HURON COUNTY, Ont. – Ben Lobb, Member of Parliament for Huron-Bruce, on behalf of Canada’s Environment Minister, the Honourable Jim Prentice, today announced funding from the EcoAction Community Funding Program for a new environmental project in Huron County, Ontario. In total, $75,500 in federal funding will support local action to reduce pollution, improve air and water quality, and protect wildlife and natural habitat.

“As part of the International Year of Biodiversity and through the support of the EcoAction Community Funding Program, local community groups here in Ontario and across Canada are taking forward action to improve our environment upon which our culture, economy and society depend,” said MP Lobb. “Each one of us has a role to play. The enhancement of our local Huron County watersheds is a demonstration of real action that is helping to achieve this goal”.

“This government is committed to addressing the environmental priorities of Canadians,” said Minister Prentice. “We are proud to support community groups across the country willing to take concrete action through on-the-ground environmental projects that will achieve a more sustainable Canada. Your actions, large or small, will help to protect the abundance and variety of life that is part of our natural heritage.”

The Wetland/Riparian Restoration project will improve water quality, quantity and the natural habitats within Huron County watersheds. Ten-and-a-half hectares of habitat will be improved through the construction of water control structures, grassed waterways, wetland creation and seedling planting. The completed work will serve as community demonstration sites to profile best management practices such as riparian buffers and wetland restoration.

“This funding will help us work cooperatively with landowners and many other partners in restoring wetland habitat and enhancing natural areas along watercourses,” said Steve Bowers, stewardship coordinator with the Huron Stewardship Council. “Impacts of these projects will extend beyond property boundaries and benefit the community as a whole through positive impacts on water quality and quantity and the multiple other values that enhanced natural areas provide.”
 
The EcoAction Community Funding Program is a Government of Canada initiative that supports projects that rehabilitate, protect or enhance the natural environment, and builds the capacity of communities and individuals in support of a more sustainable Canada. The project announced today will assist locally-based, non-profit organizations in initiating actions that result in cleaner air, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, cleaner water, and the protection of nature at the local community level.

More information about the EcoAction Community Funding Program is available on Environment Canada’s website, at http://www.ec.gc.ca/ecoaction.