Interest in event exceeds expectations

On the evening of May 12 an excellent compilation of tradespeople, designers, architects, municipal staff and building aficionados poured into Creemore Station on the Green to attend the first ever Southern Georgian Bay “Boots on the Ground” event. The attendance far exceeded what was thought to be possible for this inaugural event … maybe the lure of Creemore beer, Creemore coffee, and Creemore pizza helped.

Clearview Sustainability Network had teamed up with Passive Buildings Canada (a national non-profit organization supporting the passive house community to build a more sustainable Canada and planet) and Evolve Builders (pioneers and leaders in the world of green construction) to bring high-performance building products, knowledge, and discussion to those within our community who are interested in building better and building for a changing climate.

The dozen event sponsors showcasing their high- performance building products and skills at trade-show tables surrounding the locally sourced all-you-can-eat pizza were inundated by the enthusiastic crowd of attendees, the majority of whom had never attended a ‘BOG’ before.

Bookended by two one-hour eating/drinking/ networking/trade show sessions were three excellent presentations by members of the local building community.

Homeowner Angus Doughty and carpenter Bruce Green presented From Updating a 1959 Floor Plan to Net Zero: A Boots on the Ground Homeowner Experience on Angus and his wife Sian’s journey of planning to purchase a turn-key house but ending up embarking on a year-long home renovation and deep energy retrofit of a 67-year-old Collingwood bungalow. Angus described how the confluence of people, dire climate warnings, and a desire to “do their part,” led them into the project, while Green explained some of the detailed construction manoeuvres that resulted in the home being calculated to be net-zero-energy, and possibly Collingwood’s most efficient renovation.

Next, retired architect David McAuley presented Passive, Low Carbon and Healthy Come Together in a Secluded Forest Retreat, his own recently built home on a quiet rural property between Creemore and Mansfield. The home was inspired by Paula Baker- Laporte’s EcoNest and built with natural, healthy materials using low-carbon, low-tech construction methods. McAuley expertly illustrated his design approach, the construction process and some of the details of the comfortable, accessible, quiet get-away that has the honourable distinction of being net- positive.

The finale presentation, skillfully prepared and executed by project manager Ashley Leimgardt of Ed Leimgardt Contracting and design associate Andrew Winters of Rockside Campbell Design, was titled Building Better Together: Effective Collaboration in High Performance Projects and beautifully explained the critical role and processes of good communication and cooperation between design and construction teams in order to deliver successful high-performance buildings. The subject of their talk was a recently completed pair of buildings on a regenerative organic farm in Tiny Township for clients who presented a very admirable criteria list that included no toxic materials such as foam insulation and pressure-treated lumber, ultra-low energy use, and emphasis on sourcing local and Canadian building materials.