Nearly $3 million from polluter penalties funds 26 local environmental projects

What’s happening

• The Ontario Community Environment Fund is providing nearly $3 million to 26 community-led projects across the province.
• Money comes from environmental penalties paid by regulated facilities and certain landfilling sites.

By the numbers

• 26 projects funded this round (nearly $3 million total).
• Average funding per project: about $115,000 (approximate).
• Since 2010 the fund has invested over $6.74 million in 134 projects, engaging volunteers for over 29,000 hours and planting more than 829,000 trees, shrubs and plants.
• Other reported results since 2010: more than 55 km of shoreline restored, 1,597 acres (646 hectares) of land restored, and over 2,000 bags of litter collected.

Example projects named in the release

• Invasive Species Centre: Hillman Marsh hydrilla response (nearly $286,000) to eradicate invasive hydrilla.
• Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association: Mindemoya River restoration ($120,000) for riverbank and fish-habitat work.
• Goderich to Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail: invasive species removal and native planting ($25,000).
• Freshwater Conservation Canada: Brook Trout Forever (over $86,000) to restore brook trout habitat on Mono Centre Creek.

Why it matters

• The funding puts penalty money back into local communities to protect air, land and water, strengthen local ecosystems, and support volunteer stewardship and local economies.