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By Nathan Howes OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Living off the grid is just a pipe dream for many people. For Blake Poland, its a day-to-day life. The Oakville resident and former Green Party candidate has turned his 1950s home into a permaculture paradise. His property consists of four major earth-friendly projects, including more than a dozen solar panels, exterior insula- tion, geothermal energy and gardens encom- passing his front and back yards. The gardens are a multi-piece project, he said, which includes ponds and rain barrels for rainwater manage- ment, and is 100 per cent edible landscaping. The idea with permaculture is you co-locate AUTOPRO OAKVIL EL 2212 Wyecroft Road, Oakville 905-469-2442 autoprooakville.mechanicnet.com MECHANICAL SERVICES 40 Pages $1.00 (plus tax)A member of Metroland Media Group Ltd. Vol. 49 No. 102 USING COMMUNICATION TO BUILD BETTER COMMUNITIES FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2011 SNA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2010 ONTARIOS TOP NEWSPAPER - 2005-2008 Dominican back-to-school aid Living See Oakville page 10 By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Oakville escaped relatively unscathed in the wake of a severe thunderstorm, accompanied by reports of tornado sightings, that rolled through southern Ontario Wednesday night. Tornadoes were reported along southwestern Ontario communi- ties from London to Bruce County and wind gusts reached close to 100 km/h in Burlington. There was also a tornado warning in effect for Halton, including Oakville. However, aside from a few downed trees and damaged hydro transformers and lines, Oakville fared fairly well. At about 10 p.m. a tree fell onto the westbound lanes of Rebecca Street, at Third Line, affecting traf- fic for about 90 minutes until the Town of Oakville removed it. We had a handful of similar calls, where a tree, and/or trees, was down and took hydro wires with it, said Halton Regional Police Service media relations offi- cer, Sgt. Dave Cross. Oakville escapes major storm damage MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER GARDEN OASIS: Blake Poland's image is reflected in a rainwater-fed pond in the backyard of his home, which has undergone a major transformation from a typical energy inefficient 1950s bungalow to an environmental friendly permaculture paradise. Former Green Party candidate lives the talk See Entire page 4 dentistoakville.com 905-842-6030 RENOVATION SALE I TAKE 20% TO 60%OFF S I N C E 1 9 7 0 240 Leighland Ave. Oakville (905) 337-9799 ZZZ UDIHOOHUV FD