Marlaine Koehler

Etobicoke

For the past 30 years, Marlaine Koehler’s career has been joyously dedicated to the regeneration of the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River waterfront through the creation of the spectacular Great Lakes Waterfront Trail. Under her leadership and with the support of an amazing team and Board of Directors, the organization has earned a reputation as a leader in the field, garnered millions of dollars in public/private investments in the waterfront, created 3,600 kilometers of continuous route, established a network of signed loops between Ontario’s Protected Greenbelt and the Great Lakes Waterfront, and most importantly, brought together an innovative and dedicated community partnership of 177 communities, conservation authorities, First Nations, and NGOs, themselves leaders in the work to realize the vision of a clean, green, connected, attractive, affordable, useable, diverse, open, accessible waterfront. Today, the Trail features hundreds of award-winning projects, connects hundreds of parks, natural spaces, urban and rural communities, and tells the rich stories of generations of settlement. Since 2015, it has become a foundational piece of Ontario’s province-wide cycling network, a beloved amenity for residents, and a must-do adventure for cycle tourists. The Waterfront Regeneration Trust and Trail has been recognized by a number of prestigious organizations, including the Waterfront Centre, the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, and Parks and Recreation Ontario. One of best parts of Marlaine’s job is cycling, hiking, and visiting each kilometer of this legacy project.