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Ontario's Greenbelt in an International Context

The goal of permanently protecting Ontario’s Greenbelt is central to the vision articulated in the Greenbelt Plan.This report documents the experience of greenbelts around the globe and identifies lessons applicable to ensuring the permanence of Ontario’s Greenbelt, which this year achieves a five-year milestone. [The eleventh installment in the Occasional Paper Series presented by the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation.]

"Ontario's Greenbelt in an International Context" authored by Maureen Carter-Whitney

 

A Note on the Series

The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation is committed to promoting awareness and education about Ontario’s Greenbelt. To this end we occasionally publish research and general interest papers that explore our three program areas:

  • viable agriculture and viticulture;
  • vibrant rural communities; and,
  • a restored and protected natural environment.

While all efforts are made to ensure the content of the Occasional Paper Series is current and accurate, the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation accepts no liability whatsoever in regard to the information contained herein.

The Greenbelt Foundation is

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

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

  • 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

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

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

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

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

  • 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

  • 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

  • Supporting interested Greenbelt Farmers to Go Organic

  • Convincing Peel school boards to buy Greenbelt food for students

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Developing a successful culinary tourism platform for Niagara

  • Contributing to greater sales of Greenbelt wines at the LCBO

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

  • Supporting food policy council in Durham to create food charter

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

  • 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

  • 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

  • Supporting tourism initiatives including in the Niagara and Caledon areas

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

  • Successfully merging social welfare initiatives with environmental concerns

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

  • 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

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

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

 
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