In order to recognize the numerous sustainable achievements of its partners in 2017, Sustainable Peterborough was proud to host the 3rd annual Sustainable Peterborough Partnership Recognition Awards.
There were eleven winners, one in each of Sustainable Peterborough’s theme areas. Awards were presented during the Sustainable Peterborough Partnership Recognition Event and Awards on April 18, 2018 at The Great Hall, Peterborough County Agricultural Heritage Building, Lang Pioneer Village Museum. The winners were as follows:
Agriculture and Local Food
Locavorest
Locavorest is an innovative food enterprise that combines technology with local producers and a unique delivery method to connect consumers with local food. Their web-based ordering and network of pickup locations has created a new source of revenue for many of our region’s small-scale producers. In 2017 Locavorest grew their partnership to 27 local food producers, all within 75 kms of Peterborough, increased their online customer base and the number of convenient pickup points throughout Peterborough. Their online ordering and delivery method not only supports local food producers, but also serves as an example of how consumer demand can be met with a low carbon footprint means of distribution and fulfillment.
Climate Change
Endeavour Centre
The Endeavour Centre, in partnership with Ryerson University, created Zero House – a demonstration home that featured zero net energy use, zero carbon footprint, zero fossil fuel use, zero toxins and zero construction waste! While the demo was a single family home, the plan is adaptable to stackable row housing, offering zero impact construction on a larger scale. Zero House was toured by over 350 people in Peterborough, and the 35,000 attendees of the Expo for Design, Innovation & Technology in Toronto. Zero House was built with their Sustainable New Construction students, so there are now 10 experienced and qualified graduates returning to the work force ready to carry on this type of building.
Cultural Assets
New Canadians Centre
The New Canadians Centre supports and values a culturally diverse and welcoming community by empowering immigrants and refugees to become full and equal members of Canadian society. In 2017, the NCC worked with almost 50 sponsorship groups in 5 counties and assisted over 200 refugees to settle in Peterborough. They served over 1,200 clients, from nearly 120 countries, speaking over 65 languages. In partnership with SPARK, the NCC delivered the Newcomer Children’s Photography Project. They partnered with Art School of Peterborough and St James United Church on the “Be Alive in Peterborough” mural project. They were successful recipients of grants that allowed them to establish the Newcomer Kitchen and the Sewing Collective, pilot initiatives to empower newcomer women with ESL and entrepreneurial skills. On July 1st they held the 12th annual Multicultural Canada Day event, with a special focus on Canada 150.
Economic Development & Employment
Lansdowne Place
Lansdowne Place is one of the largest employers in the City of Peterborough and generates significant revenue into the community every year hosting enticing stores, events and activities that draw tourists into our community from across the province. They installed and promoted a level 2 and a level 3 Electric Vehicle Charging Station, helping EV customers charge while they shop. In 2017, in addition to implementing significant waste diversion, water savings and building energy efficiency initiatives, they partnered with local charities and non-profit organizations to host several charitable events that helped raise over $144,000 for the community.
Energy
Township of Selwyn
In 2017, Selwyn Township installed Real Ice in their Ennismore Arena. The Real Ice Technology allows them to make excellent quality ice with cold water, rather than hot. The REALice system has no moving parts, doesn’t consume any electrical energy, and does not require chemicals to treat the water to make good ice. Flooding with cold water has allowed them to move the set point on their ice plant up by 2 degrees F which is resulting in significant energy savings. Overall, the system is estimated to save 54,310 kWh, natural gas savings of 8,455 cubic meters, and $12,000 annually.
Healthy Communities
Age-friendly Peterborough Advisory Committee
By 2036, 35% of the Canadian population will be over the age of 55. This projected demographic shift indicates that it is a crucial time to ensure that we have appropriate services, programs, policies, and infrastructure in place to support our residents as they age. The Age-friendly Peterborough Advisory Committee launched their Community Action Plan in 2017. The Plan identifies a path forward to enhance programs, services, and infrastructure for older adults in the Peterborough region, including the City and County of Peterborough, Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations. The objective of the plan is to support healthy and active aging, promote intergenerational connections, foster an appreciation of the aging process, and enhance physical, social, and health-related infrastructure.
Land Use Planning
The Mount Community Centre
A property that possesses a broad range of heritage interests, natural, and cultural assets, The Mount Community Centre was born as a group of volunteers came together to repurpose an abandoned convent and to make a place to meet community needs in Peterborough. An excellent example of adaptive re-use, they have made exceptional contributions to heritage conservation, environmental sustainability, and cultural and natural heritage of the building and property. The building will contain an affordable living Housing Hub, an Arts and Culture Hub, a Food Hub, and a Health and Social Service Hub. The property retained several acres of previously farmed land, including an orchard, and in 2017 the land was cultivated with four types of gardens, including food gardens, a pollinator garden, and an accessible garden that accommodates wheelchairs.
Natural Assets
Peterborough Pollinators
Peterborough Pollinators offers a unique, creative and positive approach to citizen engagement on climate change, especially as it relates to the steep decline in pollinator populations. In 2017, Peterborough Pollinators registered over 180 pollinator gardens in the City of Peterborough, and built numerous pollinator gardens, including the Talwood Pollinator Garden, and several in the Edmison Heights Habitat Area. They created and sold the Peterborough Pollinators fundraising calendar. They have also initiated the “Rewilding Our Gardens” pollinator-friendly seed project, with 400 seed packages produced and sold. They also created a new initiative called What a Grocery Store Looks Like Without Bees for the 2017 Purple Onion Festival. The idea behind the exhibit was to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators to our ecosystem survival and to our food security.
Transportation
Curve Lake First Nation
The issue of rural transportation has come to the forefront for many years, both locally and regionally. The Safe Travels program initiated by Curve Lake First Nation, in collaboration with Ontario Works, began as a pilot in 2017 as a way to help address what they identified as the largest barrier to education, training and employment for its residents – the lack of transportation. The Safe Travels program offers a low cost, safe, convenient, and environmentally friendly mode of public transportation to and from Curve Lake to Lakefield, Bridgenorth and in Peterborough at Trent University, Fleming College, Chemong Street, Downtown Peterborough, and Lansdowne Place. The program was deemed a success and will continue beyond 2017!
Waste
Whistle Stop Café
For the past nine years the Whistle Stop Café has searched for someone to take their used cooking oil with very little success, forcing the café to put it back into the plastic jugs it came in and take to the landfill. Last year they had a large storage tank installed by Sanimax with a pump that sucks up the old oil so it can be pumped out every month, recycled and repurposed into various products. Annually, this amounts to an astounding 9,252 liters of oil diverted from the landfill, along with the 600 large plastic jugs that were also going to the landfill but are now recycled!
Water
Siemens Canada Limited, Peterborough
In 2017 Siemens installed a closed loop system to re-circulate chilled water used to cool ovens and other production equipment. This system was previously open-ended and consumed a great deal of water. This initiative decreased their water consumption by 72%, while also lessening the pressure on local natural resources.