FoodRetro

Scratch Food with a Side of Geek Mom and Pop Culture.

Be a Champion of the #ONGreenbelt

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Be a Champion of the ONGreenbeltYou may have caught me blabbing from time to time about hiking around the waterfalls. With over 100 of them in the area, my town, Hamilton, is sometimes called the City of Waterfalls. Undisputed waterfall capital of the world. Some of them are wee little trickles, but many of them are quite lovely! And most are visible from miles and miles of hiking trails that wind their way up and down and around the Niagara escarpment.
 
I love the conservation areas around here, and I am so stoked to announce that I was recently accepted to help Sara Vartanian of @GreenMomsCo with a six-week Twitter series on a subject matter dear to my heart: education on, protection of, and campaigning for the expansion of Ontario’s Green Belt. I’ll be one of five bloggers helping to promote a Twitter chat on a different subject every Wednesday between September 17 and October 22, 8-9PM EST. 
 
Albion Falls, Hamilton Ontario

 

What is the Greenbelt anyway?

You may have seen the signs on the highway all around the Golden Horseshoe: “Entering the Greenbelt.” The Greenbelt is environmentally sensitive land that has been granted permanent protection by the Ontario government ensuring that the farmland, watersheds, the escarpment areas and trails, heritage sites, and other beautiful rural areas contained within are protected from re-zoning for urban development.
 
If you live in Ontario, the fertile land of the Greenbelt is a huge source of local food. It’s over 2 million acres, spanning a greater area than the landmass of PEI. It protects 78 at-risk species of wildlife. The carbon sink from the trees that grow there can offset the pollution from an equivalent of 27 million cars. There are approximately 5,500 farms. 10,000 km of walking trails. And the lakes and wetlands help saves billions in water treatment and filtration.
 
You can read more amazing facts about the Greenbelt at Green Moms Collective and Friends of the Greenbelt.
 
Bruce Trail near Sherman Falls, Hamilton ON
 

 The Twitter series

My friends, I encourage you to come out and join us at the hashtag #ONGreenbelt on September 17th. There will be food talk, fun, and prizes! First Twitter Session is Greenbelt 101 – RSVP: http://tweeparties.com/parties/2014/09/04/ongreenbelt-greenbelt-101-twitter-chat-wednesday-sept-17th-at-8pm-et/ 

The other series events and dates… I’ll try to be at most of them, but I’ll definitely be around for the Watershed one! 

Sept. 24: The Foodbelt: Local Grown Food in the Greenbelt
Oct. 1: The Funbelt: Natural Areas in the Greenbelt
Oct. 8: Watershed – Rivers and Waterways in the Greenbelt
Oct. 15: Ecology of the Greenbelt – Rural Vitality, Air, Nature, Wildlife
Oct. 22: Future of the Greenbelt – Planning and Economics

And keep an eye out in the Toronto Star for more about the Greenbelt in the Saturday editions!

Hope to see you there, my friends!

Sherman Falls

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