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CONTINUING PICKERING’S SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY
Pickering'sContinuing
SUSTAINABILITY JOURNEY
Over the years, Pickering has aimed to incorporate sustainability into all aspects of decision-making.
These efforts have grown and evolved but remain grounded in five objectives: Healthy Environment, Healthy Economy, Healthy Society, Responsible Development, and Responsible Consumption. This includes delivering a variety of award-winning initiatives throughout the community focused on engagement and education, sustainable development, local food, natural environment, energy, waste, and climate change.
Pickering is committed to building a connected, inclusive, and sustainable community through a diverse mix of engagement opportunities with residents, schools, businesses and the development industry. This collaborative approach is reflected in initiatives like the Environmental Schools Grant, Park Stewardship Program, Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, Take Pride in Pickering Day, and the Sustainable Seaton: Community-Building Series. These efforts were recently honoured by the Ontario Parks Association who awarded the City of Pickering with the 2021 Protecting Tomorrow Today® Community Engagement Award for its efforts in sustainability. Amidst the pandemic, the City has worked to support local businesses in many ways, including through the award-winning Pickering City Centre Farmers’ Market. The City promoted a Virtual Farmers’ Market in the spring to help residents connect online with local farmers, bakers, and artisans. This was followed by a unique in-person weekly market with a wide range of vendors.
In addition to engaging with our community, the City strives to help enhance the natural environment that provides ecological, health, and recreational value to the community. These actions include restoration projects to help restore the urban tree canopy, help pollinators, and initiatives such as the LEAF Backyard Tree Planting program.
The City aims to lead by example by working to improve our facilities through strategic energy and waste-diversion projects. This includes installing circuitlevel monitoring technology at City facilities that help staff to monitor energy usage, identify energy-saving opportunities, and set performance targets. As well, to help reduce waste and increase diversion across our facilities, the City installed 165 user-friendly waste receptacles and implemented initiatives such as paperless permit applications. With more than 2,000 permits being received last year alone, this will dramatically reduce paper waste and make it more convenient for applicants.
Pickering was also selected to undertake a Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Project with ICLEI Canada Local Governments for Sustainability. This project will help Pickering to further evaluate risks and impacts to the community from climate change and to create a local adaptation strategy.
Continuing the important work around sustainable development, the City received funding from the Atmospheric Fund and Region of Durham to develop new Integrated Sustainable Design Standards. Once finalized and approved the standards will help ensure new development is constructed in a manner that reflects innovative sustainable best practices and technology of today.
These initiatives do not fully encompass Pickering’s sustainable journey, however, they highlight a few key areas. There are many fun and inspiring ways to make our lives and community more sustainable. Whether you decide to join a free educational workshop during Pickering’s Earth Month, conduct a litter cleanup, or join a community tree planting event, we encourage you to get involved and find your own way to make a meaningful impact in the community.
