This year, GreenUP faces a critical challenge — one that could define our ability to continue serving the Peterborough community for years to come.

For over 30 years, GreenUP has empowered residents to embrace sustainability and take meaningful climate action. As a non-profit charity, we rely on stable funding to support a variety of programs that promote sustainability, environmental education, and green living.

With declining funding available for our work, we are already managing significant revenue reductions which puts some of our valuable initiatives in jeopardy. As funding challenges grow, we are at risk of having to reduce our vital climate programs at a time when they are needed most.

“Our environmental education programs are at the heart of what makes our community unique and resilient,” says Tegan Moss, executive director of GreenUP. “Losing them would have a significant impact on Peterborough and the local environment.”

In 2024, despite funding challenges, GreenUP has made significant strides in climate action and community sustainability. Our programs continue to have a positive impact.

Through our home energy programs, our clients are collectively saving over 14,800 gigajoules of energy annually — equivalent to taking 104 homes off the grid. We’ve also helped divert more than 2,000 plastic bottles from landfills through our “refillery” at the GreenUP Store and Resource Centre.

Our programs have reached the next generation too: 1,300 local students participated in the Peterborough Children’s Water Festival and 386 children took part in our cycling education events, learning how to stay safe while reducing their carbon footprint.

Over 1,500 trees have been planted across Peterborough, and four Little Forests have been established at local schools, creating vibrant spaces for learning and environmental stewardship.

This year, our propagation of native plants has also flourished, with more than 2,500 native plants started through our new initiative at Ecology Park. Our team is deeply invested in enhancing Ecology Park as a space for education workshops and native plant propagation, contributing to local biodiversity and community education.

Unfortunately, recent shifts in funding have made it necessary for us to evaluate how we can continue delivering the most impactful programs with limited resources.

For example, our active transportation programs, which promote safer, more sustainable travel options for youth, though well supported locally, are now at risk due to changing provincial funding priorities.

Likewise, our home energy services have been negatively impacted by rapid changes to federal incentives, and our water conservation programs — which were once funded by Peterborough Utilities Group — are now facing critical funding challenges.

The urgency of climate work is all around us. Ongoing shifts in weather patterns and intensity provide a daily reminder of our changing climate. With a legacy of sustainability education through characters like Cool Captain Climate and programs like Recycle Rangers, GreenUP has long been at the forefront of helping our community adapt.

Our impact has been far and wide. Many thousands of children have participated in our educational experiences at Ecology Park, for example. At GreenUP we need to continue increasing our efforts, not scale back — and we need your help to do that.

Programs like the curriculum-linked school field trips and the native plant propagation efforts at Ecology Park are all powered by community support. Contributions to GreenUP will help maintain what we’ve built together, and allow us to prepare for the climate challenges ahead.

“Resiliency is a collective effort,” says Moss. “With the support of our community, we can ensure that the important local climate work our friends and neighbours care about continues to thrive. We intend to care for and learn in community spaces like Ecology Park for at least 30 more years.”

Together, we can continue to inspire positive change and empower our community to create a greener future. We invite you to join us in making a difference this giving season. Your tax-deductible donation to GreenUP will keep us working effectively to mitigate and adapt to the climate challenges we face together.

To learn more or to donate, visit www.greenup.on.ca/donate-now or schedule a meeting with GreenUP executive director Tegan Moss at tegan.moss@greenup.on.ca.

Jon Grant, one of Peterborough’s most eminent citizens who became a folk hero among environmentalists, has passed away.

The retired businessman, environmentalist, volunteer, and philanthropist died Wednesday (November 27) at the age of 89.

Grant was one of the first business leaders in Canada to embrace the concept of environmentally conscious decision-making and earned a reputation during his career for speaking out against workplace practices and environmental waste.

After graduating from Western University’s Ivey Business School in 1970, Grant worked as a marketing official for a variety of food companies, including Weston Foods Ltd. and Nabisco Ltd. of Toronto.

According to a 2002 story in the Globe and Mail, Grant gave a speech to a group of marketing executives in 1970 in which he criticized businesses that had “near-sighted” and “timid” workplace practices, citing a company that forced a computer expert to work at night because officials were uncomfortable with his long hair, earrings, and unusual clothes.

In 1976, Grant was appointed CEO of Quaker Oats of Canada in Peterborough, a position he held until he retired in 1994. He was known for his commitment to improving the company’s environmental practices, including by reducing packaging waste by 75 per cent and by introducing office recycling programs.

During and after his time at Quaker Oats, Grant served on a number of corporate and public boards, and remained active in environmental and conservation work. As chair of the Ontario Round Table on the Environment and Economy in the early 1990s, Grant helped to convince corporate Canada that sustainable development and environmental stewardship lead to more profitable business plans.

He also chaired the Nature Conservancy, the Ontario Biodiversity Council, and Canada Lands, was a founding supporter of the Georgian Bay Land Trust, was vice-chair of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), a director of Pollution Probe, a trustee of the World Wildlife Fund of Canada, and was a commissioner of the Canadian Polar Commission, working to ensure that the interests of Indigenous peoples remained at the forefront of efforts to protect the delicate Arctic ecosystem.

A lover of the outdoors, Grant was an avid mountain hiker and canoeist who paddled many of Canada’s northern rivers with his wife and “best friend” Shelagh Grant, an award-winning author and historian who was part of the original team involved in the founding of The Canadian Canoe Museum and a long-time volunteer.

The couple continued to support the museum over the years, with Jon serving on the museum’s board of directors, until Shelagh died in 2020 at the age of 82. In 2022, the Grant family donated $250,000 towards the new museum in her honour.

In addition to his environmental and conservation work, Grant had a 17-year tenure as a director of CCL Industries (including 10 as chair) and was a member of several corporate boards, for many of which he held the position of chair, including Scott Paper, Laurentian Bank, Atlas Cold Storage, and Agricore United (as vice-chair).

He was chair of Trent University’s board of governors and governor emeritus, was a chair of the Bagnani Trust, was a founder and trustee of the T.H.B Symons Trust, and was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1991.

In 2002, Grant was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and received the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals in 2002 and 2012. As fellows of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, Jon and Shelagh were jointly awarded the Bernier Medal in 2017.

“Jon and Shelagh both travelled the world for business, Jon’s environmental activities, and Shelagh’s Arctic lectures, but they always came back home, whether in Peterborough, their Island retreat at Pointe au Baril in Georgian Bay, or their Tremblant log cabin nestled in the trees of the Rivière Diable,” reads an obituary from the Grant family.

“After Shelagh’s passing, Jon and his dear friend Beth McMaster [the founding chair of Showplace Performance Centre’s board of directors] thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company when attending the theatre, during frequent dinners out, and at special events.”

Grant is survived by his three children, Susan Grant (Bob Fitzgerald), Debbie Aben (Mike), and David Grant (Cécile Gambin), and his six grandchildren, Chelsea and Alex, Michael and Sean, and Sébastien and Luc.

The family will be holding a private funeral and, in the new year, will be hosting a celebration of life at The Canadian Canoe Museum. Those interested in attending the celebration of life should email the Grant family at jongrantmemorial@gmail.com for more information.

In lieu of flowers, the Grant family encourages donations to Hospice Peterborough.