On Saturday (September 16), 50 volunteers gathered at Harold Town Conservation Area off Old Norwood Road in Peterborough to plant 350 trees and shrubs.

The tree planting was the final component of a multi-year project to upgrade facilities at Harold Town Conservation Area, including an expanded parking area, accessible gender-neutral change and washroom facilities, and a picnic shelter.

The species planted included eastern white cedar, freeman maple, ninebark, fragrant sumac, serviceberry, staghorn sumac, grey dogwood, and black chokeberry — all native species that will support natural diversity, help to mitigate climate change, provide shade, and stabilize soils adjacent to the conservation area’s parking area and trail head.

“These trees will provide countless benefits from mitigating the effects of climate change to regulating temperatures and providing beauty for all to enjoy at the Harold Town Conservation Area,” says Janette Loveys Smith, CAO and secretary-treasurer at Otonabee Conservation, in a media release.

Harold Town Conservation Area is named in the memory of the late Canadian painter who owned and enjoyed the property from the mid 1970s until he died in 1990. After his death, his estate donated the property to Otonabee Conservation, requesting that it be dedicated as a park for public purposes.

The property offers 10 kilometres of multi-use recreational trails for off-road cyclists, trail runners, hikers, and nature enthusiasts.

The trail network provides trails through meadow and forest ecosystems and features scenic views of the Meade Creek drumlin, which is part of the Peterborough drumlin field and has been identified as a significant natural heritage feature within the Otonabee Conservation watershed. Drumlins are long, elongated hills of sediment created by glaciers in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg,

Saturday’s tree planting event was supported TD Tree Days, a program begun in 2010 that aims to help plant one million trees by 2030 as part of the TD Ready Commitment, a $1 billion initiative for community giving that supports financial security, a vibrant planet, connected communities, and better health.

“Planting trees and shrubs as part of TD Tree Days is a fantastic way to complete the upgrades at Harold Town Conservation Area, as they will enhance the visitor experience and the local environment,” says Otonabee Conservation’s manager of conservation lands Jessie James.

A 49-year-old man was seriously injured in a single all-terrain vehicle (ATV) crash in Trent Lakes on Friday afternoon (September 15).

Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a call at around 5:30 p.m. on Friday reporting an injured man had been found lying beside his ATV.

Police say the man had been driving his ATV on Bass Lake Road and the connecting trails north of Bobcaygeon when he became separated from two other people he was riding with.

He was later found lying beside his ATV by an unrelated person.

The injured man was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening and life-altering injuries, and was later airlifted to a Toronto trauma centre.

Peterborough County OPP are continuing to investigate the collision. Anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or has surveillance video or dash-cam footage from this date and time on Bass Lake Road who has not spoken with police, is asked to contact Peterborough County OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

Metroland Media Group is ending the print editions of its 70 community newspapers — which include Peterborough This Week, Kawartha Lakes This Week, and Northumberland News — and getting out of the flyer delivery business as it seeks protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act as part of a restructuring plan.

Owned by Toronto Star publisher Nordstar Capital LP, Metroland announced on Friday (September 15) the decision was “in response to unsustainable financial losses stemming from the changing preferences of consumers and advertisers.”

The move will see 605 jobs eliminated, including 68 journalists, which is about 60 per cent of Metroland’s total workforce. Around a third of the employees to be laid off work at Metroland’s flyer distribution operations, and another third are part-time staff.

Receiver Grant Thornton LLP indicated in an internal document for employees that Metroland will not offer severance or termination pay because of “insufficient funds.”

While the print editions of community newspapers are ending, they will continue to be published online.

Metroland’s six daily newspapers — the Toronto Star, Hamilton Spectator, Peterborough Examiner, St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review, Welland Tribune, and Waterloo Region Record — will continue to be published both in print and online. The Peterborough Examiner already publishes online content from Peterborough This Week and Kawartha Lakes This Week.

It is unknown how many local employees will be affected by Metroland’s decision. However, a source told kawarthaNOW one journalist with the Peterborough Examiner was let go immediately after the announcement and Peterborough This Week and and Northumberland News will each lose a journalist at the end of December.

In June, Nordstar had entered into non-binding merger talks with competitor Postmedia Network Canada Corp, owner of the National Post and many other daily newspapers, in an attempt to fight off the “existential threat” facing the media industry because of declining revenues. However, the talks were called off in July, with the Globe and Mail reporting the deal was scuttled when debt-laden Postmedia’s major lender, Chatham Asset Management, wanted to retain a large amount of the debt rather than convert it to equity in a merged company.

In its statement, Metroland blamed big tech and a decline in advertisers for the restructuring move.

“The media industry continues to face existential challenges, largely because digital tech giants have used their dominant positions to take the vast majority of the advertising revenue in Canada,” the company said. “The decline of the print and flyer distribution business was significantly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and by the reduction of flyer usage both by readers and advertisers as a marketing vehicle.”

Advertising revenues for the newspaper industry have been steadily declining since the 1990s with the rise of the internet. The decline began with classified advertising when free online options became available, and increased when tech companies including Alphabet (the parent company of Google) and Meta (the parent company of Facebook) introduced new low-cost advertising options against which traditional media could not compete.

Earlier this year, after years of lobbying by the newspaper and broadcast industry, the federal government passed the Online News Act, which would force Google and Meta to pay for links to Canadian news content that people share on their platforms in an effort to have tech companies transfer some of those advertising revenues to media companies.

Meta responded to the legislation by blocking all news content to Canadians using Facebook and Instagram, and Google has threatened to de-index Canadian news from its search engine unless the legislation is changed.

This spring, Dr. Lynn Mikula, a general surgeon and experienced hospital administrator, began her role as President & CEO at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC). With a new leader at the helm, many residents across the region have been curious about her perspective on the current challenges in healthcare and what the future holds for patient care at PRHC.

In the debut episode of the new “Heart of Healthcare” video series presented by the PRHC Foundation and hosted by Lesley Heighway, Foundation President & CEO, Dr. Mikula discusses these topics and more.

“Heart of Healthcare” is a unique project that delves into the personal stories of individuals in Peterborough and the surrounding area who are helping to shape the landscape of healthcare for thousands of people from across the region.

Each episode features a discussion with a PRHC doctor, staff member, patient, donor, or friend of the Foundation about their efforts and dedication to reimagining care at our hospital — from state-of-the-art technology to world-class patient care.

“I’m excited to invite viewers on this journey with me, where each episode uncovers more of the compassion, determination, resilience, and groundbreaking innovation sparking the transformation of healthcare at PRHC,” says Heighway. “Our guests’ unique, personal stories are a testament to the vital role world-class care close to home plays in all our lives, and I think they’ll inspire others to want to make a difference in their own way.”

Set against the backdrop of a favourite local setting, Beavermead Park, Dr. Mikula talks about her journey from the operating room to hospital leadership, her first 70 days on the job, and her thoughts on the key factors affecting healthcare delivery today.

“I love this hospital, and I love this community,” she says. “All the way along, as I would take on leadership roles with progressively more responsibility, I never lost sight of what it was all about, which is patient care and making sure that we’re in a position to offer the most amazing patient care to the people that we serve.”

Acknowledging the profound impact of the pandemic on healthcare, Dr. Mikula stressed that the world has undergone irreversible changes. The demands on healthcare providers have surged, with exhausted workforces, demographic shifts, and increased healthcare needs.

Dr. Mikula believes that creativity, innovation, and transformation are essential to overcome the obstacles in the healthcare industry. Partnering with the PRHC Foundation and its donors has made great care possible at PRHC. Continuing that partnership will mean the hospital can continue to invest in state-of-the-art technology, bringing groundbreaking new services in cardiac care, surgery, and stroke intervention.

“We want to be able to provide that care right here,” she says, highlighting the hospital’s commitment to keeping care close to home for the hundreds of thousands of people in our region. But it’s not just about technology and procedures; it’s also about attracting the best medical professionals, she adds. Focusing on innovation is a powerful draw for skilled physicians, attracting them to Peterborough and contributing to the hospital’s — and region’s — continued success.

“There are the things that we all look for when we’re applying for a job: a good place to live, a good community. But physicians, in particular, want to know that the hospital is committed to investing in the future,” she says. “They’ve been trained on the latest and greatest techniques, and they want to bring them here and practice those latest and greatest techniques.”

Dr. Mikula’s leadership style involves actively engaging with the hospital staff regularly. She values their perspectives and encourages meaningful interactions through open forums. Despite the challenges they’ve faced, she says she’s inspired by the staff’s unwavering commitment to patient care.

“One of the questions I ask [the staff] is, why do you work here? They say ‘I stay because I love my team, I love this hospital and the people I work with. I stay because I have that commitment to patient care’,” she says.

Dr. Mikula expressed deep gratitude for donor contributions and said many of the hospital’s advancements, like new technology, programs and treatments, wouldn’t have been possible without their support.

“When I think about being a donor myself, I’m grateful to be able to donate to a Foundation that has this vision for the future, and that is literally building the future of healthcare in this region.”

VIDEO: Heart of Healthcare – Episode 1

Watch the full interview with Dr. Lynn Mikula and Lesley Heighway above.

Upcoming episodes will be available at prhcfoundation.ca and through the Foundation’s social media and Vimeo channels.

This branded editorial was supplied by the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.

A major development aimed at helping ensure Peterborough’s homeless don’t freeze on the streets this winter was unveiled Thursday (September 14) at the former Trinity United Church at 360 Reid Street.

The main hall of the former church will be renovated over the next month to not only accommodate a daytime drop-in program year round from 1 to 5 p.m., but also to provide 45 sleeping cots for those seeking overnight shelter from October 1 through the winter until March 31.

While there’s no firm opening date as of yet, the work required will begin immediately, with the plan to open the doors as soon as possible.

At the heart of what is now known as Trinity Centre are several community partners, all of which were represented at the media announcement.

One City Peterborough, which operated Stop Gap, an overnight drop-in centre, from mid-January this year until the end of April, will move almost all of its operations to the former church and oversee not only the required renovations but also the day-to-day operation of the centre.

The church, including the centre space, is owned by the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network (PPRN) for the purpose of developing a community hub, not unlike its previous purchase, renovation, and development of The Mount Community Centre.

PPRN purchased the property about a year ago. Well prior to that, the congregation, struggling with dwindling numbers and major repair costs, voted to close the church and disband, with the last church service held June 24, 2021. While the property wasn’t publicly listed for sale, PPRN learned of its availability and entered negotiations to buy the property.

And then there’s the City of Peterborough, which will provide One City with $900,000 annually for three years as part of a service agreement for the operation of an overnight drop-in space and a year-round daytime drop-centre.

“We wanted to do it right this year, to make sure there are cots available so people can sleep and provide more of a dignified environment,” said One City Peterborough co-executive director Christian Harvey at Thursday’s announcement. “This is huge. This is bringing everything under one roof, pardon the phrase. We’re trying to do it as quickly as possible but also as thoughtfully as possible.”

Harvey had nothing but praise for the former Trinity United Church congregation that, rather than putting the church on the open market and selling the expansive property to a developer for future residential or commercial development, stayed true to its decades-long commitment of service to the community at large.

“Trinity, having the vision of saying ‘We want to continue our legacy in the community beyond worshipping’ is brilliant,” said Harvey. “It’s a model that other churches, as they coming to make such hard decisions, can learn from.”

“These buildings provide such important spaces. Churches’ missions should be to provide support to their communities. The fact that Trinity saw a way which to do that is a model we should be watching { }that idea of saying ‘How can we continue to support our neighbourhood in a very real way?'”

Dave Freeman, the chair of the recently formed Trinity Centre Coordination Committee and a former member of Trinity United Church congregation, related that while the church was pondering what to do with the property, “We had this offer (from PPRN) at the ninth hour.”

“Many people were skeptical but once we met the people behind the offer and discovered what they had in mind, the congregation just completely flipped over and said ‘Let’s do it locally.’ These people, having done The Mount, know what they’re in for and how to do it. Having already made the decision to disband, once they (the congregation) recognized the path forward, they were overjoyed.”

“This has the possibility of being more effective for more people than we could possibly do as a church,” Freeman added. “There are all sorts of things going on in a church related to worship and singing and whatever. Now the focus is entirely on the community and those that need support.”

While PPRN chair Steve Kylie wouldn’t share the purchase price, he did reveal the church “used some of its resources to help lower the price,” bringing it down to a point where PPRN could buy the property.

“They were hung up on a price they got from an appraisal. It was a good-sized number, but they threw in some resources to make it palatable for us (PPRN).”

“The United Church of Canada wanted to maintain ownership and use them (former church buildings) for affordable apartments,” Kylie explained. “When we talked to this membership, we said ‘Well, there could be some housing here but we want to use it to fulfill the dreams of the PPRN.’

“They realized that even though it’s not affordable housing, what we’re doing here is basically a fulfillment of their religious values — caring for community. So it became an easy sell for them. We just had to get everyone else on board.”

The formal portion of the announcement was convened by United Way of Peterborough and District CEO Jim Russell.

Russell said the “establishment of this space is a reflection of the leadership of this city, and the collaboration of community partners today to make sure we’re addressing the needs of the most vulnerable people in our community.”

Meanwhile, Harvey addressed the impact of the new centre on the neighbourhood in which it’s located.

“We’ve already started reaching out to local businesses, and will be reaching out to neighbours, to find a way in which we can be the best neighbour possible. We call ourselves One City. The idea is that we all want to reside here together, so how do we find a way to do that?”

The fact that the centre will be become the new home of One City Peterborough, adds Harvey, mean he, his staff, and his volunteers can be “a greater support” to the immediate neighbourhood.

Of note, much of the work required to retrofit the space will be done by those involved with One City’s employment program that provides job opportunities.

As for the requiring zoning modifications and required permits, praise was heaped on the City of Peterborough for expediting and streamlining the process where possible. On hand representing the city were councillors Keith Riel and Alex Bierk, co-chairs of council’s housing and homelessness portfolios.

“We have to stop the friction between the city and the agencies and work together,” said Councillor Riel.

“There’s a segment of the population that doesn’t want to be housed and want to use something like this. The ultimate goal is to house everybody but, with that, we have to have the wrap-around services and the help of the agencies that do this (work) every day and are the experts on it. We (the city) can free up the money and take the roadblocks down but we’re not the experts.”

“There is no playbook for housing and homelessness,” Riel pointed out. “We’re writing the playbook, every day. I’d like to see us make the playbook, not just for Peterborough, but for every city that’s dealing with housing and homelessness in some form or another.”

Something that isn’t broken doesn’t require fixing, but that doesn’t mean a tweak here and there isn’t beneficial. That said, the six-day Adventure In Understanding canoe trip, an ongoing project of the Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha, is far from broken.

With the eighth edition now in the books, the experiential journey remains true to its original intent of providing First Nations and non-native youth, aged 16 to 18 years old, with the trip of a lifetime via a 100-kilometre trek from Beavermead Park to Curve Lake First Nation.

With the Canadian Canoe Museum, Camp Kawartha and Curve Lake First Nation fully on board as partners, the first Adventure In Understanding program was offered in 2014. While just four students made the inaugural trek, that grew to 20 young people in 2016.

But this time around, a tweak came in the form of the participation of Dorianna Chessa — a land-based educator with the Gulf Islands School District in British Columbia, specifically Salt Spring Island in the Strait of Georgia off south Vancouver Island — who brought two paddles with her that were carved by someone from Curve Lake.

The pandemic forced its cancellation in 2020 and 2021 but it returned in 2022, and this year’s journey saw 20 youth and five leaders depart August 27 from Beavermead Park, making overnight stops at Trent University’s Champlain College, Lakefield College School, Camp Kawartha, and Wolf Island Provincial Park before arriving at Curve Lake First Nation — where a celebratory feast and ceremonial tree planting on September 1 marked the end of the journey.

Rotarian Don Watkins has been involved since day one, working with fellow service club member Janet McLeod to forge and nurture partnerships with the Canadian Canoe Museum, Camp Kawartha, and Curve Lake First Nation that remain intact to this day.

This year’s trek, says Watkins, saw youths from 12 Ontario communities participate — five from the Peterborough area — alongside a Rotary exchange student from Kanzawa, Japan and one of Chessa’s former students. Five of participants, notes Watkins, have Indigenous heritage as part of their background.

“Canoe and no phones equals friendship,” says Watkins, a reference to the close bond that develops between the paddlers when they are bereft of the technology that has defined a generation. “It only takes about a day (before they don’t miss having their phones). They’re so busy being involved and talking to their new friends.”

Watkins, who is chair of the program, works behind the scenes on trip registration and confirming the itinerary, which includes overnight accommodations and food provision. Along for the trip, however, were five on-water leaders — Peterborough musician, puppeteer, and environmental educator Glen Caradus among them. Caradus, notes Watkins, has made all eight trips.

When not on the water, the group was treated to teachings by Curve Lake First Nation Chief Keith Knott, Canadian Bushcraft owner Caleb Musgrave of Hiawatha First Nation, Brittany Taylor of Curve Lake First Nation, and Curve Lake Elder Lorenzo Whetung.

The agenda was not unlike that of trips in past years, the exception being Chessa’s participation, which is a story onto itself.

“I was looking for a paddle to buy and found these beautiful hand-carved paddles on the Facebook marketplace in Victoria,” she recalls, noting she bought three of the paddles. “As I was leaving, he (the seller) told me they had been carved by someone from Curve Lake First Nation. When I got home, I googled ‘Curve Lake First Nation paddle’ and the Adventure In Understanding program came up.”

Having created her own non-profit organization, the Outdoor Wellness Leadership Society, just last year, Chessa was intrigued. She subsequently emailed Watkins to learn more. Watkins details what happened next.

“I showed her email to a friend of mine,” he explains. “When I said ‘This person wants to come and see what’s going on,’ (my friend) said ‘I have a surplus of air miles. I will donate them to pay for her to come.'”

“When Glen and I were talking to her (via Facetime), we talked about the program and then we asked ‘Would you like to come?’,” Watkins adds. “She was blown away. She called me back the next morning and said ‘Yes, I want to come.'”

“It was pretty hard to pass up,” says Chessa. “The only thing I felt unsure about was taking the place of an Indigenous youth. So I asked one of my former students, who has Ojibwe ancestry, if she wanted to come. I worked it out with her family and Don and she was able to.”

Chessa brought two of the paddles with her.

“She used one and I used the other for the whole paddle. I brought two thinking I was going leave one, but I brought them both back with me. It seemed like the right thing to do was to keep them paddling.”

Chessa was so impressed by the Adventure In Understanding program, she’s determined to launch and offer a similar program next summer, involving the local Cowichan Nation.

“It was really inspiring to see youths connecting in this way,” she says. “One of them said she felt like she was curious to learn and related how good that felt. It’s such a different way to connect — being on the land, being on the water, being without cellphones, having teachings every evening from different Indigenous elders and knowledge keepers.”

Chessa echoes comments made by previous participants about the life-changing impact the journey can have on youth.

“They have the opportunity to have a healthy relationship with themselves, with others, and with the land and water,” she says. “They grow up in a way that they haven’t grown up before. They can relate to others from a place of who they really are, and not who they’re trying to fit in to be.”

For his part, Watkins remains thrilled that Chessa connected with him and was able to participate with an eye on offering a similar program in B.C.

“It’s the first time, since the program started, that anybody has picked up on it,” says Watkins, adding “The best way to find out what happens is to come and be with us.”

“We have a small program here. We can’t get any bigger — we don’t want to get any bigger — but we think it’s a template that others can copy.”

Watkins is equally thrilled to hear positive comments from parents of youths who participated, one of whom wrote “It’s clear to me that this experience had a profound impact on (my son). He has returned a more mature and stronger young man.’

“I was quite overwhelmed when I read that,” says Watkins. “Yes, it takes some time to put it together but it’s worth it.”