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.