Niagara Escarpment Commission

	Leading Edge 2006 The fifth conference in the Leading Edge series explored three interrelated themes: Communities in action; Scientific research, environmental monitoring and conservation projects; and, Demonstrations of sustainable development. The conference included exceptional keynote presentations as well as 20 paper presentations featuring the most current research presented by a wide variety of experts. The Leading Edge conference series is a key part of the Niagara Escarpment's status as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve; namely, in the areas of community involvement, scientific research, environmental monitoring and demonstrations of sustainable development. Leading Edge 2006 brought together more than 250 participants from Canada's Biosphere Reserves. Landowners, scientists, researchers, students, environmental interest groups, community organizations, corporations, government agencies and representatives from the United States also attended the conference to learn, teach and network. Keynote Presentations Managing the Collision between City and Country Presentation by Tom Daniels, Professor, University of Pennsylvania For the past 50 years, urban sprawl has consumed huge swaths of Southern Ontario’s best farmland and last green spaces. Currently, more than 50 square kilometers of land is paved over annually with single family dwellings and countless roads. Due to this and other reasons, farmers across Ontario are now fighting back with a campaign called “Farmers Feed Cities!” The urban-rural divide has never been greater. How can this divide be narrowed? What growth management and urban planning techniques can best deal with our fringe metropolitan areas? What consensus is required to ensure that outcomes can be win-win-win for all stakeholders? Energy Supply/Demand Trends and Forecasts: Implications for a Sustainable Energy Future Presentation by David Hughes, Peak Oil & Energy Resource Analyst, Geological Survey of Canada Energy issues regarding peak oil are rarely discussed by planners and politicians dealing with land use and transportation issues. Yet demand in the developing world is forecast to grow by 91% through 2025, when this region will account for nearly half of the world’s energy consumption – 85% from oil, gas and coal. Are these forecast growth rates sustainable given the magnitude and distribution of the world’s remaining energy reserves? What are some of the political and social ramifications of maintaining this rate of consumption? How does Ontario and Canada fit into this “Big Picture”? How do we assure a sustainable energy future? Malmö, Sweden -- the Sustainable City of Tomorrow Trevor Graham, City of Malmö, Sweden Embassy of Sweden website City of Malmö, Sweden website City government has worked proactively with all stakeholders to shift Malmö’s largely industrial economy to a "knowledge economy" in a span of barely 15 years. Carefully directed investment in high calibre new technology and training programmes, including the opening of a 22,000-student university in 1998, are helping to fill gaps left by older declining industries. These expenditures are being bolstered and supported through exceptional innovations in brownfield redevelopment, housing, transportation, resource conservation and public service delivery. The result is an “ekostaden” (eco-city) that is nothing less than inspiring! Getting to Yes: Stakeholder and Governance Solutions for Achieving Smart Growth in Ontario Good planning promises strong, prosperous communities with a healthy environment and an excellent quality of life. Many political and planning pundits have said that the public is ready to see smart growth actually implemented rather than see more studies collecting dust on a shelf. But how do we best coordinate the strengths, powers, interests, economics and politics of local, regional and provincial government to achieve smart growth? Presentation by Karen Farbridge, Professor, University of Guelph Transportation Policy and Street Design: Taking the Higher Road For far too long, moving automobiles rather than people has been at the heart of transportation policy and road design in North America. But a new framework that supports successful communities appears to be just around the corner. In the face of ever-increasing pavement, congestion, car crashes, energy costs, smog and climate change, multi-modal solutions to traditional auto-oriented street design are doubly beneficial to our health, economy and environment. What new approaches are needed to entice people to walk, bike, blade or take public transit? Which street designs work and which ones don’t? Presentation by Richard Gilbert, University of Winnipeg The Great Arc: The Escarpment Across the Canada / U.S. Border A specially selected collection of six presentations focusied on U.S. and Canadian strategies for the integrated management and conservation of protected areas. Included are case studies from Michigan, New York, Ohio, Ontario and Wisconsin. Patrick Lawrence, Associate Professor, University of Toledo Lynda Schneekloth, Professor, School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo Understanding the Working Countryside: Rural Vitality in an Urban Age Farming is a diverse, flexible and innovative industry. The challenges faced by farmers are equally complex, a shifting flux of policies (fiscal, planning and conservation), land speculation, the clash between urban and rural values, changes in rural demographics and generational attitudes towards farming as a lifestyle. Presentation by Jeanne Maurer, Ryerson University Abstracts and Papers Session 1 - Communities in Action & Sustainability Who's driving what where? Challenges of community-driven nature conservation Glen Hyman, Laboratoire CNRS Espace et Culture The Cartwright Nature Sanctuary - an innovative conservation partnership Alan Ernest and Robert Edmondson, Hamilton Naturalists' Club and Conservation Halton Sustainable urban/suburban woodlands: are municipal planning policies effective inmitigating residential human activity edge effects? W.J. McWilliam, University of Waterloo Setting the terms for the creation of Canadian Biosphere Reserves: from science-driven to citizen-driven Maureen Reed, University of Saskatchewan Principles for community conservation networks in Canada - the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve model Norm Ruttan, Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve Community-based decision making in support of the UNESCO designation of the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve David Fraser and Stan Boychuk, Clayoquot Biosphere Trust The Giant's Rib Discovery Centre: an ongoing saga Anne Redish, Giant's Rib Discovery Centre Water and wastewater efficiency: optimizing the land planning, energy, ecological and agricultural dimensions Andrew Hellebust, EcoWerks Technologies Corporation Session 2 - Research, Monitoring and Conservation Projects Content analysis of Leading Edge conference abstracts 1994-2006: highlights and trends Patrick Lawrence, University of Toledo Thirty years too soon: the demise of the preliminary proposals of the Niagara Escarpment Commission John Bacher, Preservation of Agricultural Lands Society (PALS) Conservation of Ontario's Niagara Escarpment Bob Barnett, Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy Land securement for the Niagara Escarpment Parks and Open Space System, 1985-2006 Tony Buszynski and Neil Hester,Ontario Heritage Trust and Niagara Escarpment Commission It's a matter of compatibility. a Jefferson salamander habitat adjacent to a proposed new open pit mine. Will Jeff survive? Deb Fester, Protecting Escarpment Rural Lands (PERL) An assessment of forest restoration outcomes and the instruments used to evaluate ecosystem recovery in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario Leah Lefler, University of Waterloo Quarry rehabilitation provides a public asset in the greenbelt Sarah Lowe and Ken Zimmerman, Dufferin Aggregates Novel approaches to quarry restoration: rehabilitation research and practice Kathyrn Kuntz, Ontario Aggregate Resources Corporation Status report on the implementation of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan: implications for the Greenbelt Plan Nathan Fahey and Debbe Crandall, STORM Coalition (Save the Oak Ridges Moraine) Stewardship and the rural (non-farm) landowner of southern Ontario Lee-Anne Milburn, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph Nature count$: the socio-economic benefits of southern Ontario's greenspace Amy Handyside, Natural Spaces Program, Ministry of Natural Resources printer friendly

Leading Edge 2006

Keynote Presentations