As we mentioned yesterday on the blog we’re happy to have Jen Fawcette join our team as a guest blogger. Jen is crazy about cycling and a really great gal so we thought she was the perfect person to help us get even more excited than we already are about the upcoming Tour de Greenbelt. Jen is also known as Rocket Girl online and keeps a blog of her cycling adventures at www.rocketgirlblog.com – check it out!

It was a short week last week, even shorter for me as I headed out into the Greenbelt on Friday to Henry of Pelham – the first stop on this year’s Tour de Greenbelt.

We’ve been shooting a short promotional piece about the Tour (stay tuned!) and we were going to be interviewing Tour Director, Peter Hart. We were also going to be shooting people biking in the Greenbelt, which was why I had my bike along in the back of the Foundation’s Prius.

The Niagara Good Food Far will run consecutive Sundays until October 3, 2010 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. located on 4251 King Street in Beamsville, Ontario, showcasing the best in local produce and food products. The fair will feature fresh produce, herbs, organic (and biodynamic) vegetables, farm-fresh eggs, baked goods, local honey, artisanal charcuterie and cheeses, and an opportunity to enjoy grilled fare from a BBQ chef.

 This event is a new initiative spearheaded by Jan Campbell-Luxton of De La Terre Bakery in Vineland; Mario Pingue of Niagara Food Specialties in St. David’s (NOTL); and Karen LaVigne, Leader of Slow Food Niagara and one of the “worker bees” at Rosewood Estates Winery and Meadery in Beamsville. The trio collaborated to develop a farmers’ market that features Niagara produce and products with the motto, “real food from the people who make it.”

Media Release from the Grape Growers of Ontario

St. Catharines, ON (Wednesday July 28, 2010):  The Grape Growers of Ontario, in partnership with Scotiabank/ScotiaMcLeod, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival, are pleased to announce that the 2010 Olympic bronze medalist – Joannie Rochette - will be the speaker at the 2010 Celebrity Luncheon which kicks off the 59^th annual Niagara Wine Festival. The event will take place at Club Roma in St. Catharines on Wednesday, September 15^th at 11:30 a.m. 

I know lots of people wear sunscreen to work each day, but I usually don’t. However on July 15th I clearly should have as I traveled to Markham to speak as a part of a panel of organizers and funders and be a part of celebrating a Community Harvest Launch Event – where something special was in the air.

Change.

Press release from the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance:

For Immediate Release 

July 15, 2010

32 Groups calling on Province to save wetlands and forests

Toronto – The Ontario Greenbelt Alliance is asking the Ontario government to stop a highway extension from Queen’sville to Keswick, in a letter signed by 32 groups, including Environmental Defence, the David Suzuki Foundation and Ontario Nature. An extended Highway 404 will mean the loss of 60 acres of wetlands and mature forests.

“The provincial government and the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance have worked hard for legislation to protect Ontario’s land, air, and water,” said Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director of Environmental Defence, which coordinates the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance. “The proposed highway extension to Keswick would completely undermine the Greenbelt Act, Places to Grow, the Endangered Species Act, and the Lake Simcoe Protection Act.”

Press release from the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance:

For Immediate Release

July 15, 2010

32 Groups calling on Province to save wetlands and forests

Toronto – The Ontario Greenbelt Alliance is asking the Ontario government to stop a highway extension from Queen’sville to Keswick, in a letter signed by 32 groups, including Environmental Defence, the David Suzuki Foundation and Ontario Nature. An extended Highway 404 will mean the loss of 60 acres of wetlands and mature forests.

For Immediate Release

July 15, 2010 

Prepared by Lilian Schaer for the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association

Farmers are looking at many different solutions for dealing with rising energy costs. For one greenhouse grower, the answer lies with a new technology, a thermal blanket installation, which is expected to lower his energy costs by about one-third.

Possibility Flows Here

The Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP), a research not-for-profit organization, is examining whether existing water policies and practices contained in the Greenbelt Plan are adequately protecting water quality and quantity. The project brings together water experts in the region to form the Blue Green Group and identify significant issues of concern and ways to strengthen the Greenbelt Plan, Oak Ridges Moraine Plan and Niagara Escarpment Plan to ensure safe and abundant water resources are available to millions of residents and businesses, now and for the future.

Strengthening the Greenbelt

As the coordinating organization for the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance (a coalition of groups committed to improving Ontarians' quality of life and protecting valuable agricultural and environmental lands), Environmental Defence is working to protect, enhance and grow the Greenbelt.The project aims to continue building and strengthening the voice of the Municipal Leaders for the Greenbelt and Ontario Greenbelt Alliance to ensure the effective implementation of the Greenbelt Act. Ensuring the permanency of the Greenbelt means securing a healthy environment and a reliable food source for many generations.