Growing the Greenbelt
As a member of the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance, Wellington Water Watchers continues to urge the Province to grow the Greenbelt to protect source water, urban river valleys and prime agricultural land in Wellington County. As citizens of the upper portion of the Grand River watershed, we have a responsibility to protect source water for future generations not only within Wellington County, but also in the downstream communities of Brant, Six Nations and all others adjacent to the Grand.
TAKE ACTION - The Province is still accepting comments about proposed changes to the Greenbelt and Growth Plans until September 30th. Please take a moment to make your voice heard on the matter. Use the following link to send or edit a prewritten email to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, urging them to grow the Greenbelt into outer ring municipalities including Wellington County.
Say NO to Nestlé in Wellington County.
We still have no word about the renewal bid Nestlé has requested for their Aberfoyle permit which expired yesterday (July 31, 2016). Please stay tuned for how you can respond as soon as we learn what the fate of their permit is.
In the meantime, please take the following steps:
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 Contact the Premier right now. Tell Kathleen Wynne to say NO to Nestlé's applications for water taking in Aberfoyle and Elora. Email, call and write a letter and tell everyone you know who drinks water to do the same.
 See contact details
Take our survey.
 Tie a blue ribbon on your tree to show that you support "Water for Life, Not Profit". Register here and we will bring you one - OR - You can get a blue ribbon at the following locations (suggested donation of $5):
- The Guelph Farmer's Market, Saturday 7-12.
- 10 Carden, Guelph, front desk, Monday-Friday 9-5
- The Elora Farmer's Market
- the Fountainhead, Fergus
- Santé in Elora
- Ashanti in Elora
- Awareness Yoga Studio in Elora
- Ignatius Jesuit Centre in Guelph
- and a growing list of business who wish to support this campaign (please contact us if you would be willing to help as a distribution site - [email protected])
Watch this short video tutorial to learn how to tie one on!
Please share these 3 simple requests with everyone you know. Together we can stop this corporate profiteering of our precious water.
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Water for Life~Water Music and Celebration
Join mother and daughter Karen and Kaitlyn Rathwell (aka K. La Luna) to explore water music and issues
Wednesday August 3rd, 2016 at 7:30 pm.
Red Brick Café
10 Douglas St
Guelph
Pay what you can – suggested $10 donation to the Blue Ribbon campaign.
2Rivers Festival May and June 2016
Story from the 2Rivers Festival....
Evening paddlers on the Eramosa River were surprised to learn how beavers in Guelph - and the rest of the world for that fact - guard their territory. Simply put, they slap their round flat tails on the surface of the water before diving for the deep. The message they leave behind is quite clear "This is my place, get lost!". What's more, a paddler slapping their canoe or kayak paddle on the surface of the water was able to get a beaver to respond in kind. You never know what you'll learn around the next bend in the river.....
2Rivers Festival Wrap-up
The fifth annual 2Rivers Festival came to a close with the last event on June 25. Just over 600 people attended the 16 days of festival events and activities the months of May and June. We are excited that the festival was so well received by our community! If you enjoyed the festival and would like to offer your ideas and energy towards making next year's festival even better, please consider becoming a volunteer trainee on our steering committee. Please contact Leanne Johns at [email protected] to learn more.
Nature on our Banks
In the month of July, the land and sky are teeming with summer fervor! Early on in the month, cicadas start calling, a reminder of hot summer days, and immature hummingbirds begin to show up at nectar feeders and on plants. Don't be fooled by hummingbird moths which are often mistaken for baby hummingbirds! You may see mallards and wood ducks molting into "eclipse" plumage and unable to fly for several weeks. Highbush cranberry starts producing fruit and will continue to do so until December. Finally, don't forget the beautiful night sky especially if you are spending time far from city lights. Look for the Delta Aquarids Meteor shower which peaks in late-July.
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Bluebelt in the Greenbelt
Growing the Greenbelt
As a member of the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance, Wellington Water Watchers continues to urge the Province to grow the Greenbelt to protect source water, urban river valleys and prime agricultural land in Wellington County. As citizens of the upper portion of the Grand River watershed, we have a responsibility to protect source water for future generations not only within Wellington County, but also in the downstream communities of Brant, Six Nations and all others adjacent to the Grand.
Greenbelt Town Hall
Thank you to our excellent speakers, Kevin Thomason and David Donnelly, for their engaging and informative presentations, and all those of you that came out to attend and help with the event on June 15th! We learned that Greenbelt policy brings with it a comprehensive Natural Heritage System - providing much needed protection where none exists, or providing a complimentary layer of protection where protection already exists.
An Inspired Conversation Report
On February 18th, Wellington Water Watchers hosted An Inspired Conversation, bringing together regional decision-makers, stakeholders and rights holders to discuss an expanded Greenbelt in Wellington County. The thoughts of plenary speaker David Crombie and the rest of the panel were indeed inspired, and raised excellent points and important questions about the provincial Land Use Planning Review. A summary of the panel discussion can be found here, while a more detailed transcript and follow-up is available here. TAKE ACTION
The Province is still accepting comments about proposed changes to the Greenbelt and Growth Plans until September 30th. Please take a moment to make your voice heard on the matter. Use the following link to send or edit a prewritten email to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, urging them to grow the Greenbelt into outer ring municipalities including Wellington County. |
Other ways to Help.....
Doing the work to safeguard our water requires all hands on deck. We are all WATER WATCHERS! Please give of your time or money generously. Make us stronger. Make us more powerful. And let’s defend our waters together.If you are richer in time then money, please
If you are richer in money than time, please
With sincere thanks in advance!
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