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Articles by GreenUP

GreenUP
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For more than 30 years, Peterborough GreenUP has been central and eastern Ontario's leading environmental organization focused on education, sustainability, and stewardship. GreenUP is a non-profit charitable organization and an active community organization that offers dozens of programs and services to those living in Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes. For more information, visit greenup.on.ca
Installing a rain barrel is a simple way to collect water for outdoor use while reducing the amount of water entering local storm sewers. Rain barrels can be connected in a series to detain and collect even more runoff. GreenUP landscape program manager Hayley Goodchild demonstrates how to link rain barrels together at a residential property. (Photo: Jessica Todd / GreenUP)

Why more Peterborough homeowners should consider installing a rain barrel

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From lowering water bills to reducing polluted runoff, rain barrels are an easy and effective tool for managing stormwater runoff,
Sue Throop didn't believe she could make it to work on her bike. Her son Brett, GreenUP's new active transportation program coordinator, convinced her to ride with him one day in 2009 and she's been pedalling ever since. (Photo courtesy of Sue Throop)

‘Big transportation shifts start with small changes – ask my mom’

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GreenUP's new active transportation program coordinator Brett Throop encourages Peterborough residents to sign up for the Shifting Gears May Challenge.
A previous iteration of The Children's Garden at Ecology. Although the activities shown no longer exist due to the outdoor elements and use over time, GreenUP is fundraising toward new features that will attract more children and families to the park to engage in nature-based play. (Photo: GreenUP)

Help GreenUP reimagine child’s play at Ecology Park in Peterborough and inspire a new...

GreenUP -
$25,000 fundraising goal will support new activity centres and revive interactive outdoor learning for children and families,
The Japanese practice of forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, offers simple but profound ways to connect to nature which benefits personal wellbeing through emotional awareness and self-regulation. It also enhances one's ability and commitment to promote environmental and climate justice and to show up in effective, realistic, collaborative, and creative ways. (Photo: Beth McKinlay)

Slow down and mindfully engage with nature with forest bathing

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Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough is offering an April 25 session on the Japanese practice, which is proven to have physical and emotional benefits.
Standing in his yard backing onto a forest, Peterborough resident Lyn Jones assesses his property for fire risk. Climate events such as last spring's ice storm and summer drought have resulted in properties being littered with branches, brush, and other debris. These can create "fuel ladders," a pathway for wildfires to climb from the ground into the forest canopy. (Photo: Jackie Donaldson / GreenUP)

With climate change making wildfires worse, reducing risk starts close to home

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Peterborough landscape architect Basterfield and Associates says completing a fire hazard assessment is the first step to protect your property.
Kat Senyk in front of her upgraded home in Port Perry. Through her work experience leading exterior insulation and finish system (EIFS) overcladding projects, she was inspired to retrofit her own home's exterior insulation, contributing to a nearly 50 per cent reduction in energy use. (Photo: Adrian Merrit Smith)

Innovative exterior insulation system can help make older homes more energy efficient

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Port Perry homeowner Kat Senyk completely reclad and insulated her old home from the outside, helping to reduce energy use by nearly 50%.
B!KE program manager Jean Greig with kids' bikes in need of refurbishing. Through the Kids Bike Build program, B!KE volunteers repair donated bikes and provide them to partner organizations who distribute them to children and families who may not otherwise have the means to obtain one. (Photo courtesy of B!KE)

Kids Bike Build program in Peterborough gives new life to old bikes and new...

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B!KE's community-driven initiative promotes physical activity, independence, and environmental sustainability through refurbished rides.
Donning hip waders and safety gear, staff from Engage Engineering collect garbage in and along the creek beside their downtown Peterborough office every spring, and plant native species along the banks of the creek. The efforts of the business are bringing wildlife back to the area. Pictured are Steven Dingman, Dominik Jedrzejewski, Logan Mattern, and Joshua Burke. (Photo courtesy of Engage Engineering)

Peterborough business makes caring for the local environment a team effort

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Engage Engineering staff clean the creek beside their downtown office each spring, planting native species along its banks and attracting wildlife.
GreenUP education program coordinator Melanie Ellison and education and active transportation program manager Ashley Burnie Seeds in front of the Peterborough Transit bus that served as a classroom for Grade 7 and 8 students from St. Paul Catholic Elementary School in Lakefield on February 12, 2026. The students experienced hands-on education to familiarize them with riding transit safely and with confidence. (Photo: Melanie Ellison / GreenUP)

Selwyn Township partners with GreenUP and Peterborough Transit to teach rural youth how to...

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Grade 7 and 8 students from St. Paul Catholic Elementary School learn to read schedules, plan routes, and ride safely using The Link rural transit service
Also known as vermicomposting, worm composting transforms food waste into "black gold," a rich natural fertilizer that helps improve soil structure, increase water retention, and provide slow-release nutrients to optimize plant growth. (Photo: Callie Downer / Our Little Wormery)

Worms can turn food waste into ‘black gold’ and help fight climate change

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Callie Downer of Our Little Wormery in Peterborough explains how vermicomposting improves soil health and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
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