The Brampton Environmental Alliance (BEA) is teaming with Engage Peel, Human Impact Environment and GreePAC to host an all-candidates debate for the upcoming Provincial election in the riding of Brampton North. The debate will take place virtually on May 17th, 6:30-8:00pm.
GreenPAC is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that runs 100 Debates on the Environment, with the objective to make the environment an issue that no party and no candidate can ignore. GreenPAC works with local groups to co-ordinate and underwrite the costs of hosting an all-candidates debate.
“GreenPAC believes, debates let candidates know that the environment is a top voter priority”, according to GreenPAC Program Coordinator Rizwana Hussain. “They help voters to make the connection between climate change and their other priorities, like health and affordability, and to make an informed choice at the polls.”
Three members of Heart Lake Turtle Troopers (one of whom is a Home Depot associate), pose with two other Home Depot associates along with donated merchandise
With support from the BEA, Heart Lake Turtle Troopers was honoured and grateful to receive a generous donation of merchandise from The Home Depot (Brampton #7006, located at Steeles & Hwy 410)!
We received an assortment of tools and materials that will be used for building and installation of nest-protection boxes, as well as totes that will be used for transporting injured turtles to the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in Peterborough.
Heart Lake Turtle Troopers will be engaging with ~20 volunteers from the Home Depot team later in May, when we show them the nest-protection work we are doing at Loafers Lake Park. They will also help us do a park clean up at Loafers Lake.
Heart Lake Turtle Troopers is a Brampton-based volunteer group. Our mission is to support the protection and monitoring of the local turtle population through a citizen science volunteer program, by working in partnership with community stakeholders to raise community awareness, recruit and engage citizen volunteers and organize and deliver public engagement activities. Visit our Facebook page to learn more about our activities or join our group.
By: Rosemary Keenan, Sierra Club Peel Chapter Chair and David Laing, President, Brampton Environmental Alliance
Earth Day Activities
It was a brisk, enjoyable and energizing day at the first ever Grown Green Awards Celebration held at Norton Place Park this past Saturday April 23rd. Norton Place Park is a hidden gem in the heart of the City with a small lake beautifully surrounded by trees and trails. The Earth Day event was about celebrating the Brampton City’s and its residents contributions to a more environmentally friendly world.
An article in last month’s BEA Weekly described the ecosystem services provided by Brampton’s tree canopy and invited residents to offer their opinions on the City’s Urban Forest Management Plan. The City is also interested in public feedback as it works to update its Parkland Dedication by-law by this fall to conform to changes in Provincial regulation. Why is this important and why should you care?
Brampton is under tremendous pressure to accommodate population growth and maintain or increase the availability of affordable housing within its boundary limits. At the same time it strives to maintain, or improve, the quality of life for its residents and to keep Brampton as a city where people want to come to work, live and play.
An effective way to improve life quality for people living in urban settings is by providing easily accessible parkland. Access to the outdoors and communing with nature are critically important to our mental health. Providing parks and natural settings for recreation and exercise is an effective way to promote healthy active living. This is especially true in times of emotional stress, such as dealing with the effects of a global pandemic.
A December 2021 Chinese study, published in the National Library of Medicine concludes, “To achieve the goal of promoting mental wellbeing through urban planning and design during the future pandemics, policymakers and planners are advised to provide more well-maintained and accessible parkland and encourage residents to use them with proper precautions.”
Adequate parkland is an important part of economic, environmental, and social sustainability of any urban centre. In addition to supporting better health outcomes, naturalized outdoor spaces also provide a myriad of eco-system services, including air purification, temperature regulation, water filtration and flood management.
Brampton’s 2040 vision calls for the establishment of an “Eco-Park” to conserve and enhance natural systems within the City while optimizing the balance between environmental conservation on one hand and public accessibility on the other. The concept of the Eco-Park is that it will enhance Brampton’s reputation as a “green city” by evolving the natural heritage system into a network of “Eco Spaces” consisting of, parks, green spaces, green infrastructure streetscapes, utility corridors, and the front and back yards. All these spaces conforming to a set of established principles as defined in the City’s Eco-Parks strategy.
But where does the land come from to support all of these parks and recreational facilities? It turns out that much of it comes from developers through a process called “Parkland Dedication”.
Parkland Dedication is a city by-law under the planning act that requires a portion of land being proposed for development, (or re-development), to be conveyed (given) to the City for parkland. The amount depends on the land’s intended purpose. For commercial or industrial development, 2% of the property must be given to the city to be used for parkland. If the property is to be used for residential purposes, then the greater of 5%, or one hectare for every three-hundred dwelling units must be made available for parkland. This amount is exclusive of valley lands, (floodplain), water courses, buffers or easements.
The by-law also allows the developer to provide cash in lieu of handing over a portion of development project land. The cash in lieu concept is designed for the city to pool funds to buy larger tracts of land to create a smaller number of larger parks rather than having little parkettes associated with each individual development project.
Historically the Parkland Dedication by-law has allowed the city to amass significant parkland. But the approach to parkland dedication is coming under increasing criticism.
First, there is growing pressure from the development industry to cap parkland funding. The arguments are that the cost of cash in lieu of parkland is added to the home purchase price making it less affordable. It also tends to discourage higher density development where the parkland cost can be a significant portion of the overall cost of the development project based on the one hectare per 300 residential unit formula.
The second issue is that the city can sit on the reserve cash for years without finding the right opportunity to buy land suitable for parkland development. Today the reserve exceeds $100M!
The third issue is that parkland is not expanding as fast as the city is growing. Brampton currently provides 6.3 hectares of parkland for every 1,000 residents. That compares favourably to larger cities like Toronto, or Vancouver that have less than half of what we currently enjoy. But, Brampton’s population is expected to grow more than 50% in the next two decades and this growth will see increasing pressure on Brampton’s parks and green spaces unless park space is added at the same rate.
Parkland dedication is a complicated issue that will require complex solutions. The most important thing you can do is to let city staff know you care a proper ratio of parkland to people as the City grows in population and that parkland should be accessible to all by being equitably distributed across the city. Please take a moment to provide your opinion on the City’s park strategy by completing the Park’s Survey.
The Region of Peel is currently undertaking a municipal comprehensive review which is the technical process for updating the Region’s official plan. The main purpose of the update is to accommodate the projected growth in population through the year 2051. The proposed changes include a settlement area boundary expansion that would allow housing and other developments to be built on what is now agricultural land, mostly in southern Caledon. The changes are progressing as if no other options are available and are marching swiftly to a provincially driven schedule. These are, however, profound changes that would irrevocably alter the landscape of vast swaths of Peel Region. This article explores the implications of these changes on the food security of the Region.
Caledon Farming
Access to sufficient quantities of nutritious reasonably priced food is perhaps the most important factor in maintaining peaceful and productive societies. For those of us living in southern Ontario the past 70 have been the goldilocks years for food, with plentiful quantity, tremendous variety, and relatively low cost.
Now, changes are occurring that threaten the foundations on which our food security is built. COVID –19 supply chain issues combined with the war in Ukraine are obvious threats that are shocking the patterns of food sourcing and food distribution, causing intermittent bare shelves, limiting choices, and raising costs that continue taking ever bigger bytes out of consumer paycheques.
Yet climate change will likely be the biggest long-term disruptor. The current trends indicate the goal of keeping the increase in average global temperature to 1.5C is rapidly slipping through our fingers. Under the more likely 2-2.3C scenario, Canada will look and feel like a very different place within the time horizon considered within the Regional growth plan.
Sean Smukler, a professor at University of British Columbia in the faculty of land and food systems believes that food shortages resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic should help the general public realize the importance of building resilience into the agricultural system, preserving local food production and protecting the country’s food sovereignty.
The fact is, our traditional sources of food are becoming far less stable. Climate change will ensure they will continue to do so. At the same time, Peel Region is converting prime agricultural land to residential, commercial, and industrial uses more rapidly than ever before. The irony in the proposed settlement area boundary expansion, (SABE) should be obvious to all, calling for a phased approach to development that would allow “agriculture and agricultural activities to continue for as long as possible”. The interpretation? Significant agriculture within Peel Region will be all but eliminated by 2051 just as our food supply from traditional sources may have reached a critical stage.
We are living in rapidly changing times. The historical assumptions guiding our plans need to be challenged. While growth and affordable housing must remain priorities, we must also be realistic about the future of housing in the GTA. The aspiration of single-family home ownership, complete with picket fence and generous yard may no longer be a viable option for all. Urban sprawl type development is neither environmentally nor economically sustainable. Land is the most precious thing we have, arable land even more so.
Peel Regional Council needs to take a bold decision and freeze urban boundary expansion beyond its current limits. Planners and developers must be challenged to create higher density solutions that would accommodate population growth within existing boundaries while leaving room for greenspace and sufficient agricultural land which could supply locally grown food for residents in Peel and the GTA. Locally grown food is not a panacea. It should however, be a significant part of the food sourcing equation. Anything less is just not prudent.
Urban Forest Management Plan Art Contest – Hirnakshi Joshi, second place winner
The City of Brampton is looking for citizen feedback on its urban forest master plan. The urban forest encompasses all the trees on both public and private lands, including parks, valleylands, and woodlots. It also includes street trees, trees in parking lots, trees on institutional/employment lands and trees on residential property. Residents and stakeholders are being asked to complete a survey available until April 1, 2022.
Trees are a very important part of the city-scape. According to the Government of Canada, “Urban Forests increase our quality of life by promoting mental well-being and encouraging physical activity.” Trees, produce oxygen, filter out air and soil contaminants, support biodiversity, reduce heat loss in the winter and cool temperatures in the summer. Their shade and majesty beautifies neighbourhoods and increases property values. As many tree species can live for hundreds of years, they connect us to our past and help build our sense of community.
For Brampton, trees are critical to the city’s 2040 Vision and the achievement of the Community Energy and Emissions Reduction Plan, (CEERP). Brampton’s trees absorb over 7,700 tonnes of carbon each year which is like taking more than 1,500 cars off Brampton’s roads. Large trees store 75 times as much carbon as smaller trees so the maturity of the forest is also an important factor.
The presence of trees also helps reduce Brampton’s energy requirements by slowing the rate of heat absorption in the hard surfaces of nearby roads and buildings. Urban locations with lots of tree cover can be as much as 10-12 degrees cooler than those with lower amounts of natural vegetation.
Brampton boasts an inventory of 3.6 million trees with an estimated economic value of $780 million. Yet, despite its reputation as a green city, Brampton’s urban forest falls short in several key areas including, canopy coverage, species diversity, and forest maturity. The tree canopy covers only about 18% of the city’s total land mass. This compares to a 25% average cover for other selected communities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). Three tree species, maple, ash and, spruce account for almost half of the total cover. And Brampton’s forests are dominated by smaller younger trees.
These short-comings make the forest vulnerable to climate change risks. Invasive insects such as the emerald ash borer have all but wiped out the city’s stands of large ash trees. The 2013 ice storm killed more than 30,000 trees, with larger mature trees experiencing the most damage. Mature trees are particularly important in terms of the eco-system services they provide. They store 75 times more carbon than small trees and filter out approximately 10 times the amount of pollution from the air. Larger trees also provide more shade and wildlife habitat.
Fewer than half of Brampton’s trees are considered to be in good or excellent condition. The Urban Forest Management Plan’s purpose therefore is to outline a vision for the future of Brampton’s urban forest, define the targets necessary to achieve that vision and then implement a process to monitor progress towards those targets. Click here to see a draft of the city’s urban forest management plan.
There is a new development coming to Brampton that raises the bar for environmentally sustainable buildings in the GTA suburbs. Built by The Daniels Corporation, on the north side of Bovaird between Mississauga Road and Creditview Road and located within easy walking distance of the GO station and Mount Pleasant Village’s Civic Square, this master-planned community will boast innovative features designed to improve energy efficiency and lower carbon emissions.
Construction on a 26 floor condo tower will start later this year. A state-of-the-art ground sourced geo-exchange system will provide zero emissions heating and cooling for the condo units.
Next year, the company will start construction on an environmental highlight, two six story purpose built rental buildings to meet Passive House standards. Availability of these rental units is forecasted for 2025.
Passive House comes from the German “Passivhaus” and is considered to be the most rigorous voluntary, energy-based standard in the design and construction industry today. Passive House buildings can result in up to 90% savings in energy used for heating and cooling, compared to conventional buildings. And the energy efficiency is designed into the building’s core and exterior rather than being dependent on complex heating and cooling systems that add cost and require care to maintain efficiency.
A neat feature of the Daniels’ rental project is that it will use mass timber construction, the first building of its kind in Brampton. Mass timber is made from layers of boards using a “cross-grain” technique, meaning each layer is glued at 90 degrees to the layer below it. This creates a slab of wood that can be used to make the entire building including, floors, walls, ceilings and other structural elements.
Mass timber is as strong or stronger than concrete or steel. It does a better job of insulating the building from heat and cold and from transmitted noise both outside and inside the building. The slabs can be manufactured in a plant and then transported and assembled on-site. This reduces construction costs and timing as well as the amount of site transportation.
Generally, people are happier, healthier and more productive working or living in a space where they experience higher levels of thermal comfort. Thermal comfort is a concept worthy of its own article but, basically, it is the combination of air temperature, air velocity, relative humidity, and the radiant temperature of walls, floors, ceilings, that affects a person’s sense of how cold or hot they feel. Mass timber buildings typically deliver superior thermal comfort.
Counter intuitively, mass timber can also perform better in a fire than concrete or steel. As the outside layer of wood chars, the inner layers are shielded from the heat slowing down the burning process. A burning mass timber building may remain standing longer than its steel or concrete counterpart where structural integrity deteriorates rapidly at sustained high temperatures.
Perhaps the best feature of mass timber construction is the carbon emissions reduction it provides. Wood supply is effectively carbon neutral so long as it is sustainably sourced. A substantial amount of carbon is sequestered in the wood itself. More carbon is saved by the reduced building time and transportation requirements by assembling the building in modular form. On balance mass timber buildings reduce global warming potential by more than 25% according to a study done by the University of Washington.
Environmentalists are rightly concerned about the sustainability of forestry practices that may be used to harvest wood for mass timber construction. Procurement must come from sources using Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) practices, considered the gold standard of “climate-smart forestry”. But mass timber may be the only way to accommodate our growing population while meeting our carbon reduction goals. So, hats off to Daniels for bringing this innovative building material to Brampton. Let’s hope it is the first of many!
The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks is currently accepting applications for the Great Lakes Local Action Fund to protect and restore Great Lakes’ watersheds including connecting rivers. The Provincial Government has earmarked up to $1.9 million for the second round of funding to support local projects that can demonstrate positive environmental impact on these watersheds. Community based projects must be submitted by March 11, 2022 and address one of the following priorities:
Naturalization and restoration
Protecting habitat
Shoreline cleanup
Applicants must be registered through www.ontario.ca/GetFunding for a “Transfer Payment Ontario” TPO Account. To qualify, the project may be led by one or more of the following:
Community-based organizations
Environmental non-profits
Indigenous communities
Small businesses
Conservation authorities
Municipalities
Eligible expenses can include:
Staff salaries
Goods including the purchase of plants, trees, shovels, garbage pickers, bags, gloves, boots, etc.
Services including web-design, technical design, consultants, etc.
Equipment/Capital/Rental
Giveaways for volunteers and participants
Travel and hospitality expenses are not eligible for the Great Lakes Local Action Fund.
The City of Brampton has created a new award program to recognize individuals, businesses, organizations and institutions in the city that have demonstrated environmental leadership and have significantly contributed to the “Grow Green” vision of conserving, enhancing, and balancing our natural and built environments to create a healthy, sustainable, and resilient Brampton. Nominations will be accepted until February 28th, 2022 and the awards will be handed out during an Earth Day Environmental Festival to be held at Norton Place Park on Saturday April 23rd.
The Climate Change Award will be given to an individual and a business/organization that has significantly contributed to advancing climate change mitigation, adaptation, awareness/knowledge, and or actions.
The Stewardship Award will be given to an individual and a business/organization that has significantly contributed to the advancement of environmental sustainability iniitiatives related to the conservation and/or stewardship of trees, natural heritage systems, water, and/or the reduction of waste.
The Environmental Youth Award will be given to an individual or youth group that has demonstrated exceptional achievement in the advancement of environmental protection, climate change actions, and/or sustainability.
The Environmental Legacy Award will be given to an individual who has provided outstanding personal service and ongoing contributions to advance the “Grow Green” vision of conserving, enhancing, and balancing our natural and built environments to crate a healthy, resilient and sustainable city.
The past few months has seen a flurry of submissions for Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZO) in the City of Brampton. So the first refreshing thing about the new development being proposed for the southeast corner of Nelson and Elizabeth Streets is that the applicant, Greenwin + Sweeny Holdings, is not requesting fast-track consideration via an MZO.
The development checks boxes for many of the City’s Sustainable Community Development Guidelines including, compact form, mixed use, walkability and cultural heritage. The project plan includes two towers, 42 and 34 stories respectively that will provide a mix of 205 hotel suites, 694 sq m of retail space, and 771 long-term rental residential units, 40 of which will be affordable housing. The project’s location and building concept is designed to enhance walkability and to “attract residents who will want to live in alignment with ‘One Planet Living’ principles.”
Initially the buildings will provide 477 vehicular parking spaces on four floors, one below grade and three above. The three above grade parking levels, however, can be repurposed for additional commercial or residential space, as Brampton’s GO transit hub expands services and the need for personal automobiles lessens.
The project will conserve and restore the heritage property at 24 Elizabeth, once home to Brampton’s first Mayor, John Haggert from 1874-76. The house could be repurposed as a hostel or restaurant/café with an outdoor patio. Landscaping amenities including street trees and public art help flesh out the project description.
As details emerge we will be looking for the project to include innovative sustainability features in the final design such as, ground sourced energy for HVAC, solar panels and or green roof systems, grey water management systems and, bird friendly windows.
The city is creating a Centre for Energy Transformation that will be operational in the next two years with the intent to make Brampton and Peel Region a world leader in energy management and carbon reduction. Imagine this development as a model of sustainable urban design in Brampton’s downtown. We are excited by the possibilities!
