HomeMy WebLinkAboutDTS-06-087 - Community Environmental Improvement Grant Program1
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6 REPORT
Report To: Environmental Advisory Committee
Date of Meeting: June 22, 2006
Submitted By: Terry Boutilier, Senior Planner
Scott Ritchie, Student Planner
Prepared By: Scott Ritchie, Student Planner
Ward(s) Involved: All Wards
Date of Report: June 7, 2006
Report No.: DTS -06 -087
Subject: COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT GRANT
PROGRAM
RECOMMENDATION:
For information.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City of Kitchener's Community Environmental Improvement Grant Program was created to
foster a sense of environmental stewardship within communities in the city. In December 2005
$10,000 was awarded between four different groups seeking to make improvements to their
local environment. This report summarizes the environmental achievements made under the
revised program by the 2005 grant recipients.
BACKGROUND:
The Community Environmental Improvement Grant Program (CEIGP) provided grants to
organizations within the City of Kitchener for community environmental stewardship projects.
The objectives of this program are outlined in Appendix -A.
The grant criteria for this program are outlined in Appendix -B.
The grant submission process for this program is outlined in Appendix -C.
Four applications were considered eligible for a grant, and were approved by the Environmental
Committee, as follows.
The People's Car Co- operative Inc.
The People's Car Co -op received a Community Environmental
Improvement Grant of $3,000.
This grant was used to contribute to the development of a bike -share
network which will operate in conjunction with the People's Car Co-
op's existing car -share network. The new bike -share network is
expected to launch during Canadian Environment Week in June 2006
and will provide all members of the Co -op free access to bicycles
which will be located at bike -share hubs throughout the City, with all
bikes maintained by the Co -op. There will initially be seven
strategically located bike -share hubs; all located along the Central
Transit Corridor in close proximity to iXpress GRT stops. Each Hub
will contain a secure bicycle storage rack (yellow ring -rack model) and
up to five shared bikes. The seven initial bike -share hubs will be
located in the following areas:
• Charles Street at Transit Terminal
• Corner of Queen Street and Courtland Avenue
• Corner of King Street West and Andrew Street
• Corner of Union Boulevard and Belmont Avenue
• King Street East and Ottawa Street
• King Street West at Grand River Hospital
• Fairview Park Mall at GRT station
• Other sites pending
Initially there will be 30 shared bicycles, all of which have been rebuilt
by Recycle Cycles and will be branded in some manor to identify them
as belonging to the Co -op. The Hubs will be operated by means of a
self -serve library /membership system with each member having one
key to all bicycles and reservations available on -line (site provided in-
kind by Vancouver's Co- operative Auto Network) or by telephone.
Community members can join the co -op and take advantage of the
bike -share network by becoming an Associate Non - driving Member
for a one -time fee of $10 (fully refundable). The Co -op will promote
the project through a range of media including: radio and television
interviews, newspaper ads and articles, posters, presentation
seminars, and signage on King Street.
The total value of this project is approximately $30,000 and other
project sponsors include the Ontario Trillium Foundation and
Transport Canada's Moving On Sustainable Transportation program.
This project is intended to provide a greater range of transportation
choice for the community by providing a multi -modal system that
integrates cycling, car sharing and public transit (which now features
bike -racks on all buses) in an attempt to facilitate and encourage
transportation practices that are practical, sustainable, and equitable.
fir• _ .. •
Franklin Public School
The Franklin Public School Greening Committee received a
Community Environmental Improvement Grant of $2,400.
The grant was used to contribute to the installation of shaded areas,
natural seating, and an outdoor learning area for the students of
Franklin School and the many users of Franklin Park. The area is
presently a large open green space that offers little relief from the sun
and has little ecological diversity. The greening proposal as illustrated
in Appendix D will include the installation of intensive native shade
tree groves, large rocks for seating, an outdoor classroom, creative
play and learning areas, and other landscaping features such as
bushes, pathways and grading. The balance of the funding needed to
complete the project came from school fundraising events which
included a dance -a -thon fundraiser and support for the project is also
being provided by the Evergreen Foundation.
Construction of the first phases of the project is scheduled to begin in
May, with completion by the end of the school year in June and will
include the installation of several large trees and rocks. Due to the
nature of this initial work, much of the construction must be completed
by professional landscapers. Smaller aspects of the project
construction as well as work on future phases will undertaken by
Greening Committee volunteers and students from each class will be
involved in the future maintenance. It is the intent of the Greening
Committee that through the construction of Phase One of the project
that they will be better able to stimulate community interest and
inspire others to contribute their time, money, and services to future
phases. Support for future phases is also being generated through
public outreach such as display panels at the nearby community
centre and articles in community newspapers. This project is intended
to increase student enthusiasm while enhancing environmental
awareness and stewardship through the introduction of a range of
landscaping features which will provide much needed sun relief,
increase ecological diversity, provide learning opportunities and
beautify Franklin Public School.
Before:
After:
Kitchener - Waterloo Collegiate & Vocational School
The KCI Habitat Restoration Project received a Community Before:
Environmental Improvement Grant of $2,000.
The grant was used to contribute to KCI's on -going school ground
greening and beautification project that is intended to dramatically
improve the image of the school, but also to increase ecological
diversity, encourage environmental stewardship, and provide learning
opportunities for students. The project is a component of the school's
two - year -old horticulture and landscaping program, which is offered at
all grade levels and taken by all grade nine students in rotating
intervals. Initial phases of the project focused on improving the King
Street side of the school by planting native trees, shrubs, perennials
and spring flowering bulbs. Future phases of the project intend to
continue planting work along King Street as well as by the adjacent
church and behind the school portables. Design features to be
included in these areas include a sensory garden, woodland garden,
hedgerow, food garden and seating areas, all with native tree and
shrub species, perennials and heritage fruit trees and berry bushes.
Students enrolled in the Horticulture, Landscaping, Science,
Hospitality, and Geography programs will all benefit from working in
and studying these planting areas as they all relate in some way to
the various programs.
Construction and planting of the next phases of this ongoing project
are scheduled to begin the first week of May and will continue through
the next school year, with a large amount of the work done by school
students. Additional support for this project has been provided by the
Evergreen Learning Grounds Program in order to purchase planting
materials and landscaping supplies. Due the large number of students
that go through the horticulture and landscaping program or that will
study the various aspects of the project through other disciplines, as
well as the high visibility of some aspects of the project from King
Street, the potential of the project to generate interest in greening and
naturalization and to foster good environmental stewardship practices
among students and the community is significant. This project is
intended to teach students about horticulture and landscaping as well
as environmental issues through hands -on projects that will generate
future learning opportunities for other students, all the while improving
the appearance and environmental integrity of the 150 year -old
heritage school building.
After:
Toyota /Evergreen: Learning Grounds Program
The Evergreen Learning Grounds: School Ground Greening Program
of Waterloo Region received a Community Environmental
Improvement Grant of $2,600.
The grant was used to contribute to an evening reception and
celebration of past and future school ground greening projects in the
community. The event was held on April 10th at the Kitchener
Memorial Auditorium's Subscribers Lounge and featured the
presentation of funding from the Toyota- Evergreen Learning Grounds
Program to several schools for upcoming greening projects. The
event advertisement /invitation is attached as schedule E. The event
also featured a presentation from key note speaker Cam Collyer,
Program Manager, of Evergreen Learning Grounds on "the future of
school ground greening across Canada and around the world". The
speech focused on the wide range of approaches to greening that
have been adopted, the role and significance of school ground
greening projects, and the need for new design requirements for
outdoor play /learning areas in schools. The event was attended by
approximately 150 members of the community including
representatives from the school boards, teachers, school principles,
students and members of the community. Also present was a film
crew from Rogers Television who filmed a piece about the event for
inclusion in an April 17th community news program. A photo journal
book was also prepared and distributed to all participants, which
outlines the various school ground greening projects that have been
completed in Waterloo Region over the past 15 years as well as future
planed projects.
This event is the first of its kind to recognize local schools that have
participated in school ground greening projects. Other sponsors of the
greening celebration event include the TD- Canada Trust Friends of
the Environment Foundation and the Grand River Foundation. This
event was intended to build awareness and appreciation for the efforts
of local schools and community members which through their efforts
have made schools more educationally, socially, environmentally, and
aesthetical sound for local children. It was also the intent of the event
that through the celebration and its associated media coverage, the
subsequent increased knowledge and understanding of the concepts
and the benefits of school ground greening projects will motivate more
people throughout the community to undertake or support future
greening projects.
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LEARNING GROUNDS
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FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
It is proposed that funding in the amount of $10,000 annually be included in the Capital Budget
to fund the Community Environmental Improvement Grant Program.
CONCLUSION:
The Community Environmental Improvement Grant Program has greatly contributed to
environmental awareness and stewardship through the various projects it helped to fund within
the City of Kitchener. Through the CEIGP, the City has fostered a sense of pride in the
environment in addition to achieving its initial objectives.
Scott Ritchie
Student Planner
Jeff Willmer, MCIP, RPP
Director of Planning
Terry Boutilier, MCIP, RPP
Senior Planner, Special Projects
Appendix -A: CEIGP Objectives
1. To increase people's awareness of how they view and treat air, water and land
resources and encourage them to be involved in solutions to improve the quality of these
resources;
2. To promote healthy lifestyle practices;
3. To foster a sense of environmental stewardship;
4. To promote community environmental awareness;
5. To promote and initiate the development of short term, intermediate term and long term
community based environmental programs; and
6. To support environmental research.
Appendix -B: CEIGP Grant Criteria
1. Applications will be accepted from non - profit groups, neighbourhood associations and
communities of interest. A "community of interest" is a group of individuals who
voluntarily associate with each other because they have identified common
environmental concerns that impact on the City,
2. Groups should demonstrate an ability to initiate and follow through on projects by having
an organizational structure in place to lead and manage the activities and to account for
finances.
3. Municipal Capital projects are not generally eligible for direct funding from the
Community Environmental Improvement Grant Program.
4. Grant funding for consultants or professional salaries will only be eligible if provided
within the context of a partnership with other funders. Organizations must be operating
for City of Kitchener residents. A pro -rated contribution may be considered where
residence of participants is mixed with other municipalities.
5. Organizations that are the responsibility of other levels of government (Municipal,
Regional, Provincial, Federal or Educational) and /or have had their funding cut or
reduced by these levels of government are normally not eligible for grant funding.
6. Grant requests from organizations that themselves distribute grants to other
organizations will not be considered.
7. Organizations having received a grant through the City's Budget process will not be
eligible for a Community Environmental Improvement Grant Program grant.
8. Any organization receiving a grant from the City of Kitchener will recognize the City's
contribution in any promotional literature or material which may be prepared by the
organization.
9. Grants under this Program are intended for one time funding only, for a specific project.
Organizations seeking continual support are encouraged to seek other funding sources.
Appendix -C: CEIGP Grant Submission Process
1. All requests for Community Environmental Improvement Grant Program grants need to
be submitted to the Kitchener Environmental Committee Administrator, c/o Corporate
Services Department, City of Kitchener, 2nd Floor, Kitchener City Hall.
2. All grant requests should be in letter form, and should clearly outline to the
Environmental Committee:
• issue or problem identification;
• organizational structure of the group, association or community of interest;
• key contact names;
• clear description of the proposed program or project;
• outline of benefits to the Kitchener community of the program or project;
• implementation plan and schedule;
• budget outline; and
• other partnership or funding contributors.
3. Where applicable, proof of adequate liability insurance should be shown by the
organization requesting the grant.
4. All grant requests will be reviewed and evaluated by the Members of the Environmental
Committee and Kitchener Staff.
5. Organizations receiving financial assistance are advised that the grant being given
should not be regarded as a commitment for future assistance.
6. Organizations receiving a grant must submit a report to the Environmental Committee
verifying that the grant funds were used for the purpose intended, and specifically how
the grant funds were used.
Any organization requesting a grant will be afforded the opportunity to address the
Environmental Committee, or appointed Sub - Committee, as a delegation
Appendix -D -1: Franklin Public School Greening Master Plan
Appendix -D -2: Franklin Public School Greening Master Plan Detail
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