Items filtered by date: February 2022

Council approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Municipality of North Grenville and the Kemptville Campus. The MOU sets out the expectations of the Municipality and the Campus Board in relation to matters such as governance, administration, financial responsibility, maintenance, and strategic goals and deliverables.

In 2020, the Municipality engaged StrategyCorp to conduct a strategic review regarding the objectives of the Campus as a municipal asset - and to recommend a robust governance model so that Kemptville Campus can deliver on its mandate.

The Municipality has been working with the Campus Board, members of which have been appointed throughout 2021, and particularly Campus Board Chair Karen Cooper and the new Executive Director Liz Sutherland to establish the MOU.

“Council is pleased that we now have a way forward to bolster the growth of the Kemptville Campus,” highlighted Mayor Nancy Peckford.

“We have already retained sought-after apprenticeship programs for secondary students back to the Campus. This is only the beginning. We look forward to working with the Campus board and staff on future initiatives,” added Mayor Peckford.

This is the final piece of the puzzle in establishing the formal relationship between the Campus and the Municipality. With the new Executive Director, Board Chair and Board Members, the Campus is on its way to becoming a self-sustaining organization.

“Our volunteer board of directors, supported by a small staff team, has worked diligently with our partners at the Municipality to bring the Campus to this point,” noted Campus Board Chair Karen Cooper. “Community members might be surprised to learn that the Campus is already humming with activity at 70 percent occupancy and new tenants moving in every few months. The MOU gives us the framework we need to realize the vision in our exciting Master Plan.”

The Campus’ new Executive Director, Liz Sutherland, added, “We are thrilled to be turning the former College campus into a thriving community hub under the pillars of education & training, health & wellness, and economic development – all with a sustainability lens. We can’t wait to engage more local people as service and recreation users, students, staff, volunteers, and Campus champions to make the most of this remarkable community asset.”  

Background

The Municipality of North Grenville purchased the Campus from the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO) in 2018, following the announcement by the University of Guelph of the closure of Kemptville College. 

Kemptville Campus Education and Community Centre is an educational and multi-use facility serving the community of North Grenville and the surrounding area. The Campus includes 630 acres and 17 main buildings, as well as woodlands, cropland, wetland, greenspace, greenhouses, an agroforestry centre and maple bush, trails, and other buildings – sports facilities, residence, and catering facilities.

The Kemptville Campus Master Plan was completed in 2021 with significant community input.

For more information contact:

The Kemptville Campus Education and Community Centre has been awarded funding by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) through the Rural Economic Development (RED) program to support a bilingual pilot program in Agri-Food Youth Entrepreneurship. The program will be delivered in partnership with the four school boards operating on campus:

• Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) – lead partner
• Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB)
• Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (CDSBEO)
• Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO)

In the pilot year, 20 young people will be engaged in the program from the Campus's four partnering school boards and from the wider community. The program will support students to shift their thinking towards the possibility of starting a business, provide support and guidance to help students conceptualize and plan business start-ups, and inspire innovation.

Steve Clark, MPP for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, visited Kemptville Campus to make the announcement. “I’m proud that our government is supporting local economic growth in North Grenville, as our community recovers from the impacts of COVID-19,” said MPP Clark. “The RED program is yet another way we are building a stronger, brighter future for rural communities across eastern Ontario.”

Noted Kemptville Campus’ Executive Director, Liz Sutherland, “Kemptville Campus and the surrounding area have a long history of agri-food production and training. The Agri-Food Youth Entrepreneurship builds on this history and fills a gap by providing local youth with entrepreneurship training to participate in the redevelopment of our region’s strong agri-food industry. We are thrilled to be working with our four school board partners to foster new businesses in the agri-food industry.”

North Grenville Mayor Nancy Peckford noted, “We are pleased to see this investment by the Government of Ontario and school board partners in rural youth and the Kemptville Campus.  The Campus is a 626-acre multi-faceted property – owned by the Municipality – and offers tremendous potential for learning in the agricultural trades.  We are facing crucial labour shortages in so many sectors.  Skills building and fostering an entrepreneurship spirit are critical to a thriving economy and community. This program – offered at the Kemptville Campus – will stand out in eastern Ontario for its innovation in the agricultural sector.”

France Goulard, Superintendent of Education for the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre Est, highlighted the expected impact of the pilot program: “We at CECCE, along with the Campus and our other school board and community partners, see youth as important contributors to innovation, local economies, and community resiliency. This program builds on the momentum achieved through our strong local partnerships to support innovation education and training in the region.”

The Agri-food Youth Entrepreneurship Program at Kemptville Campus represents another step towards achieving the Campus Master Plan (also funded by OMAFRA). It also builds on a successful application to the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development - Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) for Level 1 Commercial Vehicle and Equipment training. The OYAP Training Delivery Agent application has brought industry stakeholders and the four regional school boards together on Campus to design and deliver an innovative apprenticeship format for youth.

The Agri-food Youth Entrepreneurship program will begin in September 2022.

Background

• Kemptville Campus Education and Community Centre is an educational and multi-use facility serving the community of North Grenville and surrounding Area. The Campus includes 630 acres and 17 main buildings, as well as woodlands, cropland, wetland, greenspace, green houses, an agroforestry centre and maple bush, trails, and other buildings - sports facilities, residence, and catering facilities. Campus operations are guided by the pillars of Education & Training, Health & Wellness, and Economic Development, with an overall lens of environmental sustainability.
• The Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) is the largest Canadian network of French-language schools outside Quebec, with nearly 26,000 students attending 45 elementary schools, 13 secondary schools, a virtual learning academy and a school for adults.
• Ontario’s Rural Economic Development (RED) program provides cost-share funding to support activities that create strong rural communities in Ontario, and opens doors to rural economic development through:
  • funding assistance to address barriers to economic development, better position rural communities to attract and retain jobs and investment, and enhance economic growth;
  • funding to build community capacity and support for economic development in Ontario’s rural communities;
  • investments in rural communities to help diversify and grow local economies – making economic growth more inclusive so Rural Ontario continues to share in the province’s economic prosperity.

Media Contacts

The Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) and the Kemptville Campus Education and Community Centre have finalized an agreement to lease Purvis Hall. Among other things, the agreement will enable the CECCE to expand the Académie catholique Notre-Dame (ACND), which currently occupies the campus's Gibson Hall and Fraser Hall.

Kemptville’s francophone population is growing, so additional space at Purvis Hall will make it possible for ACND to continue growing in step with its vibrant school community and offer more services and activities to students and families in and around Kemptville.

Purvis Hall will provide elementary students with a wonderfully inspiring learning environment. The CECCE will soon be configuring the hall to meet its needs while preserving its unique architectural character and historical appearance, thereby bringing the board’s total number of buildings on campus to three.

The new premises will also be used to:

• offer language classes to residents of North Grenville;
• create an agricultural entrepreneurship centre that will give the ACND school community access to the hall outside of school hours for activities such as selling honey from the beehives that were set up on campus in June 2021;
• provide space for local community organizations and groups; and
• develop various activities and initiatives that highlight the history, natural environment and biodiversity of the land on which the campus is located.

Background

The Kemptville Campus Education and Community Centre is a multi-purpose educational facility serving the community of North Grenville and surrounding area since 1919. Purvis Hall has been a centre for innovation for over 100 years in a rural milieu steeped in history. The unique 6,899 sq. ft. building offers a charming brick and wood interior and access to vast green spaces, making it an ideal location for organizations involved in education and training, such as the CECCE.

On signing the lease, Karen Cooper, Board Chair for the Kemptville Campus, said, “This contract represents a major milestone for the Campus’s partnership with the CECCE. Last year, we contracted a third party to run the public tendering process to ensure transparency and fairness. We were delighted to see the CECCE’s vision for transforming Purvis Hall, especially the board’s commitment to making it available to the community outside of school hours. We are excited to be working with the CECCE and look forward to future collaborations.”

Kemptville Campus Executive Director Liz Sutherland added, “Purvis Hall is a century-old historic gem that has fulfilled many different educational missions over the years. The CECCE’s proposal to expand its educational services on campus by leasing Purvis Hall marks the beginning of a wonderful era of optimizing education and training on our magnificent campus. We are eager to deepen our partnership with the school board.”

“The CECCE is proud of this agreement with the Kemptville Campus Education and Community Centre to lease Purvis Hall. Many community members participated in public consultations to express their ideas about potential uses for buildings on campus, and I am sure they will be very happy with this arrangement,” said CECCE Chair Johanne Lacombe.

Trustee Diane Burns said, “The CECCE heard from residents who want Purvis Hall to be used in a way that respects its historic purpose. They also want it to be available to community associations and groups outside of school hours. We are focused on achieving both of those objectives.”

For his part, Director of Education Marc Bertrand said, “This agreement will augment the Académie catholique Notre-Dame’s ability to deliver on its educational mission to provide quality instruction in French and to do so in a truly inspiring environment. I am also very pleased that the ACND will have opportunities to develop initiatives showcasing the locale’s history and natural environment, which will help make the campus a destination of choice. Given the campus’s agricultural vocation and the importance of economic development, the administration is excited about the idea of setting up an agricultural entrepreneurship centre. This project will enrich the preconcentration and concentration in Human and Planetary Health, which focus on climate change, as well as the Environment Specialist High Skills Major, both of which are well established at ACND.”

 The CECCE is a leader recognized for transforming the learning experience, for the excellence and caring approach of its Catholic schools, and for its synergy with the community. With over 25,500 students attending its 45 elementary schools and 13 high schools, as well as its Virtual Learning Academy and school for adults, the CECCE is the largest Canadian network of French-language schools outside Quebec.

April 2-3, 2022

As in-person gatherings start up again, we've been sprucing up our Agroforestry Centre for upcoming events. Did you know our partners at On the Bend Sugar Shack have 1162 taps over 18 acres in the Peter Wensink Maple Forest Sugarbush on Campus?

The Kemptville Campus Education and Community Centre COVID-19 precautions and procedures require that:

Tenants, in the absence of an approved Mandatory Vaccination Protocol, in addition to Staff, Students (Apprenticeship / Coop), Visitors, Volunteers and Board Directors attending meetings / functions / events, as well as Contractors providing services – must provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or written proof of a medical reason, provided by a physician or registered nurse in the extended class that sets out: (i) a documented medical reason for not being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and (ii) the effective time-period for the medical reason.

Children under the age of twelve years and 84 days (12 weeks) are exempt from this Vaccination Verification Policy.¹

This policy remains in effect for as long as Ontario workplaces are permitted to have vaccination verification requirements, unless the Board of Directors decides to cancel it.

Implementation guidelines

Proof of full vaccination must be submitted to the tenant or organizer responsible for the meeting, function, event, or service. The Campus acknowledges that Provincial Government Agencies, and Schools are operating under separate Ministry Mandated Vaccination Policies within their leased spaces.

Any Staff, Students (over the age of 12 years and 84 days) not providing proof of being fully vaccinated for COVID-19 must submit to regular antigen point of care testing for COVID-19, and demonstrate a negative result at a minimum once every seven days to the tenant or organizer responsible for the meeting, function, event, or service.

For all others – Visitors (over the age of 12 years and 84 days), Volunteers, Board Directors and Contractors must submit to regular antigen point of care testing for COVID-19 72 hours prior to the meeting, function, event, or service and demonstrate a negative result. The cost associated with regular antigen point of care testing is the responsibility of either the individual and or the tenant/organizer.

All tenants or organizers of meetings, functions, events or services are responsible for ensuring that contact tracing is completed and available for our local Health Unit, Lanark, Leeds and Grenville if requested, and that all Public Health guidelines are strictly followed.

It is mandatory that Face masks must be worn indoors and outdoors if unable to maintain 6 ft physical distancing: https://healthunit.org/health-information/covid-19/face-coverings-masks/

¹ https://covid-19.ontario.ca/proof-covid-19-vaccination#when-proof-of-vaccination-is-not-required

On February 23, 2022, the Kemptville Campus board of directors confirmed that the existing Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Verification policy will continue until further notice. The policy applies to staff, volunteers, students, and visitors to campus except in the case where tenants have their own policy.

Read the policy on this page or download the document.

A COVID screening tool remains available at https://covid-19.ontario.ca/screening/worker