Amazing Sights in Kwa Zulu Natal
February 1, 2012 by Beverley Simpson
Hi Everyone, we’re at Makakatana Bay Lodge in the northern part of Kwa Zulu Natal on the banks on Lake Lucia near Swaziland. Having some wonderful viewings of giraffe, water buffalo, zebra, rhino, and more with a fantastic guide. Very limited broadband here and no way to upload our terrific pictures. We leave here on Friday (it is now Wednesday dinner time here) and drive back to Durban airport, fly to Port Elizabeth and drive to Cape Town. Hope to find better internet in the south to start sharing more information and pictures. Having a wonderful trip and meeting many interesting people with lots of insight in to this wondefully complex country.
Efforts for Greenest Games
February 23, 2010 by Beverley Simpson
Those who know me know that I am a mad recycler/composter -have been for 35 years or so. I remember working as a volunteer when the kids were little for a Pointe Claire, Quebec upstart organization called STOP – the Society To Overcome Pollution. Seems a hundred years ago – it fact it was about 35 years ago and far too long ago for the seemingly little progress we have made to reduce/reuse/and recycle our immense piles of waste.
However I remain hopeful for a more conscientious future and one of those hopeful signs is right in the Athletes Village where I go each day and see clean, large recycle bins everywhere. You don’t have to carry your banana peel or apple core very far before you can find a composting bucket with a clean –hopefully biodegradable – plastic bag inside ready to accept your offering. Beside the composting buckets is a huge drum to recycle plastic water, juice and pop bottles. 
Some of the waste buckets are solar powered compactors like this one on the right. 
Word is that Coke – one of the key Olympic sponsors – has a piece of equipment nearby that takes hundreds of plastic bottles and makes them into a 4x4x4 foot cube in seconds. The cubes are immediately sent to recycling plants.
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Is Time Right for More Polyclinics in North America?
February 17, 2010 by Beverley Simpson
One of the reasons I was very excited about my volunteer assignment in the Polyclinic in the Athletes Village was the opportunity to really experience inter-professional practice in action.
It has been many years since I practiced clinical nursing and worked side by side with other health professionals in the field. Here was the chance to experience this in 2010, and in a setting where many health professionals are actively working together collaboratively to meet individual patient needs. 
Like other health professionals in the field today, I use terms like inter-professional practice, collaboration and team work regularly and often discuss the actualities of important current concepts like patient-focused care. This seemed like an awesome opportunity to experience the realities of what many might call “lingo”.
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