Inspiration

Scarborough Environmental Association (SEA) is a grassroots organization of local residents that engage in neighbourhood advocacy through community service. The group brings together marginalized communities in Scarborough to build a network that can advocate for the environment. This year’s Scarborough Green Fair offered a variety of programming responding to a range of residents’ goals and needs and took place at East Scarborough Storefront, an iconic community hub.

SEA co-founder Krissan Veerasingam’s hope for the Green Fair was “to connect folks who wouldn’t ordinarily attend eco events to local environmental groups who operate regularly in their neighourhoods.” Some of the groups who hosted info tables and activities included TTCRiders, Toronto’s transit advocacy collective, local park protector and community garden groups, a feminist bird club, a local seed share organizatio and Toronto Public Library. A collaborative research project called Visionary Communities hosted a drawing exercise for kids that encouraged participants to imagine the kind of community they want to live in.

Throughout the day, the atmosphere of excitement and possibility was tangible as Scarborough residents greeted each other to share both resources and ideas. Volunteers pitched in to offer free repairs on bikes and household items, a clothing swap and a nature hike. Reflecting on the impact of the event, Krissan said, “Through our repair, art and clothing event programming we were able to successfully attract a diverse audience and introduce them to local groups.”

Transition Kamloops is a not-for-profit, volunteer-driven society focused on increasing local resilience and self-sufficiency in food, water, energy, culture and wellness.

The society is celebrating a climate action plan win. After criticism that the first draft of the Community Climate Action Plan was inadequate, the City of Kamloops came back with a more ambitious plan, but didn’t include funding to implement it. Transition Kamloops organized a letter-writing campaign and encouraged residents to attend budget meetings to ask councillors to support climate action funding. In the end, council approved long-term funding that ramps up every year. It’s great to see that grassroots advocacy can make a difference!

For more details on what Transition Kamloops is doing in the community, click here.

The Nith Valley EcoBoosters are a not-for-profit, politically non-partisan volunteer group committed to achieving and supporting a long-term healthy environment in Wilmot and Wellesley Townships through education, action and collaboration.

The group is concerned about the ramifications of the More Homes Built Faster Act, known as Bill 23. It will allow development in areas previously protected for farmland, forests, wetlands, rivers and lakes. The most vulnerable area is the Greenbelt, which Ontario Premier Doug Ford plans to open to pro-sprawl developers.

Since November, the Nith Valley EcoBoosters have been engaging with their municipal governments, community and MPP to express their concerns. After several weeks of receiving no response to phone calls and emails to MPP Mike Harris and a protest outside his office, the group finally got a meeting. Harris continued to defend Bill 23 despite the legitimate concerns the group raised about it and the impact it will have on the integrity of the Greenbelt. The EcoBoosters were promised answers to questions related to Bill 23 at the meeting, but after five weeks, the only response from Harris’s staff was that they are waiting for information from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Despite the disappointing lack of response, the Nith Valley EcoBoosters will continue to work with others to raise awareness of the potential impacts of Bill 23 and to inspire members of the community to take action.

For more details on what the Nith Valley EcoBoosters are doing in their community and to join their campaign to stop Bill 23, click here.