Thank you to Worry Free!

The CGOWCA would like to express our gratitude to Worry Free for clearing our outdoor rink after every large snowfall. Your help has been invaluable this rink season.

A heartfelt thank you as well to all of our rink volunteers whose dedication and love of community shine through every winter. We appreciate you!

WE NEED YOUR INPUT – CGOWCA Survey!

How can the Community Association better serve your needs? How can public transportation be improved in our community? What kinds of events do you want to see in the area?

The Convent Glen Orléans Wood Community Association (CGOWCA) is surveying residents to better understand what issues are most important to them. The survey responses will be used to shape the association’s multi-year strategic plan.

Please fill in this 3 minute survey about your neighbourhood.

ABOUT CGOWCA

The Convent Glen Orléans Wood Community Association represents the interests of those residing in the catchment area which is bordered by the National Capital Greenbelt to the west, the Ottawa River to the north, Champlain St. to the east and St. Joseph Blvd. to the south. We endeavor to share relevant information with residents about local issues and organize community events.

Questions? Email conventglenorleanswood@gmail.com

Dog walkathon

Bring your pup to Hiawatha Park (corner of Voyageur and Voyageur) on Saturday May 27^th at 9am for a fundraising walk.  Proceeds go to the Canadian Cancer Society.  The route is about 3km and can be tackled at any pace.  If you don’t have a dog but enjoy walking with them, this is your chance! We hope to see you there.

For those who cannot attend, but want to donate, you may do that here: https://fundraisemyway.cancer.ca/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.personalCampaign&participantID=2051

Mother’s Day is May 14^th

For those who want to celebrate a mother in their lives, here are some ways to spend some quality time with that special person. 

Nature loving moms will want to get outside – here are some options:

• Mother’s Day for the Queen Bee – Geesbees Honey Company is hosting at their farm at 538 River Road.  Treat your queen bee to an unforgettable experience at their honey farm! Your bee-loved mother will love the visit as both an enjoyable outing and a chance to learn about the fascinating world of bees and their queen.  They’ll be hosting special demonstrations about the queen bee throughout the day, which you can enjoy from their screened gazebo while watching the bees flying in and out of the beehives. https://www.geesbees.ca/event-details/mothers-day-for-the-queen-bee-1

• Weekend Bikedays start on Saturday May 13^th – so head over to the Parkway over the Mother’s Day weekend to cycle, walk, run or roll.  Today, NCC Weekend Bikedays provide about 17 kilometres of parkways to thousands of visitors, who enjoy seeing the Capital Region from a different perspective and in a fun and environmentally friendly way.  https://ncc-ccn.gc.ca/events/weekend-bikedays
  • Go for a Walk and look for birds, plants and animals. There are many free apps that you can use to help identify the things you see. Many of the apps allow you to log your sightings to help scientists and conservationists as a citizen scientist! Not all require a smart phone – some also have a website where you can log observations when you get home.
    • Free Merlin Bird ID app (ID birds by region, using sounds, photos or answering questions) https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
    • eBird Canada – a website that allows you to log your sightings and see what others are seeing in your area: https://ebird.org/canada/home
    • iNaturalist – an app that allows you to log observations of plants, animals, insects, birds etc.  https://www.inaturalist.org/
    • PlantNet is a tool to help identify plants with pictures: https://identify.plantnet.org/

For active folks, there are some runs and walks you could join:

• WWF’s Run to Restore Nature (a fundraiser event from May 7^th to 15^th) is something you can do at any location and at a time that works for you.  Tackle the 5 km Swift Fox Sprint, 10 km Tiger Trek or the Great Half-Marathon Caribou Migration (21 km). Run to Restore Nature (wwf.ca) The Mother’s Day Flower Fun Run – supporting the Canadian Tulip Legacy.  Starting location is Dow’s Lake Pavillion and organizers say this will be one of the most scenic runs around!  Mother’s Day Flower Fun Run – Supporting the Canadian Tulip Legacy (somersault.ca)

Ottawa Farmers’ Market returns to Orléans

From May 25^th to October 26^th, head to Ray Friel Complex on Thursdays between 11am and 4pm to grab local produce and market goodies.  https://ottawafarmersmarket.ca/orleans-market/

Bridge Committee Update

As we finally emerge from winter’s deep freeze, everything is astir, and the Bridge Committee is no exception. This month, we are launching our door-to-door campaign in the neighbourhood to ensure that no one remains unaware of a federal government proposal to build a bridge across the Ottawa River and through the Greenbelt at the western edge of Orléans. Our volunteers will be wearing badges for easy recognition, and will be distributing printed information on the harmful consequences the bridge would have on the community and the environment:

• destruction of the Greenbelt on the Ontario side and of extensive wetlands on the Quebec side
• further traffic saturation on Regional Road 174 and “the split”, already strained by ongoing development in Orleans and points east.

Residents will also be invited to get involved in various ways – by contacting their government representatives, attending public meetings, etc. – to clearly convey to the government that this proposal is not supported by the community.

We look forward to meeting neighbourhood residents in person, and to working together to preserve the rare gem in which we live!

Environment Committee Update

On Earth Day, April 22nd, CGOWCA’s Environment Committee hosted a “Cleaning the Capital” neighbourhood clean-up.

Over 90 community members pitched in to collect over 100 bags of waste and recycling from parks, paths, and green spaces throughout our community. The efforts of this group have helped keep our community clean and helped prevent trash from making its way into green spaces and waterways. 

Thank you to our sponsors, and to all the community members who came out. Your support made this event a big success! We look forward to seeing you at our next event. 

Pictured, members of the Environment Committee with some of the waste collected throughout the event. 

If you want to join our committee, please email conventglenorleanswood@gmail.com.