The body of a 46-year-old man was discovered in the Otonabee River in Peterborough on Thursday morning (March 30).

Peterborough police were contacted at around 8:15 a.m. after the man’s body was discovered in the area of the CP Rail Bridge and pedestrian walkway.

The area was closed to pedestrian traffic for about an hour.

Police have released no other information about the man’s identity or the possible cause of his death.

The coroner is now investigating with the assistance of Peterborough police.

Peterborough’s Canadian Canoe Museum has announced plans for a community-oriented waterfront campus along the shore of Little Lake near the museum’s new location, thanks to a $1,775,000 gift from former CFL player and businessman Stuart “Stu” Lang and his wife Kim.

The new 65,000-square-foot museum, currently under construction at 2077 Ashburnham Drive, will include an adjacent 5.3-acre redeveloped waterfront campus featuring 1,200 feet of shoreline with docks, a boardwalk, and restored and naturalized spaces including a wetland.

“We are incredibly grateful and fortunate for the passion, vision, and generosity of the Langs,” says the museum’s executive director Carolyn Hyslop. “Stu has taken great pride in helping craft an active waterfront that can complement the museum, with many of the ideas for the lakefront campus coming from Stu himself. This gift, confirmed in the fall of 2022, has grown to the transformative gift it is today because of the Langs’ commitment to excellence and elevating The Canadian Canoe Museum to a national level.”

A new offering that was unavailable at the museum’s former land-locked Monaghan Road location, the lakefront campus allows the museum to offer visitors a fully integrated experience, from learning about the canoe to stepping out of the museum and, within a minute’s walk, enjoy paddling around Little Lake.

The redeveloped waterfront will include an accessible all-season boardwalk connecting the museum to the Little Lake shoreline and to the Trans Canada Trail, which runs through the property between Roger’s Cove to Beavermead Park.

The lakefront campus will provide museum visitors with opportunities to get out on the water with a walk-in canoe launch, two seasonal canoe docks, and an adaptive canoe and kayak launch station. The docks and the nearby Canoe House will allow the museum to host voyageur canoe tours, adult and youth paddling programs, certification courses, regattas, and canoe and kayak rentals for the public.

“The lakefront campus will make our museum come alive,” Hyslop says. “Participants in a paddle carving or canoe restoration workshop will experience the excitement of testing their freshly honed skills on the water. Schoolchildren and campers will get their hands dirty while exploring the biodiversity of the wetland or learning to build a campfire.”

“Seating and signage throughout the site will encourage visitors and trail users to take in the expansive views of Little Lake before or after visiting the galleries. And the docks, canoe racks, and a connection to the Trans Canada Trail will encourage community connectivity and active, accessible transportation.”

The Langs’ donation will also support a gathering circle outside the museum’s main entrance that will welcome visitors arriving by car, bus, bicycle, or on foot. Inspired by Canadian canoe routes and the water’s impact on the landscape, the gathering circle will feature natural elements that emphasize the relationship between land and water.

With a water infiltration garden, wood slat benches, and a small amphitheatre surrounded by large granite boulders and white pine trees., the gathering circle will offer museum visitors as well as public trail users a space for reflection and education.

“We are so grateful to Stu and Kim Lang for their transformational donation that has led to the creation of the lakefront campus and gathering circle,” Hyslop says. “The Canadian Canoe Museum and the community will feel the impact of this donation for years to come.”

Highly respected members of the Guelph community with a lengthy record of philanthropic giving, the Langs have donated millions of dollars to numerous causes related to athletics, academics, and animal welfare. They donated over $70 million to Queen’s University and the University of Guelph, supporting both student athletes and the general student populations.

The University of Guelph’s S. Lang School of Business and Economics was named after Stu’s father following a $21-million gift, the largest ever in the school’s history. The Langs have also contributed to the Ontario Veterinary College, the Guelph Humane Society, and Guelph General Hospital, and also established the Angel Gabriel Foundation, a registered charity.

Prior to joining CCL Industries, the family business where he worked for 25 years before becoming a director of the company, Stu had a successful eight-year professional football career with the Edmonton Elks in the Canadian Football League, with his team winning five Grey Cups.

Both Stu and Kim have a passion for camping and canoe tripping, having attended the Taylor Statten Camps in Algonquin Park. At these camps, they both developed a life-long enthusiasm and interest in canoeing, the outdoors, and educating youth about Canadian history.

“The Canadian Canoe Museum’s world-class collection deserves an outstanding home,” Stu says. “A fully realized lakefront campus and gathering circle are essential. They will showcase the canoe’s incredible history and cultural significance and connect people to the land and water in a way that only hands-on experiences can.”

“The new museum will be a place where people can come together, learn by doing, and be inspired by the stories and traditions of the canoe. It’s an investment in our past, present, and future, and we are proud to be a part of it.”

The $40 million cost of the new museum is being funded by donors across the country, including significant donors such as the Langs and the Weston Family Foundation, as well as by all levels of government.

The federal government through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the City of Peterborough, Peterborough County, and the Ontario government have also contributed funding for the new Canadian Canoe Museum.

The new museum’s originally scheduled opening date of early summer has been delayed due to labour and supply shortages. The new museum is now expected to open in late summer or early fall.

For more information about the new museum or to sign-up for updates, visit the museum’s website at www.canoemuseum.ca.

At its first meeting this year, 100 Women Peterborough has chosen PARN – Your Community AIDS Resource Network to receive $10,000.

The collective philanthropy group met virtually last Tuesday (March 21) to raise funds for an organization in need. The group hears presentations from three organizations randomly drawn from a larger list of organizations nominated by the group’s members. The organization receiving the most votes from members receives the donations contributed by the group’s members.

The three organizations that presented to 100 Women Peterborough at Tuesday’s virtual meeting were PARN, Youth Unlimited, and the Westben Centre for Connection & Creativity, with PARN chosen by majority vote to receive the funds.

PARN provides support and health promotion for people who are living with, affected by, or at-risk for HIV in the four counties of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton. The organization also provides education and equipment for people at risk for HIV, hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections.

PARN has been serving the community with both outreach and programming for LGBTQ+ youth and women who are living with, affected by, or at-risk for HIV and continues to hold community capacity building projects, workshops, and awareness to the broader community.

“All donations received will be going to women actively involved with our organization by compensating their time and contribution toward continuously improving the services they want to receive,” said PARN’s executive director Dane Record. “The Women’s Advisory and Women In Action committees are two of the most passionate, hardworking committees that show up frequently to lead our community work and continue our mission to prevent new HIV transmissions and promote HIV/AIDS awareness in Peterborough City and County.”

PARN provides a variety of services in the community including counselling, workshops , and information on progression and treatment of HIV/AIDS for those affected and their families. The organization also provides referrals to service providers, basic necessities to those in need, and assistance with other health issues.

“Our philosophy at 100 Women Peterborough is to come together as a group to make a big impact,” says Rose Terry, one of the founding members of 100 Women Peterborough. “Through our giving group we not only empower women to engage in philanthropy in a meaningful way that is budget friendly, but we also provide a quick, easy and transparent way for the charities to access donors and funding. We are providing a space for the collective voice to be heard.”

The collective philanthropy movement began in the United States in November 2006, when Karen Dunigan of Michigan formed the “100 Women Who Care” group. After their first meeting, the women raised over $10,000 for the purchase of 300 new baby cribs for a local organization. The movement has grown over the past 17 years to include groups of men, women, youth, and children around the world, with more than 230 chapters in Canada alone.

Since its formation, 100 Women Peterborough has collectively donated more than $164,000 to 20 local organizations: Hospice Peterborough, Peterborough Youth Unlimited, One Roof Warming Room, New Canadians Centre, Cameron House, Five Counties Children’s Centre, Casa De Angelae, Lakefield Animal Welfare Society, Community Care Peterborough, Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, Community Counselling and Resource Centre, Peterborough Pregnancy Support Services, Heads Up for Inclusion, Kawartha Youth Orchestra, Peterborough GreenUP, Bridges Peterborough, YMCA Strong Communities, Homeward Bound Peterborough, Good Neighbours Care Centre and Food Bank, and PARN.

Women interested in joining 100 Women Peterborough should visit www.100womenptbo.ca for more information.