NCPR News Staff: Lucy Martin, Reporter

(02/17/12) Organizers of Ottawa's big three-week winter festival have learned from long experience there's just no counting on the weather. Take this year: a mild opening weekend. Then a chilly one. And now, a bit of a melt-down.

The Rideau Canal was closed on Thursday as temperatures reached the upper 30s, with another mild forecast on tap for today.

Winterlude's final weekend includes a provincial holiday "Family Day" on Monday, giving residents and visitors three full days to take in a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities. Lucy Martin has more. more

(02/15/12) One city's relationship with trees is explored in a new museum exhibit in Ottawa.

Six moments in the history of an urban forest is the brainchild of Carleton University history professor Joanna Dean and graduate student Will Knight.

Present-day Ottawa began as rough riverside lumber shanties in the early 1800s. It grew to become the nation's capital, with various trends in tree clearing and tree planting along the way. More recently, the area has faced damage from natural disaster and invasive pests, like the emerald ash borer, which threatens perhaps 30% of Ottawa's existing tree population.

Although the display considers urban forestry from an Ottawa perspective, the challenge of combining trees with cities is universal. Lucy Martin spoke with co-curators, Joanna Dean and Will Knight on opening day at the Bytown Museum, beside the treed slopes of Parliament Hill. more

(01/26/12) Not all pipers start young - and they aren't all Scottish either.

John Sullivan came to Canada from England back in 1952. Today he lives in Ottawa and pipes in neighboring Kemptville. Sullivan took up bagpipes later in life, almost on a whim. This past Wednesday, he helped pipe in the haggis for a Robbie Burns luncheon held in Burritts Rapids, Ontario.

Prior to reciting the traditional "Address to a Haggis", Sullivan told Lucy Martin how he reached this point. Sullivan is today's Heard Up North. more

(01/19/12) Part of Ottawa's Rideau Canal Skateway opened for skating this past Sunday, kicking off its 42nd season. Once weather permits, nearly five miles of frozen canal will see heavy use for another month or two. The free skateway is a star attraction for Winterlude, coming up February 3-20. Sunday, just a short section was open, and the ice conditions were listed as poor.

Long time canal enthusiast Hugh Graham keeps a kick sled on hand for bad ice days. The sled looks like a light kitchen chair on long, thin runners. Wearing home-made studded boots, he can ride the runner with one foot, and push along at a good clip with the other. There's even room for some gear or a light passenger on the chair. Graham showed off his kick sled to Lucy Martin for today's Heard Up North. more

(11/22/11) Community Supported Agriculture programs, or CSAs, have become a familiar consumer choice. Growers reduce financial risk by selling shares in advance of the season's production. Share-holders get regular baskets of fresh-picked vegetables, without all the weeding and watering.

Done right, CSAs help people eat better and get to know local farmers. But the model doesn't always include meat, or help those with no money to spare.

A family farm near Oxford Mills, Ontario has established a CSA that takes those gaps into account. Shares in Sunflower Farm cover the cost of producing beef. The meat goes to feed the hungry through charitable organizations. Shareholders don't get a bite. Just a warm feeling - and a tax receipt for their donation.

Lucy Martin spoke with Wendall Joyce and his wife Maude Roy about their project - and creating links that help rural and urban dwellers alike. more

(11/11/11) This is poppy time across Canada. The bright red flower is widely worn leading into Remembrance Day ceremonies, held in many communities on November 11th.

Besides symbolizing support for military service and sacrifice, the humble stick pin generates millions of dollars in donations to aid veterans.

For today's Heard Up North Lucy Martin dropped by a grocery store in Barrhaven, Ontario, where Christine and Stuart Blais were collecting for the cause. more

(10/07/11) Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty won re-election last night, although his Liberal party lost the majority they held heading into Thursday's election.

Polls indicated voters were most concerned about the economy, health care, and taxes in the face of economic uncertainty and a ballooning deficit. Lucy Martin has more. more

(09/30/11) Rivers and streams have always been used, but they aren't always respected. Some efforts to improve urban waterways take a team approach.

Ottawa's "City Stream Watch" links the eyes and energy of ordinary citizens with the expertise and resources of different conservation groups. Stream Watch volunteers - and those with similar interests - were invited to a recent Saturday workshop. It combined studying aquatic life with an introduction to fly fishing.

Lucy Martin joined over two dozen participants where the Jock River flows into the Rideau, not far from intensive new construction, south of suburban Barrhaven. more

(09/29/11) Quilt shows are a pleasant way to dip into a world of creativity and craft.

Non-quilters don't always appreciate the techniques and hundreds of hours that go into many pieces. But the beauty--of color, texture and design--is delightful to behold.

The Lanark County Quilter's Guild main event for 2011 took place in early August at St John Catholic High School, in Perth, Ontario, with well over 200 entries.

Lucy Martin dropped by to soak it up and get some photos. She spoke with guild president Carole Armstrong about the show and the deep appeal of quilting. more

(09/27/11) Ted Maczka is known in gardening circles as the "Fish Lake Garlic Man".

Maczka was born in Poland in 1928. He survived World War II and a crippling injury in a slave labor camp before coming to Canada to work as a tool and die machinist in the 1950's. In the 1970's Maczka bought land in Ontario's Prince Edward County where he worked to develop better varieties of garlic for the region. He's been sharing garlic advice ever since.

Maczka was a featured speaker at the Perth Garlic Festival this past August. Lucy Martin caught up with him there. more