NEWS RELEASE
GRAND RIVER CONSERVATION AUTHORITY
*************************
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) is giving people in the Grand River watershed another reason to enjoy the great outdoors, all year long.
The Cambridge and Woodstock based company has donated $250,000 to the Grand River Conservation Foundation to help expand recreation programs at Grand River Conservation Authority parks.
The donation will provide new facilities and equipment that focus on winter activities and experiences, and offer new audiences opportunities to visit the parks year-round.
“It’s no secret that Toyota is passionate about supporting the environment,” says Stephanie Pollard, Vice President, Administration, TMMC. “We are excited to help the GRCA make their parks even more accessible to guests who want to experience the great outdoors all year long.”
Grand River parks are traditionally open from late April through to mid-October, with select parks like Shade’s Mills in Cambridge and Pinehurst Lake in North Dumfries offering an extended season of winter activities like snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and ice fishing, when conditions allow.
“We’re very proud of what our parks have to offer our guests,” says Dave Bennett, GRCA Operations Director. “This donation will go a long way in providing new experiences to our current visitors and help us offer expanded services that will encourage new guests to visit our parks.”
This donation will allow the GRCA to explore new opportunities for winter programming that currently aren’t available as well as expand upon existing services offered by the parks.
These are the latest ventures in a long-standing relationship between TMMC and the GRCA.
The company contributed to the Toyota Nature Centre at Shade’s Mills Conservation Area in 2000 and supported the construction of a green roof at the Laurel Creek Nature Centre in Waterloo in 2008.
TMMC employees also support the GRCA annually through participation in ‘Community Support Program Days’.
TMMC staff members get out and help the GRCA plant trees and remove invasive species over the span of 6 days each spring.
TMMC was also a major donor to the Living Classroom - Campaign for Outdoor Education, which raised money to support environmental education programs for elementary school children.
*************************
