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Waterfront Regeneration Trust

Greenbelt Express-Bike Train 2010

Grants Made:

$40,000 - February 8, 2010

http://www.waterfronttrail.org/index.html

The “2010 Greenbelt Express” project promotes the Greenbelt as an attractive destination for cycling tourism, with a sustainable transportation option for travel between Toronto and Niagara by train. Bike Train integrates GO Transit services in addition to VIA Rail, broadens the network of Greenbelt cycle tourism ambassadors and completes a strategy for long-term financial sustainability of the program, while investing in market research to help measure the economic and tourism impacts in Niagara.

 

The Greenbelt Foundation is

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

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

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

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

  • 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

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

  • Supporting food policy council in Durham to create food charter

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

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

  • Successfully merging social welfare initiatives with environmental concerns

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

  • 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

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

  • Convincing Peel school boards to buy Greenbelt food for students

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

  • 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

  • Supporting tourism initiatives including in the Niagara and Caledon areas

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

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

  • 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

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

  • Contributing to greater sales of Greenbelt wines at the LCBO

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Developing a successful culinary tourism platform for Niagara

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

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

  • Supporting interested Greenbelt Farmers to Go Organic

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

 
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Dufferin Wellington Peel: total economic impact of Greenbelt ag, forestry, fishing rec & tourism = +$493M http://t.co/dMqj9cnI @TownofErin about 12 hours ago

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