If you have ideas for resources to share or shareable stories of kindness, please send them to: neighbourhoods@waterloo.ca

The City of Waterloo wants to recognize people who do something great, big or small, in their neighbourhood. Nominations will be accepted year-round and every nominee will receive a thank you package.

How can you get involved?

Milena shares: "Our neighbour built a lovely mini library with bench on his lawn for the neighbourhood to enjoy. It is very much appreciated. Thank you Bruce for creating a sense of community."

B-I-N-G-O!

Lakeshore North Block Connectors noticed how quickly neighbourhood connections and positivity can spread with a recent neighbourhood bingo hunt. Nancy applied for a mini grant to cover printing and prizes, then created a bingo card to depict spots in the neighbourhood to find. Participants were encouraged to participate with their own households. Neighbours were seen sharing hints on locations, learning about new areas in the neighbourhood, finding something around home to look forward to, and waving hello to new connections they made.

Students need to get to school safely, and we need crossing guards to help make that happen. This is great paid, part-time work. If you love to be outdoors, are reliable and dependable, and would like to help students get to school safely, we’d love you to join our team of crossing guards.

Apply online or call 519-886-2310.

The City of Waterloo plans to build a new neighbourhood park on Roger Street in 2022. The park will include a trail that connects Roger Street to Mount Hope Cemetery and beyond, a playground for children to play, learn and grow, plantings that will provide shade and seating opportunities to rest and enjoy the park.

Fill out the survey on Engage Waterloo by July 30 to have your say.

Council recently voted to allow backyard hens in Waterloo. If you are interested in having hens on your residential property, you must register the hens (4 max) and renew your registration every year.

Rules and registration details.

Since regular community clean-ups, where a group of neighbours work together, were not possible this spring, David wanted to do something in the neighbourhood to help address litter. A mini grant was requested to encourage neighbours to pitch in by providing garbage bags, gloves, and garbage pickers for individual households that volunteered to separately do their part. David hopes that providing supplies to make pick-up easy will be a good reminder for neighbours to get involved and also encourage them to consider pitching in to tackle garbage again in the future.

1.Review the 2021 community planting information sheet (PDF).

4.Submit an application form – extended to Monday, July 26 at 4:30 p.m.

Apply online.

Summer is a great time to learn to be an active bystander! In this interactive online training, offered by Mennonite Central Committee, participants will learn to feel confident to act when they see harm happening, whether in the moment or later, and will learn how being an active bystander improves communities and makes the world a better place. Active Bystander Training is suitable for participants ages 12 and up. Families can register together with one registration fee.

The next online Active Bystander Training is scheduled for July 12 from 6:30-9:30PM.

The plaza is bound to be popular this summer – please make sure you follow COVID physical distancing rules when you visit. Learn more about this exciting project on Engage Waterloo.

Folk Wisdom in the Garden: Just how wise is it?

Heather shares: There are countless nuggets of advice on how to fertilize and care for plants naturally, using things you have in your kitchen. Let’s review a myth, following the lead of Robert Pavlis.

Myth 1: Sprinkle crushed eggshells around your seedlings

Plants need a number of nutrients for growth. The three main nutrients are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Together they make up the trio known as NPK. There are additional elements, including calcium, magnesium, sulphur, and more that plants also require. Eggshells are made almost entirely of calcium carbonate, and the belief is that when they are crushed and sprinkled around your seedlings, they will add calcium to the soil. This is especially recommended for tomatoes to prevent blossom end rot.

The problem is that your plants cannot possibly access the calcium in the form of solid eggshells. Calcium, like most the other elements required for plant growth, is absorbed through fine root hairs, aided by mycorrhizal fungi. For this process to work, the nutrients must be dissolved in water So why not make ‘eggshell tea’ and pour that over them? According to Dr. Jeff Gillman^[1], after boiling an eggshell and letting it sit in the water for 24 hours, approximately .002% of the available calcium was found in the water. It’s unlikely that soaking eggshells to make ‘tea’ will offer a lot of benefit to your growing vegetables.

The best thing to do with all those eggshells is to grind them into as fine a powder as you can and add them to the compost pile.

^[1] “The Truth About Garden Remedies” by Dr. Jeff Gillman

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Waterloo Neighbourhoods is published throughout the year to keep residents informed about the good things happening in neighbourhoods across Waterloo. If you have any questions or comments, please call 519-747-8515 or email communications@waterloo.ca. If you’re reading Waterloo Neighbourhoods as a non-subscriber, visit our subscription page to sign up for future editions.

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