By Megan Gillis, Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 2022
Spectators gathered Saturday to watch a new pedestrian and cycling bridge weighing about 131 tonnes being eased into its final position spanning the Rideau River.
...Judging from the knots of people watching — and thumbs up from passing cyclists, joggers and and people strolling on the National Capital Commission pathway — interest in getting feet and wheels on the bridge is keen.
By Bruce Deachman, Ottawa Citizen
When the derecho storm struck Ottawa in May, Chidera Onyegbule lost power in her South Keys home for five days. It was a situation that triggered a spike in her existential dread as she watched trees felled, food spoiled and much of Ottawa’s infrastructure fall apart, once again confronting her with the uncertain future she’s faced for half her life now.
...Onyegbule, 20, is in her third-year at Carleton University where she’s studying neuroscience and mental health. She’s part of a growing cohort of people, many but not all of them Generation Z or zoomers, who are experiencing eco-anxiety, in her case a fear of the future in relation to climate change, at unprecedented levels.
By Christine Larson, CBC News, July 21, 2022
The migratory monarch butterfly fluttered a step closer to extinction Thursday, as scientists put the iconic orange-and-black insect on the international endangered list because of its fast dwindling numbers.
..."There are things people can do to help," she said, including planting milkweed, a plant that the caterpillars depend upon.
By Jaela Bernstien, CBC News, July 13, 2022
Picture yourself walking through the downtown core of a city on a hot day in July. Heat radiates up from the asphalt. Rows of tall buildings stop the breeze from reaching you. There are no trees in sight — only blocks of concrete, steel and sweltering heat.
Extreme heat caused by climate change is already killing Canadians, and it’s going to get worse. The warming planet means heat waves will be more intense and more frequent than before.
Par Julien Paquette, Le Droit, le 15 juillet 2022
«Le fait que le centre communautaire de Hintonburg reçoive ce financement est particulièrement poignant, considérant l’importance que revêt l’enjeu de la crise climatique pour les résidents du quartier, soutient le conseiller de Kitchissippi, Jeff Leiper.
By Joanne Chianello, CBC News Ottawa, July 16, 2022
After the last month of hearings at the public inquiry into Ottawa's Confederation Line delivered a number of shocking details, it's nice to have some good rail news: the Swiss-made Stadler FLIRT trains bound for the Trillium Line are in the city, ready to go, in plenty of time for lots of testing.
...When it comes to these trains, forget everything you've heard in the past month — or ever, really — about the Confederation Line light rail system or the electric vehicles that run on it.
The Trillium Line is actually a heavy rail line, and the Stadlers are diesel trains.
Par Christian Millette, ICI Radio Canada Ottawa Gatineau, le 14 juillet 2022
Des biologistes du ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP mènent une étude sur l'impact de la présence de myriophylle à épis dans le lac des Trente et un Milles en Outaouais. On demande aux plaisanciers de ne pas s'approcher pour les laisser faire leur travail.
La lutte contre la myriophylle à épis s'intensifie. Cette espèce envahissante se retrouve dans plusieurs lacs du Québec et même s'il n'existe pas encore beaucoup d'études sur cette plante, plusieurs biologistes et certaines municipalités tentent de la contrôler avant qu'elle ne fasse trop de dommage.
By James Powell, City News, July 18, 2022
CityNews, in partnership with the Historical Society of Ottawa, brings you this weekly feature by Director James Powell, highlighting a moment in Ottawa's history.
Something was wrong with the ash trees in the east end of Ottawa.
Trees lining St Laurent Boulevard and Ogilvie Road near the Queensway were under stress, their upper canopies thinning, with wild growth appearing lower down their trunks. Sent out to investigate, the city’s Forestry Services discovered small “D” shaped holes on their trunks and branches along with strange serpentine tunnels that scored the wood immediately under the bark.
By Jessica MacDiarmid, National Observer, July 14, 2022
The emerald ash borer is a green bug the size of a thumbnail. And it has killed tens of millions of trees in North America — and caused billions in damage — since it hitched a ride from Asia 20-odd years ago.
The beetle larvae tunnel through trees, feeding off their nutrients and eventually killing them. It has no natural predators in North America. It has proven difficult to contain with quarantine measures and expensive to eradicate with pesticides.
Now, scientists and foresters are trying a new method of controlling the invasive species — introducing another invasive species that, it’s hoped, will eradicate the emerald ash borer.
By CBC News, June 16, 2022
Change is taking root in the Toronto housing scene.
In February, city council voted to allow homeowners to build a garden suite, or secondary residence, in their backyards. It's part of a housing strategy that aims to address Toronto's rental crunch.
Proponents say garden suites, along with laneway suites (which were approved in 2018), are a much-needed tool to gently add density to existing residential neighbourhoods — an alternative to highrises or car-dependent sprawl and part of the city's broader sustainability goals.
Other cities in Ontario (Barrie, Kitchener) and across the country (like Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton) already allow garden suites.
By Lillian Fridfinnson, Ottawa Citizen, June 21, 2022
Idling, fossil fuels and the City of Ottawa’s climate resiliency strategy headlined the agenda at Tuesday’s environmental protection, water and waste management committee meeting.
...“We are not prepared,” said Joan Freeman of Community Associations for Environmental Sustainability. “We are not investing properly and, as a result, at this stage, the city’s prosperity and livability are at risk.”
By Kristy Nease, CBC News Ottawa
The City of Ottawa wants 40 per cent of its lands covered by trees in the future, according to the new official plan — up from 31 per cent in 2017.
But after the May derecho and 2018 tornadoes destroyed many thousands of trees in the area, it's unclear just how soon that can be achieved.
...Want a free tree seedling to plant on private property, perhaps to replace one that came down in the storm? Ecology Ottawa is giving away 20,000 seedlings this year and there are three giveaway events today and this coming weekend.