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About the MTM Project
Monitoring the Moraine (MTM) is a collaborative project between
Citizens’ Environment Watch (CEW), STORM Coalition (Save
the Oak Ridges Moraine), and Centre for Community Mapping (COMAP).
It is designed to engage and sustain community volunteers in science,
stewardship, monitoring and decision-making on the Oak Ridges
Moraine.
In 2002, the Ontario government took steps to protect the moraine
through the passage of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan
(ORMCP). The MTM project partners applaud the vision, objectives
and intent of the ORMCP, and believe it provides the foundation
to sustain and strengthen the ecological and hydrological integrity
of the Oak Ridges Moraine and its associated communities. However,
the moraine continues to be under pressure from challenges associated
with urban sprawl. The ORMCP, like any regulation, is only as
strong as the will of people to implement it. The future health
of the moraine will not rest solely with the provincial or municipal
governments; residents and other interested parties must also
be involved. People living on the moraine, and those in neighbouring
urban centres, must work together to ensure that the ORMCP is
not only adhered to, but that it is also effective and remains
relevant over time. An effective way for volunteers to achieve
this is through ecological and policy monitoring at the community
level.
The Monitoring the Moraine project engages volunteers in ecological
and policy monitoring with the goal of determining the effectiveness
of the ORMCP and measuring changes to the moraine landscape as
a result. The project will ensure that the information gathered
by participating volunteers is successfully communicated to other
stakeholders. This is not an easy task given the geographic size
and complexity of the Oak Ridges Moraine. In order to develop
an accurate picture of the entire moraine’s ecological health,
consistent standards or protocols must be agreed upon and applied
at all levels of monitoring – the MTM project works toward
this goal. The challenge is to create a common monitoring framework
within which everyone dedicated to the moraine’s preservation
can work. Thus, the Monitoring the Moraine project aims to:
• Develop, implement and evaluate collaborative approaches
to community-based monitoring across the Oak Ridges
Moraine landscape;
• Improve the efficiency and utility of both environmental
and policy monitoring;
• Develop an effective and dynamic monitoring framework
that is widely applicable to all communities and moraine-monitoring
organizations;
• Generate a visual and interactive ‘big picture’
in the form of an online map that can be viewed and
updated by anyone with Internet access;
• Inform decision making by disseminating relevant and credible
environmental and policy monitoring data to key decision
makers;
• Facilitate a strong and informed community voice in the
upcoming 2014 review of the ORMCP;
• Provide a model for other large scale monitoring projects,
provincially, nationally and internationally.
The MTM partners bring a variety of complementary skills and experience
to this collaborative project. STORM has years of experience in
policy and planning on the Oak Ridges Moraine. CEW is a leader
in providing education, equipment and support for community-based
environmental monitoring. COMAP develops web-based data management
tools that will enable users to report the results of their monitoring,
as well as access the findings of others, with a few simple clicks
of a computer mouse.
The success of this ambitious project relies on community initiative
and participation. The project is being guided and implemented
by the “Monitoring Advisory Committee”, comprised
of local volunteer champions, moraine-based environmental and
citizens’ groups, environmental non-government organizations,
provincial and regional government, conservation authorities,
and the private sector. As a result, diverse areas of expertise
and knowledge are being drawn upon. At the same time, this collaboration
ensures the project will recognize and support what residents
hold dear.
The MTM project will benefit communities across the moraine in
numerous ways: by providing the necessary education, training
and support to carry out monitoring projects and by helping to
ensure that the data generated by participating volunteers is
valuable and scientifically defensible. This will allow community
members to raise and act upon environmental concerns in a timely
fashion. Community empowerment will lead to wider community involvement
and ensure that those who live, work and play on the moraine will
be informed, engaged and well positioned to protect this unique
landscape for years to come.
The project is supported by the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation,
George Cedric Metcalf Charitable Foundation, and Ecological Monitoring
and Assessment Network (EMAN), Environment Canada.
Download
pdf version [184 KB] of above text
Download the MTM Brochure [1.1 mb pdf]
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Participants of the Monitoring the Moraine Project
Project Partners
Monitoring the Moraine is a collaborative project between Citizens'
Environment Watch (CEW), Save the Oak Ridges Moraine (STORM) Coalition,
and Centre for Community Mapping (COMAP). Each partner brings
different and complementary skills and experience to the project.
Citizens’ Environment Watch empowers people in Ontario
to pay attention to their local environment. CEW provides education,
equipment and support to monitor local ecosystem health, and opportunities
to participate in informed community decision-making and active
stewardship. CEW has experience working with volunteers who are
keen to undertake community based environmental monitoring as
part of their efforts to protect and restore the environmental
integrity of the Oak Ridges Moraine.
Save The Oak Ridges Moraine Coalition (STORM) is focused on protecting
the ecological integrity of the Oak Ridges Moraine. Since 1989,
STORM has been working at the local and regional levels to ensure
that municipalities make good planning decisions that respect
the environmental significance of the moraine and that take into
account its ecological and hydrological functions. STORM’s
years of experience in policy and planning on the Oak Ridges Moraine
and its well-developed network of local and regional contacts
were critical to the campaign that saved (legislatively) the Oak
Ridges Moraine.
The Centre for Community Mapping is an assembly of designers
and researchers, whose goal is to provide accessible and affordable
informatics tools and support to community-based organizations.
COMAP’s main focus is to enable communities to communicate
information through a sustainable, shared infrastructure, a common
map platform for visual exploration and contribution of community
information. The common map will have natural and cultural heritage
applications, as well as land use management policy monitoring
applications, serving communities that care for the Oak Ridges
Moraine.
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Community Volunteers
and Oak Ridges Moraine-based
Environmental Groups
Currently, the MTM project is working with Concerned Citizens
of King Township, Oak Ridges Friends of the Environment, Richmond
Hill Naturalists, Protect the Ridges, and Kawartha Heritage Conservancy.
We are in the process of developing community-based strategic
monitoring plans with each of them.
Developing partnerships with these groups is important to:
• Build local capacity across the moraine
• Build ecological and monitoring skills
at the local level
• Broaden volunteer base
• Develop strong anchors in the moraine
network
• Broaden governance through shared decision-making
The groups contribute the following qualities:
• Local knowledge about community
• Local experience
• Credibility
• Enthusiasm and willing people
While the MTM project brings the following qualities:
• Established & credible citizen science
& policy knowledge
• A suite of established protocols
• Community-based monitoring knowledge
& skills
• Organizational and capacity-building
skill sets including data management
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Oak Ridges Moraine Stakeholders
Communication and coordination between the stakeholders on the
Oak Ridges Moraine are important in achieving the mission of the
Monitoring the Moraine Project. For this reason, we held a Stakeholders
Meeting in June 2005. Please refer to Stakeholders
Meeting for more information.
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Monitoring Advisory
Committee
The Monitoring Advisory Committee is an external committee of
stakeholders, including representatives from local citizens’
groups, non-government organizations, government, quasi-government
organizations, and the private sector. Each member brings a different
area of expertise and knowledge to the committee, providing recommendations
and advice to the MTM Partners on approach, models, content and
technical aspects of the ecological monitoring, policy monitoring,
community engagement and technology development. For more information
on the commitee's members and activities, visit the Monitoring
Advisory Committee section.
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Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is responsible for the development and
governing of the overall framework, policies and procedures of
the Partnership; annually reviewing progress of the initiative;
and forming and providing guidance to the Monitoring Advisory
Committee and other Subcommittees as needed.
Members (listed alphabetically)
- Debbe Crandall, STORM (Save The Oak Ridges Moraine) Coalition
- Sonia Dong, Citizens' Environment Watch
- Fred Johnson, EnviroScape Consulting Services
- Fred McGarry, The Centre for Community Mapping
- Mary McGrath, Citizens' Environment Watch
- Kate Potter, Oak Ridges Moraine Stewardship Partner Alliance
- Graham Whitelaw, University of Waterloo
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