Mandated Green Roofs in Toronto. Is Vancouver Next?

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Green roofs have many benefits. They not only insulate the buildings they shelter but also improve air quality and reduce runoff, easing sewer system loads and preventing associated overflow. They cool in summer, reduce heat loss in winter, and can support birds and other wildlife. Where green roofs top public buildings, they create public green space and parkland. Living roofs can even help cool an entire city in the summer by reducing what’s known as the “urban heat island effect,” where traditional roofing and paving materials increase the overall temperature of the air.

With Toronto’s new Green Roof Mandate, it is well on its way to becoming Canada’s Emerald City. Thanks to a City of Toronto bylaw that requires green roofs on new construction, green roofs will see a dramatic rise in Toronto’s skyline. Residences, commercial and institutional buildings over 2,000 square meters must have a roof that’s 20-60 percent “living.” Green/living roofs are partly or completely covered by vegetation, planted into a growing medium and sitting over a waterproof membrane. They often include structural support, irrigation and drainage systems, and can even incorporate greywater treatment ponds.

With the living roofs, much of the rain fall will now be “absorbed” into the plants and lessen the burden on waste water treatment and storm water volumes. For the city of Toronto, this means that there will be four to five more beach days. That’s good news for everyone. The question for us in City of Vancouver BC is, are we next?

Read the article here.

Why Sustainable Development Goals Matter

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Why Sustainable Development Goals Matter

As our neighbourhoods grow, and our needs as communities increase, development and ingenuity bring solutions to people today. The key to ensuring our solutions are long-term is found in the way we do development.

Why sustainable goals matter is simply, Sustainable Development involves a relationship between nature and humans that demonstrates respect for both. Though we may not always notice it, the natural environment provides a great deal for us, and at times needs some corrective procedures to continue providing for us in the future.

We can see how our relationship to nature is give and take. The Eco-System naturally produces rainfall, provides crops to farm, and protects humans from the elements. At times, for a variety of reasons, this system breaks down and human intervention is needed. Sustainable Development is a balancing act where both parties work together for one common goal, and without it, things begin to fall apart.

Denbow seeks to use innovation to work within this balancing act. Our team specializes in construction, agriculture, landscaping, and municipal/infrastructure, all of which use sustainable development techniques. An example of this is found in Denbow’s newer work in the areas of erosion and sediment control, using forest residuals. 

One of the many products Denbow offers is manufactured soil. A mixture of minerals, liquids, organic matter and countless organisms, without healthy soil, the elements would be stripped and the land eventually destroyed. Soil holds everything together, and the right soil for the right project makes all the difference.

At Denbow, we use high quality blended soils that are produced with stringent guidelines for different kinds of use. This mixture of engineered soils can be used for a few specific purposes:

 

  • Vegetable Garden Soil is rich in organic matter. Using this soil in your garden will help you grow the best, healthiest vegetables each season. Growing your own vegetables can give your family the vitamins and minerals our bodies need.  
  • Specialty Soils are proprietary blended. These are used for such projects as green roofing, structural soil for street tree growth and stormwater management. The structure of these soils are custom made and vigorously tested. Sustainable development projects often require creative measures, and specialty soils provide the perfect opportunity to meet the needs of the specific projects.
  • Manufactured Soils are premium blends that contain various levels of compost and sand, designed to benefit trees and shrubs, turf health, and to rejuvenate depleted existing soil. Using these soils can restore existing greenery, or provide an important start for new growth.

Within the variety of soil produced by Denbow, we see how sustainable development starts in our own backyard. Using naturally produced materials, we can benefit from their use as we return them to the earth in our different projects, neither harming human nor the environment.

Denbow Innovations are full of products and services for sustained developments located in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

Phone for more information (888) 933.6269

” Delivering Satisfaction for Industrial, Government, Commercial and Residential Use”

Telus Garden Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development: TELUS Garden Receives LEED Certification

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Sustainable Development: TELUS Garden Receives LEED Certification

Following an extensive review, the Canada Green Building Council awarded TELUS Garden Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. This is the highest rating a building development can receive. This honour was presented at today’s launch of the Smart Prosperity initiative at TELUS Garden, attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Some of the leading edge sustainable development features of the building complex included:

  • 10,000 square feet of outdoor meeting space and garden terraces on six levels planted with a community food garden that will be tended by TELUS team members, indigenous trees and hundreds of plants species;
  • A district energy system that will reduce demand from conventional energy sources by 80 per cent and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than one million kilograms a year.
  • High-efficiency motion sensor lighting to significantly reduce energy consumption;
  • Advanced building systems, which include a ventilation system providing fresh air to residents and workers, rather than the recycled air typical of towers

Ian Gillespie, President of Westbank, which partnered with TELUS in this development project stated, “The LEED Platinum certification embodies our commitment and dedication to create a world class development where the sustainable design not only mirrors the culture and values of TELUS team members but also the tenants and businesses who have now become a welcomed part of this environmentally conscious community.”

To learn more about about this ground-breaking development, read the original press release here.

 

lets talk sustainability

Canadian Federal Sustainable Development Strategy Released

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The Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, presenting new priorities for 2016–2019 that align with the 2030 Agenda – a set of global sustainable development goals, was released to the public in February 2016 for feedback. It reflects the government’s conviction that a clean environment, a strong economy and a good quality of life support one another.

The federal government is asking for help to improve the draft strategy. They want to hear from the public and stakeholders in order to develop high-level sustainable development goals, clear and measurable targets, and concrete action plans for the next three years. Comments on the draft strategy will be accepted until June 24, 2016.

The document is introduced with the following statement, “Sustainable development is about meeting the needs of today without compromising the needs of future generations.”

Topics in alignment with Denbow’s environmental stewardship business model include targets focused on Green Infrastructure and Sustainable Forest Management.

The draft in it’s entirety can be found at the draft website. 

Discussion and feedback on the draft can be made at the http://www.letstalksustainability.ca/ website.

lets talk sustainability

BCSLA Showcase

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Tomorrow and Saturday we’re participating in the BC Society of Landscape Architects (BCSLA) 2016 Annual Conference and Showcase.  Landscape Architects, visit us in booth #16 to check out our models of Cascadia Green Wall System and EcoBlanket.

Looking forward to meeting  you and focusing on “Shifting Currents:  Rethinking our Relationships with Water”.

Delegate Bag imprint

POSITION OPEN: Labourer, we’re looking for you!

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We have a great team and we are expanding.  With our summer labourers back in school and some labourers growing into driver positions – we are looking to hire!

Please visit our Careers page for the job posting information and to apply!