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Strategies
# Biodiversity Action Plan
* Environmental Stewardship
* Environmental Plans & Strategies
* Biodiversity Action Plan
* Clean & Green Hamilton Strategy
* Hamilton's Climate Action Strategy
+ Community Energy & Emissions Plan
+ Hamilton's Climate Change Impact Adaptation Plan
+ Office of Climate Change Initiatives
- Carbon Budget and Accounting Framework
- Community Gardens
+ Climate Action Progress
+ Take Action
+ Good News Stories
+ Better Homes Hamilton Program
+ Hamilton's Climate Change Reserve
+ Priority Focus Areas
* Office of Energy Initiatives
* Urban Forest Strategy
Contact Us
**For City of Hamilton Inquiries**
**Biodiversity Action Plan**
Email [email protected]
**Shauna Hasselman**
Sr. Program Coordinator, Parks Operations
Email [email protected]
**John Vandriel**
Sr. Project Manager, Parks Operations
Email [email protected]
**For Community Partnership Inquiries**
**Jen Baker**
Hamilton Naturalists' Club
Email **[email protected]**
Subscribe for Project Updates
Stay up to date with this project, send 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.
## What is the Hamilton Biodiversity Action Plan?
The Hamilton Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) is a multi-partner, 5-year plan of actions to protect, enhance, explore and restore biodiversity in Hamilton.
On June 18, 2024 Hamilton Planning Committee endorsed the plan and the City-led actions.
View the Biodiversity Action Plan
## Why Hamilton needs a 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, restoring, connecting**and **exploring** biodiversity in Hamilton.
## Project Partnership
To affect long-term, city-wide improvements to biodiversity, the partners implementing the Biodiversity Action Plan come from a variety of organizations. Just like an ecosystem, the diversity of partners working together to implement the Biodiversity Action Plan will help make the plan more resilient.
**The BAP Leading Partners include:**
* Hamilton Naturalists' Club
* Green Venture
* Hamilton Conservation Authority
* Bay Area Restoration Council
* McMaster University
* City of Hamilton Staff from the Planning and Economic Development Department and Public Works Department
**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.
### Information & Reports
### Public Consultation
* **July 9, 2025** - PED25163 - Hamilton's Biodiversity Action Plan 2025 Annual Update
+ Appendix A - BAP Annual Update - PW Actions
+ Appendix B - BAP Annual Update - PED Actions
+ Staff Presentation
* **June 18, 2024** - PED21065(d)/PW24040 - Hamilton's Biodiversity Action Plan
+ Appendix A - Hamilton Biodiversity Action Plan (2024)
+ Appendix B - Consultation Summary Report
+ Appendix C - Planning and Economic Development Dept. Resourcing Plan
+ Appendix D - Public Works Dept. Resourcing Plan
+ Appendix E - City of Hamilton letter for the Montreal Pledge
+ Staff Presentation(PDF, 1.98 MB)
* **June 15, 2023** - City of Hamilton Letter for The Montreal Pledge - Cities United in Action for Biodiversity(PDF, 89.27 KB)
* **May 2, 2023** - PED21065(c) - Draft Biodiversity Action Plan for Consultation
+ Appendix "A" - Draft Biodiversity Action Plan - April 2023
+ Appendix "B" - Montreal Pledge
+ Staff Presentation
+ Two recommendations were added through Council motion to Report PED21067(c):
- (e) That the Biodiversity Action Plan partners include as part of the consultation on the draft Biodiversity Action Plan, the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) adopted at the 15th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, and that the partners seek input from the public on the potential for including the 23 targets of the GBF as the community-wide targets for Hamilton's Biodiversity Action Plan; and
- (f) That as part of the report back on the proposed final Biodiversity Action Plan, that staff include recommendations, including staffing and financial impacts, for a Biodiversity Action Plan governance and staffing structure that ensures a whole-of-community approach to implementation.
* **November 16, 2021** - PED21065(b) - Biodiversity Action Plan - Six-month Update Report
+ Appendix A - Project Charter
+ Appendix B - Project Logo/Graphics
* **August 10, 2021** - PED21065(a) - Biodiversity Action Plan - Execution of Agreement with the Hamilton Naturalists' Club
+ Appendix A - Draft Municipal Contribution Agreement between the City of Hamilton and Hamilton Naturalists' Club
* **April 7, 2021 -** PED21065 - Feasibility Report for a Biodiversity Action Plan
+ Appendix A - Draft Project Workplan
Throughout the Summer and Fall of 2023, the Biodiversity Action Plan project team undertook public engagement, engagement with interested local community partners and conversations with indigenous community representatives about the Draft Biodiversity Action Plan. The BAP project team was thrilled to have heard from a variety of voices throughout this time. An engagement summary report will be provided with the final Biodiversity Action Plan. We thank all those who took the time to share their thoughts on the Draft Biodiversity Action Plan.
### Summary of Events
* In-person Open Houses on June 15 & 16, 2023 Open House Display Panels(PDF, 24.93 MB)
* Virtual Information Meeting on June 8, 2023 Meeting Video
* Collected feedback through Engage Hamilton survey and report review. engage.hamilton.ca/biodiversityplan
Date modified
August 27, 2025