OTTAWA | UNCEDED & UNSURRENDERED TRADITIONAL TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHINAABEG, 21 June 2023
Ecology Ottawa, in conjunction with the Peoples Official Plan coalition, sent a letter to the City of Ottawa calling on City Council to allow Ottawans to steward right of ways—the portion of City land between the roadway and residences or buildings.
Through the week of June 5th, Ottawa experienced a significant decline in air quality due to the devastating wildfires raging in Quebec and Ontario. The smoke from these fires created hazardous air conditions in our city. Individuals with respiratory conditions such as asthma were advised to avoid going outside and Ottawa residents were encouraged to refrain from outdoor physical activity.
About 25 people gathered on June 2 at the north end of Champlain Park for a unique opportunity: a tour of the gardens and forest planted and managed by the Champlain Park community. Among those participating were five city councillors and their staff, City employees from a variety of departments, and a few stray plant and ecology nerds (like myself).
With a housing and homelessness emergency declared in Ottawa in 2020, it is no surprise that affordable housing was a major election issue last fall, with a campaign promise from Mayor Sutcliffe on creation of housing and a refreshed mandate for the Planning and Housing Committee that prioritizes housing affordability. However, when development applications for dense, car-lite residential buildings come to the Planning and Housing Committee, there is often a surprising amount of push-back.
The $332 million proposed redevelopment of Lansdowne provides a city-wide, taxpayer issue, with long-term implications, just ten years after the City spent $175 million revitalizing Lansdowne. Calls for meaningful public consultation on this project must be even more important in light of the fact that Lansdowne is now predicted to generate far less money.
Bonjour! My name is Mélanie Ouellette and I am the founder of the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library. Let me tell you why I started the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library in 2020.
Our friends at the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) are compelling the Medical Officer of Health to investigate air pollution around trucking routes passing through downtown Ottawa, following data collected by Ecology Ottawa volunteers in our Breathe Easy campaign.
By Julianne Labreche
A few years ago, I made a pitch to city officials, asking them to officially designate Ottawa as a “Bee City.” Even though it didn’t happen, some good things emerged.
On Healthy Environments for Learning Day, environmental and children’s health advocates call on all levels of government to accelerate the switch to electric school buses. Ecology Ottawa has signed on to a joint letter calling on communities, school boards and governments at every level to accelerate the electrification of school buses, replacing tens of thousands of diesel-powered school buses spewing toxic fumes that can seriously harm child health and interfere with learning.
So just how many trees on City of Ottawa property were lost in the 2022 derecho?
City staff presented a report on this at today's meeting of City Council. Here's a summary, with the report below!
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On Thursday April 20, Ecology Ottawa joined protesters in a rally against Imperial Oil and in solidarity with the Indigenous nations impacted by the toxic tailings leak at the Kearl oilsands in Alberta. Whilst we gathered on Sparks Street and then moved to Parliament Hill, Imperial Oil executives were called to explain to a Parliamentary Committee why it took nine months to tell First Nations and governments that wastewater from a tailings pond had spilled into four areas about 100 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alta.