More than 150 people gathered within the walls of the newly constructed
Camp Kawartha Environment Centre at Trent University to celebrate the
grand opening of the new building – one of the greenest structures in
Canada.
Located at 2505 Pioneer Road, next to Trent’s Wildlife Sanctuary, this
one-of-a-kind centre will provide environmental programming on
sustainability, alternative energy and nature awareness to elementary
and high school students.
The centre will also partner with Trent’s School of Education and
Professional Learning to provide examples of best practices in
environmental education for emerging teachers. In addition, the centre
will offer a variety of workshops to the general public on sustainable
living practices.
“Trent University is proud to be a partner in the creation of the Camp
Kawartha Environment Centre,” said Dr. Steven E. Franklin, president
and vice-chancellor at Trent. “Having a fully sustainable building on
our campus further demonstrates Trent’s commitment to the environment
and complements the wealth of environmental highlights at our
University. This exciting project provides new opportunities for all of
the partners involved to offer unique learning experiences about
sustainable development.”
Built in partnership with the Gainey Foundation, the Camp Kawartha
Environment Centre is a joint project between Trent University, Camp
Kawartha and Fleming College. Constructed by students in Fleming
College’s Sustainable Building Design and Construction Program, the
building took about 20 weeks to complete.
As one of the most sustainable buildings in the nation, the new centre
contains many green features, including: energy-efficient lighting,
composting toilets, geothermal radiant flooring, a living green roof,
solar heated water, rainwater collection system, a wetland water
treatment system and Ontario’s only thatch roof. Soon-to-be-installed
solar panels will collect enough energy to power the centre, and
surplus energy from the panels will be sold back into the electrical
grid.