Celebrating OTF’s Support for Community Greening Programs

On Friday, March 18, Oakvillegreen Conservation Association hosted a virtual event to celebrate the $100,000 Resilient Communities Fund grant received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2021. This support helped Oakvillegreen rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19 by creating a safe and efficient volunteer management process and developing virtual school programming. The event included remarks from Oakvillegreen staff and Oakville North-Burlington MPP Effie Triantafilopoulos.

“I am so pleased that the Ontario Trillium Foundation is supporting Oakvillegreen and its adaptation to virtual programming. This is great news for the environment and greenspaces in Oakville,” said Effie Triantafilopoulos, MPP for Oakville North-Burlington. “This funding will help Oakvillegreen continue to engage our community in important environmental action.”

Through the Resilient Communities Fund grant, Oakvillegreen invested in a new database to support volunteer recruitment and fundraising and made significant website upgrades to enable access to virtual programming. The grant from OTF also allowed Oakvillegreen to adapt its in-person school programming to a virtual model, to keep students connected to nature during a time when access to in-person programming has been limited.

“The impact of this Ontario Trillium Foundation grant cannot be understated,” said Karen Brock, President of Oakvillegreen. “This grant has allowed us to continue to deliver on our mission to protect nature where we live, by adapting to safely engage the public and meet demand for our programs. This investment will have a long-term impact on Oakvillegreen and will continue to serve the community beyond the pandemic”.

Oakvillegreen Conservation Association (Oakvillegreen) is a non-partisan environmental charity, founded in 2000. Its vision is to make Oakville a living city with enhanced natural diversity, stronger connections between natural areas and healthier green spaces. Oakvillegreen works hand-in-hand with thousands of local volunteers to restore the ecological functions of Oakville’s lands and waters, creating a more resilient and connected community. Through direct engagement, and the promotion of nature-based climate solutions, Oakvillegreen is working to create a greener Oakville. For more information, please visit oakvillegreen.org.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations. Last year, nearly $112M was invested into 1,384 community projects and partnerships to build healthy and vibrant communities and strengthen the impact of Ontario’s non-profit sector. In 2020/21, OTF supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Visit otf.ca to learn more.

Media Contact:

Karen Brock, President

Oakvillegreen Conservation Association

president@oakvillegreen.org