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Councillor Dan Johnston introduced Environmental
Award and Environmental Stars’ winners as part of the Burnaby Environment Week,
June 2nd to June 10th, 2018. Following is the text of
the Councillor’s remarks:
“Each year, through the City of
Burnaby’s Environmental Awards program, we recognize the achievements of
individuals, community groups, institutions and businesses in the areas of
environmental stewardship and sustainability.
As you may know, there are six award
categories: Business Stewardship, Communications, Community Stewardship, Green
Choices, Planning and Development, and Youth.
There are also two levels of
recognition. Environmental Awards typically recognize
outstanding environmental achievements of a significant scope over a number
of years. Environmental Stars typically recognize significant
environmental achievements but of a smaller scale or on a more individual
level.
This evening we are excited to
recognize the recipients for 2018.
This year there are three Environmental
Award recipients and five Environmental Star recipients. We will begin with
the Environmental Stars.
The first Environmental Star,
in the category of Green Choices, is presented to Burnaby Mountain
Secondary School for their ongoing commitment to
environmental sustainability in the
operation of the school’s buildings and delivery of school programs.
Burnaby Mountain
Secondary School opened in 2001 and was designed to use geothermal energy for
heating and cooling. In 2016, the school measured the lowest energy use
intensity among all secondary schools in the province. The design of the
school also incorporates many other green building features, including LED
exterior and parking lot lighting, a greenhouse, water bottle refill stations,
and gardens for students. Recently, three electric vehicle charging stations
were installed to support the school district’s long term plans for electric
vehicles within their fleet. The school is also planning to upgrade LED
lighting, with daylight-sensing technology to conserve energy.
The
design of the school continues to support a culture of environmental
sustainability with students and teachers. Student clubs and classes use the
urban gardens at the school for various projects. The school also holds
several health and motion days where students receive a healthy breakfast if
they walk or cycle to school.
On behalf of Burnaby
Mountain Secondary School, I ask Matt Foley and Cory Borg
to come forward and accept the Environmental Star.
The
second Environmental Star, in the category of Green Choices, is
presented to Alexander College Green Committee for integrating
environmental sustainability into the operation of the school and for growing
awareness of sustainability amongst their students.
Alexander
College is a post-secondary institution in Burnaby that offers programs for
international students to assist with English language skills and preparation
for university and life in Canada. The school has created a green committee
to integrate environmental sustainability into the administration of their
programs and facilities and to help grow environmental awareness amongst the
student body. Recent achievements include the development of new recycling
and composting programs, using compostable plates and cutlery for campus
functions, hosting ‘green’ events to encourage waste reduction and community
gardening, and reducing paper consumption by administering many programs
online.
I ask Chantelle Hug,
Julian Monks, and Olivia Gordon from the
Alexander College Green Committee to come
forward and accept the Environmental Star. The third
Environmental Star, in the category of Community Stewardship, is
presented to Alan Russell for his outstanding contributions to
the stewardship of Stoney Creek.
Alan Russell has been
active with the Stoney Creek Environment Committee, a local environmental
stewardship group, for over 20 years. During this time, Alan has volunteered
his time to lead many of the group’s stewardship programs. He is an avid
birder and shares his knowledge during regular bird walks scheduled by the
Stoney Creek Environment Committee. Alan also has led the annual fall spawning
surveys of Stoney Creek. Other environmental achievements include organizing
the first GPS survey of Stoney Creek watershed, conducting small mammal
surveys, preparing funding proposals, and undertaking water quality
testing.
I ask Alan Russell to
come forward and accept his Environmental Star.
The
fourth and fifth Environmental Stars, in the category of Youth,
are presented to Carrie Ng and Victor Yin for
their outstanding environmental leadership.
Carrie
and Victor are the co-chairs of the Burnaby Youth Sustainability Network and
the Enviro Club at École Alpha Secondary School for 2018. They have led many
environmental initiatives for their fellow classmates in School District 41.
Achievements include organizing a clothing swap that diverted clothes from
landfills, helping to organize environmental workshops, organizing a
school-district-wide sustainability art contest, working on a sustainability project
at Simon Fraser University, organizing a local clean up at Confederation
Park, and implementing a ‘salmon in the classroom’ project for students with
physical and cognitive challenges.
I ask Carrie Ng and
Victor Yin to come forward and accept their Environmental Stars.
That concludes the
presentation of the Environmental Stars. Next are the Environmental Award
recipients.
The
first Environmental Award, in the category of Business Stewardship,
is presented to SHAPE Properties for environmental sustainability
achievements in the operation of Brentwood Town Centre Mall and Lougheed Town
Centre Mall.
This award recognizes
environmental sustainability achievements with regard to the operation of both
malls over the past decade. During this time, both facilities have partnered
with BC Hydro to invest in new technologies for more efficient heating and
cooling systems and LED lighting systems, which have resulted in significant
energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions. Electric vehicle charging
stations have been installed at each mall to support EV drivers and reduce
GHG emissions. Both facilities have longstanding recycling programs that they
continue to improve upon and both have recently implemented green waste
recycling. They have also introduced water conservation measures and have a sustainable purchasing policy for products
required for mall operations.
Both Brentwood and
Lougheed Town Centre malls collect data to monitor their sustainability
programs and chart progress toward their goals.
I
ask Kathleen Almeida and Heather Izatt,
representing SHAPE Properties, to come forward and accept the Environmental
Award on behalf of each mall.
The
second Environmental Award, in the category of Planning and
Development, is presented to the British Columbia Institute of
Technology for the Energy OASIS Project.
The
goal of this project was to demonstrate solutions that could help reduce the
potential impact of fast-charging electric vehicle charging stations on the
electrical grid. For the project, a facility was constructed at BCIT
consisting of two fast-chargers and six Level 2 chargers for electric
vehicles, all of which were located beneath an overhead parking canopy
containing solar panels and paired with a battery storage and energy
management system. The facility was completed in September 2014 and is used
by BCIT students, faculty and visitors to charge electric vehicles.
This
project has successfully demonstrated how fast charging EV stations can be
integrated into an existing electrical grid system with minimal impact on its
reliability. The knowledge gained from this project has been disseminated to
many different stakeholders in Burnaby, throughout British Columbia and
across Canada. Creating reliable charging infrastructure for electric
vehicles supports the goals of our City’s Environmental Sustainability
Strategy and Community Energy and Emissions Plan.
Representing BCIT and the
Energy OASIS project, I ask Minoo Shariat-Zadeh, Clay
Howey, Joey Dabell, and Dr. Kim Dotto to
come forward and accept their Environmental Award.
The
third Environmental Award, in the category of Youth, is
presented to Brennan Strandberg-Salmon and Kevin Lin
for their outstanding leadership and environmental achievements.
Brennan
Strandberg-Salmon and Kevin Lin have been members of the Moscrop Secondary
School Environmental Club for the past several years. As co-chairs of the
club this year, they have launched a campaign for Burnaby schools to switch
to sugarcane copy paper, which helps to reduce deforestation and greenhouse
gas emissions. The campaign has involved presentations to the school
district’s procurement department and to the Burnaby Youth Sustainability
Network.
Brennan and Kevin also
led an initiative this year to have Moscrop Secondary School designated a Bee
School by Bee City Canada. This involved creating a working group of teachers
and students to develop a plan to improve bee habitat at the school and
receiving support of the school’s administration. Moscrop Secondary School
is the first school in the lower mainland to achieve
this status and the
second in British Columbia.
Brennan and Kevin are
active members of the Stoney Creek Environment Committee, a local streamkeeper
group. As member, they have participated in many stewardship activities and
created a bee pollinator awareness display for the Great Salmon Send-off. They
are also active members of a non-governmental organization that promotes
community action on climate change and renewable energy. As members, they
have participated in several campaigns to encourage citizens to be
politically active and to encourage local governments to support renewable
energy.
I ask Brennan
Strandberg-Salmon and Kevin Lin to come forward and accept their
Environmental Award.
This concludes the
Environmental Awards and Stars presentation for 2018. Thank you again to all
of this year’s recipients for your contributions to our community and the
environment.”
His Worship, Mayor
Corrigan congratulated all recipients.
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