Wild Rock Outfitters, Peterborough's hub for outdoor gear, has been embedding sustainability values into their business for decades. They are continuing to do so as a member of Green Economy Peterborough. (Photo courtesy of Tori Silvera)
January is a wonderful time to reflect on the past and share our hopes and intentions for the year.
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s column is by Jackie Donaldson, Program Coordinator, Green Economy Peterborough.
In our previous article, GreenUP rang in the season by sharing Green Wishes for our community from our staff.
This week, we are featuring the thoughtful reflections of eight local business leaders who have committed to greening their operations as members of Green Economy Peterborough.
For 2023, we asked this keen group of leaders what their Green Wishes were for their sector, the business community, or our community. Here is what they said
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Dan Stanford of Cabinetree
Dan Stanford of Cabinetree, a Green Economy Peterborough member and a local manufacturer of high-quality cabinets and commercial components that stand the test of time. (Photo: Wayne Ferguson Photography)
“My Green Wish for 2023 is for consumers to be more conscious of the emissions cost to deliver their purchases to them from around the world.
Purchasing locally, when possible, can reduce emissions and support our community.”
Dylan Radcliffe of Engage Engineering
Dylan Radcliffe of Engage Engineering, a civil engineering firm based in Peterborough that provides municipal engineering services to public and private sector clients. Engage Engineering believes in sustainable engineering and business principles and is a member of Green Economy Peterborough. (Photo courtesy of Dylan Radcliffe)
“My Green Wish for the new year is for organizations and industry to begin to consider their impacts on global biodiversity. Biodiversity often comes second to climate change objectives for businesses but is critically important for long-term sustainability.
With the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration well underway, and the completion of the COP 15 UN Biodiversity Conference held in Montreal last month, we need to reflect on how our businesses actions impact biodiversity both locally and globally. I look forward to reflecting on how our company can make a difference over the coming year and making changes for the better! I hope you will join me.”
Angella and Verne Windrem of Green Street
Angella and Verne Windrem of Green Street, a Peterborough shop specailizing in electric bikes and scooters, pedal bikes, yoga accessories, and eco-lifestyles and a member of Green Economy Peterborough. (Photo courtesy of Angella and Verne Windrem)
“Our Green Street Green Wish for 2023 is for the promotion of more bike-centred infrastructure in our community. We all know it’s better for the environment, but the local economy benefits as well, since cyclists have a tendency to spend their dollars at local establishments.
Study after study has shown that cycling and a vibrant bike culture makes for a healthier and happier population. When it comes to choosing between a bike and a car, our personal choice is pretty obvious. We built a whole business around it! An electric bike makes that choice even more accessible to a wider range of people.
We would love to see more strides taken on a systemic level to make cycling easier and more accessible for everyone. Many initiatives are already well underway in our community. Our wish is to see that great work continue to grow and blossom.”
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Adeilah Dahlke of Jigsaw Organizing Solutions
Adeilah Dahlke of Jigsaw Organizing Solutions is a trained professional organizer and Green Economy Peterborough member with a passion for helping people find sustainable and lifelong solutions to organizing their things. (Photo: Adeilah Dahlke)
“My Green Wish for 2023 for my industry is that professional organizers start to think critically about the way that they are helping clients to declutter and organize.
By donating and using specialty recycling programs as much as possible, and also reusing storage containers rather than purchasing brand new plastic products, we can really make an impact!”
The staff team at Lett Architects
The Lett Architects team at Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival in 2022. Lett Architects, an architectural design studio in Peterborough dedicated to long-lasting design, is a member of Green Economy Peterborough. (Photo courtesy of Kristy Hook)
“Let’s actively participate in Canada’s efforts to preserve 30 per cent of our land and water resources by 2030 by reducing the overall environmental impact of our buildings by 30 per cent.
Let’s prioritize environmental protection in our work, every day.
Let’s design buildings that are more compact and at least 30% more efficient in their use of land and resources so that we can minimize their impact on surrounding ecosystems and harness the energy potential of our sites.
Let’s remind ourselves that energy, water, and material resources sustain us, are beautiful, are limited, and must be protected.”
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The Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Committee at Peterborough Golf & Country Club
The Peterborough Golf and Country Club’s “Green Team” is pleased to be moving forward on their greening projects, including their Green Economy Peterborough membership, with new general manager and chief operating officer Jermaine Brissett. Pictured are former general manager Michael Gillan, Beth Goodge, Patty Macdonald, Karen Thomas, Joanne McCarthy, Janet Spindloe, Kazia Milan, Venci Sebek, and Carol Wilton. (Photo courtesy of Patty Macdonald)
“Our Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Committee’s Green Wish for 2023 is directed at our members. Through our unique relationship with them, we have an opportunity to educate, assist, and inspire 1,000+ people to protect and sustain the land, water, and wildlife around us. Imagine the great impact we could have if we all — both individually and collectively — engaged in sustainable practice!
So, our Green Wish is that our members take time in 2023 to learn more about protecting our environment, then take action, and communicate with loved ones and those — like our political representatives and other local leaders — who have the ability to push for positive change, on the importance of protecting the health and prosperity of the future we all share!”
The staff team at Trent Health in Motion
The team at Trent Health and Motion celebrating the holidays, including owners Michael Williams and Reanna Montopoli with their baby Malcolm (far right). A member of Green Economy Peterborough, Trent Health and Motion offers health and wellness services with the goal of enhancing health and optimizing performance. (Photo: Trent Health and Motion / Facebook)
“Our Green Wish for the healthcare industry is to take leadership in environmental sustainability, recognizing that our health is directly impacted by the health of our environment.
Some great steps those in healthcare can take are to join a Green Economy Hub in their area, and to promote active transportation. Walking, cycling, and running are great ways to keep our bodies and environments healthy.
Trent Health in Motion is a proud Green Economy Leader and we participate in Shifting Gears each May to challenge ourselves to take active transportation as much as possible. We’ve also joined B!KE, the Peterborough Community Bike Shop, with a corporate membership so that our staff can access support to keep their bikes running smoothly which can be a great form of active transportation.”
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The staff team at Wild Rock Outfitters
Wild Rock Outfitters, Peterborough’s hub for outdoor gear, has been embedding sustainability values into their business for decades. They are continuing to do so as a member of Green Economy Peterborough. (Photo courtesy of Tori Silvera)
“Wild Rock’s 2023 Green Wish for the outdoor industry is decreased air travel — of people and products.
We love bikes and hikes just for fun, but we also love reducing our carbon footprint! Ontario is pretty amazing. We hope you continue to Go Out and Play close to home this year.
See you on the trails!”
GreenUP’s wish for our local green economy leaders
“We wish these business leaders all the best in their efforts to support our planet and become more efficient and resilient organizations.”
Green Economy Peterborough is a GreenUP program that connects and supports business members to reduce their organization’s environmental footprint.
For more information on Green Economy Peterborough, visit greeneconomypeterborough.ca, where you can sign up for our e-newsletter or book an appointment.
Environment Canada has issued a winter storm watch with significant snowfall for the northern Kawarthas region beginning Thursday night (January 12).
The winter storm watch is in effect for northern Peterborough County, Haliburton County, and Hastings Highlands.
Snow falling across the area will intensify Thursday evening and will continue into Friday afternoon, tapering off late Friday.
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Snowfall amounts of 15 to 30 cm are possible, although uncertainty remains regarding the track of the Colorado low responsible for this snowfall.
Snow will be heavy at times, with reduced visibility and rapidly accumulating snow resulting in difficult travel conditions. Avoid travel if possible.
For Northumberland County, Environment Canada has also issued a special weather statement calling for significant rainfall Thursday night.
Light showers and drizzle will give way to rain, heavy at times, late Thursday afternoon and then change to snow by Friday morning.
Rainfall amounts of 15 to 30 mm are expected, although considerable uncertainty remains regarding the track of the Colorado low responsible for this rainfall. Should the track of this low change, rainfall amounts could also change.
This story has been updated with a significant weather statement for Northumberland County.
Along with her years of experience in the private sector, the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes' new executive director Laurie Dillon-Schalk co-founded Conquer COVID-19, one of Canada's fastest-growing national pandemic relief efforts in 2020. (Photo: Volvo Canada)
Laurie Dillon-Schalk is the new executive director of the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes.
The board of directors of the charitable organization, which was established in November 2019, made the announcement on Wednesday (January 11).
“The board is very excited to welcome Laurie to our Community Foundation,” says board president Mike Bellamy in a media release. “Laurie brings a wealth of experience from both the private & non-profit sectors that will be of tremendous benefit to the Community Foundation, here in Kawartha Lakes.”
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Dillon-Schalk has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector, including 12 years in senior strategy roles at major marketing and advertising agencies including Rove Marketing, The Fourth Agency, FUSE Marketing Group Inc., Evidently, FCB Global, JWT, and WestJet. Most recently, she founded the data intelligence agency Social Wisdom.
Dillon-Schalk also has non-profit leadership and fundraising experience from her role as a co-founder of Conquer COVID-19, one of Canada’s fastest-growing national pandemic relief efforts in 2020. The 120-volunteer organization built a private supply chain of medical personal protective equipment and delivered it to hospitals, long term care homes, women’s and homeless shelters, community health organizations, First Nations, and more. As part of her efforts, Dillon-Schalk worked closely with the Bobcaygeon Relief Fund’s leadership team.
She has a BA in economics fom the University of Waterloo and MBAs from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and the ESCP Business School.
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A seasonal cottager and property manager in Kawartha Lakes for over 20 years, Dillon-Schalk and her family purchased a maple syrup hobby farm near Bobcaygeon and Fenelon Falls in 2018. During the pandemic, she relocated from Toronto to Kawartha Lakes.
She is also a member of the 2022-23 board of directors of Regional Tourism Organization 8 (RTO8), funded by the Ontario Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries to promote regional tourism activity in the area that is now branded as Kawarthas Northumberland.
Dillon-Schalk, who began in the executive director role on January 10, can be contacted at laurie@kawarthafoundation.ca.
Construction is complete on The Railyard, Ashburnham Realty's new six-storey residential and commercial building at 127 Hunter Street East in Peterborough's East City, beside the Rotary Greenway Trail. Applications are now open for the 40 residential units in the building, with occupancy expected by spring. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
Ashburnham Realty’s new residential and commercial development on Hunter Street East in Peterborough’s East City is moving along, with construction on the development’s first and largest building now completed and work on the second building now underway.
“It is really starting to take shape now and will create a very cool hub in East City,” Ashburnham Realty owner Paul Bennett tells kawarthaNOW in an email.
The first building in the development, called “The Railyard,” is a six-storey building at 127 Hunter Street East with 40 one and two-bedroom apartments and two commercial tenants on the main floor. Construction is complete, with interior and exterior finishing to be done.
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Bennett says he hopes to see the first residential tenants move into The Railyard in late spring. The two commercial spaces have already been leased, with those tenants preparing to renovate their spaces.
“There is a ton of interest and it is getting a lot of excitement,” says Bennett, a native of East City, adding that Ashburnham Realty is now accepting residential applications for The Railyard at www.ashburnhamrealty.com.
The name of The Railyard, located on the south side of Hunter Street East across from Ashburnham Ale House and just east of the Rotary Greenway Trail, is a nod to the rich history of the former Ashburnham Village. The Rotary Greenway Trail was built on the railbed of the Cobourg and Peterborough Railway, which was constructed in the early 1850s and operated between 1854 and 1860 (it was later used for other rail lines).
The existing building on the west side of trail facing Hunter Street East, which most recently housed a law office, has now been demolished to make way for the second building in the Ashburnham Realty development, which will have 12 residential units and a commercial tenant on the main floor. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
One of the first railway lines to be built in central Ontario, it included a railway station serving as the northern terminus of the Cobourg and Peterborough Railway. When the Prince of Wales (Queen Victoria’s eldest son, later King Edward VII) visited Peterborough in September 1860, he arrived at the Ashburnham railway station.
That railway station was near the current location of the development’s second building, which faces Hunter Street East on the west side of the Rotary Greenway Trail. It was once the office of McCarthy and Johnston Fuels and later housed a restaurant, The Main Ingredient Too, and most recently a law office, with residential apartments on the second floor.
That building was demolished earlier this week, and will be replaced with a new building containing 12 residential units and a commercial tenant on the main floor. Construction on the second building is expected to be complete by the end of the year.
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The original plan for the development also called for two additional buildings with 41 residential units to be constructed on the east side of the Rotary Greenway Trail, between Hunter Street East and Robinson Street to the south, previously used as overflow parking lots for the former St. Joseph’s Hospital on Rogers Street.
However, Bennett says there will now be only one building in that location.
“We are just in the planning stages of this final building and it will be just residential,” he says.
All three buildings in the development are being designed by Lett Architects Inc. of Peterborough.
A view of The Railyard building looking north to Hunter Street East on the Rotary Greenway Trail. The final building in the Ashburnham Realty development will be located on the east side of the trail between Hunter Street East and Robinson Street. As part of the development, this section of the Rotary Greenway Trail will be enhanced. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
As part of the new development, Ashburnham Realty will also be enhancing the section of the Rotary Greenway Trail that runs between Robinson Street and Hunter Street East.
The trail will be straightened where it currently bends to meets Hunter Street East and trail lighting will be added (similar to the section just north of the development between Hunter Street East and Douro Street) along with landscaping.
“The trail is going to be really nice,” Bennett says
A 2019 rendering of The Railyard, looking south from Hunter Street East and also showing the enhanced Rotary Greenway Trail and another new building in the background. The Ashburnham Realty development originally called for four buildings but will now include three. (Image: Ashburnham Realty)
Illegal drugs and currency seized by Kawartha Lakes police after executing a search warrant at a Lindsay home on January 10, 2022. (Photo: Kawartha Lakes Police Service)
Two Lindsay men were arrested and are facing multiple charges after Kawartha Lakes police executed a search warrant at a Lindsay home on Tuesday (January 10).
As a result of the search warrant, police located and seized around 82 grams of fentanyl, five grams of methamphetamine, and 122 grams of cocaine.
They also seized over $1,500 in Canadian currency.
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As a result of the police investigation, 33-year-old Sean Fisher of Lindsay and 39-year-old Matthew Taylor of Lindsay were arrested.
The two men have been charged with possession of a Schedule 1 substance for purposes of trafficking (fentanyl), possession of a Schedule 1 substance for purposes of trafficking (crystal methamphetamine), possession of a Schedule 1 substance for purposes of trafficking (cocaine), possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime under $5,000, and failing to comply with probation.
Both accused men are being held in custody for a bail hearing and will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Lindsay.
Along with other health units across Ontario, Peterborough Public Health will once again be enforcing the province’s vaccination requirements for elementary and secondary school students effective Wednesday (January 11). After being paused due to the pandemic, routine immunization opportunities resumed in 2022.
Ontario’s Immunization of School Pupils Act requires all students between the ages of 4 and 17 (unless they have a valid exemption) to be appropriately immunized against the following designated diseases according to a defined schedule: diphtheria, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, meningococcal disease, and pertussis (whooping cough). Children born in 2010 or later must also be immunized against varicella (chickenpox). COVID-19 vaccines are not a requirement.
“Immunizations protect children from highly infectious viruses and bacteria that can lead to severe disease,” says Peterborough’s medical officer of health Dr. Thomas Piggott in a media release. “Ensuring that all students are immunized and records are reported to public health will keep children safe in the classroom and prevent or manage potential outbreaks of disease.”
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While students who are not up to date with the required immunizations and who do not have exemptions are at risk of suspension from school, the health unit will begin by educating parents and guardians of students who are in Grade 3 and not up to date with their immunizations.
“The goal of our efforts is to support accessing vaccination, and getting our community protected,” Dr Piggott says. “We have availability in our Routine Immunization Clinic to support those who do not have access to a health care provider.”
Immunization records for Peterborough residents can be looked up through the health unit’s page on the province’s Immunization Connect Ontario (ICON) web-based tool at pcchu.icon.ehealthontario.ca.
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Families can also use the tool to submit their child’s immunizations records to the health unit. A valid Ontario health card is required to access the record of immunization. Parents and guardians may also ask their health care provider to fax immunization records to Peterborough Public Health.
The health unit says families with children who are not up to date with vaccinations should book an appointment with a health care provider to receive a vaccine. Residents who do not have a local health care provider can book an appointment at Peterborough Public Health’s routine immunization clinic by calling 705-743-1000 ext. 331.
Police are investigating after a man’s body was found on Harris Road in the Municipality of Port Hope on Monday afternoon (January 9).
At 1:44 p.m., the Northumberland OPP received information a man had been discovered dead near a vehicle parked on Harris Road near the hamlet of Canton.
The Northumberland OPP Crime Unit is at the scene conducting a death investigation, and Harris Road is closed at 4th Line as a result.
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Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the Northumberland OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit information online at stopcrimehere.ca.
The Canadian documentary "Love in the Time of Fentanyl," which tells the story of a vibrant group of misfits, artists, and drug users who operate a renegade safe injection site in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, fighting to save lives and keep hope alive in a neighbourhood ravaged by the overdose crisis, is one of the 60 films screening during the virtual 2023 ReFrame Film Festival from January 26 to February 3. (Photo courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
Peterborough’s ReFrame Film Festival has unveiled the full lineup of social justice documentary films screening during the 2023 virtual festival, which runs for nine days from Thursday, January 26th to Friday, February 3rd.
The 19th annual documentary film festival, available to audiences across Canada, features an extensive list of fascinating films on the international circuit, as well as Canadian films and local short films.
The festival opens on January 26 with an in-person event at Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough, featuring an exclusive screening of All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The epic story of internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin is told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of OxyContin, accountable for the overdose crisis.
Prior to the opening night screening, Alice Williams will open the festival with a prayer, Cormac Culkeen will give a musical performance, and ReFrame creative director Amy Siegel will speak about the festival program.
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VIDEO: “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” trailer
International films screening during the virtual festival include Subject that explores the life-altering experience of sharing one’s life on screen through the participants of five acclaimed documentaries, Be My Voice about exiled journalist Masih Alinejad who urges Iranian women to rebel on social media, The Seeds of Vandana Shiva that presents the incredible life story of the Gandhian eco-activist, and Devil Put The Coal In The Ground that looks at the devastation brought on by the coal industry and its decline.
Canadian films premiering at ReFrame include Norwegian Headache about a historic lawsuit that grants unborn Norwegians the right to a clean environment and Freedom Hill that explores the environmental racism washing away the town of Princeville, North Carolina. Canadian feature films include The Colour of Ink that follows acclaimed Toronto artist Jason Logan who creates incredible inks from foraged plants and found objects, and Love in the Time of Fentanyl about a renegade safe injection site in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Local short films include the world premiere of Rewilding the Classroom by educator Cam Douglas and filmmaker Rodney Fuentes, about aligning educational practices with the reality of environmental crises through the Youth Leadership in Sustainability program, and The Butch and the Baby Daddy from Trent professor Karleen Pendleton Jimenez about a trans/butch lesbian who asks her close friend to help her build a family.
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VIDEO: “The Colour of Ink” trailer
New this year, ReFrame and Artspace have collaborated on a special in-person exhibition on-view at Artspace from January 25 until February 25. Featured projects include What Fools These Mortals Be, a three-channel video installation that reimagines Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a series of tableaux vivants (living pictures) performed by formerly incarcerated women, and Intravene, an immersive audio experience about the opioid crisis.
You can get opening night tickets (which must be purchased separately), single and household virtual festival passes, and festival five-pack, eight-pack, or 10-pack of tickets (allowing you to stream five, eight, or 10 virtual films of your choice) at reframefilmfestival.ca.
Opening night tickets are $20 or pay what you can, a single pass is $100, a household pass is $120, a five-pack is $45, an eight-pack is $65, and a 10-pack is $80. Pay-what-you-can tickets for single films will be available on Wednesday (January 11).
Ten young women reside in a home for girls from the streets of Bogotá. They talk about their roommate, Alis. She is a collective invention and at the same time a protected space that makes it possible to express painful truths.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022, 117 minutes)
Following the life of artist Nan Goldin and the downfall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical dynasty who was greatly responsible for the opioid epidemic’s unfathomable death toll. Note: This film will screen in-person only during opening night at Showplace Performance Centre; it is not available as part of the virtual festival.
And Still I Sing (2022, 90 minutes)
Controversial Afghan pop star and activist Aryana Sayeed mentors young hopefuls as they prepare to appear on their country’s hit TV show `Afghan Star’.
Apart (2020, 86 minutes)
Against the backdrop of a Midwestern state battling industrial decline, an opioid epidemic, and rising incarceration rates, APART offers an intimate portrait of three women who return home from prison and rebuild their lives after being separated from their children for years.
Arctic Song (2022, 7 minutes)
Arctic Song tells stories of how the land, sea and sky came to be in beautifully rendered animation.
Be My Voice (2021, 90 minutes)
Exiled journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, who has millions of followers on Instagram, amplifies the voices of Iranian women.
The Benevolents (Les bienveillants) (2021, 16 minutes)
The Benevolents (Les bienveillants) takes us into the world of Tel-Aide Montreal call centre, as we follow a group of future volunteers.
Beyond Extinction documents three decades of Indigenous struggle by the Sinixt people, and their decades long struggle for recognition.
Bigger Than Us (2021, 95 minutes)
For six years, Melati, 18, has been fighting the plastic pollution that is ravaging her country, Indonesia.
Body Politics (2021, 8 minutes)
In a fatphobic image-conscious world, educator, activist and eccentric cat-lady-turned-politician Dr. Jill Andrew takes her fight for body justice, human rights, representation, access and equity to the legislature as the first queer Black person elected as a member of provincial parliament.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On (2022, 90 minutes)
For over six decades, Buffy Sainte-Marie has put truth to music and the world has listened, even when powerful forces tried to silence her.
A Bunch of Amateurs (2022, 94 minutes)
In the northern industrial town of Bradford, England, a handful of diehard amateur filmmakers desperately cling to their dreams, and to each other, in this warm and funny look at shared artistic folly that speaks to the dreamer in us all.
Burnt. Land of Fire (2020, 14 minutes)
This short documentary captures life in a little village in Calabria in southern Italy.
The short film “The Butch and the Baby Daddy” from Trent professor Karleen Pendleton Jimenez is about a trans/butch lesbian who asks her close friend to help her build a family .(Photo courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
The Butch and the Baby Daddy (2022, 6 minutes)
The Butch and the Baby Daddy is about a trans/butch lesbian who asks her close friend to help her build a family.
Choices (2023, 43 minutes)
A group of men from Peterborough, Ontario reveal the stories that set the course of their destiny.
The Colour of Ink (2022, 105 minutes)
The Colour of Ink uncovers the mystery and power of our oldest medium through the eyes of Jason Logan, a Toronto inkmaker. Harvesting colours from the natural world—weeds, berries, bark, flowers, rocks, rust—he makes ink from just about anything.
Dad Can Dance (2022, 29 minutes)
Dad Can Dance is a mid-length documentary short about family secrets.
Dear Jackie (2021, 90 minutes)
Dear Jackie is a cinematic letter to Jackie Robinson, the first Black man to play in Major League Baseball, and a cultural leader in Montreal, Quebec.
Dear Mr. Dudley (2021, 13 minutes)
Dear Mr. Dudley follows a series of hand-written letters between the filmmaker and his estranged father.
Devil Put the Coal in the Ground (2022, 80 minutes)
This film follows the rise and fall of the coal industry in Appalachia, and the people who continue to live there.
Eternal Spring (2022, 86 minutes)
Confronted with government denunciations and human rights violations against their spiritual practice, a group of Chinese activists executes a bold and perilous plan to hack into state television.
Fault Lines – People, Work, and the COVID-19 Pandemic (2023, 15 minutes)
Workers in sectors hardest hit by COVID make us question the fault lines endemic to our system.
For Your Peace of Mind, Make Your Own Museum (2021, 71 minutes)
In a tiny village lives the ghost of a folk artist named Senobia Cerrud, who transformed her house into The Museum of Antiquities of All Species.
Foragers (2022, 65 minutes)
Foragers depicts the dramas around the practice of foraging for wild edible plants in Palestine, with wry humour and a meditative pace.
Framing Agnes (2022, 75 minutes)
After discovering case files from a 1950s gender clinic, a cast of trans actors turn a talk show inside out to confront the legacy of a young trans woman forced to choose between honesty and access.
Premiering at the virtual 2023 ReFrame Film Festival, “Freedom Hill” is a short documentary exploring the environmental racism washing away the town of Princeville in North Carolina. (Photo courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
Freedom Hill (2022, 29 minutes)
Freedom Hill is a short documentary exploring the environmental racism washing away the town of Princeville.
Galb’Echaouf (2021, 18 minutes)
The breathtaking landscapes of Western Sahara don’t seem to have a memory. Yet, the eyes of its people bear enduring signs of the tragedy that has marked their existence for decades. Through small details, fragments of a lasting conflict find their way to the screen.
Haulout (2022, 25 minutes)
A man is waiting in his hut in the desolate expanse of the Russian Arctic. He is holding out in order to observe a natural event that occurs here, every year. But ocean warming is taking its toll.
Heartbeat of a Nation (2022, 20 minutes)
In Heartbeat of a Nation, a short documentary by Eric Janvier that celebrates Dene cultural reclamation and revitalization, a father passes on traditional knowledge to his child through the teachings of a caribou drum.
High Tide Don’t Hide (2021, 82 minutes)
In the race for existence, striking teenagers discover that activism, authority and awareness make for a steep learning curve.
A Hundred Joys (2022, 5 minutes)
A Hundred Joys is a film about the main intersection of Toronto’s East Chinatown, a community whose stores spread out onto the streets.
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Imalirijit (2021, 27 minutes)
Tim Anaviapik Soucie is a young father living in Pond Inlet, Nunavut who started an inspiring research project about water quality.
In Love With A Problem (2022, 22 minutes)
The story of the women who rebirthed plastic.
Inuktitut Dialects (2020, 9 minutes)
Ulivia explores what is accessible via Internet in relation to Inuktitut.
Let the Little Light Shine (2022, 86 minutes)
Parents and students at a top-ranked African American elementary school fight to save the institution after it’s threatened with replacement by a school favoring wealthy families.
Living on the Threshold (2022, 29 minutes)
Dancer Marine Chesnais travels to Réunion Island to collaborate with migrating humpback whales.
Love in the Time of Fentanyl (2022, 80 minutes)
A vibrant group of misfits, artists, and drug users operates a renegade safe injection site in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, fighting to save lives and keep hope alive in a neighbourhood ravaged by the overdose crisis.
Make People Better (2022, 83 minutes)
A rogue biophysicist disappears after developing the first designer babies, shocking the world and the entire scientific community, but an investigation shows he may not have been alone in his attempts to create a “better” human being.
Mariposa (2022, 6 minutes)
An operatic cine-poem weaving together the stories of African-Canadian singer Portia White, South African chef Phelokazi Ndlwana, and the Free Gender activist group—a Black lesbian organization based in Khayelitsha, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town.
Meeting Point (2022, 90 minutes)
Two filmmakers theatrically explore how their fathers were imprisoned together in 1975, under the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile.
Nelly & Nadine (2022, 92 minutes)
Nelly & Nadine is the unlikely love story between two women falling in love on Christmas Eve, 1944, in the Ravensbrück concentration camp.
The New Greatness Case (2022, 93 minutes)
The New Greatness Case offers remarkable access to a group of young Russians entrapped by the secret service, resulting in unjust trials and prison sentences – echoing the intensified crackdown on dissent and free expression in Russia we see on the news every day.
Norwegian Headache (2021, 51 minutes)
In the Norwegian Constitution, there is an article that speaks for future generations. Article 112 gives all unborn Norwegians the right to a clean environment, and now it has been challenged in the Norwegian Supreme Court for the first time in history as a group of lawyers, young activists and grandparents file a historic lawsuit against the Norwegian government for granting new oil licenses in the Arctic Barents Sea.
Okay! (The ASD Band Film) (2022, 75 minutes)
Four performers on the autism spectrum form a band and take on the challenge of writing and performing their first album of original songs.
Our Glorious Bodies (2021, 7 minutes)
Enter into a liberating and intimate space that celebrates disability, joining one disabled voice with community-sourced images of and by disabled artists.
Planktonium (2021, 15 minutes)
Planktonium is a short film about the secret universe of living microscopic plankton. These stunningly beautiful, diverse and numerous organisms are invisible to the naked eye, but are drifting in every water around us.
Rebellion (2022, 82 minutes)
Rebellion is the first feature-length documentary to tell the behind-the-scenes story of Extinction Rebellion from its launch in 2018. With unprecedented access, the filmmakers follow a group of unlikely allies and capture the human drama of social movements first hand.
Premiering at the virtual 2023 ReFrame Film Festival, “Rewilding the Classroom” is a short documentary by local educator Cam Douglas and filmmaker Rodney Fuentes exploring opportunities to align educational practices with the reality of environmental crises through the Youth Leadership in Sustainability program in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough. (Photo courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
Rewilding the Classroom (2023, 15 minutes)
Exploring opportunities to align educational practices with the reality of environmental crises through the Youth Leadership in Sustainability program in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough.
Ricochet (2022, 76 minutes)
When an undocumented immigrant in San Francisco is accused of killing a young woman, the incident ignites a national firestorm, as two public defenders fight to reveal the truth.
Riotsville, USA (2022, 90 minutes)
Welcome to Riotsville, a fictional town built by the US military. Using all archival footage, the film explores the militarization of the police and creates a counter-narrative to the nation’s reaction to the uprisings of the late ’60s.
Sam Now (2022, 87 minutes)
Sam and his half-brother Reed use archival footage to investigate the mystery of their mother’s disappearance 25 years ago.
The Scattering of Man – DƏNE YI’INJET (2021, 75 minutes)
Director Luke Gleeson, a member of the Tsay Keh Dene Nation, unveils the story of the people who were forcibly relocated from their ancestral territory when the Williston Reservoir and the W.A.C. Bennett Dam were created in the 1960s. In the process of putting up these hydro power projects, the government of the time flooded 175,000 hectares of Indigenous territory, including villages, hunting and fishing grounds, and culturally significant sites.
“The Seeds of Vandana Shiva” tells the story of Gandhian eco-activist Vandana Shiva, who takes on powerful corporations that pollute and degrade the environment. (Photo: Camilla Becket)
The Seeds of Vandana Shiva (2021, 91 minutes)
Activist Vandana Shiva takes on powerful corporations that pollute and degrade the environment.
Sirens (2022, 79 minutes)
On the outskirts of Beiruit, young women navigate friendship and identity in their pursuit of becoming thrash metal stars.
The Smell of Money (2022, 85 minutes)
A rural North Carolina community fight the world’s largest pork corporation for their freedom to enjoy fresh air, clean water and a life without the stench of manure.
“Subject” explores the life-altering experience of sharing one’s life on screen through the participants of five acclaimed documentaries, including Ahmed Hassan. (Photo courtesy of ReFrame Film Festival)
Subject (2022, 90 minutes)
Subject explores the life-altering experience of sharing one’s life on screen through the participants of five acclaimed documentaries.
Unloved: Huronia’s Forgotten Children (2022, 90 minutes)
Filmmaker Barri Cohen leads part detective story, part social history as she uncovers the truth about Alfie and Louis, her two long-dead half-brothers. They were institutionalized at the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia in the 1950s.
Vibrations – Inner Music (2022, 15 minutes)
Deaf dancer Kassandra Wedel flips the switch on expectations of sound and movement as she conducts her own piece, using patterns and rhythms from her urban environment.
Wild Prairie Man (2022, 52 minutes)
An intimate look at the life of a man enthralled with the exotic and endangered lands of Grasslands National Park. Located in the Northern Great Plains of Canada, Grasslands has been a 20-year odyssey for wildlife photographer James R. Page.
Will You Look at Me (2022, 21 minutes)
As a young Chinese filmmaker returns to his hometown in search for himself, a long due conversation with his mother dives the two of them into a quest for acceptance and love.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be an official media partner and sponsor of the 2023 ReFrame Film Festival.
Holiday Shopping Passport Early Bird winner Helen Lovick shows off her winning passport at Gentry Apparel with shop owner Andrew Damiany. Lovick won the final early bird draw of the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) annual Holiday Shopping Passport program. She completed her winning passport at the Avant-Garden Shop at 377 George Street North in downtown Peterborough, where she purchased clothing during the holiday season. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)
Helen Lovick has won a $500 Boro gift card for shopping local in downtown Peterborough, as part of the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) annual Holiday Shopping Passport program.
For ever $10 people spend at any of more than 150 participating downtown business, they receive a stamp in their holiday shopping passport. When a passport is filled with 20 stamps (representing $200 in spending), the completed passport is entered into a draw for three $500 early bird prizes and a $1,500 grand prize.
Lovick’s passport was drawn as the winner of the third and final Holiday Shopping Passport early bird prize on December 21 at Agave by Imperial, a new Mexican restaurant located at 376 George Street in downtown Peterborough. The first two early bird prizes were won by Heather Adey on December 7 and Karen Scott on December 14.
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Lovick completed her winning passport at Gentry Apparel at 377 George Street North in downtown Peterborough, where she purchased clothing during the holiday season. She was presented her $500 Boro gift card prize by Gentry Apparel shop owner Andrew Damiany.
“I love shopping downtown for the people, quality, and personal touch you experience,” Lovick says in a media release. “It’s important to support your community and neighbours. I have a deep respect for entrepreneurs and what they are able to build for our community.”
New this year, passport winners also received a Peterborough Musicfest Diner’s Book alongside their Boro gift card. The Musicfest Diner’s Book is filled with coupons valued at $600 in savings at local restaurants, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going directly towards musician fees for the summer outdoor music festival.
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The grand prize draw will take place on Wednesday (January 11), where one lucky shopper will win a $1,500 Boro Card and Musicfest Diner’s Book.
Stamp collectors eager to finish their passport cards before the grand prize draw can collect free stamps at the Peterborough Public Library at 345 Aylmer Street North and the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Visitors Centre at 270 George Street North.
One of the two West African dwarf crocodile hatchlings at the Riverview Park & Zoo in Peterborough. (Photo: Riverview Park & Zoo)
Peterborough’s Riverview Park & Zoo has announced its latest additions: two West African dwarf crocodile hatchlings.
The smallest true crocodile species, the West African dwarf crocodile can reach 1.6 metres (5.2 feet) in length. In comparison, the largest crocodile species — the saltwater crocodile, which is also the largest reptile on the planet — can reach lengths of more than 6.5 metres (23 feet).
West African dwarf crocodile hatchlings are typically 28 centimetres (11 inches) long and grow quickly. The young crocodiles eat worms, insects, tadpoles, and small fish. As adults, they eat fish, crustaceans, crabs, insects, amphibians, birds, small mammals, snakes, and lizards.
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The West African dwarf crocodile is native to the tropical lowland regions of sub-Saharan and west central Africa, from the southern tip of Senegal in the north to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the east and down to a small region of northern Angola in the south. They frequent densely vegetated swampy ponds, slow moving rivers and streams, and occasionally savannah pools.
As compensation for its small size, the West African dwarf crocodile has an aggressive temperament, with a thick body covering of heavily armoured scales protecting it from injury. The species has a life span of up to 75 years.
The Riverview Park & Zoo is Canada’s only free-admission accredited zoo. For more information about the West African dwarf crocodile along with the zoo’s 40 other species, and to support the zoo through donations, visit www.riverviewparkandzoo.ca.
West African dwarf crocodiles can reach 1.6 metres (5.2 feet) in length when fully grown. In comparison, saltwater crocodiles can reach lengths of more than 6.5 metres (23 feet). (Photo: Riverview Park & Zoo)
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