Grey-Bruce Kids Winter 2021/22

WINTER 2021/22 • Volume 11 Issue 4 • greybrucekids.com 

A FREE MAGAZINE FOR 

PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS 

10th Anniversary Issue 

FREE!

Child care costs add up 

Fortunately, families in Grey County may be eligible for a fee subsidy for 

children in licensed child care. You may be eligible if: 

• You are a Grey County resident • You are the child’s legal guardian 

• You are working, attending school or training • You have filed your taxes 

• You have a referral from another agency • Your child is living with you 

• You are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident 

If you meet the above eligibility, you can use the subsidy calculator on www.grey.- 

ca/childrens-services to estimate your monthly child care costs. Costs are calculated 

on a per-family basis and not per child. Families may have multiple children in 

licensed care. An income test will be completed when applying to confirm eligibility. 

Learn more and apply at www.Grey.ca/Childrens-Services 

PLAY • LEARN • GROW 

Find program calendars for 

EarlyON locations across Grey County at: 

Grey.ca/Childrens-Services

FROM THE PUBLISHER 

Celebrating 10 years! 

“The days are long but the years are short.” 

It’s a quote that every young parent hears at some point from well-meaning, 

experienced people, when they are in the trenches of parenting. It’s only when you are 

able to take a step back that you can truly appreciate this statement. 

CONTENTS 

4 Family 

10 Posture 

With this issue, we are celebrating our 10th anniversary of publishing Grey-Bruce 

Kids and I’m not sure how we got here so fast. Publishing this magazine, much like 

parenting, is a true act of love. We started this publication when our daughters were 

four years and 10 months old (read our full story on Page 4), and have raised the 

magazine alongside them. 

Starting it was much like parenting – learning as you go, feeling overwhelmed, feeling 

proud, asking for help/not asking for help, late nights and early mornings, some tears, 

some laughs, and making mistakes, while celebrating our successes. 

It’s certainly much easier to shut down the laptop at night than put kids to bed, and 

publishing our three magazines (sister publications Grey-Bruce and Huron-Perth 

Boomers) requires far fewer snacks, no toilet training or breaking up of fist-fights than 

raising a family. Yet, reflecting on the last 10 years, I recognize how much I have grown 

both as a parent and as a business owner. 

14 Healthy parents 

16 Cool Kids 

22 Grandparenting 

26 Resources 

30 Recipes 

The saying, “It takes a village to raise a child (or a business)” is also very apt. This 

publication has thrived because of you – our loyal readers, writers, graphic designers, 

advertisers, distributors, family, friends and local cheerleaders. 

I am honoured to have provided a free local resource for parents in Grey and Bruce 

counties over the past decade. After the last 18 months, the only thing we know for 

sure is that nothing is for sure – you just have to enjoy the ride while you are on it! 

My thanks to our contributors in this issue – Dr. Brad Murray writes about posture 

and how it affects your children. Tori Hamilton shares her wisdom on how to stay 

healthy in all aspects of your life. Sande and Rick Irwin reflect on what being a 

grandparent means to them and how to 

maximize your time spent with grandkids. 

We also check in on some of our ‘Cool Kids’ 

to see what they’re up to now (hint, they’re 

still awesome!). 

Thanks again for your continued support! 

Amy Irwin, Publisher 

Cover: Jace and Layne Irwin, 

daughters of Grey-Bruce Kids 

Publisher Amy. 

Photo by LPhotography 

WINTER 2021/22 

Publisher 

Amy Irwin 

amy@greybrucekids.com 

Magazine Design 

Becky Grebenjak 

Advertising inquiries 

amy@greybrucekids.com 

Grey-Bruce Kids welcomes your feedback. 

EMAIL amy@greybrucekids.com 

PHONE 519-524-0101 

MAIL P.O. Box 287, Ripley, ON N0G 2R0 

Grey-Bruce Kids is distributed for free in Grey and 

Bruce counties, and is published each March, June, 

September and December. Distribution of this 

publication does not constitute endorsement of 

information, products or services by Grey-Bruce Kids, 

its writers or advertisers. Viewpoints of contributors 

and advertisers are not necessarily those of the 

Publisher. Grey-Bruce Kids reserves the right to edit, 

reject or comment on all material and advertising 

contributed. No portion of Grey-Bruce Kids may be 

reproduced without the written permission of the 

Publisher.

FAMILY 

NEAR DEATH, 

THAI ISLANDS 

AND A 

GLOBAL PANDEMIC 

AN EVENTFUL 10 YEARS FOR GREY-BRUCE KIDS 

BY AMY IRWIN 

4 GREY-BRUCE KIDS • WINTER 2021/22

When people do something difficult, they’ll quip that it 

almost killed them. 

Well, the first issue of Grey-Bruce Kids in late-2011 literally 

almost killed me. 

It was my 31st birthday, Oct. 25, and just three weeks before 

our first press deadline. I’d been feeling under the weather 

for a few days, but, as all Moms do, I powered through the 

discomfort to chase my young daughters and work on my new 

business venture – Grey-Bruce Kids magazine. 

Yet I knew something wasn’t right and Googled my symptoms 

– I was pretty sure my appendix had burst, and most likely a 

few days prior, which is very dangerous as you surely know. 

None of my husband, my sister or the ER doctor believed me 

because most people rush to the hospital when their appendix is 

first inflamed, thankfully not being able to stand the pain long 

enough to allow the useless organ to burst. Unfortunately, my 

high pain tolerance allowed me to live my regular life for days 

after, even as my bloodstream was poisoned from within. 

By the time the doctor believed me and cut me open, I was septic. 

What had been my appendix was gangrenous. They had to do two 

surgeries just to wash the infection off my other organs. 

I was in bad shape, delirious on medication, in incredible pain, 

unconscious for hours and the better part of days at a time, and 

there was a window where we didn’t know if I’d ever again hold 

my daughters, tell my husband a joke only I find funny, or put 

the first issue of Grey-Bruce Kids into your hands. 

Thankfully, I turned the corner, making incremental 

improvements and leaving the hospital 17 days later, weak and 

so tired. Still – somehow – we hit our first deadline that very 

week and here we are, 10 years later, celebrating the 41st issue of 

our little local magazine that almost never was. 

A SERVICE DIRECTORY? 

My husband Dwight and I were both born and raised in Ripley, 

and we graduated from Conestoga College in Kitchener in 

2002; me with a diploma in social services, he in journalism. 

We immediately moved to Alberta to start our careers, and, after 

getting married in 2004, we quit our jobs and sold our house 

in Big Sky Country to go backpacking across New Zealand and 

Australia for 10 months. Eventually we landed in Port Hope, 

Ont., where we welcomed our daughter Layne in 2007. 

I was newly pregnant with our second daughter when we moved 

back to Ripley in 2010, so I had no job from which to take 

maternity leave after her birth just a few days before Christmas. 

As I said in my first Publisher’s Note, “I immediately realized, 

despite the fact there are thousands of families in Grey and 

Bruce which face the same challenges mine does, there was 

no publication dedicated solely to parents and caregivers.” 

Families need easy access to services, baby groups, breastfeeding 

information, health care, and much more, so I decided I’d be the 

one to bring that information to local parents and caregivers. 

After brainstorming different options, we landed on a free-forpick-up, 

widely distributed magazine that we called Grey-Bruce 

Left: The Irwin family (clockwise, Dwight, Amy, Layne and 

Jace) in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, in December 2019. Above: 

The family photo that marked the 1st anniversary of Grey- 

Bruce Kids, in 2012. 

Kids. With my background in social services and a natural 

business acumen, and my husband’s newspaper writing and 

editing experience, we convinced ourselves we could do this. 

Somehow, through my hospitalization, a few weeks of very 

little sleep for Dwight, and a lot of help from our parents, 

our first issue made it to press on time, and on Dec. 1, 2011, 

we distributed 10,000 copies across Grey/Bruce. We were 

astonished by the feedback, with many commenting on the 

professional look of the product and the interesting articles, 

made better by being written by local people for local people. 

NO TOPIC TOO BIG 

With our backgrounds in social services and journalism, our 

intention was never to have Grey-Bruce Kids be a “fluffy” 

magazine. There would be no topic too big for our little 

publication and, right from Issue 1, we met the challenge head 

greybrucekids.com • 5

on, interviewing Kincardine native Kendra Fisher – a former 

teammate of mine on our high school hockey team – about the 

mental health issues that cost her a shot at playing goal for Team 

Canada and a good chunk of her 20s. 

Ten years ago, mental health was still a rather taboo subject, and 

we were one of the first publications to tell Kendra’s story. She 

has since become well known provincially and nationally for her 

Mentally Fit program and impactful speaking engagements. 

In 2013, Dwight spoke to Walkerton’s Yolanda Cameron about 

the suicide of her son Wes, which could have torn her and 

husband James to pieces but instead led to them launching 

Wes for Youth Online, which in 2020 helped over 830 youth 

through times of crisis, undoubtedly saving lives. Even today, 

the story’s lede still brings tears to my eyes. 

“For two years, pain has been a constant companion of Yolanda 

Cameron. It drains from her eyes and undercoats each laugh, 

sometimes in the same breath. Always, it threatens to best her, to keep 

her all to itself, shutting out the world. Yet she refuses to give in. She 

can’t bear the thought of another family experiencing her ultimate 

pain, the unexplainable loss of a child.” 

And, on Yolanda’s advice from eight years ago, we still do not 

let our kids keep their phones or iPads in their rooms at night, 

allowing them to be unavailable for essentially the first time all 

day, get a good night’s sleep and recharge their batteries. She told 

us she wished she had known to do the same for Wes. 

Jace Irwin, 18 months 

at the time, helps Mom 

with her first Summer 

issue in June 2012. 

We’ve tackled racism, and separate series on the local LGBTQ+ 

community, Ontario’s youth justice system, and how to keep 

kids safe online. We talked to the family of Ava Morgan, 

who, as an eight-year-old, chose to live life as her true self – 

a transgendered girl in a small town. We attended the first 

birthday party of the Coutts quadruplets in Tiverton. I joined 

a group of locals in Nicaragua and wrote about the people 

who live in, and scavenge for food from, a local dump. We 

(hopefully) educated local parents on the dangers of vaping, 

the local opioid crisis, marijuana as it was moving from illegal 

substance to sold in downtowns across the region, ‘sexting,’ 

education, human trafficking, being money-wise at a young age, 

and so very much more in what has felt like a very short decade. 

Some of this we’ve written ourselves, while we’ve leveraged the

expertise of local professionals for countless stories on the topics 

of health and wellness, travel, finance, social justice, and every 

other topic that impacts local families. 

We’ve seen regular features come and go like TidBits, Tales 

from Tots (thanks COVID!), Our Town, arts and crafts, kids’ 

books, and others, as we’ve received feedback from readers and 

adjusted our focus on what’s important to them. The best – and 

sometimes hardest – part of publishing Grey-Bruce Kids is there 

is no blueprint, so we are continuously adapting to life as it is in 

Grey and Bruce counties. Journey Through 

Take the short 10-15 minute Ages 

Take the short 10-15 minute Ages 

and Stages Questionnaires (ASQs) 


and Take find the out short if your 10-15 child minute is meeting Ages 

Journey and find out if your 

developmental milestones. 

Through 

child is meeting 


developmental milestones. 

and find out if your child is meeting 

developmental milestones. Help your child 

Take the short 10-15 minute Ages Help and be ready your Stages child to 

Questionnaires (ASQs) and find out learn be ready 

if your in school to 

Help learn and your in for school life! child 

child is meeting developmental and be ready for life! to 

milestones. 

learn 

Help 

in 

your 

school 

child 

and be for ready life! to 

learn in school 

ASQs are available for children month and for years life! 

ASQs are available for children 1 month 5 years 

ASQs are available for children 

ASQ 

1 month 

ASQ:SE 5 years 

ASQ 

ASQ:SE 

Communication ASQ 

Self-Regulation ASQ:SE 

Communication 

Gross Motor 

Gross Motor 

Fine Communication 

Motor 

Fine Motor 

Problem Gross Motor Solving 

Problem Solving 

Personal-Social 

Fine Motor 


Problem Solving 

Journey Through 

the Journey the 

Ages 

Ages Through and 

and 

Stages 

Stages 

the Ages and Stages 

the Ages and Stages 


Self-Regulation 

Compliance 

Compliance 

Autonomy 

Self-Regulation 

Autonomy 

Affect Compliance 

Affect 

Social-Communication 

Autonomy 

Social-Communication 

Interaction Affect with People 

Interaction with People 

Adaptive Social-Communication 

Functioning 

Adaptive Functioning 

Interaction with People 

Adaptive Functioning 

To receive the age appropriate ASQs for your child(ren), please 

To receive the age appropriate ASQs for your child(ren), please 

reach out to your Bruce County Licensed Child Care Setting or 


email To receive childcare@brucecounty.on.ca the age appropriate ASQs for your more child(ren), information! please 

email childcare@brucecounty.on.ca for more information! 


email Inquire childcare@brucecounty.on.ca Early, Discover Often, Guide for Your more Child’s information! Path. 

Inquire Early, Discover Often, Guide Your Child’s Path. 

ADDING TO THE FAMILY 

As Grey-Bruce Kids grew, one thing we kept hearing was 

there was no local magazine for people whose kids were grown 

and had flown the coop. These older parents and/or young 

grandparents loved Grey-Bruce Kids but wanted something 

that impacted their lives today, not the lives they led when the 

children were at home. 

So, in December 2014, we launched Grey-Bruce Boomers, 

the area’s only magazine for adults 50+. Once again, we were 

met with a wave of enthusiasm from readers, advertisers, 

contributors, and distributors that surprised us, and its 

The Community Education Department 

would like to thank you for your continued 

support and patience during the global 

pandemic. The safety of everyone sharing 

our schools is our greatest concern. 

The start of indoor Community Education 

programs currently remains delayed. 

Unfortunately Beginner Driver Education is 

cancelled in our schools for the 2021 – 2022 

school year. We hope to bring this program 

back in the future. 

Community Education will continue to stay 

in touch and provide updates as information 

becomes available. If you have any questions, 

please feel free to reach out - we are 

happy to hear from you. 

Thank you again for 

your patience as we 

adjust and plan. 

Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow 

www.bwdsb.on.ca 

Inquire Early, Discover Often, Guide Your Child’s Path. 


popularity continues today. Then, in the spring of 2016, we 

added Huron-Perth Boomers to our suite of publications, 

and now publish all three every quarter, and still offering free 

distribution to our faithful readers. 

Above: Amy gets to know an elephant at a sanctuary in the 

jungle of northern Thailand. We spent a night frolicking in the 

grass, mud and river with the five resident elephants at the 

no-electricity sanctuary, in November 2019. 

Below: Dwight finishes up the Spring 2020 issue in our 

hostel’s restaurant on the Thai island of Koh Lanta. 

GBK AROUND THE WORLD 

In July 2019, we took our magazines on the road, as our family 

embarked on a one-year trip around the world as part of a 

sabbatical program offered by Dwight’s (other) employer. The 

beauty of technology – as well as help with magazine delivery 

from family and other community members – meant we could 

prepare and publish three issues simultaneously, even as the 

four of us backpacked through 12 countries – the U.S., western 

Canada, London, UK, Paris, a Kenyan safari, various Indonesian 

islands, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Sri 

Lanka. 

Unbeknownst to many, we completed our Fall 2019 issue from 

a hostel in Nanaimo, B.C., not having been home for six weeks 

at that point. It was a challenge to focus on our Winter 2019/20 

issue while experiencing the mind-blowing and tongue-numbing 

flavours found in the street food and the stifling humidity of 

the cities and jungles of northern Thailand that November. Our 

Spring 2020 issue was fine-tuned with feet buried into the sandfloored 

restaurant at our hostel on the tiny Thai island of Koh 

Lanta in February 2020, with final edits completed in a swaying 

hammock. 

Unfortunately, on March 16, 2020, after 18 days of fresh fruit 

smoothies made with produce from the stand next door, and 

surfing morning and night at our quiet beach, we scrambled 

to catch one of the last flights off the island of Sri Lanka. The 

COVID-19 pandemic had finally forced us home, our year-long 

travels ending three months early. 

While our kids experienced the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes 

of international travel during our nine months as backpackers, 

the Summer 2020 issue was a completely different experience – 

for one, we were stuck in our house, during the early days of the 

pandemic. It was the also first of five issues of Grey-Bruce Kids 

that were only available online, and we’re very happy to be back 

in print with this, our second issue since the pandemic brought 

the world to a stand-still. 

We are incredibly fortunate to own a business that could be 

operated from some of the most stunning – and sometimes 

rustic – places in the world. And I apologize if I took a while to 

respond to your email… you’d be surprised how little wifi there 

can be on the savannah of the Maasai Mara in Kenya, or during 

a two-day boat ride down the Mekong River between Thailand 

and Laos, or at an electricity-free elephant sanctuary in the Thai 

jungle... 

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT 

I sometimes pause to consider there are readers out there who 

first picked up Grey-Bruce Kids when they were raising a preteen 

or full-blown teenager and are now grandparents! I hope they 

picked up at least one nugget of information that made them 

a better parent then, and a better grandparent now. I also hope

that they have shared our magazine with their children, as they 

themselves become new parents. 

The fact our publication is now spanning generations is why 

we’re still excited every time we send an edition to the printer 

– even 40 issues after our first. 

Thank you to all our readers, contributors, distributors and 

advertisers – we certainly wouldn’t be here today without you. 

We cannot thank our families enough for their assistance and 

advice over the years – from those difficult first days when I 

was in the hospital to organizing the distribution while we 

experienced the world, we are forever indebted to you. 

To our wonderful daughters Layne and Jace – who grace the front 

cover of this issue – you are our inspiration and, though we can’t 

say we’re always perfect at taking the advice we offer within these 

pages, please know that we love you with all our hearts and can’t 

wait to see what great impact you’ll have in this world. 

GBK 

AMY IRWIN is the Publisher of Grey-Bruce Kids, which is celebrating its 

10th anniversary with this issue. Follow GBK on Facebook and access 

our archived issues at www.greybrucekids.com. She is also the Publisher 

of Grey-Bruce and Huron-Perth Boomers magazines. 

Jace, left, and Layne enjoy sunset at Dream Beach on the 

Indonesian island of Nusa Lembongan. 

BY PLAYING A CRITICAL ROLE IN 

CANADA’S CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE. 

brucepower.com 


HEALTH 

Importance 

OF POSTURE 

DO YOU CRINGE AT YOUR CHILD’S POSTURE? 

BY DR. BRAD MURRAY 


Most of us, as parents, have at one time told our children 

to sit up straight and don’t slouch. Most of us likely do so 

without knowing why. 

With the increase in use of smartphones, video games, tablets, 

and home-schooling due to COVID, it may seem like your kids 

are looking at a screen the majority of their day. In fact, one 

study found that children and adolescents spend an average of 

five to seven hours a day with their head flexed forward. 

Poor posture, including only 15 degrees of forward bending, 

as with looking down at a phone, has been shown to triple the 

stress of your head on your neck. This can lead to forward head 

posture, and associated neck pain, headaches, neck and upper 

back stiffness, joint dysfunction, shoulder and trap pain, and 

numbness in the arms. This is often referred to as ‘text neck’ or 

‘tech neck.’ 

Chronic forward head position may lead to a number of other 

issues as well. These may include the head position that stays 

forward, decreased in neck curvature (decreased lordosis), 

increase in the mid-back curvature (increased kyphosis), 

misalignment of spinal joints, increased rate of wear on spinal 

joints, sore and strained muscles, muscle imbalance, early 

spinal disc degeneration, permanent changes in the shape of the 

spine, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, and the possibility of more 

difficulty breathing and digesting food. 

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WHAT IS POSTURE? 

Posture can be referred to as the overall position of your body as 

you stand, sit, lie down, or with movements. 

Good posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit 

and lie, so as to place the least strain on muscles, ligaments, and 

joints while you are performing these activities. 

When sitting, it is best to sit up straight with support behind 

the lower back, knees and elbows and 90 degrees, feet flat on the 

floor, and have the screen placed just below eye level. 

Ideally, when standing, our ears should be aligned with our 

shoulders, which are aligned with our hips, knees, and ankles. 

What can kids do to reduce the stress placed on the body with 

screen time? 

• Get up and move – go for a walk around the room, get a 

drink of water every 15 minutes. 

• Stretch – reach up with your arms, look up to the ceiling 

and hold for 10 seconds every 15 minutes. 

• Take breaks from screens when possible and try to limit the 

time spent on electronics. 

• If possible, try standing with electronic use, as long as 

screens are near eye level. 

• Maintain good posture 

In order to help maintain a healthy posture long term, 

getting into a wellness routine that focuses on mobility and 

strengthening is a good way to keep your child feeling young 

while promoting good posture. Our bodies are designed to be 

dynamic, and therefore movement is important. Both flexibility 

and strength play a significant role in how your posture 

develops. Flexibility and mobility of the spine and body can be 

improved with stretching, soft tissue techniques, chiropractic 

adjustments, and strengthening exercises. 

SIMPLE STRETCHES 

• Doorway stretch. Place forearms on the door frames, elbows 

at 90 degrees, and lean forward. 

• Cat/camel. On hands and knees, raise upper/mid-back 

while bringing head down, then raise head upwards while 

letting your upper/mid-back arch downward. 

• Trapezius stretch. Reach your hand on your head and pull 

your head down to the side toward your hip. 

• Thoracic extension. Lie on your stomach and push up off 

the floor with your forearms to stretch your upper back. 

• Foam roller mobility. Lie on your back on top of a foam 

roller placed across your upper back, and roll up and down. 

• Neck range of motion. Move your neck forward, backward, 

side-to-side, and rotate each direction. 

• Scap retractions. Sit with your elbows at your side and pull 

your shoulder blades back and down. 

• Wall angels. Standing with your back and arms against the 

wall with elbows near 90 degrees, slowly raise and lower 

your arms, keeping your back and arms against the wall. 

• Superman. Lying on your stomach, reach arms out in front 

and raise your chest and legs off the floor. 

These are just a few of the many stretches and exercises that 

may help with maintaining a good posture, and there are many 

more available. Additionally, having strong core muscles enables 

proper posture from the pelvis upwards to the upper back and 

neck. Including core strengthening exercises to your child’s 

wellness routine would be highly recommended and beneficial. 

Realistically, and as a parent of teenage boys, I understand your 

kids may not be as excited or motivated as you are to perform 

all these exercises. So, start slowly. Pick one stretch, one mobility 

exercise, and one or two strengthening exercises. Make it fun by 

challenging your kids to see how long they can hold stretches, 

or how many sets and reps they can do versus mom or dad. 

Have them set a timer on their phone so they will be reminded 

to get up and move and stretch every 15 minutes while on their 

devices. Pick a time of day to work on their exercises. 

Good posture is about more than standing up straight so you 

can look your best. It is an important part of your long-term 

health. Making sure that you hold your body the right way, 

whether you are moving or still, can prevent pain, injuries, and 

other health problems. 

GBK 

DR. BRAD MURRAY is a Chiropractor and owner of Lucknow 

Chiropractic & Wellness Centre. He has been in practice for over 20 

years. Contact him at 519-528-5083, drbrad@lucknowchiropractic.com 

or visit www.lucknowchiropractic.com. 


Time to Register for 

KINDERGARTEN 

Are you the parent or caregiver 

of a 3 or 4 year old? 

Call your local school in 

Bluewater District School Board 

today! 

To find your school: 

www.bwdsb.on.ca/schools/school_listing_elementary 

The Cold Case Kids 

are back in action! 

This time Brogan, Brycen and 

Heather - along with their 

zombie friend, Angus - discover 

an ancient wooden chest 

washed up onto the shores of 

mysterious Chantry Island on 

Lake Huron. And they make the 

mistake of opening it. 

What comes out plunges the 

kids into a mystery filled with 

sinister masks, walking 

skeletons… and a tale from 

beyond the grave. A tale filled 

with cryptic clues that point the 

way to hidden riches. 

An ideal read for ages eight and up, Dead Man’s Tale (along with the first 

two books in the series, Ghoul’s Gold and Legend of the Phantom Reaper) 

is available in Port Elgin at Books and Strings and Turtle Crossings; in 

Southampton at A Little of This and That, as well as the Bruce County 

Museum; and in Kincardine at Fincher’s. Books can be obtained at the 

Paisley Christmas Market and the Artisans Christmas Market in Port Elgin. 

All three books are also available on Amazon.ca or can be purchased 

directly from the author, Doug Archer, by emailing him at archer@bmts.com. 

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NON COMPETITIVE ATMOSPHERE 

FUN, SAFE STRUCTURED ENVIRONMENT 

AGES 6 - 16 

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TEL (519) 881.2448 

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HEALTH 

MAXIMIZE 

Wellness 

YOUR 

IT’S IMPORTANT PARENTS STAY HEALTHY IN TRYING TIMES 

BY TORI HAMILTON

As parents, it’s easy to find ourselves solely focused on caring 

for our children. Parenting, though exhausting at times, is 

such a rewarding experience. 

We gladly give our energy, time, and money to make sure that 

our kids have a childhood brimming with positive experiences. 

Every waking moment is spent cleaning, organizing, hugging, 

washing, wiping, cooking, consoling, helping… well, you get 

the point. 

With the pandemic approaching two years, there is another layer 

of expectations on us to have it all together, and it’s heavy. This 

constant feeling of having to stay ever-vigilant in case of another 

school shutdown or a change in public health guidelines, layered 

on top of the usual parenting challenges, has many of us on 

the verge of collapse. After a while, giving ourselves fully to our 

families can lead to burnout, exhaustion, and even resentment. 

If these feelings resonate with you, you are not alone. Whether 

you have a teenager struggling with isolation, a nine-year-old 

who is struggling academically, or a toddler who hasn’t been in a 

grocery store let-alone on a playdate – we are all in this together. 

One of the biggest predictors of a child’s mental health and 

well-being is their parents’ mental health and well-being. As 

we enter parenthood, we can lose sight of things we enjoyed 

doing. The truth is, there are many of us running around with 

an empty tank right now. It’s hard to stay present for our kids 

when we feel this way. We may begin to use unhealthy coping 

mechanisms to help us get through our days. Our mental health 

can suffer too, which can lead us to act in a way that is not 

consistent with our parenting values and beliefs. 

Above all else, our kids want happy, healthy parents. When we 

shift our perspective to recognize that our wellness impacts our 

entire family, it doesn’t seem selfish at all to invest in ourselves. 

When we make our own needs a priority, our kids learn that it’s 

OK to prioritize their own wellness. 

Below are some ideas of what we can do to put our wellness first. 

I hope you find them helpful. 

Since being perfect is not possible, let’s stop trying. Easier 

said than done, I know – I am the queen of workaholism and 

perfectionism, which is actually the thief of joy and often ends 

up with us doom-scrolling at 2 a.m. We all have strengths, but 

we can’t be good at everything. When you fail (and you will 

– we all do), give yourself grace and move on. 

An example – I have never been a morning person, and I 

probably never will be. I like staying up late and I get some of 

my best work done then. My husband and kids aren’t morning 

people either, so when I found out the bus pick-up time this 

year was moved up to 7:30 a.m., it threw me for a loop. It took 

less than a week to realize that getting the kids on the bus just 

wasn’t worth the stress and anxiety it caused when I could drive 

less than 10 minutes and drop them off at 9 a.m. I used to beat 

myself up over things like this, but this year? I just. Don’t. Care. 

The moral of the story is, play to your strengths, and do what’s 

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FILL YOUR CUP 

Emotional needs 

• Talk to a therapist or health care provider who 

has training in perinatal mood and anxiety 

problems. 

• Learn as much as you can about pregnancy and 

postpartum depression and anxiety. 

• Build an empathy team of like-minded friends 

who are simply there to listen, not fix things. 

• Positive self-talk. Tell yourself you are loved and 

keep a gratitude list. 

Social needs 

• Get support from family and friends. Ask for 

help when you need it. 

• Join a support group in your area or online. 

• Unfollow social media accounts and avoid 

websites that make you feel bad about your life. 

• Plan a coffee date with a friend or a daily phone 

call to socialize. 

• Set up “date nights” with your partner once a 

month. 

Physical needs 

• Drink lots of water! Aim for at least two litres 

per day, as dehydration is common. 

• Make time for eating and focus on balanced, 

healthy nutrition. 

• Aim for eight hours of sleep a day, however, that 

looks for you. 

• Sit in the sunlight each morning (Vitamin D!). 

• Physically connect with loved ones – a 10-20 

second hug releases oxytocin. 

Spiritual needs 

• Pause for a moment, listen to the birds, 

appreciate the blue sky, be in the moment and 

breathe. 

• Develop a yoga and/or mindfulness-based 

routine. 

• Start a gratitude or reflective journal. 

Practical needs 

• Outsource/delegate. 

• If you have older children, give them a chore list 

and develop a self-care routine for them. 

• Don’t track your baby’s sleeping and feeding 

routines if it impacts your mental health. 

• Say “no” to extra work when possible. 

• Work on a budget with your partner. 

Mental needs 

• Listen to a podcast or audiobook while doing 

work around the house. 

• Watch a season (or two or three) of a favourite 

show. 

• Decorate your home, paint, shop, reorganize – 

make your space your own. 

right for you and your family. Life will go so much smoother for 

you that way. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing – 

they’re not perfect either. Those pictures on social media? Fake 

news. People are often too busy with their own lives that they’re 

not as focused on our lives as we may think. 

Spend some time thinking about what makes you, you! 

Becoming a parent is such a huge transition, and it can swallow 

us up in one bite. Do yourself a favour and think back to what 

used to really lift your soul before having kids. What did you 

love spending your creative energies on? Did you love to paint? 

Did you practice yoga, go for walks in the forest, sing along to 

punk music in your car, or skip rocks on the water? I want you 

to write down your favourite thing and then brainstorm ways 

you can add it back into your life – even just a little – now that 

you have kids. Talk to your partner, family, and friends about 

what you love doing and ask them to help you. Chances are, 

there will be a way you can do it. This will be the best selfcare 

you will ever have. It will fill your cup up so that those 

mundane, everyday tasks don’t feel as heavy, and you may find it 

easier to connect with your kids. 

Recognize your triggers. We all have them. Triggers are 

things that can set you off emotionally and throw you into a 

fight, flight, or freeze mode. These triggers are often related to 

previous experiences that we had, and we automatically go into 

self-preservation mode. Once you start noticing these triggers 

and what your body does in reaction to them, then you can 

anticipate it happening. When you know they are coming and 

you can name these feelings, the after-effects won’t last as long. 

This means that you can snap out of your funks much faster and 

go back to enjoying your life. 

I’ll give you an example – when I have something important 

coming up, I usually end up with knots in my stomach and I 

can’t eat or sleep. I go into hyper-vigilance (flight) state, trying 

to clean my disaster of a house at record speed, leaving my kids 

and husband in complete awe and utter confusion. Then I get 

snappy because I haven’t eaten and I’m exhausted. Now that I 

recognize this behaviour, I can spend less time in this state by 

doing something that calms me down. This could be listening to 

a mindfulness track, doing 10 minutes of yoga or forcing myself 

to take a break to eat. We all have traumas and triggers. Our kids 

often pick up on them before we do, which isn’t fair to them. 

Figuring out what sets you off will make your home run much 

more smoothly. 

Set boundaries and stick to them. I don’t know about you, but 

for me COVID-19 has put a lot of strain on my relationships. 

Once you know your triggers (again, write them down), it’s 

important you set boundaries to protect yourself as much as 

possible. Here’s another example – when my kids playfully hold 

onto my leg and want a ride, it makes my stomach flip and my 

skin crawl. I used to get upset at them for it, which is completely 

unfair. Now, I have been able to set a clear, age-appropriate 

boundary so that we both don’t need to be in that awkward 

situation. They now know that my foot is a no-sit zone. 

This can apply to your kids, friends, family, the school system, 

your co-workers, daycare, whatever. You may get some pushback

ut stick with it. Change is hard for all of us, and, while setting 

boundaries is often new for us, people will pick up on it. Having 

clear boundaries in the long run will help solidify all of your 

relationships, as miscommunications become less frequent and 

everyone knows where you stand. Setting boundaries isn’t easy, 

but it’s so worth it. 

Try to spend more time in conscious awareness. Have you 

ever driven for 10 minutes to the store and not remember the 

trip? That’s because you were probably thinking of a million 

things that you have (or feel like you have) to do. Maintaining 

conscious awareness takes a lot of practice, but it will make 

parenting so much easier. 

The next time your kids are acting out, try this – once they are 

relatively settled post-meltdown, sit down with them in a quiet 

place. Look at their face, touch their hair, smile at them, and tell 

them you love them. See them for who they are. Eventually, you 

will see the wall fall and they will begin pouring out their heart. 

Ask them why they had their meltdown and empathize with 

them. They will never feel so connected, and a connected child 

is much easier to reason with than one who feels alone. 

Shoot for 10 minutes of connection a day with each of your 

children. Sounds easy enough, right? If you’re finding it hard to 

stay connected for that long, try setting a timer for yourself. As 

your kids start looking forward to these special moments, you 

may find that attention-seeking behaviours lessen, and drop-offs 

become less stressful. 

If you find yourself saying, “Everything is fine,” and it’s not, 

indeed, fine – stop. Most likely, everything right now in your 

life is not fine. I’m not fine. You’re not fine. We are not fine. So 

why do we say it? Often we don’t want to burden others, or even 

ourselves, with what’s really going on. 

The best thing to do? Talk it through with someone who will lift 

you up. The important thing is to find someone who can listen 

without trying to fix the situation, place blame or try to tell you 

what your problem is – it can be a therapist, a friend, family 

member, whoever. Just be careful with who you share your 

truths with. Once you have commiserated and feel a bit better, 

work through some small changes you can make to your life, 

and then plan to take some even smaller steps to get there. Some 

situations (such as leaving an abusive relationship) involve big 

changes and you will need lots of support. Remember, any sort 

of change includes ups and downs, good days and not-so-good 

days. 

Eventually, you will see a shift and you won’t want to look back. 

TORI HAMILTON, BScN, RN, IBCLC, PMH-C, is a mom of four and has 

been a Registered Nurse for 10 years with experience in Obstetrics. 

She helps parents navigate the postpartum period, with a focus on 

infant feeding, sleep and mental health. She is an International Board 

Certified Lactation Consultant, Baby-Led Sleep & Well-Being Specialist, 

and is certified in perinatal mental health. You can find her offerings at 

themamanurse.com and connect with her on Instagram 

@themamanurse. 

GBK 

We’re scientists, 

engineers, safety 

experts. And 

PROUD CANADIANS. 

At the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, we’re responsible for 

Canada’s plan for the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel. 

Canada’s plan involves safely containing and isolating used nuclear 

fuel in an area with suitable geology and informed, willing hosts. 

Every day, we are conscious of our duty to be accountable to 

Canadians—to work and learn together, and to protect our safety, 

our environment and this beautiful land. 

Dig deeper, learn more 

by visiting nwmo.ca 

@NWMOCanada 


COOL KIDS 

WHERE ARE 

THEY NOW? 

CHECKING IN WITH SOME OF OUR ‘COOL KIDS’ 

THEN 

NOW 

EDEN BABBITT 

Winter 2019/20 

Over the past two years Eden, now 15 

and in Grade 10, has continued her 

work with Eden for Our Environment. 

Her Instagram page features tips on 

greener living as well as updates on her 

projects. Last Christmas, Eden sold 

tickets and raffled off a gift basket filled 

with environmentally friendly goodies, 

raising over $500 for the Jane Goodall 

Institute of Canada. 

This is also around the time the idea for 

her summer 2021 adventure was born. 

After chatting about her family’s annual 

trip to the cottage, Eden was thinking 

about how she could get there with as 

little environmental impact as possible. 

She has always loved biking and decided 

she would embark on a mission to ride 

to Tobermory from her house in Lurgan 

Beach, near Point Clark. 

Eden began working with her trainer Vy 

Waller, as well as three other women, for the 

190 km ride. The team consisted of Eden, 

Vy, Sandy Elston, Terri Rintoul and Jen 

Bedford. Together the five of them built up 


THEN 

NOW 

CHRISTOPHER PENNINGTON 


Christopher, 16, lives in Kincardine. He was diagnosed 

with kidney disease in 2015 and, since then, he and 

his family and friends have raised $85,000 for the Kidney 

Foundation of Canada. 

Christopher chooses to embrace his disease and search for 

options to bring awareness to his community by participating 

in and chairing local walks. His passion to search for a cure for 

kidney disease and a world without failure is truly incredible at 

such an early age. 

Christopher has been recognized many times for his efforts, 

receiving a Volunteer of the Year Award in 2016, the Excellence 

in Fundraising Award from the Ontario Kidney Foundation 

in 2017, the Meridian Good Neighbour Award in 2018 from 

the Kincardine and District Chamber of Commerce, and a 

Huron-Bruce Remarkable Citizen Award in 2019. He was also 

awarded the Ontario Junior Citizen Award in 2020, as well as 

the Kidney Walk of Excellence Award. 

He plans to continue raising funds for the charity that’s closest 

to his heart. 

their endurance for the two-day journey. As she trained, Eden also 

worked hard to raise funds and sponsorships for the trip. 

On Aug. 18 her team biked the first 100 km, ending in Wiarton. 

The next day, they rode the remaining 90.1 km, arriving at the 

Tobermory ferry terminal just after noon, accompanied by an 

OPP cruiser with sirens blaring and lights flashing. 

Eden raised $5,355 for her favourite charity, the Jane Goodall 

Institute of Canada. She was also successful in inspiring people 

to think about their own environmental impact and learn how 

to make better, greener choices. On Sept. 17, Eden travelled to 

Toronto to deliver her donation in person. She was welcomed by 

the staff of the JGIC with much enthusiasm and gratitude. 

Eden attends Sacred Heart High School in Walkerton. She 

is starting an environmental committee there and continues 

to work tirelessly to bring awareness and raise funds with the 

hope of protecting the natural world. Eden also works for At 

Last Forest Schools as a leader, teaching the next generation of 

children all about the wonders of nature and the need to protect 

our Earth from the devastating damages of climate change. 

Keep your eyes open – you haven’t seen the last of Eden Babbitt. 


NOW 

THEN 

OLIVIA AND HARPER LITTLE 


Olivia and Harper Little, of Port Elgin, are 

in Grade 6 and 3 respectively at Edge Hill 

Country School, which is a big change for them 

as they’ve been home-schooled until this year. 

Olivia – who lives with the rare disease Cystinosis 

and is well known locally as the face of the Liv- 

A-Little Foundation – has been fortunate to have 

her health remain stable. She has joined the swim 

team and was the top fundraiser last year. Her 

favourite stroke is the fly, and she loves being in 

the water with her team. 

Harper is on her way to becoming a master at 

crocheting, and she will ‘art and craft’ any material 

left behind. 

Compassion, kindness and understanding remain 

their super-powers. 

CORBIN CUNEO 

Spring 2013 

Corbin is currently in Grade 11 at John Diefenbaker Secondary 

School in Hanover. His favourite classes are gym and 

manufacturing (welding). 

His interests include playing basketball and hockey, four-wheeling, 

cars, hunting, and, of course, PlayStation. 

Corbin recently got a job at Harvey’s, and his future education plans 

include either law enforcement or the skilled trades. 

Corbin, the first Cool Kid featured in Grey-Bruce Kids, is holding 

the signed Owen Sound Attack stick he received for being 

recognized by the magazine and the team, an early partner of the 

Cool Kid feature. 


THEN 

NOW 


FAMILY 

Best. Job. Ever. 

WHO KNEW BEING A GRANDPARENT WOULD BE SO MUCH FUN? 

BY SANDE AND RICK IRWIN

Crouched down – so close to the earth that I can smell the 

rich, dark soil – I peer at the tiny bug making its way across 

the puddle in the driveway; a puddle that must seem like a vast 

ocean. 

A little hand reaches out to offer a safe resting place, no fear of 

creepy crawlies, just an inquisitive child wanting to explore. It is 

during these encounters that I feel the most blessed to have the 

best job in the world, one that has no schedule, no limits, no 

judgment... just pure, in-the-moment wonder. 

On Nov. 7, 2012, my husband Rick and I were promoted to 

the best job ever… we became grandparents. From that day on 

we became Nana and Ba (our granddaughter Gracie’s choice as 

she learned to say Grandpa), and knew that every day we would 

work on developing a loving, supportive and joyful relationship 

with her and with her brother Gavin, who arrived over three 

years later. 

Grandparents provide a different type of relationship than 

parents do with their kids. Speaking for ourselves, it is a more 

relaxed experience. Without the pressures that come with raising 

children, our role as grandparents is one of unconditional love 

and support, filling our time together with imaginative play and 

creativity, while passing down skills and knowledge. Grandkids 

love to learn and what better way to spend time than learning 

something together. 

The pandemic has made it difficult for some families to nurture 

the grandparent and grandchild relationship. In our case, our 

grandkids live in the U.S., and with border closures, it has 

been a challenge to see them. Thankfully with technology, we 

can talk every day and share some of their milestones and daily 

happenings. We have had tours of Gracie’s doll house, been 

shown her dolls and their extensive wardrobe, listened to tales 

from Girl Scout meetings, checked out all the cool bugs and 

reptiles in her book, and enjoyed a dance party or two. Gavin 

will call and ask what we did that day, telling us all we need to 

know about tractors, showing us his latest creations, and playing 

dress up. 

Many times when the kids video chat, all they want to do is 

play around with the settings to become dragons or catch pizza 

instead of chatting. What is a grandparent supposed to do? 

Play along, enjoy the giggles, become a pizza eating dragon! 

Sometimes we read a book or have the kids read to us. There are 

many ways to interact using the Internet such as family Bingo 

games or watching movies together. We have even organized 

charades, favourite jokes nights and trivia calls with them. 

Our grandkids know they can call any time to share anything 

with us... even if it is a 30 second call to say they just saw a 

snake eat a frog on TV! It always makes our hearts sing when we 

receive a voicemail notification from them and have fun sending 

one back. 

When the kids are here we are completely invested in their time 

with us. The chore list is shortened so that our precious time 

with them is maximized. The great outdoors never fails to keep 

us all active as we build memories together. Sharing our love of 

respecting Mother Nature through gentle exploration, teaching 

them how things grow, and child-led play has us looking at the 

world with new wonder as we experience it through their eyes. 

Gracie wants to be a master baker so we spend time learning 

how to make macarons or basket weave pastry for a pie. While 

the pie is baking, you will find us outside saving a bug or 

learning to change a tire. Gavin is all about farm work and you 

never see him without his John Deere hat. If he isn’t outside on 

the tractor with Ba, you will find him and Nana building a Lego 

city or helping Ba bake cookies. 

Sometimes letting their time with us be child-led allows for a 

day filled with learning together about a mushroom we saw on 

a walk in the woods, or tracks left by a woodland creature. Just 

the simple question, “What do you want to learn about today?” 

opens an incredible opportunity for adventure. 

Many times our everyday activities around our property and 

in the house allow for learning and play... nothing fancy or 

planned, just sharing our knowledge. It’s important for us 

to spend time doing things they find interesting but just as 

important to do things with them that you enjoy or they may 

not have the opportunity to be exposed to, such as planting a 

garden or raising chickens. It’s all a part of sharing what you love 

with an open heart and open mind. You might not really like 

painting rocks but the time spent chatting and being creative is 

time well spent. 

We like to travel with our grandkids and do our best to 

introduce them to different cultures and experiences. It adds 

an element of pureness to travel since they don’t have any 

judgments and always live in the moment. There’s nothing like 

returning to a place you have visited previously and visiting 

again with your grandkids... I guarantee you will have a totally 

different experience seeing it through their eyes. 

World travel with our grandkids started early with a volunteer 

trip to Nicaragua when Gracie was five and Gavin was 18 

months. Watching them playing with the local kids reminded 

us that we are all the same no matter how you live or what you 

have. 

Volunteering and giving back has always been a part of our 

family life. As grandparents it’s important to us to instill this 

value within our grandchildren, whether it be locally, such as 

picking up garbage or helping at an event, or global service, 

such as designing a bookmark to raise funds for sea turtles or 

gathering supplies for a sloth sanctuary. 

We truly believe that experiences are better than things, and you 

don’t have to travel far – there is so much to do in our own area. 

Spend a night in a yurt, plan a day-long road trip, go on a search 

for the best poutine, do a scavenger hunt or Bingo at a local 

provincial park, take them to a play or a concert, visit the local 

library, museum or art gallery, take a class together, volunteer 

at an event, hike or cycle the local trails, or pick up litter in a 

playground. The things to do are truly endless. 

A lovely way to nurture the grandparent/child relationship is by 

having routines and traditions. 


The kids know that when they come to visit we always have slow 

mornings, waffles, Nana’s butter tarts, and cookouts. We do our 

best to follow bedtime routines and homeschooling agenda that 

their parents have set in place. 

Every day is an opportunity to start a new tradition. We are 

going to start having “world cuisine and traditions” days, where 

we will learn things throughout the time they are with us about 

a chosen country. What do they eat there, what do kids play 

there, what traditions do they have and how do they live? It will 

be fun to do some cooking together with ingredients they might 

not have an opportunity to try otherwise. 

Being a grandparent isn’t just about fun and games though. It 

does come with a learning curve. 

It means taking a step back and respecting that you are not the 

parent and what that means when it comes to boundaries and 

different perspectives. Keeping an open and positive dialogue 

with the child’s parents is key to developing a supportive 

environment. 

There have been times we have raised our eyebrows, but it is 

important to recognize that our ideas of child-rearing might 

be different than theirs. We’ve let our daughter and son-in-law 

explore what works for them and develop their own parenting 

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO CULTIVATE 

A MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP 

WITH YOUR GRANDKIDS 

• Read a chapter book together. 

• Ask what they would like to learn about. 

• Have them teach you how to play their 

favourite game. 

• Plan a trip... imaginary or real. 

• Cook together... share a family recipe or 

find a new one to add to the collection. 

• Build a fire and have a cookout. 

• Play charades over Zoom. 

• Go on a scavenger hunt. 

• Watch a movie or documentary about 

the Earth and animals. 

• Do outdoor activities like archery, hiking, 

cycling, and tree identification. 

• Plant a garden. 

• Learn a new skill together such as knottying 

or making jam. 

• Let them help with everyday chores 

and activities. 

• Get dirty, jump in puddles and dance in 

the rain. 

• Share your stories of growing up. 

style, knowing they will ask for our opinion or advice when 

needed. We don’t have to agree, but being respectful and having 

a clear understanding of their style will allow you to develop 

your own way of grandparenting, one that will compliment 

theirs. 

Being their cheering squad and acknowledging their struggles 

and triumphs as a parent is sometimes all they need... not 

your opinion. It’s also important for parents to know what 

boundaries, if any, the grandparent might have, and to be clear 

on what they see as their role. 

Asking grandparents to watch the kids every once in a while is 

OK but be careful not to take advantage of their generosity... 

they have already raised their family and who knows, maybe 

they now have the time to pursue interests they didn’t previously. 

We cherish the relationships we have nurtured with our 

grandkids. If, for whatever reason, that is not possible for you, 

then get creative and seek out alternatives. Adopt a senior 

friend or neighbour that your child can develop a grandparent 

relationship with. Find them a common interest or maybe 

something they would like to learn from each other. Schedule 

video chats if they are unable to get together. 

If there is one thing we’ve learned as grandparents and can pass 

along is to slow down. Spend more time together exploring and 

experiencing the world. Don’t fill your calendar up with group 

activities. Time is so important and, as grandparents, we usually 

have this luxury, but just by taking one thing off your calendar 

and spending that time together, planned or not, will allow you 

to be more in the moment. We have also learned that being 

active and healthy makes it a lot easier to keep up with our 

grandkids, and opens the door to try new things together. 

Who says Nana can’t go ziplining in Costa Rica with her 

seven-year-old granddaughter? Or how about physical work like 

stacking wood with Ba? We have learned to be more flexible and 

tolerant, and not worry so much about crossing things off the 

‘to do’ list. If we are in the middle of something and Gracie or 

Gavin have a question or want to show us something, we stop 

and become invested in this gift of a moment with them. 

Being a grandparent has been life-changing. Sometimes it can 

be frustrating and sometimes it can be challenging, but it is 

filled with love, snuggles, and giggles. Be kind to yourself when 

it comes to navigating this new role, because you are learning as 

you go. 

It’s not always what you expect it to be, but if you remember 

that the relationship is more important than “the rules,” you will 

be rewarded with a relationship that will continue to be special 

as your grandchild grows. 

My greatest hope is that my grandkids will still want to spend 

time at Camp BaNana, exploring and sharing stories when they 

are teenagers and adults. GBK 

SANDE and RICK IRWIN are self-proclaimed foodies, homesteaders 

and adventure travellers, living in rural Bruce County. Sharing their love 

for life brings them great joy.

visitgrey.ca 

Your online guide to winter in Grey! 

V

RESOURCES 

ABUSE 

Assaulted Women’s Helpline 

Crisis line: 1-866-863-0511 

www.awhl.org 

Bruce Grey Child and Family Services 

(Bruce and Grey Children’s Aid Societies 

amalgamated April 1, 2012) 

1-855-322-4453 

Keystone Child, Youth & Family Services 

1-800-567-2384; 519-371-4773 

kcyfs@bmts.com or keystonebrucegrey.org 

Owen Sound 

Saugeen First Nation - Kabaeshiwim 

Respite Women’s Shelter 

519-797-2521 

cgeorge@saugeenfirstnation.ca 

www.saugeenfirstnation.ca 

Sexual Assault and Partner 

Abuse Care Centre 

Grey Bruce Health Services 

1-888-525-0552 or www.gbhs.on.ca 

Owen Sound 

Victim Services Bruce Grey 

Perth 

Crisis: 1-866-376-9852 

Administration: 1-888-577-3111 

info@victim-services.com 

www.victim-services.com 

Victim/Witness Assistance Program 

Owen Sound - 1-866-259-4823 

Walkerton - 1-866-994-9904 

attorneygeneral@ontario.ca 

http://bit.ly/ujKyeE 

Women’s Centre (Grey and Bruce) 

Administration: 519-376-0755 

Crisis: 1-800-265-3722 

womenscentre@bmts.com 

www.bmts.com/~womenscentre 

Owen Sound 

Women’s House Serving Bruce and Grey 

Sexual assault crisis: 1-866-578-5566 

Crisis line: 1-800-265-3026 

Administration: (519) 396-9814 

crisis@whsbg.on.ca 

www.whsbg.on.ca 

Kincardine 

BREASTFEEDING 

Brockton and Area Family Health Team 

1-866-507-2021 or 519-881-1920 

RN/certified Lactation Consultant available 

www.bafht.com 

Walkerton 

Grey Bruce Health Unit 

1-800-263-3456 

publichealth@publichealthgreybruce.on.ca 

www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca 

Owen Sound 

Hanover Family Health Team 

RN/Certified Lactation Consultant 

519-506-4348 

www.hanoverfht.ca 

La Leche League Canada 

Owen Sound; 519-376-5916; www.lllc.ca 

Moms Walkerton 

New Mom support 

320 Durham St.., Walkerton; 519-379-6769 

Support groups 

Southampton, Port Elgin, Paisley, and Tara - 

519-797-2010 

Kincardine, Ripley, Tiverton, and Lucknow - 

519-368-4847 

South-Bruce Breastfeeding Buddies - 

519-881-1920 

Wiarton and Bruce Peninsula - 519-534-0912 

Markdale - 519-369-3381 

Owen Sound - 519-372-1330 

The Mama Nurse 

www.themamanurse.com 

CHILDBIRTH 

Glamma Doula 

Christine Piotrowski, Postpartum Doula 

www.glammadoula.com; 519-477-9985 

Hanover and District Hospital Obstetrics/ 

Family Centred Care Birthing Centre 

519-364-2340 

admin@hanoverhospital.on.ca 

www.hanoverhospital.on.ca 

Midwives Grey Bruce 

519-371-2886 

www.midwivesgreybruce.com 

Owen Sound 

Owen Sound Hospital Labour and Delivery 

519-376-2121 

www.gbhs.on.ca/owensound.php 

Walkerton Hospital Family Birthing Centre 

519-881-1220 

www.sbghc.on.ca 

CHILD CARE 

Acorn Montessori 

705-606-1642 

Thornbury 

Amabel-Sauble Child Care Centre 

519-422-3611 

Sauble Beach 

Beaver Valley Outreach 

519-599-2577 

Bobi’s Playschool 

519-538-5483 

Meaford 

Brockton Child Care Centre 

sbross@brockton.ca 

Brooke Montessori Toddler Program 

519-376-3447 

Owen Sound 

Bruce County Childcare Services 

519-881-0431 or www.brucecounty.on.ca 

Walkerton 

Bruce Peninsula Family Centre 

519-793-4100 

Lion’s Head 

Chesley Nursery School 

519-363-9544 

Durham Nursery School 

519-369-6973 

Grey County Childcare Services 

519-376-7324 

www.greycounty.ca/childcare 

Hanover Montessori Children's House 

1-800-906-7036 or 519-364-6455 

Happy Hearts Day Care Centre 

519-376-1284 

Owen Sound 

Inglenook Creche Day Care 

519-371-9471; Owen Sound 

Kids & Us Community Childcare 

and Family Education Centres 

Ayton - 519-665-2022 

Dundalk - 519-923-2182 

Durham - 519-369-9911 

Holstein - 519-334-3132 

Markdale - 519-986-3692 

Osprey - 519-922-2333 

Paisley - 519-353-7220 

www.kidsandus.ca 

Kids Street Nursery School - Port Elgin 

519-389-9050 

Kinhuron Integrated Day Nursery School 

Co-op 

519-396-4532 

Kincardine 

Le Jardin des decouvertes - Owen Sound 

519-371-4411 

Military Family Resource Centre - Meaford 

519-538-1371 x6753 

mfrc.meaford@sympatico.ca 

www.mfrcmeaford.com 

Meaford Co-operative Nursery School 

519-538-3854 

Nawash N'Shiime Day Care Centre 

519-534-3909 

Neyaashiinigmiing (Cape Croker) 

OneList – Find and apply for child care 

brucecountychildcare.ca 

greycountychildcare.ca 

Queen of Hearts Nursery School 

109 Balmy Beach Rd., Owen Sound 

www.queenofheartsnurseryschool.com 

Sandbox Daycare - Hanover 

519-506-7263 

Saugeen First Nation G’Shaw-da-Gawin 

Day Care Centre 

519-797-2419 

gshawdagawin@bmts.com 

www.saugeenfirstnation.ca 

Tobermory Primary Place 

519-596-2606 

Unity House - Owen Sound 

519-371-8686 

Viola Jean’s Garden Daycare - Owen Sound 

519-416-5633 or 519-371-2362 


Wiarton Kids Den Day Care/Kids Club 

School age Program 

519-534-4434 

Wiarton Nursery School 

519-534-2121 

Wooden Hill Child Care Centre (La Colline 

De Bois) at Notre Dame School 

519-376-6952 

Owen Sound 

YMCA Childcare 

Arran Tara - 519-376-0484 

Hanover - 519-364-4938 

Kincardine - 519-396-9622 

Owen Sound - 519-376-0484 

Port Elgin - 519-832-6225 

Ripley - 519-395-5570 

ymcaowensound.on.ca 

DIET/NUTRITION 

EatRight Ontario 

Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport 

1-877-510-5102; www.eatrightontario.ca 

Foodlink Grey Bruce 

Find locally grown meat, fruit and produce 

www.foodlinkgreybruce.com 

Good Food Box 


519-376-9420 or 1-800-263-3456 



1-800-263-3456 



Owen Sound 


519-506-4348; www.hanoverfht.ca 


1-800-567-2384, 519-371-4773 


Ontario Student Nutrition Program Grey 

Bruce 

www.osnp.ca 

EDUCATION 

Academy of Learning - Owen Sound 

1077 2nd Ave. E., Suite B (2nd floor) 

519-371-6188 or www.academytraining.ca 

Adult Learning Centres 

Collingwood, Port Elgin, Markdale, Owen 

Sound, Walkerton, Wiarton 

www.adultlearningcentres.com 

Bluewater District School Board 

1-800-661-7509 or www.bwdsb.on.ca 

Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board 

519-364-5820 or www.bgcdsb.org 

Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence 

(French Catholic School Board) 

1-888-768-2219; www.cscprovidence.ca 

Edgehill Country School, Durham 

www.edgehillschool.org 

Georgian Tutors 

www.georgiantutors.com 

EMPLOYMENT SERVICES 

JobsWork 

Aimee Kim, Job Developer, akim@clkd.ca 

519-396-9434 x223 

Leads Employment Services 

1051 2nd Ave. E Owen Sound 

1-866-955-3237 

www.leadsservices.com 

LiveGreyBruce 

www.livegreybruce.ca 

VPI Employment Strategies (Walkerton) 

519-881-4900 or 1-855-260-4900 

jobswalkerton@vpi-inc.com 

www.vpi-inc.com 

YMCA Employment Services 

1450 1st Ave. W., Suite 4A, Owen Sound 

519-371-9222 

employmentservices@ymcaowensound.on.ca 

FAMILY SUPPORT 

211 Ontario 

Online database of services in your area 

www.211ontario.ca 

Aspire Youth Services Inc. 

Ryan McLeod, CPT, RSW, MSW, CYC (BA) 

ryanmcleodplaytherapy@gmail.com 

aspireyouth.ca; 416-417-7098 

Big Brothers Big Sisters 

Owen Sound - 519-376-4449 

www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/bbowensound 

Kincardine - 519-396-3565 

www.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/kincardine 

Bruce Grey Child and Family Services 

1-855-322-4453 

www.bgcfs.ca 

Bruce Grey Mentorship 

504 10th St., Suite 2, Hanover 

519-506-5065 

www.brucegreymentorship.ca 

Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation 

- Native Child Welfare - Cape Croker 

519-534-3818 

supervisor.ncw@gbtel.ca 

www.nawash.ca 

EarlyON Child and Family Centres 

Chesley, Hanover, Kincardine, Markdale, 

Meaford, M’Wikwedong (Owen Sound), Owen 

Sound (East Ridge), Port Elgin, Thornbury, 

Wiarton 

1-800-616-8116 

Family Support Initiative 

Peer support for family of those with mental 

health issues 

519-371-4802; fsi@hopegb.org 

mhagb.ca 

Grandparent Network 

For grandparents raising grandchildren 

Meets first Monday of month at 9:30 a.m. 

Owen Sound 

Call Mary Nuckowski at 519-371-2498 

Grey Bruce Supervised Access Program 

519-371-5991; pc-superacc@bmts.com 

www.supervisedaccess.ca 

Owen Sound 

Kids Help Phone 

1-800-668-6868 (24 hours) 

www.kidshelpphone.ca 

Multiples in Bruce 

For families with or expecting multiples 

http://multiplesinbrucecounty.webs.com 

Nemesis Group Services 

Owen Sound; 519-372-2425 

www.nemesisgroupservices.com 

Parent Help Line 

1-888-603-9100 

Penetangore Wellness 

Art and family therapy 

www.penetangorewellness.com 

Salvation Army 

Hanover - 519-364-3450 

Owen Sound - 519-371-0957 

Port Elgin - 519-389-3942 

Wiarton - 519-534-0353 

Victim Services Bruce Grey 

Perth 

Crisis: 1-866-376-9852; Admin: 1-888-577-3111 

info@victim-services.com; 

www.victim-services.com 

Victim/Witness Assistance Program 

1-866-259-4823 - Owen Sound 

1-866-994-9904 - Walkerton 

attorneygeneral@ontario.ca 

http://bit.ly/ujKyeE 

FINANCIAL SUPPORT 

Beaver Valley Outreach (Thornbury) 

519-599-2577; info@bvo.ca; www.bvo.ca 

Bruce Children are Special Foundation 

Directs donations to the children programs 

provided by Bruce Grey Child and Family 

Services (formerly Children’s Aid) 

1-855-322-4453 ext 4133 

Social Services 

Grey County - 1-800-265-3119 

www.grey.ca/health-social-services/ 

Owen Sound 

Bruce County - 1-800-265-3005 

www.brucecounty.on.ca/ontworks.php 

Walkerton 

United Way of Bruce Grey 

519-376-1560 or manager@unitedwaybg.com 

www.unitedwayofbrucegrey.com 

YMCA of Owen Sound and Grey/Bruce 

519-376-0484 or ymcaowensound.on.ca 

FOOD BANKS/HOUSING 

Beaver Valley Outreach - Thornbury 

519-599-2577 

info@bvo.ca or www.bvo.ca 

Durham District Food Bank 

Monday and Friday, 9 a.m.-noon 


RESOURCES 

Flesherton and Area Food Bank 

Marian Doyle, 519-599-3576 

Kincardine Ministerial Food Bank 

519-396-2185 or circlek@bmts.com 

Lion’s Head and District Food Bank 

519-793-3860 or helen.rick@amtelecom.net 

Markdale and District Food Bank 

519-986-3094 

Meaford Food Bank 

519-538-4550 

Paisley Food Bank 

Immanuel Evangelical Mission Church 

307 Balaclava St.; 519-353-5270 (Carol) 

Salvation Army 

Hanover - 519-364-3450 

Owen Sound - 519-371-0957 

Port Elgin - 519-389-3942 

Tobermory Food Bank 

519-596-1501 

Walkerton and District Food Bank 

519-881-0168 

Wiarton Food Bank 

519-534-0353 

Habitat for Humanity Grey Bruce 

1-866-771-6776 or habitatos@bmts.com 

www.habitatgreybruce.com 

Ontario Tenants Rights 

ontariotenants@hotmail.com 

www.ontariotenants.ca 

Safe ‘n Sound Homelessness Initiative 

519-470-7233; www.safensoundgreybruce.com 

Subsidized housing 

Bruce County - 1-800-265-3022 

www.brucecounty.on.ca/socialhousing.php 

Grey County - 376-5744 

Online: http://bit.ly/vVG1k0 

HEALTH CARE 

Auditory Health Care 

202 Cayley St., Walkerton 

519-881-4994 or info@auditoryhealthcare.com 

Brockton and Area Family Health Team 

1-866-507-2021 or www.bafht.com 

Walkerton 

Canadian Mental Health Association 

Grey-Bruce Branch 

Administration - 519-371-3642 

Crisis: 1-877-470-5200 

jralph@cmhagb.org; www.cmhagb.org 

Collingwood General and Marine Hospital 

705-445-2550 

www.cgmh.on.ca 

Connect Rehabilitation, Yoga and Fitness 

1100 16th Ave. E., Owen Sound 

admin@connectrehab.com; 519-372-2121 

www.connectrehab.com 

ConnexOntario Help Lines 

Drug and alcohol - 1-800-565-8603 

Gambling - 1-888-230-3505 

Mental health - 1-866-531-2600 

www.connexontario.ca 

Grey Bruce Health Services (hospitals) 

Lion’s Head - 519-793-3424 

Markdale - 519-986-3040 

Meaford - 519-538-1311 

Owen Sound - 519-376-2121 

Southampton - 797-3230 

Wiarton - 534-1260 

www.gbhs.on.ca 

Grey Bruce Health Unit - Owen Sound 

1-800-263-3456 



Hanover and District Hospital 

519-364-2340/info@hdhospital.ca 

www.hdhospital.ca 

Healthy Babies, Healthy Children 


519-376-9420 or 1-800-263-3456 



519-506-4348 or dford@hanoverfht.ca 

www.hanoverfht.ca 

Healthy Smiles Ontario 

Dental for families making under $20,000/yr 

Register through the health unit 

Online: http://bit.ly/JAqJbY 

Honouring Life Network 

Indigenous youth suicide prevention 

www.honouringlife.ca 

HopeGreyBruce - Owen Sound 

Mental Health and Addiction Services 

519-371-4120 or www.mhagb.ca/gbchc/ 


1-800-567-2384 or 519-371-4773 


Kids Help Phone (24 hours) 

1-800-668-6868 or www.kidshelpphone.ca 

Kincardine Family Health Team 

Kincardine - 519-396-2700 

Ripley - 519-395-2601 

www.kincardinefht.ca 

Mino Bimadsawin Health Centre 

57 Mason Dr., Saugeen First Nation 

519-797-3336 

M’Wikwedong Native Cultural Resource 

Centre - Owen Sound 

1-866-202-2068 or admin@mwikwedong.com 

www.mwikwedong.com 

Owen Sound Crisis Pregnancy Centre 

1-888-371-2004 

oscpc@wightman.ca 

Pediatric clinics 

Hanover - 519-364-2340 

Kincardine - 519-396-3331 

Markdale - 519-986-3040 

Owen Sound - 519-376-2121 

Walkerton - 519-881-1220 

Penetangore Wellness 

Art and family therapy 

www.penetangorewellness.com 

Poison Control Centre 

1-800-268-9017 

Postpartum depression 

Grey Bruce Health Unit - 1-800-263-3456 

Keystone Child, Youth and Family Services - 

1-800-567-2384 

Sandra Hall Physiotherapy 

519-270-6528; shallphysio12@gmail.com 

www.sandrahallphysiotherapy.com 

South Bruce Grey Health Centre (hospitals) 

Chesley - 519-363-2340 

Kincardine - 519-396-3331 

Durham - 519-369-2340 

Walkerton - 519-881-1220 

www.sbghc.on.ca 

South East Grey Community Health Centre 

55 Victoria St., Markdale 

519-986-2222 or 1-855-519-2220 

info@segchc.ca or www.segchc.ca 

St. John Ambulance First Aid training 

519-364-7004 or grey.bruce@on.sja.ca 

Online: http://bit.ly/t3Ye8g 

TeleHealth Ontario 

1-866-797-0007 

Thames Valley Children’s Centre 

519-396-3360 or 1-866-590-8822 

www.tvcc.on.ca 

LIBRARIES 

Blue Mountains Public Library/ 

L.E. Shore Memorial Library 

Thornbury 

519-599-3681 or thebluemountainslibrary.ca 

Bruce County Public Library 

opac.brucecounty.on.ca; 519-832-6935; 

libraryinfo@brucecounty.on.ca 

Cargill - 519-366-9990 

Chesley - 519-363-2239 

Kincardine - 519-396-3289 

Lion’s Head - 519-793-3844 

Lucknow - 519-528-3011 

Mildmay - 519-367-2814 

Paisley - 519-353-7225 

Port Elgin - 519-832-2201 

Ripley - 519-395-5919 

Sauble Beach - 519-422-1283 

Southampton - 519-797-3586 

Tara - 519-934-2626 

Teeswater - 519-392-6801 

Tiverton - 519-368-5655 

Tobermory - 519-596-2446 

Walkerton - 519-881-3240 

Wiarton - 519-534-2602 

Collingwood Public Library 

519-445-1571; www.collingwoodpubliclibrary.ca 

Dundalk/Southgate Public Library 

519-923-3248; http://southgate-library.com/ 

Grey Highlands Public Library 

Flesherton - 519-924-2241 

Kimberley - 519-599-6990 

Walter Harris Memorial Library (Markdale) - 

519-986-3436; greyhighlandspubliclibrary.com 


Hanover Public Library 

519-364-1420 or www.hanoverlibrary.ca 

Meaford Public Library 

519-538-1060 

www.meaford.ca/meaford-library-home.html 

Owen Sound and North Grey 

Union Public Library 

519-376-6623; www.owensound.library.on.ca 

West Grey Public Library system 

www.westgreylibrary.com 

Durham (main) branch - 519-369-2107 

Elmwood and area - 519-363-3321 

Neustadt - 519-799-5830 

Ayton/Normanby - 519-799-3242 

MUSEUMS 

Billy Bishop Heritage Museum - Owen Sound 

519-371-0031 or www.billybishop.org 

Bruce County Lighthouse Museums 

Cabot (Lion’s) Head - 519-795-7780 

Chantry Island (Southampton) - 866-318-8889 

Kincardine - 519-396-3468 

Point Clark - 519-395-2494 

Bruce County Museum, Cultural Centre & 

Archives - Southampton 

519-797-2080 or www.brucemuseum.ca 

Bruce Peninsula Visitors Centre 

519-596-2233 or http://bit.ly/rQQFf6 

Tobermory 

Bruce Power Visitors’ Centre 

519-361-7777; www.brucepower.com 

Chesley Heritage & Woodworking Museum 

519-363-9837 

Craigleith Heritage Depot - Thornbury 

519-599-3131 

www.thebluemountains.ca/Craigleith-Heritage-Depot.cfm 

Grey Roots Museum & Archives 

Includes county’s archives 

1-877-GREY ROOTS; www.greyroots.com 

RR4 Owen Sound 

Meaford Museum 

519-538-5974 

www.visitmeaford.com/meaford-museum.html 

Owen Sound Marine and Rail Museum 

519-371-3333 

www.marinerail.com 

Paddy Walker Heritage Society - Kincardine 

519-396-1850 

www.walkerhousekincardine.com 

South Grey Museum - Flesherton 

519-924-2843 or museum@greyhighlands.ca 

www.southgreymuseum.ca 

St. Edmunds Township Museum - Tobermory 

519-596-2479 or online http://bit.ly/vEdicK 

Tobermory Maritime Association 

519-596-2700; www.tobermorymaritime.ca 

Treasure Chest Museum - Paisley 

519-353-7176 or http://bit.ly/1PjTS1D 

ONLINE SUPPORT 

www.211.ca 

www.pathwaysawareness.org 

www.mentallyfit.ca 

www.shelternet.ca 

www.targetyouth.ca 

www.thehealthline.ca 

www.wesforyouthonline.ca 

PLAYGROUPS 

Kincardine Toy Library and Playgroup 

249 Bruce Ave.; Wednesday, 9:30-11:30 a.m. 

Pine River Moms 

519-389-7136; jill.ricica@gmail.com. 

Thursdays during school year, info on FB 

EarlyON Child and Family Centres 

Chesley, Hanover, Kincardine, Markdale, 

Meaford, M’Wikwedong (Owen Sound), Owen 

Sound (East Ridge), Port Elgin, Thornbury, 

Wiarton; 1-800-616-8116 

SPECIAL NEEDS 

Autism Ontario Grey Bruce Chapter 

226-787-0333 or marti@autismontario.com 

http://bit.ly/tO6kam; Owen Sound 

Autism Parent Support Group 

Community Living Kincardine & District 

519-396-9434 or www.clkd.ca 


1-800-265-3005 or www.brucecounty.on.ca 

Walkerton 

Bruce Peninsula (Wiarton) Association 

for Community Living 

519-534-0553 

Community Living Kincardine & District 

519-396-9434; www.clkd.ca 

Community Living Meaford 

519-538-4165 

Community Living Owen Sound 

and District 

519-371-9251 or communitylivingowensound.ca 

Community Living Walkerton & District 

519-881-3713 or www.clwalkerton.org 

Georgian Riding Association 

for Challenged Equestrians 

519-372-2721; grace@log.on.ca 

Wicklen Stables, RR5 Owen Sound 

Hope Haven Therapeutic Riding Centre 

519-986-1247 

www.hopehavencentre.org 


Owen Sound; 1-800-567-2384 


PRANCE Therapeutic Riding Centre 

519-832-2522 or prance@bmts.com 

Miramichi Farms, Hwy. 21 Port Elgin 

Reading Rescue Ontario 

519-794-4745 or soehner@bmts.com 

www.readingrescueontario.ca 

Holland Centre 

South Grey Bruce Youth Literacy Council 

519-364-0008 or info@sgbyouthliteracy.org 

www.sgbyouthliteracy.org 

Hanover 

Special Therapy and Education 

Program of Saugeen (STEPS) 

519-797-1935 

info@stepsahead.ca; www.stepsahead.ca 

Southampton 

Thames Valley Children’s Centre 

519-396-3360, 1-866-590-8822 

Paula.Holla@tvcc.on.ca or 

Clare.Matthews@tvcc.on.ca 

www.tvcc.on.ca 

United Way of Bruce Grey 

519-376-1560; unitedwaybg@bmts.com 

www.unitedwayofbrucegrey.com/ 

Owen Sound 

SPEECH/LANGUAGE 


1-800-265-3005; www.brucecounty.on.ca 

Walkerton 

Closing the Gap Healthcare Group 

Rehab Express Grey Bruce 

1-866-990-9901 or www.closingthegap.ca 

Owen Sound 

Grey Bruce Health Unit - Owen Sound 

1-800-263-3456 



South West Community Care Access Centre 

In-Home Services 

Owen Sound - 519-371-2112 

Walkerton - 519-881-1181 

www.sw.ccac-ont.ca 

VOICE for Hearing Impaired Children 

Support, speech and language therapy 

Grey/Bruce chapter is free to families 

www.voicefordeafkids.com 

WISH PROGRAMS 

Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada 

1-800-267-9474 

on@childrenswish.ca or www.childrenswish.ca 

Ajax, ON 

Make-A-Wish - Southwestern Ontario Chapter 

519-471-4900 or www.makeawishswo.org 

London, ON GBK 


RECIPES 

Turkey time! 

BAKED TURKEY SPRING ROLLS 

INGREDIENTS 

4 oz rice vermicelli 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

1 onion, diced 

3 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger root 

2 cups shredded red cabbage 

1 lb turkey, cooked and coarsely chopped 

½ tsp each salt and pepper 

2 large carrots, grated 

2 cups bean sprouts 

1 pkg large square spring roll wrappers 

1 egg yolk, beaten 

SWEET CHILI SAUCE 

¾ cup hoisin sauce 

¼ cup water 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tbsp each liquid honey and rice vinegar 

2 tsp sambal oelek or hot chili sauce 

INSTRUCTIONS 

Sweet Chili Sauce: In bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce, 

water, garlic, honey, vinegar and sambal oelek until honey is 

dissolved. Set aside. Cover rice vermicelli in hot water and soak 

10 minutes or until soft. Drain very well, using fine sieve to 

extract as much liquid as possible. Cut into 2-inch lengths and 

set aside. 

In large skillet, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat; 

cook onion, garlic and ginger, stirring, until softened, about 

three minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add cabbage; cover 

and cook until tender-crisp, about five minutes. Add turkey and 

1 cup of the sauce, salt and pepper; cook, stirring to coat, for 

two minutes. Transfer to bowl. Stir in carrots, bean sprouts and 

rice vermicelli; let cool. Lay one spring roll wrapper on work 

surface with point facing away from you. Place 1/2 cup of the 

turkey mixture just below centre. Fold bottom point of wrapper 

over filling. Roll over once, so filling is enclosed. Fold over sides 

and continue rolling. Using fingertip, dab egg on top point of 

wrapper and seal. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. 

Place on greased baking sheet. Cover and refrigerate for up to 

two days. Brush remaining oil lightly all over spring rolls. Bake 

in 425 F oven, turning once, until crisp and golden, about 25 

minutes. Serve with remaining sauce. 

TURKEY, CAULIFLOWER AND PASTA BAKE 

INGREDIENTS 

3 cups penne pasta 

3 cups small cauliflower florets 

3 tbsp butter 

1 onion, diced 

¼ cup all-purpose flour 

1 tsp dried sage leaves 

½ tsp each salt and dried thyme leaves 

Pinch pepper 

2 ½ cups sodium-reduced chicken broth 

2 cups shredded havarti cheese 

1 ½ cups turkey, chopped and cooked 

4 cups torn spinach leaves 

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs 

INSTRUCTIONS 

Bring large pot of water to boil. Add pasta and return to boil; 

cook six minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cauliflower; cover 

and return to boil. Uncover and cook for two minutes or until 

pasta is al dente. Drain well. 

Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, melt butter over mediumhigh 

heat. Add onion and cook until slightly softened, about 

two minutes. Stir in flour, sage, salt, thyme and pepper, 

gradually stir in broth; bring to boil, whisking often. Cook a 

few minutes or until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Stir 

in 11/2 cups of the cheese until melted. 

In large bowl, combine pasta mixture, turkey, spinach 

and sauce. Pour into a greased 12-cup casserole dish. Toss 

breadcrumbs with remaining cheese; sprinkle evenly over all. 

Bake in 375 F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and 

top is golden. Let stand for five to 10 minutes before serving. 

Recipes courtesy Foodland Ontario 


WWW.CAMPCELTIC.CA INFO@CAMPCELTIC.CA 519-793-3911

Borrow 

than books, 

Borrow 

Snowshoes 

Ukuleles 

Sensory Kits 

Museum Passes 

Technology & STEM Kits 

Sports Kits 

library.brucecounty.on.ca

Grey-Bruce Kids Winter 2021/22

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