Stephanie and Aaron Van de Kemp presented their first “baby,” Cleanline Automotive, to the public on April 11, 2012—and they have an actual baby due in June.

Opening Cleanline Automotive has been a labour of love for this Ontario couple who recently settled in Invermere. Their eco-friendly automotive repair store is a natural fit for the Van de Kemps, who love the outdoors and are diligent about minimizing their personal environmental footprint. The response to their business has been strongly positive among local residents.

Stephanie gets excited when she’s on the hunt for green products to stock on Cleanline’s shelves and use in the shop. An example of such a product is windshield washer fluid, which the couple buy in bulk to eliminate the accumulation of recyclable plastic jugs. The Van de Kemps are exploring the possibility of making this washer fluid available for sale to individuals who bring in their own empty bottles. They have also switched from lead wheel weights to zinc ones, for environmental and economic reasons.

Using and stocking environmentally kind products that perform well and are cost effective for their clients in the long term is the Van de Kemps’ goal. The baby they are expecting in June gives them an immediate reason to achieve a cleaner, healthier environment.

Energy Star qualified new homes are designed to be approximately 25 per cent more energy efficient than those built to minimum provincial building codes.

“We’ve always been committed to building homes that people will feel good living in. The Energy Star initiative is a great way for us to show that our homes are better for the environment, more comfortable to live in, and cost less to operate than homes built to minimum standards,” said Lars Chose, president of Mandala Homes.

The Energy Star initiative is administered and promoted in Canada by Natural Resources Canada, a federal government agency.

“People are used to looking for the Energy Star symbol when purchasing things like computers and washing machines, and now in B.C. homebuyers can look for Energy Star qualified homes as well,” said Peter Sundberg, executive director of City Green Solutions, a non-profit organization providing expert energy efficiency assistance to builders and third party testing for the Energy Star for New Homes initiative.

“Our home includes many energy saving features, including a high-performance building envelope with R66 ceiling insulation and R34 wall insulation, a domestic hot water system that is three times as efficient as a standard system, a heat recovery ventilator for fresh air with minimal heat loss and multiple Energy Star products, including windows and lights,” said Chose.

Robert Macrae is an instructor of integrated environmental planning technology at Selkirk College. He has been a proponent of the advanced certificate in renewable energy technology that the Castlegar campus will be offering in May of 2013.

Sustainable technologies are the way of the future, according to Macrae. Traditional energy production technologies are becoming expensive as we exhaust the resources that were easily accessible in the past.

“Renewable energy technologies offer a better economic return in investment than conventional energy technologies. That’s the big change,” said Macrae. “Fifty years ago you could go to Saudi Arabia, put a pipe in the ground and bring up lovely crude oil by just going down a few hundred metres. Now we’re going up to Alaska, to the bottom of the gulf of Mexico, offshore in the Atlantic or we’re trying to convert bitumen into gasoline. As developing conventional oil has become more expensive, (the cost of developing) renewable energy technologies has gone way down.”

One important consideration in sustainable technology is the concept of energy conservation. This is simply the process of discovering if energy, regardless of its source, can be used more efficiently. Passive house design is an up-and-coming concept. If a building is designed properly, said Macrae, it doesn’t require a heating system. Many factors come into play—such as insulation for thermally efficient walls, the placement of windows and heat recovery systems that can be used, for example, in a shower drain. Macrae said that these are simple initiatives that are inexpensive and fairly efficient.

Systems that create energy may be even more intriguing to potential students. These can be categorized into systems that generate electricity, such as solar panels, and those that simply move heat around, such as geothermal systems.

Sustainable technology can work with whichever resources are already available in the area. Macrae pointed out that the Kootenays don’t have a lot of potential in technologies such as wind-generated electricity because of our mountains. However, the Kootenays have possibly utilized micro hydro systems, through flowing water sources, more than anywhere else in Canada.

As a prerequisite, the upcoming program requires that students have already completed two years in technology or environmental science studies. This is so the six-week program will be able to focus directly on a wide range of relevant sustainable energy technologies.

The Selkirk College has secured funding through FortisBC, which will primarily be used to purchase energy conservation technologies. Students will only be spending about half their time in the classroom with the remainder of the program being used for lab work and practical hands-on experience.

Each student will build a small shed using four different wall systems and practice some of the basics of residential wiring. They will learn to do heat loss calculations, and will decide whether they want to integrate a wind energy system, or solar thermal panels. Additionally, the class will experiment with a small geothermal system and micro hydro systems. They will also perform a lab exercise where they will turn algae into biodiesel.

Whether it’s maximizing energy conservation, or learning about progressive technologies, sustainable energy is increasingly relevant in today's world. One only needs to look at building trends and the growing cost of traditional energy to realize that learning about green technology is the way to move forward.

Grade eight students from Fernie Secondary School (FSS) will “paint the town for fish” this May, an outcome of their participation in Columbia Basin Trust’s (CBT’s) Know Your Watershed program.

Tessa Holmes, class spokesperson, recently introduced the project to Fernie City Council.

“We want to paint the storm drains around Fernie to remind residents that only rain should go down them,” Holmes said. “Pollution off streets, driveways and homes is carried in storm water, which goes directly into the Elk River and can harm fish.”

CBT has provided $1,000 to support the two classes participating in the project.

“We’re pleased to see youth actively working on a project about water,” said Kindy Gosal, CBT director, Water and Environment. “Congratulations to the students, their teacher and the environmental educators for initiating this project in Fernie.”

“Class posters will be used for public education at the school and throughout the community during April and May,” said Mike Tomney, FSS grade eight science teacher.

Know Your Watershed is a CBT water stewardship education program aimed at grade eight science classes. This hands-on education initiative helps students understand where their water comes from, how it is used and where their water goes after it is used.

The students are looking for adult volunteers interested in supervising painting teams on the blitz in May when students are painting the town for fish. If you can help, please contact Lee-Anne Walker, Know Your Watershed environmental educator, at 250-423-3322 or knowyourwatershed@gmail.com.

Due to this area’s connected wild ecosystems that allow for species adaptation, this region has been rated by global scientists as providing one of the best opportunities on the planet for addressing the impacts of climate change. The region is also recognized globally as a critical component of North America's most intact wildlife corridor that runs along the spine of the continent, from Yellowstone in the south to the Yukon in the north, through the Canadian portion of the Crown of the Continent. The area includes the Columbia Wetlands, which are, at 180 kilometers long, among the longest intact wetlands in North America. The Columbia Headwaters and adjacent mountain ecosystems are so important to the hydrology of this region they function as water towers, providing source water to the Arctic,

Pacific, and Hudson Bay watersheds.

Due to the proven environmental importance of this area we do get funding from granting institutions from Canada and the United States that prioritize clean air, water and wildlife corridors. We are proud of the funding we get from all our funders; local, regional, national and international. When Wildsight applies for funding from any granting organization, we have a clear policy that donors will not influence or determine any content of our projects or activities.

Please follow this link to our 2011 financials on the website.