MARKHAM ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MINUTES

October 14, 2010

ATTENDANCE

Members Philip Ling, Chair Mylene Bezerra Batista Phil Fung James Lin Erika Lontoc Brent Mersey Tom Rado Carrie Sally Zahra Parhizgari Guests Janice Merton Michael Su Michael Mesure Staff Bev Shugg Barbeito, Committee Secretary

Regrets Lloyd Helferty Louis Priftakis Christopher Sauer Erica Tsang Dennis Yip Deputy Mayor Jack Heath

1. CALL TO ORDER

The Markham Environmental Advisory Committee was called to order at 7:05 PM with Mr. Philip Ling presiding as Chair.

2. CHANGES OR ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

The agenda was accepted with the following additions:

- Election of Committee Chair and Vice Chair

- Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) presentation

3. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MARKHAM ENVIRONMENTAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

It was

Moved by Tom Rado
Seconded by James Lin

That the minutes of the Markham Environmental Advisory Committee (MEAC) held on

September 16, 2010 be adopted as distributed.

Carried

4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES

A. TOWN PATHWAY THROUGH ROUGE VALLEY LANDS

No report was available.

B. SOLAR ENERGY AND COMMUNITY POWER INITIATIVES

No report was available.

C. GREENPRINT SUSTAINABILITY PLAN - KITCHEN TABLE SESSIONS

At the June 2010 MEAC meeting Vicky McGrath, Director, Sustainability Office, reviewed the draft Markham GreenPrint Sustainability Plan. Ms. McGrath hoped to engage as many residents as possible in the review of the plan. MEAC members agreed they would be interested in assisting with the "Kitchen Table Sessions" initiative, hosting informal sessions of 4-5 residents to discuss the draft plan to determine residents' reaction to its strategies. Carrie Sally reported that she had sent the results of her Kitchen Table session to Graham Seaman, Manager Climate Change and Energy but had not yet received feedback. Tom Rado reported he discussed the results of his group session with Ms. McGrath. Erica Lontoc advised that she had held a kitchen table session with colleagues at work and that it went very well; this may have been because the group had a higher level of awareness of the issues because of the nature of their employment and because she distributed the report to the group so they could read it in advance. MEAC members will meet on November 18, 2010 to take part in a Kitchen Table session themselves.

5. NEW BUSINESS

A. ELECTION OF COMMITTEE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR

Chair Philip Ling advised that it was time to elect a Vice Chair of the committee for the 2011 year, as current Vice Chair Tom Rado would be moving into the Chair position in January for 2011.  The successful Vice Chair would then take over the Chair position in the following year. He encouraged any interested Committee member to send him an email putting their name forward for the position by November 7, along with a one paragraph description of why they would make a good Vice-chair. The expressions of interest will then be circulated to the members of the committee in advance of the November 18 meeting, so the new Chair and Vice Chair are appointed and ready to lead the committee from the beginning of the New Year.

B. FATAL LIGHT AWARENESS PROGRAM (FLAP)

Mr. Michael Mesure, Executive Director, FLAP, spoke to the group about the problem migratory birds face in urban environments. Many species of birds migrate at night and they are attracted to lights shining from urban structures. Birds either flutter about the light until they drop from exhaustion, or actually hit the structure. During the day, they collide with mirrored or transparent windows reflecting natural surroundings.

FLAP, a registered charity, was formed in April 1993 to safeguard migratory birds in the urban environment through education, research, rescue and rehabilitation. During migration seasons, FLAP volunteers patrol Toronto's downtown core in the early morning hours to rescue live birds and collect dead ones. Since 1993, they have recovered over 46,000 birds which have collided with Toronto buildings. The recovered birds represent over 100 species, many of which are in serious population decline. However 60% of the birds involved in a collision are dead; because Toronto is located along two migratory corridors, this could be more than 1 million dead birds annually.

Creating a collision-free urban environment for migratory birds is important because birds are critical links in native ecosystems. Birds pollinate plants, distribute seeds and eat considerable numbers of insects. This helps maintain healthy wetlands, forests, and agricultural lands. A safe urban environment for migratory birds will also help reduce greenhouse gas & air emissions, since healthy plants serve as filters for both air and fresh water ecosystems.

FLAP is working with municipalities to develop bird safe guidelines for buildings. For instance, all new buildings in Toronto must now meet minimum standards of bird safe windows up to 12 metres high. FLAP is currently working with the Town of Markham to develop similar standards. FLAP also works with commercial organizations providing assessments of the level of risk that their buildings provide to birds and identifying appropriate changes.

After discussion, it was agreed that MEAC could best assist FLAP through efforts to persuade Town of Markham Council to adopt bird friendly guidelines for new and existing buildings.

It was

Moved by James Lin
Seconded by Erica Lontoc

That the Markham Environmental Advisory Committee (MEAC) recommend that the Town of Markham Council consider the mandatory implementation of bird safe treatments for the construction of new buildings, retrofitting existing buildings and buildings with a noted collision problem.

Carried

6. ADJOURNMENT

It was

Moved by Tom Rado

Seconded by Brent Mersey

That the Markham Environmental Advisory Committee adjourn at 9:15 PM.

7. NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Markham Environmental Advisory Committee has been scheduled for Thursday November 18, 2010 at 7:00 PM in the Ontario Room.