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Rural Regions & Points of Interest

The Greenbelt is home to a myriad of beautiful rural communities, each one offering its own unique character and a number of exciting events. Click below to visit the Greenbelt's rural regions or points of interest: 

Rural Regions

The regions that lie within the Greenbelt each carry their own unique character, offering a multitude of experiences ranging from art galleries to rock climbing to enjoying a delicious culinary experience at a country restaurant. 

Points of Interest

Throughout the Greenbelt's rural communities there are numerous points of interest that are varied enough to fascinate any visitor.

The Greenbelt Foundation is

  • Bridging farming and hiking interests to acknowledge environmental progress by farmers

  • Contributing to greater sales of Greenbelt wines at the LCBO

  • Funding research and analysis on greenbelts around the globe which concluded that Ontario’s Greenbelt is the most robust in the world, with a strong legal and policy framework

  • Identifying barriers to opening markets for Greenbelt farmers and proposing solutions

  • Reaching over 75 million by placing 220 permanent highway and regional road signs to ensure Ontarians and visitors know about this valuable protected area

  • Supporting the creation of new multi-cultural crops and development of ethnic local food guides in Toronto and York Region

  • Assisting in designing new policies to protect Lake Simcoe through timely research

  • Funding policy changes to encourage more local food to be sold in Durham

  • Building a local food economy from developing new markets to enhancing distribution channels

  • Supporting tourism initiatives including in the Niagara and Caledon areas

  • Hosted the first ever Global Greenbelts Conference in Toronto in March 2011 with speakers and delegates from over nine countries

  • Supporting the creation of an award-winning Greenbelt granola bar

  • Supporting the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance to foster strong Greenbelt Plan implementation at the municipal level

  • Supporting interested Greenbelt Farmers to Go Organic

  • Increasing amount of Greenbelt food in food share program 140%

  • Convincing Peel school boards to buy Greenbelt food for students

  • Securing local food procurement commitments for Peel, U of T. City of Toronto Facilities and Markham

  • Supporting development of action plans for a variety of agricultural areas and commodities

  • Participating strategically in growing the Greenbelt by working with Toronto, Peel, Halton, and Guelph

  • Supporting changing the City of Toronto policy to adopt a local food purchasing bylaw for city facilities

  • Engaged Hamilton schools to switch to Greenbelt food for their students

  • Providing grants and support to significantly increase sales at farmers’ markets

  • Funding visionary planning processes such as the new Cootes to Escarpment Park Management Plan, and a massive reforestation plan in Rouge Park

  • Funding the Holland Marsh Growers’ transition from an export, commodity focus to one that serves the local market with value- added products

  • Successfully merging social welfare initiatives with environmental concerns

  • Bringing thousands of Ontarians out into the Greenbelt each year through grantee activities and the Annual Tour de Greenbelt cycling event

  • Enhancing Farmers’ Markets, increasing sales for farmers in the Greenbelt and beyond

  • Contributing $2.65 million to Greenbelt farmers to improve their operations (leveraging millions of dollars from federal sources), and to employ the opportunities of the Green Energy Act

  • Creating Greenbeltfresh.ca, the leading electronic marketplace to source local, Greenbelt foods from over 600 producers

  • Supporting the Credit Valley Conservation Authority to protect and restore wetlands

  • Partnering with Harbourfront Centre to tell the story of Ontario’s Greenbelt to 12 million people via a year-long, outdoor photography exhibit

  • Hosting the successful Tour de Greenbelt to promote Ontario’s Greenbelt as a tourism destination

  • Developing a successful culinary tourism platform for Niagara

  • Creating a network of Farmer’s Markets to help improve our local food economy

  • Engaging with over 170 million Ontarians directly through our marketing, events and communications activities

  • Supporting food policy council in Durham to create food charter

  • Securing local food procurement commitments for Peel schools, City of Toronto, City of Markham and others

  • Supporting the development of multi-cultural crops and training new Canadian Farmers

 
Learn more about what the Greenbelt Foundation has done for you »

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The Greenbelt Blog

Plotting Your Greenbelt Farmers' Market Tour

May marks the beginning of the farmers’ market season. Your weekly market starts up, familiar faces reappear, and your neighbourhood is reenergized after the long winter months. To make sure...

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Greenbelt on Twitter

Dufferin Wellington Peel: total economic impact of Greenbelt ag, forestry, fishing rec & tourism = +$493M http://t.co/dMqj9cnI @TownofErin about 10 hours ago

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