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stouffville suntribune thursday march 30 2006 3 by serena willoughby staff writer t heres an act to protect the oak ridges moraine a plan to protect the greenbelt and a strategy to focus new devel opment in already builtup areas so the job of protecting environ mentally sensitive lands is done right not even close say the people who have been fighting to protect york regions environment with the province requiring york region to grow by 600000 people by 2031 environmentalists such as debbe crandall of save the oak ridges moraine wonder if all those people will be content to move into highrises or if they will continue to demand singlefamily homes houses require land and land is getting scarce a glance at the map shows the few areas that can still be developed encroach on the moraine more specifically they are in the moraines agricultural buffer an area that has limited protection now but will come under review in 2021 at that point development could be permitted sustainability maynot be possi ble with the numbers the province is putting down we will not come to a sustainable solution based on the way weve done it in the past ms in this comprehensive series discussing the regions burgeoning growth and how best to manage it we will delve into the following topics march 16 planning for growth march 23 economics of growth today growing green april 6 healthy communities april 13 uvable lifestyles april 20 getting around if you missed an earlier topic check it out at wwwyorkregioncom crandall said the provinces own environmen tal commissioner gord miller also questions the strategy of pushing most of the population growth into the greater toronto area even with higher development densities this is a vast number of people settling in an already stressed landscape he said in his report last year new residents still need water sewers roads and power he noted wondering if natural heritage can survive for example urban development around lake simcoe has led to increased phosphorus levels that have upset the lakes delicate ecosystem currently more than 100 tonnes of phosphorus a year enters lake simcoe from stormwater runoff in urban areas improper manure stor age in rural areas streambank and shoreline erosion faulty septic sys tems and poor gardening and lawn care practices that has led to largescale growth of weeds around jhe georgina shore line a problem the town spends hun dreds of thousands of dollars trying to fix through weed harvesting a community group called wave runs a campaign to help homeown ers rninimize their impact on the lake by not using chemical lawn fer tilizer for example from the debate over pesticide use to getting people to use public transit protecting the regions environment is about how we choose to live its not a matter of telling people how to live are we aware of what were doing or are we just blundering forward mr miller said to that end the region is holding a series of forums this month on build ing sustainable communities there will be meetings april 4 in vaughani april 6 in georgina and april 12 at the regional headquarters in newmarket to allow residents to air their ideas about how york should grow but richmond hill resident carrie hoffelner believes its a little late plans for the york durham sewer system better known as the big pipe have already defined the direction municipal planning will take by mak ing largescale development possible in many rural parts of the region we need to slow down and take a look at the path were already on she said its misleading to say give us your input as to how you- want to grow when in large part thats already been decided but environmental protection can be improved by something as simple as ensuring parks include naturally preserved areas as well as the sports fields and recreational areas that tend to be built in every subdivision mr miller said i worry about that in york region i dont see a lot of natural places where kids can go and explore im not talking about places you have to get in your car and drive to but places right in their own neighbor hood where kids can interact with nature if theyre there kids will find their way there he said you can help lend money voice to cause if you want to help pro tect york regions green- space there are several organizations you can sup port oak ridges moraine foundation is an arms- length government funded agency that offers money to projects that protect the moraine by supporting agriculture and tourism some of its projects j include tree planting initia tives and helping conserva tion authorities acquire greenspaces for information call 9058335733 or visit ormfcom friends of the green- belt will invest 25 million in the greenbelt over five years it is accepting proposals for programs that support farming promote rural communities and enhance the natural environment for example it is look ing for ways to connect farmers to markets for fresh local produce explained shelley petrie one example is helping them tap into the growing market for organics although demand for organic produce has grown exponentially in the past few years only about 10 per cent of organics sold in ontario markets comes from ontario farms for information call 4169600001 or visit our- greenbeltca save the oak ridges moraine storm is a citi zen group that was instru mental in getting legisla tion passed to protect the moraine it continues to work at the local and regional levels to ensure planning decisions respect the environmental signifi cance of the moraine and that take into account its ecological and hydrological functions visit stormcoalitionorg for information