Back in the spring I started the process of signing the Ottawa Centre Green Party up to the City of Ottawa’s Adopt-A-Park program.  After discussing our options with a city staff member we selected a portion of Central Park in the Glebe, since it’s within Ottawa Centre, is centrally located, and would be a good location to raise our profile in the community.

The city’s Adopt-a-Park program is really a just a way to recognize the commitment that groups are making to participate in the spring and fall cleanup projects for two years.  By making the commitment the city will install a small sign at the park entrance - civic pride and all that good stuff.

So we cleaned up the park in the spring.  By chance we did it on the same day as the Great Glebe Garage sale which was fantastic from an exposure and public relations standpoint.  We just recently cleaned up the park in the fall too.  So far so good.  Over the summer I’ve been trading emails with the employee who coordinates the program.  Sadly I just got the final word on the adoption process:

… I was unsure about the policies regarding political groups adopting a park or roadway.  The Council reports on the Adopt program clearly outline that the program is intended for local community volunteer groups, individuals and businesses.  While we appreciate the Green Party’s interest in the adopt a park program unfortunately, the program is not intended for political groups so as to avoid any impression that the City is supporting any particular party or candidate through park signage.

Read the rest of this post on Kevin’s blog…