Greenbelt – It’s In My Backyard: Facts & Stats on Getting Active in the Greenbelt

With the warm weather upon us it’s time to get outside and active. What many residents living in the Greater Golden Horseshoe may not realize is that there are over a million acres of green space, hiking trails and recreational areas all within an hour of their backyards.

This is my first blog about my exciting journey of painting Greenbelt murals in York Region elementary schools.

I will start with how all began. I was one of 40 artists that were asked to make quilt squares for a quilt about what the Greenbelt meant to us for the Quilt of Possibilities. I am also a teacher. The kids saw me working on my square. They wanted to make one for our school, and so we did! 

May marks the beginning of the farmers’ market season. Your weekly market starts up, familiar faces reappear, and your neighbourhood is reenergized after the long winter months.

For Immediate Release

May 15, 2012

Ontario’s Greenbelt is Good for the Economy

-New Study Shows Greenbelt Jobs Are Economic Assets-

(Toronto, Ontario) – A new study released today shows that jobs are flourishing across the Greenbelt. This resource rich region of Ontario is more than vibrant countryside, it is a considerable contributor to the job market and leads to significant tax revenues for all levels of government. The total economic impact of Greenbelt-associated activity exceeds $9.1 billion annually province-wide.

April 19th was a special day for me - I visited Ontario’s Greenbelt for the first time since I moved to Canada. Even though I had a picture of what the Greenbelt looked like, I was excited to in physically experience nature and its different habitats. Grants Officer Bronwyn Whyte, wonderful colleague of mine, and Shelley Petrie, my dear boss, and I drove from Toronto into the Greenbelt. Our target destination was visiting the Lake Simcoe Conservation’s Beaver River Wetland Trail.

Julienne Spence, our Acting Communications Director, asked me if I was interested in attending the 2012 Brewers Plate. I immediately Googled it to learn about the event. I came to know that it is a fundraiser that celebrates local Ontario food and craft beer, all under one roof. This year, the beneficiary was Green Thumbs Growing Kids, an innovative program that seeks to reconnect urban youth to their food through a variety of garden-based programs. I gladly accepted the invitation.  

A couple of weekends back I got the chance to finally check out the Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival. I’ve been anticipating the festival for a while now, and even preparing by upping my maple syrup intake through various recipes.

I had a couple of objectives I wanted to achieve at the Sunderland Maple Syrup Festival, so I’ll give you a run-down of the results.

Every week, we have a staff lunch where we share updates, talk about new projects, explain new research, and (my favorite) brainstorm ideas. It’s a great way to connect with coworkers and hear about the great work that everyone is involved in. With a small team, and a variety of projects, I think it helps us stay focused and get excited about the great things that everyone is involved in.

Yesterday, we tried something new.

Photo Courtesy of Conservation Halton

I have this incredible urge to call the Jefferson Salamander “Ol’ Jeffy” as if they are this incredibly wise, ancient creature that have had their share of hard times but always seems to fight back -- to some extent my nickname for them bears some truth.

Growing the Greenbelt

This project aims to engage Hamiltonians in on-going efforts to protect natural heritage, and potentially grow the Greenbelt. Environment Hamilton will work with municipal planning staff, local groups and residents to identify candidate lands and natural systems, and build a case of support for growing the Greenbelt. They will also work to clarify and overcome challenges to ‘Greenbelting’ lands in urban areas.