In This Newsletter:
- A Green Economy Hub for our Regions is Closer than ever!
- The Institute Needs Your Program Support to Continue Our Work
- Owen Sound- Showing Several Examples of Nonprofit Housing in Action
- Participate in the Town of the Blue Mountain and the Town of Collingwood’s Multi-Use Recreation Public Survey
- Thank you to Retiring Board Members
A Green Economy Hub for South Georgian Bay is Closer Than Ever
Register to attend an in-person information session on the upcoming pilot project.
As autumn approaches, the Institute is continuing to support the development of a Green Economy Hub in Southern Georgian Bay.
This project began last year after the Institute’s 2023 strategy session revealed the community’s desire to tackle climate change with regional actions; actions under the community’s control.
The Institute led the charge by coordinating more conversations and research which culminated in the Achieving Sustainability through a Greener Economy event on October 27, 2023. Following excellent speaker presentations, the 10 breakout groups re-emphasized the need for continued education and collaboration on the sharing of ideas and successes to be supported by municipalities. Specific strategies and tools like regional metrics, green development standards, business sustainability certification, and new economic models were discussed. Green Economy Canada’s Hub model became a clear choice for how to make this happen. And NOW is the time to act.
To help make it a reality for our region, The Institute has been collaborating with a number of community organizations to bring a Green Economy Hub Pilot Project to Southern Georgian Bay, including the Collingwood Climate Action Team (CCAT), Grey County, the Town of the Blue Mountains, the Town of Collingwood, Blue Mountain Resort, MacLean Engineering, RTO7, Georgian Bay Forever, Wasaga Beach Climate Action Team (WBCAT), and the Town of Blue Mountains Climate Action Now Network (CANN).
Following the announcement of the project at the Town of Blue Mountains’ Sustainability Summit on April 27, the Institute has contributed $15,000 from its Endowment fund, and the Collingwood Climate Action Team has taken up project administration.
TISGB and CCAT are hosting an in-person info session on Thursday, October 3, 2024, that will feature a number of businesses who will share their experiences of making a difference by reducing their carbon footprints, after which Green Economy Canada and CCAT will take attendees through the structure and benefits of the pilot project.
REGISTER HERE to attend our live event on Thursday, October 3rd at the new Wasaga Beach Arena and reach out to [email protected] for more information on the Green Economy Hub Pilot Project.
The Institute Needs Your Program Support to Continue Our Work
Our vision is clear: a resilient, equitable, and sustainable region. To achieve this, we have developed a comprehensive strategy focused on three key areas: housing affordability, economic resilience, and environmental sustainability.
Community support in the remaining months of 2024 will be crucial as we continue to address our region’s most pressing challenges through community-led solutions. With your assistance, we will be poised to:
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Finalize a community action plan for affordable housing at a fall event, building on the groundwork laid in the 2024 Housing Affordability Report Back.
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Support the launch of the Green Economy Hub Pilot Project after already committing $15,000 from our flow-through fund to support local businesses in adopting sustainable practices and creating green jobs.
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Explore and enhance the role of philanthropy in multi-sector projects, ensuring broad-based participation and impact.
Your program support is vital in turning these plans into realities, and we hope you will consider renewing your commitment to help us propel Southern Georgian Bay toward an even brighter and more collaborative future.
Support Our Programming Today!
Owen Sound Shows Several Examples of Nonprofit Housing in Action
By Jan Chamberlain, The Thomson, Owen Sound
Non profit housing is rental housing that is owned and operated by a community based nonprofit organization. Since 2014 I have been privileged to be a director on the board of Owen Sound’s affordable housing companies.
Starting in the 50s, when Mayor Eddie Sargent saw a need for seniors affordable housing, a small group of businessmen took out shares and formed the Owen Sound Housing Corporation to build the 40 unit Frank Smith apartments on 7th Ave East.
Later in 1986, this same company formed The Owen Sound Municipal Non Profit Housing Corporation to go on to develop the 50 unit Bayfield Landing, then the 90 unit Ordinance Park development, the 60 unit Bluewater Ridge and has just recently completed 3 phases of 36 mixed housing units and a 58 unit apartment build in Odawa Heights.
This housing will, by mission, remain affordable in perpetuity and run by community volunteers.
Ken Thomson was a long standing Chair of the Board and would often remark that we want to build communities where people can interact easily with one another. He also always said we will only build what we would be willing to live in ourselves.
Ken and his wife, Judy did get to live in a fully accessible market priced unit and now, I too, live in a market priced apartment at the new Thomson.
Our Chair of the Board is Ruth Lovell Stanners and we are looking forward to the new ways to build more affordable units with all the changing rules for municipalities. We appreciate the ongoing work of The Institute and the County.
We direct people to Grey County’s Affordable Housing website to see all the locates of affordable housing. There is a long waiting list for new registrants. Hopefully, we can continue to recruit new non profits to build affordable homes.
Stay tuned! In our next newsletter, we will release the date and next steps for participating in our next in-person Affordable Housing event; continuing the forward momentum on a Regional Community Action Plan.
The Town of Collingwood and the Town of The Blue Mountains are working together to conduct a Joint Multi-Use Recreation Feasibility Assessment (MURFA).
Ensuring robust public engagement is pivotal to this project, recognizing the significance of involving residents, community groups, stakeholders, and partners in shaping the vision of a multi-use recreation facility or facilities. In addition to public engagement, the Towns of Collingwood and the Blue Mountains will collaborate with local and Provincial Sport Organizations, third-party recreation providers, and community space users to gather the most complete data possible.
Examples of engagement methods may include, but are not limited to:
- Conducting stakeholder interviews and workshops
- Hosting community information sessions and open houses
- Utilizing social media platforms and online surveys
- Organizing public charrettes during events
Public Survey
Members of the public are encouraged to complete the survey to share details about their usage and priorities for existing recreational and library facilities, and to share what is desired for future facilities. A simplified version of the survey has also been prepared for youth in the community under the age of 18. Both surveys will be open until September 30, 2024.
Thank you to retiring Board members: Jennifer Armstrong, Melanie Rodriguez, and Mel Pockaj.
The Institute is made up of people who are passionate about Southern Georgian Bay and our Board members work hard towards ensuring a resilient, equitable, and sustainable region.
We would like to acknowledge the work of retiring Board members Jennifer Armstrong, Melanie Rodriguez, and Mel Pockaj. They played key roles in the evolution of the Institute as we move from start-up towards our goal of becoming an ongoing enterprise. Their contributions to strategy development, finance and fundraising, and our programming are greatly appreciated!