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<p>Looks great Kevin, <br>
</p>
<p>I think we need to include Nith Valley Ecoboosters to the list
along with Hold the Line etc.</p>
<p>Also, all local governments have committed/signed on to the
ClimateAction WR plan. If we're going to talk to Regional
government about the ROPP, the greenbelt expansion needs to be
framed around the goals and actions in that plan - basically where
the 3 join and strengthen each other. Not sure if that's something
that should go in this update though. <br>
</p>
<p>Thanks for doing this Kevin,</p>
<p>Susan K<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10/25/2021 11:59 PM, Kevin Thomason
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:6784E480-DB1E-4B69-A366-018AD56E2A15@mac.com">
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<div class="">Hi GREN Executive,</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Attached below is the draft of the update to the
GREN membership that we had discussed me drafting. Please let
me know any feedback or ideas and hopefully we can circulate it
as soon as possible.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Cheers,</div>
<div class="">Kevin.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">--------------------------</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
Good Day GREN Members,
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Hopefully you have been making it through the
pandemic okay. While we haven’t been able to meet in person for
well over a year and there hasn’t been as much activity on our
mailing list as in the past, the GREN Executive has continued to
work on a number of key issues.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">As you may recall, just before the pandemic John
Jackson announced that he was going to step down as GREN Chair
after many years though still stay involved in a Past President
role on the Executive. I have been continuing in my role as
Vice-Chair, Greg Michalenko continues as Treasurer, and the two
Susan’s - Susan Bryant and Susan Koswan have announced that they
will share the roles of GREN Chair and Secretary in rotating
positions.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">The need for GREN is greater than ever as Premier
Doug Ford continues his ongoing attacks on the environment, the
climate crisis continues, and many important decisions will be
made by local, regional, and provincial governments in the
months ahead - in particular a new Regional Official Plan for
growth until 2051 and provincial Greenbelt expansion to the
Paris-Galt Moraine. Both of these are immediate land-use
planning decisions that will set a course and have impacts for
decades to come.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">GREN had an opportunity to join with other Ontario
Greenbelt Alliance member groups to apply for funding from the
Greenbelt Foundation to help ensure that our community had the
resources to tackle these important land-use decisions. We were
successful in obtaining some funding that will work
in-conjunction with larger provincial groups providing materials
and resources to regional groups such as GREN, that can then
help other local groups within our area with educational
materials, online media, host community events, etc.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">While this sort of funding is new to GREN, hopefully
in the months ahead GREN will be able to work with groups such
as Hold The Line Waterloo Region, the Guelph Greenbelt West
Coalition, Sustainable Brant and other community groups on these
important land-use decisions to ensure they have the required
resources for the best possible outcomes.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Some funding will be used to update the GREN website
and transition it to a more modern design and internet server
architecture. Website developer Scott Wicken hopes to have a
new draft of the website available in the next few weeks.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">There is a chance that the provincial Greenbelt
announcement could happen in the next few weeks - we will have
to see just what is announced, how it fits with our existing
local protections, and respond accordingly.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">There is also key aspects of the Regional Official
Plan that could be going to Regional Council for final decision
in early November. We will share anything that we are able to
learn and hopefully Regional Staff will recommend a bold,
visionary plan that will continue our environmental leadership
and help ensure we meet our climate change goals for the years
ahead. Unfortunately, recent meetings with Regional Staff have
not been encouraging and there could be considerable work to be
done in very short timeframes to convince staff, elected
officials, and the public of the need for more ambitious
goals/planning.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Please share any questions or ideas and we’ll be
in-touch more soon as we learn more about these issues.</div>
<div class=""><br class="">
</div>
<div class="">Cheers,</div>
<div class="">Kevin Thomason</div>
<div class="">Vice-Chair on behalf of the GREN Executive</div>
<div class="">
<div class="">
<div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space;
-webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica;
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps:
normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal;
text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none;
white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;
-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><br class="">
-------------------------------------<br class="">
<br class="">
Kevin Thomason<br class="">
<br class="">
1115 Cedar Grove Road<br class="">
Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2J 3Z4<br class="">
<br class="">
Phone: (519) 888-0519<br class="">
Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648<br class="">
Twitter: @kthomason<br class="">
<a href="mailto:kevinthomason@mac.com" class=""
moz-do-not-send="true">E-mail: kevinthomason@mac.com</a><br
class="">
<br class="">
-----------------------------------------</div>
</div>
</div>
<br class="">
</div>
<br>
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<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">_______________________________________________
Executive mailing list
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Executive@gren.ca">Executive@gren.ca</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://gren.ca/mailman/listinfo/executive_gren.ca">http://gren.ca/mailman/listinfo/executive_gren.ca</a>
</pre>
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