Through his music and his actions, Glen Caradus has hammered home the message that we need to think about, and look after, our natural environment now — not tomorrow, not next week or month, but today.

On Saturday, August 7th, the Peterborough musician and puppeteer will elevate his life mission to a whole other level, cycling 350 kilometres on his 21-speed bike to raise awareness of, and dollars for, climate-related programming offered by Peterborough GreenUP.

Departing from Runner’s Life on Charlotte Street at 5 a.m., Caradus will cycle to the Stoney Lake region, head to Apsley and Coe Hill, and make the trek west to Haliburton and Bobcaygeon before heading back to Peterborough for his scheduled 7 p.m. arrival at the finish line on Charlotte Street back at Runner’s Life.

According to Caradus, the distance goal of 350 kilometres was chosen by design, not accident.

“Climate science says for every one million air molecules, there shouldn’t be more than 350 carbon molecules,” he explains. “What’s happening with the burning of fossil fuels is we’re now up to 420 (carbon) parts per million, so we’re seeing the effects of climate change as a result.”

“The distance might be more than your average bike ride,” he points out. “A lot of people do big rides, it’s not unique, but linking it with that 350 number is different.”

With his ride still a month out — the rain date is Sunday, August 8th — the total amount raised is closing in on $1,500. That’s in addition to the sponsorship of Runner’s Life, For Our Grandchildren, and the Kawartha World Issues Centre that have covered the costs of a promotional video and related material. Those who wish to make a donation to the ride can do so through Peterborough GreenUP at greenup.on.ca/350-climate-ride.

VIDEO: 350 Climate Ride with Glen Caradus

The promotional video was shot by local filmmaker Jeremy Kelly and features the puppets that are a big part of Caradus’ live environmentally themed musical presentations. The fun but purposeful video features two of his songs — “Stand Up For What We Stand On” and “The Bike Song” — recorded by local music producer James McKenty.

“A lot of people find the climate issue pretty heavy, so I’m trying to find ways to bring some fun to it,” says Caradus.

Preparing for this ambitious trek is something that Caradus has been doing for some 40 years, competing in running events and, over the past 15 years, in triathlons — including Iron Man events.

“That gives me a certain amount of confidence,” says Caradus. “One of the silver linings of the pandemic is I’ve had a bit more time for training. I’m out every day. On the tenth day I take the day off and just do a light run to let my body rest a bit.”

“My bike isn’t anything super fancy but it has certainly been a good friend for 12 years — it gets the job done,” adds Caradus, noting he undertook a 260-kilometre ride last summer and recently completed a 240-kilometre ride.

“Since April I’ve put in about 3,500 kilometres. I’ve got three more weeks of hard training and then I’ll start to taper off.”

Phil Stephenson has been Caradus’ musical partner for more than 20 years. Together they’ve toured across the country, bringing their Paddling Puppeteers show and its messages around nature and Canadian history to audiences, young and old, in just about every setting you can think of. Stephenson, for one, has every confidence his friend will make it to the finish line in good shape.

“We have so much in common other than the fact that he really is quite an athlete,” he assesses.

“It’s nothing for him but I’ve always been blown away. I’m the opposite. I was born flat footed and left-handed. I was the last guy to be picked when we picked teams as a kid. That’s why I gravitated towards the arts. Not only is Glen an amazing musical artist but he has this really phenomenal ability. I find it so inspirational. 350 kilometres. That’s mental but it’s great. It’s killer.”

Asked if there’s any chance he’d hop on a bike and join Glen on his ride, Stephenson laughs.

“I joke that I’m his spiritual advisor. I’m the guy that cheers from the sidelines. I’d be lucky to bang out three and a half kilometres.”

Now teaching a forest school program for Peterborough-based Rowan Tree Children’s School, Caradus has taught outdoor education programs for years at Camp Kawartha and also performed regularly during family events at GreenUP’s Ecology Park. That speaks directly to his primary ambition of helping young people make “a nature connection.”

“And in this day and age, there’s the whole mental health piece of getting kids off their screens and out into the fresh air. With the pandemic, in the backyard or a nearby park, people are connecting with nature more. I’m in Jackson Park a lot and I’m seeing a lot more people there.”

Caradus adds that while he hopes his bike inspires people to think more deeply about the effects of climate change and donate a few dollars to GreenUP, any time he’s on a bike is inspirational for him as well.

“When I did the ride last summer and just recently again to get a feel for this, so much of my day was spent being inspired by what’s around us. Often when I bike I will sing and that gets me thinking about song lyrics, so it’s inspiring on that level too.”

From where he sits, Stephenson says no one can argue with his longtime collaborator’s passion.

“Everything he does, he never takes a nickel. It’s all about climate change and awareness. It’s what he wants to do, not what he has to do. I’m literally playing music with one of the best athletes in Peterborough. I’m inspired and I hope everyone else will be too.”

For more information on The Paddling Puppeteers, visit philandglen.com/paddling-puppeteers.

For information about Peterborough GreenUP and its programming, visit greenup.on.ca.

Peterborough police are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing 13-year-old girl.

Brooklyn Reynolds was last seen in the area of Hunter Street West and Park Street North at around 9:30 p.m. on Friday night (July 2).

Reynolds is described as a female Caucasian who is five feet tall and 120 pounds.

She has blue eyes with blonde and purple hair (with a brush cut underside) and a nose piercing.

Anyone with information is asked to call Peterborough police at 705-876-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.stopcrimehere.ca.

Construction on the new Sayers Foods in Apsley is expected to begin by the end of the summer. That’s the word from store manager Jeff Sayers, almost seven months to the day when a fire destroyed the only grocery store between Lakefield and Bancroft.

According to Sayers, the rebuild is expected to enter the construction phase in seven to eight weeks — great news for residents of the village of Apsley and North Kawartha Township, who have been without a local grocery store since the December 5, 2020 fire.

“Everywhere I go, I run into people who express their interest in having a store back up and running,” says Sayers, whose family purchased the building 45 years ago. “They miss the convenience of being able to get groceries in town.”

This is the first summer in 45 years there has not been a Sayers Foods in Apsley. As well as the year-round residents, the loss of the grocery store is also affecting seasonal residents — many of whom would normally stop by Sayers Foods to pick up supplies on their way to the cottage.

“It’s unfortunate when there’s beautiful weather, and you have to spend this many hours just going out and getting groceries and coming back,” Sayers says.

Along with the convenience, many people also miss the social aspect of a locally owned grocery store — including Sayers himself.

“I am missing the regular interactions with our customers,” says Sayers. “You get to know them really well. I feel like a stranger everywhere I go now.”

The feedback and supports Sayers Foods has received from the community since the December fire exemplifies how important the store was to people.

Sayers Foods has received donations from the independent grocery industry, individual community members, and a few different local groups. A portion of the donations went to Sayers Foods staff following the tragedy, while another portion is going towards the rebuild.

“There’s a big hole in the heart of our town right now,” says North Kawartha Township Mayor Carolyn Amyotte. “Sayers has been there for our community for so many years in so many ways. Whatever we can do to assist them with that rebuild on a council level, we’re all standing by to ensure that this goes as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

In spring, Mayor Amyotte headed up a community campaign for the grocery store called ‘Spread the Love’. The community decorated wooden hearts, which are now attached to the fence surrounding the now-empty Sayers Foods site.

According to Sayers, the site won’t remain empty much longer.

“We’re starting to make some visible progress even though there’s no construction start,” explains Sayers. “We’re very close to that process, whereas before there was a daunting amount of work relating to insurance and the claims that have to be put in.”

At their current step in the process, Sayers says they’re just waiting for a final confirmation from the municipality. They then can apply for a building permit and get the final drawings from the architect.

Although Sayers says the municipality’s approval is imminent, he adds it will be another four weeks until the tender process, when the architect’s designs will be made public.

“The architects that are working with are the same architects that built our community centre many years ago,” Mayor Amyotte notes, referring to Toronto-based MJMA Architecture & Design, which designed the North Kawartha Community Centre.

“They’ve been internationally recognized for that building and they certainly are familiar with our community,” she says. “I can’t wait to see what’s going to rise from the ashes, so to speak.”

As for how the new grocery store will operate, Sayers shared his family’s vision with kawarthaNOW — one based on listening carefully to customers over the past few months.

“We really want to focus on being a community hub and how that touches base on food service — getting people halfway to the dinner table,” Sayers says.

“We’re trying to get more prepared foods. We’ve got a bigger kitchen and a bigger deli. We’re putting a focus on saving people time, creating a social, market-style hub at the front of the store and making the back of the store a traditional grocery store format.”

Sayers adds they’re going to also focus on connecting their customers with local food supply, stocking items from local suppliers. They’re also opting against having self-checkouts, instead continuing to embrace and expand upon their previous model of exceptional customer service.

While the loss of the original Sayers Foods has created much hardship in the community, Mayor Amyotte points out there are some benefits that will come with a brand new grocery store.

“There’s a great opportunity out of this,” she says “You had a building that was near a hundred years old. They’d added on, and it wasn’t necessarily space-efficient or energy-efficient. To have something that is going to be so much more modern and will be built to be so much more accessible — there are positives despite it all.”

The new building will be moved slightly from the previous site to conform with local bylaws, improve driver sightlines on the corner for safety, consolidate parking into one area, and improve pedestrian access to the store.

“It’s not a physically significant change, but it’s a meaningful change in the sense that it solves a couple of problems,” Sayers notes. “I think this is the right way to balance things out and make it safer, and still make it a nice presentation.”

The Sayers Foods team has spent some time shopping for equipment for the inside of the new building, as well as seeking suggestions and feedback from customers on Facebook — such as which local suppliers should be included in the new store.

“Through social media, we’ve been able to get a lot of feedback and keep connected to our customers,” says Sayers. “I’ve always been the type to try to get information from people and constantly adjust based on what people are looking for. Right now, we’re just particularly susceptible to suggestions because there’s an opportunity to change things for the better, instead of just repeating what we did before.”

Although many of the decisions for the new Sayers Foods have already been made, Sayers says they’re always open to suggestions. For updates on the rebuild and to make suggestions, follow Sayers Foods on Facebook. You can also get in touch with Jeff Sayers directly at jsayers@apsley.ca.