April 26, 2018: Great News for Hampton-Iona; TD Parks grant inspires new projects (June 2-16, and beyond).

April 26, 2018: Great News for Hampton-Iona;
TD Parks grant inspires new projects (June 2-16, and beyond).

By Eileen Hun.

Hampton-Iona Community Group (HICG) is excited to announce that it has been awarded a Grant for $2000.00 from a project called “TD Parks People”, initiated to help make community events happen in parks.

Eleven grants were to be awarded to each of five cities, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. The program is sponsored by TD Canada Trust.

Our submission had to include three events happening between April and December 2018. All events had to be at no cost to participants.

Our first event will be a “Tire Recycling Planter Project”, a team building effort to span three generations of participants taking place in Iona Park between June 2nd and June 16th.

Under the guidance of professional artist Claudia Salguero, we will be creating a number of flower planters from recycled tires over five sessions. Each session will last for 3 hours and will build on the work done at the previous session.

Our “new” tire planters will then be filled with flowers and the planters will last for years, lending color and art to the park. We need teams of 10 participants for each session.

Following events will be “Fun and Games in the Park” in mid-summer, and in the fall, a Guided Nature walk through Hampton and Iona Parks. Details of these events will follow.

Photo Caption: Among projects sponsored by a TD Canada Trust Grant, the Tire Recycling Planter Project offers colour and growth by re-purposing old tires. Photo courtesy of HIC.

April 12, 2018: Big Tree Culling; Cut now, pay later?

April 12, 2018: Big Tree Culling;
Cut now, pay later?

By Chris Jones.

To anyone who strolls casually through the streets of Kitchissippi, it will be clear that there is a great deal of new house construction, additions and renovations going on. Developers and investors engaged in new builds and home-flipping are altering the character of the neighborhoods that have been so welcoming for so long.

As larger, boxier dwellings, condominiums and multi-residential units get built, consuming larger portions of their respective lots, a regrettable consequence is the demise of many large or distinctive trees that once adorned our neighborhoods.

These venerable trees make up the canopy of our community, furnishing much needed shade and shelter, absorbing low level ambient pollution and providing a cherished aesthetic enhancement to the streetscape. Their branches and leaves soften the harsh geometric shapes and straight lines that make up the typical urban street form.

Trees, once regarded as things of beauty, are increasingly seen as hindrances or “dangerous” obstacles that must be removed to maximize construction footprints and other amenities for the new owner/investor.

Larger dwellings provide additional property tax revenue for the City of Ottawa, which becomes a financial disincentive for the preservation of trees.

In 2015 in Kitchissippi ward, there were 100 requests made for the removal of “distinctive” trees—defined as a tree 50 cm in diameter or larger at breast height. It should be noted that each application may have included multiple trees at the same civic address. This means we have no way of knowing just how many distinctive trees were actually removed under the 59 permits granted that year. The city’s report on this topic didn’t provide this information.

I have noticed, too, that through neglect and lack of enforcement, insufficient protection is afforded to the root systems of distinctive trees when contractors are excavating a site. The result? The tree’s vital nutrient system is compromised leading to a failure to thrive. This of course, results in the developer or owner being able to later request a removal on the basis that the tree is dangerous, dead, diseased or severely injured.

These unfortunate trends have recently led a group of concerned residents — BIG TREES of Kitchissippi — to push for changes designed to arrest the steady cull of distinctive trees that is happening in the name of development.

Some of the sensible recommendations made by the group to amend the existing Urban Tree Conservation By-Law include;

• Requiring the applicant to post a notice of application for removal of a distinctive tree for a period of 14 days in plain sight, in plain language, and readable from the street’s curbside so that neighbors do not need to enter the property to read it;
• Change the definitions of distinctive tree so the diameter at breast height (DBH) for a deciduous tree is 30 cm and for a coniferous tree is 20 cm;
• Revise the rules for impacted trees on neighboring properties in order to protect the critical root zones that span adjoining properties; and
• Increase the minimum fine for conviction of injury to or removal of a distinctive tree without a permit from $500 to $10,000.

More can and must be done to protect this unique natural heritage wisely bequeathed us by earlier residents of this community. Learn more at: https://bigtreeskitch.wixsite.com/trees .

If you are concerned about the rapid loss of Kitchissippi’s forest canopy, contact Jeff Leiper at jeff@KitchissippiWard.ca or Mayor Jim Watson at Jim.Watson@ottawa.ca and make your views known. This is an election year.

Photo Caption: Every tree lost diminishes a community in noticeable and measureable ways with a cost that will be borne by future generations. Exposed roots on this spruce have been dealt significant damage which threatens this tree’s survival. Carelessness during construction often damages root systems, necessitating, or providing excuses for, later tree removal.

April 12, 2018: A West End Garden Legacy; Sherry Clarke’s enduring work.

April 12, 2018: A West End Garden Legacy;
Sherry Clarke’s enduring work.

By Deb Chapman.

When you have three kids under the age of ten and live close to a park, that park becomes like a second home. That was the case for Sherry Clarke who lived just half a block away from the Clare Gardens Park on Evered.

Back in 2008, Shane 3, Alicia 6, and Kayleigh 11, spent most of their free time meeting friends and burning off energy on the play structures, and running around the field. But after 20 years of kids and teens having fun, the play structures were showing their age. The park was in decline.

The wood in the play structures was decaying and pieces were falling off. The park’s pathways had potholes. They didn’t connect. Teens were using the play structures to explore all sorts of more ‘adult behaviours’. The nearby bench was being used after dark for dope deals. The beautiful tree-lined park was showing decay and needed something to make its users respect it again.

Sherry had a great idea to make the park sparkle again. Why not ask owners for permission to remove perennials and shrubs from proposed infill developments, and transplant the plants to Clare Gardens Park? Developers and owners alike whole-heartedly agreed to every donation.

Everyone likes to save plants that add a little beauty in our lives. And so neighbours began guerrilla gardening, giving the plants on death row a reprieve. Garden beds were created where grass refused to grow. Visitors took notice of the landscaping improvements and it seemed like the park was getting a second chance.

The guerrilla gardeners have since gone legit. Now known as the Volunteer Gardeners of Clare Park, the gardeners have adopted the park, and partner with the Westboro Community Association on park clean-ups and special events. Gardens now encircle the park and new, engaging play structures have been added. Ten years on, Clare Gardens Park attracts visitors from neighbourhoods as far away as Chinatown, Ottawa South, and Woodroffe to the west.

Thanks to the vision and creative thinking of Sherry Clark, Clare Gardens Park is a success story. Her approach to recycling plants has made news across the province and the gardeners are often asked for advice by other community groups in Ottawa.

Sherry died last fall after a valiant fight against breast cancer. This community-minded trailblazer never stopped giving back to the community. Two weeks before her death, Sherry helped organize a fundraiser for the Sherrypalooza Run for the Cure team. She believed in giving back. The gardens she imagined, and worked to build, in Clare Park, will continue to bring beauty and a healthier environment for everyone to enjoy.

The Volunteer Gardeners of Clare Park are committed to continuing Sherry’s legacy. If you would like to join the gardeners and spend some time in the park making it pretty, please contact us. If you’re a parent, it’s a great way to be near your kids but give them some independence while they play. For everyone else, it’s a nice way to spend some time in nature. All are welcome. Drop us a line at: volunteergardenersofclarepark@gmail.com .

Photo Caption: Sherry Clarke is fondly remembered for her generosity of spirit and her energy in making many lasting contributions to the enhancement and growth of her neighbourhood and her community. Clare Park Gardens represent just one facet of her legacy. Photo courtesy the Clark/Rivet family.