Herongate Call for Gardening Donations – March 20

Our environment people work on the “bring your own tools” model for our projects (we don’t have storage space), but we do welcome donations of soil, rocks, leaves in the fall, money, etc. to Champlain Park projects. However, we’re happy to encourage the Herongate people in their gardening work, so if you have some extra old tools…

Subject: Call for gardening donations
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2022 15:35:51 +0000 (UTC)
From: Herongate Tenant Coalition <herongatetc@gmail.com>
To: Champlain Park Community Association <champlainpark@gmail.com>

Dear Champlain Park Community Association,
Please share far and wide with your members in Ottawa!

Do you have gardening supplies like tools, stakes, or seeds lying around you aren’t using anymore? Support Herongate gardeners by dropping off gardening supplies on Sunday, March 20th between 10:00 AM and 5:00 PM at the corner of Baycrest Drive and Cedarwood Drive.
Continue reading “Herongate Call for Gardening Donations – March 20” →

Neighbourhood Watch Bulletin for 2022-03-14

HATE CRIMES UP

A hate crime is a criminal offence committed against a person or property which is motivated by hate/bias or prejudice based on race, national or ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, or other similar factor. Hate Crimes create fear and mistrust which can deeply impact our community.

Today, the Ottawa Police Service Hate and Bias Crime Unit released its 2021 annual statistics that show an increase of 43.6% for reported hate-motivated incidents. “This is a troubling trend considering not all hate-motivated incidents are reported to police,” said Ottawa Police Sgt. Ali Toghrol
Continue reading “Neighbourhood Watch Bulletin for 2022-03-14” →

Blasting at Tunney’s Pasture

Just so you know what’s making that loud thump noise every few hours, and other sound effects, we received this message from Steph at councillor Jeff Leiper’s office…

With help from Yasir’s office, our message got through to the government team overseeing the construction at the heating/cooling plant at Tunney’s currently. We asked about the work, to be sure, and any ways to get a timeline/notifications on the work. Here’s the response we got:

“From now until the end of March 2022, the construction team will be conducting controlled blasts at the site on weekdays from 8:00 to 4:00 Monday to Thursday and from 8:00 to 1:00 on Fridays. There will be no more than one per hour. From time to time there may be hoe ramming done on site as well to break up rock.

Members of the public interested in learning more about the ESAP project or asking us a question by email should visit https://nationalcapitaldistrictenergy.ca. There is also a contact us page on the site which allows people to ask questions directly to the construction team.”

I would suggest those with concerns get directly in contact with them through that page. I suspect the major disruption is coming from the hoe-ramming, in addition to the blasting. I know our power is limited in a project like this, but I nonetheless wanted to pass on the information to you and neighbours as soon as we got it.

Talk on Depaving, Building a Forest and Pollinator Garden – March 10

Thursday, March 10th – Daniel Buckles, of Champlain Park, will outline how the community turned a paved street into a model forest and a pollinator garden. The project won the 2020 award from the Society for Organic Urban LandCare in recognition of its benefits to local wildlife, the urban forest and public engagement.

[Pollinator Garden June 24, 2021]

Join the Riverview Park Community Association on Zoom for a virtual presentation from 7:00pm – 8:00pm on the date shown above. Each presentation will be followed by a short Q & A. To attend, please register by sending a message to forpgsottawa@gmail.com A link to the Zoom meeting will be mailed out to all registered participants a day before each session.

Their community association: https://riverviewparkca.com/
FORPGS stands for Friends of Riverview Park Green Spaces. They’re on Facebook.
The event was also mentioned in the Riverview Park Review – February 2022.

[Pontiac street rubble and stone dug up, ready for planting a small forest]

Coyote Seminar – March 7

Going along with the recent coyote sightings in the neighbourhood, our city councillor Jeff Leiper’s newsletter has notice of a seminar that may be useful:

Living With Coyotes seminar March 7

Very timely in light of a few notes I’ve received concerning coyote spottings particularly in the Champlain Park and Westboro Beach areas, my colleague Councillor Dudas is hosting a virtual information night on March 7 about coyotes in the urban area. Read a little bit more here and RSVP for the session by writing to laura.dudas@ottawa.ca.

[Coyote standing and staring sideways at you]

Community Association Board Meeting Agenda – March 3

Agenda

Champlain Park Community Association (CPCA) Board Meeting

Thursday March 3, 2022
7:30 PM via Google Meet
Everybody Welcome

Board meetings will have an open session for community residents to observe business discussions. Non board community members will also be invited to participate at certain times by the chair and there will be “in camera” topics for the board members only. Please contact the secretary via champlainpark@gmail.com to request a link to join the meeting.

Open session

  1. Approval of minutes of Jan 10, 2022 – Liz
  2. Report of interim motions – all
    • Doodle Result for Minutes: Royal Mental Hygiene Challenge- To post – carried
  3. Website Posting Guidelines – Carol – (Information – 10 minutes)
  4. Financial : Renewal of GIC – Dave – (Decision – 5 minutes)
  5. Discussion on various Policies: – Lynne – (Information/Decision – 25 minutes)
    1. CPCA Board members attending external organization meetings: When are we reps for CPCA vs. reps for other organizations or participation as independent members; how to interact with the CPCA Board as a CPCA rep – Lynne
    2. Delegated Authority for CPCA input on technical items such as zoning; how to interact with the CPCA Board – Lynne
    3. CPCA signing of Contracts: “The Devil is in the Detail” – Lynne
  6. Writing a letter to the City re rink renewal – Liz (decision, 5 minutes)
  7. Other Business
  8. Next Meeting

Agenda last updated at 22:16 on March 1st.

The Royal Mental Hygiene Challenge

From https://mailchi.mp/theroyal/mental-hygiene-challenge, #MentalHygieneChallenge

Joining us is easy! Just take 10 minutes every day throughout March 2022 to do simple, research-based activities that support your mental health. These 10 minutes can be done all at once, or broken up into shorter intervals – it’s up to you!

It’s fun, it’s free, and no special equipment or skills are needed.

Sign up below and you’ll receive:

  • a list of mental hygiene practices that are easy to do, recommended by mental health experts at The Royal
  • a free digital calendar to track your progress
  • links to helpful resources and how-to videos
  • an invitation to our virtual launch event on March 1 to help inspire and motivate you!

The goal here, of course, is to see how you feel after 31 days of practice. And who knows? The small changes you make might be the beginning of a big boost for your mental wellness.

Also see The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre Facebook Group for the Challenge.

Here is a nugget of information from their Good hygiene for your mental health article:

Start your own your mental hygiene practice today

Guillaume Tremblay recommends spending at least ten minutes every day doing one of the following activities. (Pro tip: if you choose an activity you enjoy – and do it at a time that fits your schedule – you are much more likely to stick with it over the long term.)

  • Meditation or mindfulness exercises (there are many free apps and podcasts to guide you)
  • Focused deep breathing
  • “Prosocial” prayer (with themes of thanksgiving, praying for others, gratitude)
  • Journaling (writing about positive experiences or expressing gratitude)
  • A walk in a natural setting

You can also combine activities, such as taking a walk in the woods while thinking about the things for which you are grateful or listening to an “eyes open” mindfulness meditation. As Tremblay writes: “These kinds of deliberate and intentional exercises foster cognitive patterns conducive to well-being.”