Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Environment Journal joined 150 brownfield pracitioners and project stakeholders at the Canadian Brownfields Network (CBN) annual conference yesterday. This year, CBN presented the theme of “From Legacy to Opportunity: The Evolution and Integration of Brownfield Reuse”. MC Andrew Macklin kicked things off by introducing the comprehensive agenda, “an amazing suite of speakers to discuss brownfield opportunities” at the Humber Polytechnic Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation.
It was an action-packed agenda. Dr. Gillian Booth, Scientist at the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at Unity Health Toronto explained the importance of walkable cities with active transportation. “The way that we design our cities has a clear correlation to public health.” Urban developments that are designed well lead to a lower risk of health issues such as obesity and diabetes.
Scott Thompson, Manager Environmental Remediation Environmental Services and Contaminated Sites, Ontario Region Public Services and Procurement Canada highlighted the next phase of the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP), which is $5.7 billion investment for 19 years (2005 – 2024).
The Waterfront Development Panel, from left to right:
Mark Kolberg, Principal, Baird & Associates; Gord Wichert, Technical Director – Aquatic Ecology, SLR Consulting; Neil Loewen, Senior Associate, Urban Planner, Urban Strategies; Annelise Grieve, Principal, Strategic Environmental Planning Solutions; and, Krista Barfoot, Sector Lead, Infrastructure – Canada, SLR (Moderator).
Dynamic panel discussions on “Developing Site Strategy – From a Developer’s Perspective” and “Waterfront Redevelopment: Opportunities and Lessons Learned” presented insightful and compelling perspectives on overcoming development challenges through careful and early planning, a multi-stakeholder communication approach, the right leadership and diverse teams that are ready to pivot and adapt to new legislation and other arising issues. High profile and complex projects along the Toronto waterfront, such as Ontario Place, the Port Lands, and Sugar Beach, helped illuminate lessons learned and best practices.
“The biggest challenge is to prompt change at waterfront sites,” said Annalise Grieve, Principal, Strategic Environmental Planning Solutions. “People use those sites and want to have access to the water. They have an implicit connection to the water. Be careful about how to contextualize and how to manage communication about the prospective change.” She advocates for inclusive planning and equitable policies surrounding waterfront development.
We got our “Hands in the Dirt” with keynote speaker Jen Angel, CEO of Evergreen, who inspired attendees to think about taking action on “Transforming Urban Brownfields into Thriving Communities.”
Over the course of the past few decades, the Evergreen team has transformed the Don Valley Brick Works, a former quarry and industrial site located in the Don River Valley, into a vibrant community hub. Angel highlighted some of the benefits of this brownfield success story: bringing people together (attracting more than 500,000 visitors), raising $10 million from Toronto’s largest farmers market, supporting more than 120 local businesses and partners, and helping 10,000+ kids enjoy camps (half of which are from equity deserving communities).
“Great public spaces can solve multiple problems,” said Angel, emphasizing increased climate resilience, strengthening local communities, and connecting kids with nature.
Credit: Evergreen
To wrap up the informative and inspiring day, CBN presented the HUB (“Heroes Underpinning Brownfields”) Awards. Congratulations to the winners:
🏆 The Emerging Leader award was presented to Kyle VanderMeer, Environmental Engineer at the City Of Guelph.
🏆 The Innovation award went to Kevin French, VP at VEI Contracting Inc..
🏆 The Lifetime Achievement award was given to Barry Grover, Co-founder of Milestone Environmental Contracting Inc.
Environment Journal is a proud media partner of this event. More coverage and further details will be provided soon.
Note: Nominations for the Brownie Awards are open now—and no later than September 5th—at https://brownieawards.ca/
Featured image credit: Humber College
