Speak out on cuts to transit and more in city budget
The City of Ottawa's draft 2010 budget has been released and public consultations are underway.
The draft budget shows considerable improvement over previous years' budgets in certain areas, such as cycling infrastructure and energy efficiency improvements to buildings. Unfortunately, other environmentally beneficial programs and services —have already been marked for deep cuts or elimination.
Council needs to hear from us before they finalize the budget during the last week of January!
For more details on the draft budget and how you can speak up, click here.
Tired of just hugging trees?
Come out to Low-Impact Love, Ecology Ottawa's speed dating event, and meet other singles who care about the environment! Two separate events will be held: Monday, February 8th and Thursday, February 11th, both at Raw Sugar Café (692 Somerset St. W.). Doors open at 7:00 pm and dating starts at 7:30 sharp. The age range for these events is 25-40. You'll be able to purchase drinks, and we'll provide you with some free tasty treats to sweeten your evening.
How it works: There will be 30 participants each night, who will be paired off for 6-minute sessions each, then rotated, for 15 separate "dates". At the end of the night, turn in your form indicating which ones piqued your interest, and Ecology Ottawa will contact you with your matches the next day!
The cost of the evening is $20 (or $35 for both nights if you care to double your luck!). To register, please email info@ecologyottawa.ca by February 3rd. Be sure to include your name and the date(s) you will be attending. Places will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis, so don't dawdle!
For more information, contact Sabrina at info@ecologyottawa.ca or (613) 860-5353.
Please note: This is the first time we have tried an event like this and have therefore decided to keep it limited in size and scope in terms of demographics and orientation. If you are in a different age range or seeking a same-sex match, we would love to hear from you! If there is sufficient interest will gladly host more green speed dating events.
City council fails to make the grade on environment
Ecology Ottawa released its annual report card on the environmental performance of Ottawa's mayor and city councillors. In this year's report, seven council members scored D or lower -- including Mayor O'Brien, who received a failing grade.
The report reviews 14 key environmental decisions made by council over the past year and assigns a grade to the mayor and each councillor based on the votes he or she cast.
Thank you to everyone who came out to support us at this year's annual dinner, entitled "Building Community Power." The sold-out event, held at Christ Church Cathedral hall was a resounding success, with over 200 attendees. Thank you to our table sponsors Deloitte, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, Oxfam, EnviroCentre, Stratos, and World Wildlife Fund/Canadian Boreal Initiative.
Thanks as well to our generous sponsors who donated food, prizes, and more: Cocoa Camino, Bridgehead, The Table Restaurant, Market Organics, Maitland Massage, Mountain Goat Yoga, Metro supermarket, Loblaws supermarket, Beechwood Village Chiropractic Centre, Mayfair Theatre, Katimavik Ottawa, Bytowne Cinema, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Wild Oat, Shafali's Kitchen, Absinthe, Auntie Loo's, Rinag Foods, The Green Door, Bullfrog Power, Ottawa Folk Festival, the Otesha Project, Byward Market BIA, Kelly Craig/Shine Group, Ottawa Senators, Dance with Alana Studio.
Special thanks to our musical entertainment, The 7 Swaras and The Brothers Chaffey
We can't wait to see you next year!
Community Leadership Award winners announced
We had many excellent nominations for our inaugural Ecology Ottawa Community Leadership Awards. It is great to see so much excellent work happening for the local environment. The award winners for 2009 are:
Community Leader of the Year: Rebecca Aird
High School of the Year: Gisèle Lalonde High School
Green Team of the Year: Beechwood Village Chiropractic Centre
Ecology Ottawa Volunteer of the Year (tied): Josh Snider and Andrew Hawryshkewich
If you haven't familiarized yourself with this great local resource for energy conservation, do so today!
You can take advantage of the federal-provincial ecoEnergy rebate program to audit and upgrade your home's energy efficiency by booking an audit with The EnviroCentre online at http://www.envirocentre.ca.
The EnviroCentre also offers:
Free energy-efficiency goods and services for low-income households
An ecoMobility program that helps workplaces facilitate better commuting practices
A retail store where you can buy hard-to-find energy-efficiency products like silent bathroom fans, fireplace draft stoppers, dimmable CFLs, and hot water tank insulating blankets
On Wednesday September 30th, at 7pm, get energy smart! Learn low- to no-cost ways to save on your household energy bills and lower your greenhouse gas emissions.
Seventh Generation Community Projects, working in collaboration with Ecology Ottawa, will be hosting the Get Energy Smart! seminar at the Kanata United Church, 33 Leacock Drive. This seminar is part of a series of events targeting Ottawa residents who would like to make that initial step towards living in a more environmentally sustainable household, but are overwhelmed with information on where and how to get started.
Green your office with the Green Buildings & Workplaces Challenge!
Do you want to make your workplace more environmentally responsible? Sign up for Ecology Ottawa's Green Buildings & Workplaces Challenge!
We're working with Ottawans to promote green teams in their workplaces and other shared buildings(apartment complexes, condos, etc.). We help teams come together to develop and implement action plans that dramatically reduce the ecological footprint of their buildings. Interested participants will receive a tailor-made introductory workshop, resources, advice, and ongoing support and recognition from our staff and volunteers - all for free!
For more details check out our workplace greening webpage here.
Thank you for supporting the Avant-Green! Eco Art Fair and Barbeque
Ecology Ottawa launched the first Avant-Green! Eco Art Fair and Barbecue on Saturday August 15th in Minto Park, and it was a tremendous success!
Ecology Ottawa has released a report assessing the greening efforts of 15 local festivals. The report is based on Ecology Ottawa's second annual survey of festivals, conducted this past spring. It explores the steps being taken by festivals in 2009 to reduce waste, cut emissions from transportation and energy use, provide sustainable food & beverage options, and limit consumption of water, paper, and other materials.
An Ecology Ottawa report released today reveals that developers donated $120,000 to city councillors and the mayor in the last municipal election. This report sheds new light on developer influence at city hall at a crucial moment, with council preparing to re-draw Ottawa's urban boundary in June as part of their revision of the city's official plan.
"It seems large developers and their interests are being put first—ahead of the broader public interest—in key decisions about how our city will grow," says Trevor Haché, Ecology Ottawa steering committee member. "What is most revealing about this report, however, is how widespread the acceptance of political contributions from these influential vested interests is."
Presentation to city on proposed changes to official plan
Ecology Ottawa is warning residents that changes to the city’s official plan that have been proposed by municipal staff would lock Ottawa into sprawling, unsustainable development patterns. The group will present their position Tuesday to the city’s planning and rural affairs committees, who are meeting to review the proposed amendments. The plan goes to city council for approval in May.
For more information, or to read our submission to the city on this plan, clickhere.
City must ramp up measures for green buildings
Ecology Ottawa has released a report that outlines a three-part strategy for the city to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and waste from Ottawa's buildings. Building Ottawa's Energy Revolution: How the City of Ottawa Can Encourage Greener Building Practices calls upon the city to adopt several policies that have been used by other cities to increase environmental standards in new construction.
The Ecology of Ottawa is a booklet and website that show the basics of how our city’s ecosystems work and how we are connected to them through our use of water, energy, and other resources. Thousands of free booklets will be made available in public places across the city. Check out the website and booklet here.
Check out our media clips
Visit our Media Clips Page to read excerpts from and links to news articles about Ottawa and our environment.
It doesn't take a lot of time and energy to make a big difference. Here are some of the ways that you can help make Ottawa the green capital of Canada:
GET INFORMED AND GET ACTIVE
Go to our sign-up page for our updates. We will send you at most two emails per month with information on the environmental issues being discussed at city hall and suggestions for simple actions that you can take to lighten your own environmental footprint and make your voice heard.
MAKE A DONATION
We need your financial support in order to get the word out! With your
support we'll maintain our website, produce and distribute information,
hold events and be a voice for Ottawa's environment at city hall.
Please take the time to donate.
VISIT OUR CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Check out our calendar
of environmental events in Ottawa: from public speakers to
environmental advocacy meetings, from environmental education events to
an organized walk in the woods. If you would like us to list your
meetings or events email
VOLUNTEER WITH ECOLOGY OTTAWA
We depend on volunteers to get the word out, organize events, monitor
city council, research innovative solutions to urban environmental
problems and raise funds. Together we can make a big difference and a
small contribution of your time can go a very long way towards making
Ottawa the green capital of Canada. Check out volunteer opportunities here. To volunteer, contact
