Join us on Thursday, May 30th, from 6:00-8:00 pm for an open discussion on climate action in the city of Ottawa and possible opportunities coming up. We're at an exciting moment in Ottawa, with lots of energy, potential, and attention focused on climate action. We invite you to come out and have your say in what Ecology Ottawa's Renewable City campaign looks like over the next few months.
Lots of people struggle with the idea that our current flooding may be caused by climate change. For example Ottawa city councillor Eli El-Chantiry on CBC with Robyn Bresnahan said:
“Quite honestly — I’m a little bit — start to think about — like they told us it happened once in a hundred years. Now it happened in two years. So it’s gotta be something has changed. And what caused that change and what we need to change as well. And I know somebody says it’s climate change. I get that, it’s climate change. It has not much changed the climate on us in the last two years. So the first time you had that type of flooding was in 90 years; exactly 89 years and now you’re having it again in two years. So, has something severely changed? I think — I don’t know, I don’t have the answer. All what I can tell you, all communities from here to Temiskaming, they’re at risk, and all the way to Montreal, so it’s not just our area specifically. There’s something really — some, and some answer — had — I don’t have the answer for that question.”
Photo credit: Wikipedia commons
This past weekend, we were planning to write you about good news from city hall. Last Wednesday, Ottawa joined hundreds of cities across Canada in declaring a climate emergency. We were elated that our municipal leaders voted overwhelmingly to show leadership on the climate crisis, and we wanted to spread the word.
Recent events have overshadowed this jubilant mood. Over the weekend, flooding devastated homes and communities all over the Ottawa area. As we write this, area dams are buckling under the force of water, and the Ottawa River has yet to crest. Lives are being interrupted and thrown into disarray. And after the third year in a row of extreme weather disasters, Ottawans are wrestling with a sense of climate anxiety that no longer feels distant or abstract.
On Wednesday, April 24th, City Council passed a resolution declaring Climate Emergency in Ottawa, and in doing so joined numerous other Canadian municipalities in committing to climate action in our community with renewed vigour and determination. Though the motion wasn’t passed unanimously, as was the case in other municipalities (Ottawa’s motion was opposed by three councillors) this resolution signals a shift in city council: from an era of slow-footed movement on climate, to one of rapid, rigorous change for the better. A new era heralded by this motion, the upcoming release of Energy Evolution Phase 2, and the development of a climate resiliency plan, will be one in which we begin to tackle climate change with the kind of scale and attention the crisis truly requires.
On Wednesday, April 24th, City Council passed a resolution declaring Climate Emergency in Ottawa, and in doing so joined numerous other Canadian municipalities in committing to climate action in our community with renewed vigour and determination. Though the motion wasn’t passed unanimously, as was the case in other municipalities (Ottawa’s motion was opposed by three councillors) this resolution signals a shift in city council: from an era of slow-footed movement on climate, to one of rapid, rigorous change for the better. A new era heralded by this motion, the upcoming release of Energy Evolution Phase 2, and the development of a climate resiliency plan, will be one in which we begin to tackle climate change with the kind of scale and attention the crisis truly requires.
On April 16, the Environment Committee voted 6-2 to declare a Climate Emergency and propose bold actions to safeguard Ottawa’s neighbourhoods and ecosystems. This motion will now go to City Council on April 24. Help us build support for this motion by contacting your councillor and Mayor and asking them to vote in support of this motion. Whether you speak to a staffer or leave a voicemail, your direct call lets them know what their constituents care about climate action.
This year Ecology Ottawa is distributing 12,000 native tree seedlings free of charge to Ottawa area residents in efforts to re-plant our urban tree canopy. We are doing this because Ottawa's urban tree canopy is under threat. Since 2008, the emerald ash borer has killed 25% of Ottawa's trees. In addition to this, climate change, invasive pests, expanding urbanization and infill construction are also major threats to trees. We need to re-plant and keep planting to stay on top of the threats!
On April 16, councillor Shawn Menard will table a motion to the Environment Committee declaring a Climate Emergency and proposing bold actions to safeguard Ottawa’s neighbourhoods and ecosystems. Help us build support for this motion by contacting your councillor and asking them to vote in support of this motion. Whether you speak to a staffer or leave a voicemail, your direct call lets your councillor know what their constituents care about climate action.
UPDATE: The motion passed the Environment Committee 6-2, and will go to City Council on Wednesday, April 24. We still need your help building support for this motion. Please call your councillor and the Mayor today!
The United Nations has made it clear – we now have 11 years to avoid catastrophic impacts to the world’s species and ecosystems. The effects are already being felt in Ottawa: record floods in 2017; tornado impacts in late 2018; summers of extreme and deadly heat; and winters with erratic freeze-thaw cycles. Momentum is building among cities like Vancouver, Halifax, Kingston and Hamilton to urgently respond to this moment of crisis and build a better city, and Ottawa has the opportunity to lead. We are calling on the City of Ottawa to declare climate emergency now.
COME TO OUR GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND RAIN GARDEN WORKSHOP!
You will learn more about creating a rain garden for this summer and all the benefits of rain gardens: acting as pollinator gardens for butterflies and bees, sequestering greenhouse gases, and acting as sponges soaking up and filtering rain water.
This will be a free event with snacks and beverages, open to all ages.
Apply now!
Are you environmentally minded, passionate about the parks and forests around you, and want to make a difference? Are you a new or committed volunteer looking to get involved with Ottawa's local environmental organization? Then these opportunities are for YOU!
Ecology Ottawa is a not-for-profit organization whose mandate is to make Ottawa the GREEN capital of Canada. We have recently launched the Green Infrastructure and the Tree Give Away programs, both part of our Living City campaign.
Ottawa residents in Rideau-Rockcliffe (Ward 13) is heading to the poll again on April for a by-election. Continuing our work in the municipal election in 2018, Ecology Ottawa is working to raise awareness of local environmental issues among both voters and candidates in the lead up to the by-election.
Ecology Ottawa has sent out an All-Candidates’ Survey to all 17 candidates running in this by-election. The survey includes 15 yes/no questions covering issues of local climate action (Renewable City), building safe and healthy streets (Active City), Ottawa’s greenspace and watersheds (Living City), and waste management, as well as a qualitative response about their environmental vision for Ottawa.