Spring Naturehood Bird Walks – April 26+

Upcoming Naturehood Outings

Friday Morning Spring Bird Walks

Date: Friday mornings (April 26 – early June)
Time: 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
Location: Champlain Park Pollinator Garden (Carleton and Pontiac)
Leader: Jennifer Neate

Description:

As the natural world awakens from its winter sleep, our feathered migrant neighbours are slowly beginning to arrive. Eastern Phoebes and Song Sparrows have added their voices to the morning chorus, and they will soon be joined by a colourful kaleidoscope of warblers.

[Adorable small Setophaga pinus (Pine Warbler) songbird sitting on tree branch. Photo by Skyler Ewing from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/adorable-small-setophaga-pinus-songbird-sitting-on-tree-branch-7645629/]

Come out and meet some of the resident and migrant birds of your naturehood on this family-friendly outing. We will see who we can find together, and practice some basic skills that will help you to locate and identify the birds around you. Bring your curiosity, a set of binoculars and a bird field guide or the Merlin bird app, if you like.

Registration is not required but if you would like to be notified of cancellations due to weather, feel free to send an email to jen@spiritwalkers.ca with the subject: “Naturehood Outing.”

Elmdale BookFest 2024 – February 23-24

Elmdale Public School is excited to announce the return of our beloved annual BookFest fundraiser, a tradition cherished by our community for over 50 years! BookFest is not just an event; it’s a celebration of literacy and community spirit.

Last year, thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, we raised over $23,000 and gathered a whopping 40,000 books! These contributions directly support the many enriching activities and programs here at Elmdale.

We warmly invite you to be part of this wonderful tradition by donating books at Elmdale Public School (49 Iona St, Ottawa) or via the Java Street entrance until February 15th.

Save the dates: February 23rd (9am-9pm) and February 24th (9am-4pm) for our BookFest sale, held in the Elmdale gymnasium! Dive into a treasure trove of books priced between $1 and $3. It’s an opportunity not to be missed for book lovers and bargain hunters alike.

Let’s come together as a community to celebrate the joy of reading and support our school. We can’t wait to see you at BookFest!

[Poster for Elmdale BookFest 2024]

Vintage and Valentine’s Show – February 10

Saturday February 10 2024 from 10am to 3pm at the Champlain Park field house, 149 Cowley Avenue.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, an afternoon that combines some of our favourite things.

On display and for sale will be high quality used and vintage cashmere sweaters and scarves and designer handbags. Several vintage clothing dealers will be hand. Expect to also find knitted hats and scarves, jewellery, exquisite chocolates and other tasty sweets.

And wait! There’s more, including double chocolate cake with tea!

[Poster for Vintage and Valentine's Show]

20240210 Vintage and Valentine Show.pdf

Playback Theatre – December 8

Join Ottawa Playback theatre for an evening of storytelling and improv theatre. Our theme is “Figure it out!”

Have you ever had to figure things out? There is no instruction book to life so often we just have to figure it out as we go along. We may stumble along. We may not be graceful.

Have you ever wanted someone else to figure something out? Have you ever been frustrated as you watched and waited?

Some things can’t be “figured out.” We may experience grief when this happens. Acceptance may be the only option.

Share your stories, and hear other’s stories, and watch our troupe play back your stories.

Where: Champlain fieldhouse, 140 Carleton Ave. Ottawa, entrance on Cowley Avenue between Clearview and Pontiac St.

When: Friday, December 8, 2023, 7 pm

Doors open at 6:30

Donations appreciated.

Home Sharing Experiences

A Master’s student from McGill University’s School of Urban Design is looking for homeowners willing to talk about home sharing arrangements in Ottawa (Basement suites, laneway homes) for a research project. He’s looking for homeowners who support the practice (or not) and those who have had experience with it.

The project is being done with the Ottawa Climate Action Fund in an effort to create more affordable, carbon-friendly housing alternatives. The interviews will add input from Ottawa home owners into future projects.

It involves a 30-minute discussion via Zoom. They hope to do the interviews by the end of November. Those interested should contact Gavin Armitage-Ackerman at: gavin.armitage-ackerman@mail.mcgill.ca

Home Improvement Loans from the City

The Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program is a municipal program, delivered in partnership with EnviroCentre, provides loans from the City of Ottawa directly to homeowners to undertake energy efficiency and climate resiliency home improvements. More details on the program can be found on the Better Homes Ottawa website.

The City will be hosting a pair of online information sessions providing an overview of this program, as well as the other rebate and financial support programs available to homeowners supporting environmental home improvements. Information and registration via Zoom can be found at the links below.

November 2nd from 12 to 1pm
November 7th from 7 to 8:30pm

Also see the city’s web site about the project at:
https://ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/environment-conservation-and-climate/climate-change-and-energy/better-homes-ottawa

National Tree Day Garden Tour – September 20

via Daniel Buckles:

Join pollinator specialist Jessica Forest and ethnobotanist John Arnason for a tour of the Champlain Park gardens and mini-forests, to celebrate the connections between trees and pollinators in urban settings. 4-6 pm, Wednesday September 20. Location and registration here:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/national-tree-day-celebrating-pollinators-and-the-urban-forest-tickets-717289410937

[Champlain Park Pollinator Garden in September 2023 after a wet summer]

Hamlet in Our Park! – July 21

Coming to Champlain Park on Friday July 21 2023 at 7:00 PM…

You’re Invited
Theatre in the Park
90 Minutes of Mayhem
Original Music
6 Live Actors
and
A Supporting Cast of Cartoonish Puppets
All are welcome. Pay what you can

Our Champlain Park Community Association is supplying free cookies at the cookie table between 5:30 and 6:30 PM.

[Poster for Hamlet in Champlain Park 2023]
20230721 Fools Hamlet Poster.pdf

For more about the play and the performers and the digital programme, please see https://fools.ca/hamlet/

If there’s rain, see https://fools.ca/rain-policy/ for when the show goes on (and bring an umbrella).