Greenspace can help reduce carbon emissions and lessen the impacts of climate change. The Greenbelt encompasses 721,000 acres of lakes, wetlands, river valleys, and forests. The forested area of the Greenbelt alone can offset the equivalent of 56.5 million cars driven over one year!
The 21 Greenbelt-protected Urban River Valleys transport freshwater from headwaters in the Oak Ridges Moraine and Niagara escarpment – two of the region’s most significant hydrological features – through Canada’s most developed region, into the Great Lakes, where they replenish a source of freshwater for 9 million Ontarians.