You can dig in for Earth Day and Week activities!

Earth Week will be marked in Orangeville with events running from April 19-25.

Orangeville Council will award the Town's first Environmental Sustainability Awards - one for individual, youth, business and group.

During the week, the Town will launch a water calculator - an addition to the online energy calculator.

The Parks and Recreation Department will be launching the Active and Safe Routes to School, and Walk to Work programs. Four schools in Orangeville have been chosen to pilot the programs - Credit Meadows, Princess Elizabeth, Montgomery Village, and Princess Margaret.

On Earth Day, April 22  - the largest, most celebrated environmental event worldwide - the Town will have a large native tree planting event along Riddell Road, from Montgomery Boulevard to County Road 109. The planting will take place along the west side, adjacent to the fence, to provide shelter, shading and aesthetics with the obvious environmental benefits.

On Saturday, April 25, there will be another  planting event. A major tree planting and clean-up will take place at the Seniors Centre on Bythia Street where volunteers will plant trees and clean up along Mill Creek by the Fire Hall and in KayCee Gardens. This initiative is being under taken in conjunction with Credit Valley Conservation, Trout Unlimited, and the Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Club.

The public is invited to take part in the tree planting event and creek clean-up in KayCee Gardens and by the Fire Hall, between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. on April 25.

Last year, 120 people participated in the Town's Earth Day event and the same number is expected for this year's event. People are invited to meet at the Bythia Street Seniors' Centre before 9 a.m. Please dress appropriately for the weather and bring work gloves, boots and a shovel, if possible. A free barbecue lunch will be provided for volunteers by the Orangeville Lions Club.

Approximately 500 native trees and shrubs will be planted during the event. Supporting and funding partners include the Town of Orangeville, Izaak Walton Fly Fishing Club, Credit Valley Conservation, and the Orangeville Lions Club.

Also in the afternoon of April 25 will be the dedication of  the first Baby Tree Forest, under the Baby Tree Program which was initiated last year. The dedication ceremony will take place in Kin Family Park, off College Avenue, the location of the forest.

 "It was extremely gratifying and encouraging to see the area dotted with people planting trees last year," says Orangeville Mayor Rob Adams. "There was a lot of enthusiasm as people dug in and planted a new forest. Last year's plantings will protect surface coldwater resources in Monora Creek by shading the stream and controlling possible future erosion of the stream banks. This year's event is a great opportunity to continue ‘greening' Orangeville."

For more information on Earth Day visit http://www.earthday.ca/

Reusable water bottles available from the Town

The Orangeville Sustainability Action Team (OSAT) has purchased aluminum water bottles for public sale.  It's important that we reduce our impact on the environment and one significant way we can do that is by reducing our waste.  In Canada, despite being recyclable in many areas of the country, it has been estimated that up to 90% of the plastic water bottles are not recycled.  Disposable water bottles can take as long as 1,000 years to break down in landfills.  And, ironically, some water in disposable bottles is actually tap water.

The Town is now doing its part to discourage the use of disposable water bottles in Town facilities.  The Town has committed to reducing its purchase of disposable plastic bottles in its facilities and for Town events and has made available for public purchase light-weight, reusable metal water bottles.  This year, the Town will also be working towards introducing bottle refilling stations at a number of public buildings to encourage residents to use these or other refillable containers wherever possible.  The bottles are available for purchase for $10 (including taxes) at the Town Hall.  Orangeville tap water is safe, clean and very affordable!  We should all be proud of that fact.

Environmental Sustainability Awards

The Orangeville Sustainability Action Team (OSAT) invites nominations for the Town's first ever Environmental Sustainability Awards.  Nominations for the awards are open to any Orangeville resident, student, business and/or group who have made positive contribution(s) to our natural environment and/or are leaders in environmental practices.

The Environmental Sustainability Awards are to be presented by Town Council on an annual basis to recognize those who have made a positive contribution to the health of our community. Conservation of our environment depends on the contribution and support of many partners.  The Town would not be able to improve the environmental health and quality of life of our community without the help of community groups, businesses, landowners and individuals. 

The nomination deadline for this year's awards is March 31^st.  Nomination forms are available at the Town Hall or from the Town's website at www.orangeville.ca under the Sustainability Action Team banner.  Contact the Planning Department for more information at 519-941-0440 Ext. 246 or planning@orangeville.ca.

Tree sculpture brings joy to resident

Orangeville resident and singer/songwriter Laura Bird is an avid admirer of Orangeville's public art gallery known as the Artwalk of Tree Sculptures.

Visitors to Orangeville, she says, think the tree sculptures are "cool". For the last two years, Laura admits to coveting "The Dancer" on Town Line, immediately south of Broadway. In fact, she told her friends that if they ever noticed it missing from the municipal boulevard they'd probably find it in her back yard.

"It makes me feel something that I can't describe," Laura says. "I connected immediately with that piece of art. I feel happy every time I look at it. I've taken photos of it. I've used it on the front of a brochure for a fundraising campaign for my new CD, I just love it."

So, husband Javier Santamaria was inspired when it came time to surprise Laura on her birthday last year. He approached the Town for contact information for the carver of "The Dancer" and commissioned a replica. While Laura was on tour around International Women's Day, Javier visited artist Bobbi Switzer in Atwood, brought home the new dancer, and the neighbours hid it for him.

"All the neighbours were in on it," Laura says. "They got me out walking one night and we stopped at a garage, where they had me close my eyes, and when I opened them the sculpture was there. I was shocked. I burst into tears. So many people kept it a secret. I would never have imagined anything like this in a million years. To be on a women's singing tour with a bunch of women friends, and to receive a female sculpture created by a female artist on a significant birthday was just amazing."

Laura has a new CD, entitled "The Water In Between".  Laura grew up along the St. Lawrence and some of the songs speak of visual images along the river plus others are just water-related, such as the "Renovation Blues" which was inspired by a water issue in her own home. Laura's music is folk roots with a little blues and jazz influence.

In her quieter moments, Laura looks into the back yard and smiles at "The Goddess" who she calls "Joy".

To learn more about Orangeville's Artwalk of Tree Sculptures visit the Town's website at http://www.orangeville.ca/ (tourism tab) or call 519-941-0440 Ext. 253. The Town is currently seeking sponsorships or donations for future tree sculptures on municipal boulevards. Donors to the tree sculpture program will receive a tax receipt from the Town.

Capital projects for Town services

The Town of Orangeville continues to address infrastructure needs, setting priorities each year amongst a list of needs for capital works. The capital portion of the 2009 budget includes several projects:

• Infrastructure readiness reserve ($490,000 - tax levy)
• Rail Trail construction ($75,000 - reserves)
• Reconstruction of Hansen Boulevard and Amelia Street ($112,000 - tax levy)
• Reconstruction of Hansen/Blind Line intersection ($55,000 - tax levy)
• Replacement of a transit bus ($100,000 -- reserves)
• New Broadway parking lot ($60,000 - tax levy)
• Fleet vehicle replacement for two police vehicles ($75,000 - tax levy)
• Library building restoration -- phase three ($100,000 -- tax levy)
• Electronic Council document management system which will increase public access to Council information ($18,000 - tax levy)
• the replacement of two ice resurfacers ($100,000 - tax levy)
• parks maintenance equipment ($94,000 - tax levy)
• further funding for the replacement of a fire pumper truck ($80,000 - tax levy)
• a housing needs study ($8,000 - tax levy)
• playground equipment ($40,000 - tax levy) for Kin Family Park & KayCee Gardens), and
• pedestrian crossing signals at Fourth Avenue and Highway 10, and at Fifth Avenue and Highway 10 ($22,000 - tax levy).
• Reconstruction of South Park subdivision - Belleview Drive, Marion Street, South Park Drive, Shirley Street, and portions of Lawrence Avenue ($4.7 million, with cost shared between federal, provincial and municipal governments)

Girl Guide partnership

The Town of Orangeville will partner with Girl Guides this spring to create a garden in Princess of Wales Park.

The 3^rd Orangeville Pathfinders (led by Sarah O'Brien) and the 4^th Orangeville Brownies (led by Sheila MacDonald) will be working on a new program to earn a badge for "creating a garden". The Pathfinders and Brownies will plan, prepare and plant a garden along the berm at the parking lot at Princess of Wales Park.

These Girl Guide groups will be fundraising during the school year for some supplies, they will canvass local nurseries and stores, and receive some assistance from the Town. The garden will then be planted in May or June of 2009.

Sarah O'Brien, Guider with the 3^rd Orangeville Pathfinders, says this will be a great project for the girls.

Orangeville Parks & Recreation Director Sonya Pritchard says the Town welcomes this contribution and enthusiasm by the Girl Guides. The garden will be a source of pride for the participants and a beautiful addition to the park for everyone to enjoy.