Current Projects in Ottawa
Resources
Ottawa Faith-Building Energy Benchmarking Program
The Energy Benchmarking Program (EBP) is a free program that helps faith communities to take practical and cost-effective climate action by raising awareness and understanding their buildings' energy use and emissions. The EBP uses the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, an energy management tool, to display energy costs & usage. It shows a baseline energy use and identify areas for improvement over a 3 year period. Every year, participants receive an annual report detailing their energy consumption and changes over time.
These case studies tell the stories of 10 participants on Ottawa from 2019-2022 with GSS Ottawa.
Click here to read more!
Ask the Experts: EV Chargers - Q&A Session
Recorded November 2021
Speakers: Steve Hubbard - LightenCo. and Christopher Ralph - The Lion Electric Company
Description: As part of Canada’s mandate to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the Government of Canada has set an ambitious and mandatory target of every new light-duty vehicle and passenger truck being zero-emission by 2035 and is making investments to ensure this happens. One of the key barriers to zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) adoption is the lack of charging stations. With the goal to break down barriers associated with EV adoption, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is funding EV infrastructure projects through the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP). Hydro Ottawa has been selected as a delivery organization to distribute ZEVIP funding.
Ask the Experts! Part 1 - How to Finance Your Energy Projects
Recorded February 2021
Description: Learn how YOUR faith community can finance energy projects and benefit from the available energy programs offered through EnviroCentre and CoEnergy.
GSS Ottawa Webinar: Hope for the Future
Recorded December 2020
Description: What is being done by communities to be more sustainable? How does using clean/renewable energy aligns with faith community missions of environmental stewardship?
Find out the questions to these and what next steps you can take in this webinar hosted by GSS Ottawa.
GSS Ottawa COVID 19 and It's impact on Building Performance
Recorded October 2020
Description: Why our Energy Benchmarking Program is so useful for Faith Communities Now more than ever? Looking at the impact of COVID-19 on building energy efficiency and why we need programs like the Energy Benchmarking program more than ever.
Ottawa Energy Benchmarking Case Study
Recorded November 13, 2019
Learn about what it's like to participate in the Energy Benchmarking Program, to ask energy-saving questions to an expert, and to be inspired by the amazing work of this congregation!
In this free webinar, Steven Law, P. Eng., the Holy Trinity Thornhill Green Team leader. Steven Law is a licensed Professional Engineer in the Province of Ontario with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Guelph. Steven has over 20 years of experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors, including participation in renewable energy projects, leading the Holy Trinity Green Team and teaching a short course on renewable energy and storage technologies.
Watch the free webinar to learn more about Holy Trinity Thornhill's green journey, including first steps, a green audit, energy retrofits and joining the Energy Benchmarking Program.
Download options include:
- Individual pdf presentations:
Outdoor Greening Fact Sheets
Let your sacred space be an example for your Care for Creation mission! Learn about sustainable practices for water and energy including xeriscaping, rain gardens, and waterwise strategies in the new Outdoor Greening Fact Sheets.
To support the Faith & the Common Good Outdoor Greening program and the Ottawa Interfaith Sustainable Garden Network program, the following Fact Sheets have been created. Within these resources you will be able to read about the possibilities of turning a section of your faith community property into an ecological haven for wildlife including pollinators such as insects and birds. Get to know more about the benefits of planting native species of grasses, flowers, shrubs, and trees for your new meditation or prayer garden or in your memorial grounds. A special thanks to our funders the Ottawa Community Foundation and the City of Ottawa (CEPGP) for supporting the creation of these local resources!
These Outdoor Greening Fact Sheets & Primer are available both as ONE BOOKLET (choose the link below "Set of 10 Fact Sheets with Primer") or they can be downloaded INDIVIDUALLY if you only want a few specific fact sheets or the Primer.
We recommend you download the BOOKLET (which includes the PRIMER) unless you only want a few fact sheets. Each individual fact sheet must be downloaded separately - so this may take some time.
Download options are:
- Set of 10 fact sheets (with primer)
- Individual fact sheets (download each separately):
- 1. Sustainable Lawns, Groundcovers and Alternatives
- 2. Landscaping for energy-savings
- 3. Stormwater Management
- 4. Water Conservation and Drought-tolerant Landscaping
- 5. Hedgerows
- 6. Choosing and planting Native Trees & Shrubs
- 7. Wildlife-friendly Garden
- 8. Bird-friendly Garden
- 9. Urban Meadows
- 10. Special Purpose Gardens: Healing, Meditation, Medicine Wheel, Labyrinth Gardens
Mission Per Square Foot Case Studies
In 2015, we launched a new program called Mission Per Square Foot (MPSF) designed to help any congregation fully harness their building in a way that meets its mission, acknowledges its capacity, protects the environment and serves the larger community. These case studies (from the Ottawa area explore how diverse faith communities are fully and sustainably utilizing their buildings, guided by a clear mission and in service to the larger community. The MPSF program was relabelled Regeneration Works: Places of Faith in 2017.
Download PDF (1.8 MB)
The Green Rule Poster
Faith & the Common Good derived the Green Rule poster from the classic Golden Rule found in major faith traditions.
“Do unto the Earth as you would have it do unto you.”
Each Green Rule was chosen from the great texts of the world’s major religions and spiritual philosophies. The texts all acknowledge the natural world as an essential phenomenon through which we may better come to know the divine and our oneness with it.
The Green Rule poster is approximately 22" x 28".
See also:
Green Rule study guide (orderable with poster)
How to use the Green Rule (PDF download)
Thank you to our Funders
