Future Fund Vignettes - Environment
Community Power Training Collaborative
Early Environmental Exposures and Chronic Disease Joint Constellation
Environment & Diversity Project c/o Sustainability Network
Environmental Priorities Outfront
FarmON Alliance
Good Neighbour Initiative
Green IT Collaborative
MIRARCO
Northern Connections
Stewardship Funds to Save Community Lands
Community Power Training Collaborative to build grassroots sustainable energy options
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(l-r) L. Robin Cardozo, CEO, OTF; Helen Burstyn, OTF Board Chair; Jim Fonger, OSEA; Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture
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New employment opportunities are slated for Ontario’s community power sector despite the recent economic upheaval taking place globally. In a move to sustain and promote Ontario’s green economy, the Community Power Training Collaborative will develop strategies to enable every Ontarian to become more than a simple consumer of energy.
“There are a number of local organizations of committed citizens across the province who have great project ideas, but simply lack the support to carry them through,” says Kristopher Stevens, Executive Director, Ontario Sustainable Energy Association. “We plan to create a group of community power consultants to provide organizational and technical services to farmers, co-operatives, First Nations, municipalities and other sustainable energy advocates.” The program is getting its energy boost from an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant.
Community power consultants will assess projects in order to identify the gaps. They will then provide and coordinate resources, provide advisory support and facilitate necessary process and partnerships to help move them forward in a competitive way. The goal is to create opportunities for every Ontarian to become a generator of clean sustainable energy, benefit economically from their local renewable resources and offset greenhouse gas emissions.
“The rewards will be countless. We’ll have the ability to lessen the effects of climate change by producing clean sustainable energy. We’ll also be helping to stimulate economic growth through new service and manufacturing jobs as well as by keeping new wealth in the local communities where the sustainable energy is produced,” says Stevens. Best practices will be developed along with a training program for new consultants that can be replicated as the team of consultants grows. The result will be high quality service, a sustainable energy sector, opportunities for private sector and community partnership, local economic wealth and the ability for communities to build projects on a timely basis.
The project collaborative includes: OSEA, the First Nations Energy Association, the Norfolk Federation of Agriculture and the Community Power Fund.
This project is made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant for $505,700 over three years.
Working to link early childhood environmental exposures and Chronic Disease
(l-r) Honourable John Gerretsen, Minister of the Environment; Erica Phipps and Connie Uetrecht - Ontario Public Health Association; Helen Burstyn, Chair OTF Board of Directors; Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture; L. Robin Cardozo, CEO OTF; (at the podium) Hugh O'Neil, Former Vice-Chair, OTF Board of Directors (and Master of Ceremonies) |
Efforts are underway to explore how environmental exposures during childhood may be contributing to the burden of chronic disease. The Early Environmental Exposures and Chronic Disease Joint Constellation received one of the first Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Future Fund environment grants in March 2008 and are already benefiting from the sharing of information and opportunity to exchange ideas on policy options.
“We’ve started getting people oriented around the program, which is quite an accomplishment given the size of our collaborative,” says Erica Phipps, Partnership Director, Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment (CPCHE) and project manager for the Joint Constellation. “All of the partners got together in early December to discuss recent research around environmental contaminants, whether they’re contributing to disease and if so, what actions we might take together to improve policies and practices aimed at reducing childhood exposures to toxic substances,” Phipps continues.
While the need for more research is significant, available scientific evidence suggests that early environmental exposures can play a role in a range of chronic disease, including cancer, cardiovascular disease and asthma. The project is also looking at the role of toxic exposures in the development of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as the types of impacts on brain function that are increasingly affecting children, such as learning and behavioural disorders.
“To be able to build, strengthen and expand connections within the broader sphere of health groups is something OTF has made possible. It’s also a very welcome new move by OTF to fund work that will explore and integrate environmental health research with recommendations for policy change,” says Kathy Cooper, Co-Chair of the project’s steering committee.
Although there may be many different perspectives around the table, the goal is the same – to raise awareness and bring to the forefront the links and evidence between early environmental childhood exposure and chronic disease at both a practice and policy level.
The group will be holding a public forum in mid 2009 and will release a report on the issue later in the year.
The collaborative members are the Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA) and Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and the Environment (CPCHE).
This project is made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant for $294,700 over two years.
Diversifying Ontario’s Environment Sector
(l-r) Helen Burstyn, OTF Board Chair; Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture; Sonia Dong, Sustainability Network; L. Robin Cardozo, CEO, OTF |
Diversity has not been a hallmark of Ontario’s environment sector, but that’s about to change. The Environment & Diversity Project c/o Sustainability Network will work to inspire environmental not-for-profits to engage and diversify audiences in an effort to better reflect our communities.
“Our goal is sector transformation,” says Paul Bubelis, Executive Director for this ambitious undertaking. “We’ll start by building relationships among six environmental organizations, providing diversity training to help them understand barriers and opportunities. Each organization will then be assigned an intern who is a young professional of a diverse ethnocultural or Aboriginal heritage.”
The collaborative includes two local and five provincial or national level organizations and a strong advisory committee, which also draws on the knowledge and experience of the Maytree Foundation and the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants.
“Diversity has been top of mind for environmental leaders and we are thrilled at the opportunity to help these organizations reorient, improve and change to reflect our diverse communities,” says Bubelis.
Efforts will ultimately be broadened into a sector-wide diversity initiative that will use strategies and learnings accumulated along the way.
Other organizations involved in this initiative include: Clean Air Partnership, Sierra Club of Canada – ON chapter, EcoJustice, Wildlands League, Community Environment Alliance and Bay Restoration Council.
This project was made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant for $352,000 over four years. An OTF Province-Wide grant for $112,000 over one year will also support a portion of this project.
Re-inventing, Re-tooling & Re-focusing the Environment Movement in Ontario
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(l-r) Honourable John Gerretsen, Minister of the Environment; Sarah Winterton - Environmental Defence; Helen Burstyn, Chair, OTF Board of Directors; Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture; L. Robin Cardozo, CEO OTF; (at the podium) Hugh O'Neil, Former Vice-Chair OTF Board of Directors (and Master of Ceremonies)
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In Ontario’s largest joint endorsement of environmental policy, seven major priorities were unveiled in mid November representing the first milestone of a collaborative working to improve the effectiveness of Ontario’s environment sector. Twenty-four of Ontario’s leading environmental organizations say that thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in investments could be leveraged by taking action on a suite of environmental initiatives. With the support of a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund the collaborative is taking action to make a difference.
“These are all actions that will make Ontario a better place to live, work and invest and they are all actions that we are already, to a certain degree, working toward. But given the current economic climate, it only makes sense to direct stimulus efforts to these areas to get the full benefit of a cleaner, greener economy,” says Kristopher Stevens, Executive Director of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Organization, one of the collaborative members.
Identified priorities include:
• developing a continent-leading carbon cap-and-trade system;
• following through with promised protection for the vast northern boreal forest;
• cutting the use of toxic substances affecting our environment by 50%;
• powering up a renewable energy industry;
• procuring healthy sustainable food for public institutions from local farmers;
• creating a coordinated action plan for Great Lakes health; and
• making transit work for communities across Ontario.
Members of the collaborative will be sharing their plans with the provincial government early in the new year.
“Ontario could be hugely successful with a green economic transition given our skilled workforce, high education levels, and tremendous natural advantages,” says Dr. Anastasia Lintner, staff lawyer and economist with Ecojustice. “We need to be in the forefront of developing the solutions the world is looking for to create a more sustainable future.”
In addition to unveiling these seven priorities, the group also launched its new website, www.GreenProsperity.ca.
The groups endorsing this initiative are: Anishinabek of the Gitchi Gami Environmental Programs, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Canadian Environmental Law Association, Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy, Citizen's Environment Alliance, Community Power Fund, Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment, Conservation Council of Ontario, David Suzuki Foundation, Earthroots, Ecojustice, Environment North, Environmental Defence, Forest Ethics, Great Lakes United, Greenpeace, Local Food Plus, Ontario Nature, Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, Pembina Institute, Sierra Club Ontario, Toronto Environmental Alliance, Wildlands League, World Wildlife Fund.
Collaborative members include: Environmental Defence, the Hollyhock Leadership Institute, Citizens Environment Alliance, Forest Ethics, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, The Pembina Institute, Ecojustice and Anishinabek of the Gitchi Gami Environmental Program.
This project is made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant for $538,700 over 30 months.
Building a sustainable food system for Ontario starts on the farm
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(l-r) L. Robin Cardozo, CEO, OTF; Helen Burstyn, OTF Board Chair; Melissa Watkins, FarmStart; Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture
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Ontario’s agricultural food sector is finally receiving the support it needs to sustain and grow. The recently launched FarmON Alliance will build a provincially co-ordinated alliance to support a new generation of ecological locally-focused farmers. The initiative will address the issues of farmland access and succession, knowledge transfer, training and resources for new farmers. A number of current environment issues will also be addressed, including food security, farmland protection, urban sprawl, pollution prevention and human health. The project is funded through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant
“Agriculture is not an easy business to get into,” says Christie Young, Director, FarmStart. “Support is therefore vital. Right now new farmers have no one they can call on locally for advice or guidance. By creating a network of mentors we’re hoping to fill that gap.”
The agricultural food sector will also work together to support new farmers through regional workshops, new farmer resources, mentorship and new relationship opportunities between new farmers and farmland owners.
Other organizations involved in this initiative include: FarmStart (Guelph), Ontario Farmland Trust (Guelph), Everdale Farm and Environmental Learning Centre (Hillsburgh), Kawartha Heritage Conservancy (Peterborough), Just Food (Ottawa), Eat Local Sudbury (Sudbury), L’Union des cultivateurs franco-ontariens – UFCO (Ottawa).
The project was made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant for $448,900 over two years.
“Good Neighbour” communities aim to build a healthier environment
(l-r) Honourable John Gerretsen, Minister of the Environment; Katrina Miller - Toronto Environmental Alliance; Helen Burstyn, Chair OTF Board of Directors; Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture; L. Robin Cardozo, CEO OTF; (at the podium) Hugh O'Neil, Former Vice-Chair, OTF Board of Directors (and Master of Ceremonies) |
Community leaders in Sarnia and Toronto are taking significant steps to address local industrial pollution in their communities. Spearheaded by the Good Neighbour Initiative and funded by an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant, this project aims to launch a community-based awareness-building system that will help residents to take action for a healthier environment.
“Our efforts will build and strengthen leadership in these communities by teaching people some basics about how to organize themselves to educate others. The project will also help encourage people to take action to ensure a healthy natural environment and to protect and restore ecological quality,” says Katrina Miller, Campaigns Director, Toronto Environmental Alliance.
Leaders from Sarnia and Toronto have already picked a focus for their work. The Akwesasne First Nation in Cornwall will pick theirs early in the new year. The next step will be to figure out exactly how to launch their campaigns, which will be the focus of a two-day training session in early 2009. Representatives from Ohio will lead the first meeting of community leaders to educate them about the successful campaign model implemented in that state. This model will be adapted for application in Ontario.
“It has been a long time since anyone in Canada has looked at a comprehensive way of getting communities to talk to their local leaders,” she says. “We’re thrilled to be able to bring new tools to the environment sector to ensure that it continues to evolve. Our hopes are to engage people in the process.”
Other organizations involved in this initiative include: Toronto Environmental Alliance and Environmental Defence (Toronto).
This project was made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant for $612,300 over three years.
Uniting Ontario’s environment sector through technology
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(l-r) Hugh O'Neil, Former Vice-Chair, OTF Board of Directors; Chris Winter - Conservation Ontario; Helen Burstyn, Chair, OTF Board; L. Robin Cardozo, CEO OTF
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A technology users group is well on its way to selecting a software platform that could revolutionize how Ontario environmental organizations communicate. In a bold move that will improve communication and collaboration within the sector, the Green IT Collaborative will implement a common technology platform to be used by more than two dozen environmental organizations across the province.
"This Web collaboration platform is one of the ways we’re bringing the sector together,” says Bruce Roxburgh, Manager for the project. The project should boost productivity and functionality, communications and collaboration, and outreach and marketing within the sector. “Environmental groups will build capacity and share best practises across the sector on common issues many of us are working on.” The project is funded through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant.
A new IT platform is just the first piece of the puzzle. The collaborative is planning to bring all partners together early in the new year to begin looking at other software platforms and equipment. They will also continue to develop their relationship with each other.
“This project is helping us to organize environmental networks across the province allowing the sector to collaborate and innovate on priority issues,” says Chris Winter, Executive Director, Conservation Council of Ontario. “This will allow us to be more effective at engaging the public and other sectors on environment issues and increase our ability to generate new funds as a result.”
Other organization involved in this initiative include: Green Communities of Canada (19 members) (Peterborough), Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Assocation (Peterborough), Ontario Environment Network (North Bay), Conservation Ontario (Newmarket), Sustainability Network (Toronto), Conservation Council of Ontario and Ontario Land Trust Alliance (Toronto).
This project was made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant for $205,100 over two years.
Climate Change Network a first step to consolidate regional awareness efforts
(l-r) Honourable John Gerretsen, Minister of the Environment; Eva Ligeti and Al Douglas from MIRARCO; Helen Burstyn, Chair OTF Board of Directors; Honourable Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture; L. Robin Cardozo, CEO OTF; (at the podium) Hugh O'Neil, Former Vice-Chair, OTF Board of Directors (and Master of Ceremonies) |
The Ontario Centre for Climate Impacts and Adaptation Resources (OCCIAR) in Sudbury and the Clean Air Partnership (CAP) in Toronto have started asking environmental organizations in Northern and Southern Ontario to get involved in climate change solutions by joining the North South Climate Change Network. The goal? To improve the province’s knowledge of, and preparedness for climate change.
Since receiving an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant in March 2008, partners in this collaborative have been developing a website and communication materials to help get the ball rolling. In addition to establishing a province wide climate change network by linking regional projects, the group will help local organizations to be more effective in responding to climate change challenges. Efforts will also be made to link regional efforts in the northern and southern parts of the province.
“There hasn’t really been a way for environmental organizations in the north and south to share their ideas and actions on climate change until now,” says Al Douglas, OCCIAR Coordinator. “Our goal is to provide better knowledge and understanding of the impacts of climate change throughout Ontario. Creating a network that fosters dialogue between groups and a learning environment where participants within Ontario will learn about climate change impacts and share strategies and solutions will be extremely important in tackling climate change challenges.”
The group, which also includes the Mining Innovation Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (Sudbury) will be sending out a needs assessment survey to a number of participants early in the new year and will also be working on testing its webinars, which will go live by March 2009.
For more information on the North South Climate Change Network, please visit www.nsccn.ca
This project was made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant for $349,200 over 30 months.
Initiative aims to build effective environmental leadership in Ontario’s North
(l-r) L. Robin Cardozo, CEO, OTF; Helen Burstyn, OTF Board Chair; Caroline Schultz and Jennifer Baker, Ontario Nature; Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture |
Seven diverse environmental organizations have joined forces to help strengthen the leadership – and voice – of northern Ontario environmental groups. The Northern Connections initiative, supported by an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant, aims to build strong networks to conserve boreal forests and enable northern groups to deal with environmental issues more effectively.
“There is a relatively small group of individuals and organizations bearing the weight of the northern voice,” says Caroline Schultz, Executive Director, Ontario Nature. “The fact that we have a group of northern environmental organizations to represent northern interests is exactly what’s needed to help build leadership and a strong network for boreal conservation.” Access to clean and renewable energy, community-based forest management and public access to remote areas are important concerns that will also be addressed through the project.
Up to 20 organizations will participate in workshops and networking meetings where they can collaborate on conservation issues, share knowledge and exchange ideas on conservation projects. Distance should not be an issue as this project will also encourage the development of virtual communities with shared interests.
Other organizations involved in this initiative include: Ontario Nature (Toronto), Sault Naturalists of Ontario and Michigan (Sault Ste. Marie), Northern Ontario Sustainable Communities Partnership (Thunder Bay), Anishinabek of the Gitchi Gami Environmental Program (Fort William First Nation), Environment North (Thunder Bay), Faculty of Education @ Lakehead University (Thunder Bay) and Madawaska Forestry Inc. (Eganville)
This project was made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant for $355,600 over three years.
Protecting conservation lands in Ontario
(l-r) L. Robin Cardozo, CEO, OTF; Helen Burstyn, OTF Board Chair; Kathy Allan, Ontario Land Trust Alliance; Ian Attridge, Kawartha Heritage Conservancy; Aileen Carroll, Minister of Culture |
Community foundations and land trusts in Ontario are joining forces for the first time ever in a move to protect up to 50% of currently owned conservation lands in Ontario. The project is a partnership between Community Foundations of Canada and the Ontario Land Trust Alliance and aims to raise up to $800,000 in stewardship funds over the next three years with the help of an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant.
“The project is all about fostering partnership on a local level,” says Kathy Allan, Executive Director, Ontario Land Trust Alliance. Twenty pairs of local land trusts and community foundations will each work to raise a total of $400,000 over three years, which will be matched by other donations secured by Community Foundations of Canada.
“While our primary goal is to acquire local conservation lands, our job doesn’t end there,” says Allan. “We also need to focus on supporting the ongoing stewardship of that land to ensure it is protected for future generations.”
An outreach plan will be developed as part of this initiative with the purpose of expanding the number of people engaged in local land conservation. Over 60,000 acres of land are currently owned by the Ontario Land Trust Alliance’s 37 land trust members.
“We understand that building strong and trusting relationships with local communities and partners will smooth the path to success. Community foundations are a natural partner for land trusts because of our shared focus on long term investment in the community.”
This project is made possible through an Ontario Trillium Foundation Future Fund grant for $337,800 over three years.
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