Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour,
May promises to be an exciting month –
Beginning of Turtle Tally – Season Two!
If you would like to be involved, please contact inverarymary@yahoo.com. Volunteers welcome.
No experience necessary.
1) THE ERRATIC CONUNDRUM – A KINGSTON MYSTERY!
2) Protecting our downtown heritage – Great 2 min video!
3) Work on K&P Trail continues
4) New Turtle Stuff: First sightings + How to help a Snapping Turtles cross the road etc.
5) Thank you, thank you, thank you!
6) OMB Discussion – pending changes- April 28.
7) Trivia Night for Capital Project appellants – May 2.
8) City’s Building Fee Structure – Presentation of Draft, May 2.
9) Jane’s Walks in KIngston this year – May 5/6/7
10) Important Petition: New sister organization anxious to protect Portsmouth Olympic Harbour.
11) This year’s Celebrity Commuter Challenge – June 9
12) Hot off the press – Community Foundation Grant!
13) Exciting Flotilla
1) THE ERRATIC CONUNDRUM – A KINGSTON MYSTERY
Most mysteriously, a well-loved erratic was strangely removed from Douglas R. Fluhrer Park, apparently when the contractors were “fixing up” the park at the end of last season. Sadly, this removal was totally lacking in openness, transparency, and public engagement as was the destruction of the wild flowers along the wall, the cutting down of the community’s favourite shade tree, and the addition of unnecessary gravel on the right-of-way.
Erratics these days are worth a lot of money – especially one as beautiful and unusual as this one.
FYI: Erratics are large boulders that were brought to areas like Kingston by the glaciers of long ago Ice Ages. This one was beside the retaining wall on what was the old Cataraqui River shoreline. The removal was clearly planned as the rock is extremely heavy and would have required heavy equipment. This particular erratic, that was at the base of the robot mural, was, in the words of Queen’s Professor Emeritus of Geology, Herb Helmstaedt:
” a gneiss, as you can see from the horizontal layering, and the layering is cut by this very coarse-grained pegmatite. A pretty rock, to say the least.”
Many on the Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour mailing list have contacted me about this rock. We can’t believe the city would just get rid of this beautiful rock with no public consultation and when it is treasured and worth good money.
BASICALLY WE WANT IT BACK!
It is an interesting educational feature that speaks to the geological history of the area. In addition, it is in keeping with the “articulated wild” conception of the park visioning. The city has said they will look into it. Perhaps to save face the best thing would be if it would magically reappear under cover of darkness. Here’s hoping….
Of course, it might help to write to the mayor!
It should also help to write to John Bolognone, the city clerk (jbolognone@cityofkingston.ca) with the request that your e-mail be considered “Official Correspondence”.
FYI: It is shocking that the only way for any letters to the mayor or council to be part of the official record is to go through this archaic process. E-mails to local councillors simply don’t count as official record – although it is nice to copy them to keep them in the loop.
2) Amazing and wonderful 2 minute video on protecting downtown Kingston’s heritage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Please consider sharing and supporting.
3) Work on K&P Trail continues
Work is happening apace to be ready for the grand opening of the trail on June 10! Exciting! The section at River St. is now wheelchair accessible. The tent platform at the south end of Doug Fluhrer Park is done and the connecting trail there underway. Preparations underway for the grand openig of the trail June 10. Also good news (confirmed April 27). The Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority has agreed that the plastic barrier at the north end of the park and around the Woolen Mill (put up initially to prevent turtles from nesting along the path as well as to prevent run off from snow melt and April rains) can now be taken down. We have been worried about spring hatchlings being prevented from reaching the water. Word just in from Neal Unsworth in the Parks Department that openings have been made in the plastic and that next week, after the shoreline has been fixed up the plastic will be removed totally. Good to hear!
4) NEW TURTLE : STUFF
a) FIRST TURTLE SIGHTINGS – Young adults basking at the Woolen Mill – April 27
b) GREAT VIDEO – How to help a Snapping Turtle cross the road. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Who knows? With the apparent increase in Inner Harbour turtle population, you may have need of this!
c) EXCELLENT RESOURCE FOR TURTLE RECOGNITION:
http://cottagelife.com/
d) TURTLE TALLY COMMENCING SOON! If you would like to join our 50 volunteer effort to help protect turtle nests during nesting season this May and June, contact inverarymary@yahoo.com.
5) THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH!
To Kendra Noble and Bill Duffenais and all of the wonderful volunteers who came out on Earth Day to clean up the section of K&P Trail from River Street to Quattrochhi’s. The best turn out ever! Well over 30 and a great job done by all. Thanks so much too to the Bread and Butter Bakery for such awesome goodies and to Joe Quattrocchi once again for donating fruit to the hungry volunteers. So very much appreciated.
Also many many thanks to the Kingston Velo Club for looking after the section further up. Many many garbage bags full! Kudos!
6) OMB DISCUSSION – Pending changes
Who: Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario
When: Fri. April 28, 5 pm.
Where: The Sanctuary – 221 Queen St.
All welcome. Coffee and conversation. No charge.
7) TRIVIA NIGHT- in support of the Capital Project appellants
When: May 2, 7 pm
Where: Grad Club, cr. Union and Barrie
All Welcome!
8) CITY’S BUILDING STRUCTURE – Presentation of Draft
In case you are planning home renovations this season….
What: The city is looking for public and stakeholder input on what and how the City charges for building-related permits and activities from fences and home renovations to industrial developments. A presentation will be followed by a question and answer period at both sessions. The draft will be available for review at http://www.CityofKingston.
When: Residents can choose from two sessions: Tues, May 2 at 9:30 -11:30, or 1:30 – 3:30.
Where: Second floor boardroom, 1211 John Counter Blvd, Second floor boardroom.
Contact: Lisa Capener-Hunt, manager, building services. at lcapener-hunt@
9) JANE’S WALKS IN KINGSTON – May 5/6/7
Wonderful tours of Kingston’s neighbourhoods to honour the urban visionary Jane Jacobs. This year’s Jane’s Walks are an eclectic mix of the old and the new, of neighbourhoods and campuses:
Knowledgeable and interesting local residents are your guides.
http://janeswalk.org/canada/
Fri, May 5, 2017 4:00 PM Headquarters of the Great Lakes Fleet – The Royal Navy Dockyard. Meet at Panet House on the east side of the Royal Military College of Canada.
Sat, May 6, 2017 10:00 AM The Isabel, the Tett, bandages and beer. Meet in the foyer of the Isabel Bader Centre.
Sun, May 7, 2017 11:00 AM Bagot Street North – Oral History from the Swamp Ward and Inner Harbour History Project. Meet at the corner of Bagot and Barrack (Staples Parking lot.)
Sun, May 7, 2017 1:00 PM Kingscourt: Airfield to Wartime Housing. Meet in the parking lot of St. Peter’s Elementary School 48 7th Ave.
Sun, May 7, 2017 3:00 PM The Heritage District of Barriefield Village: Buffered or Besieged? Meet at the former Horton School site near the corner of Wellington and George St.s in Barriefield.
Contact: John Grenville – john.grenville@cogeco.ca
10) IMPORTANT PETITION: New sister organization wants to protect Portsmouth Olympic Harbour.
As a gesture of solidarity with this new community organization we urge you to take the time to have a look at their concerns and consider signing and sharing their petition.
“Save the Kingston Portsmouth Olympic Harbour Greenspace and Character”.
Their goal is to reach 650+ signatures and they need more support. Check it out !https://www.change.org/p/
11) Heads up for this year’s Celebrity Commuter Challenge!
Friday Morning, June 9.
If you are interested in joining us, get in touch. We will be starting on the K&P Trail on the Unity Road (parking available) and cycling in to a Roll-In Breakfast provided by Cycle Kingston in Market Square downtown.
MP Mark Gerretsen and other dignitaries will be joining us at Binnington Court (parking available). Still others are welcome to join us at Belle Park (parking available). Should be fun.
More about specific times in the next update….
12) Hot off the press- Community Foundation Grant!
We are most grateful and delighted to accept this grant that will help with our turtle initiatives. Official acceptance on May 15 at the Residence Inn, 7 Earl St., 4-6 pm.
Details to follow official acceptance.
13) Exciting Flotilla!
On May 2nd, 2017, a diverse group of sixteen paddlers will be arriving in Kingston where they will launch a 10-day journey through the Rideau Waterway in a 36-foot Voyageur Canoe destined for Ottawa as part of a Canada 150 project.
To mark the beginning of their journey – from Canada’s First Capital to its current Capital – the Community Foundation for Kingston & Area, the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes and several local paddling groups have partnered to give them a great send off, in true Kingston style!
A flotilla of some 20 local paddlers will travel with the Voyageur canoe in a symbolic paddle and then they will give and accept greetings from the group and the Mayor on behalf of the City of Kingston at a reception at the River Mill Restaurant before they officially embark on their historic journey the next morning.
The Connected by Canoe journey is part of a sesquicentennial project of The Canadian Canoe Museum, designed to foster conversation about community and belonging: individually, as a community, and as a nation. Their journey literally reinforces the notion that “we’re all in the same boat”, and will be documented on film.
“They reached out to us as the Community Foundation to see if we would be willing to meet with them to give and accept greetings as they started their journey from Kingston” said Tina Bailey, the Foundation’s Executive Director. “We thought this was a great initiative, so we reached out to other local groups with an interest in our waterways to see if they would be interested in being a part of it, and it just grew from there to become quite the event”.
Participating in the event are the Community Foundation, Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, Cataraqui Canoe Club, 1000 Islands Kayaking Company, Limestone Board and Boat Club, and the Sydenham Lake Canoe Club.
Everyone is welcome to come out to give their greetings to the group. The flotilla of boats, led by the Coast Guard, will depart from one of two locations at 3:30 pm, arriving at the Kingston Rowing Club beside the Woollen Mill in the Inner Harbour in time for a reception at the River Mill Restaurant from 4:30 – 5:30 pm. Official remarks will take place from 4:30 – 4:45 pm, to be started by the Town Crier in true Kingston style.
Winds and water conditions permitting, the flotilla will depart from the lower West Street dock at 3:30 pm and travel to the Kingston Rowing Club.
If winds exceed 15 km per hour, the flotilla will launch from the Kingston Rowing Club and paddle around the more sheltered inner harbour past the La Salle Causeway to HMCS Cataraqui and back.
About the Connected by Canoe Project
Connected by Canoe is a sesquicentennial project of The Canadian Canoe Museum and Community Foundations of Canada, in partnership with the Ottawa Community Foundation, Parks Canada, and other community organizations along the Rideau Waterway. They will end their journey in Ottawa where they will help open the Community Foundation of Canada’s national conference.
The 16 paddlers will consist youth and other representatives from a variety of partner organizations including Parks Canada, Curve Lake First Nation, Nunavut Sivuniksavut, the Peterborough Kawartha Rotary Club, Fulford Preparatory School, Rideau Roundtable and Confederation of First Nation Cultural Learning Centres as well as photographers and videographers.
The first “Express Leg” of the journey will take place from May 3rd to May 10th when the group will paddle from Kingston to Ottawa via the Rideau Waterway, stopping each night in different communities to celebrate and engage in conversation with local people and organizations.
Topics of discussion along the route will revolve around the on-going importance and possibilities of canoes for community building, and ideas for building an equitable, sustainable and inclusive future for Canada. Each of the 16 paddlers will bring their own open-ended questions about the future of Canada inspired by these topics for discussion.
The conversations and activities of the Express Leg will be captured in the form of videos, photos, songs and stories that will be shared daily through The Canadian Canoe Museum’s social media and other new media channels, allowing all Canadians to follow along with the journey and conversations, and engage with the project and participants.
The group will arrive in Ottawa on May 11th for the “Ceremonial Leg” of the project. There, they will be joined by 3 other large water crafts that represent canoe building culture and traditions from across Canada including an Umiaq from the North Coast, a Haida-style Spirit Canoe from the West coast and a Voyageur Canoe.
The four canoes will paddle together from Dow’s Lake Pavilion to the Rideau Locks to celebrate and honour Canada’s waterways and indigenous cultures. This ceremonial paddle will include traditional drumming, singing and a continuation of the conversations from the Express Leg of the project.
The group will help open the Community Foundation of Canada’s national conference taking place in Ottawa May.
To view the daily schedule of the Connected by Canoe journey, and for more information visit http://www.canoemuseum.
Quotes from Canadian Canoe Museum:
“The canoe got us to where we are but in this nation of rivers that nourishes a river of nations I think it also has important lessons that can take the country forward,” says James Raffan, Director of External Relations for The Canadian Canoe Museum. “What we’re planning here is a fun canoe trip on one of the nation’s historic waterways but it is a bit of a cultural experiment too hoping to show that the canoe can remind us that ‘pulling together’ and being ‘in the same boat’ are ways to bring Canadians closer together in meaningful and productive ways.”
Happy Springtime,
Mary Farrar,
President, Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour