An Innovative Building for Innovative Learning

Hitting the Nail on the Head with Sustainable Building and Environmental Education

It’ll take 26 college students, two instructors, one not-for-profit organization, two educational institutions and a whole lot of community support, but Peterborough will have one of the most sustainable buildings in Canada.

Camp Kawartha, a not-for-profit outdoor education centre and summer camp, has partnered with the newly-formed Gainey Foundation, Trent University, and Sir Sandford Fleming College’s Sustainable Building Design and Construction (SBDC) program, to build an innovative, one-of-a-kind Environment Centre.

The 2,000 square foot structure will be a testament to the latest innovations in green architecture and will have a net-zero carbon foot print, showcasing sustainable living practices and alternative energy generation.

The Camp Kawartha Environment Centre will feature pre-fabricated straw bale walls, hempcrete and straw slip insulation, grid tied solar panels (producing more energy than the building uses in a year), energy-efficient lighting, composting toilets, geothermal radiant floors, a living green roof, a living wall, solar heated water, rainwater collection system, a wetland water treatment system and Ontario’s only thatch roof. The solar panels will collect enough energy to power the centre, and surplus energy from the solar panels will be sold back into the electrical grid at a rate of $0.80 per kWh.

The Environment Centre will offer a variety of interactive curriculum-linked nature and environmental programs to elementary and high school students such as alternative energy, energy conservation, ecological footprint, endangered species, conservation, water quality and air quality.  As part of their teaching strategy, instructors at the Centre will integrate the structural and mechanical features of the building into many of the environmental programs delivered to students.

The Environment Centre will not only be a teaching space for school kids and community members, but will also serve as a teacher training centre in partnership with Trent University’s teachers college, where student teachers will learn best practices in outdoor and environmental programming.

“Children and adults alike need to bear witness to how we can all live more gently and responsibly in our communities. To see alternative energy in action, to be inspired by the natural world and to provide children with the hope for a greener future, is one of the most valuable tasks we can embark on,” said Camp Kawartha’s Executive Director Jacob Rodenburg.

The Centre is located on 200-acres of stunning wildlife sanctuary lands owned by Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario.

Thanks to a generous $100,000 grant from the Gainey Foundation, the expertise and labour from Fleming’s SBDC program, a 20-year land lease donated by Trent University, and a variety of community partners including Peterborough Distribution Incorporated, the Otonabee Region Conservation Foundation, the RBC Foundation, TD Friends of the Environment, the HIVA Foundation, Home Depot Canada, the Peterborough Stewardship Council and the City of Peterborough, the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre is well on its way towards its scheduled completion date of early October 2009.

Program support has been provided by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, the Ministry of the Environment’s Go Green Fund and Kids in Need Inc.

The Camp Kawartha Environment Centre will also be a showpiece, demonstrating to the Peterborough community how to build and live sustainably.  Award winning designer, builder and instructor of Fleming’s SBDC program, Chris Magwood, insists that energy efficient and green architecture can be done by any contractor to significantly bring down the cost of utilities and to reduce human impacts on the environment.

“We use components that can be easily replicated,” said Magwood, who has co-authored three books on straw bale building, organized related conferences and spoke about his experience and knowledge on straw bale insulation in Canada and around the world.

For more information on Camp Kawartha and The Environment Centre visit www.campkawartha.ca.

Contact information:

Shelby Parker

Marketing and Promotions Specialist

Camp Kawartha Environment Centre

Cell:  705-750-8699

Fax: 705-652-1500

Website: www.campkawartha.ca