sustainability

TRADITIONALLY DRENCHED IN pesticides and fertilizers, Canada’s wineries are quietly shedding their bad environmental reputation, and opting for a deeper shade of green.

Stephen Cipes, owner of BC’s Summerhill Pyramid Winery, believes it’s much more than a marketing ploy. “When I started in 1987, we wore protective suits and goggles to spray,” he recalls. “I was aghast that my children were exposed to those chemicals, which also washed into the lake. I immediately sought ways to operate in a more environmental way.” After eliminating the use of pesticides, and with plans to install geothermal and solar energy systems, Summerhill Winery is now the largest organic winery in the country.

More than a set of scientifically based conditions for a sustainable society, the Natural Step Framework has been the foundation for hundreds of innovative sustainability programs around the world. After five years of applying its community-based approach in Canada, The Natural Step’s executive director Kelly Hawke Baxter and principal advisor Chad Park say the organization has learned a great deal about community sustainability. Here are seven hints to help your community move toward a more sustainable future.

With four million more people expected to flock to Southern Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe by 2031, something has to be done to ease the region’s debilitating traffic gridlock and unchecked urban sprawl. The McGuinty government’s response is a major growth management initiative, referred to as Places to Grow. ­Introduction of the Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt in 2006 was a first step.

Dave Thompson pocketed a cool $1.75 million a couple of days after the Ontario government released details about its greenbelt and Thompson learned that his land sat just outside its borders. Four years from now, he’ll receive the balance – another $1.75 million earned from the sale of his 40-hectare dairy farm in Caledon, a rural area northwest of Toronto. Thompson’s grandfather, father and his brother once tilled this fertile soil, but it’s hard to fault Thompson for accepting the $86,000 per hectare ($35,000 per acre) paid by the developer. Who wouldn’t?