Green projects awarded
Former environmental commissioner speaks at Sustainable Peterborough awards
Sustainable Peterborough, a group that aims to improve the environment in the Greater Peterborough Area, handed out its second annual awards Thursday night.
About 75 people were at Market Hall to see the awards handed out.
Keynote speaker Gord Miller, the former environmental commissioner of Ontario, talked about climate change.
He encouraged the crowd to continue doing their part to improve the environment.
He said the Paris Agreement – a global agreement on the reduction of climate change, signed in 2015 – is a good blueprint to follow.
“We have a plan – and we have some commitments,” Miller said. “One shouldn’t be downtrodden.”
Here are the details about the Second Annual Sustainable Peterborough Awards:
Agriculture and Local Food: Farms at Work
Farms at Work won for helping farmers steward their land (they did several pollinator plantings at local farms in 2016, for example).
Climate Change: Trent University
Trent won for a large-scale energy retrofit program. The university replaced more than 33,000 lights with LEDs last year.
Cultural Assets: Lang Pioneer Village
Lang won for the production of a new video retrospective of the settlement period in Peterborough County.
Economic Development and Employment: Kawartha Local
Rob Howard’s company, Kawartha Local, makes custom gift boxes full of products made in the Peterborough area.
Energy: Mortlock Construction and Lett Architects
Mortlock Construciton and Lett Architects teamed up to build the new Upland Residence at Lakefield College School in 2016 – a LEED Gold building.
Healthy Communities: Seeds of Change
Seeds of Change serves community meals every two months, made from local ingredients. They compost all waste for their community gardens.
Land Use Planning: Otonabee South Monaghan Township
The township adopted a solar policy, in 2016, in order to protect agricultural land from being consumed by large solar farms. Their policy prioritizes roof-top solar.
Natural Assets: Otonabee Conservation, Siemens Canada Ltd. and the City of Peterborough
The three organizations teamed up in 2016 to plant 40 native trees at Kiwanis Park to replace ash trees (which are now susceptible to the effects of the emerald ash borer).
Transportation: Fleming College Student Administrative Council
Fleming’s student administrative council implemented a new transit fee within the tuition fee, in 2016, which resulted in expanded transit service. They also started a new bike loan program.
Waste: Belmont Lake Brewery
This new craft brewery in Havelock produces virtually no waste. Their beer is sold in reusable medicine bottles and growlers – and they produce virtually no waste.
Water: GreenUp
GreenUp turned 35 square meters of asphalt at the corner of Park St. and Brock St. in Peterborough into a water-friendly green space in October.