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Addington Highlands Council reserved approval for fee waivers and grant requests until the budget is discussed later in the year at its regular meeting Tuesday in Flinton. And that’s likely to be the procedure for all such requests in the future.

The first request was for a waiver of rental fees was from Rob Heyman to hold a wild game dinner at the Flinton Hall to help pay expenses for his youth group to go to a youth convention.

The second request was from the Cloyne and District Historical Society for $500 to help preserve their archives.

While it’s likely both requests will be approved, (“we’ve waived these kinds of things before,” said Dep. Reeve Tony Fritsch) CAO/Clerk-Treasurer Christine Reed said she’d like to put all these requests along with departmental budgets together just before the actual budget process in something of a departure of how they’ve done things in the past.

“Traditionally, we’ve brought every little bit to Council piece by piece,” Reed said. “So, we’re proposing staff put all the requests together and present them all at one time so we can see the impact of all the requests.

“I’ll add it all together first.”

She said that a big part of their budget is the Kaladar/Barrie Fire Department so its budget will have a big impact on the Township budget.

“There are no big ticket items on this year’s budget like the new truck last year,” said newly appointed Kaladar/Barrie Fire Department Board chair Coun. Kirby Thompson.

Reed said the Township budget needs to be passed by the first meeting in May according to the Township’s procedural bylaw.

 

• • •

Under new business brought forth by Coun. Helen Yanch, Council increased the fee paid to trappers for trapping nuisance beavers to $75 from $50, effective Jan. 1.

 

• • •

They’re be one more draft of the Township newsletter before it goes out in the tax bills.

“We’ve never had the information on dog tags before,” said CAO/Clerk-Treasurer Christine Reed. “And there’s still a little bit of space left.”

Reeve Henry Hogg suggested putting in office hours for the CBO/Facilities Manager.

“He does have a pamphlet of his own with that on it,” said Reed. “And the office is open whether he’s there or not.

“He’s in the office more than most we’ve had but he does take the job of facilities manager quite seriously so if there’s something needs doing, he’s often out doing it.

“But we can put the office hours in there if you wish.”

 

• • •

Reed also apologized for the state of the rink in Flinton but offered this by way of explanation: “It’s a struggle maintaining ice on an outdoor facility without a compressor when the temperature goes above freezing.

“The fact that we had ice for the Christmas holidays is remarkable to me and we’re hoping for colder weather so we can make up the ground we’ve lost.”

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS

On May 28, 2019 URCA Housing Corp marked the 25th anniversary of the first tenants moving into our 16 not for profit housing units. Eight families and six senior tenants moved into our row housing units. Four weeks later the last two seniors’ units were occupied. Members of the community had watched the construction of these homes over the previous year. Some community members may even have remembered the knock on their door from a volunteer six or seven years earlier. These volunteers blanketed the community conducting a survey to help establish a need for non-profit housing in Flinton and to receive individual opinions about the proposed housing units.

Although move in day was in the spring of 1994, it was in the winter of 1987 that the project began. A core group of community volunteers worked diligently to plan the project for Flinton. The planning was based on the perceived need, the survey results and the varied opinions of the community members. The harder job for them was in bringing the project to fruition. Meeting after meeting to arrange and attend; paperwork to end all paperwork to complete; steps forward and setbacks over the period from 1987 to 1994 finally resulted in the completion of the dream for an affordable living alternative for seniors and families in Flinton and area.

Step forward to 2019. One of the original volunteers and a couple who have been involved for upwards of 15 years make up the Board of Directors which is responsible for the administration, staffing and planning for organization. Funding for URCA comes from the Prince Edward Lennox Addington Social Services division of the County and from rent charged to the tenants. Some of the Board volunteers are now looking forward to a well-deserved retirement from their positons with URCA. As a result URCA Housing is actively involved in trying to recruit new Board members so that the organization can continue on as a community based not for profit housing provider. Without a community based board the administration and planning will fall to the County office in Napanee.

On November 20 at 7:00 pm URCA Housing will be hosting a Community meeting to celebrate our anniversary and our 25 years of accomplishments in Flinton. The meeting will be held at Through The Roof Church. There will also be a discussion around the future of URCA Housing. The most significant topic of discussion will be the recruitment of Board members to pick up the reins of the organization to carry us forward.

All interested Community members are welcome. Come out and be part of URCA’s next 25 years. Refreshments will be provided.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS

On July 5, 2019 at 8:41 p.m., a member of the Central Hastings Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) detachment was conducting radar patrol on Highway 7, west of Highway 37 when they observed an eastbound motor vehicle travelling at a high rate of speed. The officer initiated a traffic stop but the vehicle refused to stop and continued eastbound to Flinton Road where it proceeded to do a u turn.  The officer eventually got the vehicle stopped by conducting a rolling block west of Highway 37. As a result of the investigation charged is, Daniel COX 44 years old of Addington Highlands Township, Ontario with the following: Dangerous Driving - Criminal Code of Canada, Flight From Peace Officer - Criminal Code of Canada, Fail to Comply with Recognizance - Criminal Code of Canada, Stunt Driving - Excessive Speed - Highway Traffic Act of Ontario.

The accused had his driver's licence suspended for 7 days and his vehicle was impounded for seven days. The accused will appear In Ontario Court of Justice in Belleville, on July 25.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS

Addington Highlands’s accumulated surplus was up about a half a million dollars in 2018 over 2017, auditor Adam Young of Secker, Ross & Perry LLP told Council at its regular meeting Tuesday afternoon in Flinton.

The actual accumulated surplus at the end of the year was $13,311,584 (budget was $13,601,636) as opposed to $12,786,095 in 2017.

He said part of the reason for that was that revenues were up 9 per cent while expenses were up only 6 per cent and a substantial increase in the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund grant from the Province.

He also noted that reserves have grown to $3,965,858 at the end of the year from $3,486,166 at the beginning of the year.

Dep. Reeve Tony Fritsch asked how the reserves numbers compared to what they should be.

“It’s hard to benchmark these,” said Young. “I’ve never been able to find a quality benchmark tool.”

Similarly, Young said the Township’s landfill closure/post closure responsibility of $4.187 million was “as close as we can get it because of measurement uncertainty. There are a lot of variables.”

Young said staff was very cooperative in providing information and there were no irregularities.

“We certainly didn’t become aware of any unusual acts,” he said. “If there were, you’ have heard from me long before this.”

Roads remain dust free so far

Roads and Waste Management Supervisor Brett Reavie said that grading continues in the Township and so far, he hasn’t had to use any calcium to keep dust down because due to the rain.

“I haven’t heard one complaint,” he said.

Council agreed that none of them had heard any dust complaints either.

“It’s all a matter of timing,” said Reeve Henry Hogg. “As long as on Saturday afternoon, it rains.”

Longer LCBO hours?

Dep. Reeve Tony Fritsch received Council’s permission to write to the LCBO requesting longer hours for the Denbigh store.

“That store has ended up with reduced hours at peak times,” Fritsch said. “Like long weekends, holidays and Friday evenings. One local business observed 40 people driving in after the store had closed and that’s dollars going out of the community.”

Flooding relief

During the Spring of 2019, the Township experienced significant flooding, primarily in the north end of the municipality, which caused a number of township roads to wash out. The cost incurred to repair this damage was not included in the 2019 Budget. Since these costs are expected to exceed 3% of the township portion of its levy to ratepayers, AH is eligible to submit a claim to the Ontario Municipal Disaster Recovery Program, which CAO Christine Reed is planning to do. The township could receive 75% of the cost they incurred up to the 3% threshold, and 95% of the costs beyond that. Council passed a bylaw requesting relief authorizing Reed be delegated the authority to attest to the costs and verify the accuracy of the claim.

Council on the fence over level 2 Energy Analysis of AH Community Centre – Denbigh.

The township’s revised Conservation and Demand Management Plan, which was approved in June, identified high energy costs at the former Denbigh School, which has been converted into a community centre.

J.L. Richards has provided a quote to complete such a study, but council had a bit of sticker shock at the price, up to $16,000. Council members will take some time to review the proposal and will then decide whether to proceed.

The next Council meeting takes place on August 6 in Denbigh at 7pm.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS
Wednesday, 12 June 2019 13:23

No break for local farmer at the waste site

Addington Highlands is prepared to work with a local beef farmer but wants a little more information before deciding how to proceed, Council decided at its regular meeting Tuesday in Flinton.

Area farmer Glenn Davison wrote a letter to the Township asking for “consideration regarding the cost of disposing of farm-generated waste once the transfer station is established.”

A beef farmer in the area since 1985, Davison went on to say: “As the costs for farm materials has tripled or quadrupled, the income made from cattle sales has remained fairly stable for the past 35 years. Additional costs to dispose of farm-related waste such as netwrap and twine off bales of hay, hay tarps and feed bags will have an additional negative impact on the already fragile bottom line in the farming industry.

“For this reason, I am asking Council to consider an exemption on farm-generated waste for farms that belong to OFA, Agricorp or have a farm business number as some other townships have done.”

“If I were him, I’d burn it,” said Roads and Waste Management Supervisor Brett Reavie. “But that wouldn’t be environmentally friendly.”

“I’d burn it too,” said Coun. Helen Yanch. “I wonder what waste it is.

“Is some of it recycling?

“I don’t know what he’s asking.”

“We’re not changing any of our tipping fees at the transfer station,” said CAO/Clerk-Treasurer Christine Reed.

“They (farmers) already get a 75 per cent reduction on their taxes,” said Reeve Henry Hogg. “What are other Townships doing with farm waste?”

Council instructed Reavie to contact Davison to see if some of his waste could be recycled and to conduct further research as to what neighbouring municipalities are doing with similar situations.

 

Burn Bylaw

Council passed a new open-air burning bylaw, the same one as neighbouring North Frontenac with which Addington Highlands shares a joint fire department for Barrie Ward.

Fire Chief Casey Cuddy said the new bylaw isn’t much different than the old one, “basically re-worded to make it easier for residents to understand.”

It does however, ban the use of fire lanterns in the Township.

 

Mandatory septic inspection? No

Addington Highlands won’t be instituting a mandatory septic reinspection program for lakefront properties, following a report from Chief Building Official Mike Twiddy.

Twiddy made the recommendation following a request from a resident.

“We thought this was coming from the Mazinaw Property Owners Association but the resident didn’t represent the association,” Twiddy said. “But I looked into it and while the Ontario Building Code was recently amended to establish and govern mandatory on-site sewage system maintenance inspection programs established by local enforcement bodies, we have the authority to establish an inspection program or not.

“I talked with some other municipalities and most agreed that if you have a program like we have with KFL&A Health Unit, you’re best just to leave it with them.

“If you take it over, you’re just potentially putting yourself into an antagonistic situation.”

He said that Belleville initiated a mandatory inspection program but phased it out as it became unworkable.

 

Fisheries Act

Addington Highlands passed a resolution adding its support to the Township of Bonnechere Valley to have changes to Section 2(2) of the Fisheries Act contained in Bill C-68 removed.

The amendment will deem any body of water capable of supporting fish as being a fish habitat.

“Whereas consequential of this amendment, puddles in farm fields, municipal lands, drainage ditches or water reservoirs can possibly be declared fish habitats,” said the Bonnechere motion, which also said the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has said the amendment “will place a crippling regulatory burden on family-owned operations.”

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS
Wednesday, 12 June 2019 13:22

Trail Building Day in Flinton

Lennox and Addington owns approximately 1,150 acres of managed forest lands in five locations in the Township of Addington Highlands. Certified according to the Forest Stewardship Council’s standards for sustainable forestry, the land has generated little impact from a tourism perspective. The Community & Development Services Department hopes to change that by constructing approximately 10 kilometres of single track mountain bike trails within “Forest 2”, a 127-acre parcel in Flinton.

In May 2019, construction began on the L&A County Forest trail system that will allow the public to make better use of this natural asset. The County has leaned on the knowledge and experience of Lennox & Addington resident Mike Sewell, an avid off-road cyclist that has experience building similar trail systems in Vermont. The new trails are being created with the desires of off-road mountain bikers in mind, taking advantage of the terrain of the forest. The routes weave around large pines, and up and down hills and boulders to create what is expected to be a very enjoyable experience for riders.

Given that there are limited opportunities in the region specific to off-road cycling, the County sees the Forest Trails as a significant tourism opportunity. The new system complements the popular County Trails road cycling loops, which incorporates nearly 600 kilometres of paved County roadways. Together, the two initiatives will cater to the needs of both road and off-road cyclists.

To date, approximately 6 kilometres of trail has been constructed. The public is invited to assist with the project during a special Trail Building Day on Saturday, June 22nd from 8:30am - 1pm. Those interested in participating are asked to bring along their own rakes, shovels, and branch clippers to help put the finishing touches on some of the newly-constructed trails. Participants will assemble in the parking lot at the Addington Highlands Municipal Office (72 Edward Street, Flinton) at 8:30am to learn about the new County Forest Trail initiative. Coffee and treats from Addison's Restaurant will be available. At the end of the event a free slice of pizza can be enjoyed from Pine Grove Pizza.

After the trail building event is over, those in attendance are encouraged to lace up their hiking boots or hop on their bikes and enjoy the trails. For more information visit www.lennox-addington.on.ca/explore/county-forest-trail or call 613-354-4883 ext. 3271.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS
Wednesday, 08 May 2019 16:14

AH tax levy increases by 5.6 per cent

Addington Highlands Township passed its 2019 budget at its regular meeting in Flinton Tuesday afternoon and the net result is that it will be asking its ratepayers for $2,937,616.22, in taxes an increase of 5.6 per cent over 2018’s 42,781,829.30.

Reeve Henry Hogg was quick to point out that the increase in the tax rate was 1.8 per cent.

Total expenditures for 2019 are expected to be $6,262,871.91 (as opposed to $5,574,53.37 in 2018).

Operating revenues are expected to be $1,451,499.57 ($1,021,850.07 in 2018) and its Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund allocation is up slightly to $2,053,400 from $2,040,300 in 2018.

One thing that didn’t get added to this year’s budget is the additional expenses accrued due to spring flooding, said Hogg.

“We decided not to amend the budget,” he said.

Clerk-Treasurer Christine Reed said that if expenses from flooding turn out to be more than $79,000, they’ll submit a disaster assistance application to the province. Another option is to take funds from reserves to pay for flooding.

“We’ll have to see if, at the end of the year Brett’s (Road & Waster Management Supervisor Reavie) budget is over that,” she said. “But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“If it isn’t flooded out,” said Hogg.

False alarm
Some recent fire calls were false alarms, Fire Chief Casey Cuddy told Council in response to a question from Reeve Henry Hogg.

“Next one they’ll be getting an invoice,” said Cuddy. “(And) we won’t be waiting around for an hour for a keyholder to show up.”

They can provide us with one or we’re going through the door.

“There’s something wrong with their system.”

“Five trucks sitting there for an hour is some pretty expensive equipment,” said Hogg.

Cuddy also said they’re will be changes proposed to the wildfire bylaw to cover things like flying lanterns.

Washouts
Road and Waste Supervisor’s comment on how busy his crews were with washouts: “There might have been a few guys got to have some time off on Easter Weekend.”

That prompted Dep. Reeve Tony Fritsch to move for an ad in the newspaper thanking the crews for their efforts above and beyond the call of duty.

Palliative Care program
Compassionate Care Program Co-ordinator Matt Walker has been making the rounds of local Councils (he was at North Frontenac last Friday) explaining the services his organization offers in the way of palliative care including visits from volunteers, consultation, bereavement counselling and equipment lending.

But, he said the number 1 thing he hears in his job is the need for affordable transportation.

To that end, Walker said he’s working on a plan whereby a bus could be used to travel the main roads to Kingston, Napanee and Belleville while the existing volunteer network could be used to ferry patients to the bus line.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS

Library services are primarily funded and managed by local municipalities and that buffers them from impacts resulting from provincial budget cuts.

But they are not immune.

As part of their 2019 budget, the Progressive Conservative government under Premier Doug Ford cut half of the funding for Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS), an organisation that works with Ontario libraries to help ensure equitable access to library services across the Province.

One of the programs that SOLS has run ever since it was established in 1989 is the inter-library loan service. With this service, library users anywhere in the Province have access to publicly available books and other materials from all of the libraries in Ontario.

At least that was the case until last Friday. In response to the 50% cut in their budget, SOLS informed all the libraries that they serve that the program has been suspended.

The following notice was posted on the SOLS website by Chief Executive Officer Barbara Franchetto: “It is with great sadness that I have to inform public libraries in Southern Ontario that the SOLS interlibrary loan delivery service will permanently cease to operate, effective April 26th, 2019. I know this is very sad and disappointing news but given the enormity of the cut to our operating budget, there is no alternative. Even under our previous budget allocation, it was becoming difficult to sustain the service because of ever increasing operating costs.”

Patricia Enright, Chief Librarian/Chief Executive Officer of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library (KFPL), said that she was surprised when she heard about the funding cut in the provincial budget, and saddened when she received word last Thursday that the inter-library loan service was being discontinued.

“It’s a service that has been part of Ontario libraries since before I started working in libraries over 30 years ago. It’s particularly important for small libraries that do not have large collections of their own, and those libraries will be hit hardest, I think,” she said in a phone interview on Tuesday morning (April 23).

KFPL serves the City of Kingston and Frontenac County, and members throughout Frontenac County can order materials from all KFPL branches, including the large Kingston branches, which are then delivered to their local branches. This service is not affected by the cut. However, access to materials from other libraries across the Province has been suspended, as of last week.

This accounts for about 4,500 deliveries each year from libraries across the Province,” said Enright, “a small fraction of the number of materials that the library loans out each year. Our patrons use the service mostly for out of print books and academic materials. It is one of the tools that we have always used to help patrons find the information they are looking for, if we don’t have it in our library.”

Enright added that while the courier system operated by SOLS is being shut down, there is a chance that an alternate delivery system can be found to get the service back on stream. They will know if those efforts are successful sometime in May.

Another service that SOLS offers is a bulk purchasing service for Ontario libraries, both for physical materials and digital services, such as Ancestry – an online genealogy service.

If that service ceases, it could lead to added costs, or less service, in libraries across the Province.

The Kingston Frontenac Public Library also receives a provincial operating grant of approximately $300,000, which represents 4% of its operating budget.

“We have been assured that those grants will not be affected by any cuts, at least for the current year,” said Enright.

Closing down the inter-library loan program will have a greater impact on the Addington Highlands (AH) library than it has on the Kingston Frontenac Library.

The small library, which has branches in Flinton and Denbigh, serves a population of 2,300 permanent residents. Head Librarian Bonnie Leon said that the AH library patrons were making use of the service over 500 times a year, which is significant for such a small population, as compared 4,500 inter-library loans in Kingston and Frontenac, which has a population of 150,000.

“As a small library, we have a limited collection of items, so cutting us off from Inter-Library loans will be felt right away,” said Leon. “Since this is the first week after the announcement, nobody really knows about it yet, but many people will be disappointed when they find out.”

Leon said she is hoping that some arrangement will be made, but realises that costs will likely go up if a service such as Canada Post is the delivery method for materials. The Addington Highlands library receives about 10% of its funding, $11,000, from provincial grants, which are remaining in place for 2019.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS

Addington Highlands Council approved a request to bend the rules on how waste is delivered to one of its waste sites at its regular meeting Tuesday afternoon in Flinton.

The request came from Jenelle and Joseph Rosenblath, who are renovating the 41 Stop business.

“We purchased the property in October, 2018, (and) are attempting to renovate it and open as soon as possible as the summer months approach us,” the Rosenblaths said in a letter to Council. “Our next step is to prepare the site so that above ground fuel tanks can be installed and we need o remove an old free standing garage and deck.

“We would like to take the material to the Vennachar waste site in four large truck loads versus 16 smaller trailer loads as it is simply more convenient and cost effective and likely easier to dump and handle at the waste site.”

Coun. David Miles said he’d be in favour of making an exception to the dump rules in this case.

“But you’d be opening a can of worms,” said Coun. Kirby Thompson. “If you open that up, it’s never going to go away.”

“One of the reasons we have the rules is to discourage that sort of dumping at our waste sites,” said roads/bridges supervisor Brett Reavie.

Mayor Henry Hogg said there would be an option for the Rosenblaths to rent a dumpster but “they’re not cheap.”

“We want to be accommodating to our small businesses but we have to abide by the rules,” said Coun. Helen Yanch.

“We do make exceptions to bylaws on occasion,” said Clerk Christine Reed. “For example, we make exceptions to the noise bylaw.”

“Yes, but the noise goes away eventually, garbage is forever,” said Yanch.

In a recorded vote, Council defeated a motion to deny the request with Yanch and Thompson voting for.

“So, what do we do now?” said Hogg.

The answer was another motion, this time to approve the request. Again, it was a recorded vote and only Yanch voted against.

New CBO
Council passed bylaws appointing David Twiddy as both Chief Building Official and Municipal Law Enforcement Officer.

SDRA rejected
Council denied a request from the Skootamatta District Ratepayers Association for $1,000 to test the water quality on Skootamatta Lake.

“I think all lake associations do water testing as part of their raison d’etre,” said Mayor Henry Hogg. “But if we do it for one, we’d have to do it for all.”

“I don’t think we can go down that road,” said Coun. Helen Yanch.

Council passed a motion to receive the request and refer the lake association to Quinte Conservation for assistance.

OPWA rejected as well
A request from the Ontario Public Works Association to proclaim a Public Works Week and hold a “Truck Roadeo” was turned down by Council.

“I don’t think we make proclamations,” said Mayor Henry Hogg.

“Never have,” said Coun. Helen Yanch.

“Unless Brett (roads/bridges supervisor Reavie) wants to do a demonstration of snowplowing,” said Hogg.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS

The Land O’Lakes Garden Club (LOLGC) is a very active group in our community. Our members come from not only Cloyne, Northbrook and Flinton, but Plevna, Verona, Belleville, Whitby and beyond. Many of our members live in the area but others are cottagers who also love it here.

Not too many of us are “master” gardeners but what we have in common is our interest in making flowers or vegetables grow, whether in pots, hangers, rock gardens or right in the soil. The joy of picking the flowers or harvesting the vegetables is unmistakable.

In 2017, our group painted the 13 Provincial and Territorial Flowers as part of the 150th Celebration of Canada’s Confederation. These plaques can be seen every year from June to October on the exterior walls of the Cloyne Pioneer Museum. We also donated a bench and planted many of the trees in the Benny’s Lake Park, which is adjacent to the museum. We honoured the First Nations by arranging for the design and installation of a large Turtle Island Plaque which explains the significance of this area. It can be enjoyed year-round in this same park.

In 2018, we had another busy year in that we replaced the 25 Planter Boxes, which can be seen in front of many of our local businesses. We in fact made 30, so if any business is interested, please contact us by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We host many interesting speakers at our meetings, which are held in the Pineview Free Methodist Church (Hwy 41 in Cloyne), on the second Thursday of each month, from April to October at 7:00pm. Our first meeting will be April 11th with a presentation by Tim Hobbs and Donna Pass who will talk about “Rediscovering Daylilies” - just the topic after this long cold winter.

Other guest speakers:

May 9th Joe and Hazel Cook from Blossom Hill Nursery in Peterborough. “Peonies -Discover the Passion”

June 13th Cheryl Harrison, Master Gardener from Campbellford “The Many Wonders of Mulch”

July 11th Laura Moses from Seeleys Bay “Pots that Wow”

August 8th Jennifer Nash from Prosperity Acres in Corbyville “The Best Dirt, why Compost is so Important”

September 12th Doug McCrae from Brighton Backyard Birds “Bird feeding, habitats and Native Plants for Birds”

October 10th Deanna Groves from Quinte Botanical Gardens “How the Gardens were created and why we did them”

Besides our regular meetings, we help to maintain the gardens in the Pioneer Cemetery in Cloyne and the Township Halls in Cloyne, Harlowe and Flinton. One of our most rewarding projects is at the Seniors’ home, Pine Meadow, in Northbrook, where we rake, cleanup and plant the gardens and boxes for the residents to enjoy. Two of our members make up and deliver flower arrangements at Easter and Christmas for the homebound clients of the Meals on Wheels program. We have started to partner with the Lennox and Addington Resources for Children (LARC) in developing and running a one-day speciality program that involves the children in a plant/garden related activity. Last Spring we made fairy gardens with the children and in December had live pine trees for them to decorate for Christmas, with the idea that they will replant them when the soil thaws. We hope that these activities will start an interest in gardening and the love of what nature provides. Every year, we make 400-500 corsages which we hand out at our local Santa Claus Parade. We donate to the Lions Club and Community Services so that Christmas gifts can be bought for young children and teenagers. We give a Scholarship award at our local High School every year to a student planning a career in Horticultural, Landscape Design, Forestry, Agricultural and Environmental studies and who is recommended by the North Addington Education Centre (NAEC).

One of our biggest events is our Plant Sale, which will be held on Saturday, May 25th starting at 9:00am at the Barrie Community Hall in Cloyne. This is a very popular event, so come early to purchase organic vegetable, herb and flower plants which have been grown and then donated by our members so you know that they are acclimatized to our unique environment of rock and soil. The proceeds go back to help us maintain our ongoing projects in our community.

 

 

We welcome guests to our monthly meetings, so please come and check us out and hopefully join our active group as you do not need to be a gardener to enjoy our topics and our enthusiastic membership.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS
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