The Labour Day long weekend began in tragedy following a fatal collision on Highway 115 just south of Peterborough on Friday afternoon (September 2).

At around 3:30 p.m., a commercial motor vehicle was topped in the northbound lanes near Airport Road due to traffic when it was rear-ended by a pickup truck.

The pickup truck was then rear-ended by a second commercial motor vehicle.

The lone occupant of the pickup truck was pronounced dead at the scene.

On Wednesday (September 7), police identified the victim as 35-year-old Nathan Wagstaff of Peterborough.

Peterborough County OPP closed the northbound lanes of the 115 between Airport Road and County Road 28 for several hours while they documented the scene.

Detours were in place, and northbound traffic on the 115 was backed up by several kilometres at 5 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation. Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has dashcam footage and has not yet spoken with police is asked to contact the Peterborough County OPP Detachment at 705-742-0401 or 1-888-310-1122.

This story has been updated to include the identity of the victim.

Two people who wish to remain anonymous have donated a 61-acre woodlot in Peterborough County to Kawartha Land Trust, a non-government charitable organization working to protect land in the Kawarthas.

Known as Pipers’ Woods, the mature woodlot is part of a larger extensive forested area. Situated on limestone bedrock with shallow soil, the older trees and abundance of wildflowers on the property took many years to establish themselves.

The two donors purchased the property several decades ago, and the wide diversity of flora and fauna in Pipers’ Woods reflects their long-time interest in land stewardship and sustainable forestry, They decided to gift the property to Kawartha Land Trust to ensure the forest and its abundant wildlife would not be disturbed by future development or logging.

“As we are getting older, this donation was part of our estate planning,” the donors state. “We had previously read and heard about the good work of Kawartha Land Trust.”

Tree species in the property’s coniferous swamp include eastern white cedar, balsam fir, and white spruce, while the upland deciduous forest hosts sugar maple and red and white oak, as well as butternut — a species classified as “endangered” under Ontario’s Endangered Species Act.

The property is also home to two bird species at risk: the eastern wood-pewee and the wood thrush. The wood thrush, which thrives in core forest habitats like Pipers’ Woods, has seen its population decline in Canada by 83 per cent between 1970 and 2011.

To ensure the preservation of its sensitive habitat, Kawartha Land Trust is not disclosing the location of Pipers’ Woods and, at the request of the donors, the property will not be open to public access.

“We’re extremely grateful to the donors of Pipers’ Woods for their generosity and commitment to protecting land in the Kawarthas,” says John Kintare, executive director of Kawartha Land Trust.

“This mature forest will continue to be home to species like the barred owl that prefer older forests that cannot be quickly or easily re-established once gone.”

Kawartha Land Trust now protects 27 properties — including 11 in the past two years — comprising almost 5,800 acres and providing additional safe havens for wildlife in the Kawarthas while securing important ecological landscapes to help combat climate change.

For more information about Kawartha Land Trust, visit kawarthalandtrust.org.

Aaron McFadden, a teacher at Holy Cross Secondary School in Peterborough, is going to spend this Saturday night (September 3) in Peterborough’s first “tiny home” for people experiencing homelessness.

The sleep-out is a fundraiser for Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes (PATH), a grassroots initiative that constructed the small sleeping cabin with the help of volunteers and local businesses. It’s the first step in their ultimate vision to build a village of 50 tiny homes to help house some of the 317 people without a home in Peterborough, including 15 people this winter.

The prototype cabin, which is “roving” around different locations in Peterborough in September, was built by Chris Cleary of Cleary Homes with a volunteer construction crew. Drew Merrett of Merrett Home Hardware supplied materials for the cabin at cost along with Ken Wood at Charlotte Paint and Wallpaper. In partnership with PATH, Grace United Church raised $10,000 in a fundraising initiative spearheaded by church member Bev Templar.

On Saturday, the sleeping cabin will be located near the Old Stone Schoolhouse on Rubidge Street, opposite Cathedral of St. Peter-in-Chains. After attending 5 p.m. mass, McFadden will begin his sleep-out at 6 p.m. He will be available to speak with visitors and will accept donations through TipTapPay.

“Early in my teaching career, I took the opportunity to travel and teach internationally for about six years,” McFadden, says. “That experience has helped open my eyes to see the inequities in this world. When I returned home I use that same attitude to explore and learn about our country and our community.”

This is not the first time McFadden is camping out to raise awareness and funds for the homelessness. For the past two winters, he’s camped out in his backyard to raise funds for the YES Shelter for Youth and Families, bringing in over $3,000.

“I am very happy to sleep out in the tiny home cabin for one night,” he says. “My belief is that learning experiences are the most powerful we can have, and I look forward to the night and the people that I will meet. When we invest in ourselves and our community, it’s a better world.”

After McFadden’ sleep-out, the sleeping cabin will be at Cathedral of St. Peter-in-Chains until September 10, when it will move to Emmanuel United Church for a week.

It will also be at the Purple Onion Festival in Millennium Park on September 25.

You only have a few days left to visit The Canadian Canoe Museum at 910 Monaghan Road, with the museum closing the doors for good at 4 p.m. on Labour Day.

The museum will open again next summer at its new $40-million waterfront facility currently under construction at 2077 Ashburnham Drive on the shores of Little Lake.

The museum first opened at its Monaghan Road location, previously the head office of the Outboard Marine Corporation, in 1997.

“It will be bittersweet to see visitors walk through our red doors one final time,” says executive director Carolyn Hyslop in a media release. “This building holds more than 25 years’ worth of memories and has served us well, allowing us to grow and evolve into the dynamic museum we are today.”

“That said, closing our current location marks a significant milestone in our project timeline and brings us one step closer to the water’s edge. We are all looking forward to moving into a purpose-built facility on the water, which will allow us to expand our offerings in ways that are not possible here at 910 Monaghan Road.”

Designed by Peterborough’s Lett Architects Inc., the museum’s new facility is being constructed on a five-acre site just east of the Trans Canada Trail connecting Beavermead Park with Roger’s Cove. The two-storey, 65,000-square-foot building will feature a new collection hall that will allow for all of the museum’s collection of more than 600 watercraft and 500 paddles to be on display.

The museum’s new facility will also include a new suite of exhibits, a lakefront events and education space, an artisan and canoe building studio for hands-on learning, a library and research room, and a café with a fireplace and outdoor terrace.

The Canadian Canoe Museum’s Monaghan Road location is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Monday, September 5th.

After the museum closes, staff will disassemble the galleries, prepare all watercraft and small artifacts, pack up the museum’s archives including library and offices, design and develop the new exhibits for the new location, and continue fundraising.

On Thursday, September 8th from 7 to 9 p.m., the museum will host “25 Years of a Museum in the Making: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow,” a free virtual storytelling event that will be livestreamed on Zoom from the museum’s galleries, where some of the museum’s long-time supporters will share stories of their involvement with the museum.

Speakers will include James Raffan, Vicki Grant, Dale Standen, Mike Harrington, Jeremy Ward, Phyllis Williams, Bill Lockington, and Carolyn Hyslop.

To register, visit canoemuseum.ca/25-years.