Green Communities Canada (GCC) is excited to announce the start of a new round of Depave Paradise with partners all across Canada! GCC has secured funding to create 15 new Depave Paradise sites over the 2021-2022 season with generous support from a private trust. Each of these projects will engage local volunteers and partners to remove at least 100m² of paved space (by hand!), and make way for new and exciting community greenspaces.
Depaving helps to reduce floods and urban heat while also providing access to green space in ‘under-natured’ neighbourhoods. Native species planted at these sites will help to sequester carbon, filter and soak up stormwater, and provide habitat support to local birds and bees.
Here are our delivery partners from across the country:
- ACAP Saint John in Saint John’s New Brunswick
- Coastal Action in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia
- Climate Change Connection in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- EcoSuperior in Thunderbay, Ontario
- EnviroCentre in Ottawa, Ontario
- Environment Network in Collingwood, Ontario
- Green Action Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba
- Green Venture in Hamilton, Ontario
- GreenUP in Peterborough, Ontario
- Halton Environment Network in Halton Region, Ontario
- London Environment Network in London and St. Thomas, Ontario
- Saskatchewan Environmental Society in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
- Severn Sound Environmental Association in Georgian Bay, Ontario
- Sustainable Kingston in Kingston, Ontario
- Toronto Green Community in Toronto, Ontario.
We are excited for the year ahead, and can’t wait to share more about these projects as they unfold! Head on over to Depaveparadise.ca for more information about how you can get involved with the program today.
we live in an older neighbourhood squeezed between four major arterial roads; the original lots are large and and at the time people moved here and built, there was no planning for public greenspace. The green space is mainly on private home owners properties because of the large lots. However, infill is rapidly taking place; lots are divided (not severed, so there is no erties0) for new builds with large footprints; there are no requirements for allocating space for tree planting, and we are losing our tree canopy.
In terms of city-owned property (i.e. public green space we have surrounds around two play structures in different locations; one next to a baseball diamond, and another next to school. The baseball. We encourage property owners to plant trees, and have planted over 23 trees on the schoolyard property. we look to every opportunity to plant trees. A church with a large property is interested in a greening project and I would like to find out more about possible grants for depaving.