Sep 01

September 2024 Newsletter

Community BBQ – September 8th, 11 AM – 2 PM

Photograph of the community barbeque site. There is a long line up of people in the centre who are waiting to get food at Golden Fries. Along the left side of the photo, there are tents lined up in a row leading to the food truck. Along the right, towards the back of the site, there are more tents with activities and entertainment for attendees.

On Sunday, September 8, 2024 from 11 AM – 2 PM, there will be a community BBQ by Golden Fries on the Convent Glen Shopping Center. There will be lots of fun and activities for the family.

Read all about the event: Community BBQ – Convent Glen-Orléans Wood

Back to School Safety

Catch up on the rules of the road around schools and crosswalks as school gets back in session this fall.

Cheryl Turpin, morning crossing guard at Convent Glen Catholic School shares some great info about keeping kids safe around the roads near our schools. Cheryl has also provided some details from the City about ongoing construction at Jeanne d’Arc and Fortune as work on the roundabout begins.

Read all about it: Back to School Road Safety – Convent Glen-Orléans Wood.

Environment Committee Update

The Amazing Monarch Butterfly Migration

Article: Nadia Ouellette, CGOWCA Environment Committee
Photo credit: Dave Keys

Fall is upon us, and we will soon witness the migration of the Monarch butterfly. From September to October, Eastern Monarchs begin their long migration from Canada to Mexico. These amazing insects will fly over 4000 km (2500 miles) to central Mexico. On average they can fly 100 miles per day and one single Monarch was documented to fly 250 miles in one day!

Read more about the migration: https://www.conventglenorleanswood.com/the-amazing-monarch-butterfly-migration-environment-committee/.

The CGOWCA environmental subcommittee invites you to an information talk on Monarch gardens.

Please join us in hosting the Monarch Teacher Network’s presentation on “Creating a Monarch Garden” 

Want to learn more about this amazing butterfly and how your garden can help? It’s not too late to add plants to this year’s garden or to design next year’s garden. 

Please join us!

When? Thursday September 26th, 7:30 pm
Where? Hall A at Bob Macquarrie Recreation Complex
Cost? Free! Donations will be welcome

CGOWCA Annual General Meeting – September 24th at 7 PM

Annual General Meeting - Get Involved!

September 24th, 2024 at 7:00 PM / Bob MacQuarrie – Hall G

Participants are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes early to get settled and start the meeting promptly.

Find the full AGM agenda on the website, and please email conventglenorleanswood@gmail.com to register to attend. To officially register as a member of the Community Association, starting with the AGM you will need to complete the sign-up form.

CGOWCA Bridge Committee Update

We hope you have all had a thoroughly enjoyable and restful summer.

While recent news (please see the Latest News: Federal Budget section on the first page of our website, www.nogreenbeltbridge.com) suggests that the Greenbelt bridge project is on hold, experience has taught us to remain vigilant: this very project was declared abandoned in 2013, but then was quietly reinitiated in 2022 (see our website’s History tab). With this sobering realization in mind, we are continuing our awareness-raising campaign so that, should the federal government suddenly announce its intention to move forward with a bridge across the Ottawa River and through the eastern Greenbelt, we would be able to immediately and convincingly show that the entire community is already opposed to it.

Stay tuned or, better yet, get involved. You can reach the Bridge Committee at cgnbridgecommittee@gmail.com. You are welcome to add your name to our database so that we can better keep you in the loop.

Volunteer for the Board of Directors

A group of 5 people sitting around a board room table. They have papers and pens on the table. There is a flip chart in the back that they've been drawing on.

We are seeking individuals looking to give back to their community by joining the CGOWCA Board of Directors. If you are interested in volunteering, please send an email to conventglenorleanswood@gmail.com by September 3rd.

Directors attend one Board meeting per month, lasting approximately 1.5 hours.  In addition, Directors get to help shape the future of the Association by actively managing the Association’s business.   For example, you could help plan and implement initiatives related to our Strategic Plan, such as a communication strategy, fundraising, or signing up other volunteers.  Or, you could help by planning local community events.

The number of hours per month each Director volunteers above and beyond attending Board meetings is determined by that Director.

Join the Discord

Join the Convent Glen / Orleans Wood Community on Discord.

A Special Thank You to Outgoing Newsletter Editor Frances Childs

After several years as the organizing force behind this newsletter, Fran has decided to step
away to pursue other volunteer opportunities.

We are so very grateful for all of Fran’s hard work over the years and we wish her the best of luck!

Send in Local Stories

Is there something going on in the community (events, interesting news, something else) that you think other members of the community may want to see, email conventglenorleanswood@gmail.com with the information. This year, we are trying out publishing on the website more frequently and using the monthly newsletter to curate highlights from the community. We can’t promise to post everything, but we will do our best.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.conventglenorleanswood.com/september-2024-newsletter/

Sep 01

2024 Annual General Meeting – Notice and Agenda

The Convent Glen Orleans Wood Community Association is holding its Annual General Meeting on September 24th in Hall G at the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex at 7pm.  Please send an email to conventglenorleanswood@gmail.com to register.  The agenda can be found below.  People are encouraged to arrive 15 mins early to get situated and to fill out their membership forms.

CGOWCA-2024-Annual-General-Meeting-Notice-and-AgendaDownload

Permanent link to this article: https://www.conventglenorleanswood.com/2024-annual-general-meeting-notice-and-agenda/

Aug 30

The Amazing Monarch Butterfly Migration | Environment Committee

Article: Nadia Ouellette, CGOWCA Environment Committee
Photo credit: Dave Keys

Fall is upon us, and we will soon witness the migration of the Monarch butterfly. From September to October, Eastern Monarchs begin their long migration from Canada to Mexico. These amazing insects will fly over 4000 km (2500 miles) to central Mexico. On average they can fly 100 miles per day and one single Monarch was documented to fly 250 miles in one day!

There are typically four to five generations of Monarchs per year. The fall adult population, tasked with this long journey to Mexico, can live up to nine months. They live over winter as adults then lay eggs in Mexico. These eggs become generation one, who will migrate north and lay new generations of eggs along the way. This is considered one of the marvels of nature as these insects are migrating long distances to a land they have never seen before. They inherently know which direction to travel.

Unfortunately, the population of this majestic insect has declined by 90% since the 1990s. Agriculture and urban development have destroyed habitat and food required to sustain the travelling Monarchs. Heavy use of herbicides and pesticides are also destroying the plants needed to feed Monarch’s and killing the insects themselves. 

What can we do? As with most butterflies, the caterpillar stage can only eat from specific plants. The host plant for the Monarch is milkweed. Ontario is lucky to have a variety of beautiful native milkweeds. To help preserve the Monarch, it’s important to plant milkweeds in your garden. Having other native plants available to feed the adult butterfly is also important for their survival. 

Creating a Monarch Garden | Monarch Teacher Network Presentation

Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 7:30 PM / Hall A, Bob Macquarrie Rec Complex
FREE (Donations welcome)

We are pleased to announce that we are hosting The Monarch Teacher Network for a lecture on “Creating a Monarch Garden”. Please join us Thursday September 26th, 7:30 pm at Bob MacQuarrie, Hall A for a complementary community discussion on how your garden can help the Monarch. 

Permanent link to this article: https://www.conventglenorleanswood.com/the-amazing-monarch-butterfly-migration-environment-committee/

Aug 28

Back to School Road Safety

Cheryl Turpin, Crossing Guard, Convent Glen Catholic School

Hello everyone! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Cheryl Turpin. I am the morning crossing guard (last year the afternoon guard) at the corner of Jeanne d’Arc and Fortune. I want to share some important information about pedestrian safety and the ongoing construction in our area.

Pedestrian Safety Rules

It’s crucial for drivers to understand and follow the rules regarding pedestrian crosswalks. According to Ontario’s regulations, it is against the law, with fines up to $2000, for any vehicle to enter, encroach upon, or drive through a crosswalk when it is occupied. This means waiting until all occupants, including children, crossing guards, adults, dogs, bikes, etc., are safely on the sidewalk before proceeding1. I will stand in front of your car with my sign if you attempt to enter the crosswalk. Please obey the law. If you have an issue, contact the Ottawa Safety Council. Please ensure your kids know that they will be required to walk their bikes across the crosswalk and the same with scooters.

For more detailed information on these rules, you can visit the Ontario Government’s page on driving near pedestrian crossovers and school crossings1. Additionally, the new crosswalk rule implemented in Ontario can be confusing for some drivers. The rule requires drivers to wait until pedestrians have completely crossed the road before moving forward2. You can read more about this on Young Drivers of Canada’s blog3.

Construction Updates

You may have noticed the construction at our intersection. After speaking with the Project Manager, Kyle Delaney, I can report the following updates:

  • A temporary crosswalk will be located 30 feet to the right of the current location (toward the fire station) with overhead signals that are pedestrian-controlled. These are not traffic lights; the current lights will remain in use until they are replaced by the temporary ones.
  • Two construction flaggers will be monitoring and controlling the flow of traffic.
  • There will be two weeks of digging sidewalks and streets for the installation of a large sewer line and new catch basins.
  • Existing gravel will be graded and maintained until temporary sidewalks are installed.
  • Current light signals will stay in place until the temporary signals are installed.

For more information on the construction project, you can visit the City of Ottawa’s page on Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard Transit Measures4.

If you have any questions, please contact the Project Manager, Kyle Delaney, using the email from the City of Ottawa page above.

See you on Tuesday morning! Give yourselves lots of time and please be patient.

1 Ontario Government’s page on driving near pedestrian crossovers and school crossings

2 Stopping for pedestrian crossovers | The Official MTO Truck Handbook

3 Young Drivers of Canada’s blog on Ontario’s new crosswalk rule

4 City of Ottawa’s page on Jeanne d’Arc Boulevard Transit Measures

Permanent link to this article: https://www.conventglenorleanswood.com/back-to-school-road-safety/

Aug 25

Community BBQ | September 8, 2024

Join us on September 8, 2024, between 11 and 2 for our annual Community BBQ! Activities and food will be provided for free. Golden Fries will be serving lunch, the Girl Guides will host a craft table, we’ll have amazing face painting, lawn games, live music and more.

Find out more on our Facebook event page or write to us at conventglenorleanswood@gmail.com.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.conventglenorleanswood.com/community-bbq-september-8-2024/