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by Dave

MEC Awards Whitewater Ontario $3000 Grant

December 5, 2011 in paddling

mecAs part of their Community Contribution Program, MEC has awarded paddling advocacy group Whitewater Ontario with a $3,000 grant to continue their efforts to preserve, protect and promote whitewater paddling in Ontario.

We are very happy to report that we have been awarded a $3000 grant and these funds will provide critical support to help our Advocacy Committee’s planned activities for 2011-2012. The funds are intended to help pay for WO river access signage, maintaining/securing access with local landowners and also to help us launch an annual Advocacy Paddling Festival, tentatively planned to take place at the Ottawa River on the July long weekend in 2012. The festival will have  three goals:

  1. To raise awareness of Ontario river issues
  2. To deepen our understanding of river advocacy strategies
  3. To provide the WO Advocacy Committee with a sustainable source of funding for future advocacy initiatives

Congrats to WO, keep up the great work!

[via]

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by Dave

Waterproof Jacket/Tent/Sleeping Bags – Perfect One Man Camping?

December 1, 2011 in camping, hiking, paddling

vessel_tentLet’s say you’re out in the woods and a little rain starts falling; you put on your rain jacket. Once the rain clears, the bugs come out, so you put up your tent and hop in. By the time the bugs are gone it’s late and cold, so you climb into your sleeping bag and call it a day.

Well what if you could do all that without even getting up from the campfire?!

A friend of mine posted a link to some cool and creative tent designs the other day, and one was the Vessel tent, pictured above. A coat, backpack and tent all in one, this stylish number got me clicking around until I found the JakPak, the world’s first all-in-one waterproof jacket, tent, and sleeping bag!

As you can see in the video it’s a little lightweight for good Canadian winter camping, but a neat concept. I could see something like this for a solo canoe or hiking trip in the summer, or just to keep in the car ‘just in case’.

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by Dave

Hell or High Water III Donates $2300 to Whitewater Ontario

November 25, 2011 in paddling

HOHW_2011_POSTERsThe Whitewater Ontario Advocacy Committee are the grateful recipients of a $2300 donation from the Hell Or High Water 2011 Organising committee. This was an incredibly successful event and an important part of the Save the Petawawa campaign, which is ongoing.

After recent discussions within the WO Advocacy committee and with the HOHW organisers, the Advocacy committee voted in favour of sending this donation to the newly formed Ontario Rivers Alliance, of which Whitewater Ontario is a member organisation. WO is also represented at ORA meetings by an Advocacy committee member and we look forward to collaborating with this organisation on river advocacy issues in Ontario.

ORA has been created to protect, conserve and restore healthy river ecosystems and is in much need of funds to get itself off the ground as an organisation. We believe this donation will be well received and will fully support river advocacy in Ontario. For more information on this organisation please visit their website: http://ontarioriversalliance.ca/

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by Dave

Five Tips for Storing Your Canoe or Kayak for the Winter

November 16, 2011 in paddling

boat_storageWith the tail-end of the paddling season wrapping up for even the most die-hard playboaters my thoughts have been turning to storing my kayak and gear for the winter. I’ve built a contraption in my garage that hangs the beast from the roof, but before I forget about it until next spring I thought I’d share some end-of-season storage tips:

  1. Make sure your stuff is clean and dry
    Nuthin’ nicer than pulling out your boat for the first time and seeing that it’s nice and clean, ready to go; nothing worse than pulling out your gear and finding it managed to  hold onto that stink all season :( Make sure your gear is dry and clean before you sock it away.
  2. Repair your gear now!
    By the same logic, when springtime rolls around you’re not going to want to begin with patching and sewing. Do those touch-ups on your boat now, replace worn rubber gaskets or o-rings, and treat your dry boxes with 303 Protectant. You can also repair your wetsuit or neoprene items with Aqua Seal.
  3. Keep it together
    One of my dry basement  is set aside for my outdoor gear; not piled or strewn, but everything on a shelf or hanging up. Not only does this keep roomies at bay, but it makes it easy to get out the door in a hurry without forgetting anything.
  4. Keep it dry
    Did I mention my basement is dry? I did. I’ve also got a cat who knows just where to piss when she’s mad at me, so anything important is off the ground!
  5. Store your boat properly
    It’s not a great idea to leave your boat just lying on the ground. some plastic kayaks and canoes can lose their shape, developing a flat bottom, and flatwater canoes have a long keel you don’t want to bust up. Its best to hang your boat with some straps, and watch your head on the way out. If you can’t hang it, be sure to store your canoe upside down and your kayak on its side, possibly flipping it halfway through the season.

Once you’ve got it all put away, then its time to pull out the Winter toys!

Got any other tips?

[via KayakingMadeEasy]

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by Chelsea Cooperative Nursery School

Bids4Kids Online Auction!

November 3, 2011 in gatineau park, gear, paddling, rock climbing, ski

Starting midnight the 1st Annual Bids4Kids Online Auction will go Live!  This is you chance to get some great deals!  Paddling your thing…we can help you with that.  Climbing? How about some passes to Altitude Climbing Gym.  Want to get out into the Park – Greg Christie can help you with that!  We’ve got gift certificates to Kunstadt Sports, Trailhead, and Sport Echange.  And there’s lots of passes to Camp Fortune, Mont Ste. Marie and Vorlage.  Check us out!  Online Auction runs from November 4th ’til the 9th.

If you’ve got questions about how the auction works – check here.

If you’ve got questions about who we are – well check here – We’re the Chelsea Cooperative Nursery School!  We love to teach little kids that going OUTSIDE is fun!


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