Outdoor Volunteer Opportunity – The Community Rink!
Are you comfortable working outside in cold weather and want to give back by using your physical talents? We are looking for additional volunteers to help maintain the community rink off St. Moritz Drive (behind Convent Glen Catholic Elementary School).
Tasks include shoveling the ice surface after snowfalls, flooding the ice surface, and using the snow blower to remove snow from the ice surface. Specific tasks will be assigned by the lead volunteer. What we need most is additional help after large snowfalls to shovel and remove snow off the rink. Supplies are provided.
We have a very strong team of volunteers who maintain our rink and the feedback from visitors has been very positive. If you want to learn about how to properly maintain an outdoor rink surface, this is a great opportunity for you!
Contact Jeff Fennessy (jefffennessy@rogers.com) if you are interested or if you’d like more information.
Special thank you to Myers Orléans Nissan and Myers Orléans Chevrolet for their sponsorship of the St. Moritz community rink.
Update – Interprovincial Crossing
A message from the Interprovincial Crossing Committee
The arrival of the barge in the Ottawa River next to our community was a surprise for many who were not aware of the work being done toward building an interprovincial bridge in the East end. In fact, the Bridge Committee of the CGOWCA had just learned that the project was moving along much quicker than anyone had imagined! As a result, the Committee has teamed up with our new city councillor, Laura Dudas, to host a Town Hall early in 2023 to learn more about the project, to inform the community about what is really happening, and to make clear the concerns of the community.
Please stay tuned for the date of this important event and make plans to attend. Consider talking to your friends and neighbours about it too! If a Greenbelt Bridge is selected, it could well be the one of the biggest things to ever happen to the east end of Ottawa.
Additionally, we are happy to announce that our webpage is up and running! Please refer to it for reliable info on the bridge and share: https://www.conventglenorleanswood.com/interprovincial-crossing/
To learn more please write to CGNbridgecommittee@gmail.com.
Ski Heritage East Grooms a Path to Your Doorstep
Don’t fear the coming Winter, get out and enjoy it. Research has shown that our sense of well-being and peace of mind dramatically improve with outdoor physical activity. The Ski Heritage East Trail is a multi-purpose winter recreation trail, groomed past your doorstep.
This 40km trail is professionally groomed for classic and skate skiing, snowshoeing, fatbiking and, of course, walking. Beginning at the Aviation Museum parking lot, it sweeps across the field, dipping down to follow the scenic Ottawa River to Green’s Creek. There it climbs up to the upper-level pathway and continues to Radisson in Orléans. There is a brief 500m stretch of road, after which the Trail continues uninterrupted to Trim Road, on the edge of Petrie Island. Parking is readily accessible at many points along the Trail.
While people have bushwhacked a ski trail along the river for many years, Ski Heritage East began grooming with equipment in 2017. Initially a 7km Trail serving primarily Orléans and groomed once a week, the Trail has expanded dramatically, is now groomed 3 – 4 times a week and serves many more communities, including Beacon Hill, Manor Park and Rockcliffe. In the 2021-2021 season, trail usage remained incredibly high, with over 75,000 users.
The backbone of our operation is our group of volunteer groomers. These hardy souls are on the Trail with our workhorse snowmobiles and Ginzu Groomers, often before you are awake. If you do see them on the Trail, please wave hello.
Ski Heritage East is a volunteer community organization that funds its operations through a mix of government support – the City and NCC combine to provide approximately 50% of our funding – private donations through our GoFundMePage, and business and organization sponsorships. Current sponsors include, Councillor Laura Dudas, Orléans Physio, Orléans Waxing Haus, Aroma Pizza, the Garlic King, and many more. To learn more about sponsorship, contact us at the address below.
Please lend us your support and enjoy the Trail!
Ski Heritage East
www.skiheritageeast.ca
Facebook
Twitter: @skiheritageeast
Introducing: the Environment Committee
In November, a small but mighty group of CGOWCA community members met and formed the new Environment Committee. Our group is made up of passionate people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, united by one passion: caring for our environment. We’d like to introduce ourselves and let you know what we’ve been up to. We’ve begun working to identify priorities and establish our goals, including to:
- Identify opportunities to improve public greenspaces to better meet the needs of our community
- Advocate to politicians and other leaders regarding environmental topics impacting our community
- Highlight opportunities to support the environment at home and within the community
- Provide education around our collective impact on the local environment and the broader environment as a whole
- Research opportunities to collaborate with local organizations and community partners to support environmental initiatives impacting Convent Glen & Orléans Wood
- Provide regular outreach to CGOWCA members on timely topics affecting our community
Want to get involved or learn more? Reach out to our committee chair, Cassandra Polyzou at ecopolyzou@gmail.com.
Keep your eyes open for our next updates. We look forward to seeing you at our first events in 2023!
Meaning of Home contest
Starting January 9th, 2023 all Greater Ottawa students in grades 4, 5 and 6 are invited to participate in the 16th annual Meaning of Home Contest! For this national writing contest, students can create and submit a short story or poem about what home means to them. It’s a great way for students to engage in an interactive and fun way, and it teaches youth the importance of safe, affordable housing.
What’s more? For every submission to the Meaning of Home Contest, $10 will be donated to Habitat Greater Ottawa.
Whether you’re a teacher, school admin or parent, visit meaningofhome.ca to find out how you can get your students involved for this year’s Meaning of Home Contest and help local families in communities across Canada access safe, secure and affordable housing.
Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program
Through the Better Homes Ottawa – Loan Program, Ottawa homeowners could access low-interest loans of up to the lesser of $125,000 or 10 per cent of the current value of their home to cover the cost of home energy improvements. The minimum loan amount approved is $15,000.
On June 30, 2022, the City of Ottawa recapitalized the Better Homes Ottawa Loan Program by securing a $15 million loan agreement with VanCity Community Investment Bank. This will allow an estimated 500 residents of Ottawa to access fixed rate (4.33% interest), 20-year loans from the City to undertake energy efficiency retrofits and other home improvements.
The Better Homes Ottawa – Loan Program is being delivered by our partners at EnviroCentre, an Ottawa based non-profit organization dedicated to providing practical solutions for people and communities to lighten environmental impact in lasting ways. Visit Better Homes Ottawa(link is external) to apply for the Better Homes Ottawa – Loan Program and find out more about how to make your home more energy efficient and climate friendly.
You can combine a Better Homes Loan with energy efficiency rebates and incentives available such as the Canada Greener Homes Grant(link is external).
If you would like to receive updates on the Better Homes Ottawa – Loan Program and other climate change news subscribe to the climate change e-newsletter.
If you have questions about the Better Homes Ottawa Program, please email betterhomes@ottawa.ca.
