Featured Initiatives

Support Healing Spaces and Inclusivity Programming We are working with community partners like Halton Black Voices to run Healing Events at our parks, such as family campouts and picnics. We are working to create Healing Gardens with native flower beds in local community housing complexes to beautify neighbourhoods, provide opportunities for learning and create a sense of local pride. Restore Wetlands, Woodlands and Meadows Ontario is home to some of Canada’s most beautiful natural spaces, but many of these areas have become impaired. We are leading significant ecological restoration projects to rebuild and enhance wetlands, woodlands and meadows to stop their further decline, improve habitat, reduce erosion, and promote watershed health. Renew Hands-On Learning and Play Spaces at Mountsberg Mountsberg Conservation Area’s courtyard brings people together to learn, explore and connect. It serves as the park’s central hub and is a popular play space for our summer day camps. Conservation Halton is working to renew the courtyard’s pathways, gardens, play features, and buildings, including our farm animal barn—a favourite among children and families. Inspire Youth-Led Climate Action Youth are leading the fight against climate change around the globe and in our local watershed. In collaboration with community partners, we are creating new outreach programs (like Green Space: Newcomer Youth Climate Forum) to empower local youth as climate action leaders and provide meaningful bridging experiences that support students seeking green careers. Inspire Low Impact Development We are transitioning our facilities from grey to green, including at our headquarters. With plans to create two bioretention facilities, an infiltration gallery managing 1,891 m² of impervious drainage area, modernized landscaping and rainwater management, and a green roof, the space will emerge as a leading demonstration site for LID learning in Halton. Help Us Grow Forests of the Future In addition to critical mitigation strategies, our climate action toolbox includes adaptive measures. One of these measures is a climate resilient seed bank: we are working with the Forest Gene Conservation Association (FGCA) to establish a conifer and shrub seed bank for the next 40+ years of planting. This will be the first long-range forecasting project of its kind in Ontario. Establish an EV Charging Network Transportation is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions in Halton. The growing shift to electric vehicles is an important step towards reducing these on-road emissions. To support this shift and encourage the growth of an EV charging network in Halton, we will establish charging sites at our parks. Enhance Programming Spaces at Crawford Lake Each year, more than 30,000 children and youth visit Crawford Lake to learn about ecology, history and local Indigenous culture and heritage. We are enhancing indoor and outdoor programming spaces to enrich student learning and create welcoming spaces for over 100,000 annual park visitors. Enhance Brook Trout Habitat Brook Trout are a cold-water fish native to Ontario, and they are sensitive to changes in stream temperature. Brookies in Bronte, Forever is a program that works to improve Brook Trout habitat in the Bronte Creek watershed through education, community engagement, and targeted stewardship efforts, such as channel-narrowing and streambank stabilization projects to help trout and other aquatic species in Halton. Engage and Empower the 2SLGBTQ+ Community Our parks bring people together to connect with nature and each other. To advance our reach, we are working with community partners to offer programming the engages and celebrates the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Halton. Our new event, Pride In Nature, has been recognized as the largest event of its kind in the region, reaching local 2SLGBTQ+ community members and allies. Eliminate Barriers to Winter Sport & Recreation Winter sports can present unique social and economic barriers to participation. At our Glen Eden ski hill, we are working with community partners, including Halton Multicultural Connections, to establish programs and experiences that relieve these barriers. Our new initiatives support newcomer youth and families as well as disability communities. Cultivate Tomorrow’s Environmental Champions Conservation Halton’s curriculum-linked programs generate over 60,000 hours of learning each year. From class field trips and our From the Ground Up forest stewardship program to the Halton Children’s Water Festival, our innovative hands-on learning programs inspire children and youth to deepen their understanding of the natural world and become active caretakers of our planet. Create Cultural Spaces and Programs with Indigenous Partners We work with Indigenous partners to protect cultural heritage, teach the public about Indigenous Ways of Knowing, and create gathering spaces for Indigenous community members living in Halton and the GTHA. At Crawford Lake, spaces like the Deer Clan Longhouse, Three Sisters Garden and Mashkiki Gitigan (Medicine Garden) have been co-created with our partners to teach, connect, heal and empower. Create Accessible Park Trails and Facilities Our park trails and buildings are undergoing transformation. We need to remove barriers at our parks so that people of all ages and abilities can connect with nature. To do this, we are investing in projects that will improve physical accessibility at areas like Crawford Lake, Hilton Falls and Kelso.