Oakville Beaver

Canadian Tire Financial Services (CTFS) executives swapped their suits and smartphones for work boots and tools so that individuals with developmental disabilities in Oakville can have a better life.

On Sept. 26, more than 100 members of the leadership team put in a combined 600 hours of work and made use of more than $70,000 worth of donated supplies and materials in renovating the Central West Specialized Development Services (CWSDS) facility at 53 Bond St.

The facility’s mandate is to develop services for individuals with developmental disabilities in Ontario’s Central West region, including occupational therapy, psychiatric services, psychological services and social work. CWSDS works closely with, and is funded by, the Ministry of Children and Youth Services and the Ministry of Community and Social Services.

“The hard work and generosity of CTFS and all the volunteers working here today is overwhelming and deeply appreciated,” CWSDS executive director James Duncan said. “This provides for a wonderful and positive environment for the people that we support.”

All their hard work yielded results: a gazebo and shed were built, a new pathway was laid and landscaping was done on the outside. Paint was applied and cabinets were refinished inside the building.

Blair Campbell is one of the executives who crunched gravel instead of numbers as a volunteer.

The CTFS associate vice-president of marketing operations and analytics, spent the day going up and down a ladder and moving wheelbarrows full of stone and dirt. At day’s end, he was tired and sore, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It is incredibly impactful to meet the residents of the facility and to hear and see the challenges these people face,” he said. “Any small way that we can improve their lives feels great.”

CTFS has given back to the community with this initiative for the past 13 years and Campbell has participated since day one.

“These events really highlight how very fortunate we are and remind us of our responsibility to give back to the community and to those less fortunate,” he added. “It truly is a blessing to have the opportunity to do this work every year.”

Teresa Cugliari, communications adviser, corporate communications for Canadian Tire Corp., said a team from CTFS meets with the non-profit chosen to receive the upgrades to discuss their needs and whether the requests are feasible.

“Activities vary year by year. They’re based on the needs of the non-profit,” she said.

Dave Duffus, manager of disaster recovery transition services at Canadian Tire, like Campbell, has been there since the beginning.

“It’s important to support charities, and this is a unique way to do it. You’re making a very visible difference to a group that has been careful selected for how it impacts the whole community,” he said. Duffus was part of the landscaping crew, constructing raised gardens at six locations on the grounds.

“The work we did had to be practical for our skill level,” Duffus said.

Courtesy Photo

Plant sale is Oct. 12

Nursery plants are ready to find a home at the “Fall Master Gardener Plant Sale” that will be held Oct. 12.

Posted: Saturday, October 5, 2013 9:00 am

More ‘Florida-Friendly Landscaping’ principles for residents

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W e recently discussed five of the nine “Florida Friendly Landscaping” principles. The remaining four principles are easy to implement and have the ability to positively impact the health of our natural community. Attracting wildlife, recycling, reducing stormwater runoff, and protecting the waterfront are all principles that every homeowner can easily implement in their yard.

Your home landscape can be a needed refuge for wildlife in urban and suburban areas. Attracting wildlife can also be rewarding for the home gardener. Daily visits by birds and butterflies can create a sense of relaxation for the viewer.

To attract wildlife, use native plants, bird feeders, and bird baths to provide food and water. Install birdhouses and leave dead tree stumps, as shelter for cavity nesting birds. Provide a variety of height and texture when choosing plants for your yard and you will be rewarded by diverse birds and animals.

Practice recycling in your home landscape by leaving yard wastes onsite. For example, take advantage of free mulch by raking oak leaves and pine needles into planting beds. The oak leaves and pine needles break down and add organic matter and acidity to the soil.

A small compost pile is also easy to add. Begin a compost pile by adding green materials, such as grass clippings, green leaves, or vegetable scraps, and brown materials such as dried leaves and small twigs. Composting turns yard wastes and debris and into a rich, beautiful soil amendment that can be added to new and existing plantings.

Another way to recycle in your yard is to add a rain barrel to the end of a downspout. You can easily harvest the rainwater and use it to water pots and annual and perennial beds.

Stormwater runoff can occur when oil, pesticides, fertilizers and debris are carried by rainfall into our bodies of water. Reducing stormwater runoff goes hand-in-hand with recycling yard wastes onsite. Leave grass clipplings on your lawn and never wash or blow them down a storm drain.

If you spill fertilizer on your sidewalks or driveways, sweep it up and apply it back to your lawn. Do not apply fertilizers before excessive rainfall is predicted. Fertilizer can leach into the soil and contribute to pollution when not applied correctly.

You can further protect the waterfront by leaving a three- to 10-foot buffer zone around lakes, retention ponds or any type of surface water. Within this buffer zone fertilizers and pesticides should not be applied. Try to leave as much native vegetation around water bodies as possible as plants provide a good filter of pollutants.

We live in a beautiful area of Central Florida riddled with water. Let’s do our part to protect this valuable natural resource. For information on “Florida Friendly Landscaping” go to the University of Florida’s website at http://fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/.

The UF/IFAS Lake County master gardeners will be hosting their “Fall Plant Sale” at 9:00 a.m. on Oct. 12. This sale provides Florida friendly and unusual plants at great prices. Proceeds from the sale benefit Discovery Gardens and volunteer education.

Brooke Moffis is the residential horticulture agent of the UF/IFAS Lake County Extension office. Email burnb48@ufl.edu.

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Saturday, October 5, 2013 9:00 am.

E’tage Gardens set to get underway in Old Goodwood

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Infrastructure work will begin later this month on E’tage Gardens, a small residential development on Government Street in the Old Goodwood neighborhood. Mike Hogstrom, a designer and developer behind the project, says he has secured financing to begin infrastructure and landscaping. He is also talking to several local builders interested in buying and developing all eight lots in the 1.4-acre development. “They are boutique builders, not volume builders,” says Hogstrom. “We are also planning to do our first model home early next year.” Houses in E’tage Gardens will be 2,300 square feet on average and will range in price from the upper $300,000s to the lower $400,000s. “They will have all the amenities and 12- to 14-foot ceilings,” Hogstrom says, adding he has also committed to doing a significant amount of landscaping in the public right-of-way on Government Street. E’tage Gardens bills itself as a “flagship FuturEBR project,” referring to the design guidelines and principles of the city’s latest land-use plan. “We have received endorsements from groups like [the Center for Planning Excellence] and the [EBR Redevelopment Authority] because we modeled every element of our project off of FuturEBR,” he says. “There will be a lot of walkability and green space—a small private garden that people can enjoy.”—Stephanie Riegel

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The owners: Architect Dan Erdman and Natalie Erdman, executive director of the Madison Community Development Authority.

The home: A 160-year-old stone house in Shorewood Hills.

Favorite home feature: When they first looked at the house, said Dan Erdman, it seemed like it had somehow been frozen in time amongst a neighborhood of homes built mostly in the 1950s. “It was incredibly charming and picturesque,” he said. “Unfortunately, the interior appeared as it too had been frozen in time, and it would require a considerable amount of work. But what I discovered only after buying the house was the extent and unique character of the informal gardens and landscaping.”

The home had been occupied by the same family for nearly 80 years, but in recent years, the lot had been badly neglected. “Uncovering paths, bridges, stone walls, sculptures, I felt like an archaeologist on a dig site. There’s even what appears to be an old winding stream bed that ends in a little concrete pool. An elderly neighbor stopped by one day and asked if the spring was still flowing. Wow, I thought, now that must have been neat.”

How they did it: The couple replaced retaining walls in the garden and cleaned the growth. “But I just basically uncovered it,” Dan Erdman said.

The house itself had to be renovated to make it livable by today’s standards. That meant, among other things, adding on a new kitchen and an attached garage and driveway. The key was to do it without destroying any of its charming features. A priority was to not change the character of the front of the house. The couple kept most of the rustic interior doors which have these old-fashioned iron door latches. Even though none of them lock, they are a part of what makes the house special.

Why it’s a special place: The fact that the house is 100 years older than most everything else around it makes it pretty special.

Advice to other homeowners: “You really have to have a love and respect for old things,” Dan Erdman said. “While modernizing a house is necessary, keeping as much of the old unique features as possible will ultimately be rewarding.”