Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee
3150 Culp Road L0R 1S0 Lincoln, ON, Canada

Why is the Region trying to force development in Grimsby, that the Town neither needs or wants, near significant natural heritage/environmental features? In fact, the Region’s own draft Lands Needs Assessment says Grimsby has a sufficient supply of community and employment designated lands to accommodate the 2051 (growth) forecast. Yet, as part of the Regional Official Plan Settlement Area Boundary Review (SABR), the Region has identified four properties North of the QEW bet...Continue reading

We absolutely agree with Mike Jones: What is the Region of Niagara thinking with their plans to destroy a Provincially Significant Wetland with their proposed Merritt Road extension and expansion plan. Thanks Mike for walking the area and taking the beautiful photos that show what the Region is planning to destroy. How many millions of dollars of grey infrastructure will have to be built to replace the green infrastructure that is providing flood management and other servic...es for free? How much biodiversity value will be lost? How much oxygen generation? How much pollution mitigation? When we don't put dollar values on the green infrastructure that we have, it becomes easy for developers whether they are builders or our own elected governments, to okay their destruction. More municipalities are starting to apply the principles of Natural Asset Management in the same way they manage their built infrastructure. The concept must take root in Niagara before we lose more of our valuable natural assets. For those who may be interested, I will post the critique Biodivsity and Climate Action Niagara made on this proposed project which we submitted to the Region in June in comments on this post. It will be in three parts as it is too sizeable for a single Facebook comment.

How did urban planning in North America go wrong and how can we fix it? This 30-minute podcast discusses why we need to focus on creating better urban areas and curb sprawl if we want our communities to be economically viable and livable in the future. Well worth listening to and I also highly recommend guest Jason Slaughter's Youtube videos about urban planning called Not Just Bikes.

Really there is only one decision that should be made on this matter the developer must tear up the road and restore the wetland/conservation area. The Region and the Conservation Authority need to be asked how this has dragged on for 3 years. Developers in Niagara are getting away with murder. It has to stop.

Some good news on the environmental front with the launch of this federal tree initiative. Just planting trees is a solution to so many problems. Want to combat global warming? Plant a tree. Want to cut down on air pollution? Plant a tree. Want to reduce flooding? Plant a tree. Want to improve biodiversity and support native species? Make sure to plant a native tree. Want to prevent erosion? Plant a tree. Want to free food? Plant a fruit or nut tree. Want to improve water qua...lity? Plant a tree. Want to improve your property value? Plant a tree. Want to see more wildlife on your property? Plant a native tree. Want to reduce your homes cooling costs? Plant deciduous trees to the south and west of your home. Want to reduce your heating costs? Plant coniferous trees to the north of your home and on the side of prevailing winds. Want to beautify community? Plant many native trees. See more

You can register for this event here: https://ryerson.zoom.us//tJUrce6opjMpGtzg26j2V_aT9I5s1lN79

Do we need to keep developing on greenfields or can we make some changes to existing zoning and other planning policies to modestly increase density in our existing urban areas while providing affordable housing and making our cities more vibrant and transit-friendly? A series of short well-done videos explores the issue.

We all love bird and butterflies. But wasps, grubs and the larvae that eat the leaves of our favorite plants, all of them are needed to create a healthy yard as... well. The advantage of a healthy yard is that the cute and the not so cute together prevent real pests. A yard with many different species is also more resilient to diseases and weather events. Try it! www.healthyyards.org See more

For decennia our yard was a way to express we 'belonged' to our neighborhood and cared about its upkeep. Today, that doesn't matter less, but our environment ha...s began to matter more. If we want a healthy future we need to move on to new types of landscaping. Our mission? To help you - and your neighbor- to make that transition! Please realize that the labels below are not mutually exclusive. www.healthyyards.org See more

We all remember this footage from during the election campaign when Ford promised developers he would open up large swaths of the Greenbelt for development. He ...had to publicly back off those statements after a huge public outcry but that doesn't mean plans to destroy the Greenbelt aren't still underway. Now that Ford has finished disembowelling the Conservation Authorities, and dismantling 70 years of progressively better urban planning policy through Ministerial Zoning Orders and gagging citizen involvement in the planning process, he is ready to move on to "making our Greenbelt great again" by swapping out chunks of it; giving developers the green light to build on swaths of it in the Greater Golden Horseshoe while finding bits of land in other less immediately developable lands in other parts of the Province to "add" to the Greenbelt. It will be a bait and switch of the highest order. Destroying the integrity of the Greenbelt and the flood control, erosion control, habitat protection, oxygen, food production, recreational and tourism opportunities it provides, this scheme will fulfill the fevered dreams of Ford's developer friends and funders and leave a legacy of destruction in Southern Ontario that will never be able to be repaired. The citizens of Ontario, from all parties, need to recognize the danger the Ford government is creating for the people of Ontario. We need to remember that this is a man who was being publicly booed everywhere he went before the pandemic hit and we became distracted. He came in like a bull in a china shop, destroying autism funding, cancelling green energy contracts, interfering in municipal politics etc. etc. and he is going out like a bulldozer destroying all in his wake. He cannot be re-elected. With less than two years to the next election we need to start organizing now. Ford, make no mistake, is Trump north. We are better than this. We deserve a government that is better than this.

FYI - it really IS that serious!!

Click on the post below to enlarge. The damage the Ford government is doing to the environment in Ontario through critically wounding Conservation Authorities, allowing the destruction of endangered species habitat, permitting the paving over of Provincially Significant wetlands, reversing changes to the building code that would have helped combat climate change and ripping up green energy contracts is not only doing irreversible and untold damage to Ontario's environment it is also hobbling the Province's economy by refusing to unleash the power of a green economy and it is seriously, negatively impacting the health and well-being of this Province's present and future citizens. We can't stay passive in the face of complete incompetence of leadership. Resistance is necessary.

Ontario's proposed changes to the role of Conservation Authorities will mean more destructive development in natural areas. Join us on November 17th at 7 pm for a webinar to find out more. Register here: https://bit.ly/3nhOBul

#ActionAlert! Conservation Authorities are under fire Using Budget Bill 229, the Government of Ontario plans to severely curtail the role of Conservation Autho...rities. Please urge the Government to withdraw these proposed changes. Conservation Authorities play a vital role in land-use planning and in protecting communities from flooding and other climate change impacts. https://ontarionature.good.do/conservationauthorities/send/ See more

Hear the interview with Liz Benneian of A Better Niagara and NewsTalk 610 host Matt Holmes by clicking this link: https://www.iheartradio.ca//changes-needed-to-both-conserv