The Good Work Continues
Find out where the 2008 Green Toronto Awards winners donated their $5,000 award prize and how these recipients are putting the donations to good use.

Elizabeth Harris - Evergreen
Evergreen is a charitable organization that is deepening the connection between people and nature, and empowering Canadians to take a hands-on approach to their urban environments. This gift from Elizabeth Harris contributed towards a suite of public food programming that ran as a companion to our Saturday farmers market during 2008 held at our new home at Evergreen Brick Works down in the Don Valley.

The Living Wall Inc - Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation
The Living Wall Inc donated their $5,000 award to the Toronto Parks and Trees Foundation to promote tree planting in public parks and natural areas. Public education will take the form of the Tree Portraits Calendar, which will feature Toronto's oldest trees - over 175 years old in celebration of Toronto's 175th birthday.

Planet in Focus - Youth, Camera, Action! Environmental Video Production Program
Planet in Focus donated its $5000 award toward Youth, Camera, Action! Environmental Video Production Program, which encourages the exploration of environmental issues through the creative medium of video production. The program provides hands-on video production training and skills through workshops, demonstrations and field trips. Productions premiere at the annual Planet in Focus Festival and are broadcast nationally through a partnership with the CBC.

Gerald Mak - Carleton Village Public School
Gerald Mak donated his $5,000 award to Carleton Village Public School. The school will be creating a brand new outdoor education classroom that will offer both staff and students a unique environment to connect curriculum based programs with the natural environment. The outdoor classroom will include a variety of native plants and shrubs that will further enhance the school's vision of a naturalized school ground. The goal of this project is to help students develop a deep sense of environmental stewardship that they will be able to carry with them for the rest of their lives.

South Kingsway Village - High Park Initiatives
The South Kingsway Village donated their $5000 award to the High Park Nature Centre, run by High Park Initiatives. The High Park Nature Centre utilized the funds to further their mission of promoting awareness, respect and stewardship for urban nature through outdoor experiential education in High Park. Over 1750 children, youth and families were involved in planting 500+ native plant seedlings and removing approximately 1 acre of invasive buckthorn shrubs to aid with the ecological restoration of the park's rare black oak savannah ecosystem.

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre -Sunnybrook Foundation
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre donated their $5,000 award to the Sunnybrook Foundation to support the green retrofitting of the Hospital. The funds have helped support Sunnybrook's focus on sustainable practices throughout the hospital by enabling the installation of energy efficient lighting and low flow water systems. This donation has supported incredible growth and change, allowing Sunnybrook to reduce its impact on the environment.

Greg Allen - Energy Action Council
Greg Allen donated his $5,000 award to Eneract (Energy Action Council). Eneract used the funds to further its smartliving Diversity Project, by creating additional translations of conservation and renewable energy workshop materials. Complimenting this effort was the recruitment and orientation of volunteers from diverse cultures who gave excellent frontline leadership to this project.

Urbanspace - FoodShare
Urbanspace donated its $5,000 award to FoodShare, a non profit organization that works towards good and healthy food for all. FoodShare used the award to support its organic vegetable garden and its partner organization, the Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative, in keeping urban bees.

Local Food Plus - Local Food Plus
Local Food Plus (LFP) has made use of its award by continuing to foster local food systems that are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. LFP links farmers and processors with local purchasers, including institutional purchasers, restaurants and retail. The award money helped LFP certify 80 more farmers and form partnerships with more than 30 restaurants, retailers and institutions in the past year.

Toronto Bruce Trail Club - Bruce Trail Conservancy
Toronto Bruce Trail Club donated its $5,000 award to the Bruce Trail Conservancy to establish a fund to provide bus hikes for community groups. The program, entitled "Introduce the Bruce" provides an introductory hiking experience for groups who otherwise might not experience the joy of hiking.