View our press release, with all paddle details here.

View our Celebrate Our Rivers 2017 poster here.

The Forum will have a keynote session on the OVRT (with particular focus on the segment between Arnprior and Renfrew) and the new Renfrew County Trails Strategy, with feedback from small group table discussions.  We also will have speakers examining trails from different perspectives, including local municipalities, trail user groups, and successful examples of community-based trails development.  There are many examples: the Shaw Woods trails, the Footprints in Time trail at Bonnechere Provincial Park, the Kiwanis Walkway in Pembroke, the Forest Lea ski trails, the McNamara Trail in Arnprior, the Emerald Necklace trails in Petawawa, the Beachburg County Forest off-road cycling trails, the Oiseau Rock Trail in Sheenboro, and the Manitou hiking and snowshoeing trails in Calabogie, to name a few.

Fee for the day is $20 and is payable at the door. Please register in advance by email: info@ottawariverinstitute.ca

The Renfrew County Stewardship Forum was initiated to connect people and organizations with an interest in the environment, a strong sense of place, and a concern about the future. Tackling our environmental, social and economic challenges requires collaborative action among a diversity of people and organizations with strong convictions and the courage to act on them. The Forum aims to foster intense interaction, networking and information exchange about what’s happening to our communities and our environment, so that we can adopt innovative partnerships and approaches and take effective action. Now is the time.  Together we can shape our future to sustain our collective values and communities.

The inaugural Renfrew County Stewardship Forum, “Fostering Adaptive Collaboration”, was hosted by the Bonnechere River Watershed Project (BRWP), the Renfrew County Stewardship Council and Algonquin College at its Pembroke campus in April 2012.  Discussions focused on our changing climate and the collaborative, non-regulatory approach used by Muskoka Watershed Council to advance stewardship and to foster innovation. The second Forum, “Fostering Shoreline Conservation”, was hosted by the BRWP and the Centre for Sustainable Watersheds (now Watersheds Canada) in February 2013 in Pembroke. Discussions focused on the Centre for Sustainable Watershed’s shoreline surveys, the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority’s research on implications of changing climate on water management, and proposed community collaboration to address water quality issues in Muskrat Lake.  The third Forum, “Celebrating Our Watersheds: Trails and Tributaries”, was hosted by the BRWP and the Ottawa River Institute (ORI) on in May 2014 in Pembroke. It featured discussions on active transportation, trail development along the abandoned CP rail line, and water quality concerns in the Muskrat and Bonnechere watersheds. The fourth Forum, “Towards Watershed Planning”, was hosted by BRWP, ORI, Sustainable Eastern Ontario and the National Capital Environmental Nonprofit Network in Pembroke.  It focused on water quality and the County’s proposed new Official Plan.

Seedy Sunday is a remarkable phenomenon that continues to catch on across Canada.  Gardeners, seed savers, seed vendors, local food producers, horticultural societies, organic practitioners, and local nature groups come together in a venue where they can learn from one another, exchange ideas and seeds, and purchase seeds and plants in a fun social setting.  It’s a day to educate, learn and promote local food, more sustainable methods of growing and the preservation and use of heirloom, organic and open-pollinated seeds. 

Read entire press release.

See Poster for more info.