Enhancing Ontario’s Iconic Oak Ridges Moraine Trail

Purpose 

The Oak Ridges Trail Association (ORTA) and the Greenbelt Foundation invite proposals from qualified consultant teams to lead a focused engagement process to inform the future direction of the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail. This project will help establish a long-term vision for the Trail corridor by gathering meaningful input to refine the Trail’s long-term alignment and identify community priorities related to trail experience and amenities. 

The primary output will be one consolidated, professionally designed “What We Heard” Report, supported by compelling communications materials that clearly articulate the refined Preferred Route and summarize key priorities to guide future decision-making and investment. 

Background 

The Oak Ridges Moraine is a defining ecological and cultural landscape within Ontario’s Greenbelt, protecting critical headwaters, groundwater recharge areas, agricultural lands, and natural heritage systems. The Oak Ridges Moraine Trail spans 268 km across the Moraine; however, approximately 40% of the Trail is currently located on road. Several sections require improvement to enhance safety, continuity, accessibility, routing onto public lands, and overall user experience. 

Guided by an External Advisory Group, the Greenbelt Foundation developed the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail Strategy, which identifies priority actions to: 

• Review and refine the alignment to confirm a long-term Preferred Route; 
• Clarify the intended user experience, including opportunities for truth and reconciliation; 
• Identify priority amenities to support the intended experience. 

This RFP advances those priority actions through a focused engagement process. See Objective 3, Actions 1, 2 and 4 of the Strategy for more information. 

Project Objectives 

The project will focus on: 

1. Designing and delivering an engagement process centered on open houses. 
2. Refining the long-term Preferred Route, including evaluating the existing alignment and identifying early land securement opportunities. 
3. Summarizing community priorities related to user experience. 
4. Surfacing key amenities gaps and enhancement priorities to support a safe, accessible, and consistent trail experience. 
5. Strengthening relationships with public landowners and trail partners, private landowners along the route, community members and trail users. 
6. Reporting clearly and transparently on findings in a consolidated report and supporting communications materials. 

Scope of Work 

1. Lead Engagement & Open Houses 

Design, coordinate, facilitate, and document a public and stakeholder engagement process to gather feedback on the Preferred Route, user experience priorities, and amenities opportunities. This will include: 

• Developing an engagement plan.   
• Hosting 3 in-person open houses (up to 50 participants each) and 1 virtual open house.  
• Preparing a facilitation plan and materials, enabling participants to provide place-based input directly onto maps and displays. 
• Developing a communications and marketing plan for promoting and reporting back on the events, including designing all print and digital materials. 
• Managing event logistics including venues, catering, invitations, registration, coordination. 
• Developing an online survey aligned with open house materials for broader reach. 
• Collecting participant contact information for reporting back. 
• Providing facilitation training and materials for ORTA and Greenbelt Foundation staff, or fully staffed sessions if proposed. 

2. Conduct Private Landowner Outreach  

Prior to public open houses, conduct proactive outreach to approximately 20–25 private landowners along the Trail. This component is intended to support risk management, relationship building, and a future Landowner Relations Plan. This will include:  

• Developing a landowner outreach strategy for the 20-25 private landowners. 
• Preparing and distributing letters offering 1:1 or small group meetings. 
• Conducting meetings and documenting feedback.  
• Producing a confidential summary memo, flagging potential risks and recommendations to inform a future Landowner Relations Plan. 

3. Prepare the “What We Heard” Report 

Produce a professionally designed “What We Heard” Report summarizing the engagement process, and participation, key themes and findings, the refined Preferred Route, and community priorities for user experience and amenities. The report should include: 

• Preferred Route Alignment: Present the current Alignment Map, Long-Term Preferred Route, as well as detailed route segmentation to (1) present the selection rationale (e.g., evaluation criteria among segment options) and (2) implementation considerations (e.g., recommendations for confirmed alignment, minor improvements, long-term realignment priorities).  
• User Experience: Summarize the desired experience for trail users. This could include defining who it is for and identifying priorities and opportunities for what activities happen where, accessibility expectations, cultural experiences, and the overall character of different sections.  
• Amenities: Summarize feedback on amenities needed to support the intended experiences. This could focus on defining amenities standards (e.g., what are the core, enhanced, and reconciliation-supporting amenities).  

The consultant will also incorporate insights from separate First Nations engagement sessions into the report’s findings and route considerations. 

Deliverables 

• “What We Heard” Report 
• Communications Assets that are visually compelling, concise, and inspiring materials presenting the Preferred Route and key community priorities for use in public reporting, fundraising, and partnership discussions.  
• Private Landowner Memo, flagging potential risks and recommendations to inform a future Landowner Relations Plan 

Timelines

The expected timeline for the project is May-December 2026. The in-person and online engagement sessions should occur in September 2026.

Proposal Submission  

Interested parties are invited to submit their proposals to Megan Sipos at msipos@greenbelt.ca by April 7, 2026. The proposal must include the following: 

• Proposed approach and methodology to be taken to meet the purpose of the project and an understanding of the final deliverables 
• A work plan for completing the project, including tasks and milestones 
• Candidate’s or team’s strengths and experience, as they pertain to this project including CV(s) 
• Detailed budget 
• Roles and level of effort for each team member (if more than one) 
• Summary of work or projects completed within the past 3-5 years that are of a similar nature and scope to this project, including three relevant references 

Evaluation and Selection  

ORTA and Greenbelt Foundation will evaluate the proposals based on qualifications, methodology, experience, and cost-effectiveness. ORTA and Greenbelt Foundation reserve the right to request additional information or clarification from proposers during the evaluation process. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. 

Inquiries   

For any inquiries or clarifications regarding this request for proposal, please contact Megan Sipos at msipos@greenbelt.ca. We look forward to receiving your proposals and advancing the vision of the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail Strategy.   

Strengthening Governance of the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail

Background

Lying in the heart of the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Greenbelt was established by provincial legislation with supporting policies that protect and maintain an agricultural, natural heritage and water resource systems across three provincial land use plans – the Niagara Escarpment Plan, Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and Greenbelt Plan. The Greenbelt contains many of Canada’s most ecologically and hydrologically significant natural and scenic landscapes and provides for a diverse range of opportunities including recreational activities that benefit the overall health and quality of life for residents in and around the region.

The Oak Ridges Moraine Trail is an existing and significant recreation asset in the Greenbelt spanning 268 km across an iconic landscape of rolling hills and unique ecosystems. The Moraine protects critical headwaters and groundwater recharge areas that provide a source of clean drinking water for millions of Ontarians. A new Oak Ridges Moraine Trail Strategy, 2024, identifies priority actions to revitalize and enhance the Trail, with an initial focus on strengthening governance to support effective implementation and Indigenous partnerships and leadership in collaboration with local First Nations.

Project Objective

The objective of this project is to prepare a proposal to strengthen governance of the Trail and enable implementation of the Trail Strategy. The Final Governance Proposal will outline a recommended governance model and structures, along with a transition plan.

The vision for the ORMT was launched more than 25 years ago. The Oak Ridges Trail Association (ORTA), Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust (ORMLT) and Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation have largely maintained and stewarded the Trail through a community of volunteers and partnerships with public and private landowners. A number of current pressures exist that are challenging the ability of current partners to support the Trail and implement the Trail Strategy.

Scope of Work

The Governance Proposal will build on the principles and objectives articulated in the Trail Strategy, including Indigenous leadership; and roles and responsibilities for governance administration outlined in Strategic Objective #1 and related appendices that outline the current state of governance (Appendix A) and precedent models (Appendix C), available upon request.

The governance proposal is expected to:

• Assess the current governance model for the Trail, identifying key strengths, limitations and gaps and evaluate 2-3 options for strengthening governance of the Trail.
• Define and recommend a preferred governance model, and decision-making authority, supported by a strong and transparent rationale.
• Describe potential governance structures that support the preferred model, including potential partners, committees, and authority and accountability such as decision-making and reporting lines (legal and policy mandates are beyond the scope of this project).
• Outline an implementation plan and timelines to transition to the preferred governance model (Transition Plan).
• Identify immediate resources, including staffing and funding implications, for strengthening governance of the Trail (long-term funding strategies to implement priority actions listed the Trail Strategy are beyond the scope of this project).
• Consider risks and mitigation actions to address within the preferred model and structure.

The Governance Proposal will be developed and finalized through a series of 4 engagement sessions with two existing Trail stakeholder and Indigenous-led working groups established to consider long-term governance of the Trail and implementation of the Trail Strategy. These working groups will advise on all aspects of the Proposal, and Greenbelt Foundation staff will closely guide the development of the Transition Plan with the successful proponent. We expect that the Proposal will progress from one meeting to the next.

Deliverables

The successful proponent will provide:

• Final Workplan
• Report Outline
• Agendas and Evolving Governance Proposal for 4 Engagement Sessions
• Draft and Final Governance Proposal
• Presentation

Timeline

The project is expected to commence in late March 2026 and should be completed by early December 2026. The 4 Engagement Sessions will be held in May, July, September, November.

Proposal Requirements

Interested parties are invited to submit their proposals to Megan Sipos at msipos@greenbelt.ca by Monday March 9, 2026, at 5pm. The proposal must include the following:

• Your understanding of the assignment and your proposed approach and methodology including an outline of key sections of the Governance Proposal, and any expected challenges and ways to mitigate.
• Summary of work or projects completed within the past 3-5 years that are of a similar nature and scope to this project.
• Information related to the qualifications and experience of personnel who will be assigned to perform activities, a CV for each project team member that clearly outlines their qualifications and experience relevant to their role.
• A work plan for performing the assignment, including tasks and milestones with the names of the individuals performing each task and associated hours to be worked.
• A proposed budget scoped to no more than $30,000. If additional aspects of work are recommended, we invite applicants to outline those with their associated costs for consideration.
• Names and contact information of 3 client references with brief descriptions of the work performed.
• Overview of the company including: years in operation, full legal name (if incorporated or a partnership) or individual’s name (if a sole proprietor), name and title of the primary contact person, mailing address, telephone number and email address.

The Greenbelt Foundation reserves the right to choose any or none of the vendors responding to this request for proposals. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Inquiries

For any inquiries or clarifications regarding this request for proposal, please contact Megan Sipos at msipos@greenbelt.ca.