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Environment Centre

Peterborough, ON

One of Canada’s Most Sustainable Buildings

The Camp Kawartha Environment Centre (located at 2505 Pioneer Road, Peterborough, ON) is a unique partnership between the Gainey FoundationTrent University and Fleming College’s Sustainable Building Design and Construction program.  Over 30 foundations, organizations, businesses and individuals have supported this award winning initiative.

Using innovative green architecture; our environmental education centre showcases alternative energy in action. Designed and built by students in Fleming College’s Sustainable Building Design and Construction program, the Centre is, in the words of program coordinator and award winning sustainable builder Chris Magwood “One of Canada’s most sustainable buildings.”

Located on more than 200 acres of Trent University’s stunning wildlife sanctuary lands, this unique 2,000 square foot structure is open for programming year round and will accommodate up to 80 people at any one time.

Environmental Education Programs

Our Environment Centre not only showcases sustainable building practices and energy conservation, but it serves as a training ground for future teachers in strategies for effective environmental education and alternative, sustainable living. We deliver over 40 environmental education programs linked to the Ontario curriculum, as well as, a subsidized Be A Water Steward Program. We also offer workshops on environmental education to student teachers from Trent’s School of Professional Learning, and we provide hands-on workshops, lectures and seminars and day camps on sustainability to the general public. We also offer facility rental packages.

Building Hope

In a world of ever increasing environmental problems from climate change to habitat destruction, the solutions we provide for our children seem somehow less than satisfying. We all recognize that recycling, turning off lights and driving less will not be enough to make our world more livable for future generations.

In fact, by focusing so much on global environmental degradation we can potentially scare our children into apathy. Why bother making any changes when the problems we face seem so daunting? Failure to bring environmental education to our children could well be a failure to bring them a sense of hope.

The Camp Kawartha Environment Centre provides hope for a greener future by showing our community and future generations how we can all live differently and sustainably. Many of the sustainable features showcased at the Centre could easily be integrated into existing and new buildings. The average Canadian House produces 5 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. The Camp Kawartha Environment Centre produces zero carbon. Imagine if we all lived like this! If we can encourage our children to value and adopt sustainable living practices, we’ll have gone a long way towards reclaiming a sense of hope for the future.

The great challenge of our time is to reconnect ourselves with the world around. It is the biosphere that is our home and our most fundamental need is clean air, water, soil and energy and the diversity of life to deliver these basic needs.  Most children today grow up in cities where we focus on the economy.  We have to change this focus.

David Suzuki

City of Peterborough Logo

Our gratitude to the City of Peterborough for supporting environmental programming.