January 2026 Newsletter

Rain Gardens and the Rain Ready Program

Michele Badour

Rain Ready Ottawa is a City program that supports people in retrofitting their property to reduce stormwater runoff and build climate resiliency to extreme weather events.

Do we Need a Neighbourhood Watch?

Matthieu Gagnon
Vice President

The community association has been contacted to discuss establishing or re-establishing neighbourhood watches as part of the city of Ottawa’s Neighbourhood Watch program. As a board, we are looking into it, but wondering if this is a solution in search of a problem.

The Latest from ‘The New Orleans’

From Rob Attrell, Board Director and Outreach Committee Chair

• The Rotisserie Chicken of City Budgets
• Shouldn’t We Expect Our Leaders To Learn (and Grow)?
• Zero Excuses: Why Ottawa Needs a Real Vision Zero Strategy
• My Delegation and Comments on Final Draft of Zoning By-laws – December 2025

Guest Posts

• December 2025 Feedback on Federal Government Return-to-Office
• My Experience with Consultations for New Projects

Subscribe today and follow the journey at TheNewOrleans.ca.

CA Board of Directors Meeting – January 12 – 7:30 PM

Every month, the Board of Directors of the Community Association holds a meeting to discuss ongoing community association matters. Members of the community and other stakeholders are welcome to attend, please let us know if you’d like to join the meeting via email at [email protected] and we can pass along an invite.

You can also see minutes from previous board meetings here, to see what we’ve been chatting about: Board Meeting Minutes.

Community Association Starter Kit

Here is a decent list to get you started on engaging with your community.

Volunteer Opportunities

We have a ton of ongoing opportunities to get involved, please have a look at the full list (linked). Please reach out if you’re interested.

• Volunteer Coordinator
  • Send regular updates to volunteer group about new and upcoming opportunities
  • Help event planners find volunteers
  • Help recruit new community volunteers
• Events Coordinator
  • Keep track of upcoming events with leads
  • Make sure events have a poster, date/time, RSVPs, booking, etc.
• A/V Expert/Coordinator
  • Someone that can help out with in-person events that need video or sound to help set things up
  • Can give advice for possible purchases in this area
• Local Experts/Coordinators
  • We’d love to hear from you if you are interested in representing your specific area’s interests within the community association. Our boundaries include Convent Glen North and South, as well as Orleans Wood and everything north of St Joseph and west of Place d’Orléans, and we hear from some parts of the community much more than others.
• School Parent Council Liaisons
  • If you’re affiliated with a parent council, in the community we’d love to be in touch to coordinate events where appropriate.

Community Submission Box

If you want to share something of your own with the community, feel free to let us know about it at the link below. We’d be happy to publish letters from the community in our newsletter and on our website.