Sustainable Living Ottawa East

Sustainable Living Ottawa East (SLOE) has a vision of Old Ottawa East as a leading green community -- a community that is increasingly appealing as a place to live, work and study, and is resilient in the face of environmental, economic and social change. We work towards this vision through projects that help people in Old Ottawa East to take concrete, practical steps to live more sustainably (reduce environmental pressures). We also look for opportunities to promote the health of the local economy and the well-being of residents. more...

Volunteers giving their time and elbow grease last Saturday morning to plant 150 new trees along the Rideau River

More specifically, our projects in Old Ottawa East aim to:

Expand the market share of sustainably-produced food (locally-grown, organic, fairly traded)
Increase food-growing within the community
Reduce consumption of non-renewable, GHG-emitting energy
Increase transportation alternatives (e.g., pedestrian, cycling), including recreational options
Minimize car use
Enhance the ecological health of existing public, institutional & residential green space
Promote and create green spaces that residents will enjoy

The links below will fill you in on some projects in place or in process:

Children's garden

SLOE is also contributing sustainability-related ideas and information to the advisory group that is working with the City to develop a Community Design Plan for Old Ottawa East. This is a planning process to “guide and assist the community to clearly express their vision for the future growth.”

To find out more, visit the Old Ottawa East Community Design Plan . The next open house to review the proposed plan will be held in early March.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Children's Garden Path Building

June 1^st, 9am - to noon, Legget Park, corner of Main and Clegg streets - join the children's garden team on Sunday morning to take up sod and move the earth to lay foundation for the pathway through the garden. If you have one, bring a shovel and/or spade - and plenty of water to keep you hydrated... See you there!

Solar Hot Water Workshop

On June 10^th at 7pm at Saint Paul University, SLOE is hosting a workshop for homeowners on the benefits and the possibilities for solar water heating, and how to install systems at lower cost. The workshop is being delivered by Solar H2Ottawa, a collaborative project between Seventh Generation Community Projects and Sustainable Ottawa. It is free of charge.

Thank you!

SLOE's first tree-planting day along the Rideau River shoreline took place in Brantwood Park. A huge thank you to Jennifer Shepherd and Steve Moss at the City of Ottawa Forestry Service for their big role in making this happen, and providing the beautiful trees. And an equally huge thank you to the forty or so volunteer planters who showed up to help, including the student's of Madame Pelletier's Grade 10 science class from Hillcrest High School. Together, we planted about a hundred and fifty trees and shrubs and did some thinning to clear sight-lines. The energy and enthusiasm spilled over to the Children's Garden at Legget Park, where a number of the volunteers took their spades to the turf to begin creating paths and beds.

Main Farmers Market

Vendor Forms

The Main Farmers Market will run the full season in 2008, every Saturday from May 17 to September 27, from 9 am to 2 pm on the grounds of Saint Paul University.If you are a vendor interested in a booth at the market, please read the invitation letter and complete and return the application form.

Applications for booths at the market will be processed in the order in which they are received.

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Anyone is welcome to attend SLOE meetings. The regular meeting date is the third Monday of each month (except July and August), from 7 to 8.30 pm. Meetings are held at 166B Drummond Street.

next meeting: to be announced

CONTACT US to find out more about SLOE or to help out on any of our projects

Bounded by the Rideau River to the East, the canal to the West and the Queensway and Nicholas to the north, Old Ottawa East is a geographically distinct community in Ottawa.

Minutes of previous meetings

January 2008

December 2007

November 2007

October 2007

September 2007

L I N K S

ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability is an international association of local governments and national and regional local government organizations that have made a commitment to sustainable development. More than 815 cities, towns, counties, and their associations worldwide comprise ICLEI's growing membership. ICLEI works with these and hundreds of other local governments through international performance-based, results-oriented campaigns and programs.

The Ecology Action Centre has acted as a voice for Nova Scotia's environment for over 35 years and works closely with social and natural scientists and makes strong use of science in communicating its message to the public.

Since 1978, the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) has worked to show urban communities how to develop more sustainably.

Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public places that build communities.

WorldChanging.com works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us. That plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. That the motive, means and opportunity for profound positive change are already present. That another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together.