Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a globally renowned climate scientist who combines rigorous data-driven research with a deep commitment to public engagement. She studies climate change by analyzing observations and models, working with engineers, planners, and communities to understand real-world impacts. Her work makes clear that climate change is already affecting our lives, that human activity is the primary cause, and that the choices we make now will determine how much mitigation, adaptation, and hardship we face in the future.
Originally trained in physics and astronomy, Dr. Katharine shifted into climate science after realizing it relied on the same core principles—and carried far greater societal implications. Her research has focused on greenhouse gases, regional climate projections, and translating global climate models into locally relevant information. She has authored over 125 scientific publications and contributed to major U.S. climate assessments, with findings used by cities, states, and national decision-makers to guide long-term planning.
Today, Dr. Katharine is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a distinguished professor at Texas Tech University. She is also one of the world’s most recognized climate communicators, known for her TED Talk, PBS series Global Weirding, and bestselling books including Saving Us. Across her work, she emphasizes hope grounded in science—believing that the most meaningful impact comes when people feel empowered to understand climate change and take action in their own lives and communities.
CAFES is very proud to be hosting Dr. Katharine Hayhoe as the keynote speaker at our AGM on Tuesday, March 24th 2026. Register for the AGM for this amazing opportunity to hear Dr. Hayhoe speak on what's new in climate science in the Canadian context.
At the February 17th 2026 City Environment and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) meeting, CAFES' Executive Director, Angela Keller-Herzog presented on proposed updates to the Community Environmental Projects Grant Program (CEPGP), especially the introduction of a dedicated waste reduction funding stream. Overall, CEPGP is a well-regarded program that supports community-led environmental initiatives across Ottawa with grants of $2,000 to $10,000, with an annual budget of $102,000. The City has now proposed to double this funding, through the addition of a separate funding stream dedicated to waste reduction initiatives.
While supporting the additional funding for waste reduction initiatives, CAFES identified some eligibility and administrative barriers that hamper the effectiveness of the program. We highlighted opportunities to strengthen the program by aligning its terms and language with existing City grant models, including allowing project-attributable wages and salaries as eligible expenditures; lowering the $5million liability insurance requirement on proponents by providing an access pathway to the City’s Community Program Insurance Program (CPIP); allowing multi-year projects for the waste reduction stream; and allowing planning for waste and circular economy related social enterprises as eligible projects.
The meeting concluded with a recommendation that Committee maintain the existing CEPGP structure, approve the funding increase of $102,000 in grants available for waste reduction initiatives, and consider the improvements proposed by CAFES in the planned program review in 2027.
You can find the CAFES delegation presentation below. The annual deadline for CEPGP proposals is usually at the end of March.
At the CAFES Climate Caucus meeting on February 10th 2026, special guest How-Sen Chong from the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) explained how TEA launched a rapid, coordinated advocacy effort to preserve the Building Emissions Performance Standards (BEPS). TEA's experience offers a clear and practical example of how community mobilization can protect and advance strong climate policy at City Hall - and why similar action is possible in Ottawa.
BEPS became a cornerstone of Toronto’s climate strategy once buildings were identified as the city’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Regulating emissions from existing buildings, not just new construction, was essential if the city was to meet its climate commitments.
In 2025, when BEPS were at risk of being delayed or cancelled, TEA and its partners demonstrated the power of organized, local advocacy. Key strategies included rapid mass outreach to supporters, coordinated messaging, and strong in-person presence at City Hall through deputations, emails, and phone calls to councillors. Importantly, the coalition extended well beyond environmental groups to include tenant organizations, labour unions, HVAC businesses, and large property owners. This breadth of support helped counter misinformation and showed decision-makers that BEPS were both publicly supported and economically viable. Although timelines were ultimately pushed back, the policy itself was preserved.
Equity and long-term strategy were central to this success. Advocates emphasized tenant protections alongside retrofit requirements. Chong noted that BEPS were the result of nearly a decade of research, relationship-building, and collaboration with city staff and councillors - not a last-minute proposal.
TEA's experience underscores a key lesson: ambitious policy changes are achievable when communities invest in credible research, broad coalitions, and sustained, organized engagement with local decision-makers.
After years of student pressure and negotiations, the University of Ottawa has decided not to renew its lease with RBC. RBC is one of the world’s leading financiers of fossil fuel expansion, directly contradicting the university’s climate commitments and the values of many students who rely on campus spaces. For the students of UOttawa, the issue was not just symbolic—RBC’s presence represented the normalization of climate harm within public institutions.
Over five years ago, a group of students at the University of Ottawa launched an initiative to get "RBC off-campus". After the bank, one of the largest climate financiers in the world, took over a 24/7 study space during COVID, students knew what they had to do.
Students, including CAFES alumna Mary Stuart, launched a campus club—Climate Justice Climatique uOttawa (CJCUO)—that would start a campaign ultimately resulting in RBC leaving campus. I had the privilege of being part of that work and witnessing the activism, organizing, and negotiations from the inside.
Understanding how this small, ragtag group of students was able to defeat one of the largest banks in Canada can help environmental activists and organizers across Ottawa win their own campaigns.
It started by building alliances. CJCUO reached out to the student union, the Indigenous Students Association (ISA), the Palestinian Student Association, University of Ottawa NDP, and others, many of whom took on the initiative in their own right. While the ISA and student union negotiated with the university, CJCUO with the support of other clubs organized sit-ins, protests, and information pickets, building public pressure and making RBC’s operation on campus a nuisance.
After years of this work, RBC’s C-suite requested to meet with students. Representatives from CJCUO, the ISA, and the student union met with senior RBC executives, including John Stackhouse, in a discussion moderated by the university. Concerns were raised and shared, and frankly, the unprepared RBC leadership embarrassed itself. The meeting marked one of the first times RBC apologized for its staff calling the police on students, for derogatory comments made toward organizers, and agreed to abide by university policy.
Negotiations with the university continued, led by the ISA and student union, while CJCUO turned up the pressure. In one instance, police were called to a massive sit-in, during which officers told students they ‘they had to skip a home invasion to be here’. The comment sparked immense backlash and mobilized many previously unpolitical students.
After years of negotiations and sustained pressure, the University of Ottawa decided not to renew RBC’s lease—marking one of the first major student-led victory against the bank. It was the result of a two-pronged approach: building grassroots disruption and "nuisance actions" through sit-ins and protests, paired with institutional negotiations led by the ISA and student union. For organizers in Ottawa, the lesson is clear: without negotiations, the sit-ins likely would have accomplished little—but without the disruption and nuisance actions, there would have been no urgency for negotiations to happen or be taken seriously.
You can read more about the story here:
https://thefulcrum.ca/uncategorized/rbc-branch-set-to-be-removed-from-campus-spring-2026-ending-a-long-fought-battle-by-indigenous-students/
Written by James Adair (former CAFES staff and student at the University of Ottawa)
On Wednesday, January 28th, 2026, City Council approved the final draft of the New Comprehensive Zoning By-law, along with a number of motions and amendments that are to be incorporated by staff in the new year.
A noteable greenspace-related motion that passed on Jan 28th included Riley Brockington's motion to revert the prized McCarthy Woods and Southern Corridor lands back to the more protected zoning designations from the first draft, getting rid of the "Developmental Reserve" designation that these lands were slated for in the most recent draft. An additional win: the staff-initiated motion brought forward in December to increase front yard setbacks to 4.5m in subzone B, with the intent to provide more space for tree planting, was accepted in the approval of the by-law. One of CAFES' core recommendations was to align minimum front yard setback sizes with the volume/space required for a canopy tree to thrive.
Councillors King and Dudas moved on electric vehicle readiness - staff are directed to monitor EV ownership and report back to Council in 2029 and earlier if new information is available regarding the ZBL setting requirements for new multi-unit residential building parking lot EV preparedness, and that staff explore market-driven incentives and potential partnerships as a means to encourage greater implementation of EV-ready infrastructure.
The Zoning By-law is a huge achievement for staff, Council and the community as it has been in the works for almost 5 years - bringing forward incredible community-led advocacy and hard work by staff to create a by-law that reflects our City's Official Plan, provides new and improved housing opportunities and creates a livable, green and compact city for all residents.
CAFES has been engaged on the new by-law since City planners began working on the first draft in 2023. To date, we have submitted a CAFES Trees and Zoning position paper, followed by three detailed submissions on drafts 1, 2 and 3 (the first two with the People's Official Plan Coalition).
Most recently, in December 2025, CAFES delegated and provided a written submission when the final draft was being tabled at the Joint Planning and Housing and Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. We continued to push for researched-based metrics on how zoning can regulate spaces for trees, for instance through soil volume. While we received feedback that zoning cannot necessarily regulate soil volume, Councillor Leiper provided a direction to staff to conduct a study on how this may be enforced and implemented through zoning, which we may hear back on in early 2027. Raymond Leury also delegated in December on behalf of CAFES, EVCO and the Federation of Citizens Association (FCA) on parking lot Electric Vehicle readiness; in particular, that zoning should require all new parking spaces to be constructed with electrical conduits and wiring to support long-term projections and the City's 2050 net-zero goal. See CAFES' news post from December for the delegations and a recap of the December Committee meeting.
Visit the Engage Ottawa zoning page for updates and links to the approved By-law. You can watch the recording of the Jan 28th City Council meeting on YouTube here.
CAFES is pleased to announce a new project in partnership with Pollution Probe Foundation, focused on providing consumers with informed clean energy choices and strengthening community momentum towards energy efficiency and a low-carbon future.
As clean energy technologies such as heat pumps, electric water heaters, electric cars and bikes, induction stoves, and other energy-efficient low-carbon solutions gain traction, households are increasingly seeking to better understand their options: how these technologies work, what they cost, and how they fit into everyday life. Taken together, these individual decisions play an important role in shaping Ottawa’s clean energy transition.
Through this project, Pollution Probe will lead the development of consumer-focused research and practical resources that translate complex technical information into clear, accessible guidance. CAFES will bring this work into Ottawa’s local context by embedding it within our education and awareness efforts, supporting informed consumer choices and evidence-based clean energy action.
CAFES in Action
Over the coming months, CAFES will integrate this project into its ongoing work through activities that bring clean energy questions into public conversation, including through sustainability coffee houses and the Climate Caucus. This work will also inform CAFES’ contributions to social media, local media and broader public dialogue on clean energy.
This project is supported by funding from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Canadian Consumer Protection Initiative. For more information about this project, please contact Zeenat Mackwani, Energy Program Lead, zmackwani@cafesottawa.ca
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Accélérer les choix en matière d’énergie propre à Ottawa
CAFES est heureuse d’annoncer un nouveau projet en partenariat avec la Fondation Pollution Probe, visant à accélérer des choix éclairés en matière d’énergie propre et à renforcer l’élan communautaire vers un avenir à faible émission de carbone.
À mesure que des technologies comme les thermopompes, les véhicules électriques et d’autres solutions à faibles émissions gagnent en visibilité, de nombreux ménages cherchent à mieux comprendre leurs options — le fonctionnement de ces technologies, leurs coûts et leur intégration dans la vie quotidienne. Collectivement, ces décisions individuelles jouent un rôle important dans l’évolution de la transition énergétique à Ottawa.
Dans le cadre de ce projet, Pollution Probe dirigera l’élaboration de recherches et de ressources pratiques destinées aux consommateurs, afin de rendre des informations techniques complexes plus claires et accessibles. CAFES ancrera ce travail dans le contexte local d’Ottawa en l’intégrant à ses activités d’éducation et de plaidoyer, soutenant ainsi un dialogue public éclairé et une action fondée sur des données probantes en matière d’énergie propre.
CAFES en action
Au cours des prochains mois, CAFES intégrera ce projet à son travail en cours par le biais d’activités concrètes visant à faire progresser les conversations publiques sur l’énergie propre.
CAFES diffusera des explications claires et accessibles sur les technologies d’énergie propre dans son bulletin et sur son blogue, en s’appuyant sur les recherches de Pollution Probe pour clarifier les éléments que les ménages devraient prendre en compte et l’importance de ces choix à plus grande échelle. Ce travail alimentera également les contributions de CAFES aux médias locaux et au dialogue public sur l’énergie propre.
Le projet sera aussi présent dans les espaces communautaires de CAFES, notamment les Cafés durabilité et les Caucus climat, qui offrent des lieux ouverts et informels pour explorer les choix énergétiques à partir d’expériences vécues. Ensemble, ces activités soutiendront des échanges éclairés et renforceront l’élan communautaire en faveur de l’adoption de solutions d’énergie propre.
Ce projet est soutenu par le financement de l’Initiative canadienne de protection des consommateurs d’Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada. Pour plus d’information sur ce projet, veuillez communiquer avec Zeenat Mackwani, responsable du programme Énergie, zmackwani@cafesottawa.ca
On January 1st 2026, the City of Ottawa handed over recycling collection responsibilities to Circular Materials, a non-profit producer responsibility organization, and their contractor Miller Waste.
This is part of an Ontario-wide shift to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), where producers, instead of municipalities, become responsible for collecting and recycling the products that they produce, including packaging. The aim is to incentivize paper and packaging producers to use materials more efficiently and shift the financial burden of waste collection and recycling away from taxpayers.
CAFES welcomes the move for further producer responsibility which has been in the plans since 2016, but questions the effectiveness of the system when the government of Ontario has recently severely weakened EPR requirements for producers.
In theory, shifting to EPR should result in better waste diversion and reduction. Unfortunately, the Ontario government’s September 2025 amendments to EPR legislation will reduce the effectiveness. These amendments delayed the implementation of mandatory recovery targets, removed recycling collection from multi-residential buildings and public spaces, and reduced the recovery target for flexible plastic. Most alarmingly, the amendments allow “energy recovery” (aka incineration) to count towards 15% of diversion targets! With incineration as an option for waste diversion, we are concerned about where our recyclables are going.
Under the new system, pretty much all plastic packaging including thin plastic, plastic bags, bubblewrap, food containers and styrofoam is now admissible into the blue bin (but was not previously for Ottawa). CAFES is questioning where this is all ending up - it is hard to imagine that Circular Materials has already set up new recyling facilities for all this waste material.
CAFES has reached out to Circular Materials and Miller Waste to find out more about what's going on behind the scenes of our new recycling system. To learn more about the changes in place, visit the Circular Materials website.
By Harry Fischer, CAFES Board Member and Volunteer
It’s always great to get an early spring gardening gift in the depths of winter, and the City's new Community-led Greening Initiatives and Garden Program is a welcome gift to everyone who is concerned about making Ottawa greener and more biodiverse. I attended the program launch information session on Wednesday, January 14th, 2026, hosted by city staff Katie Lester and Chrissy May, along with their manager David Masrour. They did a great job introducing the new program - where it came from and where it’s headed. They then walked the attendees though the new process, explaining various details. They did an excellent job responding to questions from everyone.
Apply and see eligibility criteria here! The program is officially open to receive its first round of applications, closing on February 5th. This is the initial program launch; going forward, there will be two application periods per year, one in the early spring (to coordinate will fall planting), and one in late summer (to coordinate with spring planting).
One of the major barriers to community-led greening projects has previously been the city’s onerous insurance requirements that tend to restrict smaller groups from conducting greening work. This is being addressed through this new program. Now, approved projects with a land use agreement should qualify for general liability insurance coverage under the city’s CPIP insurance, with the exception of forestry projects.
The city will be conducting and covering the costs of soil testing for food gardens in cases where contamination may be a risk. The city will also provide, install and pay for standardized greening/garden signage for all approved projects to raise awareness, visibility and increase publicity.
Due to the separation of city departments, projects in forested areas will remain within the Forestry Department. Tree planting and tree care will generally remain out of scope for this program, unless the trees are an integral part of a larger project. Even still, all tree plantings that are part of a larger project would need to be reviewed and approved by the Forestry department via the program's internal working group. Currently, fruit trees are completely restricted.
Projects that involve removing invasive plants and replacing them with native species are an eligible activity. However, projects that only involve removing invasives plants will remain within the Public Works invasives team.
Applications for Hydro corridors might take a bit more time to process, as different coordination is needed to clarify who owns the property or has the easement, as this determines the lead group that has authority over the property.
Overall, I thought the meeting was received enthusiastically and I felt that the city is working very hard to build bridges with community groups to improve our ability to carry out various greening initiatives and gardening projects.
The staff will be continuing their outreach by holding an in-person drop-in application working session on Thursday, January 22nd from 9am - 12pm and 1pm - 3pm at 101 Centrepointe Drive, Room 1A. This drop-in session is intended to help community members navigate the application process and ask specific questions to staff.
Apply here to start or expand a community-led greening initiative or gardening project!
CAFES Ottawa is excited to share that our team has grown with the addition of four enthusiastic and experienced team members! 🎉 Each brings unique experience, passion, and perspective to our work advancing climate solutions and community action. Meet Zeenat Mackwani, MJ Schmidt, Nancy Daniel, and Aaron Kelly!
Zeenat Mackwani – Energy Program Lead
Zeenat is a climate and sustainability professional with experience across climate adaptation, disaster resilience, and risk management in international development, private, and non-profit sectors. Based in Ottawa, she is focused on people-centred, practical approaches to advancing the energy transition and clean energy adoption. Zeenat is bilingual, holds a Master’s in Geography, is completing her MBA, and is also bringing a farm-to-table business idea to life.
MJ Schmidt – Events Coordinator
Originally from Scarborough, MJ moved to Ottawa to study Anthropology and Environmental Studies and has since become deeply involved in local climate justice, anti-colonial, and humanitarian activism. A creative and empathetic educator with experience in outdoor education, they bring a strong commitment to community engagement, collective learning, and meaningful events.
Nancy Daniel – Communications Coordinator
Nancy is a Nigerian-Canadian environmental professional with over a decade in the Ottawa area. She holds a BSc in Earth Science and Physical Geography and has worked across government, private, and non-profit organizations in climate, environment, and local food systems. At CAFES, Nancy supports communications, storytelling, and events, with a strong interest in sustainable agriculture and community-led climate solutions.
Aaron Kelly – Energy Program Strategist
Aaron works with the CAFES team to help advance the clean energy transition. He holds degrees from Middlebury College and Vermont Law School, including a BA in Environmental Policy, an MA in Energy Regulation, and a Juris Doctor. Aaron brings expertise in renewable energy, grid systems, green building, and sustainable transportation. His background spans commercial solar development, grassroots advocacy, projects to reduce building carbon emissions, and policy work supporting sustainability.
Please join us in giving Zeenat, MJ, Nancy, and Aaron a warm welcome—we’re thrilled to have them on the team!
On December 17th, 2025, the Joint Planning & Housing and Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee approved the final draft of the New Comprehensive Zoning By-law, with amendments that are to be incorporated by staff in the new year. The Zoning By-law will come to City Council on January 28th, 2026 and is expected to be enacted next year. This is a big deal and several years of work have gone into this overhaul of our comprehensive zoning by-law.
Erica Shardlow, Trees and Greenspace Coordinator at CAFES, delegated to the Joint Committee to continue to push for our recommendations on how zoning can regulate spaces for trees in alignment with the Official Plan's own goals for a 40% tree canopy.
With support also from Federation of Citizens Association (FCA), we emphasized the need for zoning to require sufficient soft landscaping metrics in front and rear yards of neighbourhood zones, for zoning to require soil volume metrics rather than merely surface area requirements (30 cubic m of soil at 1 m planting depth for a medium canopy tree), and front yard setbacks of at least 4.5 m, or combined setback + Right of Way space, that are large enough to host a tree in front of every building, specially on busy, dense streets in the urban core. We explained that big canopy trees are essential for a healthy and liveable city - we need them to clean our air, absorb rainwater, give us shade, cool temperatures, make streets more walkable and communities more enjoyable to live in.
Despite a hopeful motion presented by Councillor Leiper on reinstating soil volume into the final by-law, this motion was withdrawn due to not having staff support (staff claim is may be beyond their authority to regulate soil depth). Councillor Leiper did provide a direction to staff to conduct a study on soil volume requirements and how it may be enforced and implemented through zoning. So not quite case closed.
Other tree-related motions and amendments that passed included staff increasing the size of front yard setbacks in subzone B from 3m to 4.5m to make more room for trees, and a motion by Councillors Brockington and Johnson to remove the re-zoning designation of "Developmental Reserve" for the NCC Southern Corridor lands, including the McCarthy Woods area and the Woodroffe-Merivale corridor, and changing it back to what they were zoned in draft 1 (with some other changes).
Raymond Leury, delegated to the Joint Committee on behalf of CAFES, EVCO and the Federation of Citizens Association (FCA) on Electric Vehicle readiness; in particular, that zoning should require all new parking spaces to be constructed with electrical conduits to support long-term projections and the City's 2050 net-zero goal. Currently, the new by-law only requires 25% of new spaces to be equipped with EV conduits. Councillor Dudas' motion to decrease the EV parking readiness policy review timeline from every 5 years to only 3 years was considered a move in the right direction, but not quite the change we were hoping for. Retrofitting and rebuilding in the future is always far more expensive. Following prior conversations with CAFES, Councillor King questioned staff heavily on this and may bring forward a motion in January when this lands at City Council.
CAFES has been engaged on the new by-law since City planners began working on the first draft in 2023. To date, we have submitted a CAFES Trees and Zoning position paper, followed by three detailed submissions on drafts 1, 2 and 3 (the first two with the People's Official Plan Coalition).
Check out the two delegations below and read CAFES' full written submission. Visit the Engage Ottawa zoning page for updates and links. For comments please contact Erica at eshardlow@cafesottawa.ca
