February 2008

Ontario’s Greenbelt is positioned to be the most successful and most useful Greenbelt in the world. This study outlines and explores six international areas in Europe and North America that have established greenbelts near rapidly growing urban areas. What can be learned from the policies and activities resulting in successes or proven challenges within these jurisdictions? [The fifth installment in the Occasional Paper Series presented by the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation.] "Ontario's Greenbelt in an International Context: Comparing Ontario’s Greenbelt to its Counterparts in Europe and North America" by Maureen Carter-Whitney of the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP).

The Ontario Greenbelt Adventure

VO Kids draws in almost 4 million viewers every week, with the TVO Greenbelt Adventure television program reaching an average of 715,000 viewers per week.

Our children will play a key role in shaping the future of the Greenbelt and maintaining it for generations to come, so TVO Kids is playing a vital role in its preservation by recruiting thousands of children to jump in to the Amazing Greenbelt Adventure.

Children and their parents around Ontario are experiencing the Greenbelt through an awareness and education project aimed at children aged 5-11. The project includes multimedia programming on the popular and educational TVOKids show and website, short video vignettes introduce Greenbelt treasures, and special events. The aim is for children and their families to become inspired to protect the Greenbelt and maintain it for a bright and healthy future.

The Greenbelt Depot at the Brick Works

"I hadn’t realized the disconnection between us and the efforts of farmers to grow our food. And even a wider gap of what it takes to grow organically and sustainably. Cooking professionally never taught me this, ten minutes on a farm did." - Edmund Rek, Chefs' Market Manager

Chefs have long been interested in sourcing local ingredients for their menus because of the unparalleled taste and freshness. The Greenbelt Depot at the Don Valley Brick Works fills an infrastructure gap in the local food system by establishing a weekly wholesale market where Greenbelt farmers and Toronto chefs can do business. The Depot also hosts public education activities and events on food and farming, and serves as a hub for farmers and chefs to meet and discuss current food trends, strengthening the bond between producers and chefs.

Building a Local Food Culture

Everdale farms’ “train the trainer” workshops provide insight to farmers on how to transform their farms into living classrooms.

Reaching out to over 100,000 children and adults a month, FoodShare Toronto is a community food security organization which subsidizes fresh produce distribution, workshops and nutrition programs. FoodShare Toronto works in conjunction with Everdale, an organic farm and environmental learning center, to build a local food culture for kids.

Connecting kids with food is a natural and interactive way to introduce them to the splendor of their local landscape. In order to show young people about all aspects of their food system, the Greenbelt and eating local foods, students visit Everdale Farm, where farmers and schools in the Greenbelt work together to enhance foods skills and cultivate a food ethic. They explore and interact in the FoodShare Toronto kitchen, tasting the bounty of local products and creating meals with them.

Atlantic Salmon Classroom Hatchery Program

Over 1,000 students have now had the opportunity to participate in the hatchery program, which involves observation of the development of the eggs, and participation in “release days”, where fry are released into streams targeted for restoration.

Escarpment Country – in the Heart of Ontario’s Greenbelt

Situated in the heart of Southern Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe, Escarpment Country™ captures 380 square kilometers of sprawling countryside, and is visited by more than 2 million people every year.

Of all the beautiful land of the Greenbelt, the Niagara Escarpment stands out as a national treasure, and the Milton Chamber of Commerce is helping to highlight this jewel of the Greenbelt.

This new marketing campaign co-brands the Niagara Escarpment with the Greenbelt, increasing awareness of the Milton region of the Niagara Escarpment and unifying the landscapes through the use of advertising, signage, photo displays, and an interactive website.

Helping Communities Defend the Greenbelt

In 2009, The Sierra Club helped champion the zoning of the Streetsville portion of the Credit River watershed as Greenbelt by the City of Mississauga.

Though primarily rural, the Greenbelt is neighbour to vibrant urban communities who value it deeply and want to protect this gem. Using resources such as a Greenbelt tool-kit, presentations, and public meetings, this campaign informs residents in urban communities adjacent to the Greenbelt about land use decision-making and the important role they can play in fostering effective municipal implementation of the Greenbelt Plan. Community groups, such as residents associations, church groups and conservation organizations, along with their municipal leaders, are encouraged to become defenders of the Greenbelt.

Feast of Fields Sponsorship

The 17th Annual Organic Advocates Feast of Fields event promotes local farmers, chefs, and value-added food and beverage producers, through an interactive farm tour, a farmers' market and demonstrations. The underlying theme of Feast of Fields is the connection between those who grow our food and those who eat it, and the interdependency of all living things.  Participants visit booths throughout the grounds sampling regional cuisine, beer and wine and learn about farmers markets, ecological issues and organics.

Active Farmlands Program

The project promotes long-term tenancy agreements between landowners and farmers looking for land to farm that will lead to environmental and economic investments into the land. Materials will educate landowners about tenancy farming and the tax benefits for landowners with productive farmland. Other materials will educate landowners about farm stewardship programs, land easements, and tenancy contracts.

Toronto, March 25, 2008 - Renowned Ontario winery, Henry of Pelham, unveiled an innovative agri-tourism project to promote local sustainable food and wine while also announcing that it is the first vineyard in Ontario to be Local Food Plus (LFP) certified. “Since the 1790’s, our family has stewarded this land, and we are proud to carry forward this progressive tradition by being the first vineyard to certify with LFP,” said Daniel Speck, co-owner of the winery with his brothers Paul and Matthew.