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Three favourite picks from the Greenbelt Holiday Gift Guide

Researching for our Greenbelt Holiday Gift Guide confirmed one thing for us: there is so much to see and do in the Greenbelt, our Gift Guide could be a mile long (or 1.8 million acres wide.) We chose to highlight a range of products and activities that represent the diversity of this broad region. Here are three of our favourites:

All-Ontario Handmade Leather Moccasins

Hides in Hand crafts all sorts of beautiful leather products sourced from the Greenbelt and across Ontario. They work with local hunters and a local tannery to promote the local economy, and to create quality goods that are truly Canadian. One of our employees loves these moccasins so much, she purchased a pair for herself. Check out their whole range of bags, moccasins and gloves: www.hidesinhand.com

 

Ice Climbing at Tiffany Falls

The Hamilton region is known as the Waterfall Capital of the World, with over 140 of these beautiful formations scattered all around the Greenbelt. One Axe Pursuits offers a unique way to enjoy waterfalls even in the dead of winter with their Intro to Ice Climbing course. We are so excited about ice climbing that we will be hacking our way to the top this winter. Stay tuned for our blog on our experience, which is sure to be an exciting, albeit chilly, day.

 

Greenbelt Century Farm Tea Towels

We were turned onto Roisin Fagan's unique functional art when she participated in our acclaimed Greenbelt Quilt of Possibilties. These gorgeous handprinted organic cotton and hemp tea towels features line drawings from her quilt piece, as well as a few other nostalgia-inducing farm sights. Pick up at the White Elephant in Hamilton, Distill Gallery in Toronto or online from Fagan’s Etsy shop www.roisin.ca

The Greenbelt Foundation is

  • 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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Developing a successful culinary tourism platform for Niagara

  • Supporting food policy council in Durham to create food charter

  • Contributing to greater sales of Greenbelt wines at the LCBO

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

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

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

  • Successfully merging social welfare initiatives with environmental concerns

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • 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

  • Supporting interested Greenbelt Farmers to Go Organic

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

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

  • Convincing Peel school boards to buy Greenbelt food for students

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

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

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

  • Supporting tourism initiatives including in the Niagara and Caledon areas

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 
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