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CH parks' attendance climbs By Melanie Hennessey CANADIAN CHAMPION STAFF ELECTRONICS DON" T BELONG IN LANDFILL 00 WHAT YOD Go to dowhatyoucan.ca and find a drop off location near you. C A M Ontario Eiecironic Stewardship comprises the campantes that make and market eletrn c pruductu In Ontario. They developed sud fiund a program in diveri elecironlc 1=st1 tra iudliehog use und recycllsg. More and more people are discovering Conservation Haltons (CH) parks, witb tbe autbority reporting a significant increase in visitors to its conservation areas last year. According to CH, attendance levels at tbe six local conservation areas climbed from 409,519 in 2008 to 476,027 last year. Annual pass sales also rose from around 3,100 in 2008 to 4,315 last year. "Conservation Halton enjoyed record- breaking success on a number of fronts this pasi year," said CH chairman Brian Penman in a presentation at tbe recent inaugural board meeting. "What makes tbis more impressive is our country and province are dealing witb some of the most cballenging economic times we've experienced in recent memory. Visitors to CHs Glen Eden Ski and Snowboard Centre rose sligbîly [rom 183,573 in 2008 to 189,806 in 2009, and tbe autbority's staff is projectîng tbaî tbis num- ber will bit well over 200,000 this year. The number of ski passes sold so far ibis going troin around 3,00cR lii 0,0 "This ski scason lias been amazîng,- said Hassaan Basit, CHs dîrecior of communica- tions, services. "People arc realizing they don't bave to drive up nortb to ski." Irn addition îo drawing Mîlionians io the ski and snowboard centre, Basît said thev've seen an increase in the number of people coming from Mississauga and Oakville. I hiere's also bcen a jump in the nunîber of children who participated in outdoor educa- tion programs at CHs conservation areas, going [rom 61,751 in 2008 to nearly 70,000 last year. "One of the most rewarding areas of growth in our organization is the number of cbildren who've bad the opportunity to learn about nature tbrough our education pro- grams," said Penman. More statistics were recently released by CH in its Public Accountability'Report 2009, whicb provides a snapshot of the organiza- tion's programs and services [rom 2006 to 2008. The report documented the publics involvement witb CH, sbowing tbe number of people wbo attended tbe autboritv's public meetings increased significantly from 200 individuals at seven sessions in 2007 to 535 people at four meetings in 2008. Basit attributed tbe increase to tbe master planning process CH beld for it parks. There were also 1,688 volunteers wbo belped out witb tbe authoritys programns in 2008. i be report goes on to detail other aspects oi ( f Vs rcsponsîbhties, suc h as cosriîrng thc sci cng of the ens irininrit ti the face ot devcýlopment. Wbile Haltons building boom bas kept the authoritys staff extremely busy in past years witb planning and development-relat- cd matters, tbe report sbowed these numbers bave declîned. Melatiie Hcnness(ly can be reached at nihen- nessev@ami ltoncanadianchanipion.com. 2006 Suzuki 2008 Pontiac 2008 Chev 64 Km, 5 Silver, 51 KmsW Up1O34 1% M Up1O32 MMUp1OO2 $,bd4do VIN#2788i8 wEE~ VIN#288767 VIN#367432 fl Carproof ProvidEd * Anancîng >eIailabIe ExtEndEd WàrrantiES AvailablE CompletE Infspectiof/CertifiCatiO . Full ServicE CEntrE - OMVIC Compliant Dealer *No Admin/or REgistration FEEs' - Competitive Bank Rates 2008 ChEv208Hrdi20 gna Cbf LS 4 m CR Su Supver , Ebony Back. u. Red Wise 48Ks52 K 55KM, UPI003 UplOO2 SMUp O ' VIN#310962%iA «j VIN$367432 VIN#221308 [ GEAT *RCE 0N 0U - CAL - - HAE *W DAIL RS 1 A1I rises plus pSIU5 à lic. -ii us -t Ou eEst 61 Mati StEt itnirigH r noEndauosEs.cae- *DES5