The Glebe Community Sustainability Plan Workshop – A Recap | Unpublished
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Sustainability Intern PERC
Ottawa, Ontario
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The Ottawa Peace and Environment Resource Centre (PERC) is an incorporated, registered charity. It is primarily a volunteer-run, grassroots organization with a Board of Directors to govern its operations. The PERC was founded in January, 1983, by a group of concerned Ottawa residents who wanted to take action on peace issues of the time. The first newspaper - then called the Ottawa Peace Resource Calendar - was published in November 1985, and the Peace & Environment News (PEN) produced today continues that tradition.

We focus on peace, social justice and environmental issues, with an emphasis on local activities.

Our main activities include:

  • Working with Ottawa area non-profits and place-based community groups through partnerships, web hosting, promotion, and cooperation towards a more peaceful, sustainable and socially just world.
  • Operating a resource centre with books, periodicals, and multimedia resources on environmental, peace, and social justice issues.
  • Facilitating “PERCshops” on various topics, often in partnership with other groups.
  • Acting as a network hub for people and organizations who want to find information and take action locally on issues that matter to them.
  • Distributing the PEN, an accessible alternative local quarterly publication that addresses topics of peace, environment and social justice.

Our publication, the Peace and Environment News (PEN) is distributed through the local library and community centre networks, as well as to various local businesses and gathering places by our team of volunteers. It is available for FREE in these locations. Members receive the PEN mailed directly to their homes and inboxes in exchange for their generous support. To subscribe to the PEN - or give a gift subscription, simply make a tax-deductible donation.

 

The PERC gratefully acknowledges the support of these many private and business donors, our partners, as well as the contributions of the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Ottawa Community Foundation.

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The Glebe Community Sustainability Plan Workshop – A Recap

December 7, 2021

By Stefan Klietsch, PERC Intern

Ottawa Biosphere Eco-City (OBEC) is an organization dedicated to pursuing an "environmentally sustainable City that support a high quality of life, now and for future generations", by fostering a partnership with "stakeholders by sharing ideas, knowledge, and experience". As such, on September 25th OBEC hosted a Glebe Community Sustainability Workshop at the Glebe Community Centre. Organizers solicited participants to share ideas for sustainability goals and projects for the neighbourhood.

Issues of discussion from the more than a dozen participants ranged widely from sidewalk accessibility to road services to hospital zoning to diversity to neighbourhood design. One theme of focus was the issue of unaffordability of living in the Glebe and the difficulty of living there without a pre-established career. One participant expressed concern about the increase of gentrification to accommodate an aging population that will leave behind much empty space. It was suggested that gentrification would be more favourable for Ottawa's more suburban communities.

OBEC Interns Sabrina Guvenc and Julia Derue further solicited discussion from participants about what they love about the Glebe and how to incorporate the benefits of Glebe living with sustainability. Participants identified the proximity of the Glebe to the downtown working core and to all community settings. Though one participant was left wondering if the work structure change of the pandemic might make the Glebe community less centered around the downtown core.

Participants offered a range of specific ideas for fostering more sustainability in the Glebe. Ideas included more farmer's markets, more community gardens, salt on sidewalks during winter, more green bins in apartments, more implementation of the Access for Ontarians with Disability Act, more recreation centers, more public washrooms, and free or affordable transit. There was also agreement on the need to consider the Indigenous lifestyle in more development decisions.

The workshop was a positive and constructive experience for all involved. We at the Ottawa Peace and Environment Resource Center and Eastern Sustainable Ontario Network look forward to participating in whichever conversation around sustainability that OBEC starts next.

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