Grantee Spotlight is a blog series highlighting the experiences and successes of the Foundation’s grantees, as they work with communities and other Greenbelt partners to keep our province’s farmlands, forests, and wetlands safe and sustainable for future generations.

It’s our Greenbelt too!
Youth speak out about the future of our Greenbelt

Guest post from Julia Martini, Environmental Education Coordinator, EcoSpark

The first round of public consultations for the 2015 Coordinated Review may be over, but we were reminded that we haven’t yet heard from everyone.

On November 5th 2015, 150 students, teachers, scouts, local organizations and community members joined EcoSpark and Dunbarton High School in Pickering for a memorable student-led Greenbelt community forum. The night may have been about the Greenbelt, but the spotlight was on youth!

The Greenbelt forum provided youth with the much-needed opportunity to share their ideas, information and experiences on this beautiful and important landscape. Youth reminded us that they are the future voters and stewards of the environment and they had a lot to say to those making the decisions about the future of the Greenbelt.

Environment, Grants, Nature, Grantee Spotlight,

Funding to support the development of a master plan for the Credit Valley Trail was announced on the Culham Trail near Credit Valley Conservation’s administration office in Mississauga, on September 11, 2015.  Project lead Susan Robertson (far right) and Greenbelt Foundation Vice-President Susan Murray (sixth from the right) attended the announcement with local councillors and provincial politicians.  

On September 11, 2015 the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and Credit Valley Conversation announced a plan to develop a 110-kilometre hiking trail along the Credit River.

With a $100,000 grant from the Foundation, Credit Valley Conservation, partnering with the Credit Valley Heritage Society, will bring to life a 60-year old vision of a connected pedestrian corridor. The new 110-km trail will allow walkers and cyclists to travel from the Credit River headwaters in Orangeville to the mouth of the river at Port Credit on Lake Ontario.

The full trail is expected to be finished in 10-15 years.

The first step is to engage members of the public in the four municipalities along the river to develop the preferred route, identify the cultural and natural highlights along the way, and assess land securement priorities. 

To kick-start the process, we asked our Greenbelt Friends living along or near the proposed route to complete a short survey about what they’d like to see as part of the new Credit Valley Trail.

We received almost 200 responses!

Below, project-lead Susan Robertson gives us the scoop on what people want from the new Credit Valley Trail.   

Environment, Grants, Nature, Recreation,

The end of the summer is upon us, which also foreshadows the end of the gardening season. Not to tout my own horn, but I’ve learned a few things about community gardening through overseeing the 2015 growing season of the Greenbelt Foundation's New Canadian Go Greenbelt grant. One of the grant's main purposes was to supply Chinese and South Asian crop seedlings to 14 low-income community gardens found throughout the Greater Toronto Area. 

Food and Farming, Grants, Local Food, Food and Drink,

The day dawned grey and overcast on September 20th, 2014 for the 8th Annual Prairie Day at Alderville Black Oak Savanna Ecology Centre, a 30-minute drive north of Cobourg. Despite the ominous weather, the event started off well with a smudging ceremony from the Alderville First Nation, as well as speeches carrying messages of hope and regeneration.

The savanna landscape visible now is a testament to the incredible efforts and collaboration of many groups working as part of the Rice Lake Plains Joint Initiative: Alderville First Nation, Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation, Environment Canada, and more.

Environment, Grants, Nature, Recreation,

For Immediate Release 

July 25, 2014 

Countryside Stewardship Connection

Do you want to connect with the Credit River watershed’s rural community? Do you want to share success stories, discuss issues, and learn about countryside living and the environment? Are you looking for expert advice on caring for your land and water?

Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) and the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation introduce a brand new online discussion forum called the Countryside Stewardship Connection. The Connection allows rural landowners, community groups, environmental agencies and local businesses to network with each other and CVC in a new and exciting way.

Environment, Grants, Guest Submission,

"My well isn't up to standard; is there any funding to help me upgrade it?"

"I think I have a problem with invasive species on my property, HELP!"  

"Check out the grasslands in my backyard. I’ve seen a breeding pair of Bobolink hanging around!" 

These are the types of things rural landowners in the Credit River watershed will be posting on Credit Valley Conservation's new online discussion forum.

Environment, Grants,

Participants on the Biodiversity Tour explored the rugged rocks and caverns of Greig's Caves south of Lion's Head.

We carefully climbed the rugged rocks at Greig's Caves while glancing up at the cavernous dolostone looming overhead. Our guides Sean Liipere, Program Manager for the Bruce Peninsula Biosphere Association and Jenna McGuire, naturalist at the Bruce Peninsula National Park, excitedly pointed upwards to the old white cedar growing out of the cliff. Over a century ago fires had decimated so many of the Peninsula's ancient forests it was possible to see the waters of Georgian Bay then turn and look at Lake Huron. 

Environment, Grants, Events, Guest Submission,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 30, 2014 

MAKING NATURAL CONNECTIONS ACROSS ONTARIO'S GREENBELT
Innovative Projects Support Farmers, Environment, Economy, and More 

From guided tours and workshops in Northumberland County to engaging landowners in Hamilton-Burlington’s Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark, the latest projects from the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation continue to support the viability and protection of Ontario's vast and world-leading Greenbelt.

Grants, Foundation, Nature,

John Holland speaking at the Eileen and John Holland Nature Sanctuary opening. Credit: Conservation Halton/NFinney.

On May 30, 2014, approximately 70 Burlington residents and local politicians gathered to honour John Holland, a local businessman, at the unveiling of a new nature sanctuary in West Burlington.

The Eileen and John Holland Nature Sanctuary, a beautiful and largely untouched 37-acre property, was donated by the Holland family to the City of Burlington. It now becomes a jewel in the crown that is the Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System, as an area of national significance for plants and animals within the Greenbelt, and as one of the last unspoiled spots left between Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment.

Environment, Grants, Nature,

Truth be told, I really like riding my bike.  I like it so much that I have spent nearly a cumulative year of my life on cycling holidays, and in the first week of May I had the pleasure of adding one more feather to my cycling cap.

Grants, Spring, Cycling,