Owen Sound City Council and Staff

Climate Action Team Grey-Bruce (CAT) GreyBruce express our great appreciation to Owen Sound council for maintaining Stoney Orchard and Timber McArthur Park as continuous city owned parkland, thus stopping the sale of any part of it for development. The comprehensive report prepared by city staff, provided council with the information needed to make a decision that signals to our community their understanding of the environmental, climate and social importance of maintaining natural areas.

Climate Action Team (CAT) GreyBruce is a community group working on climate action in the Grey-Bruce area, inspired and informed by the film "Resilience: Transforming Our Community." The film that premiered at the Roxy Theatre in May 2019 features local stories of a more resilient way of living, featuring people’s efforts in the Owen Sound area.

One of the four pillars of CAT GreyBruce is community engagement. It was crucial that the process for making the decision to retain parkland included the opportunity for community input. Based on the almost 800 responses and petitions received, it was clear that communication through our growing network was a key factor in mobilizing residents who use and value this important area of Owen Sound.

We value our growing collaborative relationship with our community leaders and regard supporting Municipal Collaboration and Partnerships as another pillar of CAT GreyBruce. We have made many deputations to council, provided input to the Owen Sound Official Plan and Strategic Plan, submitted an extensive report to council on Stoney Orchard and welcomed city staff and council involvement as panelists and participants at our public education events.

Climate Action Team (CAT) GreyBruce didn’t plan to celebrate its first anniversary during a global pandemic, but the timing created multiple opportunities for us to consider parallels in responding to an emergency. COVID has taught us that by working together and taking personal action, we can have impact and flatten the curve. Grey-Bruce has been a model to the province in managing the pandemic. CAT GreyBruce looks forward to continuing to work with Owen Sound City Council and staff to extend this civic responsibility to climate action in order to mitigate the climate emergency we are facing.

Sincerely

Joachim Ostertag
Chair
CAT GreyBruce