Climate Change - Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition

Climate Anxiety and Youth: Prioritizing Mental Health When it Come to Climate Advocacy

With so many people experiencing disastrous events it makes sense that psychologists have seen an increase in anxiety, depression and post-traumatic-stress-disorder, especially in places that are feeling the effects of climate change right now. However, even those not directly affected by the disasters climate change is bringing are being psychologically affected by them.

By Blythe Wieclawek
Published August 12, 2021
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Extremes are more common and more intense

If you have been following the development of climate change and the ongoing fight against it, you have most likely heard of climate anxiety.

It goes by many different names, such as eco-anxiety, climate distress, climate change anxiety or climate anxiety, but they all describe the psychological effects of climate change brought by living during the climate crisis.

Especially in recent years, we have seen the disastrous effects brought by a changing climate. It seems every year temperatures are hitting extremes and severe weather events are more common and intense.

The rabbit hole of bad news

With easily accessible, widespread coverage of these events on social media, it is easier than ever to see world events. With the increase in natural disasters and health concerns caused by the changing climate, there always seems to be a new video to watch of the world literally burning. That, paired with the reports scientists have been releasing explaining how the world is heading towards certain doom, makes it extremely easy to fall down the rabbit hole of bad news and become overwhelmed with feelings of hopelessness and anxiety.

Climate anxiety is born from these experiences, and because of their experiences growing up during the climate crisis, youth are especially susceptible to climate anxiety. We are constantly being shown images and videos of the effects of climate change, and many have taken it upon themselves to raise awareness on these issues by sharing on social media. Therefore, it is even easier for youth to get swept up in the flood of anxiety that comes with being immersed in horrifying news.

It leads to youth feeling hopeless, afraid and dejected. In fact, from my experiences talking to my siblings, classmates and friends about the climate crisis, there seem to be two responses.

Firstly: they are extremely concerned about the issue and want to know everything about it. They are constantly monitoring the situation and always have new (and oftentimes depressing) stories to share on social media or during conversations.

Secondly: they are also extremely concerned about the issue, but the anxiety is so overwhelming that they completely avoid thinking about the problem. Though it is always in the back of their mind, they are convinced we are doomed, that it is too late, that the problem is too large and there are too many obstacles in the way. They hate hearing about new developments because it only adds to their anxiety.

It is apparent in both cases that youth are incredibly stressed about this issue. Climate anxiety is widespread and affects so many people, but youth are carrying the brunt of it.

“Climate anxiety is widespread and affects so many people, but youth are carrying the brunt of it.”

How can youth find a balance between mental health and advocacy?

For youth climate activists, this anxiety might have pushed them into getting involved with a local organization, or creating one of their own. However, being motivated by fear is not sustainable. It only leads to higher amounts of stress, burnout and causes youth to feel as if they are not accomplishing enough to make any difference. It leads to youth dropping out of the environmentalist scene before they can even begin to create change, creating a vicious cycle that quickly deteriorates our mental health.

Obviously, this is not healthy for youth’s development or the fight against climate change. How can youth overcome climate anxiety and find a balance between mental health and advocacy?

Community supported, advocacy for a safe and secure future.

Governments have failed to act to protect our communities and the futures of our children and grandchildren, and they continue to treat our environment as if it’s incidental to life, rather than a foundation for it.

We need strong community organizations to fight for our future, now more than ever.

Please consider donating to support our work. It’s people like you who make us possible.

Collaboration and community are key

Engaging in place based advocacy will grow the connection one has to their natural environments and community, and seeing the change you helped create be implemented where you live can be incredibly heartening. As well, activism is not an independent task. Use the support from your team and community. We do not have to solve everything or do everything ourselves – we all have a part to play. Climate activism is not a competition, and collaboration between different groups can produce amazing results and build lasting relationships along the way.

Celebrate the small wins

Climate change is a massive problem, and it is impossible to take everything on at once because it contains so many smaller issues. When your group or a nearby one makes a breakthrough in a campaign or accomplishes something, celebrate that win – no matter how small. We work so hard and are so passionate about what we do, it’s important we give ourselves credit for what we accomplish. This will also help build momentum within our groups and the larger community, increasing motivation and optimism.

Knowing when to step away

Climate activism, especially advocacy, is hard work. Sometimes the best thing for someone’s mental health is turning off their phone and taking some time to recover. This is especially important for young people as we are already leading the fight against climate change and will continue to for many years to come – we don’t want budding climate activists to be snuffed out by the stress of the work before any change can be created.

Sprinkle in some good news stories

Although we are constantly bombarded with the latest depressing news about the state of our climate, there are so many small wins that are overlooked. Take some time to read some good news stories regarding the environment. Negative news always takes precedence in our minds, so combatting it with plenty of optimistic stories will boost motivation and provide a much needed positive outlook on this work.

Scientists have made it clear that even if we act now against climate change, it is inevitable that the situation is going to get worse before it improves. However, if we can develop the emotional resilience necessary to keep fighting, we can emerge on the other side intact – and in a greener world.

I’ve linked some good news stories about the environment down below – I think everyone needs some good climate news. As well, there is a link to SCGC’s Local Issues Map, so you can see which issues are being debated in your community and start making an impact in your local area.

Like always, let me know your opinions on this subject. Have you or anyone you know experienced climate anxiety, and do you have any other strategies to overcome these feelings? Let me know in the comments down below.

Take care of yourself, and I’ll see you next time,

Blythe

Blythe Wieclawek

Blythe is SCGC's inaugural summer youth advocacy intern. She is a high school student in Orillia, a competitive swimmer, and president of Sustainable Orillia's Youth Council.

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Youth Survey

Youth are often left out of the decision-making process, even though the decisions that are made will have the greatest impact on them, shaping their world for decades to come.

We think this should change. Help by sharing your voice, and get engaged!

Simcoe County and municipalities across Ontario are conducting planning reviews that will determine how cities and towns look like in 30 to 50 year’s time, but they aren’t doing a great job of listening to youth.

This needs to change. It is the youth who will inherit these communities, after all, and the problems that result from planning decisions made today.

In partnership with the Simcoe County Environmental Youth Alliance (SCEYA), as well as others, SCGC is helping to provide opportunities for youth to get engaged in these processes.

The survey below is a first step. The answers you provide will help form the basis of a report on the priorities of young people, from addressing climate change to creating communities that are more fair and more accessible.

Create your own user feedback survey

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See more content related to youth advocacy and engagement.

A photo of a young woman and old man, from behind, with their arms around each other. Credit Jana Sabeth.

Youth

The view from inside: intergenerational collabs

Cross-group organizing is a real threat to those in power, which is why we see a lot of attempts to get some people to believe that other people are to blame for their problems. When people see another group as the cause of their problems, it gives them somewhere to direct their very real frustration and anger.

July 22, 2021 No Comments

Photo of a climate march, with a sign that says "fighting for our future." Credit Ma Ti.

Youth

Education vs. Advocacy-Based Activism: What is Stopping Youth?

How often do youth actually get a say in municipal politics? Youth voices – especially those of high school students – youth that are transitioning into adulthood – deserve a place at the table when it comes to making decisions at the local level.

July 21, 2021 No Comments

Youth

Youth Climate Activists and the Classroom: Created or Dissuaded?

Climate change has been widely dubbed the ‘Generation Z problem.’ However we were born into ‘our problem’ with our elders actually wanting the problem to be solved, but expecting that we will be the ones to fix it. We were born into a problem that everyone knew we would have to solve eventually, but kept putting off until it became a dire situation.

July 14, 2021 8 Comments

Photo of a child dressed up as a deer for halloween. Credit Paige Cody.

Youth

Plans, Climate & Automobiles.

We’re told that changing policies is difficult – and in some ways it is; there’s a lot of moving parts and a lot of details to consider. But we also see examples of sweeping policy changes all the time, at all the levels of government – just look at how much changed during Covid-19. It’s totally possible, if we have the political will (and public pressure – that’s where you come in) to do it.

July 6, 2021 No Comments

A photo showing two young women studying books, taken from above. Credit Alexis Brown.

Youth

The view from inside: make it make sense

…learning about how planning works is important because it helps us get climate justice happening on the local level. It helps us understand how these changes can actually play out through local government.
But there’s a lot to learn and not a lot of clear information, so how can we learn more?

June 30, 2021 No Comments

Photo of a young woman, holding a sign showing the earth on fire, at a climate demonstration. Credit Gabriel Mccallin.

Youth

The View From Inside: status quo squabbles or a participatory politics?

Let’s cut right to it – now that the pandemic is beginning to come to a close, now is the time to jump into action and demand the world we want. Covid-19 put a lot of things on hold, put a lot of us into limbo. Now is when we plan. Now is when we act. Now is when our desire and need for change come into bloom – with the Earth lending us the energy of summer to do it!

June 21, 2021 No Comments

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Tagged climate action Climate Change engagement future MCR planning Simcoe County survey youth

Education vs. Advocacy-Based Activism: What is Stopping Youth?

By Blythe Wieclawek
Published July 21, 2021
No Comments

You see it on social media, in schools and in the community – youth activists spreading awareness about issues affecting the environment. However, how often do you see youth groups that create change at the political level? How often do youth actually get a say in municipal politics? Youth voices – especially those of high school students – youth that are transitioning into adulthood – deserve a place at the table when it comes to making decisions at the local level.

Youth are experienced

Youth are experienced in and have been successful at educating other youth on environmental issues through social media, face-to-face conversations, and awareness projects in schools. In the community, we plant trees, organize nature walks, pick up garbage and raise money for bigger organizations.

These initiatives are all undoubtedly important and are a cornerstone of activism and community engagement. Youth are great at these education-based initiatives, however too often we see youth initiatives finish or fizzle out before real, lasting change can be made.

Initiatives like these do help local communities, yet the larger, even more impactful change that youth groups are looking for can be found within advocacy.

Speaking to politicians, protesting actions or influencing local communities to create greener policies and protect the environment. Advocacy is bringing (some might say forcing) youth environmentalism into the adult spheres we are often isolated from or aren’t welcomed into.

Seeing the political changes created thanks to youth advocacy will further motivate groups to keep pushing for a greener future, and it can help fight some of the burnout or mental health struggles that come with focusing on short-term solutions.

Why is it so difficult?

All that aside, why is it so difficult for youth to begin engaging in and developing their own advocacy initiatives? Why aren’t they taking part in public meetings, or getting involved in local politics?

In short, youth groups don’t have the tools, information or support they need in order to begin advocating.

A key reason why more youth initiatives aren’t advocacy-based is because youth groups simply do not have the resources or information necessary to get involved.

We are being kept in the dark about the topics and policies being debated right within our communities – developments that will directly affect our futures.

Community supported, advocacy for a safe and secure future.

We need strong community organizations to fight for our future, now more than ever.

Please consider donating to support our work. It’s people like you who make us possible.

“…youth groups don’t have the tools, information or support they need in order to begin advocating.“

Simcoe County's future.

For example, Simcoe County is undergoing a Municipal Comprehensive Review.

The county is deciding how the land will be used, how much we will protect our natural heritage sites and watersheds, and whether or not we will introduce policies that fight and prevent climate change. The decisions they make now will be in place until 2051 – yep, THIRTY YEARS – and will affect the health of Simcoe County (and area) for many years after.

In 2051 I will be 46 years old. I will be part of the adult population. So why is it that youth voices are not being sought out regarding policies that will directly affect them?

It is crucial that youth groups in Simcoe County begin advocating on environmental issues NOW, especially while the MCR is being developed.

Why advocacy is so important.

If youth aren’t aware of something as large and literally life-altering as the MCR, imagine all the smaller issues that we aren’t aware of; issues that can still affect our environment, way of life, and futures. This is why youth advocacy is so important – our voices must be heard on these topics as we are the ones that will have to grow up and live in the society created from these decisions.

Advocacy will be more difficult for youth groups to engage in compared to the short-term education initiatives we’re used to.

We won’t be taken seriously and we’ll have to be ready to get our boots dirty and remain persistent if we want to get things done – especially in the face of politicians that aren’t willing to take our opinions into consideration.

But if there’s one thing we’ve seen in youth it is that they are bold, courageous and determined to protect their futures – even if it means ruffling a few feathers along the way.

“If youth aren’t aware of something as large and literally life-altering as the MCR, imagine all the smaller issues that we aren’t aware of; issues that can still affect our environment, way of life, and futures.”

At the end of the day, we can plant as many trees as we want, but if youth groups don’t increase their advocacy initiatives, their impact will not be large enough to create the change they want to see: the real, systemic, earth-saving changes that are most successful when they come from the bottom up.

That impact is found where the adults are. It is found in public meetings, outside of offices, in the streets, and eventually, inside the voting booths. Who knows, maybe with enough youth advocacy politicians will see just how powerful youth voices – and votes – can be.

Let’s go show our local politicians just how ready we are to fight for our futures!

Like always, let me know your thoughts on or experiences with this subject.

Looking for some community issues? Check out some of the initiatives SCGC is exploring:

The Bradford Bypass: https://simcoecountygreenbelt.ca/bradford-bypass/

Protecting Lake Simcoe: https://simcoecountygreenbelt.ca/protect-lake-simcoe/

Local Issues Map: https://simcoecountygreenbelt.ca/map/

That’s all for now,

Blythe 🙂

Blythe Wieclawek

Blythe is SCGC's inaugural summer youth advocacy intern. She is a high school student in Orillia, a competitive swimmer, and president of Sustainable Orillia's Youth Council.

How Can You Get Involved?

Follow (and join?) the Simcoe County Environmental Youth Alliance (SCEYA) and Sustainable Orillia’s Youth Council.
Sign up for our newsletter (bottom of the page) to support future youth initiatives. (We’ve got plans! 🙂)
See if there’s a local FridaysForFuture group you can support. If you’re supporting as an adult make sure to empower the youth who are engaged.
Share this post on social media and get involved in the conversation using the comments below!

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Tagged activism advocacy Climate Change environment FridaysForFuture MCR planning Simcoe County youth

The View From Inside: Make it make sense

Let’s continue this conversation and demystify the planning process to make it make sense for the climate justice movement.

Updated:
August 18, 2021
No Comments

Look, I understand the problems with development, urban sprawl, and digging up wetlands. I know how these contribute to climate change and make us more vulnerable to the impacts of it. I understand the changes we need to make to prepare for worsening climate chaos. I’m sure you do too.

Finding out about individual projects in my county, city, neighbourhood, is a whole different matter. For one, you need to know the actual name of the development or project to look for info about it. I’ve been paying attention to Barrie’s Official Plan – I read through the draft, I provided some feedback via the website. I know the Plan wasn’t enough, but I found I could only understand this in general terms – I couldn’t address the specifics of planning, the specifics of what exactly needed to be pushed for.

We know we must pressure provincial and local governments for bold climate action (we say ‘bold’, but we really just mean ‘adequate’, which means very bold for the status quo). We can name things like better public transit, investing in renewable energies and retrofitting buildings, naturalizing our parks, etc. But it’s hard to figure out what’s happening inside the process to actually make these things happen (or not happen).

"I knew development hurts ecosystems and drives climate change (literally drives it, in cars), but it just seems so ubiquitous – how do we stop corporations and councils from developing land when it’s so hard to get clear information about specific projects?"

Understanding how the local planning process works is crucial in the fight for climate action.

But here’s the thing – there’s so much about planning that isn’t so readily shared. I’ve been realizing that there’s so much more going on. I’ve found out about so many development projects, many right here in Barrie. See, I knew development hurts ecosystems and drives climate change (literally drives it, in cars), but it just seems so ubiquitous – how do we stop corporations and councils from developing land when it’s so hard to get clear information about specific projects?

Okay, so you see construction for a development project. You know it’s probably for-profit and won’t come close to meeting any climate standards. What do you do? Stopping projects once they’re started is hard, especially when our entire system is built to do everything for profit, no matter the real cost. This is why putting on the pressure during planning is so important.

These projects get sorted and contracts get signed long before the Earth gets dug and construction signs go up. This part is not so visible to the public. Sure, the councils must make some of this publicly available, but you really have to know what to look for and understand what the technical reports, bylaws and zoning stuff mean to do anything.

It’s like they make planning as uninteresting and seemingly inconsequential as possible so that people don’t actually get involved. A citizenry that’s not informed can’t participate very well.

Community supported, advocacy for a safe and secure future.

We need strong community organizations to fight for our future, now more than ever.

Please consider donating to support our work. It’s people like you who make us possible.

"...if I’m not a planner, why should I care? Turns out, the MCR is a big review of Simcoe County’s planning until 2051. It will determine how the County will plan and develop for the next few decades."

An example – the MCR, or Municipal Comprehensive Review. I hadn’t really heard much about it until recently and information on it is vague and bureaucratic. Cool, so if I’m not a planner, why should I care? Turns out, the MCR is a big review of Simcoe County’s planning until 2051. It will determine how the County will plan and develop for the next few decades.

AKA, it will determine whether or not Simcoe County meets the 2030 and 2050 climate targets.

Reduce emissions
50% by 2030

Reduce emissions
to zero by 2050

That’s a simplification to be sure, and only one implication of the MCR, but that’s a pretty big deal that people should know about. How did I not hear about this sooner?

And there’s other examples: MZOs (or Municipal Zoning Orders) basically let the province override local rules to push through development projects without the public consultation or environmental assessment parts of planning – two of the main parts of the planning process. The Ontario government has ordered a lot of these for private developers here in Simcoe County, and some are going to cut into local wetlands and other habitats that should have been protected.

Planning for climate change means planning within an ‘settlement boundary’, which is a limited amount of space that can be used to build new buildings and roads. This stops urban sprawl and the creation of new subdivisions or commercial areas that require more roads and cars to get to, and protects the land that we have left from being dug up for development.

Many current development projects aim to change the ‘zoning’ or categorization of land from ‘farming’ or ‘environmentally protected’ to ‘industrial’ so that it’s allowed to be developed. This means that we’re losing ecosystems and farmland that we need to protect to make our communities resilient to climate change and avoid flooding and food shortages.

My point is that learning about how planning works is important because it helps us get climate justice happening on the local level. It helps us understand how these changes can actually play out through local government.

"...learning about how planning works is important because it helps us get climate justice happening on the local level"

But there’s a lot to learn and not a lot of clear information, so how can we learn more?

Well, doing some quick research is a start – look for local groups that have campaigns about local development issues (like the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition and Simcoe County Environmental Youth Alliance).
Simcoe County Greenbelt Coalition is working to become a good resource that translates the planning process into clear and simple terms for youth and the public (check out our Issues Map to see some of the current development projects happening in your community and how to get involved).
Talk to your friends and others you know about how the planning process today determines a lot about your lives and the lives of future generations.
Talk to classmates and teachers – is there a local issue that you can learn about as a class and turn into an action project? (hint: city planning can connect to all subjects in the curriculum, no matter what grade you’re in!).

Let’s continue this conversation and demystify the planning process to make it make sense for the climate justice movement.

Kelly, signing off.

P.S – I think of these blog posts as an ongoing discussion. You can share your comments below, on social media (links below!) or get in touch with me at kelly@simcoecountygreenbelt.ca.

Kelly Gingrich

SCGC Youth Engagement Lead

How Can You Get Involved?

Contact Kelly using the email provided above.
Follow us on social media using the icons below.
Sign up to our newsletter at the bottom of this page to stay informed on developments with growing the Greenbelt and limiting sprawl.

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Tagged Barrie capitalism Climate Change emissions growth MCR MZO Official Plan planning

The View From Inside: status quo squabbles or a participatory politics?

This is the first in a series of posts that Kelly, who’s with SCGC for the summer, will be writing about her experience as a young person engaging with climate change in Simcoe County.

Updated:
August 20, 2021
No Comments

ATTN: Young People of Simcoe County!

I’ve been concerned about environmental problems my whole life, but only in the past couple of years have I really learned anything of substance – schools, media, and most people I know don’t treat this as the emergency it is. Maybe you can relate.

Most of what I know came from university or social media, when public discourse began to change, thanks to activism like the Youth Climate Marches and Fridays For Future, The Sunrise Movement, and all of the grassroots groups and Indigenous Land and Water protectors. And thanks to young people in particular – to you who can see the future that we need and the path to get there. I’m starting this in my 20’s – that means that most of you already have way more experience with climate action. Now my goal is to support you and other young people in your activism.

Over the coming weeks, I’m going to reflect on my experience of engaging with climate action from inside my home instead of out in public space because of Covid-19, and from inside the local advocacy scene as a young person just getting involved.

I’m privileged enough to be educated and to be in a position to help out at SCGC this summer (and they’re getting serious about making a space for youth). I can only speak from my own experience as a white settler resident of Barrie, which does not include so many lived experiences of young people across Simcoe County. What I express here are my own thoughts, and are intended as entry-points for discussion (that’s your hint to engage and follow us on social media!).

Access

To be sure, there are opportunities. If you look hard enough and do enough networking, there are several ways to get involved. But there are barriers. There are barriers this year because there are no in-person actions to show up to and less calls for volunteers. But it can be hard to get involved at the local level anyway. Organizations are small, networks are tight. If you’re short on time, confidence, vocabulary or privilege, it’s hard to break into this (I myself have always been on the quiet side, so reaching out & showing up was a barrier for me).

It doesn’t help that a lot of info (for me at least) on climate action comes from national or international organizations, from the States, or are concentrated on the GTA. There are campaigns, news pieces and agenda items, but how can we even learn about these and how they fit into what we know of climate action? We need the technical stuff translated into clear terms that tell us what the actual impact on people and the community is so that we have the choice to act on it. Yes, climate action at the local level inevitably involves getting to know the nitty gritty, but why is the nitty gritty so exclusive? That’s a rhetorical question of course, since our municipalities aren’t exactly participatory democracies. It’s a lot of ‘inside baseball’.

Want to get involved? We’re launching our Youth Vision for Simcoe County project this summer – follow us on social media for how you can help build the future we need.

A Disconnect

I like to think I have a good understanding of the crises that we’re facing – climate, economic, social – and of the climate justice needed to address the root causes that these crises share. But translating this into the details of the local context is not easy. To me, it feels like it’s all established community members with established relationships to local politics – not to mention the private companies with major sway over politicians.

Sure, cities always want feedback, we can watch council meetings, there are big campaigns for the big things, and news stories about various issues. But there’s a reason that politics happens in meetings (even if they stream it on Youtube), through contracts and technical reports and hidden in bureaucracy.

It means that the public has to jump through a lot of hoops to participate in democracy. Status quo politics is designed to pit Parties against each other with paid advertising and showy debates, then we go vote for who made the least mistakes to go make decisions for us.

There’s a disconnect between climate justice discourse and formal politics (at all levels of government). In my experience, this really turns off young people from getting involved. Status quo formal politics just isn’t doing it anymore. Partisanship, elections and council meetings are not satisfying our need for more democracy. We want real participation and real community – not status quo squabbling and debating false dichotomies. We want a participatory politics where real change comes from the bottom-up and we have champions with the courage to acknowledge the scale of this emergency and the scale of action needed to prepare for it.

Young people are the imagination, the people power and the hope to make these changes. We haven’t spent a lifetime being told that there’s only one way to do things; we haven’t been taught to put ‘The Economy’ above the people and planet (in fact, we know that the economy should be a system to help us live better, not an alter to throw ourselves on).

Once we can safely gather in the streets, and take up public space for the common good, we need to be putting all the pressure on local politicians to do what’s necessary – not let them keep arguing with each other about excuses why they can’t reach the low-bar that was set for them in a different era.

Kelly, signing off.

P.S – I think of these blog posts as an ongoing discussion. You can share your comments here, on social media, or get in touch with me at kelly@simcoecountygreenbelt.ca. Otherwise, I’m just typing into the void.

Kelly Gingrich

SCGC Youth Engagement Lead

How Can You Get Involved?

Connect with Kelly by clicking on her photo or name, above, on on the email address, just above her photo.
Follow the Simcoe County Environmental Youth Alliance (SCEYA) on social media, and connect with them, too, if you’d like to learn more about how you can support youth action to address climate change and help ensure a healthy environment.
Sign up for our newsletter!

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Tagged activism Climate Change engagement planning youth

Expanding the Greenbelt as part of a natural solution to climate change

Expanding Ontario’s Greenbelt would be an important tool in the fight against climate breakdown.

August 20, 2021
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The Greenbelt Does More Than You Might Think

Many people know the Greenbelt as a place that protects farmland and preserves green spaces. To many it is seen as a last refuge of vast tracts of land that allow for recreational activities and local food production.

However, the Greenbelt, by preserving those lands, provides services to our communities essentially without charge.

These services, known as “ecosystem” services,” include water and air purification, flooding control and protecting habitat of threatened species. The Greenbelt’s ecosystem services are valued at $3.2 billion per year.

We simply cannot afford to replace what the Greenbelt does for free with man made solutions which are not as effective or efficient.

As climate change becomes increasingly severe, and our communities experience more flooding, more stress on our natural systems and extreme storm events as a result. We will need to think about solutions that are efficient, effective and improve the living conditions of human and natural communities. That is where an expanded Greenbelt comes in.

How the Greenbelt Helps

By limiting where development and aggregate extraction occurs, the Greenbelt policies ensure that two of our major GHG contributors (transportation and housing) are restricted while our natural systems are preserved and allowed to perform their functions uninhibited.

The more intact wetlands, forest systems, moraines and natural heritage systems we include in the Greenbelt, the more these ecosystems will be protected and can help us adapt and mitigate climate change.

Billions of Dollars Every Year

In fact, the existing system of wetlands, farm fields and forests within the Greenbelt sequesters roughly $111.17 B of carbon dioxide.

Each year, the Greenbelt sequesters close to an additional $52 M of carbon dioxide.

Imagine how much more carbon dioxide we could sequester if we protected even more land.

With the advent of Minister Zoning Orders (MZOs) and weakened environmental policies, the natural systems and farmland we have outside of the Greenbelt is not guaranteed protection.

A report we commissioned with the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition found that only 14% of Simcoe County’s green space and water resources were strongly protected. However, the policy changes mentioned previously, put even that 14% at risk.

Choosing How to Grow

We know that Ontario and our region is slated to grow.

We also know that the places we love including Lake Simcoe and our forests and watersheds are declining in health.

Our farmland is being replaced with strip malls and urban sprawl at an increasing rate.

If trends continue and we easily offer up our wetlands, forests, farmland and shorelines for sprawl and “progress” what will be left?

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The New Growth Plan Puts Sprawl Over All

We can no longer treat land use as its own issue, nor can we always assume that growth is always a net benefit to our communities. This is simply not true. We can grow our communities in ways that provide affordable housing, protect our natural spaces and water and aspire to create healthy, vibrant centres where people can live and work.

Updated:
August 20, 2021
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The Ford government is rolling back progress on building healthier communities.

How Did We Get Here?

The transition from 1950s sprawl development to smart growth policies as a provincial concern was really solidified by Premier Mike Harris.

Yes, that Mike Harris.

Despite his first term, which gave municipalities more freedom to grow as they wish, by the second term key grassroots movements to protect the Oak Ridges Moraine demonstrated to the public how sprawling growth patterns were hurting our water, our land and our health.

In response, the Harris government decided to get sprawling growth patterns under control and set up a series of Smart Growth Panels across Ontario.

That was in 2002.

The Central Zone panel, which included Simcoe County region, concluded early on in its mandate that the status quo sprawl and growth at all costs mentality would lead to dire consequences for the region by 2035 including: commuting trips that would take 45 percent longer, mostly due to congestion; a marked deterioration in air quality; worsening delays in the movement of goods; and higher taxes.¹

Complete Communities Connected by Public Transit

The panel sketched out a concept of how growth in this area should go to avoid those outcomes – its vision relied heavily on compact, complete communities connected by public transit: TTC rail, GO rail, bus rapid transit, and inter-city and inter-regional rapid transit. There were also delineated areas for protected natural zones and an awareness of agricultural lands that were under increasing pressure from growth.

When the Liberals came into power in 2003, they used a lot of the concepts from the Smart Growth Panels to form Ontario’s first Growth Plan. The award-winning Growth Plan directed growth to form complete communities and stop sprawl.

Ontario's Growth Plans, through the years.

Growth Plan (2020)

This is the most recent version of the Growth Plan, revised by Doug Ford’s government, which contains many of the problems pointed out in this post.

Growth Plan (2017)

The plan as it was under the previous Liberal government.

Ontario's Growth Plan (2006)

The original the Growth Plan, titled “Better Choices, Better Future.”

Unfortunately, these efforts were short lived.

A series of amendments and regulations watered down the objectives over the years, but at its core it still aspired to keep sprawl in check through limiting growth in rural areas, ensuring large developments were on municipal services, promotion of public transit, climate change considerations and rigorous criteria in order to expand settlement areas.

So why the history lesson on planning?

Well it’s important to note that governments, over previous decades, have been trying to avoid the situation the province is now promoting, which is sprawling subdivisions, and with a very little strategy to deal with climate impacts, water impacts, and loss of farmland and biodiversity that come with it.

What is Happening Now?

It’s not hyperbole to say that the changes made recently by the province with respect to growth and planning take us back to the 1990s. Some of the problematic changes include:

Density targets for our region have been scaled back tremendously.

This calculation outlines how efficiently we use land to house people and places of employment.

The limits that were put on growth, previously known as population allocations, are now set as a minimum target, not as a maximum as they were before.
Formerly, settlement areas could only be expanded during the Official Plan (OP) process, so long as evidence is presented to demonstrate need. Now they can be expanded up to 40 hectares outside of the OP period.
New developments no longer need to prioritize being serviced by municipal water or wastewater – septics and communal septics are now allowed more easily.

This enables development to get into more natural, rural areas, and puts water quality at risk.

Calculations to determine how much land must be set aside for new growth outside of built upon land have changed too.

The municipality must now plan for growth to 2051. This means that in the middle of a pandemic with no knowledge of how work/commute/travel patterns will change, municipalities must decide by June, 2022, how much new land to give up to development.

It also means that due to COVID restrictions this Municipal Comprehensive (MCR) process, that requires public consultations, is limited to online interactions. That’s why many communities are asking their local government to delay these decisions until people can properly consult with staff and neighbours.

Municipalities are now forced to calculate how much land based on market needs.

Simply put, there are two ways to calculate this – looking to see what you will need in the future based on changing demographics, what you already have planned, and anticipated need (e.g. more rentals/apartments/seniors residences etc.)…

…you can look back to what has historically been provided by the market (e.g. detached homes, McMansions) and then just extrapolate that forward.

The current government chose the second option.

This means that in places like Simcoe County where large homes dominate housing stock, we can expect more of that despite more people requiring smaller units and apartments (seniors downsizing, youth, low income).

This also means that more of our green spaces and farmland will be sacrificed to provide for McMansions and sprawl, while people who need housing types that are more affordable (laneway homes, stacked townhomes, apartments) will be mostly ignored.

Why Is It A Concern?

In all of this we need to understand one simple truth – how we grow and where we grow has a massive impact on climate change, water health, biodiversity and our health consequently.

Growth patterns lock in centuries of impacts and GHG emissions. We can no longer treat land use as its own issue, nor can we always assume that growth is always a net benefit to our communities.

This is simply not true. We can grow our communities in ways that provide affordable housing, protect our natural spaces and water and aspire to create healthy, vibrant centres where people can live and work.

Or, we can grow our communities in ways that use 1950s thinking to deal with 21st century challenges – which will lead to more sprawl, more highways and less public oversight.

One path chooses the needs of the people and our natural communities, the other helps line the pockets of speculative developers at the community’s expense.

Unfortunately, the province’s policies are 60 years behind the evidence and science, and our communities, now and in the future, will be worse for it.

How Can You Get Involved?

Push back against mega-projects, such as the Bradford ByPass, The Orbit, and the Upper York Sewage Solution.
Share your concerns on social media.
Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed on developments with growing the Greenbelt and limiting sprawl.

Links to Further Reading

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"I knew development hurts ecosystems and drives climate change (literally drives it, in cars), but it just seems so ubiquitous – how do we stop corporations and councils from developing land when it’s so hard to get clear information about specific projects?"

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The New Growth Plan Puts Sprawl Over All

The Ford government is rolling back progress on building healthier communities.

Complete Communities Connected by Public Transit

Ontario's Growth Plans, through the years.

Growth Plan (2020)

Growth Plan (2017)

Ontario's Growth Plan (2006)

What is Happening Now?

Why Is It A Concern?

How Can You Get Involved?

Links to Further Reading

Related Content

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

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