Environment

Kawartha Land Trust receives investment to expand “very rare ecosystem”

December 20, 2024 by Edward Sweeney

Kawartha Land Trust (KLT), the Kawartha’s regional charitable land trust, has received an investment of $141K from the Greenbelt Foundation to be received over 2.5 years. The investment is to support the restoration of 75 acres of forest and a 10-acre expansion of the tallgrass prairie at KLT’s Ballyduff Trails – work to be done on areas of the Greenbelt within the City of Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough County.

KLT Executive Director, John Kintare, calls the tallgrass prairie a “very rare ecosystem.”

“In this case the tall grasses are between 6’ to 9’ high,” says Hayden Wilson, KLT Land Stewardship Manager.

The tallgrass prairie will more than triple in size after the 10-acre expansion is completed.

Listen to the full CFFF story to learn more about the work KLT is doing to preserve this rare tallgrass prairie ecosystem.

A large blue spruce tree is lifted in the air with a crane, about to be laid on a flatbed truck. Workers in high viz gear and helmets are nearby.

Is it green to get lit? Gauging the environmental impact of the Region’s large Christmas trees

December 9, 2024 by Leah Gerber

In many communities, the Christmas season is kicked off with a city tree-lighting ceremony, where a large bedecked Christmas tree is lit up for all to see – in fact, Waterloo Region’s three cities are all held their tree lighting ceremonies on Friday.

But in today’s environmentally tough times, some may be wondering if cutting down 30-foot giants is the best choice for a city’s Christmas tree.

Radio Waterloo takes a look, and speaks with City of Waterloo Manager of Forestry, Horticulture and Cemetery Services Derek Brick about the pros and cons of cutting down a large tree every year, where it comes from, how long it will stand in the town square and what happens to it after. The resident who donated the tree is also interviewed to give their take on why they donated the tree and how they feel seeing it serve as the city’s Christmas tree for 2024.

Music Credit: “Oh Christmas Tree” Pixabay/Primalhousemusic – Creative Commons

Hoarding Action Response Team Coalition hosts first safety training session for public service workers

November 25, 2024 by Brenda Little

Hoarding is not a clutter problem, it is a thinking problem, a mental disorder recognized by the World Health Organization in 2018 and, it is on the rise. That is the initial element that public service workers learned at the recent Hoarding Action Response Team (HART) training session held in Prince Edward County.

First responders, social service workers and others gathered at WHERE? to learn about hoarding, the physical dangers to workers and the sensitivity needed when working with people that hoard. Attendees heard presentations from a mental health expert, sanitation specialist and an animal welfare inspector who talked about fire, disease and biohazard dangers of a hoarding situation and stressed the necessity for using PPE (personal protective equipment).

HART was started one year ago as a response to the increased incidents of hoarding noted by first responders and fire prevention officers. It is estimated that between two and six percent of Canadians have a hoarding problem.

A silo at a small industrial plant on the shore of a large lake at dusk.

City reports 5.4 per cent drop in community greenhouse gas emissions since 2018

November 22, 2024 by Christena Lawrie

The corporate and community 2023 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory reports presented to council this week revealed a 5.4 per cent reduction in community emissions and a 19 per cent reduction in corporate emissions since 2018. This amounts to a 60,563 tonne reduction.

However, the year was not without challenges to the city’s climate goals.

The province’s increased reliance on natural gas to meet energy demands had a notable impact on municipal emission reduction efforts, with the emissions of Ontario’s electricity grid being over 50 per cent higher than 5 years ago.

In January, council was presented with a report showing the city fell significantly short of its 2022 GHG reduction goals, causing environmental advocates to urge the city to set and reach more ambitious targets.

The city referenced this shortcoming, stating that “significant action is required.”

The city’s 2030 emissions reduction goal is to reach 30 per cent below 2018 levels, and carbon neutrality by 2040.

Water in a bog is surrounded by late fall foliage.

South Nation Conservation seeks input on watershed and resource issues

November 20, 2024 by Candice Vetter

John Mesman, the Managing Director of Property, Conservation Lands, and Community Outreach at South Nation Conservation (SNC), explains why his group is seeking public input on two draft strategies for watershed management. All conservation authorities across Ontario are required to develop these strategies by the end of this year, and SNC is currently seeking feedback from the public. Conservation authorities were established in 1947 to provide practical experience in protecting the environment and engaging communities. SNC manages 4,480 square kilometres of land in Eastern Ontario in a watershed stretching from the St. Lawrence River in the south to the Ottawa River in the north.

Simona Hutnyakova, founder of The Salmon Forest, stands inside the Mossom Creek Hatchery and Education Centre, holding a plush salmon. In the background are shelves full of books, maps, bones & antlers, and a taxidermied bobcat.

Salmon have plenty to teach Port Moody youth

November 19, 2024 by Jesse Wentzloff

The Salmon Forest is a forest school, a teaching organization using an outdoor education delivery model. It hosts week-long camps and single-day events that immerse students in the Pacific Northwest ecosystem, with salmon as the focus.
School founder Simona Chutnakova says salmon and the ecosystems they inhabit provide students opportunities to discover, imagine and be inspired in ways they might never have achieved in a typical classroom.

This Saturday, November 16th from 1-2:30PM at the Mossom Creek Hatchery & Education Centre in Port Moody, the Salmon Forest will host Homecoming: The Journey of the Salmon, a one-day hands-on opportunity for kids to try out what the forest school has to offer, including participation in a live salmon dissection.

Photo Credit – Jesse Wentzloff, CJSF 90.1FM Burnaby

Trees in a park. One of them has been knocked down by wind.

Northern Tornadoes Project confirms Fergus twister

November 12, 2024 by Arlene Dowell

A team from the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP), a storm research program at Western University, touched down in Fergus. The NTP says they found a long narrow path of damage and can confirm a tornado in a Fergus neighbourhood.

The Weather Network’s “Storm Chaser”, Mark Robinson, was also in town looking at the damage patterns. “We’re definitely seeing an extension of our severe thunder storm season in southern Ontario,” he told CICW. “That’s most likely due to a changing climate.”

There was damage at several sites. Robinson says most of it was concentrated in the neighbourhood surrounding the cenotaph where yesterday’s remembrance services occurred.

Background showing rammed earth wall with Graham Cavalier

Rammed earth, ancient building technique making a comeback as a sustainable construction method

November 8, 2024 by Brenda Little

Rammed earth is one of the oldest building methods in the world dating back to 9000 BC, Neolithic times. Using compacted natural raw material such as clay, limestone or gravel, this ancient sustainable building system is used to construct foundations, floors and walls.

Graham Cavalier, General Manager and Co-founder of Aerecura Sustainable Builders, recently gave a presentation to a room packed with environmental enthusiasts, local builders and curious listeners. He explained the methodology of taking gravel from a local quarry and using pressure that turns it back to stone and by adding colours, the walls become a natural work of art.

Rammed earth provides excellent thermal mass which is the ability of the material to absorb, store and release heat that translates to no furnace or AC required, low to no interior and exterior maintenance and the building is fireproof, flood proof, mold and mildew proof all reducing the carbon footprint.

Conservation Authority cautions that Shand Dam maintenance work could affect winter activities

October 24, 2024 by Arlene Dowell

The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) is preparing for a maintenance project on the Shand Dam, in Belwood Lake Conservation Area, pending GRCA Board approval during a meeting tomorrow.

The project could impact winter activities that are popular in the area including ice fishing and hiking and walking along the Elora Cataract Trail.

Manager of Water Infrastructure with the GRCA, Katelyn Lynch, says to accommodate the work, water in the reservoir will be lowered at a faster rate than is typical for this time of year.

This means ice conditions may not be stable enough to allow ice fishing during the winter months.

A view of Saint John from the west, in the vicinity of Lorneville, showing highway signs against a clear blue sky.

Spruce Lake Industrial Park expansion to be slowed down

October 21, 2024 by Iona Coe

Saint John City Council received recommendations at their meeting of Tuesday October 15th to allow for more discussion about the proposed expansion of Spruce Lake Industrial Park.

Due to the numerous potential issues having been voiced by local residents, including environmental impacts and the effect on housing prices, the hearing scheduled for November 12th has been postponed. Additionally, a task force is to be established, to include local residents.

The industrial park is located to the west of the city, near the community of Lorneville. The recommendations came from the meeting of the Planning Advisory Committee of the previous week, which heard the various concerns of local residents about the proposed expansion. As yet, no timeline has been set for the proposals to be considered by the council.

Two men stand in front of a green and white bus in a garage. One is speaking behind a podium. There are two flags behind them.

Cape Breton municipality receives federal funding for public transit upgrade

October 17, 2024 by Bill MacCuish

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality is getting $2.3 million from Ottawa to boost public transit with two new buses, two accessible hybrid mini buses, five bus shelters and smart cards for bus fares.

The mayor and Cape Breton’s two Liberal Members of Parliament announced the funding in Sydney yesterday. MPs Jaime Battiste, Mike Kelloway and Mayor Amanda MacDougall-Merril say the funding’s necessary because ridership is increasing.

Cape Breton University started an aggressive recruiting drive for international students about five years ago resulting in more demand for buses. Some CBU students say it’s common to see them full of passengers and waiting longer for a ride is the only option.

Meanwhile, officials say public transit is cheaper for people driving vehicles and it’s better for the environment. The new upgrades will take place over the next year.