Eco News: Springing into Action this March

Is Your Yard Rain Ready? 

Applications for Green Venture’s Rain Ready Hamilton program (funded by the City of Hamilton) are officially open! Transform your outdoor space and manage stormwater like a pro! Apply now through April 17th, 2026.

Learn More

Join a Live Webinar Session

Your NEXT opportunity is March 18, 6:00 pm

• Webinar # 1: Introduction & Site Analysis (March 18, 6:00 pm). 
  
  
• Join us for a Lunch & Learn: Permeable Paving w/ Brad from Outscape (March 24, 12:00 -1:00 pm).
  
  
• Webinar #2: Design & Integrating Plant Communities (April 2, 6:00 pm). 
  
  
• Ask the Experts at EcoHouse! (April 7, 6:00 pm). 
  
  
• Webinar #3 Installation Monitoring & Maintenance (April 9, 6:00 pm). 
  
  

Learn More & Sign Up

Time to Refresh Your Wardrobe! 

Our Spring Clothing Swap is returning on March 26, running from 4-6 pm at EcoHouse, 22 Veevers Drive. Here, you can pick out gently used secondhand clothes to take home for FREE.

Clothing for all genders, ages, and life stages (including formal, maternity wear, and infant clothing)!

RSVP on our website, and swing by for some styling advice and free clothing! Suggested donation of $5.

Drop-off window: March 9 - 23 at 22 Veevers Drive. Drop off WASHED clothing at the Red Deck, at EcoHouse, anytime. Email [email protected] to let us know you're dropping off clothing OR DM us on social media. 

Clothing Swap

Volunteers Needed! 

Lend a Hand to End Textile Waste! 🌍 Our Spring Clothing Swap needs volunteers like you to help it succeed! This is a great way to help our community access free clothing while keeping textiles out of the landfill. Join the team and make a difference!

Volunteer With Us

Clean Air Starts With Us

We're celebrating the annual Clean Air Day in Hamilton!

This event is celebrated from coast to coast to remember the importance of good air quality for our health and the environment. Join us on Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026, at Hamilton Central Library.

Enjoy an anti-idling film screening by students! This is your opportunity to engage with community vendors and hear from speakers!

Clean Air Day

The Elderberries Nature Series (Ages 50+)

Sign up today for our new Elderberries program! The first dates are approaching fast:

• March 27th, April 2nd, April 10th, and April 16th

Sessions start at 11 am and end at 1 pm. This is your opportunity to participate in seed saving, indoor and outdoor gardening, social strolls in the garden, plant identification talks, and more! Snacks, tea, and coffee will be provided.  

Green Venture has four all-terrain wheelchairs available at EcoHouse for use in our programs, tours, and events.

To learn more and sign up, visit our Enhancing Access to Nature webpage OR contact Akira at [email protected] or call +1 289-812-8484. Sign up early, limited spaces available.

Learn More About The Elderberries!

EcoAdventures with Nature Kids this Spring

Mark your calendars, the spring session will run on Thursday weekly between May 7 and June 4, 2026, from 4:30 pm - 6 pm at 22 Veevers Drive!

Participants can expect fun-filled evenings packed with eco adventures, nature exploration, nature-based crafts, outdoor games, and a trip to our local creek. We have outdoor gear available for children to borrow as needed, and we provide a healthy snack each week!

Registration will open on April 1st, 2026 and close on May 1st, 2026. Spot offers will be sent out to applicants no later than May 3rd, 2026. Do you have an older child or teen? While Nature Kids participants can be 4 - 11 years of age, we take a few kids aged 12 and 13 to be helpers each season. For youth 14+, we are now taking applications for volunteers to help run our amazing program! 

More Information & Registration

Air Care is a FREE 4-session program for elementary schools in Hamilton

We take approximately 22 000 breaths every day! Learn about air quality with your elementary students and create your own anti-idling campaign! Our 4 - 5 session version of the program works best for grades 4 - 8, and we are now delivering an assembly version for grades 1 - 3. Reach out to [email protected] to book your classes or school today!

Contact us about Air Care

YouthQuake: Lead the Change (and Get Your Hours!) 

Join our upcoming YouthQuake sessions to lead environmental discussions, dive into hands-on activities, and connect with like-minded friends. Plus, we’ve got the snacks and the volunteer hours covered!

• April 8 @ 4:30 PM (In-Person at EcoHouse),

• April 22 @ 4:30 PM (At-Home Session). 

Learn More

Spring Youth Stewardship & Professional Skills is back like never before!

Join us this spring from April 1 to June 10 to level up! Master the art of event coordination, and dive into air quality science. The best part? You'll learn job-ready skills, and build knowledge. 

This spring series is unlike any before, with an exclusive Peregrine Falcon stewardship opportunity with our new partner Falconwatch! Registration is officially LIVE. These spots will fly, so apply today!

Apply Now

Nature Kids Summer Camp is back for 2026!

Our camp experience is filled with all the fantastic aspects of Nature Kids, with more time to play games, participate in hands-on activities, learn new survival skills, meet critters and new friends, take trips to the local creek, and much more. 

Learn More

Our Leaders in Training (LIT) Camp is Back!

If you can see yourself working with kids, enjoy being outdoors and learning new things, this opportunity is for you!
Earn between 10 and 70 volunteer hours over 3 weeks. From July 13 - 17, come and learn childcare and wilderness survival skills. 
If you're ready to meet new people and develop leadership skills, apply today! 

Hey Hamilton Teachers, Your Class Could Win a Pizza Party!

There are still THREE whole months to earn entries into our Community Science Class Contest! Motivate your kids to participate in stewardship projects for a chance to win a pizza party, a Scholastic gift card, or a biodiversity sticker pack! The contest will run from January 15th to June 1st, 2026, with winners announced on June 3rd. Find out more on our website.

Contest Details

January Climate Café Recap

On January 28, we gathered at CoWork at the Cotton Factory for our fourth Climate Café. Over warm drinks and warmer conversation, community members came together in sharing circles to share how the climate crisis is showing up in their lives here in Hamilton, navigating a range of emotions while building collective resilience.

We were grateful to be joined by Alexia Da Poupada, Green Venture’s Rain Ready Program Lead, who shared insights on the power of rain as a resource. Attendees learned how simple actions, such as installing rain gardens or permeable surfaces, can help slow, capture, and infiltrate rainwater at home, and about the Rain Ready rebate offering up to $5,000 to support these projects.

As always, the Climate Café created a welcoming space for honest dialogue, and we hope everyone left feeling hopeful! Thank you to everyone who showed up, shared openly, and contributed to a meaningful evening. Together, we’re continuing to strengthen our community in Hamilton. Thank you to CoWork for hosting us in their space, and the Hamilton City Enrichment Fund for their support. Please consider coming to our upcoming Climate Café on March 9th! Details are in this newsletter under "Events".