Media Advisory/Photo Opportunity - Honourable William G. Davis Honoured for
Niagara Escarpment Leadership

Greenbelt Legacy Plaque Installed

TORONTO , Oct. 29 /CNW/ - On Monday, November 2 please join the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation in a ceremony to pay tribute to the Honourable William G. Davis, former Premier of Ontario, for his bold action to protect the Niagara Escarpment, which forms the spine of the 1.8 million acres of the Greenbelt.

Mr. Davis will attend the unveiling of a new plaque to be erected in his honour at the foot of the Bruce Trail in Fireman's Park, Niagara Falls.

Signs honouring Mr. Davis ' work and his efforts in preserving the Niagara Escarpment are being placed at five hiking trails along the length and breadth of the Greenbelt.

    
    WHAT:     Media are invited to join Mr. Davis and the Greenbelt
              Foundation at Fireman's Park followed by a reception and
              speeches at nearby Château des Charmes

    WHERE:    Unveiling - Fireman's Park (Mountain Road and Dorchester Road )
              - follow signs from Northwest corner of parking lot
              Reception - Château des Charmes, 1025 York Road,
              Niagara-on-the-Lake

    WHEN:     Monday, November 2, 2009
              Brief unveiling at 12 p.m. Reception to follow immediately
              after.

    WHO:      Hon. William G. Davis, Former Premier of Ontario
              Kim Craitor, MPP Niagara Falls
              Mayor Ted Salci, Niagara Falls
              Burkhard Mausberg, President, Friends of the Greenbelt
              Foundation
              Donna Lailey, Vice-Chair, Greenbelt Council and board member of
              the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation

    Plaque Inscription

                           Friend of the Greenbelt
                   The Honourable William Grenville Davis
                         Premier of Ontario 1971-1985

    The Niagara Escarpment is an important part of Ontario's natural heritage
    system. It hosts a myriad of flora and fauna, some of which are
    endangered or rare.

    In 1973, Premier Davis and the Government of Ontario took the remarkable
    step of enacting the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act.
    This led to the establishment of the Niagara Escarpment Commission and
    the creation of the Niagara Escarpment Plan. As Canada's first
    environmental land-use plan, it protects this unique 725 kilometre
    landform stretching from Niagara Falls to the tip of the Bruce Peninsula.

    In recognition of its ecological significance, the Niagara Escarpment was
    designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1990 by UNESCO, the United
    Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The Niagara
    Escarpment became a permanent part of Ontario's Greenbelt in 2005.
    

Wrapping around the Golden Horseshoe, the Greenbelt is 1.8 million acres of potential to make Ontario a better place. Encompassing the Niagara Escarpment, the Oak Ridges Moraine, Rouge Park, hundreds of rural towns and villages and some 7,100 farms, Ontario's Greenbelt is the largest and most diverse in the world.

The Greenbelt Foundation began in June 2005 as an independent, charitable foundation with a mandate to promote and sustain our Greenbelt as a beneficial, valuable, and permanent feature, enhancing the quality of life for Ontario residents.

For further information: Jennifer Story, Communications Manager, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, [phone] (cell), or jstory-at-greenbelt.ca