Greenbelt Foundation Purpose 1. Introduce collaborative initiative - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Edward McDonnell, CEO Greenbelt Foundation

Purpose

1. Introduce collaborative initiative developed by the Greenbelt Foundation and 13 conservation authorities including LSRCA 2. Secure endorsement and support for moving forward with

• utreach and fund proposals

2

Positively Green

• Collaborative Greenbelt-wide initiative

– Greenbelt Foundation and 13 CAs – In development since 2016

• 100+ priority projects

– Directly benefits the public, municipalities, businesses and agriculture

• Focuses on natural infrastructure:

– nature’s role in climate adaptation and mitigation – the Greenbelt’s unparalleled environmental services

3

 Watershed Health – report card indicators/ project indicators.  Ecosystem Services: valuations will define economic and public benefits of restoration projects.  Climate Resiliency: flooding, pollution, species loss.  Biodiversity: healthy, protected cores, connectivity, species recovery.  Carbon Sequestration: substantial contribution to climate mitigation. Municipalities and investors are looking for regional impacts on larger systems

Measurable Outcomes

4

Natural Infrastructure

Green Infrastructure

Natural Assets

Wetlands Forests Parks Lakes/Rivers/Creeks Fields Soil Enhanced Assets Rain Gardens Bioswales Urban Trees Urban Parks Biomimicry Stormwater pond Engineered Assets Permeable pavement Green Roofs Rain Barrels Green Walls Cisterns

“Green infrastructure” is a broad category that includes natural assets and designed and engineered elements that have been created to mimic natural functions and processes in the service of human interests Credit MNAI

5

Natural Infrastructure

• Natural Infrastructure

– Improves water quality – Reduces the risk of floods – Ensures watersheds and communities are more resilient to climate change – Supplements and works with traditional green/grey infrastructure – Reducing costs and improves efficiency

City of Nanaimo, B.C. District of West Vancouver, B.C. Region of Peel, Ontario

6

The Greenbelt

• The world’s largest greenbelt of its kind

– Over 2 million acres of protected land – Intact natural heritage system

• Protects environmentally sensitive areas and productive

farmlands

– Almost 40% farmland

• Heart of the Greater Golden Horseshoe region – home to

1 in 4 Canadians

• A unique Ontario solution for fresh air, clean water, local

food, thriving economies, and climate resilience

7

LSRCA Positively Green Projects

9 LSRCA projects include the following activities:\

• Installing low impact development (LID) techniques to

infiltrate and/or harvest precipitation runoff and manage stormwater

• Addressing perched culverts and removing online ponds
• Installing vegetative buffer
• Removing gabion baskets
• Adding significant wetland
• Establishing forest corridors along river valleys and

ecopassages for small wildlife

Greenbelt

Greenbelt LSRCA

8

LSRCA Positively Green Projects

Currently, 9 LSRCA projects identify municipal funds for the following

• utcomes:
• Improve water quality
• Improve aquatic habitat
• Increase community participation in stormwater

management/stewardship projects

• Repair streambank and restore stream health
• Conserve provincially significant wetland
• Reduce stormwater runoff
• Increase public enjoyment and recreational use of the lake
• Increase forest cover and connectivity

Greenbelt

LSRCA

9

Greenbelt LSRCA

LSRCA examples

Implementing LID Approaches to Stormwater Management

• Focused on implementing LID approaches to stormwater

management, through voluntary stewardship projects and opportunities through re-development

• Western Creek is one of the most heavily urbanized

subwatersheds in the Lake Simcoe basin, yet the older parts of the catchment lack stormwater controls

• Western Creek catchment is estimated to be one of the

major sources of phosphorus loading to the East Holland, and ultimately, to Lake Simcoe

Addressing Brook Trout Habitat Fragmentation

• Will reduce fragmentation of Brook Trout habitat in

Uxbridge Brook by addressing perched culverts and removing online ponds

10

• Ontario conservation authorities are adjusting to recent and anticipated

changes to their legislation, regulations, and funding

• Nonetheless a compelling opportunity exists to pursue Greenbelt restoration

and climate resiliency initiatives

• Government investment, while significant, has funded relatively little natural

infrastructure across the region

• Positively Green is intended to bring additional funding and partners to

natural infrastructure projects

Current landscape and recent challenges

11

Benefits of collaboration

• “Bundling” of projects creates the opportunity to meet thresholds for federal and provincial programs

Stronger together

• Outreach to government officials and political representatives to raise awareness and advance engagement

around our shared funding proposal. Shared outreach

• Shared approach to accessing private and public funds not otherwise available to individual CAs and projects.
• While local fundraising and municipal investment will still be important, we can communicate a bigger regional

resiliency and restoration opportunity that will appeal to major funding organizations while pooling fundraising resources now and through the lifespan of the initiative. New fundraising capacity and opportunities

• Targeted investment in individual project needs (e.g., business case development) and ensuring that we

transfer knowledge and practical approaches throughout the CA collaborative to facilitate work on individual projects. Technical support and knowledge transfer

12

Branding

Positively Green brand strikes the right tone for all audiences, and communicates the importance of the Greenbelt as natural Infrastructure.

13

Branding

14

• The Greenbelt Foundation has:

– Conducted outreach to potential partners/funders

• Budget submissions to the federal government
• Provincial government outreach
• Philanthropic and other major funders

– Invested in collaborative program development, identity and branding, etc.

• What/who is the funding for?

– Project costs for proponents (municipalities, CAs, etc.), land securement, program administration – Conservation authority contributions will be in-kind and project-specific

Status

15

Next steps

• Endorsement of Positively Green from Conservation

Authority Boards

• The Greenbelt Foundation will continue outreach and

relationship development

– Federal, provincial, private and philanthropic – Next federal government

• Continued work with Conservation Authority staff on

project development

16

THANK YOU emcdonnell@greenbelt.ca