Category: books

Seeing Ottawa in New Ways

GreenLivingOttawa
Background image in grey tones showing a group of people facing away from the camera, one holding a flag with an icon of a person walking. Blue, red and white graphic frames the text "May 4-5: Jane's Walk Ottawa-Gatineau, JanesWalkOttawa.ca"
Image courtesy Jane’s Walk Ottawa-Gatineau

There are quite a few opportunities this weekend to think about our city, and what it could be, in different ways. (Apologies for the last-minute post—life happens!) Here are some highlights:

Jane’s Walk Ottawa-Gatineau

Jane’s Walk Ottawa-Gatineau is happening Saturday, May 4 and Sunday, May 5, 2024. Jane’s Walk is an annual series of community-led walks through the places and neighbourhoods of the city, in honour of Jane Jacobs, whose ideas influenced how we understand cities and city-building. This year’s walks explore and celebrate local art, architecture, histories, communities, pathways, greenspaces, habitats and biodiversity. For example, you can learn about the unique ecosystem of the Pinhey Sand Dunes; tour green homes, community gardens, or rewilding efforts; see downtown Ottawa from an Indigenous perspective; and much more. Because this year’s theme is “Towards water,” many of the walks explore the significance of waterways as meeting places, habitats and city shapers. That means you can contemplate an Indigenous canoe portage site connecting the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers; the history of the Ottawa River; or the microbes of Mud Lake. There are virtual and self-guided walks, too. Walks are conducted in English and/or French; some require pre-registration. Check the Jane’s Walk Ottawa-Gatineau website for details.

Image of an Indigenous woman (her head and shoulders); she is looking up, and her mouth is covered with red-handprint-shaped paint. Image appears on a black background, between two small red beaded dress images. Text in white and red below the image reads "MMIWG2S need justice; reconciliation demands action"
Image courtesy Families of Sisters in Spirit

Red Dress Day

I’ve posted before about the connections between environmental action and the need to address the ongoing harms of living on unceded Indigenous territory in ways that perpetuate ongoing violence against Indigenous peoples, including Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people. On Sunday, May 5, 2024, Families of Sisters in Spirit (FSIS), in collaboration with Assembly of Seven Generations, the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, and Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak, is hosting an event to commemorate Red Dress Day in support of local families affected by the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and Two-Spirit people. They’re welcoming donations of food and other items, as well as financial support. See the event page for details.

Ottawa International Writers Festival

The Ottawa International Writers Festival is bringing several eco-focused authors to the stage on Saturday, May 4, 2024. These include Lydia Millet and Michael E. Mann, who, in different ways, use the power of story to help think through the climate change and environmental crisis. Check the Festival website for details.

+Local Action for Palestine: INSAF and the University of Ottawa Palestinian Students’ Association are asking people to support their efforts, including the “Occupy Tabaret” campaign calling for the University to divest from genocide in Gaza. See their website for more information, and Decolonize Palestine for additional background and why this is relevant to environmental justice globally and locally.

Nature-Inspired October Events in Ottawa

GreenLivingOttawa

Tree Fest Ottawa’s PhotoSynthesis III poster: Pollinators and the Urban Forest photography exhibit

Immerse yourself in these tree- and greening-inspired events coming up this weekend and this month:

Depaving Event: The Champlain Park Community Association, Kitchissippi Ward Councillor Jeff Leiper, the City of Ottawa, EnviroCentre and other partners are hosting a depaving event on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019 from 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Volunteers are invited to help remove one block of pavement from Pontiac Street, between Carleton and Cowley Avenues. Replacing the asphalt with grass will expand Champlain Park and connect it with NCC parkway greenspace. Details are available on Councillor Jeff Leiper’s website and the Facebook event page. Find out more about the importance of depaving for the environment on Depave Paradise’s website.

Speaking for the Trees Book Talk: The Ottawa International Writers Festival hosts renowned botanist, biochemist and author Diana Beresford-Kroeger for a discussion of her book, To Speak for the Trees, on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019 from 2-4 p.m. at Library and Archives Canada. Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s writings have changed the way we think about trees, their value and our relationship to them. Her book shares her journey and explains how trees are part of the solution to the climate emergency in ways we might not be aware of. Find out more and register through the OIWF website.

PhotoSynthesis Festival: Tree Fest Ottawa’s PhotoSynthesis III festival is on now until Monday, Oct. 14, 2019 at Lansdowne Park. This year’s photography exhibit focuses on Pollinators and the Urban Forest. In addition, programming on Sunday Oct. 6, 2019 from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. includes a talk on native pollinator health in Ottawa, a guided walk on pollinator gardens, a nature scavenger hunt, a bee box making workshop, stories and mural painting.

Fall Rhapsody: The NCC’s Fall Rhapsody takes place from Saturday, Oct. 5-Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019 in Ottawa’s core, the Greenbelt and Gatineau Park. The website has tips on where to find beautiful fall colours and activities taking place across the national capital region. A sample of activities includes brunch and family yoga in Gatineau Park, guided nature hikes at Lac Philippe, a picnic and kite flying in Meech Creek Valley, Anishinabe Nibin (Algonquin summer) cultural activities, and more. On weekends, there are free shuttles from downtown Ottawa to Gatineau Park and Camp Fortune.

Forest Bathing: The Garden Promenade and Forest Therapy Ottawa are offering an opportunity to experience forest bathing in the fall colours of the Dominion Arboretum, on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Find out more and register on Eventbrite. Check out Forest Therapy Ottawa’s website for more information on the benefits of quality time spent in forests, and on other upcoming forest wellness events.

CommuniTree Conference: Blackburn Community Association, in partnership with Just Food and Ecology Ottawa, is holding a CommuniTree Conference on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019 from 9 a.m.-1:15 p.m. at the Just Food Farm. Sessions cover the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan and Tree Bylaw, urban forest sustainability, the Healing Forests project, citizen science and community tree mapping, and a walking tour of a community food forest. Register in advance through the Blackburn Community Association website.

Welcoming Ottawa Week 2018

GreenLivingOttawa

African Caribbean Canadian Multiculturalism Day Festival in Strathcona Park, WOW 2017 – D. Deby photo

Welcoming Ottawa Week (WOW) is an annual festival of arts, cultural, sports and other activities that celebrate the city’s diversity and the contributions of the many newcomers who have made Ottawa home.

This year’s WOW includes more than 75 free activities across the city from Monday, Jun. 18-Saturday, Jun. 30, 2018. They include photo exhibits, soccer and basketball tournaments, a community picnic, a barbecue and bike fest, the design of a community mural, “myth-busting” events about immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and several multicultural celebrations. The Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival and the Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival are also participating.

Other events of note:

Check out the WOW calendar for more events.

With one in four Ottawa residents having been born outside Canada, it’s more important than ever to embrace our diversity and get to know each other.

WOW is organized by the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership in collaboration with 50+ partners across the city.

#100in1Day Ottawa 2018

GreenLivingOttawa

Image courtesy 100in1Day Ottawa/Synapcity

This weekend is packed with amazing things to do in Ottawa. For starters, there’s #100in1Day.

#100in1DayOTT consists of more than 100 creative and fun activities, all citizen-led, happening around the city on Saturday, Jun. 2, 2018.

The 100+ “interventions” are designed to illustrate the kind of sustainable, inclusive and accessible city we could have. Read more in Synapcity’s guest post and on the #100in1DayOTT website.

Here are just a few examples:

There’s so much more—check out the #100in1DayOTT website and interactive map.

Great Glebe GREEN Garage Sale 2018

GreenLivingOttawa

Great Glebe GREEN Garage Sale – image courtesy Ecology Ottawa

It’s almost time again for the Great Glebe GREEN Garage Sale. The GGGGS happens on Saturday, May 26, 2018 as part of the Great Glebe Garage Sale.

Ecology Ottawa, which organizes the Great Glebe GREEN Garage Sale, is looking for volunteers. Here’s a message from Léna Ndoye at Ecology Ottawa:

(français suit)

The biggest garage sale in Ottawa is coming back to the Glebe! This year, we are continuing last year’s resounding tree giveaway success, which was the single largest one-day distribution of trees Ottawa has ever seen! The saplings will be available for free (or by donation), to be planted around the city and thus strengthen Ottawa’s urban tree canopy. To be able to make these saplings available to everyone during the garage sale, we need lots of volunteers!

SATURDAY, MAY 26, 2018, 8am-4pm – 640 Bank Street (at Clemow Avenue) – Boston Pizza parking lot

We are currently seeking:

  • Help the day before to set up tables and tents + organize material for the tree giveaway (Friday, May 25)
  • People with vehicles to help transport the trees, volunteer kits, and other items to the site (May 25 and 26)
  • Lots of help at the actual event : people to give away trees, to have a booth about it, to run the bakery sale, to paint kids’ faces, to take pictures and plenty of other help (Saturday, May 26)
  • People to clean up the space (May 26)

Get involved in one of the year’s most fun and exciting events. Learn more and sign-up to volunteer today at https://ecologyottawa.ca/events/annual-events/garage-sale/.

// Le plus grand vide-grenier d’Ottawa et son lot de joie et de bonne humeur reviennent dans le Glebe ! Écologie Ottawa sera là pour la plus grande distribution d’arbres jamais effectuée à Ottawa. Pour s’assurer que l’événement se déroule pour le mieux et afin de pouvoir distribuer tous ces jeunes arbres, nous avons besoin de nombreux bénévoles afin d’assurer différentes tâches.

SAMEDI 26 mai 2018, de 8h à 16h – 640 Bank Street – le parking Boston Pizza

Nous sommes actuellement à la recherche :

  • Des personnes avec une auto pour pouvoir amener sur place les arbres et et le reste du matériel (25 et 26 mai)
  • Des personnes pour nous aider la veille à installer les tables et tentes (vendredi 25 mai)
  • De beaucoup d’aide le jour de l’événement : des gens pour distribuer des arbres, pour tenir un stand à ce propos, pour gérer la vente de pâtisseries, pour peindre le visage des enfants, pour prendre des photos et plein d’autres choses (samedi 26 mai)
  • Des gens pour nettoyer l’endroit (26 mai)

Venez-vous engager dans un des événements les plus plaisants et excitants de l’année. Apprenez en plus et devenez bénévole aujourd’hui sur https://ecologieottawa.ca/more/evenements-annuels/vente-debarras/.