Five Counties Children’s Centre helps kids and youth overcome physical, developmental and communication needs so they can achieve their full potential. A lot goes on within our walls to do this, but we’re also thrilled to recognize the spirit of inclusion that exists in our community.

For the past five years, Five Counties has presented the “High-Five Community Recognition Awards” to deserving individuals and community groups that share our commitment to inclusion, education, and respect for all children and youth.

In 2024, we’re pleased to recognize three individuals and four organizations with High-Five Community Recognition Awards.

Access for all

Three of our 2024 award recipients share a common trait: a commitment to breaking down barriers to recreational activities:

YMCA of Central East Ontario

YMCA of Central East Ontario is building a place where youth and families feel valued, respected, and included.

In particular, the Y has implemented barrier-free access to programs and meeting areas at its Peterborough branch. Last year, the local YMCA launched the adaptive SPLASH Program for children and youth with disabilities, providing individualized swim lessons in a calm, sensory-friendly environment.

As well, the local YMCA is lead agency in the creation of a VOLT hockey team in Peterborough. VOLT hockey is an inclusive and adaptive form of hockey, specifically designed for youth with varied abilities.

Kawartha Gymnastics Club

Kawartha Gymnastics Club is working to make gymnastics more accessible to all.

Last fall, the club launched a ‘Rock and Roll’ adaptive gymnastics program that introduces young kids with exceptionalities to the sport. Kawartha Gymnastics has also forged a relationship with Special Olympics Ontario by opening the first-ever Rhythmic Gymnastics Program for Special Olympic athletes.

In addition, the club offers ‘quiet’ gymnastic drop-in times for kids with special sensory needs.

Julie Grant

Julie Grant is a strong advocate for kids of all ages and abilities — including her son Jude, who was born with cerebral palsy — to be able to enjoy the benefits of play.

Last summer, Julie launched the Accessible Playgrounds Ontario website to catalogue and showcase accessible play structures across Ontario.

Closer to home, Julie is now leading the charge to establish a fully accessible playground in Selwyn Township to be safe and inclusive for all kids.

Lessons learned

Two High-Five award winners are being honoured for their efforts to promote inclusion in learning environments.

Cobourg Day Care

Cobourg Day Care makes children in its care feel included and at home.

Daycare staff make every effort to accept and accommodate all children, regardless of their needs or differences.

Working collaboratively with Five Counties staff to find ways to improve inclusion for its kids, Cobourg Day Care is credited for building on the strength of pre-schoolers and treating them and their families like their own.

Jennifer Johnston

Jennifer Johnston, Superintendent of Learning at Trillium Lakelands District School Board, is a strong supporter of our school-based therapy services and encourages Five Counties and board staff to work collaboratively to ensure the best treatment outcomes for students.

Two years ago, Jennifer was instrumental in helping Five Counties secure a classroom space at Archie Stouffer Elementary School in Minden to see kids and families, at a time when the Centre did not have another site in Haliburton County.

Overcoming obstacles

The final two High-Five award winners have supported us so that we can support kids/clients.

Mississaugas of Scugog Island Maada’ooki Committee

The Mississaugas of Scugog Island (MSIFN) Maada’ooki Committee is a crucial support for many of our families — both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

MSIFN provides funding for medical equipment and other unexpected financial barriers that are not covered by government support programs.

MSIFN works in collaboration with Five Counties’ social work team to find creative solutions that ensures kids have access to the equipment and other supports they need.

Ira Taraday

Ira Taraday of Levio Consulting was part of the consulting team that assisted Five Counties with the data migration to a new client information system.

Taraday was instrumental in helping ensure our staff could access the client information needed to keep seeing kids and families throughout the transition.

Inclusion — whether in the pool, on the gymnastics mat, on the playground, in classrooms and childcare settings, or online — is alive and well in our community. And we’re all better for it!

A Cobourg police constable has been suspended with pay after allegations of misconduct while on duty.

The Cobourg Police Service (CPS) has brought in York Regional Police to investigate the allegations.

“I have been made aware of allegations of misconduct against a member of CPS while they were on duty with the service,” states Cobourg police chief Paul VandeGraaf in a media release on Friday (July 19).

“We took immediate action to initiate an investigation led by York Regional Police,” the chief added. “Our main goal is to ensure a fair and unbiased investigation. We will provide an update to the public once the investigation is complete.”

Cobourg police have not released any details about the constable involved or the nature of the allegations, other than the accused constable was on duty when the alleged incident occurred.

“The constable is suspended with pay until the outcome of the investigation is revealed,” reads the release.

Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC) is energized about a new project designed to bridge the generation gap between Peterborough youth and seniors and help the planet at the same time.

A charitable organization that connects global issues to local initiatives, KWIC is participating in “Climate Kinship: Bridging Generations in Climate Action Mentorship,” a collaborative project with For Our Grandchildren (4RG), a non-profit organization that encourages action against climate change on the local level.

KWIC and 4RG are inviting youth and seniors to unite in an approach aimed at “cultivating intergenerational solidarity in collective action to address climate change in our local community,” according to KWIC.

KWIC program and outreach coordinator Sarah Forrest shared with kawarthaNOW the organization’s hopes for the initiative, which will welcome its first group of seniors and youth for collaboration from September through December. A second group will gather for action between January and March 2025.

“Our aim is twofold — connection and climate action,” Forrest said in an interview. “Over the course of this program, we aspire for the 10 senior and youth pairs to form meaningful and lasting friendships that extend beyond their participation in the project.”

“As they attend monthly workshops on topics including Indigenous perspectives on climate, introduction to the sustainable development goals, food security, climate solutions, and eco-emotions — among others — as well as connect one-to-one, the participants will gain valuable climate knowledge and actionable climate skills, enabling them to contribute in meaningful ways to their community or communities.”

Forrest said 4RG board president Guy Hanchet tells the story best about how the spark was ignited to bring together youth and seniors for climate change action.

“Thirteen years ago the first seeds of an intergenerational climate project began when Julie Cosgrove, KWIC’s executive director at the time, attended a 4RG meeting,” Forrest said, relaying the story. “Since then, KWIC and 4RG have had the pleasure to work together on many individual events and initiatives including 2023’s Friday for Future Climate Rally.”

“This continued collaboration has sparked our joint desire to see positive climate actions in Nogojiwanong (Peterborough) and connect seniors and youth for a sustainable future. Thanks to the Government of Canada’s New Horizons Seniors Grant, we were delighted to announce that this long-standing vision of uniting seniors and youth in climate action had become a reality.”

“We are thrilled about this project and anticipate its successful reception, enabling its growth and continuity not just for the foreseeable future but potentially expanding the senior and youth climate action mentorship experience beyond Peterborough,” Forrest said.

For now, KWIC is inviting seniors aged 55 and older and youth between the ages of 15 and 30 to consider getting involved. The commitment involves attending two in-person meetings a month between September and December for the fall session or between January and March 2025 for the winter session.

Registration for both the fall and winter cohorts is now open at kwic.info/climate-kinship. The deadline for submitting an application is Friday, August 9.

“For us, the best outcome would be for genuine bonds to be established between the pairs that also advance support and action for local climate justice or leadership in new climate change efforts,” Forrest said.

“Both KWIC and 4RG have heard from our networks and community for years about the need for intergenerational climate collaborations, so bringing this to fruition and learning together is opening a world of possibilities.”

“Additionally, the 2024-2025 program is a pilot year for us — we are looking forward to the many lessons that we are facilitators and project co-ordinators will learn and how we can hopefully apply it to future years of the program.”

Forrest also wanted to share that the project is currently supported “by an amazing steering committee with diverse perspectives and experiences that are helping to guide the project.”

In addition to Forrest, the steering committee includes Curve Lake First Nation Elder Dorothy Taylor (Sacred Water Circle), Sharon Beaucage-Johnson, Rachel Gilham (TRACKS), Cam Douglas (Youth Leadership in Sustainability), Patricia Wilson (Diverse Nature Collective), and Glen Caradus, along with 4RG’s Hanchet and outgoing KWIC executive director Sam Rockbrune.

For more information about Climate Kinship, visit kwic.info/climate-kinship or email Sarah Forrest at sarah@kwic.info.

Kawartha Land Trust has received $7 million in funding from the federal government to support the land conservation organization’s work to protect land in Peterborough and the Kawarthas.

Two federal politicians were at Jackson Park in Peterborough on Thursday afternoon (July 18) to make the announcement on behalf of environment and climate change minister Steven Guilbeault.

The funding comes from Canada’s $1.4-billion 10-year Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund, which aims to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by supporting projects that conserve, restore, and enhance the management of ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, peatlands, and grasslands.

“Protecting nature is one of the best and easiest ways that we can fight climate change,” said federal small business minister Rechie Valdez on behalf of Guilbeault. “These vital ecosystems, like those here in Peterborough, absorb carbon and increase our communities’ resilience to the effects of climate change.”

Kawartha Land Trust protects 39 properties comprising more than 7,250 acres of diverse types of land and assists in the management of one additional property. In February, the charitable organization announced the largest protected property purchase in its 22-year history: the new 1,411-acre Hammer Family Nature Preserve on the east shore of Pigeon Lake west of Lakehurst in Trent Lakes.

The $7 million in funding from the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund helped Kawartha Land Trust protect the Hammer Family Nature Preserve and its intact temperate forest and freshwater coastal habitat that supports 28 species at risk. The organization also received private donations and a $2.9-million investment from the Ontario government’s Greenlands Conservation Partnership, a $38-million program conserving ecologically important natural areas and protecting wetlands, grasslands, and forests that help mitigate the effects of climate change.

The funding announced on Thursday is in addition to other funding Kawartha Land Trust has received from the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund. In 2022, Environment and Climate Change Canada announced the organization would receive $1.7 million over five years, which Kawartha Land Trust has been using to protect other properties.

“We are making progress toward Canada’s important conservation goals in our collective effort to halt and reverse the alarming global decline of biodiversity,” said Adam van Koeverden, parliamentary secretary to Guilbeault, on behalf of the minister. “Working collaboratively with communities across the country is essential to making progress. The work being done through this funding is an excellent example of the benefits of working together, including connecting Canadians with nature and bringing us closer to our biodiversity goals.”

During Thursday’s announcement, Valdez also announced almost $1.6 million for Conservation Ontario, which represents Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities, to protect ecosystems from destruction and fund activities that protect at-risk species.

This story has been updated to clarify the funding Kawartha Land Trust has received from the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund.

The New Canadians Centre (NCC), which welcomes Canadian newcomers to the Peterborough and Northumberland areas, is celebrating its 45th anniversary with a windfall of more than $93,000.

As a result of its 45th anniversary fundraising campaign — through which the organization strived to raise $45,000 — “with your generous support, we raised $48,507,” wrote Andy Cragg, NCC’s executive director, in a recent email announcement.

“Because your donation was matched up to $45,000 by an anonymous donor, you actually raised $93,507.”

“We are so grateful that you have helped us to kick off our 45th anniversary celebration in such a meaningful way,” Cragg added. “This is a big boost that will help us to deliver crucial programs and services to newcomers to Canada.”

Over the past year, the NCC has welcomed more than 2,000 people from more than 100 countries who immigrated to the Peterborough and Northumberland areas — a 50 per cent increase from the previous year and the highest number in its 45-year history.

To mark that anniversary, the non-profit organization kicked off the #45for45 donation campaign in June.

With its fundraising goal accomplished, the NCC will continue to use the donations to provide its programs and services that welcome and support newcomers.

The organization offers services to immigrants and refugees, along with multicultural programming that is open to the broader community. One of the newest NCC services is its life skills program, which aims to equip recent newcomers who need extra support with additional tools.

Overall, NCC strives to empower those who are new to the country, so they can be recognized as equal and valued members of Canadian society, and provide leadership to cultivate newcomers’ meaningful economic, social, and cultural inclusion in local communities. Core programs and services connect newcomers to each other and to the community.

The NCC was born in 1979 when a modest group of community members sponsored the arrival of Vietnamese refugees.

The non-profit organization’s goal is to create an environment where people who are new to Canada are valued, which it strives to accomplish by raising awareness of newcomers’ positive contributions and breaking down barriers to their equitable access and participation.

For more information about the New Canadians Centre, visit nccpeterborough.ca.