Back in April, the Nature Conservancy released the results of the first global survey to capture not only how much time kids spend outside, but also parents’ perspectives on the importance and benefits of time spent in nature.
The survey, which was funded by Disney, included parents of children between the ages of three and 18 in the U.S., Brazil, China, France and Hong Kong and had some very interesting results.
The drive down Zion Line, just minutes away from the main streets of Millbrook, is like driving through a scenic time tunnel. Tall trees line the road, creating a canopy of leaves like a covered bridge, which cuts through green fields that sprawl as far as the eye can see. It’s the perfect journey to mentally prepare visitors for Winslow Farm, the location of the nationally renowned 4th Line Theatre.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Trent University in Peterborough. Located on over 1,450 acres on the banks of the Otonabee River, Trent’s Peterborough campus is known for its award-winning architecture in a beautiful natural setting. With over 6,700 undergraduates in Peterborough (and more than 800 at its Oshawa location), Trent has been ranked as one of the top undergraduate universities in Canada.
I walked out of the Globus Theatre’s production of Do You Take This Man? with my face still wet from tears. Tears from scenes so funny that I cried with laughter. Tears from drama so raw and powerful that I was overcome with emotion. Looking at the theatregoers who were exiting the theatre, I could tell that I was not alone; smiles and tears from an appreciative audience seemed to be in style that night.
In just two years, Dusk Dances has become a must-see event for Peterborough audiences looking for something different to do on a summer’s evening. This fun-filled evening of magical dance, physical theatre and music is celebrating its 20th anniversary by bringing back some of their best dances ever, along with new work never before seen.
Party for Peck is an annual music festival held each August long weekend in the Campbellford area, in honour of local musician Jesse “Peck” Archer who was tragically killed in 2010 at the age of 26. The event raises funds for the Blues in The Schools (BITS) program in Northumberland County, providing education to local elementary schools to help preserve and promote blues music — a particular love of Jesse’s.
Jonathan Bennett is the author of six books including the critically acclaimed novels Entitlement (ECW, 2008) and After Battersea Park, and is a winner of the K.M. Hunter Artists’ Award in Literature. Jonathan’s writing has appeared in many periodicals and journals including The Globe and Mail, The Walrus, Quill and Quire, This Magazine, and Descant. Born in Vancouver and raised in Sydney, Australia, Jonathan lives in the village of Keene, near Peterborough, Ontario.
Jonathan’s latest novel is The Colonial Hotel. In this powerful story of love and family, a doctor named Paris follows a nurse to a country on the brink of civil war. When a confrontation does break out, they are swept up by rebel forces and separated. The nurse, Helen, is pregnant; she escapes, but Paris is left behind, imprisoned by rebels as war rages.
A common complaint heard from many, especially those in the business community, centres on the price of electricity. While rates are higher than many would like, hundreds of businesses in the Peterborough area have seen declines in their power bills thanks to their participation in energy conservation programs offered by Peterborough Distribution Inc. (PDI).
Editor’s note: Peterborough broadcaster and author Gordon Gibb recently published Gibberish: Tall Tales and Domestic Disasters From Beyond the Microphone, a collection of previously published newspaper columns.
“I Couldn’t See Water Street for Water” is a column he wrote for The Toronto Star. It was published the day after the Great Peterborough Flood of July 15, 2004.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since the Great Flood of 2004 in Peterborough.
Unlike many Peterborough residents and businesses, we came through the Great Flood relatively unscathed. Our 150-year-old house has always had a wet basement, and we have two sump pumps installed for the spring overflow. When it flooded, the sump pumps ran for three weeks straight — but we didn’t lose anything of value.
However, whenever there’s a severe thunderstorm watch for Peterborough, we still wonder with trepidation if another Great Flood is coming.
In a way, the 2004 Peterborough flood actually started in Alberta. On Sunday, July 11th, 2004, the City of Edmonton — already soaked from days of rain — experienced a small but spectacular storm that dumped more than 150 mm of rain in parts of the city in less than an hour.
Mud and water poured down streets and through windows. A record flash flood washed out roads, filled underpasses, flooded basements, turned streets into rivers and intersections into lakes. Enormous water pressure in the sewer system blew hundreds of manhole covers into the sky.
That same storm system slowly worked its way east across Canada, travelling 2,700 kilometres until it reached Peterborough three days later, on Wednesday, July 14th.
There, fed by cool air from the north and moist air from the south, the system produced intense rainstorms that began on Wednesday evening and continued for five hours during the early morning hours of Thursday, July 15th.
Measurements of the amount of rain that fell on Peterborough during the storm varied, from 100 mm (4 inches) recorded at the Peterborough Airport to 240 mm (9.5 inches) recorded at Trent University.
Much of the rain fell in fewer than five hours early Thursday morning, with 78.8 mm (3 inches) falling between 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. alone.
If all of that sounds like a lot of water, that’s because it is — it totals 14 billion litres, the same amount of water that flows over Niagara Falls in about 40 minutes.
Any city’s drain and sewer system would have a challenge dealing with that much rain, but it was an impossible task for Peterborough’s. Normally, the city’s sewage system deals with about 1.3 million gallons per day; during the storm, the sewage treatment plant measured a peak flow of 7 million gallons of waste water.
At the time of the storm, over 80 per cent of the pipes in the city’s storm water system (some of which were built a century ago) were undersized and didn’t meet modern standards, creating bottlenecks in moving the flood water.
Downtown Peterborough, where the rainfall was concentrated, consists of largely impervious paved surfaces, including streets that are not well designed to convey flood water over land. In addition, groundwater that seeped into cracked or misaligned sewer pipes created excess water in the system, leading to back-ups and basement flooding.
All of these factors combined meant the city’s sewers simply couldn’t cope with the volume of water, resulting in sudden and severe flooding. Peterborough’s fire dDepartment was soon inundated with calls from across the entire city, ranging from flooded basements to fire alarms.
City utility and social services were overburdened with responding to the consequences of the flooding. The City of Peterborough declared a state of emergency after the storm, which stayed in effect for two weeks. Many city staff worked 18 to 20-hour days until the state of emergency was lifted on July 29th.
Here are some interesting facts about the impact of the flood.
In the end, the flood resulted in $95 million in insured losses in Peterborough, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. Overtime and expenses for city staff responding to the flood amounted to $1.4 million. Costs of repairs and restoration (including roads, bridges, culverts, buildings, and the Museum photo archives) equalled $21 million.
In addition, the Ontario government provided $25 million for emergency repair and restoration costs for city infrastructure. Not to mention the revenue and productivity that businesses and residents lost because of the flood.
Making matters worse, the 2004 flood came only 25 months after another major flood in June 2002, when Peterborough suffered through a severe summer storm that generated more than 70 mm (3 inches) of rain in a 24-hour period. Many Peterborough residents and business owners had just recovered from damages caused by the 2002 flood when they were hit again by the 2004 flood.
Shortly after the 2004 flood, the City of Peterborough hired UMA Engineering Ltd. (now known as AECOM Ltd.) to prepare a Flood Reduction Master Plan (FRMP). Since the completion of the plan in 2005, the city has undertaken a series of studies to assess vulnerability and has begun to take action, updating stormwater management designs and infrastructure to protect the city from future flooding damage.
To date, the city has completed numerous projects, including studies recommended by the FRMP, diversion projects, storm sewer retrofits, and culvert replacements. In addition to upgrading infrastructure, the City has offered financial incentives to encourage the disconnection of foundation drains from the sanitary sewer system, use of rain barrels, and the installation of backwater valves in previously affected areas.
Current projects include the Jackson Creek Flow Diversion, which will divert abnormally high flows in Jackson Creek directly to the Otonabee River away from downtown.
Let’s all hope that the city’s efforts over the past 10 years will help to ensure that there are no more Great Floods in Peterborough.
All photos from the City of Peterborough Emergency & Risk Management Division.
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