After a relatively quiet start to 2012, Ottawa is seeing quite a few environment-related events on its horizon. Coming up next: winter biking, organic farming and sustainable seafood.

Ottawa Winter Bike Parade, Sunday January 22

Citizens for Safe Cycling invites everyone to Ottawa’s first Winter Bike Parade. The parade will go from Laurier and Percy to Ottawa City Hall along the Laurier Avenue bike lane, with free apple cider at the end of the route. In the words of the organizers, the aim is “To show that Ottawa bikes in winter! And that it can be fun!”

All the Dirt: Reflections on Successful, Cooperative Organic Farming, Monday, January 23

Just Food and USC Canada present a reading and discussion with Robin Tunnicliffe, farmer and one of the authors of All the Dirt. The book tells of Tunnicliffe’s experience as a small-scale farmer and local food distributor. 7 p.m., Ottawa Public Library Main Branch Auditorium; free admission (book available for purchase).

Café Scientifique on Sustainable Seafood, Friday, January 27

The Canadian Museum of Nature is hosting a Café Scientifique, Dessert and Documentary Night on “Is eating seafood ethical and sustainable?” Resource people are Dr. Melissa Marschke, Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of International Development and Global Studies, and Joshua Bishop, Owner/Worker at The Whalesbone Oysterhouse and Sustainable Retail Oyster and Fish Store. The evening includes a screening of The End of the Line, a documentary on ocean overfishing. 6:30-10:30 p.m., $25 ($20 members, students, volunteers); reservations needed.

Stay tuned for more upcoming events (and let us know of any).

In Ottawa we usually don’t make a big deal of internationally-designated days, but this year’s UN World Habitat Day on October 3 seemed significant. The theme: Cities and Climate Change.

According to UN-HABITAT, the world’s cities are responsible for up to 70 per cent of harmful greenhouse gases. Transportation using fossil fuels and industrial activity are particularly significant sources of urban greenhouse gas emissions.

So cities are big contributors to climate change – but people in cities are also affected by the consequences of climate change, like flooding. And cities are, arguably, a big part of the solution.

The City of Ottawa has said municipalities can play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In Ottawa, transportation and buildings’ energy use each account for 40 percent of greenhouse gases, with the remaining 20 percent from the waste sector. The City has had a climate change management plan to address these. But there’s a long road ahead of us.

One of the problems is that climate change here isn’t that obvious, so it’s easy not to think much about it. But the City says our hottest days are getting hotter and more frequent, and declining air quality is a big concern. In 2005 the City recorded 290 deaths and 750 hospital admissions attributable to air pollution, and projected increases in these numbers over the next 25 years. Climate change is affecting our health, changing our environment and costing us in many ways.

Individual action helps – people riding bikes instead of driving, choosing locally-grown food when possible, and turning down thermostats. We need more from all levels of government, though. And we need to be talking about it a lot more.

I think this is happening. Just last week, for example, we had the Ottawa Action to Protest the Tar Sands, a Museum of Nature screening of the film Carbon Nation, and – if you happened to attend the Kickass Talks for CARE on October 2 – Ottawa’s Richard Weber sharing evidence of climate change from the Arctic.

There’s another event coming up this week. It’s part of the System Change Not Climate Change initiative launched by the Council of Canadians’ Climate Justice for People and the Planet campaign to build awareness and inspire people to find alternatives to climate change. Members of Transition Ottawa are hosting a presentation and discussion about what system change means and how environmental and social justice are linked. The event is on Thursday, October 6 from 7:30-9:15 p.m. at 2 Monk St. (one block from 5^th Avenue and Bank St.) in the Glebe; RSVP at http://transitionottawa.ning.com.

It seems daunting, even impossible, to do anything about climate change. But groups and movements like Transition Towns, System Change Not Climate Change, and Worldchanging and its successor are coming up with solutions that are feasible yet retain what’s best about our cities. Check them out when you have the chance.

“What could the Peace and Environment Resource Centre become?”

It’s a question that Ottawa’s Peace and Environment Resource Centre (PERC) is asking. PERC is inviting anyone with an interest in the environment, peace and social justice to meet on Thursday, September 22 2011 to explore what PERC does – and what it could do. The session will take place from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at St. Giles Presbyterian Church, First Street at Bank.

PERC has been promoting social justice and the environment in Ottawa for years. It’s a volunteer-run, charitable organization that raises awareness, links groups and individuals working on similar issues, offers a resource library, and provides alternative media coverage of social and environmental matters. It publishes a print newspaper, the Peace and Environment News (PEN), 6 times a year – recent issues have covered sustainable energy, food, green business, mining and human rights, and more. The PERC website offers news, highlights from the PEN and links to other resources.

PERC provides a forum for groups and individuals to keep in touch and informed on important issues, thanks to a core of dedicated people who keep it going. Still, PERC’s board, staff and volunteers are thinking ahead. They’re opening up the discussion to get people’s thoughts on what PERC could be. The public meeting is a great opportunity to have some input. (They can always use volunteers year-round, too – see their website for details.)

If a car, a bus and a bike all left Billings Bridge for the Canadian Museum of Civilization at the same time, which would arrive first?

It’s not a riddle or a math problem – it’s Ottawa’s Bike-Bus-Car Challenge, and it took place on Friday, Sept. 16 during morning rush hour, with the bike, bus and car all starting out at 7:45 a.m.

The bike won. Bike rider Eric Kunstadt arrived at the Museum at 8:25 a.m. The car followed at 8:35, and the bus at 8:48. (By not taking their cars, points out Ottawa’s Envirocentre, the bus riders saved $13 for parking plus the costs of gas, insurance and maintenance – not to mention their lower carbon emissions).

The Bike-Bus-Car Challenge was the kick-off to Sustainable Transportation Week, happening September 16-22 in Ottawa and Gatineau. The aim of Sustainable Transportation Week is to get people using healthier and eco-friendlier alternatives to car commuting, like biking, walking, taking the bus or carpooling.

The week’s events include

• a sold-out Breakfast Conference on “Sustainable Mobility” with speakers from Ottawa, Gatineau and the U.K. on Wed. Sept. 21;
• “Car Free Day” on Thurs. Sept. 22, where people in Ottawa and Gatineau are encouraged to try out cycling or another sustainable transportation option;
• a “Bike Museum” featuring unusual bikes (you can contribute your own) and a display on the evolution and significance of the bike on Thurs. Sept. 22 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. outside Ottawa City Hall.

As well, Gatineau’s Sustainable Transportation Week included Park(ing) Day on Sept. 16 and a rally on Sept. 17-18.

This week also saw the launch of Right Bike on Sept. 17 during the Taste of West Wellington festival (which included a very colourful bike parade). Right Bike is a community-supported bike share program established by Causeway. Starting in 2012, Right Bike will offer 30-40 bikes for short trips at 3-4 stations along Wellington and Richmond through Wellington West and Westboro. I can hardly wait!

Let us know how you get around Ottawa and Gatineau this week, and happy sustainable travelling.

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?

Some upcoming events worth checking out:

Support the South March Highlands at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights monument (in front of City Hall on Elgin St.) on Thursday July 28 at noon. Speakers include Sierra Club of Canada President John Bennett and Kurtis Benedetti, a 23-year-old Ottawa resident who is arriving home after cycling from Cape Breton to Ottawa – 2100 km – to raise awareness about the South March Highlands. Organisers will also read messages from Order of Canada recipient Grandfather William Commanda, Greenpeace and other supporters. After the rally, people are welcome to ride with Kurtis for the last leg of his journey, to the South March Highlands (about 20 km).

From the event press release: “Ottawa is believed to be the only major urban city in the world to have such a biodiverse, old-growth forest harbouring large mammals and endangered species within its urban boundaries. (Vancouver, with Stanley Park, is a distant second.) The forest contains provincially significant wetlands and has two provincial nominations as an Area of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI), putting it on a par with Algonquin Park. Archaeological artifacts have been found nearby showing evidence of pre-contact occupation, and the area is believed to have high potential as a

World Heritage Site. Algonquin Nations have been vocal in calling for a new comprehensive archaeological assessment of the area. Despite being officially declared as Environmental Area in 1970 and officially “protected” for more than two decades, only a third of the original South March Highlands remains….In 2011, the International Year of the Forest, with the blessing of the Ontario Municipal Board and Ottawa’s newly elected City Council, developers clear-cut a large portion of the area known at the Beaver Pond Forest. Despite the loss, some 15,000 Canadian citizens, First Nations and organizations vow to continue the fight to save the remaining South March Highlands.” For more information: http://www.union-algonquin-union.com/south-march-highlands/, http://southmarch.wordpress.com/ and http://www.ottawasgreatforest.com.

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The Rideau Canal Festival takes place July 28-August 1 at several spots along the canal including Confederation Park, the Ottawa Locks (at Bytown Museum), and Dows Lake Pavilion. The Festival is a celebration of the Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and features a range of activities. New this year are an art show and world heritage concerts (which include environmental storytelling for children), and a Bicycle Chic fashion show. Admission applies to some events.

As part of the Festival, the Energy Ottawa Ecosphere Environmental Fair takes place starting July 30. This “environmental and green building fair” is organised by Group Ecosphere, a non-profit organization, and includes exhibits from companies and organisations about green building, new technologies, organic farming, alternative medicines and other services. For more information: http://www.rideaucanalfestival.ca/index.html and http://www.projetecosphere.org/en/index-ottawa.php.

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Pinhey’s Point Historic Site has a Campfire and Storytelling event on July 29 at 7:00 p.m. Gather around the campfire, roast marshmallows and listen to First Nations stories and legends. Reservations required; cost is $6 per child, $10 for two or $16 per family. For more information on this and other great local museum programming: http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/heritage/museums/index_en.html.

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!

Ottawa has quite a few winter cyclists, but for many of us the disappearance of snow and the onset of spring weather have us pulling out and tuning up our bicycles.

May is Bike to Work month in Ottawa. The Bike to Work website has information for people at all levels of cycling, including how to create bike-friendly workplaces, and a list of events throughout the month and into June. You can pledge to cycle to work more often, and keep informed through the Bike to Work Facebook page. Bike to Work is part of the City of Ottawa’s TravelWise program and is coordinated by EnviroCentre.

May is also Physical Activity Month. The City has launched the iWalk iBike campaign to encourage people to use active transportation like walking and cycling whenever possible.

Meanwhile, the National Capital Commission is holding public consultations on proposed new rules governing the use of electric bikes and other electric-powered vehicles on NCC pathways. Consultations will be on Tuesday May 3 and Wednesday May 4, or residents can send comments until May 18 to info@ncc-ccn.ca.

The Bixi bike-share program is scheduled to launch in mid-May. The plan is that people will be able to rent bikes at any of 10 stations in downtown Ottawa for short-term rides. Check their Facebook site for updates on the launch and facilities.

If you’re looking to acquire a bike on a more permanent basis, there are lots of places to check out. You can buy refurbished bikes from Cycle Salvation and re-Cycles community bicycle shop. Re-Cycles also provides space and expertise for do-it-yourself repairs, and both accept donated bikes (check their websites for details).

If you want to brush up on your cycling skills, check the City of Ottawa’s website for information on cycling courses. Ottawa Start also has a good list of bike-related links.

Happy and safe spring cycling!

A city has a better chance of being green when its people are involved in decision-making. Here are some important opportunities to have your say in Ottawa’s environmental management:

Waste pickup

The City of Ottawa has reviewed its residential garbage and recycling program and is proposing to collect green bin organic waste weekly year-round, and other garbage every second week, with a special pick-up for diapers and incontinence products. (Blue and black box collection would remain as is.) The City says these changes will save approximately $9 million annually over 6 years and put fewer vehicles on the road (and maybe encourage people to reduce their waste). You can comment on the proposal at http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/recycling_garbage/waste_slr/index_en.html until midnight, April 6.

Transit changes

You probably know that the City of Ottawa is proposing changes to OC Transpo’s service following the approval of its 2011 Budget. The plan, which the City calls “network optimization,” calls for cuts to a number of routes. You can have your say about the proposals at one of several open houses or online at http://www.octranspo1.com/routes/2011_network_optimization before April 7.

NCC Greenbelt

The National Capital Commission (NCC) is holding its Board of Directors and Annual General Meetings on April 6 at NCC Headquarters, 40 Elgin Street (Room 324). Both meetings are public and residents and visitors are invited to attend. The Board meeting takes place from 9 a.m.-2:50 p.m. and will cover the Greenbelt Master Plan Review (including strategic statements and land use concept options), the Greenbelt Sustainable Agriculture Strategy, the Environmental Assessment Study on Future Interprovincial Crossings, and light rail transit (alignment approval). The Annual General Meeting at 7 p.m. will present the NCC’s work and enable the public to comment. People can also email their comments to questions@ncc-ccn.ca and watch the live webcast at www.canadascapital.gc.ca.

Having your say doesn’t necessarily take much time, and it can make a difference.