The Federation of Citizens’ Associations of Ottawa-Carleton is holding a public information forum about the Emerald Ash Borer (which destroys Ash trees) on October 9th from 6pm at the Overbrook Community Centre.

Please see the attached PDF document for details: Emerald Ash Borer forum 20121009.pdf

Interested in lowering your carbon footprint? In using greener energy? Following up on the good OREC article posted on the community website, I wanted to suggest a few other ways you can go green on energy and lower your carbon footprint:

• The most cost-efficient way is of course to lower your energy usage. There is a good website (switchhop.com) that is free and can help you monitor your energy use throughout the day and compare you to your friends. This gives you a good sense of what you use and when you use it (keep in mind peak rates) so that you can make smart choices about electricity use. Some other helpful sites on energy conservation:
  • http://ottawa.ca/en/env_water/green_living/household/home_energy/index.html
  • http://www.hydroottawa.com/residential/saveonenergy/?lang=e&template_id=673
• Another very affordable option is to use Bullfrog (http://www.bullfrogpower.com/). Bullfrog provides green renewable energy to the Ontario grid. If you sign up with them you don`t need to change anything – you basically estimate (on their site, very easy or use your hydro bill) how much energy you use (electricity and natural gas or other) and then pay them an additional amount per month for them to insert that much green energy into the Ontario grid thereby offsetting your carbon emissions.
  Considering that about 25% of our electricity comes from fossil fuels you only need to pay Bullfrog to offset 25% of your electricity usage to be carbon neutral. Depending on your finances you can offset part or all, whatever you can afford. For as little as 20$-40$ per month you can be carbon neutral in your energy usage (they can offset both electricity and natural gas).
• Two of the other options we are seeing more and more of (but require a bigger investment up front) are putting solar panels on your roof via the micfoFIT program (http://microfit.powerauthority.on.ca/) and using geothermal for heating your home (which is particularly interesting if you need to replace your oil or gas furnace).

Also to note, we are working with other neighbourhoods on an energy challenge, where we can compete between neighbourhoods to see who can lower their energy usage the most. Stay tuned, more details will be posted on the web site and on the listserv.

Good luck on lowering your carbon emissions and doing your part to fight climate change!

-nk
Nick Xenos
Champlain Park Community Association Environment Coordinator

Dear neighbours,

Thanks to the efforts of squirrels and the stewardship of Daniel Buckles, we have four bur oak saplings that are ready to be planted. The acorns were overwintered in pots that sat outdoors and the saplings have now matured to the point where they can be planted. (see attached photo of the four sisters).

This morning, the City of Ottawa agreed to allow Daniel to plant two of the bur oak saplings on the median (boulevard) on Northwestern Ave. to replace two city-planted bur oaks that died in recent months. Those trees had been planted last year by the city but were sourced from a nursery, not from the local trees in the neighbourhood.

Our plans to celebrate National Tree Day [learn more here: http://www.treecanada.ca/national-tree-day/pages.php?lang=en&page=home] in Champlain Park include getting school children involved in the planting of bur oaks. I’ll keep you posted on this as plans develop–and I welcome your suggestions and ideas. However, since only two trees can be planted on the NW Ave. median, we have two more bur oaks looking for a home.

Would you be interested in planting a baby bur oak on your property? If so, we can make one available to you and arrange to plant it on National Tree Day–Wednesday Sept. 26. The space where it is planted should be away from hydro lines or overhangs. These trees grow to be very tall and sturdy. Here at the northern edge of the species range, they can live for 300 years. The largest and oldest of the bur oaks in Champlain Park are 180 years or older.

Please contact the keeper of the trees: Daniel Buckles dbuckles@sympatico.ca or phone him at 613-722-8048.

Sincerely, Debra

Debra Isabel Huron
www.debrahuron.com

Here’s some information about the Emerald Ash Borer beetle in Ottawa. The original post seems to be from http://saveourashtrees.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/city-hall-and-residents-must-act-now-to-save-ash-trees-3/

– Alex

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From: Heather Pearl
Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2012 13:04:07 -0400 (EDT)

Greenspace Alliance notice re: Ash Trees that should be of interest to residents. I suggest that we post it on our web site.

Heather

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From: erwin_dreessen@ncf.ca
Sent: 22/07/2012 12:53:26 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: FW: City Hall and Residents must act now to save ash trees – Greenspace Alliance media release

GREENSPACE ALLIANCE OF CANADA’S CAPITAL
EMERALD ASH BORER WORKING GROUP
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

City Hall and Residents must act now to save ash trees

OTTAWA, July 22 — On July 11th the City of Ottawa issued a news release announcing that City Council had approved an additional $1 million for 2012 to increase the treatment of ash trees and the planting of new trees in efforts to combat the emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation. Mayor Jim Watson was quoted as saying: “Thanks to the additional funds approved by Council today, we have the resources to be even more proactive.” The Greenspace Alliance of Canada’s Capital hails the news, as it had been urging the City for over two months to save many more ash trees through a more aggressive treatment program. There are only six more weeks left to apply the treatment in 2012.

However, at a meeting with City staff on July 13th, it became apparent to us that the issue is not being addressed with the urgency that is required, given that the window for treatment closes on August 31st.The Alliance is calling on the City to allocate at least three-quarters of the $1 million toward additional TreeAzin treatments. “$750,000 could save an additional 3000 trees,” says Sol Shuster, chair of the Alliance’s EAB Working Group.

Paul Bolan, Vice-President and Operations Manager at BioForest Technologies, Canada’s producer of TreeAzin, agrees. “TreeAzin has proven efficacy against emerald ash borer when ash tree injections are performed from early June until the end of August,” he says. “There are currently ten (10) tree care companies in Ottawa that provide tree injection services using TreeAzin so there is ample capacity in the industry should the City of Ottawa choose to allocate additional financial resources to protect high-value ash trees from EAB.”

“The City has indicated it will reveal the details of its plan on how it will spend this $1 million when it informs members of Council sometime in August,” says Shuster. “This suggests little sense of urgency to take advantage of the narrow window of opportunity to treat more trees. There will be a public outcry if thousands of ash trees die and are cut down while they could have been saved through swift emergency action. Mayor Watson needs to direct staff to do as many treatments as possible before the August 31 deadline, not only by increasing the existing contract but also by adding other contractors.”

The Alliance also urges residents to seize the opportunity to save more of the city’s ash trees in the six weeks remaining in the season. The City is allowing residents to pay for treatment of City-owned trees themselves. Call 311 for more information. To inform residents about what they can do to save ash trees on private property, the Alliance has launched a new web site at www.saveourashtrees.ca. It includes Questions and Answers and a list of service providers in the Ottawa region.

If Ottawa residents want to save ash trees on their property or on adjacent City land, they need to hire a licensed service provider. Communities and neighbours are encouraged to get together to obtain a bulk rate and more efficient service. If not treated this summer, thousands of City and private ash trees will die by next spring. “Treatment is more cost-effective than removing and replacing mature trees with saplings, even before you factor in the many health and ecological benefits of trees,” says Shuster.

On average, the cost of treating ash trees with TreeAzin is about $250 per tree and is good for two years. “Treatments are a necessary stopgap measure,” says EAB working group member Meg Sears. “Experts indicate that most probably treatment will need to be continued for only 6-10 years. Scientific research in the US and Canada into insect biocontrols for EAB is showing promise, with parasitoid (tiny, stingless) wasps successfully overwintering and killing EAB. A fungal pathogen is another possibility.”

For a list of local TreeAzin service providers and more information on the emerald ash borer beetle, visit: www.saveourashtrees.ca

Additional information, including a poster suitable for neighbourhood distribution, is available at www.greenspace-alliance.ca/EAB.

For information on treating a City-owned tree, please call 311 or go to the City’s EAB web site section at www.ottawa.ca/en/env_water/tlg/trees/preservation/eab/.

– 30 –

Media contacts:

Sol Shuster, Chair, Greenspace Alliance EAB Working Group
sshuster@magma.ca, (613) 276-7496

Meg Sears
megsears@ncf.ca, (613) 297-6042

Louisa Coates (in French), (613) 894-7651

UPDATE: The first share offering closed Aug 27 and succeeded amazingly. It overshot it’s $500k target, reaching in excess of $900k! There will be more opportunities to come in the future.

Have you been wanting to get involved in solar power but don’t have a sunny roof? Want to shift your long term investments into local, green investment options? You can do just that through the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-op (OREC).

I found out about OREC through Ecology Ottawa and I’m investing because I want to support more green energy use and generation in Ottawa and because OREC have signed agreements and approvals.

The Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative officially launched their investment opportunities on June 16th at the Ottawa Solar Fair, meaning that there is now, for the first time in Ottawa, an opportunity to invest in a community-owned solar power project in Ottawa. There are only a few co-ops in Ontario taking similar initiatives and Ottawa’s co-op is one of the farthest along.

The investments are through preference shares which sell for a minimum of $5000 and pay out dividends of approximately 5% for 20 years, along with a return of the capital. Only members can invest; all Ottawa residents are welcome to join as members for a $100 per person one time fee. To find out more about the co-op, go to www.ottawarenewablenergycoop.ca or email ottawacommunityenergy@gmail.com.

Charles
(your Ecology Ottawa rep in Champlain Park)