Thank You!
Thank you to everyone that joined us at our 5th Annual Dog Walkathon, a fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society. This was a great event for the community to come together, have some fun, and raise a bit of money for cancer research. Thanks to Laura Dudas for helping with this event, and to Easy Breezy Dog Training for donating some great training books for our raffle. We raised $270 for cancer research.
If you would like to contribute, it’s not too late! You can still donate online: https://fundraisemyway.cancer.ca/campaign/CGOWCA-Dog-Walkathon
Spare Our Air – Don’t let Vehicles Idle
The City is launching a new campaign to remind drivers about the idling control by-law. The idling of diesel and gas-powered vehicles emits pollutants into the air we breathe, causes odours, generates noise and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
The City’s idling control by-law prohibits most drivers from idling their vehicles for more than three minutes in a 60-minute period when the temperature is between 5°C and 27°C. Idling is allowed below 5°C and above 27°C to ensure that an occupied vehicle’s interior can be heated or cooled.
Some vehicles are permitted to idle longer under some circumstances, such as emergency vehicles, transit buses, transit support vehicles, farm vehicles and vehicles required to remain motionless because of an emergency, traffic, weather condition or mechanical problem.
Visit www.ottawa.ca/spareourair to find tips on how to avoid idling.
June is Let’s Bike Month
Let’s Bike Month is an annual campaign that encourages people to try cycling as a fun and healthy transportation option. Participants in the campaign:
- Win prizes
- Save money
- Get access to free resources
- See the GHG averted by choosing to bike
- Have fun!
Whether you want to try biking for the first time, use the campaign to encourage your employer to support alternative commuting options, or encourage others in your life to give it a try, Let’s Bike Month provides the resources and motivation to help!
Let’s Bike Month, an EnviroCentre initiative, is made possible with the support of local businesses, sponsors and our partnership with the City of Ottawa. Find out more here: www.letsbike.ca
Orleans Wood Elementary School Pollinator Garden
Creating habitats for pollinators such as bees, insects and birds is vital for all our gardens and global agriculture, but not all plants or gardens make ideal homes for them. Native wildflowers are the best food and homes for pollinators.
The CGOWCA’s Environment Committee has partnered with Ecology Ottawa and Orleans Wood Elementary School to create a new pollinator garden in our neighborhood. Committee volunteers have been working hard to remove dying shrubs, invasive plants, and non-native species, and are planting native wildflowers in the school’s garden. We are also replacing grass with native plants, which benefits us all!
The garden will help teachers share learning on natural sciences and encourage students to better understand how to protect the local ecosystem. The students are also excited to name the garden and watch it grow!
Thank you to Ecology Ottawa for your generous contribution, and to Orleans Wood Elementary for your commitment and support!
Would you like to help with future projects like this? Join the CGOWCA’s Environment Committee! Email us for more information at [email protected]
Yoga in the Park is back for 2023!
It’s back for another season! Save these dates in your calendars now and join us for a free outdoor yoga session. We’ll meet each Wednesday evening at 7 during July and August.
- July 5, 12, 19 & 26 at Décarie Park
- August 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30 at Hiawatha Park
CGOWCA Bridge Committee Update
As promised last month, our door-to-door campaign – to raise awareness about the federal government’s planned bridge across the Ottawa River just west of Orleans – has begun. We’re starting in Convent Glen, the neighbourhood nearest the prospective bridge, then moving into Orleans Wood and beyond. Expect a volunteer (a neighbour whose face you may even recognize!) to be ringing your bell, wearing a badge, and bearing information.
This is an issue that threatens to greatly undermine quality of life in Orleans, whether you live near the bridge’s planned route across the river and through the Greenbelt or not. Every resident of Orleans (not to mention Cumberland and Rockland) who uses Regional Road 174 (and who doesn’t?) will encounter an additional 25,000+ cars a day that will be joining the highway just east of Montreal Road, and the municipality has no plans or funds to ease this congestion by widening the roadway.
If you feel stirred to action by your conversation with our volunteer or after reading the handout, you’re more than welcome to join the team. The more of us there are, the quicker we can reach all stakeholders – and we all have a stake in this issue.
See you soon!
From Matthew Luloff’s Newsletter – Interactive Traffic Map
Did you know that the City of Ottawa has an interactive traffic map to help residents travel around the city and navigate ongoing traffic impacts?
This map provides residents with real time information about road closures related to construction, incidents and events.
Going forward, all Stage 2 LRT construction related impacts will be reflected in this map, so that residents can get real time information about lane and ramp closures and can plan their travels accordingly.
You can consult the interactive traffic map here: https://traffic.ottawa.ca/map/?lang=en
In addition to the map, residents can continue to use these resources for information about upcoming and ongoing traffic impacts:
City of Ottawa weekly traffic PSA
Stage 2 LRT – Active public notices
