River Parkway Renaming Stories – May 10

Join us and share your stories about the parkway

As you may know, the National Capital Commission (NCC) is proceeding with a proposal to rename the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway (the parkway) through an Indigenous naming and engagement exercise.

Now is your chance to contribute. We want to hear your stories about the parkway, the river, and surrounding areas.

Join us in person to share your stories and memories about the area and to learn more about the engagement exercise that is currently underway with Indigenous communities to find a name for the parkway. Your stories will be featured in a summary report and may inform a future interpretation plan for the area, including the parkway and riverfront park.

Details and Registration

Running All Candidates Meetings

K-Ward All Candidates Volunteers

Engagement Opportunity! Join the Kitchissippi Elections Working Group and Help Make Ward 15 Elections Debates Happen

A group of volunteers from Kitchissippi (Ward 15) community associations have for years ensured that Federal, Provincial and Municipal All-Candidates Debates were organized for this Ward. The quiet period between elections is a great time for people to join them and learn the ropes. Please click the link below for details:

https://hintonburg.com/join-the-ward-working-group-for-elections-debates-help-make-these-important-events-happen/

Poster.pdf

ONCA Webinar – May 13

Ontario Not For Profits Corporation Act Webinar

Compliments of Judith Shane, please see attached poster for upcoming 13 May webinar on the Ontario Not For Profits Corporation Act.

ONCA 2023 Poster.pdf

Also see http://fca-fac.ca/2023/04/onca-webinar/ for background documents and registration.

Update from Neighbours for Tunney’s

Tunney’s Pasture Redevelopment: Update from Neighbours for Tunney’s

Neighbours for Tunney’s (NFT) compiled a list of residents’ questions on the status of the Tunney’s Pasture redevelopment project and submitted it to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and Canada Lands Company (CLC). Questions ranged from specific ones about the ongoing demolition and reconstruction activity to those about future provision of greenspace and traffic management studies. The answers provided by the Canada Lands Company are included at the end of this post.

To stay informed, visit the Engage website at: https://engage.clc-sic.ca/tunney-s-pasture-vision-to-reality.

To join Neighbours for Tunney’s, click this link: http://www.neighboursfortunneys.ca/, on the Wellington Village Community Association website, then follow the instructions on the page, after the bolded line “To join our emailing list, please click this link”.

Please feel free to contact Heather Pearl at hptek20@teksavvy.com if you wish additional information.

See all the pages of questions here: NFT to PSPC&CL Q&A 202303.pdf

Spring Cleanup 2023 – May 6

Nope, nope, way too rainy this final weekend of April (April showers?). We’ve decided to move spring cleanup to the following week. Sorry for the confusion.

Time to limber up and to get ready to stoop, scoop, lunge and squat our way to a cleaner community!

It’s a great way to get some exercise and help make our neighbourhood beautiful at the same time.

When: Saturday May 6^th (in case of rain May 7)

Where: meet outside the Champlain Park fieldhouse at 10am and pick up a garbage bag and gloves. We’ll also provide snacks to tide you over! Children should be accompanied by an adult.

What: Choose a part of the neighbourhood and pick up any garbage you see and make our neighbourhood clean and beautiful. Dispose of the garbage bag with your normal household garbage/recycling/composting.

Spring cleanup CPCA 2023 poster v2.pdf

SJAM River Parkway Closure – April 27

From https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/closures/closure-sir-john-a-macdonald-parkway-april-may-2023-pspc it looks like the river road will be closed past Parkdale for a few days for construction work, until Monday. The map also shows the pedestrian and bike paths closed due to flooding.

2023 Champlain Park Chess Tournament

Join the 3rd annual tournament of the Champlain Park Chess League for the Spring/summer 2023. A ladder format will be used, so sign up, then challenge a neighbour to a game of online chess (many online sites exist) and move up the ladder ranking. Top four players will then play off at the end of summer to crown the champion. Congrats to Vitaly who won last year!

To sign up, email Nick at chparkevents@yahoo.com

Rules:

To move up the ladder you can challenge any player above you or anyone anywhere below you. If you win you switch ranks with them on the ladder.
To challenge someone, send them an email and choose your chess online website to play (i.e. chess.com). You can choose to play with time limits or not or any other format agreed upon by both players. If there is no agreement then the higher ranked player chooses the format. If the opposing player does not play their turn within 5 days then they default the game (unless both sides agreed to take a break or allow longer).
If someone is not playing anyone and turns down 3 challenges in a row then they automatically go to the bottom of the ladder.
Top four ranked players in the ladder who have played at least 5 games on Oct 1 will play a tournament. Format will be #1 plays #4 and #2 plays #3 – in a one-game winner goes to final format. Final 2 winners play each other in a best of 3 final tournament (first one who wins 2 games). The winner of the best of 3 final is crowned the Champlain Park Chess Champion of 2023!

Spring Naturehood Bird Walks

Upcoming Naturehood Outings

Spring Bird Walks

Date: Friday mornings (May 5 – 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, the feathered migrants have begun to arrive! Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Eastern Phoebes and Chipping Sparrows have added their voices to the morning chorus and they will soon be joined by a colourful kaleidoscope of warblers.

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, if you have one.

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.”

Planting Spots Available

Room to Bloom

Calling all gardeners (or wannabees)!

Have you noticed the large concrete planters at the north end of Champlain Park? You know the ones, they block off the de-paved section of Pontiac by the Environment Committee’s Pollinator Garden and its forest terraces.

These planters are planted and tended annually by some very avid gardeners, some of whom may also happen to be your neighbours. This year, some planters remain available, and we are looking for someone to fill them with some wonderful colours or greenery.

As the adoptive parent of a planter, you would be responsible for filling it with non-invasive herbs, vegetables, or colourful flowers, and then tending it for the season.

Please reach out to Alexandra at alexandra@evershed.ca if you are interested.

Thank you for helping make our community just a little greener. Every action helps!

Champlain Park Environment Committee

The Champlain Park Environment Team Needs YOU!

The ‘green season’ is once again upon us and we need your help to care for and advance the environmental work we’re doing in our neighbourhood. We’ve got activities that suit all ages, physical / skill ability ranges, and energy levels! If you like ‘low tech’, and love trees, then we’ve got what you’re looking for.

All you have to do is register with us (https://champlainpark.org/environteers/) and then you will be free to work when you want, on any project we’ve got, for as long as you like – 5 mins or 5 weeks, we have a spot for you!

We’ll provide the coordination, an orientation session, and a ‘report back’ contact so we can track what is getting done. It’s almost too easy.

Some activities planned for this season in Champlain Woods and Champlain Park include:

‘Adopt a Tree’ care program (May/June-spongy moth countermeasures featuring the ‘burlap wrap’ in the Park)
Invasive plant species control (garlic mustard, baby buckthorn, Japanese knotwood, dog strangling vine, etc)
Insect pest patrol
Watering and general care of planting sites and the pollinator garden
New tree planting projects

To get involved, just go to the “Environ-teer Registration” link noted above. Once registered you will begin receiving notices about orientation sessions, work party updates, and any tasks that may require immediate attention. From that point, you are free to chip-in to our projects when you’re able.

Minors are welcome to participate – parental/guardian permission and supervision are currently required at the time/location of participation.

We look forward to seeing you. Have a great summer!

The Champlain Park Enviro Team