Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Transport Canada makes positive change ! ~ canoes and kayaks (almost) off the hidden tax hit list

(this post written by Kara Mitchell )


Transport Canada's back paddling on its recent decision to include human powered vessels such as kayaks, sail boats and canoes in new registration requirements. Minister of Transport Minsiter Chuck Strahl that these boats and in fact all small vessels with motors less than 7.5 kilowatts (10 horsepower) will no longer have to register their craft with Transport Canada. Ontario's ecotourism, adventure tourism and children's camps and resorts breathed a collective sigh of relief.


The recently updated, meant to be simplified registration process will continue to be required for commercial river rafts, government vessels and for any vessels where registration is necessary for safety reasons. Thanks to input from the public, including ORCKA and tOES, fleets of vessels can now also be registered for a reduced ($50 for 5 year) rate.


"What doesn't change are the safety requirements. Small vessels, such as canoes and kayaks, their owners and users must continue to adhere to all safety requirements under the Canada Shipping Act." added Minister Strahl.


For more information, see Transport Canada at www.tc.gc.ca

Friday, March 18, 2011

Sea Kayaking Instructors course with Geogian Bay Storm Gathering

Coming up this fall, a sea kayaking instructor's course timed to match a storm gathering on Georgian Bay ~ talk about maximize experience !


tOES member hosting White Squall do well to minimize the environmental impact of their quality sea kayaking experiences too. For example, they partner with many regional environmental stewardship initiatives including the Georgian Bay Land Trust.

Dates: Oct. 11 – Oct. 16 2011

Location: White Squall Paddling Centre

Cost: $800. + HST - includes registration in Georgian Bay Storm Gathering

Registration: White Squall (705) 342-5324 info@whitesquall.com

Overview

The 2011 Paddle Canada Level 2 Sea Kayak Instructor Course is being held in conjunction with the Georgian Bay Storm Gathering west of Parry Sound Ontario on Georgian Bay. The Storm Gathering brings together some of Ontario’s top instructors as well as a committed group of participants – with a comprehensive offering of on and off-water presentations. Instructor course candidates will be provided with structured opportunities for teaching intermediate paddlers in challenging conditions Candidates should have strong Level 3 skills and past teaching experience.

Director: Graham Ketcheson – Level 2 Inst. Trainer, Level 3 Inst. Executive Director - Paddle Canada

Instructor: Greg Mason – Level 1 Inst. Trainer, Level 3 Inst., General Manager - Georgian Bay Biosphere

More info on:

Storm Gathering: georgianbaystormgathering.com

Paddle Canada: paddlecanada.com



Other ecotours, ecotourism events and courses this year in Ontario : (our calendar of events)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Ecotourism Conference - Call for Speakers

LEADING TOURISM INDUSTRY CONFERENCE SEEKING BEST PRACTICE CASE
STUDIES ON ECOTOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS STRATEGIES

Call for Speakers Now Open for the Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference 2011 - September 19-21, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA

WASHINGTON, February 15, 2011 - The ECOTOURISM AND SUSTAINABLE
TOURISM CONFERENCE (ESTC), now in its fifth year, is a unique annual tourism industry conference providing practical solutions and innovative ideas to help green the tourism industry. Organized by The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), this year's ESTC is being held from September 19-21, 2011, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA. The ESTC organizers are currently seeking quality submissions of speaker proposals highlighting key ecotourism and sustainable tourism best practice case studies.

Dr. Kelly Bricker, TIES Board Chair and ESTC Co-Chair, urges sustainability experts, business leaders and policy makers to be an active part of the conference by taking advantage of the speaking opportunity at the ESTC. The ESTC 2011 will be a key meeting place for industry pioneers and those who are driving change in ecotourism and sustainable tourism, said Dr. Bricker. This is a great platform to share your knowledge and expertise with hundreds of key
industry players, and engage in dialogue promoting innovative ideas and inspiring solutions for a greener future of tourism.

The ESTC 2011 will feature presentations and discussions with the goal of helping tourism businesses and professionals gain necessary tools and resources to effectively implement social, environmental and economic sustainability practices. Designed around four main tracks Business Sustainability Practices; Conservation and Communities; Partnerships in Press, Policies and Politics; and Places and Experiences the ESTC 2011 sessions offer insights into questions such as:

* /What does it mean for mass tourism to go green;
* /What makes some community-based ecotourism projects successful
- and others unsuccessful - in becoming viable businesses
* /How can tourism businesses better partner with policy-makers
working on land management and permitting practices
* /What does it take to become a frequently-written-about tourism
business
* /How is interpretation used to effectively develop and promote
memorable experiences

The deadline for ESTC 2011 speaker application is Monday, March 21st, 2011. For more details on the proposed session topics and speaker submission guidelines, please see:
WWW.ECOTOURISMCONFERENCE.ORG

MEDIA CONTACT:

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES)
Ayako Ezaki, Director of Communications
Email: media@ecotourism.org[5]
Phone: +1 202-503-5066

Hilton Head Island Visitor & Convention Bureau
Jessica Gardo, Manager, Marketing & PR
Email: jgardo@hiltonheadisland.org[6]
Phone: +1 843-341-8377

Monday, February 14, 2011

Eco-Business Zone planned and funded around Toronto's Pearson International Airport

Green Municipal Fund supports the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s Pearson's planned Eco-business Zone

February 10, 2011, Toronto, Ont. – Hans Cunningham, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and director of the Regional District of Central Kootenay, B.C., and the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Natural Resources, today announced a Green Municipal FundTM (GMF) grant of $68,069 for the Region of Peel, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. Together the partners have made an investment to develop North America’s largest eco-business zone on more than 12,000 hectares of industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) land surrounding Toronto Pearson International Airport

"Through the use of sustainability indicators, the plan assesses baseline levels of energy and water consumption and land use, while also setting targets for improvement in these areas. The plan lays the groundwork for eco-business infrastructure projects in the areas of transit, district energy, wastewater treatment, waste-to-energy initiatives and brownfield redevelopment."

For more information: - see the Press Release on www.fcm.ca/gmf


Sunday, January 23, 2011

tOES seeks consultant to partner with us to publish 2nd Ed of Responsible Suppliers Guide for Travel and Tourism in Ontario

Request for Proposals ~ Development of a 2nd Edition of the Responsible Suppliers Guide for Travel and Tourism in Ontario

Requirement: The Ontario Eco-tourism Society is seeking proposals from consultants to provide professional services to create a 2nd edition of the Responsible Suppliers guide for Travel and Tourism in Ontario, both on line and in print versions.

Deadline for submissions: 4 pm on Friday, Feb. 4th, 2011.
Period of Contract: Feb. 24th-Sept.30th, 2011

Project Summary: The successful candidate will work to prepare and produce printed and online guides in 2011, using the standards of inclusion developed for the first Edition and with improved results / returns in terms of networking and funding/advertising exchanges. For detail, please refer to our news page from which complete RFP and Terms of Reference are attached.

For an online copy of our 1st Edition of this resource, see our resources page:

Thursday, January 13, 2011

tOES Starts the New Year with fresh ideas on our board and with our members' packages

The Ontario Ecotourism Society is celebrating the new year with fresh ideas and energy on our board of directors. To learn more about new board members, roles and the outcomes of our December 2010 Annual General Meeting, check out our news webpage.

Our professional members, a diverse group of ecotourism operators based in Ontario are also offering a great variety of refreshing ways to get out and enjoy this winter. From cross-country skiing weekends and snowshoe and dogsledding adventures to yoga retreats, their ecotours deliver vacations that are good for both travellers and the earth and waters. Here's a sampling of what January holds, please see our events page or members' listing for more recomended winter ecotours and events in Ontario.

Walk into Winter Hike, Sat. Jan 2nd or weekend experience Jan-March, Haliburton ~ by Yours Outdoors

The Ultimate Winter Experience ! ~ kicksledding, tube tobogganing, sauna....~ 15% off accommodation & experience packages until Jan 23rd at Nature's Harmony, Mattawa

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Join us ~ by livestream, train, carpool..tOES AGM Dec. 4th

You're invited ~ tOES AGM on Dec. 4, 2010

All members and potential members interested in building a sustainable tourism industry in Ontario are invited to take part in the tOES AGM and the priorities we set there for our projects in the year ahead.

You can join us at our South River Blue Canoe location (accomodations available through member Northern Edge Algonquin) by public transportation or from the comfort of your own home or business. We will be livecasting from 11 am - 12 noon. You will be able to watch, listen and add comments to the meeting in real time from your computer.

Meeting Agenda
1. Welcome and Annual Summary of Work
2. Treasurer's Report
3. Recognition of Directors
4. Election of New Directors
5. Facilitated Discussion of 2011 work priorities ~ the Board welcomes tOES member input on charting direction for our projects, funding applications and membership services in the year ahead.

If you are interested to join the meeting you need to:
1. email to let us know; admin@toes.ca
2. open a livestream account (no cost to you) - login to northernedgealgonquin.com/live-video.html and set up an account (while further ahead is recomended, you can set up the account 10 minutes beforer the meeting and still join us).
3. Login to your livestream account at 11 am Sat. Dec. 4 and join the meeting.
4. There is no cost to you to participate.

Look forward to your input!