Global Greenbelts Conference
2011 Global Greenbelts Conference Full Program
The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation hosted an International Greenbelts Conference in Toronto on March 22nd - 24th, 2011. Through the sharing of diverse experience and perspectives, the Conference sparked new ideas about the possibilities that greenbelts offer, and generated new ways of tackling some of the complex challenges in near urban farming, rural vibrancy, and protecting our ecosystems and the numerous benefits they provide.
As the conference came to a close delegates repeated the message - what are the next steps? The Result: a Call to Action to Establish an International Greenbelt Network. Toronto Declaration for Global Greenbelts: Local Solutions for Global Challenges.
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Keynote Speakers
Honourable Jim Bradley
Margaret Atwood - Keynote Speech
Dr. Ronald F. Williamson - Keynote Speech
Plenary: International Perspectives on Greenbelts and their Possibilities
Moderator - Peter Waine, Chair, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), United Kingdom
Klaus Wichert, Head of the Environment Department, Frankfurt-RheinMain, Germany
Frankfurt am Main: City of Greenbelts
John Ginivan, Executive Director, Planning Policy, Department of Planning and Community Development, Victoria State Government, Australia
Greenbelts, Green Wedges or Disputed Ground: Melbourne and its Hinterland
Rodrigo Victor, Director-General, São Paulo State Forest Institute, Brazil
São Paulo City Green Belt Biosphere Reserve: A Platform for Integrated Sustainable Land Management
Sustaining Rural Vitality
Moderator - Annemiek Canjels, Senior Advisor, Department for Rural Development, Limburg Province, Netherlands
Lenie Dwarshuis van de Beek, member of the Executive Board of Peri-Urban Regions Platform Europe (PURPLE) network, and Vice Governor, Province of South Holland, Netherlands
Challenges and Opportunites of Europe's Peri-Urban Areas: The Experience of the Purple Network
Michael Florio, Community Economic Development Specialist, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ontario
Rob Hindle, Rural Development Consultant, Rural Innovation, United Kingdom
Green Zone 2025: Unleashing the Potential of Rural Merseyside
The Changing Landscape of Farming
Moderator: John Burke, Canada
Trevor Budge, Associate Professor, La Trobe University, Australia
Jamie Reaume, Executive Director, the Holland Marsh Growers’ Association, Ontario, Canada
Making the Most of Geography: Putting the Greenbelt's Holland Marsh on the Map
Lori Stahlbrand, Founder and President of Local Food Plus (LFP), Ontario, Canada
Local Sustainable Farming for Successful Greenbelts: The Local Food Plus Approach
Incorporating the Economic Benefits of Greenbelts into Decision Making – Speakers from the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Canada
Moderator: Dr. Faisal Moola, Director, Terrestrial Conservation and Science Program, David Suzuki Foundation, Ontario
Dr. Wim Heijmans, Chair of Regional Economics, Wageningen University, Netherlands
Designing the Optimum Landscape
Mike Puddister (Director, Restoration and Stewardship, Credit Valley Conservation Authority, Ontario) and Tatiana Koveshnikova (Ecological Goods and Services Coordinator, Credit Valley Conservation Authority, Ontario)
Dr. Will Williams,Former Programme Director, Natural Economy Northwest, United Kingdom
Natural Economy Northwest: The Socio-Economic Benefits of Investment in Green Infrastructure
Plenary: International Perspectives on Greenbelts and their Possibilities
Moderator: Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director, Environmental Defence, Ontario
Dr. Agata Cieszewska, Department of Landscape Architecture, Warsaw University, Poland
Stephanie Reyes, Policy Director, Greenbelt Alliance, San Francisco, United States
Dr. Liana Geidezis, BUND Naturschutz in Bayern e.V., e.V. , Germany
Iron Curtain Green Belt and European Green Belt
Harbourfront Evening: European Reception and Dinner.
Enhancing Ecosystems and Biodiversity – Speakers from Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Canada
Moderator: Nicola Ross, Editor, Alternatives Journal, Ontario
Cheryl de Boer, University of Twente, Netherlands
Reaching Nature Development, Water Management, and Biodiversity Goals in the Netherlands
Dr. Gail Krantzberg, Professor and Director, McMaster University Centre for Engineering and Public Policy, Ontario
Ensuring the Ecological Functioning of Ontario's Greenbelt
Paul Nolan, Project Director, The Mersey Forest Team, United Kingdom
Green Infrastructure: Planning for the Liverpool City Region
Dr. Uwe Riecken, Head of Habitat Protection and Landscape Ecology, German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
From Death Zone to Life Line: Implementing the German Green Belt
Everyone’s Greenbelt: Reaching Out to Diverse Communities – Speakers from the United States and Canada
Moderator: Chandra Sharma, Watershed Specialist and Senior Manager Climate Programs, Toronto Region Conservation Authority, Ontario
Franz Hartmann, Executive Director, Toronto Environmental Alliance, Ontario
Promoting Locally Grown Ethno-Cultural Food
Peter Mitchell, Research Associate, Centre for Land and Water Stewardship, Ontario
Stephanie Reyes, Policy Director, Greenbelt Alliance, San Francisco, United States
Engaging Diverse Communities in Smart Growth Planning
Sri Sethuratanam, Program Manager, FarmStart Ontario
Supporting a New Generation of Farmers
Greenbelts and Infrastructure Development - Speakers from Denmark, Germany, and Canada
Moderator: Pat Boeckner, Director, Transportation Planning Branch, Ontario Ministry of Transportation
Steve Peck, Founder and President, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and the Green Infrastructure Foundation, Ontario
Facilitating Green Infrastructure Opportunities
Henrik Vejre, Professor, Forest and Landscape Department, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Slicing the Green Wedges: Infrastructure Projects of the Copenhagen Open Space
Klaus Wichert, Head of the Environment Department, Frankfurt-RheinMain, Germany
Infrastructure and Frankfurt's Green Belt
Governing Greenbelts – Speakers from Germany, the United States, and Canada
Moderator: Dr. Mark Winfield, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University, Ontario
Marcel Houtzager, Regional Portfolio Holder on Green Policy, Recreation and Tourism, the Hague Region, the Netherlands
Regional Governance and Integrated Planning in the Hague Region
Ken Kirkey, Planning Director, Association of Bay Area Governments, United States
Developing Regional Consensus for Conservation and Smart Growth
Dr. Pamela Robinson, Associate Professor, Ryerson University School of Urban and Regional Planning, Ontario
Governing Ontario's Greenbelt: Possibility Grows Here
Gabriel Schwaderer, Executive Director, Euronatur, Germany
Facilitating Trans Boundary Cooperation to Develop the Balkan Greenbelt
Connecting People to Greenbelts – Speakers from Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Germany
Moderator: Kirk Miller, former Chief Executive Officer & Chair, Agricultural Land Commission, and KB Miller & Associations, British Columbia
Dr. Uwe Riecken, Head of Habitat Protection and Landscape Ecology, German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Experiencing the Green Belt: Connecting Nature, People, and History
Rodrigo Victor, Director-General, Sao Paulo State Forest Institute, Brazil
Pam Warhurst
Using Local Food to Engage People in Sustainability
Improving Urban Food Access – Speakers from the United States, Australia, and Canada
Moderator: Nick Saul, Executive Director, The Stop Community Food Centre, Ontario
Debbie Field, Executive Director, FoodShare, Ontario
From Field to Table: Increasing Connections Between Local Farmers and People in the City
Trevor Budge, Associate Professor, La Trobe University, Australia
Food for All: Building Capacity to Address Food Security
Nikki Henderson, Executive Director, People’s Grocery, California
Food, Justice and Community (No Presentation available)
Plenary: Five Big Ideas for Greenbelts
Five experts will each present their big idea for the futures of greenbelts for a sustainable world.
- Moderator: Sandy Houston, President, Metcalf Foundation
- Dr. Michael Buxton, Associate Professor RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
- Dr. Agata Cieszewska, Warsaw University, Poland
- Dr. Robert Gibson, University of Waterloo, Canada
- Rob Hindle, Rural Innovation Inc., UK
- Pam Warhurst, Chair, Forestry Commission, Co-Founder, Incredible Edible Todmorden, and Chair, Pennine Prospects, UK
A creative element of the conference, the Reel Greenbelt Contest invited individuals aged 17-29 to submit a public service announcement outlining why the Greenbelt is important. The contest drew in ten unique submissions and three judges, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Michael McGowan, and Mohit Rajhans, helped judge.
