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Toronto Awarded Funding for
Humber Arboretum Project
May 17, 2001
ETOBICOKE -
The City of Toronto has been awarded a grant and loan totaling $200,000
from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Green Municipal Investment
Fund (GMIF) toward the expansion of the Centre for Urban Ecology at the
Humber Arboretum, an innovative environmental project.
The Government of Canada established the Green Municipal Funds (GMF)
in its 2000 budget to stimulate investment in innovative municipal infrastructure
projects and environmental practices in Canadian municipalities. The GMF
is managed by the FCM.
The Green Municipal Investment Fund is a component of the Green Municipal
Funds. It is a $100-million revolving fund to encourage construction of
green infrastructure projects that are aimed at cutting polluting emissions
to air, water or soil through investments in energy, process efficiency
or by promoting the use of renewable resources. The GMIF also provides
up to $2 million annually in innovative pilot project grants for initiatives
that can be replicated in communities across Canada.
Toronto will receive $100,000 as a grant and $100,000 as a loan. A building
campaign will raise funds to upgrade the Nature Centre, improve visitor
services and convert from traditional energy sources to wind and solar
energies.
"This funding will kick start the building campaign for the expansion,"
said John Macintyre, Director, Toronto Parks and Recreation. "Through our
fundraising campaign we will target an additional $1 million to cover construction
and operating costs."
Roy Cullen, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke North, congratulated
the project partners, the City of Toronto, Humber College and the Toronto
and Region Conservation Authority.
"This is an exiting and innovative development for our community
and Toronto that will both teach and demonstrate to us the benefits of
sustainable community development and better environmental practices,"
said Cullen. "The improvements will be state of the art and serve as a
model of an environmentally friendly building that will inspire children,
college students, corporations, community members and tourists."
The new centre will use green waste management technologies and environmentally
friendly construction. It will include a solarium, children's nature activity
centre, student workshop, resource room and conservatory. The conservatory
will have a grey water filtration system and solar panels.
The Humber Arboretum, located on the West Humber River for the past
25 years, is a not-for-profit community resource featuring landscaped gardens,
walking trails, natural forests and wetlands. It makes a unique contribution
to the lives of adults and children in the Greater Toronto Area. As a leader
in environmental education, the arboretum has provided the opportunity
to experience nature in the city and to discover how people and nature
are connected.
FCM has been the national voice of municipal governments since 1901.
The federation is dedicated to improving the quality of life in all communities
by promoting strong, effective and accountable municipal government.
To date, 38 projects have received funding under the GMF, with more
than $2.5 million committed to improving municipal environmental performance
and acting on the issues of cleaner air, water, soil and climate change
in communities across Canada.
Additional information about the Green Municipal Funds is available
on the FCM web site, www.fcm.ca.
For more information, please contact:
Chris Gray, Office Manager
Roy Cullen, M.P., Etobicoke North
416-747-6003
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