Award Winners Recognized for their Outstanding Contribution to The Living City©

-The 2012 Living City Awards and Greenspace Awards presented at the Charles Sauriol Environmental Dinner for The Living City -

TORONTO, Nov. 9, 2012 /CNW/ - At the Charles Sauriol Environmental Dinner for The Living City© on November 8th, 2012, the Living City Awards were presented to organizations who exemplify TRCA's vision for The Living City, where human settlement can flourish forever as part of nature's beauty and diversity.  Since its inception in 1993, the Charles Sauriol Environmental Dinner for The Living City©, Toronto's longest standing environmental dinner, has raised more than $2,700,000 and inspired more than 10,000 people who have attended to help raise awareness about the protection of precious green space in the GTA.

There are three awards represent each of The Living City objectives for healthy rivers and shorelines, regional biodiversity and sustainable communities.  Nominations were made by TRCA staff then evaluated and selected by TRCA Directors.  Congratulations to The Living City Award recipients.

The Living City Award:  Healthy Rivers and Shorelines
Awarded to The City of Toronto, Toronto Water for "The Earl Bales Storm Water Management Facility"
The City of Toronto is an award recipient for the Earl Bales Storm Water management facility that now captures and treats 90% of the drainage from 550 hectares of previously untreated storm drainage from residential and industrial development.  Key innovations include using the pond water for irrigation of the Don Valley Golf Course in the summer and for snow making on the Earl Bales Ski Hill on the winter.

The Living City Award:  Regional Biodiversity
Awarded to Castlepoint Investment Inc. / Molise Kleinburg Estates Inc. for "Ecological restoration of the former Kleinburg Golf Course valleylands and attention to sediment controls during construction"

Castlepoint Investments Inc. / Molise Kleinburg Estates Inc. is an award recipient for the restoration of a tributary to the Humber River and creation of wetlands that benefit amphibians, fish and other aquatic life, as well as their commitment to exceptional sediment and erosion controls during the construction process.

The Living City Award:  Sustainable Communities
Awarded to TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for their support of "Environmental community transformation projects"

TD Friends of the Environment Foundation is an award recipient for the ongoing support that they provide to community projects that aid in education and environmental transformation of The Living City.  Recent projects include the annual Mill Pond Splash event, Winged Migration, a "Birds in your Backyard" exhibit at the Green Living Show, and the ever-growing fall TD Tree Days events. This year over 1,000 participants planted 5,000 trees.

About the Award
The Living City Award - an original piece of art created by the artist Floyd Elzinga - beautifully captures the three objectives of The Living City.  Organic shapes made from recycled steel intertwine with built form; limestone laid down on an ancient lake bed represents the bedrock in our landscape; and our region's lakes and rivers are represented in the reflective fluidity of glass.

The Living City Foundation
Our vision is for a new kind of community, The Living City®, where human settlement can flourish forever as part of nature's beauty and diversity.Established as The Conservation Foundation of Greater Toronto in 1961, over 50 years we have raised over $37 million that we invest in building The Living City. In 2011, we became The Living City Foundation. The foundations works to build The Living City in partnership with Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA). The Living City Foundation looks after where you live. http://www.thelivingcity.org

Toronto and Region Conservation
With over fifty years of experience, Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA) helps people understand, enjoy and look-after the natural environment. Our vision is for The Living City®, where human settlement can flourish forever as part of nature's beauty and diversity.  For more information, call 416-661-6600 or visit us at www.trca.on.ca

SOURCE: Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

Rowena Calpito, Supervisor, Media Management, Toronto and Region Conservation
416.661.6600 ext 5632, [email protected]