We are limited in protected…

We are limited in protected green spaces in Southern Ontario and from what I have seen firsthand, Northern Ontario is feeling this pressure too regarding resource extraction. The Greenbelt is an area of significant natural, cultural and geological interest as well as important in maintaining what little is left of a portion of Ontario’s agriculture lands which is already negatively impacted considerably due to urban sprawl. This I have seen firsthand in the development of residential and commercial properties that have swallowed up forest, agricultural land and even diverted and destroyed cold water streams north of Steels Avenue and other areas of the GTA all in the name of progress. Two words come to mind, water and food. The Greenbelt helps provide both as a result of its watersheds and the production of food. The forests, wetlands, streams and geology are all a part of the ecology of the Greenbelt and all play a role in helping maintain those two simple words water and food. Water retention and the resulting process of photosynthesis from “green” plants is providing us much needed oxygen and playing a necessary role in minimizing carbon emissions that is critical to our survival on this planet. We don’t have much left and by taking away from one area and establish some other area only fragments what is already a patchwork of fragmented ecosystems. You can’t operate an engine properly when you don’t maintain it and start removing necessary components that help it function. Stop with the band aid solutions and start developing infrastructure that helps to maintain our ecosystems by not fragmenting what little we have left such as the Greenbelt.