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Keeping environmental volunteers ever-green
Ontario’s environmental sector recently got quite a shot in the arm. And all thanks to an innovative and green approach to volunteerism.
Evergreen, an organization that supports green space initiatives, was awarded $470,400 over three years by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. With its partners – Sudbury Better Beginnings, Better Futures and EcoSuperior in Thunder Bay – Evergreen is leading a three-year project to strengthen how volunteers contribute to and are recognized within Ontario’s environmental sector.
What does this mean in plain language? Evergreen just wants to be smart and effective in supporting their thousands of committed volunteers involved with greening projects in schools and communities across Ontario.
Called Community Spirit, Community Hands, this initiative focuses on creating a new, tailor-made model for volunteer management specifically in community-based greening.
“There are models that exist, but they are not specific to the unique requirements of the urban greening movement,” said Evergreen project manager Samara Newman. “By strengthening existing organizations and creating more rewarding experiences for more volunteers, this project will definitely help to build the momentum for greener, healthier communities.”
This model will be pilot-tested in Toronto, the Sudbury Basin, and the Thunder Bay area. Its impact will be felt across the province, as the results will be shared with ten other Ontario communities upon completion of the project. Evergreen aims to work with the community at large “to heal and regenerate urban environments – on publicly accessible lands, on school grounds and on home landscapes.” Thanks to Ontario Trillium Foundation funding, many Ontarians will breathe a bit more easily as Evergreen pursues its mandate of bringing nature to our cities. |
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