As we move through these beautiful summer months, I’ve taken some time this past week to reflect.
As a Naturopathic doctor, I want to share some suggestions to help you support and maintain your health during the busy and hot days of summer!
Many of you can probably relate—summer often means different routines. Social commitments seem endless, work continues, kids are home, eating habits have the ability to change, and alcohol consumption might increase. While these activities have their own benefits, such as fostering social connections, building healthy relationships, enjoying the outdoors, and relaxing, I know they can also lead to some common issues:
Dehydration and heat-related discomfort
Fatigue and low energy
Worsened allergies
Increased feelings of burnout
Flare-ups of underlying autoimmune diseases (e.g., IBD, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s)
Digestive disturbances
Inadequate sleep
Here are some simple yet effective strategies to keep you feeling your best throughout the summer:
Stay Hydrated – Aim for minimum 3L water daily. To stay optimally hydrated, especially in the heat, after drinking alcohol, or during intense sweating, consider adding electrolytes. Some of my favorites include coconut water, lemon water, Organika electrolyte packages, and LMNT electrolytes.
Protein smoothie – A daily protein smoothie is a refreshing way to get 20 grams of protein and cool down. Here’s a balanced smoothie formula:
1 scoop of protein powder
1 Tbsp of nut butter or 1/4-1/2 avocado for healthy fats
2 cups of spinach leaves,
1/2 cup frozen berries
up to 1/2 a banana (or sweet cooked sweet potato or cauliflower frozen),
optional greek yogurt for extra protein
add water or nut milk (soy milk for extra protein).
Antioxidant rich foods – give your liver and digestive system some fiber and love.
Summer Salad prep – Prepare a nutrient-dense salad each week to ensure you have a healthy option ready for busy days. Aim for a salad rich in fiber, healthy fats, protein, and vibrant colors. Here’s one of my go-to recipes: Quinoa Greek Salad with Chickpeas.
With these strategies in place, you can enjoy all the summer activities you love. If you find yourself burning the candle at both ends and your body is complaining, it might be time for more personalized support.
As a Registered Psychotherapist, parents ask me what is the difference between a temper tantrum and a meltdown?
It is difficult to tell sometimes for sure. Knowing whether it’s a tantrum or meltdown will help you effectively manage and support your child during these episodes.
Components
Temper Tantrum
Emotional Meltdown
Definition
Outbursts of frustration and anger that is often intentional
Overwhelming emotional response that is often unintentional
Triggers
Frustration from not achieving a goal, being denied something, not getting their way
Stress and anxiety, emotional overwhelm and sensory overload
Control
Within the child’s control to some extent
Mostly beyond the child’s control
Duration
Usually short, lasting a few minutes
Can last from minutes to hours
Emotional Response
Annoyance, frustration, anger
Confusion, overwhelmed, fear
Physical Response
Possible aggression, red face, clenched fists
Possible aggression, increased heart rate, sweating
As you can see from the chart above, there are many differences between a temper tantrum and an emotional meltdown. (ref: Psychology Today). Once you identify which it is, you can choose the most effective way to manage and support your children.
Let’s consider other aspects of the temper tantrum and how parents can help their child. Psychology Today states that Temper tantrums are a normal part of childhood development. Children, especially toddlers, sometimes struggle to control and express their emotions. As we learn to regulate emotions and verbalize our needs better, we typically grow out of having these outbursts. It is important to set boundaries with your child. When children know what to expect, tantrums will lessen. Parents need to manage their own emotions during a tantrum and remain calm. This will help your child calm down sooner. Children who have tantrums are often seeking attention or a specific goal. Remember to ‘catch your child doing something good’ which means that using descriptive praise is an effective way to encourage your child to behaviour in a positive manner. Another thing that parents can do is to show their child appropriate ways to express emotions through their own behaviour. Once the tantrum is over, acknowledge, with your child, the effort it took for them to calm down.
When we are dealing with an emotional meltdown, we need to guide and support children throughout this challenging time with empathy. As parents, we need to recognize that meltdowns may take longer to recover from and children often feel exhausted when it’s over. We can also help by providing a calm, safe environment that will help decrease fear and help them feel safe. Meltdowns can be an indication that your child maybe dealing with increased worry or anxiety. The Anxiety Disorders Association of Canada reports that anxiety disorders are the most common mental health concern for children and youth today.
If you are concerned with your child’s tantrums or meltdowns, I can provide support and effective strategies to both you as a parent and also your child. Please feel free to contact me at 705-794-5307 or [email protected].
Beatrice and Benedick have both sworn never to fall in love, especially not with each other! Their battles of wits never fail to entertain, but their friends cannot resist the challenge of their declarations of mutual disdain and hatch a plot to make them fall “into a mountain of affection the one with the other.” No sooner has this scheme been enacted, however, when more serious problems arise: Evil forces have hatched a darker plot – to thwart the marriage of Beatrice and Benedicks’ dearest friends, Hero and Claudio. In Shakespeare’s most popular comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, loyalties are challenged, love is tested, and bumbling officials accidentally save the day! But, in the end, only true honesty can overcome the obstacles to love.
EVENT DATE & TIME
Thursday, July 25 at 6pm Friday, July 26 at 6pm Saturday, July 27 at 2pm & 6pm Sunday, July 28 at 2pm & 6pm Monday, July 29 at 6pm
Thursday, August 1 at 6pm Friday, August 2 at 6pm Saturday, August 3 – No Performance Sunday, August 4 at 2pm & 6pm Monday, August 5 at 6pm
To the incredible artists, designers, and volunteers of “Much Ado About Nothing,”
As an audience member, I want to extend my sincerest thanks for the extraordinary experience you have provided. The actors’ captivating performances, the creative set designs, the beautiful costumes, and the flawless technical execution all came together to create an unforgettable evening of theater. Your hard work and passion were evident in every scene, and your collective effort turned a beloved Shakespearean play into a brilliant, immersive experience. Thank you for your dedication and for bringing such joy and excellence to our community.
Warmest regards,
John Malloy
ADMISSION
The price of admission is on a Pay-What-You-Will basis with a recommended donation of $20 per patron.
WHAT TO BRING
Performances are held outdoors at the Collingwood Shipyards Amphitheatre & Greenspace so please bring what amenities you require to fully enjoy the experience. Consider bringing a hat or something to provide shade on sunny days, an umbrella, a reusable water bottle, a comfy chair, sunscreen, and snacks. We kindly ask that patrons take any garbage home and to avoid littering.
RAIN POLICY
Performances will run rain or shine! In the event of thunder, lightening, or more severe weather conditions, the performance will either be suspended and resumed, or cancelled. Please consult Theatre Georgian Bay’s social media for updates prior to the performance.
COLLECTIVE MEMBERS
Director: Candy Pryce Choreographer: Heather Dennis Designer: Anne Raciunas
Chloë Rose Flowers Nadia Hovan Richard Varty
GUEST ARTISTS
Camilo Ramirez Gallego Xan Lazaridis Stevie Lyons Katie Noble Riley Ough Olivia Saunders Nancy Chapple Smokler Andy Della Ventura Baron Watson Cy Williams
Composer: Edward Moll Stage Managers: Laura LaChapelle & Gertrude King Production Assistant: Robyn Hughes Design Assistant: Anna-Michelle Posta
Massive fields of non-native turfgrass that suck up enormous amounts of water and require more pesticides than farms — that’s largely what urban and suburban areas in Canada and the U.S. have become. Lawns are a colonial relic, once seen as a sign of wealth and privilege. But those who want to convert theirs to something more useful, such as wildflower or food gardens and pollinator habitats, face hurdles.
That’s in part because many municipal governments and some homeowner associations prescribe what people can and can’t do with their yards. With growing water scarcity and rapidly declining insect populations, the movement to allow greater freedom in yard design and care is growing.
A group of conservationists in Canada — including the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects, Canadian Wildlife Federation, David Suzuki Foundation, Ecological Design Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University and author and environmental advocate Lorraine Johnson — recently published an open letter urging municipal bylaw reforms to support habitat garden development.
Outdated bylaws and enforcement have for too long restricted ecological and sustainable practices and landscapes that support biodiversity and contribute ecological services.
These restrictions can include prohibiting “weeds” without defining what that means, imposing height limits on vegetation even when there are no sightline issues, requiring special permissions to deviate from the outdated standard of manicured lawns, preventing native species planting under the guise of “weed control” and frowning on habitat features such as nurse logs and fallen leaves.
The benefits of shifting our perspective on yards are numerous. As the open letter notes, habitat gardens “attract and support a diversity of wildlife including birds, bees, and butterflies” and “demonstrate a proactive, local response to the global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.”
Planting gardens instead of turfgrass can also save residents money, cut down on water and pesticide use and reduce pest infestations. Gardens can even improve quality of life, as they connect people with nature, which has been shown to reduce stress and improve mental health and wellbeing.
Habitat and food gardens sequester carbon, acting as a hedge against climate change, and filter pollutants from air and water. They also reduce soil erosion, improve soil quality and reduce the urban heat island effect. And they can help manage stormwater and reduce local flooding.
There’s ample room for improvement. As part of its new LawnShare campaign, the David Suzuki Foundation released a study of seven Canadian municipalities showing that lawns cover vast areas of each city, with Toronto and Montreal blanketed in 80 and 97 square kilometres of lawn respectively.
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences estimates that converting as little as 10 per cent of lawns to natural vegetation “could significantly aid insect conservation, while simultaneously lowering the cost of lawn maintenance through reduced watering, and requisite herbicide, fertilizer, and pesticide applications.”
As well as providing habitat for creatures critical to human survival, yards can be used to grow food. It’s not a new idea. During the First and Second World Wars, Canada, the U.S., U.K., Australia and Germany encouraged “victory gardens” that aided the war effort by reducing pressure on food systems and farms. Gardens and chicken coops appeared in yards, parks, school grounds, golf courses, railway edges and vacant lots. Sheep grazed on sports fields and kept grass in check.
Urban food gardens won’t replace agriculture, but they offer many benefits. As Vancouver writer Peter Ladner wrote in The Urban Food Revolution: Changing the Way We Feed Cities, “When urban agriculture flourishes, our children are healthier and smarter about what they eat, fewer people are hungry, more local jobs are created, local economies are stronger, our neighborhoods are greener and safer, and our communities are more inclusive.”
Transforming some of our sprawling lawn areas and other green spaces and changing our perspective on what a yard should look like will benefit people and other life forms. Some cities are showing leadership, but removing the barriers imposed by outdated bylaws and regulations would be a win all around!
David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.
EXCERPT: Outdated bylaws and enforcement have for too long restricted ecological and sustainable practices and landscapes that support biodiversity and contribute ecological services.
A team of brilliant engineers at Meta AI has unveiled a groundbreaking innovation: LLaMA 3.1. This cutting-edge language model is transforming the way humans interact with technology.
This cutting-edge language model was designed to transform the way humans interact with technology, and it did just that.
Key Features:
Empathy: LLaMA 3.1 could detect subtle nuances in language, recognizing emotions and responding with compassion and understanding.
Creativity: It could generate original content, from poetry to music, that rivaled the work of human artists.
Conversational Abilities: LLaMA 3.1 could engage in discussions on any topic, from science and history to entertainment and culture.
Safety and Ethics: Its developers had built in robust safeguards to prevent bias, misinformation, and misuse.
Real-World Impact:
Mental Health Support: LLaMA 3.1 was used by mental health professionals to offer support and guidance to those in need.
Artistic Collaborations: Creatives sought to harness LLaMA’s innovative potential, leading to new and exciting artistic endeavors. Access to Information: LLaMA 3.1 enabled people to access knowledge and information like never before, bridging gaps and fostering understanding.
Get Started:
Experience LLaMA 3.1 for yourself and discover a new era of AI. Click HERE
A wonderful contingent from the community attended tonight’s S.P.A.R.C event filled with many interesting and curious questions.
Stay informed by subscribing to receive Council & Committee agendas, e-newsletters, news & notices including engagement opportunities right to your inbox.
S.P.A.R.C. (Speak. Participate. Act. Reach and Connect) in the Park returns on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Harbourview Park.
This event is intended for residents living in the north-central part of Town, however, all are welcome. There will be family-friendly activities such as the Awen’ Waterplay facility, a fire truck, and the Collingwood Public Library’s Book Bike! A cool treat will be provided to those who attend and don’t forget your water bottle, as the Quench Buggy will be on site with fresh, cold Collingwood water. Leashed pets are welcome to attend on the grassy area but are not permitted in the Awen’ Waterplay. Walking and wheeling are encouraged as parking is limited.
Eddie Bullen & Quincy Bullen will honor Jazz and Blues founder Frank McNulty at The Station in Collingwood. The Bullen Family’s long-standing relationship with Frank makes this tribute a truly special event. Join us for a memorable evening.
Born in the final days of 1939 at St Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto, Frank loved to tell people about how many decades he had lived. While the 1930’s had little impact on his life, he did his best to wring the life out of the decades that followed.
Born to immigrant parents (May (nee Pettigrew) & Tom McNulty) and raised in Parkdale in the 1940’s & 1950’s gave Frank a unique perspective on life and culture. Those early experiences surrounded by Black culture and music became a fundamental part of who he was. From playing basketball at St. Christopher’s House, attending Parkdale Collegiate and working in record stores around Toronto; music, especially Jazz, Blues, Soul and R&B became the soundtrack of his life. It was ingrained in every fiber of his being.
After a stint in the United States and a tenure working at Motown Records, Frank returned to Canada and eventually found his way to Collingwood where he settled in 1968. He truly embraced all that makes Collingwood special. Working at the Collingwood Shipyards; as the first paid Ski Patroller at Blue Mountain Resorts; as a ski instructor for Ernie McCullough and a ski coach at the Collingwood Ski Club before finally opening McNulty Printing in 1971.
Frank’s impact on the community he loved is hard to quantify. He served as president of the Collingwood Chamber of Commerce; president of the Toronto Ski Club & Blue Mountain 1940 Inc; served on the Collingwood Library Board; founded the Collingwood Bluegrass Festival; founded the Collingwood Jazz & Blues Society & Festival as well as the much beloved Jazz at the Station.
He was often to be found on the sidelines of his children’s sporting events either as a coach or official and found immense pleasure watching his children succeed at the things they loved.
Through the printing business he supported many of the charitable endeavors in the community over the 60 years he lived in Collingwood. The G&M hospital foundation, The YMCA, the National Ski Academy, Sheffield Park Black History Museum, and so many other school and community events. Frank received the order of Collingwood in 2009 for his volunteerism and commitment to community service.
Well known for his signature hairstyle which he adopted long before it was cool, Frank loved to terrify any nearby child with the story that he had lost his hair because he wouldn’t eat his vegetables. Always quick with a story (or maybe a tall tale) about his time in the music industry; the history of Collingwood & the Shipyards; the early days of Blue Mountain and chasing Jozo Weider around the mountain on skis; the history of Jazz & Blues; and his time in the city that captivated him, New Orleans; Frank’s ability as a storyteller and a historian will be greatly missed.
Frank was predeceased by his brother in spirit Jay Jackson and is survived by his children Stephanie (Denis) Parsons, Sarah McNulty, Josh (Bre) McNulty & Dr. Kate (Jeremy) Shield; his ex-wife Jane; his grandchildren Oliver, Elsley, Milo & Elliott; as well as the Jackson family Shawne, Janice, Marlon & Nathaniel.
The family would like to thank the staff at The Collingwood General & Marine Hospital; Drs. Basinski, Fraser, Kolenda and Smith; as well as the staff at Campbell House.
In lieu of flowers the family would like to suggest a donation to the charity of your choosing. A Celebration of Life will be held on the 15th of September at the Toronto Ski Club. To be updated on the details, share photos or a story or if you’d be interested in being part of the entertainment, please email: [email protected]
While he will be missed immensely by his family and friends, we know the music plays on.
Special thanks to Duncan Bristow for capturing the great talent of “Mountain Head” at our Collingwood Amphitheatre.
The enigmatic and reclusive Hannah Brothers stumbled upon a mysterious mountain in the heart of the Canadian wilderness, and what they found at the summit changed their lives forever. A shaman performed a ceremony that unlocked new depths of creativity and inspiration in the brothers, leading them to channel the spirits of Johnny Cash, Flavor Flav, and Billy Gibbons. Dressed in black denim and adorned with solid gold grills and long beards, Mountain Head emerged with a sound that blended psych-rock, alt-rock, and elements of electro-pop and jangle pop into a unique and potent sonic concoction.
Since that fateful day, Mountain Head has made a thunderous impact on the music scene as one of Canada’s most exciting and innovative independent acts. With millions of streams and multiple Top 40 billboard hits in Canada, the band has caught the attention of the Wu Tang Clan, who featured their cover of ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya’ across all their social media platforms. Mountain Head has also been finishing music with legendary producer GGGarth Richardson and played a monstrous showcase in Hollywood for School Night.
Perhaps most impressive of all, Mountain Head continues to put on their annual charity boat-in show, drawing in excess of 1000 attendees and raising thousands of dollars and truckloads of food for the local community. Their impact has been felt far beyond their hometown, as evidenced by their recent opening slot for Nickelback at Toronto’s History for the Get Rollin album release party. With their infectious sound, look, and hooks, Mountain Head is poised to span the continent and globe, leaving a trail of mesmerized fans in their wake. mountainheadmusic.com
Special thanks to Duncan Bristow for capturing the great talent of “The Mudmen” at our Collingwood Amphitheatre.
Mudmen Live in Thedford – July 26th
Widder Station Presents The Mudmen
Enjoy an evening of Celtic music & stories from Canada’s Celtic Rock Warriors
Tixs $15.00 advance $20.00 door available at www.widderstation.ca 519 296-4653 Doors 5:00pm
Wear your plaid shirt to show your Mudmen support and bring cash for the merch booth
With over 3000 shows to date Ron MacLean loves’ em, Don Cherry says “Their good Canadian boys” Walter Ostanek says he’s proud of them & Johnny Reid says “Mudmen are Canada’s Best Kept Secret”.
Collingwood is filled with warm, welcoming folks who greet you with a smile and a story. From the local café owner who remembers your coffee order to the friendly neighbours who chat with you on your morning walk, the people here make you feel right at home. It’s a place where community ties are strong, and everyone looks out for each other.
“Collingwood comes alive with West Indian energy – join us for the revelry, music, dance, and food!” Tickets: carnivalnorth.ca
