Cycle, Recycle and Discover June 1-2, 2013

Written by Denise Deby.

This weekend, June 1-2 2013, is jam-packed with fun events that also have an environmental angle:

The Fletcher Wildlife Garden is holding its Annual Native Plant Sale on Saturday from 9:30-12:30. As well as wildflowers for sale, they have lots of advice about what to grow to attract birds, butterflies and other creatures to your garden. For more information, click on the poster at http://www.ofnc.ca/fletcher/.

The City of Ottawa’s designated Give Away Weekend is on Saturday and Sunday. You can put used items marked “free” out at the curb, and let other people who can use them take them away. Check the City’s website for information on how it works and what to include and not include.

Several neighbourhoods are holding multi-family garage sales on Saturday. There’s the Riverview Park Community Wide Garage Sale,  the Manor Park Garage Sale, the Hintonburg Garage Sale, the Island Park Garage Sale and the Wild Wild Westboro Garage Sale. (OttawaStart posts a helpful list of sales and suggestions on where to find used stuff at http://ottawastart.com/used.php.)

This weekend is the annual Doors Open Ottawa. It’s a wonderful opportunity to visit buildings that are normally closed to the public, including heritage homes, artists’ studios, embassies, city and museum archives, churches and more. On the environment side, you can see how Ottawa’s water is purified and how our wastewater is treated, explore the University of Ottawa’s newest green building, tour an historic garden or learn about Canadian energy research, for example. The full list of buildings, and schedules, are at http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-culture-and-community/museums-and-heritage/doors-open-ottawa-0.

The Ottawa International Children’s Festival is delightful for all ages. As well as fun and funny performances, the Festival offers Let’s Talk Science learning programs, Otesha Project workshops, a Dynamic Maze and other activities that allow participants to explore their environment and themselves. The 100 Watt Earth Stage schedule includes short plays about animal rights written by Ottawa kids. There’s lots more, so check it out at http://ottawachildrensfestival.ca/.

Capital Vélo Fest runs this weekend. This annual celebration of cycling offers a Bike Rodeo, workshops, vendor and art displays, games like bike polo and bike jousting, a bike-powered smoothie machine and a Tour La Nuit “for riders of all ages and abilities” on Saturday. On Sunday, several communities will offer their own cycling events as part of Community Spokes. See the Capital Vélo Fest website for more details.

Happy first weekend in June!

Update:

Also on Saturday evening is the Ottawa Velo Vogue bicycle fashion show. Ottawa Velo Vogue’s aim is to promote cycling by demonstrating that you don’t need fancy clothing or equipment to ride. The show will feature bike-friendly clothes, accessories and bikes, and is a fundraiser for Cycle Salvation. It’s at 7 p.m. at Kichesippi Brewery. Details at velovogue.eventbrite.ca or www.ottawavelovogue.com.

On Sunday, there’s an open house at the Gatineau Park Visitor Centre in anticipation of GatineauPark’s 75^th anniversary coming up in July. There’ll be nature walks, interactive displays on biodiversity, wildlife management and wilderness survival, birds of prey demonstrations, and food samples from local restaurants. It’s 9:30-4 at the Visitor Centre in Chelsea. Details at http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca/places-to-visit/gatineau-park/news/2013-05-28/gatineau-park-celebrating-75-years.

Also on Sunday, the Brewer Park Community Garden is holding a community consultation on its plans for a Biodome Garden. The project, supported by the City of Ottawa’s Neighbourhood Connection Office, is to extend the growing season by creating a greenhouse-like space for producing food sustainably. The consultation is 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the Brewer Park Pool meeting room. Details at http://brewerparkcommunitygarden.weebly.com/garden-news.html.