Our Capital Campaign is gearing up! Camp Kawartha is working hard to raise funds in order to establish Canada’s First Certified Living Building. Replacing our dining hall and kitchen, this new space will be a showpiece for what is possible in sustainable design. Like a flower, a living building enhances the environment it is situated on. It is designed to generate more energy than it uses, to create biodiversity, to be beautiful, to fully manage all of its water and waste on site, to be carbon neutral and to use non-toxic materials. Each of these sustainable aspects is defined as a “petal” – like those on a flower. As the Living Building Challenge explains, living buildings are:
- Regenerative spaces that connect occupants to light, air, food, nature, and community.
- Self-sufficient and remain within the resource limits of their site.
- Healthy and beautiful.
- Living building give more than they take, creating a positive impact on the human and natural systems that interact with them.
Stay tuned! We’ll have some exciting designs to show you soon! And we’ll need your help to invest in this innovative project. Camp Kawartha is striving to become a nationally recognized environmental education leadership centre – providing magical camps, outdoor and environmental education programs, training and workshops and collaborating with our many partners to foster an enduring culture of stewardship. If you want to help, or to donate, please contact philanthropy@campkawartha.ca
An example of a certified living building in New Zealand, Te Kura Whare.
photo credit: living-future.org
