ABSTRACT
The City of Vancouver carried forward this emphasis on broad and creative engagement of citizens during the implementation of GCAP through the $2 million Greenest City Grants program, launched in a novel partnership with the city’s largest philanthropic organization, the Vancouver Foundation. The goal of this community grants-making initiative is intended ‘not only to help Vancouver become the greenest city by 2020 – our aim is to accomplish this dream by supporting ideas generated and implemented by the community’ (Vancouver Foundation 2012). This program provides annual funding calls to small groups and individuals for work that connects to meeting Greenest City goals. Over 150 projects were funded in the first annual cycle; examples of funded initiatives include tree planting and citizen arborist training, other neighborhood greening work and stream daylighting, efforts to reduce ecological footprint in neighborhoods, gardening, and food-sharing projects. Other significant external partnerships sparked by GCAP include those with the University of British Columbia on the Greenest City Scholars program, which places graduate student interns within city departments, and with BC Hydro on the Conservation Collaborative, an agreement to partner on energyefficient planning and infrastructure.
