Health & Wellness

The community garden here isn’t just for growing vegetables and producing healthy, inexpensive food anymore—it’s going to provide a learning experience for local children.
For the 2013 growing season, the Fort Frances Community Garden committee is planning a “Kids’ Garden Club,” which will start on Thursday, June 6.

This Saturday (May 25), activists around the world, including the Fort Frances area, will unite to take back their food.
JoAnna Richards is among the district residents organizing a “March Against Monsanto,” targeting the American multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation which is a leading producer in genetically-engineered seed.

The recently-appointed chairwoman of the Riverside Foundation for Health Care is looking forward to her new position.
Having been asked if she’d consider taking on the role, Livia Lundon noted that she “thought it would be a good opportunity.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she enthused. “I’m quite excited.”

Area residents are invited to an open discussion about the health-care system in Northwestern Ontario during a series of town hall-style meetings to be hosted by local MPP Sarah Campbell this Friday (Sept. 28).
NDP health critic France Gelinas, a passionate spokesperson for improved access to care in the north, also will be on hand.

The Northwestern Health Unit wishes to advise residents using Lake Lulu, in the Township of Pellatt, to be on the lookout for blue-green algal blooms.
Blooms can occur in any body of water if the right conditions exist during the spring, summer, and fall seasons.
Blue-green algae thrive where water is shallow, slow moving, and warm, but they also may be present in deeper, cooler water.

If you see what you think may be sick, injured or orphaned wildlife, don’t remove it from its natural habitat. The bird or animal may not need assistance and you could actually do more harm in your attempt to help.
Where an animal is in need of help, it requires specialized care to recover and return to the wild.

As of Sept. 16, the public can help support Epilepsy Ontario and local epilepsy agencies by making a donation at any of the more than 620 LCBO stores throughout Ontario.
Donation boxes for Epilepsy Ontario will be displayed at LCBO checkout counters until Oct. 13.

Each year, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care provides hepatitis B, meningococcal, and human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines free to eligible students in Ontario.
Students are vaccinated by public health nurses from the Northwestern Health Unit at school-based clinics.

Optimal health of parents before pregnancy can help ensure the healthiest baby possible.
To assist with this, the Northwestern Health Unit is promoting the “Health Before Pregnancy Life Plan”—a resource for both women and men in their reproductive years.
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) states that about half of pregnancies are unplanned.

We hear all the time that exercise has many health benefits, and researchers work continually to measure and explain how physical activity benefits our bodies and our minds.
But, as a population, we just can’t seem to get in the activity groove. Almost one-quarter of Canadians–adults and children–are overweight or obese and the number continues to rise every year.