Hello,

I am writing today to ask you to consider joining CAFES Ottawa to strengthen the voice residents have about environmental, climate and ecological changes at City Hall. With this being a municipal election year, we have a powerful opportunity to speak up and advocate for the action needed to make Ottawa a better place to live for future generations.

CAFES has a total of 21 Community Associations and over 35 other groups such as the Ottawa Citizens for Clean Energy, the Ottawa South Eco Action Network (OSEAN) and the Ottawa Stewardship Council as members. Our members and groups conduct projects ranging from distributing hundreds of thousands of seeds (Ottawa Wild Seed Library) to planting gorgeous city boulevard gardens (Bel-Air CA) to speaking at city committee meetings (Ottawa South Eco Action Network (OSEAN) and Ecology Ottawa).

As a collective of grassroots advocates, we have pushed successfully for changes to Ottawa's Right-of-Way planting guidelines. We advocated for a more robust and responsive Community Gardening Program and we’re pushing for further action on Invasive species. We can do more, but we need everyone involved so we have a stronger and broader base.

We're hoping now to add more grassroots environmental and gardening groups to amplify our voice at City Hall to act on issues such as climate change, greening initiatives, waste disposal, and recycling in Ottawa.

CAFES constantly works hard to advocate for a better city and future, we’ve attached our 2024 CAFES Impact Report so you can see what CAFES is doing. (Our 2025 Impact Report is being finalized and will be released very soon.)

I know, it is a lot of pressure to say that we hold the key to our grandchildren and great grandchildren’s way of life in 10, 20 and 30+ years from now but we do. If we do not push for change, we will remain the same, which will greatly impact future generations for decades to come.

We'd also like to extend an invite to join us at our Annual General Meeting on the evening of Tuesday, March 24th, 2026. This would be a perfect opportunity to find out about the benefits of being a CAFES member. The meeting will be online via Zoom and will feature Katharine Hayhoe as our world-class keynote speaker! Please register to attend here: cafesottawa.ca/2026-AGM

If you have any questions about CAFES or membership, please do not hesitate to contact Mitzi MacDonald, Operations Manager at info@cafesottawa.ca or Harry Fischer, Membership Chair, Board of Directors at hfischer@cafesottawa.ca.

As a part of our outreach, we are willing to come and meet with your representatives to talk about CAFES and how vital it is to have a stronger voice at City Hall. All you have to do is extend an invite and we'll be there!

I hope you seriously consider joining CAFES and making sure your concerns are brought to the forefront at City Hall.

Harry Fischer
Membership Chair
CAFES Board of Directors

Invitation to Gardening Groups to join CAFES and attend our AGM Event