Strategies
Biodiversity Action Plan
Engage Hamilton
We want to hear from you!
Everyone has a role to play to protect and enhance Hamilton’s biodiversity.
We want your feedback on the draft Biodiversity Action Plan and how the 2030 Global Biodiversity Framework targets could be included as local targets.
About Hamilton’s Biodiversity Action Plan
At the local and global scale, biodiversity is in a state of decline. To protect and rehabilitate Hamilton’s unique biodiversity assets, a coordinated approach between the City of Hamilton and local community environmental partners has been adopted by the City of Hamilton. The Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) will assist in ensuring that the City and the local conservation community partner organizations work together to enact change. Through these collaborations, actions will be taken for protecting, enhancing, and restoring biodiversity in Hamilton.
Project Partnership
To affect long-term, city-wide improvements to biodiversity, the partners developing the Action Plan come from a variety of organizations. Just like an ecosystem, the diversity of partners helping to write and implement the Biodiversity Action Plan will help make it more resilient. The Hamilton Naturalist Club has taken the lead and has hired a BAP coordinator who is helping to lead the project.
The BAP Working Group Partners include:
- Hamilton Naturalists’ Club
- Environment Hamilton
- Hamilton Conservation Authority
- Halton Region Conservation Authority
- Bay Area Restoration Council
- Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System
- Royal Botanical Gardens
- City Staff from Planning and Economic Development and Public Works
What is biodiversity? The word ‘Biodiversity’ means the variety of life on earth. It refers to the diversity of all species within an ecosystem and the ways they interact with each other and their environment. Biodiversity is about the connection between all species, and how they depend on each other to survive. Ecosystems that have a high level of biodiversity are more resistant to long and short-term threats and are generally healthier and more resilient.
Did you know that Hamilton is a biodiversity ‘hotspot’? Hamilton’s geography is made up of regionally unique natural areas such as mature Carolinian Forest, the Niagara Escarpment, Dundas Valley, the Cootes Paradise wetland, and Lake Ontario. The rural landscape of Hamilton also includes extensive swamps, watercourses, and unique woodlands, among many other natural features.
Montreal Pledge: Cities United in Action for Biodiversity
On June 15, 2023, in accordance with Recommendation d) of Report PED21065(c), the City Clerk provided written notice to the Ville de Montreal to advise that the City wishes to be a signatory to the Montreal Pledge: Cities United in Action for Biodiversity. The actions outlined in the Montreal Pledge align with current Official Plan policy and efforts being made through related City initiatives, as well as the draft BAP. A commitment to this pledge will ensure that Hamilton’s actions towards improvements to local biodiversity will align with actions being undertaken by other municipalities from Canada and across the world.
Contact Us
Jen Baker
BAP Project Coordinator
Hamilton Naturalists’ Club
Email [email protected]
Lauren Vraets
Senior Policy, Sustainable Communities
City of Hamilton
Call 905-546-2424 Ext. 2364
Email [email protected]
Subscribe for Project Updates
Stay up to date with this project by sending an email to [email protected] with the subject line "Subscribe to receive Biodiversity Action Plan updates".
The City of Hamilton values your privacy and will not share or distribute your personal information without your expressed consent. By subscribing to the BAP project email list, you agree that the City of Hamilton can share your contact information with the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club for project updates.
Date modified
July 12, 2023