Great Lakes Local Action Fund

Learn how we’re supporting projects that protect and restore the Great Lakes through the Great Lakes Local Action Fund.

Overview

The Ontario government selected 44 community-based projects to receive 1.9 million in funding through the Great Lakes Local Action Fund. This fund supports local projects that protect and restore coastal, shoreline and nearshore areas of the Great Lakes.

The initial round of funding provided up to $50,000 for individual projects across Ontario led by:

community-based organizations
municipalities
conservation authorities
Indigenous communities and organizations

Through this fund, we are investing in projects across Ontario that address issues critical to the health of the Great Lakes, including:

shoreline health
excess nutrients
protecting and restoring habitats and species
improving water quality

Supporting local actions that protect the Great Lakes is a key commitment in Ontario’s plan to protect our air, land and water.

How to apply

The application period for funding in 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 closed on November 6, 2020.

To be eligible for funding, applicants had to be a legal entity and one of the following:

an incorporated not-for-profit organization
a small incorporated for-profit business
an entity established by or under legislation including band councils established under the federal Indian Act
other First Nations and Métis organizations that are incorporated
a partnership as defined under section 2 of the Ontario Partnerships Act

Examples of eligible groups include:

local agricultural and land-owner focused organizations
local youth organizations
environmental and conservation organizations
academic institutions
First Nations and Métis communities and organizations
small businesses (employing up to 50 employees), including social enterprises
municipalities
conservation authorities and foundations associated with conservation authorities

Details on how to apply for funding, such as eligibility requirements and information about the application process, are available in the application guide.

Projects receiving funding

The following projects received funding in 2020-2021 to 2021-2022.

Organization Name	Project Name	Project Description	Funding Amount $
A Greener Future	Love Your Lake	Engage communities to conduct 100 litter clean ups along the shores of Lake Ontario between Niagara-on-the-Lake and Kingston.	30,000.00
ALUS Norfolk	Reducing Agricultural Runoff Across Farms in Norfolk County	Reduce agricultural runoff flowing into Lake Eric by working with farmers to create natural restoration throughout the Long Point Watershed in Norfolk County.	50,000.00
Bagida'waad Alliance	Ziibiins Revitalization - Little Port Creek in Neyaashiinigmiing	Shoreline clean up, restoration and water quality improvements through engaging the local Indigenous community in Little Port Creek in Neyaashiinigmiing. Community members will also engage in water monitoring activities and learning about the native plants along the shoreline.	50,000.00
Catfish Creek Conservation Authority	Catfish Creek Stream Bank Restoration at Archie Coulter Conservation Area	Enhance ecological and shoreline remediation along nine creeks and rivers in the Lake Ontario watershed through scalable classroom engagement.	47,577.15
Credit Valley Conservation Foundation	Rogers Creek Online Pond Mitigation Project	Restore a portion of Rogers Creek within the Town of Erin to improve the cold-water fish community and habitat.	50,000.00
Environment Network	Sunset Point Eco-Shoreline Project	Applying and studying the technique of anchoring large woody debris (LWD) used in coastal protection to stabilize the Georgian Bay shoreline from the impacts of high water levels and bigger waves.	49,520.00
Friends of the Rouge Watershed	Youth and Community Action to Improve the Health of the Rouge River Watershed and Lake Ontario	Education and engagement of youth and community volunteers to reforest municipal park land in the Rouge Valley watershed	35,000.00
Garden River First Nation	Revitalizing and Protecting First Nation Ecotourism and First Nation Lands	Creating an elevated boardwalk within Ojibway Park to stimulate eco-tourism solutions while protecting the Great Lakes wetlands.	46,047.31
Georgian Bay Forever	Georgian Bay Plastics Free	Removing plastics from Georgian Bay shorelines and using analysis of collected plastics to educate the public and businesses on the challenges of plastic in the environment.	49,715.00
Haldimand Stewardship Council Inc.	Engaging community members to enhance and protect ecosystems and species through afforestation of marginal and abandoned lands in the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario watersheds.	Protect habitats and species and enhance biodiversity through reforestation of privately owned and marginally operable or abandoned agricultural lands within the Lake Erie and Ontario watersheds.	47,971.00
Haliburton County Community Co-operative	Tri-Region Community-Based Benthos Biomonitoring Project	Creating a sustainable, citizen-based model of benthos biomonitoring in the Haliburton, Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes areas to identify early indicators of lake issues.	50,000.00
Invasive Species Centre	Reducing Invasive Species from Shield Lake Shorelines in the Great Lakes	Increase community awareness of and engagement in active invasive species reduction and monitoring in multiple watersheds.	49,744.00
I-Think	Youth agency creates waves on the Great Lakes	Enhance ecological and shoreline remediation along nine creeks and rivers in the Lake Ontario watershed through scalable classroom engagement.	49,996.80
Kawartha Conservation	Enhancing nearshore water quality and aquatic plant management in the Kawartha Lakes, Lake Ontario Drainage Basin	Improve water quality and aquatic plant management through citizen science and implementing cost-effective recommendations to improve nearshore conditions along waterfronts.	44,500.00
Kettle Creek Conservation Authority	Kettle Creek Wetland Restoration Project	Engage community and youth leaders from the Lake Erie watershed to become Guardians by conducting water quality tests, planting trees and shrubs, and collecting litter along shorelines.	36,280.93
Lake Superior Watershed Conservancy	Francis Hilb Preserve Wetland Boardwalk and Woodland Trail	Protecting while providing public access to a rare wetland in Goulais Bay, Lake Superior, with a new boardwalk, trail and educational opportunities.	49,987.90
Lakehead Region Conservation Authority	Fisherman's Climate Change Awareness Park	Turning an existing undeveloped municipal parkland into a Climate Change Awareness Park that incorporates wetland enhancements, shoreline remediation, revegetation and pollinator gardens, while providing a space to educate and address environmental and climate impacts on Lake Superior	47,400.00
Lakehead University	Lakehead University’s First Climate Change Park: Restoring the McIntyre River Through Awareness and Action	Implement low impact developments (LIDs) to improve water quality and riparian habitat on the shoreline of McIntyre River at Lakehead University.This project also creates a recreational and educational opportunity as a demonstration Climate Change Park.	47,483.50
Lambton Shores Phragmites Community Group	Lambton Shores Coastal Wetland Restoration and Enhancement – Wood Drive	Invasive phragmites removal in the Wood Drive Coastal Wetland in Lake Huron.	50,000.00
Manitoulin Streams Improvement Association	Smith Bay Creek Stream Restoration Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory	Restoring in-stream habitat, planting, removing invasive species and shoreline cleanup in the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory	50,000.00
Matawa First Nations Management	Building capacity in water quality monitoring in Long Lake/Lake Superior for Matawa Member First Nations	Build capacity of four Matawa member First Nations in the Lake Superior watershed to conduct water quality monitoring and integrate traditional knowledge with scientific data to support restoration actions.	44,700.00
Mohawk Council of Akwesasne	Advancing Shoreline Restoration in Akwesasne: Re-situating Data and Planning for the Future	Using scientific data to prioritize shoreline restorations in Akwesasne through shoreline characterization and community engagement	50,000.00
Muskrat Watershed Council	Muskrat Watershed Agricultural Best Management Practices Assistance Project	Assist and educate farmers residing within the Muskrat Watershed in implementing agricultural best management practices.	50,000.00
Nature Conservancy of Canada	Pelee Promenade: a boardwalk and restoration on Pelee Island	Protecting species at risk while providing public access to and education about Peele Island by installing a boardwalk, new trail, bird viewing spaces and educational signage.	50,000.00
Niagara Chapter Trout Unlimited Canada	Bring Back the Brookies	Engage local community groups and residents in a restoration and learning discovery program (Bring Back the Brookies) to preserve and protect aquatic habitat in Upper Twelve Mile Creek, a tributary of Lake Ontario. Participants will engage in planting vegetation and cleaning up shorelines to support improvements to water quality, reduce erosion and sedimentation, expand habitat connectivity, and mitigate climate change.	47,875.00
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority	Niagara's Visual Assessment Survey Tool (VAST)	Launch a citizen science initiative to fill data gaps for nuisance algae and shoreline erosion rates and water level changes in the Niagara area.	48,940.00
NORDIK Institute	Community-based monitoring pilot for Garden River and St. Marys Area of Concern	Led collaboratively with the Garden River First Nation this project brings Indigenous and Western ways of knowing together by training Indigenous community members to monitor water quality that will inform local and regional water management in the St. Marys River Area of Concern.	50,000.00
Norfolk County	Phosphorus Loadings Impact on the Receiving Waters	Monitor phosphorous loadings from the Simcoe wastewater treatment plant which discharges into Lynn River and then into Lake Erie. A local school will be engaged in the monitoring program and learning about water quality protection. Monitoring results will be made available to Norfolk County residents and businesses and be used to assess impacts of point source loading contributions and support changes to the local sewer use bylaw.	43,000.00
North Shore Steelhead Association	Birch Beach Migration Corridor Improvement Project	Creek restoration to improve cold-water fish populations along the north shore of Lake Superior.	44,397.50
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters	Working with Communities to Prevent & Respond to Aquatic Invasive Species	Support and build community capacity to remove invasive species in the Lake Ontario watershed.	27,090.00
Ontario Streams	Lake Ontario Headwater Tributaries Rehabilitation Plan 2021	Improving headwater tributaries in the Humber, Rouge, Credit, and Don River watersheds, by increasing fish habitats, improving fish passages and planting native trees and shrubs to increase riparian cover.	50,000.00
Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre	Restoring the Ecological Health of the Great Lakes Through Turtle Conservation Action	Conserve Ontario's at-risk turtle species through conservation and monitoring actions, community engagement and stewardship in multiple watersheds.	50,000.00
Ottawa Riverkeeper	Reducing road salt run-off in the Ottawa River watershed	Mobilize individuals and institutions in Ottawa to collectively reduce quantities of salt used over at least 150,000m2 of impervious surfaces by engaging and educating citizens and volunteers on water quality monitoring and reductions of road salt consumption, and targeting facility managers on efficient road salt use through Smart About Salt training.	36,000.00
Raisin Region Conservation Authority	Restoring Riparian Habitat and Enhancing Forest Cover in the St. Lawrence River Watershed	Restoring riparian areas by working with farmers to plant native trees and shrubs which will also serve as riparian planting demonstration sites to the community.	50,000.00
Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC)	Riparian Restoration of Lake Huron Watershed	A hands-on activity for the local youth and community where 400 shrubs will be planted along the Thessalon River to slow down erosion and 375 meters of fence installed to keep out 20 head of cattle from the river.	15,660.52
Severn Sound Environmental Association	Health Soils = Healthy Watersheds in Severn Sound	Connect the local farming community with soil health experts and champions to encourage adoption of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to improve soil conditions over the long term in the Severn Sound.	50,000.00
St. Clair Region Conservation Authority	Building boardwalks and engaging landowners in habitat restoration in the St. Clair Region	Restore a boardwalk in the Coldstream Conservation Area within a provincially significant wetland to provide safe public access while minimizing impacts on the natural feature. Local landowners in the Sydenham River watershed will be engaged in habitat restoration projects to help reduce impacts to water quality.	50,000.00
St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences	The Great River Rapport - Community Action Initiative	Mobilize people to help protect the St. Lawrence River through monitoring and citizen science activities and learn more about freshwater protection and restoration. The project is conducted in partnership with the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne.	50,000.00
The City of Pickering	The Litter & Plastics Challenge: Every Piece Counts	Litter clean ups of Pickering shorelines through community and youth engagement and education.	14,679.14
The Halton Region Conservation Authority	Flamborough Centre Park Wetland	Transforming an underutilized recreational park into a productive marsh and swamp ecosystems and restore the wetland along the Grindstone Creek watershed.	49,875.00
The Township of Tarbutt and Tarbutt Additional	Environmental and Recreational Restoration of Women’s Institute Park, Tarbutt Township	Improve public access to Lake Huron in Tarbutt Township and enhance public awareness through signage and web-based activities about the ecological importance of the Great Lakes.	7,020.00
Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy	Four-Directions Shoreline Cleanup: Engaging Indigenous Communities through Action	Host shoreline clean ups that integrate Indigenous community members and teachings in four culturally significant locations.	15,662.40
Water Rangers	Lake Erie Guardians	Engage community and youth leaders from the Lake Erie watershed to become Guardians by conducting water quality tests, planting trees and shrubs, and collecting litter along shorelines.	49,955.00
Wellington Water Watchers	Take Two Watershed Clean-Up	The Take Two Watershed Clean-Up project aims to engage approximately 500 individuals and youth around the Speed and Eramosa Rivers to clean up the watershed through independent trail and shoreline clean-ups. Participants will gain awareness of the impacts of litter on the environment and how they can be part of the solution.	29,500.00