Ontario Schools Teach Green Building

Sustainability Programs at Trent & Fleming

Sustainability is a term that's gaining more traction as environmental worries continue to blend with concerns of economic prosperity. With a slumping global economy, governments around the world are spending on infrastructure projects to the great benefit of many industries.

And while infrastructure upgrading is a major cornerstone of stimulus packages in Ontario and beyond, green technology and the green economy are also phrases one regularly hears in the plans for financial renewal.

In this area, Sir Sandford Fleming College and Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario, are well positioned to lead in at least one field of this ever-growing sector. Fleming is the only institution in Canada offering an intensive program on environmentally sustainable building techniques. Led by instructor Chris Magwood, Fleming's Sustainable Building Design and Construction program is attracting attention from across Canada and beyond.

Fleming College's Madoc Community Arts Centre and the Camp Kawartha Projects

For Fleming's 2008 project, 26 students from across the country designed and built a community arts centre in the village of Madoc, Ontario. Made from recycled and reclaimed materials, straw bale columns and walls, and a geo-thermal heating and cooling system, this building is considered one of the countries greenest municipal structures.

Plans for the next project, the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre in Peterborough, Ontario, were unveiled in partnership with Trent University and the Gainey Foundation earlier this year.

Trent University carried on its tradition of promoting environmental stewardship by approving a 21-year land lease to accommodate the education centre. The centre itself is intended to be a place where anybody can learn the benefits of thinking green in all aspects of life, starting with how we design the buildings we live in.

This project will incorporate all aspects of sustainable building that Magwood has developed through his involvement with more than 35 straw bale structures throughout Ontario, including private homes, public buildings and demonstration projects. Everything about the building, from the earth-bag foundation to the rainwater collection system, is designed to have the least amount of environmental impact.

The Concept of Sustainability is Here to Stay

Dr. Tony Tilly, President of Fleming College, couldn't be more excited with the progress this program has made since it was first introduced five years ago and the latest announcement of the college's new partnerships reinforces the fact that the concept of sustainable construction is here to stay.

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Camp Kawartha and Trent University on this exciting initiative," said Dr. Tilly. "Sustainable Building Design and Construction is a truly unique program that provides a hands-on learning experience in the most extreme sense, all within the context of sustainability. Through the program we strive to ensure that, not only are our students learning valuable skills, but that we are also providing opportunities to members of the public to learn more about the benefits of building green and living in a sustainable manner. The building itself becomes a learning tool, offering lessons in sustainability."

The beauty of this project is not just in the values it teaches or the experience another wave of environmentally conscious students will gain throughout the course of the coming year, but in the fact that by partnering with an established children's camp, a new generation of potential builders and architects will be introduced to a new way of thinking.

At a time when sustainability and green technology are the buzz words of economic revival, expect the concepts taught through Chris Magwood's program to become the norm.