When Denise Freeman and her partner Edward Marchewka take their long-haired dachshund Winston out for his daily constitutional, the trip does double duty. The pair have made it their practice to pick up trash as they walk through their west-side neighbourhood, making every day an Earth Day.
Two of Canada's most prestigious authors and historians will be visiting Owen Sound June 6 on the invitation of the M'Wikwedong Native Cultural Resource Centre. The event is part of the program called Wasa Nabin, an Ojibway word meaning "to look forward".
The theme of the day will be "We are all Treaty People". While the details of the presentations of Maracle and Saul are still in discussion, their recent work suggests a powerful day of challenged assumptions.
Two of Canada's most prestigious authors and historians will be visiting Owen Sound June 6 on the invitation of the M'Wikwedong Native Cultural Resource Centre. The event is part of the program called Wasa Nabin, an Ojibway word meaning "to look forward".
The theme of the day will be "We are all Treaty People". While the details of the presentations of Maracle and Saul are still in discussion, their recent work suggests a powerful day of challenged assumptions.
Feedback from 47 local community conversations will be presented as part of a national research project, A 1000 Conversations to Shape our Future. Grey Bruce was selected to be a rural site for the research project in collaboration with Tamarack an Institute for Community Engagement, The aim of the project is to raise the profile of community within Grey Bruce and allow us to gain insight into the policies and programs that will fuel a social movement for change.
Local community conversations were held from June – December 2014, as over 400 people came together to talk about community and share their experiences. As well as interested individuals, representatives from various sectors representing not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, faith communities, senior groups, citizen groups, youth and arts and culture took part.
The input reflects a genuine passion for building healthy communities across Grey Bruce with several themes emerging. People have shared that they want "vibrant communities... that encourage young families to move here... growth and prosperity... things to do for all ages... jobs... transportation systems... affordable homes." Participants have also said they enjoy Grey Bruce because it "is a safe place to live... beautiful environment... retention of the rural lifestyle... cooperate and accept people."
A community group called th
e Welcoming Communities Initiative, with the support of the Grey Bruce Inclusive Communities Committee, is holding an open community meeting on Tuesday April 21st at 7:00 pm at the Ginger Press, 848 2nd Ave. East in Owen Sound.
"We've had two very successful Forums that brought people together to look at what is needed to make Grey Bruce a region that welcomes and supports newcomers, and now it is the time to move forward with the recommendations," said Joan Irvine, a member of the initiative.
Across Ontario many communities accessed federal and provincial funding to assess newcomer needs, build strategies to attract and retain newcomers, and invest in services and regional coordination. Although that funding window has now closed, the need for action in Grey Bruce is more important than ever to make our region competitive. We need to bring investments, businesses, young
people, new immigrants and diverse newcomers to the area, and the Welcoming Communities approach has proven success. Strategic plans at Grey County and the City of Owen Sound recognize the importance of bring newcomers to the area to offset our declining and aging population.
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