News & Events

Mark your calendars! The 11th Annual North Grenville Sustainability Fair and Market will take place on Sunday April 22 from 10am to 3pm. It will be held at the North Grenville Community Centre. The grip of winter is loosening, so shake off the winter blahs and come meet your friends and family at this engaging community event.

Rooted in a celebration of Earth Day, the Sustainability Fair brings together locally-owned businesses, entrepreneurs, market vendors, artists, conservation and community groups from North Grenville and the surrounding area; all of whom are important threads in the cultural, environmental and economic fabric of a thriving sustainable community. Get to know the people who are part of the foundation of our local economy; chat with the booth holders and find out about their products and services. Peruse the market stalls for locally-produced art, crafts and edible goodies. Find out about the community organizations that make North Grenville a great place to live and work. Bring your family to enjoy engaging, hands-on activities in the kid’s area.

The electric vehicle show will also return. From more modest beginnings, this has grown to become the biggest electric vehicle show in the region. Anything bigger is in Montreal or Toronto. We thank the people of North Grenville for helping make this impact. This year, we anticipate around 30 cars with their owners, dealerships onsite offering test drives, and presentations during the day. Come see models from Tesla, the Chevrolet Bolt, Hyundai Ioniq, Pacifica minivan plug-in hybrid, Honda Clarity. Talk with owners about their experience, winter driving, and reliability – then take one for a drive! Or more than one – compare different models and manufacturers in this one place instead of driving to multiple dealerships across Ottawa.

Local music and food will be featured. In addition, presentations throughout the day will offer a chance to learn and experience new ideas or hear from local experts on matters related to sustainability and the community.

The 11th Annual N. G. Sustainability Fair & Market
Sunday, April 22nd
10am-3pm
North Grenville Municipal Centre,
285 County Rd 44, Kemptville.

To book a table or booth, or to volunteer please email sngfair@gmail.com or call Jeff at 613-852-5333.
Sustainable North Grenville is on Facebook too.

Environmental Defence, with local support from Sustainable North Grenville and Ecology Ottawa, will conduct drift card studies of the Rideau and Ottawa Rivers to determine the potential impact of spills from the proposed Energy East pipeline.

At 10:30AM on June 5^th, drift cards will be released into the Rideau River near the Baxter Conservation Area where the Energy East pipeline is proposed to cross. These drift cards have identification numbers and instructions so that when people find them, they can go to a website to enter their location as well as see where other cards were found.

Data from the project will be used to produce a report on the likely spill trajectory: how far and how quickly an oil spill will spread, and the locations where oil may accumulate. The local project is part of a larger one that includes similar drops of wooden drift cards in Quebec, New Brunswick, and northwestern Ontario near the Manitoba border.

You can help this project:

• Be present for the drift card release. People will gather at 9:30AM in the Baxter Conservation Area to launch small craft for the release. If you don’t have small water craft, your presence on shore will reinforce for present local media just how important this issue is.
• On the weekend of 17/18 June, SNG will coordinate a search of the river for unreported drift cards. If you have a canoe, kayak or small boat, you can help by searching a section of the river and reporting your findings. The search will be concluded with a social gathering at the Taylor Conservation Area which will be the launch/recovery site. Environmental Defence personnel will be present and you can discuss the project and other Energy East issues and enjoy some refreshments.

If you have interest in either or both of these events, please provide your feedback by e-mail to Chris Weissflog (chrisw@ecogenenergy.ca). For the search event, please indicate your preference of date and how you could potentially help out. The event will be further developed based on your feedback.

Please join us for these events and enjoy the company of others who cherish the Rideau River for the great ecological value that it is.

Thank you for your ongoing support of SNG, and your concern for the Rideau River and our local economy.

Mark your calendar for a whole day of FREE family fun at the 10th Annual North Grenville Sustainability Fair & Market on Sunday, April 23rd at the North Grenville Municipal Centre, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Sustainability Fair brings together locally-owned businesses, entrepreneurs, market vendors, artists, conservation groups and community groups from North Grenville and the surrounding area. With the increasingly popular Electric Vehicle EVent, this community fair has grown to be an eagerly-anticipated local event.

Find the EV’s in the north rink of the Municipal Centre. Owners will be onsite to show their cars, describe their experience of ownership, answer questions, and talk about why their transportation needs are easily met with electricity, instead of fossil fuel. Bring all of your questions! These owners have racked up a number of kilometers on their vehicles in our local climate.

The EVent will feature over a dozen electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids from a number of manufacturers: Chevrolet, Kia, Ford, Nissan, Smart and more are being added daily. The number of choices available to consumers is still expanding. Buyers now have access to the Chevrolet Bolt with a range of 383km as well as the first plug-in hybrid minivan – the Chrysler Pacifica. Back by popular demand, dealership sponsors of the EV Show will bring demonstration vehicles for test drives. You can sign up onsite to take an electric vehicle for a drive! You’ll experience for yourself the quiet, powerful performance of these vehicles.

Children will have lots to see and do while getting their hands dirty in the kid’s zone. From 10am – 1pm Anne Walsh from Art and Soul will encourage children to use a variety of sensory materials to create “bug huts”. For the budding engineer in the family Lego2Learn’s, Dave Melville will be there all day with his extensive collection of Lego of all sizes for children of all sizes. Yes, Moms and Dads, you too can enjoy the building bonanza! Explore the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority’s nature table and find out more about the bugs and critters you discover in and around your backyard. The Button Machine will be back so before leaving the kid’s zone make a personalized button badge to show your love for the planet on Earth Day weekend. All kid’s activities are free except buttons, which are a toonie each.

Music for this year’s edition of the Sustainability Fair will be provided by a cross section of local, acoustic favourites.  Pop in to hear these fine locals share their talents:

10am Bella Borealis: A trio of Leahbeth Harding, Jeanne Lambert and Polly Beach; Bella Borealis is a small group of talented women from the Kemptville area who sing a cappella and acoustic rootsy classics and contemporary songs.

11.15am Alexis Earl: New to the fair, Alexis is a young pianist-composer and the granddaughter of Arnold and Helen Earl (well-known Ottawa musicians), she has been playing for around 15 years, and has recently decided to take music more seriously. Her eclectic song selections range from Beethoven to Justin Timberlake, and her original pieces are hypnotic and experimental.

12.30pm Fiddlehead Soup: World folk and fiddle music group Fiddlehead Soup is an energetic trio of musicians as engaging as they are talented—they start with a haunting Celtic, medieval groove based around native Scotsman Doug Hendry’s open tuned 12 string guitar and warm tenor voice, then they weave it into a gypsy tapestry with mother and daughter Glenna Hunter and Ursa Meyer’s twinned fiddles and voices. Singing songs from the traditions of multiple countries and in multiple languages as well as their own artfully constructed material, Fiddlehead Soup does an incredible job of making the difficult look not only effortless, but fun!

2pm Bruce Enloe: A singer –songwriter performing original songs that are equal parts folk, Americana and Beatle influenced pop, Bruce has, in recent years, been described as ‘the James Taylor of Kemptville’, but before that Bruce was born and raised in Bryan-College Station, Texas; the town where Lyle Lovett met Robert Earl King. He has since added California, Europe and Canada to his list of both musical influences and travels. After several years fronting the Burning Sensations, Kemptville Ontario’s largest band, he is now recording his third album and striking out on his own for a series of listening room style acoustic shows.

The music is presented ‘busker style’ in the main hall during the fair and market with half hour breaks between acts. There is some seating provided and there is no charge, although donations are (naturally) greatly appreciated…

A full line-up of 45 minute presentations will take place throughout the day in Meeting Room 1, which can be found at the top of the stairs from the lobby and to your left. Electric Vehicle presentations will be in the North Arena where the electric cars will be on display.

For further information about the presenters and their topics or any other aspect of the Fair, including the Electric Vehicle EVent, please visit Sustainable North Grenville’s Facebook page or visit our website: www.SustainableNorthGrenville.ca

Bring your family, friends & neighbours and get to know more about our great community!

The 10th Annual N. G. Sustainability Fair & Market

Featuring the Electric Car EVent

Sunday, April 23rd

10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

North Grenville Municipal Centre

285 County Rd. 44, Kemptville, ON

The 10^th Annual North Grenville Sustainability Fair on Sunday, April 23^rd  at the North Grenville Municipal Centre. It will include a return of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Show. It’s free to attend the Fair and EV Show.

Owners will be onsite in one of the rinks of the North Grenville Municipal Centre to show their cars, describe their experience of ownership, answer questions, and talk about why their transportation needs are easily met with electricity, instead of fossil fuel. Bring all of your questions! These owners have racked up a number of kilometers on their vehicles in our local climate.

The electric vehicle showcase will feature over a dozen electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids from a number of manufacturers: Chevrolet, Kia, Ford, Nissan, Smart and more are being added daily. The number of choices available to consumers is still expanding. Buyers now have access to the Chevrolet Bolt with a range of 383km and the first plug-in hybrid minivan – the Chrysler Pacifica. Kemptville also has its first Level 3 fast charge station already online at Solacity, and more fast charge stations are coming online across Ontario making range anxiety a thing of the past.

The EV Show will also feature presentations during the day where participants will explore the models presently on the market and costs of ownership. This will give an introduction to those curious about the vehicles or hoping to determine if an electric vehicle would be a good fit for their needs and lifestyle. In addition, the costs of ownership will be compared with those same costs for more conventional vehicle choices. Find out just how much money is saved when you don’t need to pay for gas, oil changes, etc.

Back by popular demand, dealership sponsors of the EV Show will bring demonstration vehicles for test drives. You can sign up onsite to take an electric vehicle for a drive! You’ll experience for yourself the quiet, powerful performance of these vehicles.

In a world where carbon emissions are top-of-mind for many of us, Ontario’s low carbon electricity generation provides a good potential reduction in transportation emissions by shifting to electric vehicles. Most owners charge during off-peak hours when electricity prices are lowest and excess electricity is available.

The event is on Sunday, April 23^rd from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the North Grenville Municipal Centre, 285 County Road 44, Kemptville. It’s free to attend so come out for an hour or stay for the entire show!

Music is always a feature of the North Grenville Sustainability Fair and this year is no different.  This year’s roster of live performers is all local acts who will be performing during the fair.  The acts range from ladies contemporary and rootsy vocal group Bella Borealis (10 am) to instrumental pianist-composer Alexis Earl (11:15 am).  After lunch, (12:30 pm) the folk-world music trio Fiddlehead Soup will perform, with singer-songwriter Bruce Enloe closing the day and starting at 2 pm.  The music can be found near the concession area in the main hall.

10 am, Bella Borealis:  A trio of Leahbeth Harding, Jeanne Lambert and Polly Beach; Bella Borealis is a small group of talented women from the Kemptville area who sing a cappella and acoustic rootsy classics and contemporary songs.  Formed in spring 2012 after a chance encounter at Kemptville’s The Branch Restaurant, the group has made a name for itself with numerous local performances.  They have also released a full length album (2015’s Sweet & Dandy) and a Christmas album (2016’s Returning).

11:15, Alexis Earl: New to the fair, Alexis is a young pianist-composer and the granddaughter of Arnold and Helen Earl (well-known Ottawa musicians), she has been playing for around 15 years, and has recently decided to take music more seriously.  Her eclectic song selections range from Beethoven to Justin Timberlake, and her original pieces are hypnotic and experimental.  In addition to the Sustainability Fair, Alexis can be heard gracing the stages of numerous open mics in the area and is currently seeking gigs in restaurants and for special events.

12:30, Fiddlehead Soup: World folk and fiddle music group Fiddlehead Soup is an energetic trio of musicians as engaging as they are talented—they start with a haunting Celtic, medieval groove based around native Scotsman Doug Hendry’s open tuned 12 string guitar and warm tenor voice, then they weave it into a gypsy tapestry with mother and daughter Glenna Hunter and Ursa Meyer’s twinned fiddles and voices.  Singing songs from the traditions of multiple countries and in multiple languages as well as their own artfully constructed material, Fiddlehead Soup does an incredible job of making the difficult look not only effortless, but fun!

2:00, Bruce Enloe: A singer –songwriter performing original songs that are equal parts folk, Americana and Beatle influenced pop, Bruce has, in recent years, been described as ‘the James Taylor of Kemptville’, but before that Bruce was born and raised in Bryan-College Station, Texas; the town where Lyle Lovett met Robert Earl King.  He has since added California, Europe and Canada to his list of both musical influences and travels.  After several years fronting the Burning Sensations, Kemptville Ontario’s largest band, he is now recording his third album and striking out on his own for a series of listening room style acoustic shows.

Sustainable North Grenville will again host a series of presentations and workshops at this year’s 10th Annual NG Sustainability Fair & Market on Sunday 23 April, 2017.  There will be a wide range of exciting topics for living well and sustainably.

At 10:30 AM, Peter Rooney – a local beekeeping expert – will pick up where he left off from last year’s popular presentation on backyard beekeeping.  This year he’ll look more closely into the myriad of challenges honeybees face: the decline of nectar and pollen producing plants; indiscriminate pesticide use; a changing climate; and a vampire-like mite that has caused billions of dollars in hive losses in the last two decades.  Will the honeybee survive?  You’ll learn more about these and the other challenges of caring for bees, but you’ll also hear of the joys of helping Mother Nature keep her plants flowering and prospering and how – if you get it right – you get a share of the profits for yourself.

At 11:30 AM, Dr Ellie Bennett will share with us plans to establish the International Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities in Downtown Brockville.  With administration already underway to establish the ICRSC as a not-for-profit, there are plans to raise capital so that construction can begin as early as 2018.  The Centre will be the focus of efforts from across North America and Europe to inspire creative, innovative, and effective ways for people and nature to thrive together in rural communities. It will include institutes for freshwater and for restoring wetlands, conduct sustainability training for farmers, sponsor citizen science, and promote bee boxes in backyards.  Join Dr Ellie Bennett to hear how the ICSRC will achieve the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere program’s strategic objectives for sustainable rural communities.

Join Janice Ashworth and Dick Bakker at 12:30 PM to learn about the future of community power in Ontario.  They will present concrete examples of how groups can shape the future of electricity generation highlighted with experiences from the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-op (OREC).   You will learn about emerging trends and developments around community power in Ontario and beyond, and have a chance to ask questions about how you can possibly get involved as well.

At 1:30 PM, Darcy Whyte will ask you to take the challenge of powering your cell phone with clean, renewable energy.  He’ll describe his own personal journey through small, accessible solar module and battery technologies, and show you how he got to the point where he can generate enough energy to support his phone.  His presentation is fun; his delivery style is humorous, warm and friendly, and he makes the session both enjoyable and memorable.  Let Darcy show you how to power your cell phone with sunlight and become more conscious of the energy we use, where it comes from, and how it is made.

Equally exciting, but located in the north rink of the Municipal Centre at the Electric Vehicle “EVent”, Jeff Goodman will be presenting twice – morning and afternoon – about the new developments in electric vehicles.  It is such an exciting time: fully battery-operated cars are now proven to be more cost-effective than their gasoline equivalents and they have the range and a new network of rapid chargers along all of Ontario and Quebec’s major routes and urban centres.  Jeff will show you what’s new and what to look for when buying your first EV.  Find out about the virtually zero cost of maintenance, the generous rebates and the mileage costs that are 1/5th that of fossil fuels.  And don’t forget to ask him about the feeling of driving past gas stations and reflecting on how long it has been since he last visited one.  And while you are at the show, talk to all the other owners there with their cars, see the new models that dealers are bringing, and even go for a test drive to feel the excitement for yourself!

Don’t forget to check out the other great features of this amazing family-oriented event.  The main hall is full of booths representing a cross-section of our community: entrepreneurs & artisans, marketeers & natural health practitioners, not-for-profits and community groups.

There are awesome hands-on activities for your kids and talented musicians to entertain you.  This year’s roster of live performers is all local acts and will be performing during the fair.  The acts range from ladies contemporary and rootsy vocal group Bella Borealis (10 am) to instrumental pianist-composer Alexis Earl (11:15 am).  After lunch, (12:30 pm) the folk-world music trio Fiddlehead Soup will perform, with singer-songwriter Bruce Enloe closing the day and starting at 2 pm.  The music can be found near the concession area in the main hall.

The NG Sustainability Fair & EV Show are free to attend.  Don’t miss this opportunity to have fun, learn and make contacts that will connect you with your community and help you move down the road to sustainability.

The 10th Annual NG Sustainability Fair & Market

Sunday 23 April, from 10 until 3

North Grenville Municipal Centre

285 County Road 44, Kemptville

Showing in Kemptville

Sustainable North Grenville is hosting a screening of the award-winning film Just Eat It – A Food Waste Story on Tuesday, March 21. The film will be shown at the Grenville Mutual Community Room, 380 Colonnade Dr., in Kemptville, starting at 7:00pm.

We all love food. As a society, we devour countless cooking shows, culinary magazines and foodie blogs. So how could we possibly be throwing nearly 50% of our food in the trash?

In this documentary, filmmakers and food lovers Jen Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin dive into the issue of food waste from farm, through retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge.

After catching a glimpse of the billions of dollars of good food that is tossed each year in North America, they pledge to quit grocery shopping cold turkey and survive only on foods that have been discarded. In a nation where one in ten people is food insecure, the images they capture of squandered groceries are both shocking and strangely compelling.

Featuring interviews with author, activist and TED lecturer Tristram Stuart, food waste expert Dana Gunders, and acclaimed author Jonathan Bloom, Just Eat It looks at our systemic obsession with expiry dates, perfect produce and portion sizes, and reveals the core of this seemingly insignificant issue that is having devastating consequences around the globe.

In their previous film, The Clean Bin Project, Jen and Grant attempted to produce zero waste in an exa
mination of our throw-away society. In Just Eat It, they turn their eye to food waste from farm to fridge. Just Eat It brings farmers, retailers, inspiring organizations, and consumers to the table in a cinematic story that is equal parts education and delicious entertainment.

Reviews of the award-winning film include:

“Lively, funny and thought provoking.” Globe & Mail.

“Fantastic…educational, entertaining, and potentially life-changing.” The Arts Guild

Sustainable North Grenville is a group of citizens interested in helping to make North Grenville a more sustainable community. Its mission is to foster a resilient community that meets the social, cultural and economic needs of its residents now and for the future, while preserving the environment’s ability to support it.
Screening info:

When: Tuesday, March 21, 2017

What Time: 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30pm)

Running Time: 75 Minutes.

Location: Grenville Mutual Community Room, 380 Colonnade Dr., Kemptville

Admission: Free. This event is open to the public. Light refreshments available.

Take Survey Now

Shop locally for a vibrant community! 

Sustainable North Grenville invites you to join us for some seasonal cheer at our annual get-together and Give North Grenville silent auction.

The event takes place on Tuesday, 6^th December from 6.30-9pm at the Maplewood Hall in Oxford Mills and features specialty items gathered from local merchants and artisans.

To be a sustainable community it is important to support your local economy by buying from local businesses and artisans. Why not commit to buying at least some of your gifts this year in the Kemptville and Merrickville area? Shopping locally supports your family and friends who rely on the jobs that local businesses provide as well as the choice and ready availability of many amenities and services which keep  our community vibrant. Use it or lose it!

Among our many offerings this year  is a beautiful Ashford Traditional Spinning Wheel. Thank you to Arn and Jan Snyder of Forest Row Farm for this amazing contribution.

Thank you also to our other generous supporters so far: Love My Buns, Ahimsa Yoga, Graeme’s Bakery, Vincent Spa Garage, Business Strategies, Aubin Farm, Geronimos, Body and Sole, Downtowne Ice Cream Shoppe,  as well as hand-made items from crafty individuals. Thank you in advance to our additional contributors. Find out more by following Sustainable North Grenville on Facebook and see photos of some of the items to be auctioned. Please contact Clare Weissflog if you would like to make a donation.

This festive, lamp lit evening will also feature some uplifting tunes from Bella Borealis as well as some light refreshments, all in the beautiful heritage Maplewood Hall in the charming hamlet of Oxford Mills. Take a little time between bidding to go for a stroll around the village and take in the Christmas lights and decorations, but don’t take too long as bidding will wrap up around 8-8.30!

Get some great ideas for spending your gift-giving dollars locally, enjoy some seasonal food and entertainment and support North Grenville’s entrepreneurs at the same time. The event is free and everyone is welcome.

Come out and join us at 6.30 on Tuesday, December 6^th at Maplewood Hall, Maplewood Ave., County Rd 18, Oxford Mills!

Monies raised will support the 2017 North Grenville Sustainability Fair on April 23^rd.

On Monday, November 14 SNG members and local energy experts Chris Weissflog and Jeff Goodman gave a talk on understanding your Hydro bill and ways to save energy.

By popular demand, we’ve made the evening’s presentations available for download:

Household Energy Efficiency—Jeff Goodman

Understanding Your Hydro Bill—Chris Weissflog

A big thanks to Jeff and Chris, and to Grenville Mutual for their generous loan of the Community Room for this event.