LONDON – Carolinian Canada Coalition hosted the event, Go Wild Grow Wild.
The biggest biodiversity expo in southern Ontario, now in its third year, was held on April 8. Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) Grant Review Team member Diane Dubois was on hand to congratulate the group and learn more on how to protect the Carolinian Zone’s ecosystem.
Stretching from Toronto to Windsor, the Carolinian Life Zone has some of the most unique and fragile nature in Canada. Home to the highest concentrations of bio-diversity in Ontario, this relatively small but complex ecoregion offers great challenges and great opportunities.
A $225,000 Grow grant by OTF will allow for the development of activities that support the ecosystem recovery in the Carolinian Zone. This will increase levels of understanding and connection with the natural world by providing opportunities, advice, assistance and building new relationships among new stakeholders.
“I’m proud our government, through the Ontario Trillium Foundation, is supporting the Carolinian Canada Coalition in their efforts to protect the Carolinian life zone,” said Deb Matthews, MPP for London North Centre. “It’s essential that we continue to protect our ecosystems and provide information to individuals to increase awareness about this important issue.”
In addition to the Grow grant, Carolinian Canada Coalition is entering its second stage of its $148,400 OTF Collective Impact grant. Using the Big Picture strategy, its goal is to reverse the centuries-old trend of habitat loss with the participation of relevant stakeholders in the region and find ways to monitor their progress in achieving their objective.
“I want to congratulate the Carolinian Canada Coalition on their successful grant application. Ontario’s Carolinian Forests are a provincial treasure, and anything we can do to help protect this important region benefits the diverse wildlife and plants that inhabit it,” said Honourable Kathryn McGarry, MPP for Cambridge. “By gathering together stakeholders and those interested in protecting this ecosystem, we can work to achieve real results in recovering this unique ecosystem.”
Since 1984, Carolinian Canada Coalition has been a leading ecoregional group in Canada. We bring together thousands of people and groups who care for our unique habitat network, green infrastructure to support thriving wild and human communities in harmony for generations.
