Champlain Park Winter Trail Donation

The Champlain Park Community Association has donated $500 to support the Kichi Sibi Winter Trail. It fits several of our community goals, from being a welcoming neighbourhood to civic engagement. It’s nice to see the trail being used to such a great extent by our neighbours and the larger community of Ottawa.

The recent path extension to Scott street gives easier access. Some houses on Northwestern have garden gates that lead directly to the trail, possibly something real estate agents would like to mention. 🙂 For the rest of us, the trail conveniently threads through the rinks in our park and has a turn-around loop at the Champlain Park fieldhouse, though that would be more useful after COVID has abated when we can open the fieldhouse changing room.

[Presentation of the Champlain Park Community Association donation cheque to Dave Adams of the Kichi Sibi Winter Trail]
Presentation of the Champlain Park Community Association donation cheque to Dave Adams of the Kichi Sibi Winter Trail. Left to right: Kris Phillips (our local shovel elf), Dave Adams (trail founder) and Adrian Bradley (our local trail maintainer). Note the Trail Heads team t-shirts they’re wearing. Some of our Champlain Park rinks are in the background.
[Big cheque leaning on business end of the grooming equipment]
The $500 donation cheque leaning on the business end of the grooming equipment. In person that bright LED light is quite blinding, but then it’s needed for night grooming. You just have to go and flatten the snow when conditions demand it.
[Grooming equipment, new skidoo #3 made possible by donations]
Some serious grooming equipment, new skidoo #3, and the somewhat expensive gasoline supply are made possible by donations. Champlain Park Puddle Rink is in the background.

Occupation and Hintonburg

From the Hintonburg Community Association via Jeff Leiper’s newsletter #297:

In the last week we have heard some very troubling reports of residents in Hintonburg being harassed on the street and feeling unsafe. We were made aware of incidents Thursday & Friday at our primary schools.

Since Tuesday the Hintonburg Community Association has started some evening walks in the community and Friday we had a presence near each of our primary schools. We are providing extra eyes on the street and a quiet presence on the street at certain times of the day with our Walks for Safety.

If you have some time to help for an hour or so over the next few weeks, we would appreciate your help. Please contact the HCA at info@hintonburg.com.

If you witness or are aware of any illegal activity being committed by convoy participants or organizers, please report them to the following: Police 613-236-1222, x7502 (dispatch); x5015 (Hate crime hotline); x7300 (file a report); ottawapolice.ca. Call 311 for any by-law issues.

How to become Carbon Neutral

Champlain Park and climate change – how to become carbon neutral and climate-resilient

Local impacts of climate change

Champlain Park is feeling the impacts of climate change already, for example there is increased extreme weather such as hotter summers, more ice storms and icy sidewalks, more freeze-thaw cycles, more extreme rainfall and river flooding, increased vector-born pests such as ticks carrying lime disease in our woods and the spread of the emerald ash borer and of course there are impacts on our vegetation and wildlife as the climate gets hotter.

Want to do your part for the climate and be carbon neutral and climate-resilient?

All of us can do our part, so in addition to ensuring that your elected officials know that climate change is a priority and encouraging governments and companies to take action every individual can take direct action to lower their own carbon footprint.

Here’s some tips on how to get there. Your carbon footprint essentially comes from 3 things: from the heating and electricity for your house, how you get around and what you buy. Generally options include being more energy efficient and/or switching away from fossil fuels (natural gas, oil, gas) to electricity for heating/transportation.
Continue reading “How to become Carbon Neutral” →

Carlington Community Health Centre Nominations

via Heather…

Subject: Call for Nominations
Date: Fri, 4 Feb 2022 16:05:28 +0000
From: Communications <communications@carlingtonchc.org>

Carlington Community Health Centre’s Governance & Internal Affairs Committee has put out a call for nominations for candidates for election to the Board of Directors at our AGM in June.
Continue reading “Carlington Community Health Centre Nominations” →

Neighbours for Tunney’s Winter Trail Questionaire

The Neighbours for Tunney’s group (http://www.neighboursfortunneys.ca/) have posted their own news about the Scott Street connection (our article) to the Kichi Sibi Winter Trail. Of note is a short survey (do you like it, keep it?) at the end:

Greetings Neighbours for Tunney’s e-list,

–and welcome to 2022! It’s cold and snowy out there and we want to share news about the new winter trail connection through Tunney’s Pasture–submit your feedback! We’d also like to highlight the City’s Transportation Master Plan and opportunities to engage.

Now Open: The team heading up the Kìchì Sìbì Winter Trail (formerly the SJAM Winter Trail) has announced the opening of its new Scott St Connector at Tunney’s Pasture!

This newest groomed addition to the winter trail network is located along the tree-lined western edge of the Tunney’s Pasture site–establishing a new formal trailhead near Scott St. & Sir Frederick Banting Driveway. *See map image attached. This provides much improved Ottawa River trail connectivity for the Wellington Village neighbourhood to the south of Scott St., as well as to the Tunney’s Pasture LRT station and the southern end of the Champlain Park community.

The Neighbours for Tunney’s group finds this to be an inspiring example of cooperation between many different players and stakeholders including: Tunney’s Pasture site maintenance; our local Member of Parliament (Yasir Naqvi); our Member of Provincial Parliament (Joel Harden); and our City Councillor (Jeff Leiper); as well as neighbours living along this new route. We hope that this is a sign of things to come as we continue to encourage broad-ranging partnerships and community involvement in the redevelopment of Tunney’s Pasture as a vibrant, connected and sustainable new community for all to enjoy.

Thoughts on the new Kichi Sibi Winter Trail Connector at Tunney’s Pasture?

Take this informal 3-Question survey
*Feedback is anonymous but will be shared with residents and Ward representatives

On a related note, Neighbours for Tunney’s encourages residents to participate in the City of Ottawa’s (Draft) Transportation Master Plan engagements. […]

Annual General Meeting – February 1

Champlain Park Community Association Annual General Meeting

Tuesday, February 1, 2022, 7:00 PM

Virtual Meeting by Zoom

To attend the meeting please register at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_daEgrV3MRdeR86w9hkV0WA

Everybody Welcome

Nominations

If anyone is interested in running for a position on the CPCA board, please contact Lynne Bankier via champlainpark@gmail.com.

Executive Officers
Co-Chair Co-Chair 1 champlainpark@gmail.com
Co-Chair Heather Pearl hptek20@teksavvy.com
Vice-chair Vacant
Secretary Liz Gyalokay champlainpark@gmail.com
Treasurer Dave Harding champlainpark@gmail.com

Board Members

Most of the following positions are Committee Coordinators:
FCA Representative Richard Lochead rlochead@sympatico.ca
Communications Carol Arnason arnasoncarol@gmail.com
Environment Kris Phillips kriscpca@gmail.com
Fieldhouse Laurie Fagan lauriefagan59@gmail.com
Membership Jennie Hornosty Jennie.Hornosty@gmail.com
Planning and Zoning Heather Pearl hptek20@teksavvy.com
Social Convenor Nick Xenos chparkevents@yahoo.com
Member at Large Michael Cheng cheng12@sympatico.ca
Member at Large Josh Bizjak tjbizjak@gmail.com
Member at Large Vacant

Agenda

  1. Chair: Nick Xenos
  2. Guest Speaker: David Wise, City of Ottawa, Planner and Program Manager, Zoning Unit (30 minutes)
  3. Financial Report from CPCA Finance Committee: Dave Harding (10 minutes)
  4. Election of Board for 2022: Nick Xenos (10 minutes)
  5. Report from City Councillor: Jeff Leiper (30 minutes)
  6. Business Items:
    1. Approval of minutes of previous AGM 27 Jan 2021: Liz Gyalokay (2 minutes, see Minutes.pdf)
    2. Reports from the 20-21 Board (5 minutes each)
      1. Planning and Zoning – Heather Pearl (P&Z Report.pdf, Climate Change.pdf)
      2. Environment – Kris Phillips (Environment Recap.pdf)
      3. Rink Update – Dan Wilcock
      4. Communications – Carol Arnason
      5. Membership – Jennie Hornosty
      6. Social – Nick Xenos
      7. Civic Engagement – Roland Dorsay
      8. Thanks to departing board members – Nick Xenos
    3. Call for volunteers – Lynne Bankier (5 minutes)
    4. Other Business
    5. Adjournment

Poster

[Poster for the Annual General Meeting]
AGM Poster 2022.pdf

🌳 Cracks in a Linden Tree 🌲

From Daniel Buckles and Heather Pearl…

There is a crack, a crack in everything;
That’s how the light gets in.
(Leonard Cohen, Anthem)

Frigid temperatures. A “forever” Pandemic. Sometimes it’s hard to see the light. But it’s there. Days are getting longer. Spring is creeping closer. And sooner than we think, it will be time to plant trees.

The other day a neighbour asked us to look at a large European Linden tree in his yard. A deep, wide crack, the length of its trunk, had opened. Ever the opportunist, a squirrel now occupied the spot where the crack opens at the meeting of three main branches.

[Picture of a bulky Linden Tree trunk with a crack going all the way up]

The tree may need to come down, if it presents a hazard to people or property. Its much-loved summer shade will be missed, but with the light, will come the chance to plant two or three new trees. Native species would be best, less susceptible than European Lindens to the extremes of our local climate and better suited to offer food and habitat for native birds, mammals and insects.

The Champlain Park Community Association has the Trees in Champlain Park program to help: https://champlainpark.org/ticp/ticp-home/

Trees provide shade and interest, to our homes and to our streets. If you have a tree in your yard that is nearing its end of life, we can help you plan for and find a “succession tree” that can establish itself before the older tree needs to be removed.  If you have an open space, whether it’s small, or under hydro lines, or more roomy, we can suggest the right tree species for your space. For more information contact Daniel Buckles (dbuckles@sas2.net) and Heather Pearl (hptek20@teksavvy.com).