Tales from Durham is a blog series focused on the people and places that make Durham’s Greenbelt great. The series will cover everything from local businesses, to seasonal events, to life on Durham farms. Look out for our upcoming posts to stay up-to-date and informed on exciting going-ons in Durham's Greenbelt. 

What do you get when you mix the natural beauty of the Greenbelt, the imagination of a local artist, and the hard work and creativity of students, staff, and teachers? Three new Greenbelt murals in Durham's public schools! 

Since 2012, The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation has partnered with artists and communities across the Golden Horseshoe to bring a little Greenbelt into public schools and outdoor spaces. 

Our latest mural partnerships have taken us into Durham schools. The students not only get to participate in the mural-creating process, they get to learn about the Greenbelt's value, and liven up their school hallways, all at the same time.

Now that the first set of murals are complete, we're excited to share the incredible results with you all. See below for pictures!

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Growing our Greenbelt is a blog series focusing on "areas of critical ecological and hydrological significance" recently flagged by more than 100 environmental and community group as requiring Greenbelt protection. Over the next several months, we'll be highlighting the headwaters, ground water recharge areas, surface water features and urban river valleys that, if added to the Greenbelt Plan, would be part of protected and connected clean water system. 

Want to see your Greenbelt grow? Follow our series and use #GrowOurGB on social media to join the movement!

Did you know….

Significant portions of the headwater catchment area for the Humber River are not currently protected under the Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine Plans?

But here’s the good news, more than 100 community and environmental groups are recommending that the provincial government fix this protection gap before we lose these critical headwater areas to the pressures of urbanization.

It’s all part of a recently released "Bluebelt" proposal that calls for a 1.5 million acre Greenbelt expansion into Ontario's sensitive water systems (Find out more about the proposal here).  

The “Bluebelt” proposal identifies three specific Humber River headwater catchment areas in Peel and York vulnerable to urban development. These areas, circled on the map above, are adjacent to and surrounded by Greenbelt protected lands.

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The U.S. Republican primary election is the best entertainment in town. The extreme statements by Donald Trump provide media fodder that is reminiscent of those by former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford‎. The fighting on debate stages is better than any reality TV show.‎ And now GOP elders entertain us with colourful language about the front runner.

But what's really interesting is the commonality between the rise of the unexpected candidates in both parties. Before you think me as crazy as the Donald, hear me out.

On the Democratic Party side, there is Bernie Sanders saying the other candidate is owned by Wall Street and its millions of donation dollars. ‎Sanders is financing his campaign with small donations.That message is playing well for him and has propelled him as a serious threat to Clinton. Young people in particular like that message.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump often reminds his audiences that his campaign is self-financed and that his opponents are in the pockets of lobbyists. That makes him appealing to a large portion of his supporters.

So on both sides of the aisle American voters have tired of the influence of corporate donations. They believe them to be too dominant.

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February 28, 2016 marks 11 years since the Greenbelt Act established the largest greenbelt in the world. 

A lot has happened since, and at the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation we’re fortunate to be a part of it. 

The tireless efforts of our friends, partners, and grantees over the last 11 years have shown Ontarians that the Greenbelt is one of the most important contributions to the future of the province and has ensured that the Greenbelt is a great place to live, work, play and grow. 

And here’s the best part – after 11 great years, there’s still more to come!

In honour of 11 years of the Greenbelt, here are the top 11 things we’re looking forward to in the years ahead. 

1. A greener, more robust Greenbelt
2. An opportunity to grow our Greenbelt 
3. An 110-km Credit Valley Trail
4. More varieties of Tender Fruit
5. More Cycling Infrastructure
6. A growing local food sector
7. Improving the Greenbelt’s ecological health
8. Preparing for climate change
9. Partnerships and knowledge-sharing with Ontario’s planners
10. Leveraging green infrastructure and natural capital in Ontario’s Greenbelt
11. The voices and innovation of Greenbelt youth 

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 Farmers' Market: Tracking Market Farmer and Vendor Performance 2009-2015
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In 2015, the Greenbelt Farmers’ Market Network (GBFMN) collaborated with Informa Market Research, visiting 30 network markets and interviewing 82 farmers, as well as 26 other market vendors. Results were compared with GBFMN’s 2009 survey to learn about growth and change in the sector. This study is intended to assist farmers’ market vendors and organizers, and inspire the interest and support of market shoppers and funders.

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Growing our Greenbelt is a blog series focusing on "areas of critical ecological and hydrological significance" recently flagged by more than 100 environmental and community group as requiring Greenbelt protection. Over the next several months, we'll be highlighting the headwaters, ground water recharge areas, surface water features and urban river valleys that, if added to the Greenbelt Plan, would be part of protected and connected clean water system. 

Want to see your Greenbelt grow? Follow our series and use #GrowOurGB on social media to join the movement!

Exciting news Niagarans!

More than 100 community and environmental groups are calling for Niagara’s Lake Gibson and Twelve Mile Creek to be added to Greenbelt Protection. 

It’s all part of a recently released plan that calls for a 1.5 million acre Greenbelt expansion into Ontario's sensitive water systems. (Find out more about the proposal here).  

In Niagara, we’re lucky to be surrounded by what seems to be a never ending supply of fresh water – but it’s how we take care of it that matters.  

And there are lots of reasons we should make the protection of Lake Gibson and the Twelve Mile Creek a top priority – here are just a few.

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On Tuesday January 26 we hosted our Greenbelt Review Telephone Town Hall! 

From 7pm to 8pm we had a live and interactive conversation on the ongoing provincial review of the Growth and Greenbelt Plans, with more than 11,000 people joining us!

The Town Hall was hosted by Greenbelt Vice-President Susan Murray with two guest speakers--David Crombie, Chair of the Land Use Advisory Panel and Burkhard Mausberg, CEO of the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation--fielding questions from participants. 

We discussed everything from smart growth, to the future of agriculture, to water protection and urban river valleys. 

Listen to the full recording below! 

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We are encouraged by the province's decision to grow the Greenbelt to include 21 urban river valleys and seven coastal wetlands, bringing the Greenbelt into cities and towns with over 6 million residents. 

The province also added four parcels of protected countryside in the City of Hamilton and Niagara Region. 

But...the widely supported grassroots initiative to expand the Greenbelt and protect a ‘Bluebelt’ of vulnerable water resources was left out of the amendments to the Greenbelt Plan. We hear that the province plans to start a process to identify such areas in the coming months - let's hold them to their word!

The grassroots 'bluebelt' proposal, put together by a coalition of over 100 environmental and community groups, calls for an ambitious expansion of the Greenbelt in order to protect critical drinking water sources and to ensure an abundant supply of clean water.

Find out more about the proposal and take action at GrowOurGreenbelt.ca!

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** Update (Jan 2016): The Government of Ontario is currently reviewing the recommendations laid out in the Land Use Advisory Panel's report as well as all comments submitted for the co-ordinated review.

We expect the government to release the proposed amendments to the land use plans in the coming months. These proposed amendments will be open for public input. We don't yet know the form this public input process will take but we will be updating this page as we learn more!

Scroll to the bottom of the page to find out you can show your support for the Greenbelt leading up to these important conversations.

Grow the Greenbelt, protect natural heritage, invest in transit and infrastructure, and create liveable communities – these are just some of the findings of the 6-person Advisory Panel that has spend just under a year reviewing Ontario’s four land plans. 

After months spent going over the research, consulting with experts and stakeholders, and reviewing public feedback, the Advisory Panel has presented their much-anticipated recommendations to the provincial government.

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On the evening of December 4, 2015 the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation honoured former Premier Dalton McGuinty with the Friend of the Greenbelt Award.

Some 400 guests joined us for the celebration - from our partners and grantees, to our Greenbelt Friends and champions, to elected officials and long-time Greenbelt activists.

But among all our notable guests, it was our smallest attendee who made the biggest impression. At 7-years old, Alexander—a Friend of the Greenbelt and dedicated environmentalist—was not only our youngest guest, he was also our most enthusiastic.

After seeing Alexander work the crowd like a pro, we wanted to get his thoughts on the evening, on the Greenbelt, and on meeting the former Premier.

Here’s what he had to say!

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