Two of my favourite things—the environment and comedy—come together on Sunday, November 20, 2011. The Ottawa Region Chapter of the Canada Green Building Council and Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club are hosting Green Building Hysteria, a “relaxing evening that will make your belly hurt (from laughing) AND advance Green Buildings.”

The Ottawa Region Chapter is a non-profit corporation that promotes green buildings in Ottawa, Gatineau, Eastern Ontario, and Western Quebec. What’s particularly appealing is that the Yuk Yuk’s event will support the Third Annual Ottawa EcoLogical Student Green Building Design Competition. This friendly competition pits teams of students along with young professionals against each other to come up with innovative building designs. In the third annual competition, scheduled for March 2012, participants will design a sustainable Community Health Hub for Ottawa Community Housing and the Carlington Community Health Centre.

An event that supports green buildings, community health and well-being AND is fun—what’s not to like? The bill includes Insensitivity Training, Alex Wood and Matt Carter. It starts at 8 p.m. at Yuk Yuks, 292 Elgin St. Tickets $10 advance, $12 at the door.

If you were in the right place at the right time on Friday, September 16, you would have seen an unusual sight: green spaces where parking spots are normally found.

In Ottawa’s Byward Market and in downtown Gatineau, groups turned empty metered parking spots into parking-spot-sized parks, play areas and even a restaurant.

It was all part of PARK(ing) Day, an annual event where citizens change metered parking spots into temporary parks to raise awareness about the urban environment. PARK(ing) Day started in 2005 when the design studio Rebar in San Francisco decided to convert a single parking space into a public park for two hours – until the meter ran out – to draw attention to the tiny proportion of downtown public space devoted to non-vehicle use. The idea spread, and in 2010, individuals and groups in 183 cities in 30 countries participated in PARK(ing) Day.

I decided to scout out PARK(ing) Day locally. In Gatineau, I found groups occupying several parking spaces along Promenade du Portage and Rue Laval. They included Le Conseil régional de l’environnement et du développement durable de l’Outaouais (CREDDO) which had set up a games zone, and Réseau Vélo-boulot and Action vélo Outaouais whose “bike shop” offered minor adjustments for passing bicycles. Équiterre’s parking spot featured a local food stand and a blend-your-own-smoothie-using-bike-power station. Vivre en Ville’s busy rectangle had live music and a sushi restaurant at one end, and badminton equipment at the other. La Ville de Gatineau and Société de transport de l’Outaouais (STO) each had an information “booth” on their spots. Gatineau’s PARK(ing) Day was clearly an officially-sanctioned and -promoted part of the city’s Sustainable Transportation Week.

In Ottawa, PARK(ing) Day had a more modest presence, but was still powerful. Architecture and design group YowLAB’s “Impromptu Playground” had transformed one parking spot in the Byward Market into a grassy area with colourful seating, potted flowers and a play space complete with baby (and watchful adults). Sarah Gelbard of Impromptu Playground explained to me that they had put money in the meter for the parking spot and would move the site around as necessary.

Let’s hope PARK(ing) Day grows. It’s not just about alternatives to cars, or making cities more fun (although it does that too); it asks us to think about how we allocate public space in cities, and who participates in those decisions.

As a result of PARK(ing) Day, San Francisco has begun to grant permits to individuals, organizations and businesses to create public parks or “parklets” for up to a year in parking spots. What about it, Ottawa and Gatineau? How can we integrate the principles of PARK(ing) Day in urban design and planning here?

There’s a cornucopia of events in Ottawa in late August – many to do with food – including several on Sunday, August 14. Let me know if you find a way to make it to all of them!

• The next Ottawa Urban Wild Tour is on Sunday, August 14 from 10 a.m.-12 noon. This one is on Urban Edible Tree Nuts in Centretown (meet at Ottawa City Hall, Lisgar Street entrance).
• Canadian Organic Growers-Ottawa is holding its Ottawa Garden Tour on Sunday, August 14. Activities include a tour at noon of the Organic Flower and Vegetable Garden on the Central Experimental Farm and a 2 p.m. visit to the Fletcher Wildlife Garden. Details on the COG-Ottawa website; contact Lloyd at 613-257-8362 or lw.strachan@bell.net to RSVP.
• Pinhey’s Point hosts Riverfest celebrating the history of the Ottawa River on Sunday, August 14. The event includes heritage demonstrations (sheepshearing or blacksmithing, anyone?), voyageur canoe rides, wagon rides, a canoe ballet, live music, a barbecue and more. Riverfest is 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at 270 Pinhey’s Point Road in Dunrobin. Admission $6 per person ($10 for two or $16 per family); see the City’s website for details.
• Also on Sunday, August 14, the National Capital Vegetarian Association has its first summer BBQ and potluck from 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at Vincent Massey Park. The event will feature vegan food and is free for kids, $1 for NCVA members and $3 for non-members. See their Facebook page for details.
• The Community Gardening Network of Ottawa has a couple of events coming up. On Tuesday, August 23 there’s a Seed Saving Workshop from 6-8 p.m. at the Centretown Community Health Centre, 420 Cooper Street. Greta from Greta’s Organic Seeds will explain how to save seeds from year to year. On Sunday, August 25, the Urban Agriculture Bike Tour starts at 11 a.m. The tour will pass through several of Ottawa’s community gardens; snacks will be provided. Contact cgnintern@justfood.ca or communitygardening@justfood.ca for information or to register.

This is also a great time to visit Ottawa’s farmers’ markets, as well as local museums, many of which have gardening and other eco-themed events this month.

Is Ottawa bike-friendly?

We have an enviable network of recreational pathways, and many other decent biking routes. We have Sunday Bikedays and Bixi bike rentals. We can transport our bikes if need be on the O-Train and some OC Transpo buses. And we now have a segregated bike lane on Laurier Avenue, launched on July 10.

The League of American Bicyclists and the Share the Road Cycling Coalition say we’re bike-friendly – to a point. They’ve awarded the City of Ottawa a Silver Bicycle Friendly Community Award for its cycling initiatives.

Silver is not the Award’s highest designation, and cycling in Ottawa is not always smooth sailing. Ottawa has far too many accidents involving bikes, and numerous problem areas, some documented on Ottawa Biking Problems, where people can report on challenges they encounter.

So we’re not Copenhagen, where over a third of people commute by bike every day; nor, fortunately, are we following Toronto’s example of removing cycling infrastructure.

We could do more as a city, but there are some signs that we’re gradually changing infrastructure and attitudes to make cycling safer and more convenient, so that biking becomes a real option for getting around, for more people.

Some of the recent changes in this direction include the NCC’s Park and Cycle pilot program, which provides parking lots for commuters to leave their cars and cycle the rest of the way downtown; the addition of cycling directions for Ottawa to Google Maps; and services like complementary Bluesfest bike parking offered by Citizens for Safe Cycling and Bluesfest.

Ottawa also has many resources for people looking for assistance or gear, like Can-Bike courses and Recycles and Recyclore bike shops. (See Ottawa Start for additional cycling links.) We’re also starting to see a slightly greater diversity of bikes available for people with a range of abilities.

Then there are the people and groups who are helping change our perceptions of what is “cycleable,” and encouraging us to see cycling as something that most people can do, whether it’s a commute to work, a leisurely outing on a bike path, a mountain bike ride or a quick trip to the grocery store. This includes bloggers like Andrea Grant’s Apartment 613 post about bike-accessible places to go swimming around Ottawa; Ottawa cycling advocate Kathleen Wilker’s family biking blog; and Ottawa Cycle Chic, which does as much for promoting cycling as an everyday activity as it does for bike fashion. (I have to say that I’m pro-helmet, myself). As well, the organisation Cycling Vision Ottawa aims to support people of all ages and abilities to feel comfortable on their bikes.

These developments are important for Ottawa. As cycling advocates point out, biking not only has environmental and health benefits but also gives us a connection that we wouldn’t otherwise have to nature, to the urban landscape and to each other. A recent Sustainable Cities Collective post states that “the most vital element for the future of our cities is that the bicycle is an instrument of experiential understanding” – i.e., a way to really get to know and connect with our communities and our city.

In other words, a bike-friendly city is also a friendly city. Sounds like a good idea for Ottawa.

This weekend, June 4 and 5, 2011, you’ll find lots of activities with an environmental twist taking place in Ottawa.

For family-friendly activities, you can’t beat the Ottawa International Children’s Festival. It always offers a variety of amazing live performances but this year it includes an initiative to help children envision ways to address climate change. The Climate Change Project: Children’s Forests of the Future allows visitors to experience drama and music performances, create their own art, and see creations by Ottawa students in collaboration with professional artists and climate change scientists. The Festival takes place June 1-5 at Lebreton Flats Park on the grounds of the Canadian War Museum.

If you’re gardening, or hankering to, then the Fletcher Wildlife Garden’s Annual Plant Sale is for you. You can learn which native plants will attract birds and butterflies to your yard while eliminating the need for sprinklers, fertilizers and pesticides. The sale is Saturday June 4 from 9:30 am-12:30 pm at Fletcher Wildlife Garden on the east side of Prince of Wales Drive south of the Arboretum (take a stroll around the Garden while you’re there).

If you prefer to do spring cleaning, you can participate in Ottawa’s Give Away Weekend on Saturday June 4 and Sunday June 5. Check the City’s website for suggestions on what kinds of household items to set out at the curb for people to take away for free. Or, donate your stuff to the South March Highlands-Carp River Conservation Inc. group which is taking part in the Island Park Drive Yard Sale on Saturday; contact Andrea Prazmowski at praz@magma.ca to donate items. If you haven’t had your fill of garage sales following last week’s Great Glebe Garage Sale, you can find other opportunities to reuse and recycle stuff by checking Ottawa Start’s garage sale postings at http://twitter.com/#!/ott_garage_sale or other recycling suggestions at http://ottawastart.com/used.php.

If you’re hooked on cycling after Bike to Work month in May, you can keep up the momentum with the first ever Capital Velofest. Established by Capital Vélo Fest Inc., a non-profit corporation that hopes to inspire people to ride their bikes more, the Velofest will include a “bicycle rodeo” at Ottawa City Hall on Saturday June 4 from 11 am-4 pm offering a bike display and demonstrations, bicycle polo, bike parts jewellery making, seminars on bike safety and maintenance, and more. The Velofest includes a Tour la Nuit from 7-11 pm.

Last but not least, this weekend’s Doors Open Ottawa offers a chance to visit private and public buildings that are not normally open to the public. It includes several sites that are environmentally noteworthy, like the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre (800 Green Creek Dr.) that treats Ottawa’s wastewater, or the green-roofed CD Howe Building at 235 Queen St. New to Doors Open Ottawa this year is the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation’s Beaver Barracks at 464 Metcalfe St., billed as “the greenest rental building in Ottawa” with “the largest residential geothermal exchange system in Canada” as well as low-flow fixtures, a green roof and secure bike parking. You can also visit several LEED-certified buildings including the Huron Early Learning Centre at 24 Capilano Dr., Ottawa’s first LEED-certified child care centre, the new OC Transpo Industrial Garage at 745 Industrial Ave., and the Ottawa Paramedic Service Headquarters at 2465 Don Reid Dr.
Let us know if you have any other suggestions for the weekend!

May brings fresh local produce, gardening and more to Ottawa.
Many farmers’ markets start up again in May. The Ottawa Farmers’ Market runs Sundays at Lansdowne and Fridays in Orleans, while the Main Farmers’ Market happens Saturdays on Main Street. Farmers’ Markets Ontario has a searchable list of member farmers’ markets in other parts of Ottawa and the region.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society – Ottawa Valley Chapter (CPAWS-OV) is holding its Annual General Meeting on Saturday May 7, 10 am-1 pm, Saint Paul University, 223 Main Street, Auditorium 203, Guigues Hall. Learn about CPAWS-OV’s work and hear botanist and author Diana Beresford-Kroeger speak forests and health. Free admission; open to the public.

Jane’s Walk Ottawa 2011 is Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8. Jane’s Walk, which takes place in cities around the world, celebrates the ideas of Jane Jacobs, an urbanist and activist who promoted a community perspective on the design and organization of cities. In Ottawa, local people will give free neighbourhood walking tours offering insights into each area’s history, planning, design, and civic engagement. Organizers say “Jane’s Walk is about getting close to your city, about getting out and observing, meeting your neighbours, discovering new areas, and learning about the urban landscape, streetscape, buildings, parks, public art and monuments, and the details of daily existence that weave together into the fabric of our urban existence.” For more information see http://www.janeswalkottawa.ca/view/?home.

Transition Ottawa is holding the first of its Ottawa Urban Wild walking tours, called Wild Food in The City, on Sunday May 8, 2:30-4 pm in Heron Park (Heron Road and Clover Street). Explore common, safe non-toxic weeds and plants, where to find them and when, which parts of the plant to harvest, how to prepare them, and how to forage safely and ethically in an urban environment. Free admission. See http://www.urbanwildtours.blogspot.com/.
Also during May, Just Food has Beginner Level Organic Gardening Workshops and a session on How to Start a Community Garden. Check their website for dates. Ecology Ottawa is running a number of events in May related to clean and community energy; check their website for details.

Another beautiful summer morning. I step outside my house. The cool air carries a hint of heat to come. I hear the bright chirp of robins, the high buzz of cicadas, the deep hum of … air conditioners.

During Ottawa’s humid summers and especially in heat waves like the one we had recently, air conditioners can save lives. But running them costs us, in money, energy and greenhouse gas emissions.

And our reliance on them is increasing. Canadians’ use of energy to cool our homes has almost tripled since 1990. Now, 4 out of 5 Ontario households have some type of air conditioning. Offices and retail establishments are often so overcooled that we have to wear jackets or sweaters in them.

I was thinking about use and overuse of air conditioning when I came across the book Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World (and Finding New Ways to Get Through the Summer) by Stan Cox (The New Press, 2010). According to Cox, air conditioning has profoundly influenced recent history, as it increases global warming, alters how our bodies deal with heat, and isolates us from each other and from the outdoors. Judging by the buzz surrounding his book, Cox is on to something – many people have strong feelings about air conditioning. Cox’s view, though, is not that we should do away with air conditioning but rather that we should change how and how often we use it.

In Ottawa, fortunately, there are some alternatives for keeping cool in summer:

• Fans: ceiling, floor, and tabletop fans can all help cool us down.
• Natural cooling: close doors, windows and blinds when it’s hot, and open them when it’s cooler at night; try to get a cross-breeze. Outdoors, seek shade; install awnings, plant trees.
• Water: visit a city wading pool or splash pad for free. Check out a swimming pool or beach (contact the City of Ottawa for hours, fees and conditions. On Wednesdays during July and August, seniors can swim for a loonie at city pools.) Run through a sprinkler, or spray yourself lightly with water.
• Spend time in public places: libraries, community centres, shopping centres or other public buildings listed by the City of Ottawa (or call 3-1-1). Rainbow Cinemas and the City have an arrangement to reduce prices for movie showings when the City issues a heat warning.
• Drink water.
• Minimise use of appliances and lights; dry laundry outside, avoid using the oven – all those things that we know about.
• If used, air conditioning should be energy efficient, well-maintained and the appropriate size and type for the space it cools. Turning the thermostat up a few degrees can significantly decrease electricity use; Natural Resources Canada recommends 25°C, or 28°C if the residence will be unoccupied for more than a day. Use a timer or programmable thermostat — it’s more efficient to let a room cool gradually than to try to bring the temperature down quickly. Use a “fan-only” setting in the evening and early morning to bring cooler air from outside into the house.

Using alternatives to air conditioning more often can help us get more in tune with our natural environment – living within it rather than trying to conquer it – while still staying healthy and comfortable.

Environment Week 2010 is May 30-June 5. It’s scheduled to coincide with the UN’s World Environment Day on June 5. In Ottawa, Environment Week is quickly followed by Bike to Work Week, so it might be a good time to get a tune-up if your bike needs one.

Here are some of the events coming up in Ottawa:

May 30-June 5: Commuter Challenge

Commuter Challenge is a Canada-wide program to get people walking, running, rollerblading, cycling, taking public transit, carpooling or teleworking instead of using their cars. Individuals and workplaces can register online. The site will also track which cities and workplaces have the highest participation over the week (last year Ottawa was 4^th in Canada).

June 2-6: Environment Week Film Festival
An impressive array of films – some twenty documentaries in all — will be shown at the Canadian Museum of Nature’s new theatre, in partnership with the Planet in Focus International Film & Video Festival. Schedule at http://nature.ca/en/plan-your-visit/what-see-do/whats/environment-week-film-festival-0. Call 613-566-4791 or visit the Museum reception desk for tickets.

June 2: Clean Air Day

You can find information and suggestions for reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions at the Clean Air Day website. At Ottawa City Hall from 12 noon-1 pm, Councillor Clive Doucet and the Netherlands Embassy will present speakers, cycling groups and a “best dressed” bike commuter contest (see www.commuterchallenge.ca).

June 7-11: Bike to Work Week
Sign up or get information at EnviroCentre, or join the Celebration Station on the Ottawa River Pathway by the War Museum on June 8, a free cycling lunch and learn at City Hall on June 9 at noon, or the BBQ on Bank Street between Laurier and Slater on June 10 from 11:30-1:30.

Also coming up soon:

June 5-6: Doors Open Ottawa

Intended to promote heritage, architecture and design, Doors Open Ottawa is also a great way to learn more about how we live in our environment. The 119 buildings that will open their doors to the public include the C.D. Howe Building, the first federal building in downtown Ottawa with a “green roof”; the Fleet Street Pumping Station and Aqueduct, Ottawa’s first waterworks, the Lemieux Island Purification Plant, one of the city’s two water purification plants, and the Robert O. Pickard Environmental Centre for wastewater treatment; and the Rideau Valley Conservation Centre and Minto EcoHome. Not all buildings are open both days, so check the website for sites and hours.

June 11: Sustainability Summit
Choosing our Future is hosting a Sustainability Summit at City Hall for citizens and community leaders to discuss how we can become a more sustainable, resilient and livable community. More information online or call 613-580-2424, ext. 14686 or e-mail info@choosingourfuture.ca.

I’ve had this little dilemma.  In the days following the earthquake in Haiti, I found it difficult to write about other topics.  Most things seemed insignificant in relation to the scale of the tragedy there — the loss of lives, disrupted families, and destroyed livelihoods, homes and infrastructure.  The world didn’t need seem to need another blog post about it, though.

But I couldn’t help thinking about the connections between green living in Ottawa and the earthquake in Haiti.  I struggled with some ideas about the links among the environment, vulnerability and development, and how our local connects to Haiti’s, and about the fragility of our planet, but I wasn’t sure how to see in it a way forward.

Then I came across a blog called Aid on the Edge of Chaos that brought it all together for me.  Blogger Ben Ramalingam writes about seeing natural disasters through the lens of  complex systems.  Usually we interpret natural disasters as isolated events with natural rather than human causes.  But another view is that natural and human factors interact to create the effects of the “natural” disasters.  We need to look at all of the variables, both natural and human, and at how these variables interact to affect the severity of the “disaster”.

In other words, a magnitude-7.0 earthquake on a geological fault, in a populated area with substandard buildings, in combination with highly unequal distribution of resources, wealth and power, led to the devastation we’ve seen in Haiti.

Even if we can’t do much about the natural events themselves, we can influence the human factors.  For Susan Cutter, who is quoted by blogger Raima Larter in Complexity Simplified, this means improving social conditions and living standards to reduce our vulnerability, and building human settlements that are sustainable.

What it means for Ottawa

Certainly the quake has touched many lives here in Ottawa.  People have lost family members, friends and colleagues.  Many Ottawa residents have taken action by donating to organisations supporting disaster relief, medical assistance and rehabilitation.  Even my neighbourhood community centre and my kids’ school have organised to raise funds.  (One grade three class alone collected over $500 from families and neighbours for earthquake relief.)

Ottawa has emergency planning procedures in place, but what about our resilience to natural disasters and environmental threats?  With house fires, for example, we can see that people who are less well off or who lack community ties might be more adversely affected by the loss of their homes and belongings.  Disaster planning shouldn’t just be about preparing for and dealing with the aftermath of natural events.  It’s also about investing in community and social development and access to services, addressing poverty and inequality, and safeguarding the environmental resources we depend on.  It means building strong communities, where people have resources and connections to draw on in times of need.

Come to think of it, those connections could be local ones, but they can be global as well.

When we discovered Hart Home Daycare it was with such a big sigh of relief. Finally, we could go to work knowing that our daughter was in a safe, secure environment that is totally geared to her well-being. Owner and child care provider Sara Hart devotes her life work to the care and development of children and every aspect of this daycare is proof of her solid commitment.

Sara has transformed her home into a wonderful child care facility that is also an eco-friendly environment, proudly boasting the distinction of being the first in Ottawa and Ontario to be endorsed by the OEC. The indoor play area is fresh and spotlessly clean, bright and sun filled, child-friendly, colourful, and well organized. Sturdy storage bins and shelves house copious amounts of toys, games, blocks, costumes, etc., all geared for imaginative interactive play and conversation. A large chalk board lines one wall to encourage budding artists. The outdoor play space is a safe, fun area where the children are encouraged to run, jump, climb, slide, dig and play to their heart’s content. All activities are well planned months in advance and designed to meet and challenge the mental and physical development of each child. Nutritious meals and healthy snacks are deliciously varied and include organic fruits and vegetables, locally grown as the season permits. The children are encouraged to participate in food preparation and taste testing of new foods.

Every morning Sara greets my daughter and me at the door with a wonderful smile and a warm greeting. I barely manage a quick kiss goodbye before little chunky hands of happy faced friends reach out to welcome my daughter into the group. The excited chatter of tiny voices begins a day that will be filled with laughter and song, music and movement, fresh air, quiet time & naps, skill building, learning, arts and crafts, kitchen science, stories and much much more. Those are the days of childhood dreams.

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P.S. from Alette Willis (editor).  I emailed Sara Hart from the daycare to ask how they came to be certified by an Oregon-based environmental group.  Here is her response:

Hi Alette,
I came across the Oregon Environmental Council while looking around the web to see how other daycares were greening their centres.  Unfortunately, I could not find anything similar, or even close, in Canada. I was happy to find that the OEC had recently expanded to a US National Program and was also willing to endorse Canadians who met their criteria.  The OEC now endorses approx.1223 providers which care for 47839 children across the United States and Canada.  Although the program is not well known in Canada,  I applied for endorsement as a symbol, to parents and myself, of my commitment to creating the healthiest possibly environment for the children in my care.  If you are interested in learning more about the OEC and the resources they provide, you can visit them here.

Sara Hart

Hart Home Daycare
●Learning Through Play●
www.harthomedaycare.com