The Open House will be held:
Monday, August 14 at the Carling Community Centre from 5:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Please drop by to learn more about why the Council for the Township of Carling is considering this option. We look forward to seeing you there.
The recent discovery of the highly invasive aquatic plant, water soldier, in Lake Simcoe highlights how important it is to Clean, Drain, and Dry your boat when moving between water bodies. This aggressive species can impact wetlands, water quality, fish and wildlife habitats, and even navigation if left unchecked.
Read more
The health and beauty of Georgian Bay are facing unprecedented challenges from climate change and developmental pressures. GBA is excited to launch the Georgian Bay Vision 2050 Project, which aims to develop a vision and concept proposal to preserve and protect the unique natural environment of the eastern and northern Georgian Bay coastal area. Find out more
For 27 years, GBA’s Aquaculture Committee has been monitoring the potential environmental impacts of open-cage aquaculture in Georgian Bay and the North Channel. And we're sounding the alarm! We also need your help to spread awareness of the issue, so please help to like and share our upcoming social media posts. Open-cage aquaculture poses significant risks to our ecosystem, including nutrient loading and water quality issues, threats to wild fish stocks from escaped farmed fish, and introducing contaminants and antibiotics into the environment. GBA calls for government-funded research and a move to land-based aquaculture, a growing global trend. Join us in advocating for a sustainable future for Georgian Bay! Read more
On Thursday, August 29, the International Joint Commission's Great Lakes Water Quality Board hosted a webinar to launch the "Choosing Your Great Lakes Future" game as part of its Great Lakes Horizons Project. The webinar recording is now available at: vimeo.com/1004204750
Read on for additional resources and information arising from the webinar and Q&A session:
Links:
Game: ijc.org/horizon
Webinar recording: vimeo.com/1004204750
Great Lakes Horizons Project: ijc.org/en/wqb/great-lakes-horizons-project
Overview video: vimeo.com/990771764
Using and sharing the game:
The IJC Great Lakes Water Quality Board encourages sharing and using the game creatively and engaging with your community and network. You do not need permission from the board to use the game or provide educational content that you present to other organizations ( schools/classes, community/government organizations and events, etc.). Our only request is that you let us know about your activity so that we can document the scope of the impact and uptake of the game.
Social media:
Some folks on the webinar asked for social media posts that you can use to share in your own networks. Below are two sample posts (will fit within an X/Twitter post) you can copy and paste or tailor to your liking. We are using the hashtag #YourGreatLakesFuture.
Play the game 'Choosing #YourGreatLakesFuture' and become a #GreatLakes champion. How will your choices today drive changes have a ripple effect the health of the Great Lakes in 2050? Find out: https://ijc.org/horizon @ijcsharedwaters
Hindsight is 20/20 but how's your future vision? In the @IJCsharedwaters Water Quality Board new game, players' choices create a ripple effect leading to one of four scenarios for the #GreatLakes in 2050. What will #YourGreatLakesFuture be? https://ijc.org/horizon
Feedback:
As part of its next steps, the board is collecting feedback on the game. Feel free to email allison.voglesong-zejnati@ijc.org with your thoughts, ideas, comments and suggestions for how the game can become even better and more useful to inspire champions for the Great Lakes future. The board will conduct focus groups through the end of the year with target audiences including educators, students, elected officials, Indigenous governments, and nongovernment and business organizations.
Questions:
If you have an unanswered question and would like a response, please email your query to allison.voglesong-zejnati@ijc.org and mark.burrows@ijc.org and we will coordinate providing you with a response from the board.
For other questions about the Great Lakes Horizons Project or the "Choosing Your Great Lakes Future" game please contact allison.voglesong-zejnati@ijc.org.
Please be aware that the waste site hours this weekend are different form the regularly scheduled hours. We are keeping at least one site open each day. On Saturday both sites will be open from 8:00 a.m. -4:00 p.m. On Sunday the Killbear site will be open from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and the Carling site will be closed. On Monday the Carling site will be open from 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and the Killbear Site will be closed.
On August 13, four Carling ratepayers’ associations (Bayview on Parry Sound, Deep Bay, Pengally Bay, and West Carling) made a presentation to Carling Council to address mutual concerns and to strongly emphasize our desire to be seen as partners with Council and our willingness to assist where possible. The deputation focused on three major topics: Communications Finance Recreation and Leisure Our goals for the presentation were to provide Council with: Current feedback from Carling’s residents Recommendations to improve financial planning Recommendations to improve quality of life and enhance community engagement for all residents of Carling Council listened respectfully to our concerns, and all agreed there was a lot to ”unpack.” In response to a question by Council about next steps, Mayor Murphy noted that discussing the material presented would have to occur in a public meeting and would be scheduled on a future agenda. Further, she recommended that if any member of Council has suggestions for a response, to forward them to Chief Administrative Officer Kevin McLlwain so that he can put them together to form a basis for our future discussion. We look forward to Council’s response and learning how we can work together. The video recording of the meeting and the transcript are available on the Carling Council website and at the link below. The section on our deputation starts at minute 9:53 of the video. https://transcripts.gotomeeting.com/#/s/3a177112a322708e89b84c34ea5b7065458cd00439cd4a5f774ebe09d76e0169 You will also find attached the slides from the presentation and a link to an article about the deputation in the Parry Sound News. Council Presentation August 13 https://westcarling.com/three-things-the-township-could-improve/
Carling’s Pengally Bay ratepayers group suggests three main things the township could improve upon. Here’s what they are: Pengally Bay Ratepayers Association representative Bob Weir spoke up about Carling Township’s communication with community members and asked for more transparency on matters related to governance in his presentation to council on Aug. 13. He spoke of the discontinuation of live streamed meetings, proposed a finance committee and suggested more recreational events. What the association is asking for Weir said the township can improve the planning process and the quality of life within the municipality if council works on three main items — communications, finance and recreation. “During the last election, every one of you said communication was a top priority, and ratepayers tell us they want to see more detailed and frequent communications … Carling contributes to regional services, but residents received few or any updates on them. “In particular, talking about the library and museum, we hear afterwards that there might be a great exhibit at the museum, but we don’t even know — Carling pays for those services. Why aren’t we advertising that?” said Weir. Weir also brought up the fact that council meetings are no longer livestreamed. Community members could contact the municipality and request a Zoom link to attend council until a few months ago. Now, Zoom links are no longer provided, and video recordings are posted days after the meeting on the township’s website. Weir said that creating a regular newsletter — two or three times a year — with all the information the community needs to know about events, things to do and news regarding the municipality would be appreciated by ratepayers. As the municipality grows and more people come to the area, Weir pointed out the township needs to work on more revenue sources — such as development charges or user fees — and not rely entirely on ratepayers. Weir also said creating a finance committee could “help out” the township in the budget process. “It could save you time — you don’t have to analyze things in detail. They (the finance committee) would see what a good project is, and you’d be a lot more comfortable approving things,” said Weir. In his last point, Weir said that community events in the municipality are “limited” and recommended investigating ways to diversify the activities available to community members — most of whom are an older population. “There are limited events out there, limited communication … We see the community hub as a great facility, but underutilized and could be used more,” said Weir. Council’s response Some council members expressed their appreciation for Weir’s comments and highlighted the efforts made by the municipality. “Thank you for putting our feet to the fire … Maybe we have dropped the ball in some of the things you’ve talked about, but we have started a lot of them. We’ve spoken about changing our structure for finance, and we’ve done a newsletter, but we’re due for at least another one,” said Coun. Pam Wing. Mayor Susan Murphy said that events in the municipality rely entirely on volunteers taking the time to organize different activities — making sure these events are carried out is often outside the hands of the municipality. Murphy added that there is “a lot to unpack” from Weir’s delegation and said council will look into having a public meeting to discuss these matters. https://www.parrysound.com/news/carling-s-pengally-bay-ratepayers-group-suggests-3-main-things-township-could-improve-upon-here/article_42c06bef-0353-5246-8b9e-512d03cfac8b.html
Registration - "Choosing Your Great Lakes Future" Webinar by the IJC Great Lakes Water Quality Board The International Joint Commission’s (IJC) Great Lakes Water Quality Board will debut a new online scenario-based game, “Choosing Your Great Lakes Future,” on Thursday, August 29, 2024. This game aims to educate and inspire people to consider how today’s actions will impact the Great Lakes in the future. During this one-hour webinar, members of the Great Lakes Water Quality Board will give a short presentation to showcase how it transformed its scenario-based Great Lakes Horizons Project report into the interactive “Choosing Your Great Lakes Future” game, and there will be a period for answering audience questions. More information about the board's Great Lakes Horizons Project is available at: https://ijc.org/en/wqb/great-lakes-horizons-project The "Choosing Your Great Lakes Future" game will be made available to play starting August 29, 2024, at the board's website: https://ijc.org/wqb This webinar is in English only.
Join us on Thursday, August 15th at the Carling Community Centre for a screening of the Pixar film Elemental. Admission is by donation, and snacks will be available for purchase (Cash Only). The proceeds will go towards the new community play structure. The doors will open at 7:00 p.m. There will be pizza for sale, and you will have an opportunity to try our new play structure. The Movie will start at 7:30 p.m. inside the Community Centre. We hope to see you there!