Toronto, May 22, 2008 – The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation today announced the first Tour de Greenbelt, an innovative and exciting opportunity for Ontarians and visitors to bicycle their way through open air adventure in Ontario’s Greenbelt. This family-oriented cycling Tour is both accessible and affordable to all, with numerous attractions and special events. Described as a ‘fresh air festival on wheels,’ the Tour will take place over four distinct routes in the early fall this year – September 20 & 21 and September 27 & 28. Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), Canada’s leading outdoor retailer, has joined with the Greenbelt Foundation as the presenting sponsor of the Tour.

King City, May 12, 2008 - The Oak Ridges Trail Association and the Township of Cramahe have reached agreement on the routing of the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail, which will see the eastern trailhead established in the village of Castleton. Already 206 kilometers in length from the Niagara Escarpment to Rice Lake, the popular hiking trail will span the entire Oak Ridges Moraine, from east to west, once completed. Castleton is located on the edge of the moraine’s most easterly excursion.

Hamilton, May 9, 2008 – Get it fresh, get it local – the local food map is back and it's better than ever! Hamilton Eat Local, a project of Environment Hamilton, will be releasing its new Buy Local! Buy Fresh! local food map just in time for Mother's Day on Friday, May 9th. The new map will be launched at the Grand Opening of the Ottawa Street Farmers' Market from 9:30 to 10:30 am. The Buy Local! Buy Fresh! Local Food Map, enjoyed by thousands, enables Hamiltonians to access locally grown food sold by farmers across the city and countryside. This year's map features more farms, more food and more exciting opportunities to eat local all year long.

Hamilton, May 9, 2008 - The New Ottawa Street Farmers' Market will be celebrating its Grand Opening on Friday May 9th from 9:30 – 10:30. This Market, formerly located at Centre Mall has been in existence for 53 years and is excited about their new location on Ottawa Street. They are also excited about their new look, new logo, the advertising and promotions campaign for 2008 and their partnership with the Ottawa Street BIA.

Toronto, May 5, 2008 –The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation has been named a Gold award winner for excellence in communications by the 2008 Wilmer Shields Rich Awards Program. Sponsored by the Council on Foundations, a nonprofit membership association of more than 2,100 grant making foundations and corporations, the award recognizes effective communication efforts to increase public awareness of foundations and corporate giving programs.

Toronto, April 24, 2008 – If you’re looking for a place to get away with the family, pick up your root vegetables or maybe find a restaurant serving tasty local food where you can enjoy a fine Greenbelt wine, the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation’s new My Local Greenbelt Guide, has it all. With the message of “think global, eat local” making headlines in places like TIME Magazine, the New York Times and Entertainment Weekly, it’s clear that today’s official release of the Guide is what the public is hungry for.

Ryerson University Department of Architectural Science is hosting an international symposium on 2-4 May 2008 in Toronto entitled: A Symposium: The Role of Food and Agriculture in the Design and Planning of Buildings and Cities It will feature a number of international as well as local speakers, and a chance for discussion and local visits. Below is a short abstract about the event. "This symposium will investigate the opportunities for creative cooperation between shapers of the built environment and actors in urban food and agriculture systems. It brings together, for the first time, individuals from the full range of professions of the built environment who have been recently tackling challenges of the urban food system. The interface between the physical aspects of urban food provision and distribution, urban design and architecture will be explored." 

Ottawa Street Farmers' Market

The Ottawa Street market uniquely markets itself as a predominantly growers’ market, making it necessary for all new vendors to either farm or produce within a 100 kilometer distance from the market.

Proudly operating in the city of Hamilton for over 50 years, the Ottawa Street Farmers’ Market has been renewed and relocated, and is ready to provide customers with locally grown and competitively priced produce, year-round.

A refreshed and expanded Hamilton farmers’ market is recruiting local farmers, hiring a market manager and launching a marketing campaign to attract new customers and broaden community support to make this market a lasting success. The market provides competitively priced produce grown within 80 km of the market location, strengthening the relationship between urban and rural communities.

Sorauren Farmers’ Market

The Sorauren Farmers’ Market hosts 17 vendors in total, 10 of which are farmers, from the Greenbelt.

A new farmers’ market at Sorauren Park in Toronto’s Roncesvalles and Parkdale neighbourhoods draws Greenbelt farmers to market and showcases locally-grown ethno-cultural crops to residents of this diverse community.

The Sorauren Farmers’ Market has already proved to be wildly successful in Toronto’s downtown, open seasonally each year. The new market offers a unique newsletter, weekly educational and event programming on local food, farming and gardening, and generally raises awareness of the greenbelt through guides and brochures.

Awareness Building Partnership

The goal of the Brampton Farmers’ Market project is to increase the visibility of the market and market booth by building a Market Information tent, a community use/entertainment tent, and installing better visual signage to direct customers to these areas. The Market is also building awareness of Ontario’s Greenbelt by incorporating joint branding by purchasing tents and a 20-foot tall telescopic sky flags with logos of the Foundation and the Market. Improvements to the appearance of the market will help increase the food literacy and education amongst consumers.