FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | 4 February 2025 | OTTAWA | TRADITIONAL TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHINAABEG — Ecology Ottawa today released a set of ten ecological planks relative to the present Ontario elections. “This election is an opportunity for concrete ecological action in Ottawa and our province more generally,” said William van Geest, Ecology Ottawa Executive Director. “For years now, our provincial government has permitted sprawl, fostered car dependency, and loosened protections of our precious natural heritage, and now we have the opportunity to reverse this.”
Ecology Ottawa is soliciting applications to join our volunteer Board of Directors. We are seeking people with a strong interest in environmental issues and in advancing equity, and particularly those who can provide skills or expertise that will help support our organization in financial matters, including budgeting, reporting, and fundraising.
On January 29, 2025, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called an election for February 27. While the election’s timing is opportunism on Ford’s part, like all elections this presents an opportunity—the opportunity to elect leaders with the foresight and courage to confront the ecological crises before us and to better steward taxpayer’s money. Help us develop ecological planks.
Ottawa organizations today sent a letter to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and members of City Council on the Mid-term Governance Review. While the Review claims to seek transparency and valorize public input, it offers no formal opportunity for public input and is being rushed through Council. Please read our letter.
City of Ottawa staff have identified an excellent opportunity to advance ecology in Ottawa: the purchase of a 223-acre forested parcel near Fitzroy Harbour. The hitch? It may not make it through City Council. Read on for details—and what you can do.
Last year was a big one for our Rewilding Ottawa program. It saw the planting of three pollinator gardens with community groups in different Ottawa locations, advocacy for—and ultimately the adoption of—new regulations concerning the stewardship of boulevards, the widespread sharing of information about both of these so that Ottawans across the City could foster biodiversity in their own communities. Read the report!
The morning on which the 2025 budget came to Ottawa City Council for voting, we joined several organizations calling for a budget that serves all Ottawans. You can listen to a portion of our remarks here, or read them in their entirety below.
You may have heard of the "climate fresk." But what is it, how did it start, and what happens at one? Our Council Watcher Lesley Isaro recently attended a climate fresk in Westboro to find out.
Dear Ecology Ottawa Community,
I want to share some exciting news with you. After serving as Program Coordinator at Ecology Ottawa for two years, I stepped into the role of Interim Executive Director in July; today, I’m honoured to write to you as permanent Executive Director of Ecology Ottawa.
At a meeting of City Council's Environment and Climate Change Committee on Wednesday, November 13, Ecology Ottawa called for further funding of climate action in Ottawa, improvements to the City's budget consultation process, and more trees—many more trees
Earlier this week, we joined forces with passionate advocates to stand against Doug Ford's anti-bike lane legislation. Ecology Ottawa's Interim Executive Director, William van Geest, addressed the crowd at a rally against bike lane removal legislation. Please read our remarks below.