Media Releases

The Summer of Consultations: Ottawa and the Theatre of Listening

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Last spring, the Premiers of the country met in Vancouver. The meeting led to the Vancouver Declaration on Clean Growth and Climate Change. This meeting was the follow-up to the government committing to 1.5 degrees’ maximum of global warming in Paris, last fall. In Vancouver, the federal government decided to set up a public consultation process across the country regarding climate change and what needs to be done. It declared it would use these consultations to elaborate a national climate action plan, and set its sight on meeting again, in Vancouver, to release a completed plan this fall.

Where the Past Meets the Present - Local and Regional Archeology

ottawavalleyautumn Are you free this Saturday?

Friends of Petrie Island has an exciting event tomorrow! Come on out to learn first-hand from the president of the Ottawa Archeological Society himself, as he goes over the history of Ottawa Valley! It's the perfect opportunity to learn a bit more about Ottawa's history, especially the geological fascination of the Ottawa Valley!

Welcoming the March to Save our Rivers

March TSOR

(Le français suit)

Join Ecology Ottawa on Saturday, August 20th at Major’s Hill Park at 2:30PM to welcome the March to Save our Rivers organized by STOP Oléoduc Outaouais!

The marchers will be entering the City of Ottawa and head to Parliament Hill, having marched for 6 days, all the way from Saint-André d’Argenteuil, along the Ottawa river to highlight the risk the proposed Energy East pipeline poses to it. The pipeline is meant to carry 175 million litres of tar sands oil from Alberta through the south-west portion of the city of Ottawa, putting all of our water at risk.

#CraftChange: Sponsored Tree Giveaway!

Have you heard of Maker House's #CraftChange before? #CraftChange is an initiative in which 2% of all sales are donated to local non-for-profit organizations. And we are excited to say that from the beginning to July to the end of September, Maker House's #CraftChange is supporting Ecology Ottawa, our tree campaign in particular!

Maker House is located on 987 Welling St. West in Hintonburg, beside the LCBO. This store is an 8-month old social enterprise with a curated collection of handmade home and furniture made by over 100 local artisans, from candles to coffee tables. It's a wonderful store to find beautiful home decor gifts for your family and friends, or for yourself!

Energy East: Unnecessary Risks for Exaggerated Problems

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers argues that Canada urgently needs more pipeline capacity in order to deliver oil to domestic and world markets. They expect oil production to increase 28% by 2030 relative to 2015 and argue pipeline capacity is already nearing its limit. The Energy East pipeline is one of the projects that seeks to expand such capacity and has been deemed as one of the most politically convenient among those proposed. The minister of natural resources has openly backed the project while other political proponents have made claims like “we cannot afford to wait any longer”. In the business community, some have gone as far as to assert it deserves federal government spending. But before taking these claims at face value, however, relevant economic, policy and political elements surrounding the pipeline can be reviewed to obtain a better sense of whether it is actually urgent or necessary.

Feeling A Little Distracted? Try Some Green Space Therapy!

Next time you’re at work and feeling distracted, take a break to look at a tree! Research suggests that even short periods of exposure to natural spaces can help reset the mind and improve focus.

In January of 2016, National Geographic posted an article called, “This Is Your Brain on Nature” which describes nature’s rejuvenating effects on the human brain. The article explains how even in small doses, nature helps to lower the brain’s stress hormones, lower heart rates, and decrease sweat levels. Living within a short distance of green space is associated with positive health benefits, such as reduced rates of diabetes, anxiety and depression.

Bioenergy in the United Kingdom

UK’s ‘renewable’ energy (about 70%) comes from bioenergy which is the burning of biomass. Every year UK imports millions of tons of wood from North America. These woods pellets are then burnt and accounts for ‘climate friendly’ electricity. 2/3^rd of the EU’s renewable energy comes from bioenergy as well, however they do not have to import wood pellet as much as the UK. There are some evidences that show that bioenergy is not ‘climate friendly’. One of the reason why it is perceived as being carbon neutral is because there is a misconception that the CO2 emissions of wood combustion released in the atmosphere will be reabsorbed by tree regrowth. But some trees take decades or even centuries for the CO2 emissions to be recaptured.

Conversations about pipelines at Bytown Day; a volunteer's experience

I began an internship with Ecology Ottawa just over a month ago working on data management and communications. This position means that I spend all of my time in the office and not exactly at the forefront of the three campaigns, like our campaign leads, interns and volunteers. However on the Monday of the August long weekend, I joined the Renewable Cities team to booth at the CHOO (Council of Heritage Organizations in Ottawa) Bytown Days.

#Goals: Grow an Old Growth Forest in Your Backyard

Imagine if you could say, “In the next 10 years, I will grow an established 100 year old forest in my backyard.” Seems like an outlandish idea, especially if you live in the downtown area. But Shubhendu Sharma, an entrepreneur and forest facilitator, does just that. He’s helped plant 75 thriving forests in 25 cities around the world. Yes, you read it right. Forests. In. Cities.

An Emerald Ash Borer Just Stole My Bicycle!

By Kim Loenhart

Can an invasive beetle kill our trees and steal our bicycles? It seems like an unlikely idea straight out of a science fiction movie. However, a new study published in the journal, Landscape and Urban Planning, might convince you. The study suggests that emerald ash borer infestations, and their related tree loss, may increase crime rates, such as theft, in urban neighbourhoods.

Lessons from Life: Why I joined Ecology Ottawa

I first came to know about Ecology Ottawa when I was looking for summer internships, and I mean, what better way to profess my love to the environment by joining the Ottawa city renewable team! My passion for the environment sparked during the BP oil spill. The spill caused a lot of harm to the fragile ecosystem that resided there. This was the first time it showed me the extent to which human beings have an impact on the planet.

Tree with 40 Types of Fruit

One tree. 40 different kinds of fruit.

A professor at Syracuse University is creating stunning trees that bear up to 40 types of fruit. No genetic modifications required, it's considered both natural and conservational.

How does it work? Basically, a sliver of the tree is cut off at a branch of a tree. Another branch from another tree is cut similarly, and it then is "grafted" to the first tree using special tape. This is done to numerous branches, until you have a tree with 40 types of branches sprouting from the trunk. All that's left is to wait for the branch to properly merge, and voilà!