This newsletter takes a long time and a group effort to assemble every month, we’d really love it if you subscribed and became a CA member to get involved in your local community. Now let’s get into it!
Upcoming Events
2025 Community BBQ – Sunday, September 7th
Join us on September 7, 2025, between 11 and 1:30 for our annual Community BBQ! Activities and food will be provided for free. Golden Fries will be serving lunch, there will be interesting information booths, we’ll have amazing face painting, lawn games, live music and more.
Let’s come together to celebrate our vibrant community. We can’t wait to see you there!
Kidical Mass Orleans – Family Bike Ride
September 27, 2025 – Departs at 10 AM.
Kidical Mass is an internationally recognized family cycling event and we’re proud to bring it to Orleans this September.
🚲 Pedal and Play (cgow.ca/pedal)
Saturdays at 10 AM (weather dependent)
Starting from Father Richard Ward Park
Environment Committee
2025 Repair Cafe – September 27, 2025 from 2 – 5 PM
On September 27th, the Convent Glen Orleans Wood Environment Committee will be hosting their second Repair Cafe at the Orleans United Church, from 2 PM to 5PM.
If you are interested in volunteering as a repairer, please send an email to:
The Right to Repair – Fighting Back Against Built-in Obsolescence
Gillian Cantello, Environment Committee
When was the last time your smartphone slowed to a crawl after just a couple of years, or your washing machine gave out right after its warranty expired? If it felt suspiciously timed, you might not be imagining things. Around the world, critics argue that many manufacturers deliberately design products with “planned obsolescence” – the idea that devices will fail or become outdated far sooner than necessary. The goal? To push consumers toward buying new products instead of fixing the ones they already own.
Free Home Energy Upgrade Programs
Envirocentre
If you are struggling with high energy bills or your home is feeling drafty, there are programs that can help! EnviroCentre delivers two free programs that help income-eligible households cut energy costs and improve home comfort. Whether you rent or own your home, you may qualify to get free upgrades like:
- Energy-efficient fridge
- Energy-efficient freezer
- ENERGY STAR LED lightbulbs
- Additional attic or basement insulation
- Smart thermostats
- Cold climate air source heat pumps
See if you qualify! Visit www.envirocentre.ca/home-energy-programs/ or call 1-877-580-2582.
Suburban Robservations
Rob Attrell, Board Director
Outreach Committee
The Latest from ‘The New Orleans’
- You Don’t Need to Be an Expert to Work On Your Neighbourhood
- We Can’t Drive Our Way Out of a Climate Crisis
- The Unspoken Truth About Paying For Our Suburbs
- Urban Environmentalism Comes In Two Flavours: The Green-Grey Divide
- Why We Oppose the Traffic Solutions We Desperately Need in Cities
- Transit-Oriented Development is Good, but It’s Not Enough
- And much more!
The New Orleans is a new local advocacy project talking about Orleans with the people who live here. It’s an experiment in hyper-local public advocacy, actively challenging the suburban status quo by presenting a compelling, positive vision for a more financially resilient, socially connected, walkable, and vibrant community. It serves as a blueprint for suburban transformation, synthesizing urbanist principles into actionable steps for local change. Subscribe today and follow the journey at TheNewOrleans.ca.
Traffic on the 174 Could Get A Lot Worse
Matt Gagnon, Vice President
While the uploading of the 174 will provide a much-needed financial relief to our city, it appears that Orléans residents will bear the cost through more traffic on the 174, more crowded trains, and fewer opportunities to improve life around our LRT stations.
In The News
Right turns on red lights: how dangerous are they?
Ottawa Citizen
You may have seen this news about a proposal from some city councillors to ban right turns on red lights downtown. While it’s easy for us in Orléans to dismiss this as another urban issue, it’s a conversation we should be paying close attention to. At its core, this debate is about a simple choice: should our streets prioritize the convenience of moving cars quickly, or the safety of our most vulnerable neighbours?
Our own board member Rob Attrell (featured in the article photo) chatted with the author for nearly an hour for this piece, sharing thoughts on the topic of safety on our streets outside of the car. As Ottawa goes through a summer with frequent pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths on our roads, it’s worth putting yourself in the shoes of someone just trying to get around our community without driving.
In Other Community News
AGM Planning and Consider Joining the Board of Directors
We’re starting to plan the Convent Glen Orleans Wood Community Association Annual General Meeting (AGM), sometime in the 2nd half of October. This is a great opportunity to meet your neighbours and others interested in actively volunteering to work on the interests of the community.
Become a member of the Community Association to get a vote on items that come up at the AGM, and to have your say on the direction of our strategy and planning of upcoming work. We’re going to aim to have this meeting be hybrid, to get as many people attending as possible, so stay tuned for details. Remember that we’re still encouraging people to refer their friends and neighbours to join the community association, you can earn points towards bragging rights for being a great member of our community. We have 130 members who’ve joined so far, if you haven’t done so yet, go for it! You can sign up for our newsletter at the same time.
We’d also love to chat with you if you’re interested in getting involved with the Community Association, especially if you’re interested in joining the board. Be sure to reach out at [email protected] if this describes you!
CA Board of Directors Meeting – September 8 – 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, but of course there’s also lots you can do that doesn’t involve the association at all, and of course this all might just not be your thing, and that’s OK too (although I didn’t think it was mine either and it definitely is). This list isn’t in a particular order, but I did think about their order while sorting and grouping them.
Reminder – Off-Leash Dog Parks
Just a friendly reminder that not all parks in our community are off-leash dog parks. The City of Ottawa website has a map indicating which parks are off-leash and which are leashed at all times.
- Bright green – leash at all times
- Dark green – off-leash areas
- Pink – a ‘not designated area’, dogs are to be leashed at all times.
- Orange – mixed parks
- Red – no dogs allowed
Please also remember the city has a 5-meter policy in regards to how close your furry friends are allowed to be to playgrounds, splash pads, and wading pools.
Parks in the Convent Glen Orleans Wood community our furry friends can be off-leash:
- Troyes Park
- Beauclaire Park
- Bilberry Creek Valley
- Lower Bilberry Creek Valley
- Mystery Park
- Terry Fox Park
- Mary Scott Park
- Fair Gate Park
Featured Photos
Thanks to everyone who submitted photos in August! You can do so via our weekly Facebook group submission post, on our forum in #photos, or by email at [email protected].
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.
Other Community Newsletters
Laura Dudas Ward 2 August Newsletter
The Beat – Heart of Orleans Newsletter
Orléans Connect – Weekly Orleans Newsletter
Thanks to Our Sponsors
Check out our sponsors or get information about becoming one at cgow.ca/sponsors. We have new, revamped Bronze, Silver, Gold, and even Platinum sponsorship packages.
🏅 Platinum-Level Community Builder
Worry-Free Snowblowing *NEW*
At Worry Free, we pride ourselves on being involved in our community. It is our belief that local businesses should have a positive impact on the community they operate in.
🥇 Gold-Level Community Builders
Almanac Urban Mill & Bakery
Almanac is an urban mill and bakery in Ottawa’s East End, and Gabrielle Prud’homme is the owner who calls Convent Glen home.
Dominion City Brewing Company
Dominion City was established to make great beer and bring people together in community. Today, their beer reflects the people and land that make it possible.
🥈 Silver-Level Community Builder
Savvy Party
SAVVY PARTY brings your dreams to life by transforming ordinary spaces into extraordinary experiences. Unique themed décor, innovative solutions, and a seamless rental experience all make your special occasion unforgettable.
Community Forum
Community BBQ (Sept 7)
Kidical Mass (Sept 27)
Repair Cafe (Sept 27)
Annual General Meeting (TBD Fall)
