Category Archives: Natural Assets

Going to EcoSchool

Even from the outside Holy Cross Secondary School doesn’t seem like a typical high school. Once a medical supply factory, the building was “repurposed” in the late 1990s as a school and the Catholic school board’s head office.

Think of it as a large-scale example of recycling – a view that meshes nicely with a bone deep emphasis on environmental responsibility that makes Holy Cross anything but typical on the inside.

Julia Taylor and Mike Halloran are science teachers who help cultivate that green vision. They teach environmental science, organize an Eco School club and appear to function as the school’s environmental conscience at the staff level.

Their enthusiasm has spread across the school community. As a result, Holy Cross has qualified for platinum designation by the Ontario EcoSchools program.

EcoSchools success is based on school-wide commitment. Points are awarded for performance in each of a variety of categories and the total number of points earned translates to bronze, silver, gold or platinum status.

Holy Cross has been an EcoSchool for six years. Five straight years of gold certification qualified the school to apply for the platinum level when it was introduced for the first time last year.

There are nearly 1,800 registered EcoSchools in the province. Holy Cross is one of about 70 designated platinum.

Kyle Morton had a direct hand in that success. A Grade 12 student, Morton spent the fall term working on the EcoSchools certification application and other green projects as his co-op placement.

Morton and Grade 10 students Jose Uy and Emmanuel Pinto are members of the Holy Cross Eco School club. During a late afternoon interview in the empty school cafeteria they talk about some of the projects they’re involved in.

Morton steps out to retrieve one of their composting mini-bins. Attached to the sides of large blue recycling barrels that sit in the cafeteria during lunch periods, the mini-bins are wrapped in green construction paper and emblazoned with the Eco School club name. Students who are already recycling paper and plastic toss food scraps into the mini-bins.

Cafeteria composting is one result of an ongoing waste audit overseen by two Trent University environmental science majors. During the audit Jose and Emmanuel were garbage pickers – mining the school’s garbage for organic waste. A weigh-in of their collected treasure showed that composting would make a difference and the green bin project was born.

It’s one of many the school has taken on. A $1,000 grant from Toyota (students wrote the grant application) paid for 10 native shade trees that were planted behind the bleachers next to the track and athletics field. Water fountains that refill personal drinking bottles and record the number of disposal bottles saved are expected to arrive soon.

There is a butterfly garden on the property and a green roof garden accessible from a second floor hallway. Coming soon: a beehive for the green roof that Taylor said will “have a huge educational component. That leads into our pollinators and importance of pollinators and plants on the property.”

But the project with the biggest impact is a community garden developed in partnership with Calvary Church and the Peterborough Community Garden Network. It is located on the church property next door to Holy Cross.

Special education students collect compost that fertilizes the garden. A construction class built the garden shed. Students start seedlings in the school greenhouse and dozens more are involved in spring planting. Kawartha Food Share and various food banks reap some of the harvest.

Taylor and Halloran estimate that as many as 180 students – nearly a third of the entire school population – are involved in some way.

They say the real benefit of the Eco School approach will come as students inspired by something like the garden project develop a life-long interest in environmental stewardship.

“I kind of see what we are doing as planting seeds,” Taylor explains. “You eventually hope that some of the kids … who hadn’t given that a thought before, maybe it’s something they’ll consider down the road.”

This is one of a series of articles commissioned and paid for by Sustainable Peterborough and published in partnership with The Peterborough Examiner. By Jim Hendry, Peterborough Examiner, original article published Saturday, March 14, 2016.

Sustainable Peterborough Partnership Recognition Awards

In order to recognize the numerous sustainable achievements of our partners, Sustainable
Peterborough launched of the Sustainable Peterborough Partnership
Recognition Awards in 2015!

There were eleven winners, one in each of Sustainable Peterborough’s theme areas, and
three honourable mentions. Awards were presented during the Sustainable Peterborough
Partnership Recognition Awards and Climate Change Action Plan Launch Event on March 1,
2016 at Market Hall.

Congratulations to all the winners and thank you for your continued commitment to sustainability:

Agriculture and Local Food

Elmhirst’s Resort – winner

Elmhirst’s Resort is committed to sustainability and displays a strong “living off of the land”
mentality. They strongly believe in providing customers with the freshest food and produce
harvested directly from 240 acres of their land. They provide customers with a seasonal menu
that features hydroponic garden herbs and preserved heirloom tomatoes in the winter, locally
bred and raised cattle and duck, and 100% local grape wines, among other items. Elmhirst’s
strive to involve local farmers and producers from the surrounding community in their food
production processes as much as possible.

By the Bushel Community Food Co-operative – honourable mention

By the Bushel Community Food Co-operative is an innovative co-operative. Small-scale food
producers and processors, dedicated staff and a community of consumers work together
toward rebuilding our relationship to the land, healthy, sustainable, ecologically-responsible
food and community. In 2015, their 13 growers were operating within 100 kms.

Climate Change

For Our Grandchildren (4RG) – winner

For Our Grandchildren (4RG) actively encourages younger generations to become more
engaged participants in a greener community and climate change issues. In November 2015,
4RG collaborated with other local organizations to host a community meeting supporting the
Global Climate March and the COP21 conference being held at the same time in Paris. The
meeting encouraged community members to consider decisive actions to reduce the
production of carbon emissions that are contributing to climate change. Citizens who attended
the event were encouraged to take part in a post card writing campaign to be delivered to six
political leaders at all levels of government.

Cultural Assets

Lang Pioneer Village – winner

Lang Pioneer Village serves to protect and promote the rural history of Peterborough County.
The museum has become a regional leader in the preservation and interpretation of our
cultural assets. In 2015, Lang partnered with Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations to
establish the Aabnaabin First Nations site at the museum. Lang also completed a shoreline
naturalization project in partnership with the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority, Tree
Canada and Siemens Canada. They planted 272 trees and shrubs. Species included
shellbark hickory, hazelnut, chestnut, elderberry and chokecherry which were used by early
settlers for food, furniture, shelter, and dyes. Collectively, these projects provide great
opportunities for future programs.

Economic Development & Employment

Transition Town Peterborough – winner

The focus of Transition Town Peterborough is on reducing our dependence on fossil fuels
while increasing local resilience and self-sufficiency with economic localization. In an effort to
build the local economy, they introduced the local currency called Kawartha Loons. In
collaboration with other community organizations, Transition Town Peterborough runs several
successful annual events that bring together the community, food growers and producers, local
artisans, entertainers and health practitioners in order to build and support the local economy.
In 2015, Transition Town Peterborough, in collaboration with Farms at Work, successfully
spearheaded the initiative to declare September as Local Food Month in an effort to bring
awareness to local food providers and strengthen the local economy.

Energy

Township of Douro-Dummer – winner

The Township of Douro-Dummer has consistently been a leader in municipal energy
management. It was the first municipality to implement an energy management plan and
strategy. They have retrofitted their facilities for energy efficiency and, in 2015, completed the
conversion to LED streetlights. Their energy efficiency improvements have resulted in cost
savings and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The Township of Douro-Dummer continues
to lead by example.

Healthy Communities

Camp Kawartha – winner

Camp Kawartha has been involved in numerous innovative stewardship initiatives over the
past decade. Reaching over 11,000 participants per year, the camp teaches children, youth
and adults about sustainable living, habitat protection and environmental responsibility. New in
2015, the Camp offered 5 one-week environment camps and two weeks of kindercamp at the
Environment Centre. This resulted in an additional 250 campers learning about nature,sustainability and stewardship. Thanks to a grant from the Gainey Foundation and a crowd source funding campaign, new nature playscapes structures were designed and constructed at the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre in 2015.

Seeds for Justice, a Kawartha World Issues Centre Youth Program – honourable
mention

Seeds for Justice is a youth-led program that brings youth together around common interests
and projects, with a focus on empowerment to affect individual lives and local communities
while building a culture of volunteerism and global citizenship. In 2015 over 300 youth had an
opportunity to build confidence, knowledge, skills and experience.

Land Use Planning

Otonabee Region Conservation Authority – winner

In 2015, the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority (ORCA) updated the Watershed
Planning and Regulation Policy Manual. The updated manual resulted in a document that is
easy to understand and to use. It consolidates all of ORCA’s watershed planning and
regulatory policies. This document also provides municipalities, applicants and their agents,
private landowners, special interest groups and ORCA staff with a clear understanding of
ORCA’s role, mandate, responsibilities and requirements regarding permit and planning
applications. At the same time, it offers an updated, comprehensive and complete set of
watershed planning and regulatory policies that can be incorporated into Official Plans and
Zoning By-laws.

Natural Assets

Kawartha Land Trust – winner

Kawartha Land Trust is dedicated to protecting the forests, fields, wetlands and shorelines of
the Kawarthas. Boyd Island, a 1,170 acre island, is the largest undeveloped and unprotected
island in Southern Ontario. It is home to unspoiled wetlands, old-growth forests, wildlife and a
wide variety of plant species. It has rich historic, natural and cultural value to the region, as
well as to the indigenous community which can trace back use of the island some 10,000
years. To ensure the island’s protection, Kawartha Land Trust urged the community to achieve
a fundraising goal of $1,000,000 in 2015. Nearly 600 pledges were received to accomplish the
goal of preventing private development on the island. Now preserved and protected, the island
will remain a great natural asset for many generations to come.

Transportation

Peterborough County/City Paramedics – winner

In 2015 Peterborough County/City Paramedics have demonstrated leadership in sustainable
transportation initiatives by implementing the ECO-run system in vehicles to reduce idling time.
The ECO-run system enabled them to reduce excessive idling time by 26%, thereby saving
1,918 litres of fuel, 8,717 pounds of CO2 and amounting to a cost savings of nearly $2,500.

Waste

The Food Forest – winner

The Food Forest Café’s produces less than 1 bag of garbage per week! Since the restaurant
is plant-based, they are able to compost 100% of leftover food and scraps. In 2015 they
expanded their composting program by donating nearly 90 gallons of kitchen scraps per week
to local farmers and gardeners, including St. Peter’s Secondary School for their garden.
Furthermore, the Food Forest is able to compost all paper products, since they exclusively use
unbleached biodegradable paper products and napkins. In renovating their new downtown
location in 2015, they re-used and re-purposed pre-existing materials. They continue to
encourage customers to bring their own takeout containers or charge a small fee for
biodegradable containers.

Holy Cross Secondary School – honourable mention

In 2015 Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School earned a Platinum level certification from
Ontario EcoSchools. In partnership with Calvary Church, the school maintains a community
garden that has helped the school reduce their amount of green waste, as cafeteria and
garden green waste is being repurposed and used in the form of compost.

Water

GreenUP – winner

In 2015, GreenUP ran the Depave Paradise project with support from Green Communities
Canada, RBC Blue Water Project, Sammy and Sons Ltd, the City of Peterborough, other local
organizations and volunteers. In the parking lot of Wireless Solutions over 250m2 of asphalt
were removed and a large rain garden with 730 native plants and trees was planted. The
project aids in storm water management and water quality improvement by allowing 178,000
liters of water per year to be diverted from the grey stormwater infrastructure by soaking into
the ground and naturally removing 23kg of contaminants annually. Depave Paradise is helping
to reduce risks of flooding while creating habitat, green space and building community.

RBC funds Depave Paradise in 6 communities in 2015

Thanks to a generous donation from the RBC Blue Water Project to the Green Communities Foundation, Depave Paradise events will be taking place in six Canadian cities this year.

Depave Paradise is a project of Green Communities Canada and its member organizations across the country. Areas of unused asphalt are torn up by volunteers using hand tools and replaced with green space.

June 4 is RBC Blue Water day, and RBC will be making a presentation of a $100,000 cheque to the Green Communities Foundation at the Brock Mission in Peterborough at 9:00am. The Brock Mission was the site of a Depave Paradise project in 2014, organized by GreenUP, in which 62 square metres of asphalt were torn up by hand by volunteers and replaced with a garden of native plants.

On RBC Blue Water Day, you might want to ask, what does tearing up pavement have to do with water?

The urban water cycle is broken. Vegetation is replaced with hard surfaces, which greatly increases runoff. The rain picks up pollutants like pet waste, chemicals, soaps, oil, and grease. Stormwater management systems are not designed to accommodate the level of extreme precipitation we are now facing, and floods are becoming increasingly common.

Depave Paradise demonstrates how we can reduce the proliferation of hard surfaces. We find pockets of unused pavement in cities and turn the removal into a community workbee. Using prybars and shovels, our volunteers tear up the pavement and reclaim a small piece of paradise. The gardens and permeable pavement that we install in place of the asphalt soak up water into the ground, filtering it through soil and plants, avoiding runoff and pollution and protecting local waterbodies. Added benefits of removing pavement in include reduced urban heat island effect, increased habitat, and the social and health benefits of increased access to green space.

Over the past three years, Depave Paradise participants have removed over 1,000 m2 of asphalt in 10 events. Events have taken place at schools, churches, public lands, community centres, and housing cooperatives. RBC has generously supported this project in the past, and we are thrilled to have their renewed commitment this year.

Projects this year will take place at six sites to be selected in Montreal, Winnipeg, Peterborough, Collingwood, Hamilton, Ottawa, and Kingston.

Learn more about Depave Paradise at www.depaveparadise.ca.

Public Awareness Campaign for Emerald Ash Borer Launches

The City of Peterborough Urban Forestry will be launching their Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) public awareness campaign with a booth at the forthcoming Green Expo at Lansdowne Place on Saturday, October 19, 2013.

This is an important issue to Peterborough residents, remarked Paul Hambidge, Urban Forestry Specialist, as EAB is as close to Peterborough as Hiawatha, so the time to prepare is now. The City will begin treating publicly owned ash trees in 2014, but it is equally important for property owners to be vigilant regarding their own trees.

A wide range of resource materials about EAB will be available to take away. The public is encouraged to visit the booth to get information about ash tree identification, treatment and replanting. Information is also available about the City’s plan to manage EAB on publicly owned ash trees.

This information is also available on the City of Peterborough website www.peterborough.ca.

6th Annual Prairie Day at the Alderville Black Oak Savanna

Join Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC) and the Alderville First Nation at the 6th annual Prairie Day on Saturday, September 7th, to celebrate the land, its people and their achievements in the Rice Lake Plains Natural Area. Everyone is welcome at this family-oriented eco-event Saturday September 7th from 10am-4pm at the Alderville Black Oak Savanna west of Roseneath, Ontario.

We invite everyone to come out and join us for a day of family fun, says Todd Farrell, conservation biologist with NCC. We will showcase the Alderville Black Oak Savanna and NCC properties and help you learn more about the habitat and the natural beauty of Canada’s easternmost prairie.

The Rice Lake Plains is a spectacular tallgrass prairie landscape perched on the top of the Oak Ridges Moraine. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has worked for more than a decade with its conservation friends and partners to protect and restore this rare ecosystem.

The whole family will enjoy a variety of activities and live entertainment, including tallgrass prairie tours, music by Ken Whiteley and other artists, Sciensational Sssnakes, bird banding, nature workshops, traditional foods, demonstrations of Indigenous practices, storytelling, face painting, kids activities and more!

For more information go to RiceLakePlains.ca or call 905-352-1008.