The City’s Sustainability Team, along with the Parks and the Environmental Services departments, have been very busy this fall. An urban tree inventory is well underway, the funded Cooling Vulnerable Neighbourhoods tree planting project is wrapping up, and Energy Efficiency Day was celebrated October 4 with a Lunch and Learn webinar. In addition, the City’s Give a Shirt program collected 5.58 tonnes of pre-loved clothing and fabrics last month, donating the items to the Agape Centre, Salvation Army, and Serendipity Boutique. We were also recently at the River Symposium, held, this year, at the Cornwall Civic Complex. Our community booth highlighted some of the water conservation and local sustainability initiatives.
For the past few months, the City has been supporting Watersheds Canada and the River Institute to help naturalize areas near Rotary Creek and Rotary Point. This project, funded by the Great Lakes Local Action Fund, will also help restore cutlip minnow habitat. There was an extensive effort to pull out invasive phragmites from the shores of the creek. If you have not been to this area of Lamoureux Park in a while, check it out, you will be amazed at how much work has been completed.
Environmental education is always evolving, and we need to keep up! On October 10, several staff from the City’s Parks & Landscaping team had the opportunity to learn more about native plant species and to revitalize one of the educational pollinator gardens in the city. A native plant expert passed on advice and provided plants suited for the location. This newly revived garden is located at the corner of Brookdale Avenue and Second Street West.
Last week, the Youth for Climate Action Working Group (YFCA) attended Frontenac Arch Biosphere’s Youth Climate Action Summit in Kemptville. They joined high schools from across Eastern Ontario as well as several other youth organizations for a full day of learning and sharing ideas and knowledge. Some of the workshops they attended included Food with the Farmer’s Face on it: Exploring your local food system; Climate, Community and Self-Care; and Automobility, Car Dependency and Walkable Communities – which was one of their favourites as they got to design their own walkable city! I highly recommend this annual Summit to any youth organizations or high schools in Cornwall and SD&G.
The YFCA is continually recruiting new members. Students in grades 9-12 are eligible. Email sustainability@cornwall.ca for more information.
