The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit has reported a privacy breach, in which a mass email sent to around 500 residents in Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton exposed their email addresses to anyone who received the email.

The health unit sent the email, which related to COVID-19 vaccine appointments, to email addresses provided by people when booking their initial appointments.

Because of the way the email was sent, the email addresses of all recipients were included in each copy of the email.

“We take this issue very seriously and sincerely apologize for this incident,” says medical officer of health Dr. Natalie Bocking in a media release.

“We are reaching out to affected individuals and also working internally to ensure there is no repeat of this situation.”

The health unit, which has reported the privacy breach to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, is asking anyone who received a copy of the email to not forward it to any other person or third party and to delete the copy immediately.

Anyone who needs to contact the health unit can do so at info@hkpr.on.ca or 1-866-888-4577 ext. 5020.

Peterborough’s landmark water tower is getting a facelift.

Peterborough-based drone and video production company Unmanned has shared aerial photos and footage on its Instagram account of the ongoing rehabilitation of the High Street water tower.

Unmanned was hired to document the work by Burlington-based Landmark Structures Co., which has been contracted by the Peterborough Utilities Commission to replace the internal and external coatings of the water tank to extend its useful life.

“The High Street water tower is one of the main symbols we think of when we think about Peterborough,” Kyle Christie, chief marketing officer of Unmanned, tells kawarthaNOW. “We are very excited to be documenting the progress of its restoration. We believe in the potential this city has, and seeing the tower brought back to life is a testament to what Peterborough can be.”

The High Street water tower, which was constructed in 1957, stands around 32 metres tall (105 feet) and has a capacity of 4,500 cubic metres of water (one million gallons).

The $3.5-million project to replace the water tank’s coatings began in April and is expected to be completed in October. The work also includes miscellaneous health and safety upgrades to the tower.

A similar project was completed in 2019 for the Sherbrooke Street water tower, which was constructed in 1983. Once completed, the Sherbrooke Street water tower became glossy white rather than powder blue and now features the City of Peterborough’s “water bacon” logo.

According to the Peterborough Utilities Commission, treated water is stored at various locations throughout the city in underground reservoirs and elevated storage tanks.

The stored water is used to supplement supply during times of high water demand and in emergency situations such as firefighting.

Unmanned was co-founded by Kyle Christie and chief executive officer Felipe Gutierrez in April 2020.

The full-service video production company, which also serves Toronto and the GTA, creates both on-ground and above-ground footage for film, television, and advertising.

For more information on Unmanned, visit theunmannedav.com or follow them on Instagram.

Green spaces are an integral part of our urban ecosystems and critical for public health.

A 2019 assessment of the City of Peterborough’s existing municipal parks and open space found a shortage of neighbourhood park space in Peterborough as a whole, with disproportionate gaps in some neighbourhoods. The report recommends a strategy for increasing and protecting urban green space into the future.

But not all green spaces are created equal. For example, expansive lawns offer limited ecological value and require a lot of energy and resources to maintain.

With less than a decade remaining to prevent catastrophic climate collapse, it is critical that we not only add more green space to our cities, but also enhance the ecological quality of green spaces too. This week, we look at two GreenUP projects doing just that.

Winfield Shores Depave Paradise

GreenUP recently completed its first Depave Paradise project in Lakefield, in partnership with Winfield Shores Harbour and the Township of Selwyn. This 100-square-metre ‘pocket park’ is located at the entrance to Winfield Shores Harbour on Stewart Drive, near the headwaters of the Otonabee River.

It took 18 committed volunteers and three days to unleash the soil and build a garden where there used to be asphalt.

The goal of Depave Paradise is to use people power to remove pavement and allow rain to soak into the ground where it lands. This reduces localized flooding and improves the health of urban watersheds. The Winfield Shores pocket park will divert approximately 75,000 litres of rainwater from the stormwater system each year. That’s the equivalent of 340 GreenUP rain barrels!

Removing asphalt creates opportunities for additional ecological and social benefits. For example, the trees and shrubs planted at Winfield Shores will take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, particularly when they’re young and growing quickly. The shade they create will offer respite to pedestrians on hot summer days.

“The Township of Selwyn is excited to collaborate with GreenUP and Green Communities Canada to bring the first Depave Paradise project to the County of Peterborough,” says Hillary Bradshaw, the township’s climate change coordinator. “It’s a great example of a rain ready garden that promotes water conservation.”

“By removing asphalt and planting native species, it demonstrates how residents can incorporate water-conscious landscape design on their own properties,” she adds. “It also supports the township’s commitment with Bee City Canada,: planting native perennial and tree species, and promoting pesticide-free gardening.”

Therapy Garden at Five Counties Children’s Centre

Back in the City of Peterborough, GreenUP has been working with Five Counties Children’s Centre to transform their backyard into a biodiverse outdoor space that can support extended therapeutic and clinical services.

A year ago, this space was an underused area of lawn and a few aging trees. Last fall, we began the transformation: sheet mulching large areas to create garden beds.

On June 25th, 13 Five Counties staff and volunteers planted more than 900 trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials as the next step in the process.

Each area in the garden provides different opportunities for therapeutic programming. For example, a prairie-inspired area with prairie dropseed, pale purple coneflower, and mountain mint, amongst other plants, will invite children to engage all their senses.

In another area, clambering up a grassy mound will develop children’s gross motor skills, and give them a different perspective of the garden.

These areas don’t simply provide different therapeutic opportunities. They create distinct microhabitats that support a greater diversity of pollinators and other wildlife over time. The oak, pine, cedar, serviceberries, and redbuds that we’ve planted will maintain the existing canopy as mature trees reach the end of their lives.

As with Depave Paradise, there are many secondary benefits to the project. For staff and volunteers, getting their hands in the dirt can be a form of nature therapy in and of itself.

“It’s been a terrific experience working with GreenUP,” says Scott Pepin, CEO of Five Counties Children’s Centre. “We have a lot in common. Both organizations are about investing in our future.”

“Through demonstration projects like this, GreenUP shows us how we can take climate action in our own backyards to provide a sustainable and vibrant future for today’s youth — including at Five Counties, where we provide our kids with therapies and treatment for them to grow and build abilities for life.”

These larger-scale projects are intended as demonstrations for how many smaller actions in our backyards can collectively create a large impact. Urban green spaces can provide ecological and social benefits no matter their size.

For ideas of how you can enhance your green spaces at home, check out GreenUP’s Sustainable Landscaping Guide. Residents of the City of Peterborough can discover our Water Wise program and the City of Peterborough’s Rain Garden Subsidy. Residents of Selwyn Township can check out their Rain Ready program.

Depave Paradise is a program of Green Communities Canada, funded: Ontario Trillium Foundation. We want to thank Battlefield Equipment Rentals, Fairview Trucking, Millmaster Custom Sawmill, Mortlock Construction, Scott’s Concrete, and the Township of Selwyn for generously donating their time and materials.

For questions about Depave Paradise, contact Hayley Goodchild at hayley.goodchild@greenup.on.ca. For questions about Five Counties Children’s Centre, visit their website at www.fivecounties.on.ca.