Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Starting on Friday April 19th and and continuing through until Saturday April 27th, local groups from across Ontario are hosting rallies, hikes, clean-ups, street parties and educational events as part of the Yours To Protect Weekend.
Key concerns to be highlighted include:
- Protecting forests, farms and endangered species
- Reducing plastic waste
- Stopping Bill 165’s unfair subsidies for new fossil gas infrastructure
- Stopping Highway 413
WHO: The Yours to Protect movement is a coalition of environmental and community groups fighting for better environmental policies in the province of Ontario.
WHAT: Yours to Protect Weekend Days of Action, featuring more than 40 events from Amherstberg to Ottawa.
WHERE: A map of all events, with additional information about attending each event, is available here: https://environmentaldefence.ca/ytpweekend2024/
WHEN: April 19th-27th. Exact times and dates vary by location.
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Amherstburg
Earth Day Event
Saturday, April 20 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
6480 Texas Road, R.R.#1, McGregor, ON
Planting of a pollinator garden, various booths (including EVs), children’s activities.
Bolton/Vaughan (Nashville Conservation Reserve)
Rivers not Highways Nature Hike
Saturday, April 20, from 9:00 – 11:00 am
Nashville Conservation Reserve, Kirby Rd. and Huntington Rd, Vaughan, ON
Wilderness Committee will be hosting a guided nature hike through the Nashville Conservation Reserve. Search for signs of spring and learn what’s at risk if the province’s proposed highway 413 is built.
Contact: Katie Krelove, katie@wildernesscommittee.org
Brampton
GrowGreen Awards
Saturday, April 20 from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
10150 The Gore Rd., Brampton, ON
Environment awards ceremony and festival featuring Brampton Environmental Alliance, Sierra Club Peel and others.
Carleton Place
Earthfest
Saturday, April 20 from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Market Square, 7 Beckwith St., Carleton Place, ON
Live music, workshops and children’s activities, including face-painting.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2682491648571820/
Collingwood
Earthfest
Saturday, April 20 at 10:00 am
250 Hume St., Collingwood, ON
On April 20th, the Collingwood Climate Action Team is hosting our third annual EarthFest. What you can expect: Booths featuring local environmental groups, Informational booths from the town, A Kids Zone offering fun and educational activities.
https://www.collingwoodclimateaction.com/earthday
Dorchester
Mill Pond & Thames River Clean-up
Saturday, April 20 from 8:00 – 10:30 am
Hosted by the Mill Pond Committee
Dresden
Community Clean-Up
Saturday, April 20 at 9:00 am
Corner of John St West & St. George St., Dresden, ON
Hosted by Dresden CARED & Dresden Horticultural Society. This clean-up will also be a good place to learn about the proposed Dresden Dump.
Contact: dresdencared@gmail.com
Dundas
Beers + Blooms 2024
Monday, April 22 at 7:00 pm
SHED Brewing, 65 Hatt Street, Dundas, ON
An evening with author and natural garden advocate Lorraine Johnson on Earth Day, Monday April 22, as we talk about the intersections of climate change and biodiversity. And what we can do at the local level right here in Hamilton with insights from Lynda Lukasik, Office of Climate Change Initiatives, City of Hamilton.
East Gwillimbury
Ecofair
Saturday, April 20 from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
East Gwillimbury Sports Complex, 1914B Mt. Albert Rd., East Gwillimbury, ON
Grand(m)others Act to Save the Planet will have information on heat pumps and reducing fossil fuel usage at the Eco Fair.
Contact: Elizabeth Carswell, elizabeth@cyoo.ca
Etobicoke
Wincott Park & Humber Creek Yours to Protect Cleanup
Sunday, April 21 at 10:00 am
Wincott Park is one of 6 parks through which Humber Creek flows on its way to the Humber River. So keeping plastic out of it is important to save wildlife & our drinking water!
Fonthill
3nd Annual Rally on Earthday call for Action (AREA)
Saturday, April 20 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Peace Park, 20 Pelham Square, Fonthill, ON
This year’s theme is “Act Now to Preserve the Future,” emphasizing involving the younger population and protecting the Singer Drain, which contains the Province’s significant wetlands and woodlands in the undeveloped Merritt Road.
https://Pelhampath.ca
Gananoque
Rotary Club Environmental Clean-up
Saturday, April 20 at 8:00 am
King St East (by the antique train), Gananoque, ON
Volunteers will collect garbage from 19 designated sites round the town.
Guelph
Earth Day Guelph Celebration
Saturday, April 20 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm
City Hall, 1 Carden Street, Guelph, ON
Guelph Climate Action Network will have a community table with earth pledge forms, petitions and upcoming event information as well as children’s art table and a great lineup of local talent: spoken word, a youth choir, an adult chorus and a drum group. Join us as we gather to celebrate, grieve and pledge to taking steps to protect the earth.
Haliburton
Nature Nut Trivia Night
Monday, April 22 from 7:00 am – 9:00 pm
6712 Gelert Road (HHOA Hatchery), Haliburton, ON
The Land Between is hosting Nature nuts super trivia quiz night!
https://www.thelandbetween.ca/events/
Hamilton
3rd Annual Mountview Earth Day Park Clean Up
Saturday, April 20 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm
115 San Antonio Drive
Yours to Protect Rally
Saturday, April 20 from 1:00 – 2:00 pm
Neil Lumdsen MPP Office, 115 Hwy 8, Stoney Creek, Hamilton, ON
Hamilton350 hosting a rally. Hands Off The Conservation Authority! Stop Hwy 413! Stop Subsidizing Enbridge!
Yours to Protect Rally
Sunday, April 21 from 1:00 – 2:00 pm
Skelly MPP Office, 2000 Garth St, Hamilton, ON
Hamilton350 hosting a rally. Hands Off The Conservation Authority! Stop Hwy 413! Stop Subsidizing Enbridge!
London
Earthfest 2024
Saturday, April 20 from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
251 Dundas St., London, ON
Thames Region Ecological Association and other local groups will be at Earthfest 2023.
https://earthfestlondon.ca
Milton
Keep the Promise Rally
Saturday, April 27 from 2:00 – 2:30 pm
Main and Bronte, Milton, ON
Premier Ford, Now is the Time to Stop the Campbellville – Milton Quarry!
Mississauga
Nature Hike
Sunday, April 21 from 12:00 am – 3:00 pm
Meadowvale – land between highways
1255 Old Derry Road, Mississauga, ON
Stop Sprawl Peel is hosting a hike through Meadowvale Conservation Area, a rare piece of protected land in the sprawling suburb of Mississauga, bound between two highways – a cautionary tale of what may be the few natural and farm fragments left if we allow sprawl to continue to spread throughout Peel Region
New Tecumseth
New Tecumseth Earthfest & Repair Cafe
Saturday, April 27 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Tottenham Community Centre, Gymnasium, 139 Queen St N, New Tecumseth, ON
New Tecumseth Earthfest, an opportunity to learn about green actions, listen to speakers, engage in family activities, learn how to repair bikes, fabrics & simple household items.
Contact: newtec.earthfest@gmail.com
Orillia
Seedy Saturdays
Saturday, April 20 from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
Orillia Public Library: 36 Mississaga St W., Orilla, ON
Seed and Plant exchange
Earth Day Community Garbage Cleanup
Sunday, April 21 from 10:00am – 12:00pm
Couchiching Beach Park in Terry Fox Circle (parking lot off Jarvis St.), Orilla, ON
Repair Cafe
Saturday, April 27 from 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
St James Church, 58 Peter St N., Orilla, ON
Hosted by Lake Country Time Trade & Sustainable Orillia
Oshawa
Litter Pick Up
Second Marsh, Oshawa, ON
Saturday, April 27 at 9:30 am
Ottawa
March to End the Plastic Era
Sunday, April 21 at 10:30 am
Parliament Hill, Ottawa, ON
Join us as we march to remind governments who exactly they are negotiating for at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee.
Hosted by Environmental Defence
Contact: Lauren Thomas, media@environmentaldefence.ca
Talk: Plastic Pollution on the Frontlines: Stories from Turtle Island
Wednesday, April 24 from 12:00 – 2:00 pm
Hosted by Environmental Defence
Contact: Lauren Thomas, media@environmentaldefence.ca
Panel: Toxic Chemicals in Plastics, Public Health and the Precautionary Principle
Friday, April 26 at 9:00 am
National Arts Centre, Ottawa, ON
With a focus on plastic additives of concern and their impacts on health and well-being, this free interactive session will feature leading scientists, environmental health advocates and the grounded expertise of affected communities on the links to cancer, endocrine disruption, and impacts on child health.
Event website: https://www.plasticactionzone-zonedactionplastique.ca/events/toxic-chemicals-in-plastics-public-health-and-the-precautionary-principle
Contact: Lauren Thomas, media@environmentaldefence.ca
Owen Sound
Earth Day Grey Bruce 24
Saturday, April 20 from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
1st Ave West, between 8th and 9th Street, Owen Sound, ON
https://www.facebook.com/EarthDayGB
Earth Day Keynote Speaker
Sunday, April 21 at 2:00 pm
1155 1st Avenue West, Owen Sound Harbour, Owen Sound, ON
Owen Sound Field Naturalist’s 9th Annual Keynote Speaker Event to Celebrate Earth Day. This year it features Award-Winning Robert Bowles.
Scarborough
Scarborough Green Fair & Free Repairs
Saturday, April 20 from 12:00 – 5:00 pm
4040 Lawrence Ave E, Scarborough, ON
Richmond Hill
Liveable Richmond Hill/Yours to Protect Weekend
Sunday, April 21 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Richmond Green Sports Centre and Park, 1300 Elgin Mills Rd E, Richmond Hill, ON
Elgin Mills Cleanup
Contact: Michele Bruno, mbruno3@bell.net
St. Catharines
Planet vs. Plastic
Friday, April 19 from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
St. Catharines Farmers Market, St Catherines, ON
15+ exhibitors, hands-on activities and demonstrations, workshops for Children
https://linksforgreenerlearning.org/event/earth-day-2024-planet-vs-plastic/
Stratford
Earth Day Street Party
Saturday, April 20 from 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
163 King St., Stratford, ON
Come to the party! Meet your climate community. Live music. Yummy food (you’ll want to bring some cash). Bike tune ups. Children’s activities. And lots and lots of booths and tables with resources for making a difference on climate.
Sudbury
Better Beginnings Better Futures
Monday, April 22 from 3:30 – 5:30 pm
74 MacKenzie St., Sudbury, ON
Come celebrate Earth Day with Better Beginnings Better Futures Indigenous-led, Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury, Greater Sudbury Public Library, and Junction Creek Stewardship Committee. Music, crafts, snacks, Earth Day activities, and announcing the Project Impact results!
https://www.liveablesudbury.org/projectimpact/
Junction Creek Cleanup & Butt Blitz
Saturday, April 20 from 1:00 – 3:00 pm
660 Notre Dame Avenue, Sudbury, ON
Junction Creek Stewardship Committee
Toronto
Booth: Toronto East Residents for Renewable Energy
Saturday, April 20 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
955 Queen St E, Toronto, ON
We will have a table setup at 955 Queen Street East (South Riverdale Community Health Centre). If the weather is good we will be set up outside on the East side near the pollinator garden at the corner of Queen and Heward and if not we will be inside.
Heat Pumps and Home Retrofits: How to Save Money and Energy in Your Home
Tuesday, April 23, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Swansea Town Hall, 95 Lavinia Ave., Toronto, ON
Green 13 and Parkdale-High Park for Climate Action are hosting a talk on Heat Pumps and Retrofits.
https://green13toronto.org/blog/heat-pumps-and-home-retrofits-how-save-money-and-energy-your-home
413 Letter Delivery to Arif Virani
Wednesday, April 24
1596 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON
Green 13 and Parkdale-High Park will be delivering an open letter to Arif Virani asking him to provide better environmental oversight for the Highway 413 project.
Stop the 413! Give 413 a Full Federal Impact Assessment
Sunday, April 28 from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm
East Lynn Park, Toronto, ON
A rally calling for a full impact assessment of Highway 413.
Town of Blue Mountains
Repair Café
Saturday, April 27 from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Grace United Church, 140 Bruce St. S., Thornbury, ON
Community Clean-Up
Saturday, April 27 at 1:00 pm
Community clean-up for all ages.
Waubaushene
Talpines Tay Trail Spring Clean Up
Monday, April 23
22 Old Cottage Lane, Waubaushene, ON
Contact: taytalpines@gmail.com
For more information about Yours to Protect Weekend, please visit: https://environmentaldefence.ca/ytpweekend2024/
ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.
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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:
Carolyn Townend, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca
