WEST CARLETON – Volunteers are on the hunt for Snow Moles in West Carleton this winter.

“Be a Snow Mole in winter 2021 in West Carleton,” Kinburn’s Mary Porritt released in a statement yesterday (Dec. 28). “Join with 18 Ottawa neighbourhoods to report winter walking conditions.”

With COVID-19, getting fresh air and exercise is essential for physical and mental health for all ages and abilities while maintaining social distancing.

“Most West Carleton residents share the roadway with motorists; sidewalks are only in some areas in the villages,” Porritt.

The Snow Mole winter 2021 campaign is an initiative of The Council on Aging of Ottawa (COA).

The Snow Mole Campaign 2021 kicks off Jan. 4 through March. Team leaders welcome participation from all West Carleton residents to report walking conditions after a major snowfall.

Snow Moles are volunteers who report on what it’s like to walk outside on a winter day in Ottawa. The information they gather will be used by the COA to inform the city and others of ways that winter walkability can and should be improved.

“The collected information is used to make recommendations to the city and the community to make winter walking safe and accessible,” Porritt said. “These ‘eyes on the ground’ reports are important to the city’s Roads Operations division who are revising the Winter Maintenance Road Standards in 2021.”

If you live in Carp, walking in the fairgrounds does not count for this Snow Mole campaign because the lands are privately owned by the Carp Agricultural Society.

• Report: walking conditions on your roadway on a winter day in West Carleton.
• Best time: after a snowfall or freezing rain when it is safe.
• Use the Snow Mole questionnaire to audit your walk at www.coaottawa.ca/snowmoles and fill in online.
• Submit photos to snowmoles@coaottawa.ca. Include the date, time, and location the photo was taken.

Snow Mole Campaign Community Team Leaders are: Carp: Margaret Dunn, at dunnm9@magma.ca and Kinburn: Mary Porritt at maryporritt65@gmail.com.