News & Updates from the park

Winnipeg dog parks in ruff shape: report from Global News

Posted by Kilcona Park Dog Club / in News /

Winnipeg dog parks in ruff shape according to an article in Global News. Check it out at the following link:

 

http://globalnews.ca/news/1319320/winnipeg-dog-parks-in-ruff-shape-report/

Who’s Been Picking Up After Your Dog!

Posted by president@kilconaparkdogclub.ca / in News /

 

Kilcona Park Dog Club celebrates our amazing volunteers who turned out on Sunday to help transform Kilcona into the cleanest off-leash area in Winnipeg.

This was one of the best turnouts for a park clean-up. The response to the Board’s call for volunteers means that KPDC will continue to host park stewardship events.

At least 500 dog-owners and their friends and families turned out for the official clean-up on Sunday morning. The parking lot was full.

Director of Events Cindy Greenlay greets volunteers and hands out park clean-up contest rules.

Many early-bird volunteers braved rain, snow showers, high winds and frigid temperatures on Saturday  to begin the task of picking up a winter’s worth of up unclaimed dog waste.

KPDC salutes father and son team, Jim and Ben Handford who delivered 16 bags of garbage to the main collection depot!!

A very special thanks to Bob McConomy, Kathy Douglas and other volunteers who focused their efforts on picking up and hauling monster bags of dog waste out of the long grass!

Bob McConomy

Kathy Douglas

If you are one of the guilty parties who thinks you don’t have to pick up if you dog heads into the tall grass, you’re busted! Responsible pet owner have grown tired of such irresponsible behavior. Kilcona’s dog community will begin reporting park users who violate the law.

Dog waste that hides in the weeds carries the same disease-causing bacteria and parasites as it does in the short grass and along the trails. Spring run-off carries fecal matter from the hills down into the ponds, contaminating the water where dogs swim and drink. 

Responsible pet ownership reflects well on Kilcona’s dog community. Be part of the solution. Join the Number Two Clue Program. Bring a whistle to the park and use it to alert distracted or irresponsible dog owners that they need to pick up.

Bring extra bags and offer one to those in need. Use one of them to pick up an extra pile each time you visit the park.

For those of you who’ve asked how to report dog owners that don’t pick up, here are Winnipeg Animal Services instructions.
Call 311 and provide:
• Your name, address and phone number
• The dog owner’s vehicle license number
• The date and time tof the incident
• A description of the dog
Animal Services investigates every complaint except anonymous ones.

 

The Winners!

We all winners when our park is clean. But some folks also won prizes.

Kelly Ashton draws the winning ticket!

 

The winner of the Kilcona Park Spring Clean-up draw for a $50 gift certificate from KPDC Gold Sponsor, McPhillips Animal Hospital is Corey Flett.

Director of Fundraising Maria Conley with Director of Marketing Jeff Henry, announcing the winner of the Spring Clean-up Draw.

50/50 draw winner Tammy Murawka generously donated her winnings to Kilcona Park Dog Club for waste bag dispensers, potable water and other park improvements. Thanks Tammy!!

Tammy Murawka

 

Other prize winners were Rob Miller, Ulinke  Cann, Glenda Burke, Kelly Ashton, Phil Werbiski and Teresa Kuzyk.

Some of our great volunteers…

Janet Werbiski

Ron Miller

Julie Johnson

Many others pitched in…thanks to you all!

The Poo Crew Management Team…

KPDC Treasurer Ted Norrington and Director of Volunteers Stacy Boone issue tickets for the clean-up draw.

A volunteer supports KPDC 50/50 draw to raise money for dog park improvements

               

KPDC Secretary Kathleen Kirkman renews a membership

       

Ted, Kathleen and Maria

Invoking Rain Date for Spring Clean Up

Posted by Kilcona Park Dog Club / in Information, News /

KPDC’s Poo Crew organizers have decided it best to postpone the Spring Clean-up until Sunday – same time, same place. 11:00 am until 2:00 pm

The forecast for tomorrow morning is calling for 2 degrees but with winds gusting to 54 so it will feel like minus 4 and clean-ups are no fun when it’s cold, windy and raining.

Sunday promises to be a nicer day. It will still be cool, but no rain and the winds will drop right off.  Park staff will be there to help us.

Volunteers will have a chance to win a $50 McPhillips Animal Hospital gift certificate and there are prizes for 12 and under – soccer balls and popcorn coupons. The draws will be at 2pm.
Here’s all you need to do.
1.    Grab a Kitchen Catcher and latex gloves.
2.    Fill the bag.
3.    Take it to the collection depot either in the parking lot or the park.
4.    Get a draw ticket for each bag you bring in.
5.    Write your name and phone number on the stub.
6.    Keep the ticket & drop the stub in the draw bin.

Please join us. Responsible pet ownership reflects well on everyone!

WINDOG Launch covered in the news

Posted by Kilcona Park Dog Club / in Information, News /

Today CBC News broke the story launching the Winnipeg Network of Dog Owner Groups (WINDOG).

WINDOG is the new advocacy coalition that is working with dog parks clubs like KPDC to make Winnipeg a more “dog friendly” community. By working together through WINDOG, individual clubs have a much stronger the voice in our efforts to secure  more and better off-leashed areas that are  properly serviced, safe, attractive,and well-maintained.

WINDOG has been publicly endorsed by Winnipeg Humane Society’s CEO Bill McDonald. It has also organized three new dog park clubs at Brenda Leipsic, Charleswood and Bourkevale.

WINDOG will be working very hard over the next six months to elect a dog-friendly Mayor and Council. If we are going to be successful in getting the improvements we want for Kilcona and other dog parks in the city,

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-dog-park-group-wants-dog-friendly-city-hall-1.2627634

 

 

It’s Easy Being Green with KPDC’s Newest Platinum Sponsor

Posted by Kilcona Park Dog Club / in Features, Information, News /

Make Every Day Earth Day!

It’s Easy Being Green with KPDC’s Newest Platinum Sponsor

Want to go green AND save money? Of course you do! When you buy an Interstate Battery you’re doing both!

…and Interstate will pay you to recycle your old car battery. We call that a win-win-win!

KPDC salutes its newest platinum sponsor for taking environmental stewardship to a whole new level and for making our world a little greener and cleaner.

At Interstate, green is more than a colour – it’s the company’s highest standard for protecting the environment. Interstate is North America’s leading recycler of lead-acid batteries.

KPDC member, Amanda Darlington is Interstate’s Assistant Operations Manager. She’s proud that for every automotive or lead-acid battery Interstate sells, the company recycles four.

Interstate Operations Manager, Einar Sandland and Assistant Operations Manager Amanda Darlington

Interstate accepts automotive, alkaline, cellphone, laptop and other consumer batteries. Their convenient East Kildonan location – Suite G-10 Keenleyside –  makes “going green” easy.

With a reputation for top-quality products and consistently reliable service, Interstate Batteries is North America’s Number One replacement brand battery. The company sells more than 16,000 kinds of batteries—from AAA alkalines, automotive and industrial batteries to critical power solutions, and everything in between.

 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…and Rethink

Automotive and household batteries – whether they power our cell phones, laptops, or flashlights – are an essential part of our everyday lives. The average Canadian home uses 26 different battery-powered devices. As you read this, you’ve likely got half a dozen different batteries within easy reach.

Ever stop to consider what happens to old batteries and why you, as a dog owner, should care?

Not long ago, Kilcona Dog Park was an industrial wasteland – an “out of sight, out of mind” corner of the city where Winnipeggers disposed of their household garbage and junk.

 

In 1987 the dump was closed and capped with eight feet of clay. Old batteries, tires, toxic pesticides, petroleum products and other hazardous materials lie buried beneath the off-leash area.

Thirty years later, chunks of decomposing garbage still break through the surface. Pipes from deep inside the landfill spew plumes of methane gas that foul the air and contribute to global warming. Water quality signs warn us to keep our dogs out of Kilcona’s retention ponds.

Heavy metals and other contaminants from spent batteries wreak havoc on the environment, and harm people and animals that come in contact with them. An automobile battery contains about a gallon of sulfuric acid, three pounds of plastic and 21 pounds of lead. Batteries contain other hazardous materials that leach into soil, surface water and groundwater.

Interstate recycles 99% of these materials. Lead is reprocessed to make plates for new batteries, and reclaimed plastic is used for new covers and cases. Battery acid is re-used or neutralized, treated and re-claimed as water.

Interstate exceeds Environment Canada’s standards for the safe handling, transportation and recycling of old batteries. All lead is recycled at approved North American smelters, operating under stringent government regulations. None is processed off-shore.

 

Interstate accepts automotive, alkaline, cellphone, laptop and other consumer batteries. Their convenient East Kildonan location makes “going green” easy.

And just how dependable are Interstate batteries?   Outrageously Dependable®!

Green Means “Go” When It’s 40 below!

Check out this clever YouTube video to see why your next battery should be an Interstate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctB6E_3OyCM

Here’s a brainteaser: how many household batteries were sold in Canada in 2012?

A)      750 million

B)      225 million

C)      One billion

If you guessed A, you’re right. That’s a lot of used batteries making their way into landfills.