The Greenbelt’s natural resources and river valleys provide tremendous benefits to rural and urban residents in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, as well as a return of over $3.2 billion annually in flood protection, fresh water, clean air, and the enjoyment of nature.
The world-renowned Oak Ridges Moraine and Niagara Escarpment are the ecological building blocks of the Greenbelt. Ensuring the ecosystems that call these landforms home remain healthy and protected is integral for them to continue to deliver the ecosystem services we depend on, while providing unique habitat for endangered species.
This is a pressing challenge in the Canada’s most densely populated region, and the Foundation works to restore and enhance the Greenbelt’s natural systems, while investigating and finding solutions for challenges facing the landscape, including:
- Working with nature to increase regional resiliency and public benefits from the Greenbelt
- Engaging communities to improve the ecology and enjoyment of the urban river valleys protected by the Greenbelt
- Protecting biodiversity by identifying important ecological ‘hotspots’ and natural connections between the Greenbelt and the broader southern Ontario landscape
- Engaging Indigenous communities to understand perspectives and objectives for the landscape