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FRIENDS OF THE CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM
Farm Notes - September 2017
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ORDC Open House and Bug Day
Saturday September 9 from 9am to 4pm
 Friends of the Farm volunteers will assist ORDC scientists in greeting the public at the Ottawa Research and Development Centre Open House on the Central Experimental Farm. This is a free educational event open to the public, all ages are welcome. View research displays, scientific instruments and materials, talk to scientists about their research, visit the Vascular Plant Collection, take a greenhouse tour or horse-drawn wagon ride, watch horse-drawn ploughing contests, speak with experts and view specimens from Canada's world famous National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, enjoy the specially planted wild pollinator garden and get tips for attracting them to your home garden, and see the beautifully restored Tropical Greenhouse.
 Bug Day 2017 is also happening in the K.W. Neatby Building on the Central Experimental Farm. I
nteract with creepy crawlies in the live insect zoo, e
njoy aquatic insects displays, g
et tips on how to start your own bug collection, g
o on a bug collecting expedition, bet on your favourite to win in the always unpredictable cockroach races.
Visitors are encouraged to bring in interesting insects and let the knowledgeable team of bug experts identify them. The
Entomological Society of Ontario, the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are sponsoring Bug Day 2017.
Parking is free in the lots around the Research Greenhouses and the Neatby Building.
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Guided Tree Tour of the Arboretum
Explore this urban gem with tour leaders
Sunday Sep 17 at 2pm
Trees are well-known for their green leaves that create food and oxygen and turn beautiful colours in the Fall. But what do we know about the other parts of the trees? The bark is furrowed and cracked, the branches dart off in different directions, and the roots are mostly hidden from sight? Come and see how they complete the story of the tree. The tour leader is
Roman Popadiouk.
Sunday October 15 at 5pm (New Time)
In this workshop we will be exploring how light tells a story in photography of a landscape environment such as the Farm. The leader will help us discover the magic of colour at the peak of Autumn in the Arboretum. Bring along your cameras! The tour leader is
Ramin Izadpanah, an award-winning photographer in Ottawa, specializing in landscape and nature pictures. Among other prizes, he has won the Canadian Geographic's 2015 Landscape Category prize and the 2016 Flora-and-Fauna Category prize (photo above). He also teaches photography at the Ottawa School of Art. View some of his photography
here and on his
Facebook page.
All tours start at
Building 72 in the Arboretum. Although the tours are free and open to the public, please register in advance at 613-230-3276 or
[email protected]. Donations to the Friends of the Farm are gratefully accepted during the tour.
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Fall Frenzy 'Wish List'
Donate gift cards, certificates, and baskets
The Friends of the Farm are having their 3
rd
annual
Fall Frenzy Online Silent Auction
this coming November. This event is gaining popularity and the Friends are seeking your help with donations to this year's auction.
Popular items include many types of
gift cards for grocery stores and restaurants or
gift certificates for services like car cleaning, yoga studio or book purchases. We've also had great success with
gift baskets of any kind as our auction happens in time for gift giving at Christmas. Due to our membership and associated work with the Ornamental Gardens, anything related to
gardening has also captured the interest of our bidders.
Please visit our Wish List if you are interested in providing a
gift card, gift certificate and/or gift basket
to this event. If you require additional details, please contact us at
[email protected]
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Step into fall and celebrate Canada's 150th with a good book!
Blooms, For the Love of Trees, and Ottawa's Farm
Did you know the CEF Ornamental Gardens were selected as one of Canada 150 Garden Experiences and they are a Destination Garden in the Ottawa Garden Promenade?
Want to learn more about Canadian Heritage right here in the heart of Canada's capital?
Look no further than Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm for inspiration, historical insight, and a profound love of our natural environment. From the enduring blossoms of the Ornamental Gardens, to
the majestic trees of the Arboretum and
rich evolution of research on the Farm, there is something for everyone!
Upcoming Blooms events: Sep 20 talk at Greater Ottawa Water Garden Horticultural Society
How do you get a copy?
- Come to the Friends office in Building 72 weekdays Monday through Wednesday from 9am to 2pm and purchase with cash, cheque, or credit card and take it home!
- Purchase it online on our website with a credit card and pick up at the Friends' office in Building 72 or have it shipped to a location of your choice within Canada.
- Local bookstores selling Blooms include:Perfect Books, Books on Beechwood, Octopus Books, Singing Pebble Books, Chapters at Rideau, Chapters at South Keys, World of Maps, Lee Valley Ottawa, Coles at Carlingwood, Coles at Billings Bridge, Indigo Barrhaven
- Blooms book reviews include the Ottawa Citizen and the Canadian Field-Naturalist
- Upcoming Blooms book presentations to local garden clubs and horticultural societies
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OHS-FCEF Joint Project Update
QR codes now on plaques in the Ornamental Gardens
OHS 125th ANNIVERSARY PROJECT:
Celebrating the Role of the Central Experimental Farm
The
Ottawa Horticultural Society (OHS) has joined with the Friends of the Farm on a special project to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Confederation and the 125th Anniversary of the OHS. The project recognizes the importance of hybridization in the development of plants for the Canadian climate and how the Central Experimental Farm played an important part in promoting horticulture in the last hundred years.
The
first phase of the project recognizes significant achievements in hybridization, and specifically the work of three hybridizers: Isabella Preston (lilacs), Felicitas Svejda (Explorer roses), and A.P. Saunders (peonies). Plaques recognizing the work of each of them, as well as the importance of hybridization in Canada, have been installed at the pergola in the Ornamental Garden at the Central Experimental Farm.
Scan the QR codes with your smartphone for all the details.
A
second phase of the project will see a new planting of historical perennials in parts of the Macoun Memorial Garden. Located at the north end of the Ornamental Gardens, this garden was opened in 1936 to commemorate William T. Macoun, Dominion Horticulturist from 1910 until 1933, on the site of his former house. He was also President of the OHS in 1899. This project will be updated later this summer.
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Over 10,000 hours donated each year
Did you know that Friends' volunteers donate over 10,000 hours every year
to support its mission and activities? Every month a different volunteer is highlighted on the Friends website. We invite you to read the stories of our volunteers such as
Joan Craig
,
our Volunteer of the Month.
Previous spotlights
are also listed.
Each volunteer has an interesting story to tell and a unique connection and commitment to the Farm. Your efforts are greatly appreciated by the entire community!
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Merivale Shelterbelt
Last opportunity for plaque inscriptions
Thousands of trees once marked the northern and western boundaries of the Central Experimental Farm. The Friends of the Farm have been working diligently on the
Merivale Shelterbelt to recreate a boundary forest at the western edge of this National Historic Site. It beautifies the surroundings and provides a recreational path. It protects the fields from salt and soil erosion and helps clean the air.
The project is almost finished, so this year will be the last opportunity to help complete this important project.
Until July 31, 2018 you can donate to this beautification project in the name of someone or something you care about. An
inscription on a plaque will acknowledge your contribution. Plaques are on a commemorative wall in the plaza or rest area on the pathway. The wall acknowledges the official opening of the Shelterbelt and pavilion by the Governor-General of Canada in 2005.
Thanks to many generous donors, the Friends' volunteers have planted new trees and shrubs each year. We have room for one more year's donations. Help us build this beautiful green space and place a personalized inscription to a loved one or a special cause. Donations must be made by July 31, 2018, to be included in the final annual celebration in September 2018. For more information please visit the
Shelterbelt page.
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Canada 150 Lectures at the CEF
Free monthly lectures by ORDC scientists
The Ottawa Research and Development Centre
(ORDC) is celebrating Canada 150 with a free monthly lecture series. The ORDC was formerly known as the Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre (ECORC) on the Central Experimental Farm.
Here are the
ORDC Canada 150
lecture listings.
The public is invited to attend the free lectures at
K.W. Neatby Building
, Salons A/B,
starting at
7:00pm.
Each lecture is about 45 minutes with a question/answer period following the presentation. Free parking is available in the lot beside and spaces around the building. For more information please contact [email protected].
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