description of the rationale behind it.