Dec 01

December 2024 Newsletter

2024 Community Outreach Survey

The Community Association is working on new and improved ways to connect with the neighbourhood, and big events like our annual Moonlight XC Ski and Winter Carnival are coming up in early 2025 (stay tuned for details).

As part of an increased focus on outreach, we want to hear from you what you want from us and from this community. We’ve prepared a survey, and we’d really appreciate if you took a few minutes to fill it out:

CGOW Community Outreach Survey

If you are working on the survey and have thoughts that don’t fit under any of the questions, we’d love to hear as much as you’re willing to share with us via email ([email protected]) or on the Community Forum.

In thinking about this community and helping it to flourish, I personally had some thoughts I wanted to share with all of you as the editor of this newsletter. I do hope you’ll take some time this month to give it a read:

Rob Attrell, Outreach Committee

Restoring the Heart of the Suburbs

Another thing I’ll add here as part of our outreach initiatives is that we would like to take the opportunity in our newsletter to highlight interesting people, groups, and organizations that are active in the community. If you know any such individual or group and want to ‘nominate’ them to be featured in our newsletter, please reach out to [email protected] and share the story with us. Thanks so much in advance!

Third places in Convent Glen Orléans Wood

people inside bar
Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

Matthieu Gagnon, Vice-President

The Pumpkin Alley organized by my fellow community association board member, Arnold van den Hoeven, made me realize two important things, our neighbours are generally awesome and we need more of these types of things. The highlight of the event to me was how casual it was. The park, on a regular Friday night, is a non-place devoid of people. That Friday night, it was a great place for kids to hang out. The key ingredient to this enjoyable event was, not to detract from Arnold’s preparation, people. 

My family generally spends our evenings by ourselves in our house like most people. While this is enjoyable most evenings, it would be nice to have more opportunities to have more evenings such as the Pumpkin Alley. My question coming out of the event was how to make them happen. Preferably with little to no effort and no cost. How do we get enough people to leave their house during their free time for a good time to happen. 

Read more…

Taffy Lane

Christmas decorations along Taffy Lane are a highlight for lots of families in December. We encourage you to avoid driving to or on Taffy Lane if you can avoid it, opting instead to leave your car behind and get there on foot or by transit or bike (if you’re prepared for that) where possible. The Orleans United Church has asked us to remind people they should not be using the church parking lot to access or walk to Taffy Lane and will be setting up traffic control to that effect.

Having fewer cars on Taffy Lane in December helps keep those who are walking much safer. It also lets residents who live on the street access their homes more easily and reduces emissions and noise from idling cars. Getting out of the car also allows you to chat with your neighbours as you enjoy the lights, getting to know other people in the community better. Please consider leaving your vehicle off Taffy Lane this year if you can.

My First Time Winter Sowing

Gillian Cantello, Environment Committee

I have always loved gardens, but I am far from being an accomplished gardener. I had never grown anything from seed. That changed when I became part of the Convent Glen Orleans Wood Community Association’s Environment Committee and got to know some of the members, who are wonderful gardeners.

One of the first projects the Environment Committee undertook was to plant a pollinator garden at Orleans Wood Elementary School. This took place in spring 2023 and, at the time, I didn’t know the first thing about native plants or why they might be a better gardening option. That project, which was funded by Ecology Ottawa, taught me so much about gardening with native plants.

Read more…

CGOW Photo Contest

The photo contest theme for December is Holidays, so keep an eye out for nice decorations or festive imagery.

In November, the Community Association’s Outreach Committee ran its first monthly photo contest, and we had some beautiful entries to kick things off.

Eligible photos were taken inside the catchment area of the CA and were all posted in the Community Forum. Here are the guidelines for entering the contest: Photo Contest Guidelines.

November’s theme was Fall, and the winning photo was taken by Jen. Congratulations, and we will be in touch with your prize!

Pumpkin Alley Event Recap

The first Convent Glen Pumpkin Alley event, held on November 1, 2024, was a resounding success, with approximately 100-150 people in attendance. The event featured 113 creatively carved pumpkins displayed at Voyageur Park, creating a magical atmosphere enhanced by the use of glow sticks. Despite some challenges with lighting, the event was well-received, with activities such as pumpkin judging, hot chocolate, and informal kids’ games adding to the fun. The event also facilitated community engagement, with many attendees learning about the Community Association for the first time.

The location at Voyageur Park proved ideal, allowing children to play on the structure while enjoying the event. The lack of lighting added to the ambiance, with glow sticks creating a magical sight, although it posed some challenges for organizers. The pumpkin judging was a highlight, with winners receiving gift cards and seltzers. The event wrapped up earlier than planned, but the timing worked well overall, with most attendees staying for the majority of the evening.

Local community events like Pumpkin Alley are vital as they foster a sense of belonging and strengthen neighborhood bonds. They provide opportunities for residents to connect, collaborate, and create shared memories, enhancing the overall quality of life in the community.

Miscellaneous

Here are a few new things to check from the Community Association and in the community. Get in touch at [email protected] to tell us things about the community we might have missed.

  • The Community Association website is changing. As of December 1st, we will be located at cgow.ca!
  • The CA is also launching an Events Calendar on our updated website: Events Calendar. We will keep this updated with our own hosted events and can add community events as well.
  • The Ski Heritage East group is currently fundraising through Go Fund Me to purchase a new snowmobile.

Dec 01

Third places in Convent Glen Orléans Wood

people inside bar
Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

Matthieu Gagnon, Vice-President

The Pumpkin Alley organized by my fellow community association board member, Arnold van den Hoeven, made me realize two important things, our neighbours are generally awesome and we need more of these types of things. The highlight of the event to me was how casual it was. The park, on a regular Friday night, is a non-place devoid of people. That Friday night, it was a great place for kids to hang out. The key ingredient to this enjoyable event was, not to detract from Arnold’s preparation, people. 

My family generally spends our evenings by ourselves in our house like most people. While this is enjoyable most evenings, it would be nice to have more opportunities to have more evenings such as the Pumpkin Alley. My question coming out of the event was how to make them happen. Preferably with little to no effort and no cost. How do we get enough people to leave their house during their free time for a good time to happen. 

I don’t want to have to organize events, keep track of everything various community groups are planning,  or really put any meaningful thought into the logistics of getting to an event just so I can participate in my community.. I also don’t want the “feel bad “of missing out on rare events. 

After giving it more thought, I think we need to do two things to get these opportunities to happen more often, change people’s habits so that they look at opportunities to get out of the house and create places that would make people want to go out. 

Urbanists often refer to those places as third places (not residence, not work). A third place is somewhere where people from all backgrounds can meet to chat and spend time casually. A third place should be low key and easy to access without much thought. 

The current makeup of the community association board is a reflection of the value of a third place. Arnold and Rob have both been recruited through park visits where I discussed urbanism with them and my interest in making our neighbourhood a better place especially for our kids. Third places foster community bonds between people who would not normally interact. If we want to address the numerous issues that come with weak social bonds and isolation, we need to create more of these places. 

How do we create more and better third places in our neighbourhoods? There are two ways I can see it happen. The first is creating public spaces that can act as a third place and the second is fostering businesses that can host those informal gatherings of regulars. 

Most public spaces in our community are green spaces. However, those green spaces are mostly mowed lawns with the odd trees. Kids’ play structures show that it doesn’t take much to make them a third place. Setting up basic play structures for adults. I imagine a few horseshoe, dart boards, pétanque pitch, or even a community garden to allow adults to play while kids are on the play structures would be great. Even adding a few picnic tables or benches in a way that creates a convivial public space could go a long way (preferably in the shade and not next to a garbage bin full of dog poop).

It would allow parents to better interact and have more fun. It would also allow adults without kids to come to the park and interact with neighbours. It would also allow more kids to go to the park unaccompanied since the likelihood of familiar adults being present would be high. It would allow for the extroverted urbanism nerds to talk to neighbours and get a vision more grounded in reality when they meet with our councillor to talk about upcoming changes to the neighbourhood. 

For businesses, I think it would be a challenge, but not an insurmountable one, to create additional ones in areas that are currently underserved. There are a number of businesses that would fit the bill, like bars and coffee shops, on St-Joseph that are easily accessible to people living nearby. However, for those of us the other side of the 174 have few options if we just want to casually drop by. I was thinking that the main issue is density, but we have a fair amount of density especially in Orléans Wood. What we are missing are good locations to host those businesses. Commercial space is isolated from residential places making it difficult for people to just pop-in without driving. While the new zoning bylaw does encourage the creation of multi-use developments along minor corridors, it doesn’t go far enough towards enabling low-impact commercial ventures on residential streets. Small businesses like cafés, corner stores, or ice cream shops could be easily integrated in a single family home and serve as a third place for that neighbourhood but there are no plans to allow them as part of this round of zoning bylaw review (at least to the best of my knowledge but I have not gone through the draft with a fine tooth comb). 

As a board, we have the creation of third places in our strategic plan. We are working with our councillor,  Laura Dudas, to ensure that developments in our community follow the official plans. We are constantly on the lookout for ways to improve our public places with a focus on creating places that people can enjoy. We also plan on being more effective in engaging the business community to help our existing businesses thrive and help bring in new ones. We just need your ideas and your support to make it happen. Please help us by voicing your ideas to us and to our councillor.

Nov 29

My First Time Winter Sowing

Gillian Cantello, Environment Committee

I have always loved gardens, but I am far from being an accomplished gardener. I had never grown anything from seed. That changed when I became part of the Convent Glen Orleans Wood Community Association’s Environment Committee and got to know some of the members, who are wonderful gardeners.

One of the first projects the Environment Committee undertook was to plant a pollinator garden at Orleans Wood Elementary School. This took place in spring 2023 and, at the time, I didn’t know the first thing about native plants or why they might be a better gardening option. That project, which was funded by Ecology Ottawa, taught me so much about gardening with native plants.

Then, last December, one of the members of the committee suggested we get together to do winter sowing. I thought it was a great idea, and offered my garage as a place to do it. Since I have a small home, one of the things that appealed to me about winter sowing is that the seeds germinate outside.

The seeds we had, which included Joe Pye Weed, fireweed, swamp milkweed, great blue lobelia, and Canadian columbine, were all from the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library. Our potting containers included strawberry clamshells, vinegar and distilled water jugs, and small seedling pots. For the vinegar and distilled water jugs, we removed the lids and cut the tops off. We filled each of our “pots” with about 3 inches of potting soil, and then planted the seeds in accordance with the instructions on the seed packages. Next, we watered the soil and, in the case of the vinegar and distilled water jugs, taped the jugs back together again.

Now the pots were ready to place outside and become mini greenhouses for my native plants. I chose areas that were partially shaded, like along my back fence. For the seeds that were in open pots, I used an old window screen to cover them so that the animals wouldn’t dig them up. Then I left them alone for the winter months.

In the spring, I kept an eye on the pots to make sure the soil never dried out. Once the seedlings started to grow and were clearly viable, I planted them in my garden. I was so thrilled to see all of the little seedlings grow into healthy plants. I will definitely be winter sowing again this winter. Maybe next year I will be able to harvest seeds and return them to the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library for someone else to use. Winter sowing is now an important part of my efforts to gradually convert my gardens to primarily native plants. If I can do it, anybody can!

Nov 19

CGOW Monthly Photo Contest

Starting with the rest of the month of November, the Convent Glen Orleans Wood Community Association’s Outreach Committee will be running a monthly photo contest. For this first (shortened) month, the theme will be ‘Fall’ while the leaves change and drop off their trees.

The only ‘rule’ for this contest will be that to win, photos must be taken inside the catchment area of the Community Association. We will be offering prizes for the most popular photo each month from local businesses, and the winning photo (along with any standouts among the other entries) will be posted on our website, and featured in the monthly newsletter.

To enter the contest, photos should either be posted in the CGOW Community Forum in the #photos channel, or can be emailed to [email protected]. Winners will be decided by votes on the Forum before the end of the month.

We will be picking a new theme which is announced in the CGOWCA newsletter and on the website at the start of each new month. We can’t wait to see you show off your corner of the community, and we look forward to getting to know you all a little better!