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May 22, 2013

The Ottawa Good Food Box

Posted by GreenLivingOttawa under food, health, household, Ottawa, volunteering
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Written by Denise Deby.

If you’re keen to have more fresh vegetables and fruits on your table but are short on funds, don’t live near a market or can’t commit to a CSA share, don’t despair; there’s another option.

The Ottawa Good Food Box allows you to purchase a box of fresh fruits and vegetables at wholesale prices. The Good Food Box pools your order with others it receives, meaning it can buy in bulk from local farmers and wholesalers.

The boxes contain “staples” such as carrots, onions, apples, tomatoes, lettuce and potatoes as well as seasonal produce such as green beans, mushrooms, strawberries, asparagus or mangoes. Not all the produce is local, although they try to source local where possible. You can sign up for a large, medium or small box, a “fruit bag,” or an organic box. The Good Food Box includes recipes with every order in case you’re not sure what to do with that eggplant or Swiss chard.

The Ottawa Good Food Box is a non-profit program run through the Centretown Community Health Centre. It began as a way to make fresh food affordable. The program is open to everyone, and there’s no fee to participate.

You pick up your order at a local distribution site (check the online map for a site near you). If you can’t find a nearby site, the Ottawa Good Food Box will create a new one as long as they have 10 customers and a volunteer site coordinator for it.

The Good Food Box relies on volunteers, so if packing boxes, running a site or getting to know your neighbours interest you, check out the opportunities at http://www.ottawagoodfoodbox.ca/?page_id=59.

From the Ottawa Good Food Box website:

The Good Food Box is open to anyone and everyone who is interested in participating in the program, whether your reasons are to increase your consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, introduce variety and new food experiences, cooking more from scratch or building community spirit!”

 

May 13, 2013

Our Little Farm CSA

Posted by GreenLivingOttawa under 100-mile, food, organic, Ottawa, volunteering
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Written by guest blogger Geneviève Grossenbacher of Notre petite ferme – Our Little Farm.

Photo courtesy Our Little Farm

Photo courtesy Our Little Farm

Get fresh, local & organic veggies: Sign up for a CSA box!

Want to eat fresh, local & organic vegetables this summer? Our Little Farm will be delivering Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable boxes in Ottawa and Hull again this summer and we still have a few spots left! CSA directly supports local farmers and is the best way to access fresh local organic food. To join our CSA farm, you, as a consumer, pay in advance for a share of vegetables. In exchange, each week or every other week, depending on how many veggies you like to eat, we deliver our farm fresh veggies in five drop-offs throughout the city and one drop-off in Hull from late June to late October (check out our drop-off map here). On top of getting healthy and great tasting veggies, you will get our weekly e-newsletter with farm news and recipes, and will be invited to different farm events during the season (garlic braiding, vegetable treasure hunt for kids, etc.) Hurry, as the number of spaces are limited; contact Jim Thompson: jim@ourlittlefarm.ca or check out www.ourlittlefarm.ca for more info and to get a feel for our farm.

 

May 3, 2013

Jane’s Walk Ottawa May 4-5, 2013

Posted by GreenLivingOttawa under arts and culture, flora and fauna, health, Ottawa, volunteering
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Written by Denise Deby.

Ottawa - photo by D. Deby

I’m a big fan of Jane’s Walk. The annual event celebrates cities as places for people. It honours Jane Jacobs, an urbanist and activist who carefully observed how cities function and called for cities to be planned for, with and by people and communities. Her work has had a significant influence on thinking about city planning and urban engagement.

Jane’s Walk, started in Toronto by people who wanted to keep Jane Jacobs’ legacy alive, has spread to over 90 cities around the world, including Ottawa.

During Jane’s Walk, local residents lead free walking tours of urban places and neighbourhoods. The walks allow people to get to know their city, reconnect with nature and the built environment, and meet each other.

In Ottawa, dozens of residents have stepped forward to make Jane’s Walk happen. They’re volunteering their time to lead walks—and cycling tours–through many of our city’s hidden, historic, or intriguing areas. They’re people with a passion for the area and with insights to share, so bring your interest and your own perspectives.

There’s bound to be a Jane’s Walk in Ottawa for everyone. Just for example, you can:

  • Learn about the Pinhey Sand Dune micro-environment off Woodroffe with Henri Goulet, a retired scientist and a specialist in biodiversity and conservation;
  • Contemplate Ottawa’s neglected waterfront with storyteller and community activist Dennis Van Staalduinen;
  • Discover Ottawa’s Great Forest with naturalist and educator Martha Webber;
  • See the Byward Market area from a homeless person’s perspective with activist Jane Scharf;
  • View turtles and learn about turtle habitat protection on Petrie Island and surrounding wetlands with Al Tweddle, chairman of the Friends of Petrie Island;
  • Explore the social fabric of the Somerset West area with Jackson Couse, multimedia artist;
  • Get to know “Wellboro” (Westboro and Hintonburg) through the eyes of artist Andrew King;
  • Walk for health on Parliament Hill with Kelly McKay and Penny Burton of Ottawa Public Health’s Healthy Living Team.

These and other walks will explore nature, art and culture, history, urban issues and more. There are walks in English and French. You can find the full list and more details at the Jane’s Walk Ottawa website.

No one can find what will work for our cities by looking at … suburban garden cities, manipulating scale models, or inventing dream cities. You’ve got to get out and walk.” - Jane Jacobs, Downtown is for People, 1957 (from the Jane’s Walk main website).

 

April 14, 2013

Greenpeace Ottawa-Gatineau

Posted by GreenLivingOttawa under climate change, energy, flora and fauna, Ottawa, volunteering
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Guest post written by Brett Hodnett.

Arctic sea ice by Nasa Goddard Photo and Video, Creative Commons

Arctic sea ice by Nasa Goddard Photo and Video, Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6151061591/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Get Involved With Your Local Ottawa Greenpeace Group

There is now an Ottawa Local Group of Greenpeace! With decisions made in our city every day that imperil a sustainable future, there is an urgent need to build a grassroots movement here in the Nation’s Capital.

For our next action we will be joining thousands of people around the world who will be coming together on April 20 to form human banners spelling out I ♥ Arctic. Together we will call on our political leaders to protect the Arctic from activities that put this fragile environment at risk, such as oil drilling and industrial fishing. Have a look at the video [below].

Become a part of this global mobilization in cities from Buenos Aires to Bangkok and from Berlin to Bangalore: join our human banner event here in Ottawa! What happens in the Arctic affects us all -that’s why we are coming together on April 20 to take joint action across the globe.

In Ottawa, with the backdrop of the Parliament Buildings, we have the unique opportunity to show the world that Canada cares about the fate of the Arctic. Meet at noon at the eternal flame on Parliament Hill and bring your friends.

We also hold monthly meetings where discussion is wide open about how, as a group, we can best bring change to Ottawa and inform the public about the many threats to our future. If you would like to get involved, send us an email at ottawagreenpeace@yahoo.ca or look for us on Facebook as Greenpeace Ottawa-Gatineau.

I hope we’ll see you on the 20th.

 

April 6, 2013

Day of Pink in Ottawa April 10, 2013

Posted by GreenLivingOttawa under Ottawa, volunteering
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Written by Denise Deby.

Day of Pink poster large

Poster courtesy Ryan Maisey, Jer’s Vision

Green Living Ottawa is briefly going pink to let you know about the Day of Pink coming up on April 10, 2013. It’s a day created by youth to celebrate diversity and stand up against homophobic, transphobic and other forms of bullying.

This year Jer’s Vision, the organization behind the International Day of Pink, is organizing a Day of Pink Gala in Ottawa. The event features the Rt. Hon. Michaëlle Jean, CBC Radio host Jian Ghomeshi, Olympian Mark Tewksbury, and Over the Rainbow finalist Stephanie La Rochelle. It takes place April 10 at 6 p.m. at the Government Conference Centre, 2 Rideau St. Admission is free; send an email to RSVP (at) JersVision (dot) org to register.

Here’s what Jer’s Vision has to say about the Day of Pink: “Each year on the second Wednesday of April, millions of people wear pink to remember that positive actions make a difference. And that the change starts with each one of us.”

 

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