|  | Remembering a creation care champion | Before we get into this month’s news, we’re taking a moment to remember long-time volunteer and former animator of our chapter, John Dorner. John, who passed away last week, worked tirelessly with leaders of diverse spiritual traditions in Ottawa on greening projects, sitting on many program steering committees even after stepping down as chapter animator. He was also the coordinator of Creation Care for the Catholic Ottawa-Cornwall Archdiocese, an environmental leader at Holy Cross and Holy Canadian Martyrs parishes, a member of the Environment Committee of the Ottawa Catholic School Board, and an advisor for Mouvement Laudato Si’ Movement – Canada. | | In addition to receiving a papal award for a lifetime of service, John was recognized by Greening Sacred Spaces Ottawa with a Green Leadership Award in 2022. John is remembered not only as a leader for faith-based environmentalism but as an incredibly generous, kind, and thoughtful friend, colleague, and mentor to many of us at GSS Ottawa and around Canada.
Thank you so much for everything, John. |
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| | Program Updates |  | Greening Sacred Spaces Ottawa is hiring a youth intern for a 6 month contract beginning this summer! Our ideal candidate is Ottawa-based and excited about community-based environmental engagement and action, with experience in or willingness to learn about communications, green buildings, and outdoor greening. | | |  | Thanks to all the youth who joined us at St Peter’s Lutheran Church on Earth Day to learn about pollinators and create planting plans. We had so much fun with scavenger, delicious food, and quizzes! Stay tuned for more news soon from St Peter’s about their pollinator garden project. |
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| | | Trinity United Church got a major upgrade this month with its three new heat pumps, made possible by the Ottawa Faith Community Capacity Building’s microgrant, the United Church Faithful Footprints program, and a very generous donation. |
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| Thank you to the Ottawa Community Foundation and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for funding this program, and our program partner Watersheds Canada! | | | | Our Green Youth Leaders have been hard at work on their projects! In early April, Sangelica taught the children of Nazareen Evangelical Church about fracking, while later in the month, Fiji hosted a games night using recycled materials for Earth Day at St Joseph’s Catholic Church. Lastly, Bhavana has been working on improving the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre of Ottawa-Carleton’s recycling and compost. Awesome work, everyone! |
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|  | Thank you to the Ottawa Community Foundation and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for funding this program! | | | Resource Feature | Did you know that the Anglican Diocese of Ontario has compiled some fantastic resources about faith & the environment? Check out their Creation Care page here! Their pages on decreasing the carbon emissions of church buildings and on climate change are both an excellent roundup of articles, advice, and information, relevant to many faith building organizations. They also have a YouTube channel! | | Funding Opportunities | Is your faith community looking to fund a project? Check out these funding sources! Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry United Counties ONLY: the Regional Incentives Program includes funding for a variety of retrofits, renovations, and property improvements. Deadline: May 5, 2023. The Ontario Trillium Foundation is offering grants for capital projects, such as equipment, building a new space, or completing renovations, retrofits or repairs. Faith communities “may be eligible if they provide direct program and services to the community at large which are not religious activities and do not include a requirement to participate in any dimensions of faith.” Deadline: June 14, 2023. Hydro Ottawa is distributing funding for Electric Vehicle charging stations — up to 50% of costs or $5000/charger! Apply ASAP. Islamic organizations ONLY: the free EnviroMuslims Bootcamp provides support to organizations that are led by or serve the Canadian Muslim community that would like to incorporate sustainability into their programming. In addition to peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, participants will receive $1,500 to help cover 50% of the cost related to actions to be more environmentally friendly.
For more funding opportunities, take a look at our regularly updated website page! We’re also always happy to help in writing or reviewing grant applications. | | Community News | The City of Ottawa's Better Buildings Program lets you benchmark your energy and water consumption, and they're looking for faith communities to participate. You don’t need to be a previous participant of GSS Ottawa’s Energy Benchmarking Program to participate and you don’t need to have the data ready to register! | |
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| | Orleans United Church is selling rain barrels, composters, and accessories! Order your barrels online, to be picked up at 1111 Orleans Blvd on Friday June 9, 2023, 6pm-8pm. Contact Annemarie Humenuk at kayakforever@gmail.com or 613-837-6045 for more information.
Interested in holding a rain barrel fundraiser for your own faith community? Annemarie would be pleased to share her experience with this initiative with you! | | The Peace & Environment News, a long-running local newspaper and often partner of GSS Ottawa, has gone digital! Subscribe for Ottawa peace and sustainability news — right in your inbox! | |
| On May 14, 2023, the Sathya Sai Spiritual Centre is hosting the workshop on Influence of Social Media/Online Safety in our daily life for kids 8+ and guardians/adults. They welcome registration from other faith communities. | | | Congratulations to all the winners of Ecology Ottawa’s first Ottawa Eco Awards, and especially to the Ajashki Food Security and Climate Change Learning Centre for winning the Climate Champion Award! Ajashki is a project supported by the First Unitarian Congregation, which has done fantastic environmental work for many years.
Great job, Ajashki! |
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| | |  | Looking for speakers? Want us to visit your faith community or event? Have resources, events, or activities you'd like to share? Contact greeningsacredspacesottawa@gmail.com! | | Important Dates | | | Spread the word by forwarding our newsletter to your friends & family! | | |  | | |
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