Ecology Ottawa

News Clippings

Pellerin: The 'circular economy' means we're not just spinning our wheels on helping the environment

By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, October 13, 2023

October is Circular Economy Month and the City of Ottawa is offering us a number of ways we can reduce, reuse, recycle and up-cycle our stuff. In an economic climate where the cost of everything keeps going up faster than most people’s income, it makes a lot of sense. And it helps us divert material away from those landfills that are filling up so fast we’re now using private dumps (as if the ownership structure made trash less of a problem somehow).

I have bent your ears before about the Zero Waste movement, and waste diversion too. This stuff is hard work. But with the right kind of encouragement, we can all make progress.

Find the whole article here.

Why are trees in Ontario changing colour earlier than usual this fall?

By Lindsay Armstrong, Canadian Press, Ottawa Citizen, October 9, 2023

The customary reds, oranges and yellows of the trees, marking the arrival of fall, may have appeared early this year, or not at all.

The dramatic summer weather that brought wildfires in some parts of the country and heavy rain in others is being reflected in fall colours across Canada, researchers say.

...Sean Thomas, a professor of forest ecology at the University of Toronto, says there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that smoke from wildfires in northern Ontario this summer may have triggered trees to reveal their colours prematurely.

...He said there is lots of colour in much of Ontario this season, but added there is reason to believe that ongoing impacts of climate change will see fall colours diminish in the coming years.

Find the whole article here.

Denley: The NCC and the City of Ottawa need to start playing nice

By Randall Denley, Ottawa Citizen, October 3, 2023

It’s difficult to imagine a more typically Ottawa problem than the one that city councillors tried to deal with last week. Their task was seemingly straightforward, an approval of three new apartment buildings within easy walking distance of the Lincoln Fields transit station. It’s exactly the sort of transit-adjacent development the city wants and as a bonus, the project would provide a new facility for a non-profit home for severely disabled adults.

The only hitch was the walking path that connects the new development directly to the transit station. The path is owned by the National Capital Commission, which doesn’t make a habit of clearing walking paths in winter.

Councillors were told that the NCC was not opposed to the city clearing the path, but city staff were concerned. What would that cost? What about legal liability? Would it set a precedent, leading to more demands to make NCC paths useable in winter, at the city’s expense?

This seems like something two reasonable people, sitting in a room together, would be able to resolve before it was time for a coffee break. 

Find the whole article here.

Environmental, economic uncertainty among young Canadians: study

By City News, September 27, 2023

Young Canadians have an increasingly pessimistic view of the planet’s future when it comes to climate change, and they feel less able to make a difference.

That’s according to a new Léger study exploring how Generation Z and Millennial Canadians feel about their own future, their personal finances, and their careers.

More than half of young Canadians (51 per cent – compared to 43 per cent last year) believe the world’s environmental situation will deteriorate next year. And 37 per cent have a sombre view of their ability to limit the consequences of these changes (compared to 30 per cent in 2022).

More young Canadians (60 per cent, up from 53 per cent) say they are concerned about the consequences associated with climate change.

Find the whole article here.

NCC staff wanted to close Queen Elizabeth Driveway all the way to Preston

By Ben Andrews, CBC News Ottawa, September 28, 2023

National Capital Commission (NCC) staff recommended shutting a much longer stretch of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway (QED) to motor vehicles this summer than was eventually closed, according to internal emails.

The recommendation by senior staff would have seen the driveway reserved for walking and cycling between Somerset and Preston streets, a stretch more than twice as long as the closure to Fifth Avenue.

...Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum sparred publicly on the issue, and city councillors have waded into the debate.

Find the whole article here.

Councillors vote in favour of asking Ontario government to review Ottawa's urban boundary expansion

By City News, September 27, 2023

Ottawa councillors have approved a motion asking Ontario’s new minister of municipal affairs and housing to review expansion lands in Ottawa that were added to the urban boundary in 2022.

...

Eleven Ottawa city councillors signed a joint letter, which was released on Sept. 26, urging the auditor general and integrity commissioner to investigate the Ontario government’s decision to expand Ottawa’s urban boundary by an additional 654 hectares.

Find the whole article here.

City builder: Alice Irene Whittaker leads the charge on environmental issues in Ottawa

By Reagan Spencer, Capital Current, September 27, 2023

...What is she known for in Ottawa?

Whittaker often appears on local and national media outlets discussing a variety of environmental issues. She runs her own podcast, Reseed, which discusses repairing our relationships with nature. She is also a public speaker, having worked with such organizations as the Global Centre for Pluralism and Circular Economy Leadership Canada.

What do people say about her?

After a discussion between Whittaker and Capital Ward Coun. Shawn Menard, he commented about Ecology Ottawa on Twitter, “The organization is in very good hands.” 

Find the whole article here.

Pellerin: Public transit is a public service. Treat it that way

By Brigitte Pellerin, Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed, September 22, 2023

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe recently commented that OC Transpo’s financial situation was much worse than he imagined when he made the decision to run for office on a platform promising to fix public transit.

That’s not the only thing he doesn’t quite grasp.

You know what matters a lot more than balancing budgets? Defining public transit as a true public service and making sure the people who depend on it the most, those who have few other options to get to where they need to be, have transit available to them when they need it at a cost they can afford.

Find the whole article here.

The kids are not all right: How young people are dealing with increasing climate anxiety

By Brishti Basu, CBC News, August 23, 2023

With catastrophic weather events rapidly becoming the norm each year in Canada and around the world, young people are increasingly worried about their futures. But experts say resources to support their mental health are unlikely to keep up with demand.

Speaking to CBC News in Victoria, with a haze of wildfire smoke hanging in the backdrop, Hannah Fessler, 16, expressed worry about people her age left to deal with problems created by previous generations. Her own feelings about the wildfires in B.C., the Northwest Territories and around the world are a jumble. 

Find the whole article here.

 

NCC interested in national urban park in Ottawa

By Kristy Nease, CBC News Ottawa, September 15, 2023

The National Capital Commission (NCC) is formally interested in establishing a national urban park in Ottawa, CBC News has learned.

Exactly where is not yet clear. In documents obtained by CBC this week under access to information legislation, all references to a specific possible location have been redacted.

In a statement Thursday, the NCC would say only that it's in Ottawa.

Land currently owned or controlled and managed by the NCC in Ottawa includes the Greenbelt encircling the inner urban area, much of the Ottawa River shoreline from Britannia to Orléans, lands along the Rideau Canal, and smaller green spaces like McCarthy Woods, Hampton Woods, Vincent Massey Park and Confederation Park downtown.

Find the whole article here.

New pollinator hotspots and edible landscapes on campus

By Nicholas Socholotiuk, The Fulcrum, September 5, 2023

Green initiatives on campus are blooming into fruition with recent additions to the pollinator gardens and edible landscapes on campus over the summer.

All across campus, students are able to find a wide variety of new and exciting plants placed over the summer as part of the Nature Positive Pledge undertaken by the University of Ottawa.

...“We’ve started looking at different places on campus where we can take like monoculture grasses and so forth, and replace those with more pollinator species to increase the biodiversity on campus,” (Jonathan Rausseo) said.

... “The edible landscapes are a somewhat sister initiative to [the pollinator gardens]…[it is about] adding more edible fruits, vegetables, bushes, and trees into the landscape on campus.” she said. Traditionally, what we’ve seen in the past is a lot of grassy areas, some nice mix trees, and we’ve seen lots of annual flowers for the summertime,” Gordon added. “Now, all those things are really nice, but it’s nice to be able to add a bit more diversity and mixture in there.”

Find the whole article here.

Grève climatique mondiale

A Sur le Vif, ICI Radio Canada Ottawa, le 15 septembre 2023 à 16h38

Entrevue avec William Van Geest, Coordonnateur de programmes, Écologie Ottawa, sur le rassemblement pour le climat.. Fridays for the Future (15 minutes)

Écouter l'entrevue ici.