The Latest from tOES!
February 2010 ~ Kristen Martyn joins the tOES Board of Directors ~ Welcome Kristen!
What's Happening This Season in Ontario Ecotourism?
Please see our events listing page for more ecotourism retreats, festivals and activities in Ontario this season.
tOES On the Road: we'll have volunteers representing tOES at Barrie EcoFest : June12th at Heritage Park, Barrie where the environment takes centre stage. Ecofest Barrie in its inaugural green event combines music, fashion, food and fun. This Community event, presented in partnership with the City of Barrie and sponsored in part by Rona and Power Stream, is a celebration of the Earth and an offering to the public of new possibilities and greener lifestyle options.
Highlights of the festival will include a “ bike powered band” Mr. Something Something, the Trashfusion Design Awards Show, featuring wearables made from what otherwise would end up in the trash, electric cars, speakers focusing on options for home and business, endangered wildlife presentations and much more. Bring the whole family and friends. The latest additions to this all important community event can be found on line.
Volunteers welcomed. For more information visit
Advocacy Highlights
New information is now available about tOES involvement in the Draft Temagami Forest Management Plan for 2009-2019, as well as our input into the Ontario Ministry of Tourism Competitiveness Study. Check out our Advocacy page to learn more and see how you can get involved!
tOES to Launch 2nd Edition of Responsible Suppliers Guide in 2010
~new directory helps travel and tourism green it's supply line
The Ontario Ecotourism Society (tOES) released their first edition of the "Responsible Suppliers Guide (for travel and tourism Ontario)"December 1, 2008. For tourism operators working to 'green' their services and supply line, avoiding green washing or products that do not live up to their environmental claims, can be an intimidating process. This new directory was created to help Ontario's ecotourism businesses, professionals, and travelers, sort through the choices by listing companies using a clearly defined set of sustainability criteria. To encourage carbon emmision reductions that arise from transportation of goods and to support local economies we have focussed on regionally produced suppliers though also list Canadian and North American companies that offer sustainable products to tourism. Categories in the directory include everything from sustainable building and energy technoligies, to food and beverage, cleaning and apparel, along with promotional items. Ecotourism operators who were tOES members in 2008 are also listed in this guide.
Check out the Responsible Suppliers Guide
tOES will launch our second edition of the Responsible Suppliers guide in 2010. The first update for the guide will be available on-line in March. The final edition of this bi-annually produced networking tool will be produced for November/December to coincide with an industry networking event. If you are a supplier of sustainable goods or services to the tourism industry of Ontario interested in listing, please contact us.
Events from 2008 & 2009
There were busy years for tOES with attendance at events all across Ontario and Canada. Here is some of our highlights from the past:
2nd Annual "Green Day" at Niagara College
We would like to thank the Niagara Environmental Corp for their hard work in setting up this incredible event and for inviting us to join. NEC is a student-led environmental group based out of Niagara College. Each year they host this event in order to increase environmental awareness and foster relationships with local environmental organizations. tOES was one of over thirty environmental organizations in attendance and was pleased to be able to give a main stage presentation on the importance of making responsible travel choices. Read more about Niagara College Green Day
tOES Represents Ecotourism in Ontario as Delegate at the 2008 Ecotourism
and Sustainable Tourism Conference
tOES was delighted to be able to attend the 2008 Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference which this year was held in Vancouver, British Columbia. The focus of this years conference was greening the tourism industry in the US and Canada and there was an exciting amount of workshops and presentations on topics ranging from: Climate Change & Tourism, Parks & Protected Areas, Indigenous Peoples & Local Communities and Green Operations & Technologies. Read more about the conference at the official conference site and check out the winter 2008 newsletter for the highlights of our attendance.
We were very excited to be attending the Toronto Green Living show from April 24th to 27th, 2009 for the third consecutive year. This year we launched a printed version of the 1st edition of the Responsible Suppliers Guide thanks to the support of Astley Gilbert. The Responsible Suppliers Guide features over 40 businesses in Ontario and has been featured in media releases across the province. Members of the Ontario Ecotourism Society are invited to join us for similar chances to meet with concerned public about environmentally friendly vacation choices available here in Ontario in 2010. Attending the show was an incredible networking opportunity and a chance to present how ecotourism is making a difference!
