Environment Grants Awarded 2009
Total disbursements in 2009 under Metcalf Foundation’s Environment Program equal approximately $1,200,000. The following is a list that includes grants to qualified donee organizations and descriptions of agency agreements and contracted services for specific charitable work to be carried out on behalf of the Foundation.
Healthy Lands
The Healthy Lands program is designed to support organizations working in Southern Ontario to: explore and develop innovative approaches to tackling tough land-use problems; actively seek opportunities for ongoing dialogue, collaborative learning and reflection; and inspire people and communities to contribute to positive change.
Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP)
$15,000
to prepare an analysis of aggregates policy in Ontario, provide workable recommendations for improved policies, and communicate their findings to policy makers and public opinion leaders in order to inform the development of an Ontario aggregates strategy that the Ministry of Natural Resources has committed to develop.
Citzens' Environment Watch
$55,000
to support a collaborative initiative between Citizens’ Environment Watch and STORM Coalition with an ambitious agenda to influence the review of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act and Plan in 2015 by building a moraine movement through ecological and policy monitoring.
Couchiching Conservancy
$55,000 (year 2 of 2)
to develop new, more collaborative approaches for working cooperatively with local communities and the aggregate industry, for planning for both conservation and aggregate extraction on the Carden Plain, and for sharing this approach with others across Ontario.
Delta Waterfowl Foundation
$25,000 (year 2 of 3)
to pilot the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) project that will provide incentive payments to farmers and ranchers in exchange for ecological goods and services.
Ecojustice
$45,000
to conduct legal research, build a coalition of NGOs, local citizens groups, and industry, work collaboratively to develop a clear and consistent message, and increase awareness to ensure that the Ontario Provincial Policy Statement is amended adequately during the upcoming review process.
Everdale Environmental Learning Centre
$19,000 (year 3 of 3)
in support of the Farmland Entry project which aims to devise and adapt models of farm succession by facilitating entry for farm interns onto farmland in Southern Ontario, especially on land adjacent to Everdale.
Kawartha Heritage Conservancy
$97,000
to record and share oral histories of the Kawarthas’ region, inventory and analyze local assets and infrastructure, and engage partners in new opportunities to strengthen conservation and local economies.
Ontario Farmland Trust
$68,000 (year 3 of 3)
to undertake a major educational campaign targeting municipalities, planners, rural non-farm landowners and the broader community in order to build support for a ‘Places to Grow Food Plan’ for Ontario.
Ontario Farmland Trust / Sustainable Brant
$38,500 (year 2 of 3)
to work in partnership on the “Places to Grow: Promoting Healthy Communities and Protecting Local Farmland” project which addresses key development pressures facing stakeholders in Brant County.
Ontario Nature
$100,000 (year 1 of 2)
to continue their community-based plans for linking protected natural areas, farmlands and green spaces; build the strength of the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) alliance; and to engage in the review of the Provincial Policy Statement.
Tides Canada Initiatives Society / Local Food Plus
$180,000
to support the continued development of a local food eco-label for Southern Ontario as a comprehensive strategy for food system reform that will support farmers and offer consumers a way to support local sustainable agriculture.
Tides Canada Initiatives Society / Sustain Ontario
$100,000
to continue to develop the capacity of this nascent Ontario-wide alliance of food and farm organizations to address the many challenges of building a food system that is ecological, equitable and financially viable. Specific projects include improving the infrastructure for local food, supporting a provincial urban agriculture network, and assisting in a provincial campaign related to student nutrition, local food and food literacy.
University of Guelph / FarmStart
$95,000 (year 2 of 2)
to support and encourage a new generation of farmers interested in establishing locally based, ecologically sound and economically viable agricultural enterprises.
Field Internships
Metcalf Foundation Field Internships cultivate new leaders by creating productive entry points to mentoring and training so that the rich experience and specialized knowledge that exist in the field will guide the development of the next generation of leaders.
Environmental Defence
$30,000
to support a 12-month internship for Rebecca McNeil.
FoodShare
$30,000
to support a 12-month internship for Rachel Van Sligtenhorst.
Kawartha Heritage Conservancy
$20,000
to support a 8-month internship for Michael Kyffin.
The Stop Community Food Centre
$30,000
to support a 12-month internship for Carolyn Young.
Field Fellowships
There were no Field Fellowhsips awarded in 2009.
Food Solutions Papers
The Metcalf Foundation has commissioned a short series of solutions papers that will describe how Ontario can move toward a truly local, sustainable food system by identifying key leverage points for food system change. The series of solutions papers will build on the Foundation’s paper Food Connects Us All by presenting credible, pragmatic, innovative and forward-thinking solutions to the problems that prohibit us from moving closer to a food system that is healthy, local and sustainable.
Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP)
$23,500
“Nurturing On-Farm and Farmer-Owned Fruit and Vegetable Processing”
In collaboration with the Fruit and Vegetable Processing Working Group, this paper will explore solutions that encourage and nurture on-farm value-added processing activities and encourage farmer-owned and controlled cooperative initiatives in order to restore the “middle” of the food system. They will explore policy and regulatory barriers, best practices, recommendations, and solutions that are suitable for the Ontario context.
FarmStart
$15,000
“New Farmers and Alternative Markets Working within the Supply Managed System”
In collaboration with the George Morris Centre, this paper aims to construct positive strategies on how to better integrate specialty production and new farmers into supply managed markets. This research will jump-start the discussion on how Ontario could have a system that accommodates alternative markets and new entrants within the system and ultimately lead to sectoral change that will better support both the next generation of farmers and the consumers who are demanding food that is local and ecologically produced.
James Kuhns / Dr. Joe Nasr / Dr. Rod MacRae
$15,000
“Building Infrastructure Required for Scaling up Urban Agriculture in Toronto”
Through an assessment of the challenges and needs related to the development of urban agriculture in Toronto, this paper will focus on developing solutions to the infrastructural challenges confronting urban food production. Ultimately, the solutions developed will assist in tackling these challenges and further energize development of the urban agriculture initiative.
The Stop Community Food Centre
$15,000
“In Every Community, A Place for Food? The Community Food Centre Model”
This paper will examine pragmatic ways that The Stop’s model can be replicated elsewhere in Ontario. It will provide a working framework to community-based organizations, will develop a strategic approach towards articulating the Community Food Centre (CFC) model to policy makers, will show what communities may face should they choose to implement this model, and what community organizations will need from government and the private sector in order for the CFC model to flourish in their community.
Tides Canada Initiatives Society / Sustain Ontario
$15,000
“The Menu: 2020 – Tasting the Future of Food and Farming in Ontario”
This paper represents a small, first step toward galvanizing interest in a food and farming strategy for Ontario, and toward spurring discussion and generating ideas about how to move forward. It will enable people working on food and farming issues across the province to connect their work to longer-term ambitions, as well as provide decision-makers with practical policy recommendations that contribute to a vision for food and farming in Ontario.
Special Initiatives
Canadian Environmental Grantmakers’ Network
$5,000
to support organizational development.
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society
$5,000
to explore an alternate organizational structure.
Pelee Island Bird Observatory
$10,000 (year 2 of 3)
to strengthen institutional capacity.
Sustainability Network
$1,500
to support the “Managing in Tough Times” workshop that aims to assist nonprofits deal with the economic downturn.
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Leaders In The Field Internship Guidelines >
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