Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Ottawa neighbourhood achieves environmental first

By Mike Vlasveld, 1310 News, May 15, 2018

Lansdowne is the first neighbourhood in Canada to achieve LEED Stage 3 Built Project Silver certification.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation toward sustainable design.

That was a highlight in an update received Tuesday by the city's Environment and Climate Protection Committee.

Trees planted at l’École secondaire catholique de Plantagenet for Earth Day

By Irene Sensyzcyzn, the Review, May 15, 2018

On Monday, May 7, 2018, it was planting day for a group of students from the Intermediate Building at the Catholic High School in Plantagenet. Led by Charles Tittley, deputy director, and several members of Boisés Est, students created the foundations of a windbreak hedge by planting two rows of trees made of silver maples and white spruce trees on to grounds owned by the Eastern Ontario Catholic District School Board (CSDCEO), located near the school. Bernard Filion, treasurer of Boisés Est, who was on hand, highlights the enthusiasm of the participants, ‘a real tornado’, he says, but a constructive tornado!

The Intermediate Pavilion and Boisés Est collaborate each year in several activities aimed at familiarizing students with the forest. It is already planned to return to the field in June to check that the small trees have started to grow, and protect them from raspberries and other plants that may suffocate them.

Letter to the Editor: NCC should live up to its commitment to future Canadians

By David Broscoe and Diana Partridge, Kitchissippi Times Letter to the Editor, May 14, 2018

In February the City of Ottawa, at the bidding of the NCC, changed the zoning of the southern part of Rochester Field along Richmond Road from Open Space (O1L[310]-h) to Traditional Mainstreet (TM). This change will allow construction of two mid-rise buildings along Richmond Road in this NCC owned parkland and significantly reduce the view of the Ottawa River from Byron Linear Park and from the neighbourhood to the south.

Why is the NCC interested in developing here anyway? The NCC manages these lands for present and future generations of Canadians, with a mandate including such statements as to ‘care for and protect vital public places … where decisions about the use and development of urban lands are based on considerations of environmental sensitivity.’ Let’s not see parkland disappear in a ward which already has a relative shortage of parks.

Neighbours successfully petition the city for a reduced speed limit

By Andrea Tomkins, Kitchissippi Times, May 14, 2018

It was a discussion on a Facebook group that originally brought Tweedsmuir resident, Gesa Harmston, together with a few of her neighbours – Catherine Rossiter, Rebecca McPhee Irwin, Krista Charbonneau – to finally do something about the speeding cars on their quiet residential street in Westboro.

Gesa, who first moved into her new home in March 2012, lives on Tweedsmuir, a stone’s throw from Byron Avenue. “It’s unbelievable how fast people drive,” says Gesa. “We have kids. I do not feel comfortable having our kids play on the street. I even had a woman come so fast around the corner she came up on our front lawn with her car.”

Contributing to this, as well, is also the lack of sidewalks on Tweedsmuir.

An NDP government would make hydro public again, end off-peak pricing, Horwath says in Sudbury

By Kristin Rushowy, The Star, May 12, 2018

SUDBURY—NDP leader Andrea Horwath says her party’s hydro plan will reduce families’ electricity bills and the NDP is the only choice to get Hydro One back in public hands.

Howarth outlined the plan Saturday morning outside the home of a young family who say they struggle with their electricity bills — in particular over the extra laundry they now have after the birth of their twin boys.

An NDP government would end time-of-use pricing, which charges higher rates during peak times and lower rates after hours, “so that people aren’t punished for cooking dinner at dinner time,” Horwath said at a later campaign stop in Orillia, “so people can live normal lives and still afford their hydro bill.”

How do you build a 10-minute neighbourhood? Ask this week's livable cities conference

By Matthew Kupfer, CBC News Ottawa, May 14, 2018

Ottawa is playing host this week to a major international urban planning conference — and its goal is figuring out how to build neighbourhoods where everything's within a 10-minute walk.

The city made the bid to host the International Making Cities Livable Conference to coincide with the opening year of the forthcoming light-rail line.

It's the first time in the conference's 55 years that it's been held in Canada.

Adam: Time for some innovative city-building ideas

By Mohammed Adam, Ottawa Citizen, May 10, 2018

Modern cities have become the engines of growth that are powering economic development and improving the quality of life of millions around the world. But the same cities are facing challenges that experts say require a re-think of the growth models that defined the urban form for more than half a century.

The development model that gave us low-density, automobile-centred suburban living, with its expansive freeways and highways – and no concern for the carbon footprint – is no longer financially viable or environmentally sustainable. City-building today must be as much about public health, public safety, poverty alleviation and a greener environment as they are with buildings, roads, sewers and other physical infrastructure.

Residents flag concerns about Gatineau garbage pickup changes

By CBC News Ottawa, May 12, 2018

Residents and property groups in Gatineau are raising a stink about the city's new garbage pickup bylaws which will significantly limit the amount of waste allowed at the end of their curbs.

The new rules were supposed to take effect July 15, but two months before the upcoming changes the city said it's not ready to meet the deadline as it irons out key parts of the plan.

Under the new rules, composting will be mandatory for all residents, including tenants in highrise buildings. Homeowners will be required to fit all of their garbage in a new 120-litre bin, which is six times smaller than what's currently allowed. Residents can pay $5 per extra bag.

OC Transpo to test out driver shields on city buses

By Trevor Pritchard, CBC News Ottawa, May 13, 2018

OC Transpo will be installing protective barriers between passengers and drivers on a handful of city buses as part of a pilot project later this year.

The shields will be designed to "restrict customer access to the operator's area," according to a memo from general manager John Manconi that will be presented at Wednesday's transit commission meeting.

• Read Manconi's memo to transit commision here

Gatineau cyclists call for temporary bike lane around flooded paths

By CBC News Ottawa, May 13, 2018

Cyclists are asking the City of Gatineau to add a temporary bike lane on Fournier Boulevard because bike paths along the arterial road are flooded or impassable.

The springtime melt has caused nearby waterways to swell onto the paths, forcing cyclists to either push through the water or travel along the heavily-used thoroughfare, which has no designated lane.

Certain points along the paths are also completely barricaded, preventing cyclists from getting through.

Nigro: We need nature for our own health – and nature needs us

By Sherry Nigro, Ottawa Citizen, May 10, 2018

One spring day last year, I took the dog for a walk in a woodlot near my home in Orléans, as I do most days. I heard a different sound, a low-pitched grunting, far different from the birds and distant traffic noise. Standing very still, I finally located it: an earth of foxes just 20 feet away! The vixen was talking to her kits as they explored and frolicked. I was fascinated, excited and felt joyful, and yes, happy. Such is just one of the positive effects of nature.

Finally, modern medicine is recognizing that time spent in natural environments has health benefits. Quantitative research is measuring physiologic effects including positive brain activity, lowering of muscle tension, heart rate and blood pressure, reduced cortisol (a stress-related hormone) levels and improved immune functioning. People who live in proximity to green space are more physically active.

Fire ban reinstated across Ottawa

By 1310 News, May 8, 2018

The Ottawa Fire Service is reinstating a city-wide open-air fire ban due to dry conditions.

This comes after crews responded to four outdoor fires, Tuesday.

Three of them were reported around 10 a.m. The first was along Fernbank Road at Robert Grant Avenue and Terry Fox Drive. A brush fire then sparked on William McEwen Drive near Brophy Drive and Century Road West.

https://www.ottawamatters.com/local-news/fire-ban-reinstated-across-ottawa-918396