GIO is dedicated to assisting the Ontario provincial government by supporting and promoting policy solutions that encourage green infrastructure as part of healthy, prosperous, and sustainable communities. We recently submitted comments and...
MoreINSPIRING INITIATIVES: GIO in the news, California’s newest watershed legislation, and Grey to Green 2019
GIO in the News: Green Infrastructure Ontario’s Michelle Sawka collaborated with Municipal Natural Assets Initiative’s Roy Brooke in a recent article calling for defined values for green infrastructure when making development decisions. This...
MoreRecent Research: Private property incentives and trees in stormwater modelling
Private Property Incentive Programs: The Water Research Foundation has published new research to help identify ways to incentivize the installation of green infrastructure on private property. Six incentive programs were recommended to help...
MoreSouthern Ontario’s Disappearing Forest
The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO), Dr. Dianne Saxe, recently released her four-volume 2018 Environmental Protection Report to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. This report synthesizes the biggest environmental issues facing the...
MoreFostering Supply and Demand for Green Infrastructure
A recent article delves into why green infrastructure has yet to spread its roots in our communities on a large scale. There is immense potential for communities to benefit from green infrastructure by retrofitting developed areas absent of...
MoreUrban Forests and Public Health – Funding Opportunities
The benefits of urban forests on human health are well researched – nature has the capacity to improve mental and physical health. As such, recovery and enhancement of urban forests is beneficial to both public health and forestry...
More5 Barriers and 5 Opportunities for Municipal Natural Asset Management
With climate change and community resilience at the height of concerns regarding our communities’ futures, it is becoming increasingly apparent that natural infrastructure needs to be an integral part of municipal asset management. Ecological...
More2018 Ontario Climate Symposium
The Ontario Climate Consortium is hosting the 6th Ontario Climate Symposium at Canada’s biggest art and design university, OCADU. This year the Symposium will take place on October 11th and 12th, and will explore how innovative, interdisciplinary...
MoreRecent Research: Best Practices and Resources on Climate Resilient Natural Infrastructure
The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment produced a report to address the current value of natural infrastructure, and its role in climate resiliency. The paper not only cites GIO resources throughout, it also outlines lessons...
MoreInspiring Initiatives: Community collaboration, tools to streamline green roof and wall integration, and green infrastructure for the bees
Benefits-Driven Designing – Creating Better Green Infrastructure What happens when a town comes together to design green infrastructure that provides flood relief, access to local food for the community, and ample educational and training...
MoreCombatting Canada’s Rising Flood Costs
An overarching and complex barrier in the adoption of natural infrastructure is the limited capacity of institutions to develop and finance natural infrastructure options. With climate resiliency at the forefront of community planning, it is...
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