Ontario Nature, physicians team up to promote Greenbelt

(Toronto, March 6, 2008) — Doctors’ offices across the Greater Toronto Area and Niagara have another tool to help inform Ontarians on how to stay healthy in their daily lives.

Ontario Nature (ON), in co-operation with the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) and with support from the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, has developed a series of four booklets filled with information on the health benefits of the Greenbelt.

The Greenbelt encompasses rural and agricultural land from east of Cobourg to St. Catherines in the west and extends up to Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula. The area also includes the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Niagara Escarpment. In February 2005, the Ontario government passed the Greenbelt Act to protect this greenspace from intensive urban development.

“The Greenbelt contains some of the most fertile agriculture lands in Canada, hundreds of kilometres of bike and walking trails, extensive areas of parkland and provides important habitat for a variety of species, all on the doorstep of Canada’s largest urban area,” said Caroline Schultz, Executive Director of ON. “Not many other areas in Canada can boast of that combination.”

“This series has been developed following our review of the scientific literature, which suggested that there were unwelcome health impacts of urban sprawl,” said Dr. Riina Bray, co-chair of the OCFP Environmental Health Committee.

The first booklet in the series describes some of the critically important ecological services provided by Greenbelt natural areas, such as filtering water runoff, trapping air pollution and keeping soils healthy. The next booklet in the series, which will be released in April, will detail how the many trails, parks and bike paths in the Greenbelt can help residents with their fitness and to develop a healthier lifestyle. The remaining two issues will cover the dietary benefits of the Greenbelt’s many fresh food sources and the social and mental health benefits of this green space.

For an online version and additional information on the links between green space and health, visit www.greenbeltforhealth.ca