| Our Vision After a series of seminars and workshops, we pulled together our vision
statement from input from the participants:
Fairlawn will be a green community that
leads by example and becomes a voice to educate ourselves and others in the
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at church, at home, in the community and
in our workplaces.
History
The Property Committee announced in the fall of 2005 that they were
interested in investigating "geothermal" (ground source heat) as an option for
the boiler replacement. Tom Cullen, who has always been very interested in
environmental issues and geothermal in particular, attended a meeting of
Property Committee. Rory O'Brien of Faith and the Common Good was also
there. They run a program called Greening Sacred Spaces. Rory suggested
we undertake a greening program at Fairlawn. In response to that, in March 2006,
the executive council approved a motion that we educate ourselves on greening
the church. Rory also suggested we pick a green champion. Tom volunteered to
take on the task and created a 'green team' ~ we now call ourselves Fairlawn
Green Action because we want everyone to know that we must all be part of
the solution.
Energy Action Planner
Our first step to green action was the introduction in Nov-Dec 2006 of the
Energy Action
Planner in which 64 families followed the EAP checklist to take steps in our own homes to reduce energy
consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and,
of course, costs. Additional resources are now available for online tracking of
one's household energy consumption such as the
EcoAction Calculator.
Making Connections
We then conducted a four-part lunch & learn series to educate participants
about the science and effects of climate change and discuss what's important to us as a faith community.
Renewing the Sacred Balance
The Fit with Faith A seminar to consider
personal faith and
what it means in terms of stewardship of the planet, and to hear
ideas from various other faiths on the sacred balance.
Greening Sacred Spaces A presentation on the initiative from Faith &
the Common Good to join with individuals and faith communities
across Canada in greening sacred spaces in the home and places of
worship to help Canadians reduce their greenhouse gas emissions
and live more sustainably.
Energy Action Planner Sharing of successes and questions on how to
conserve energy in the home from the checklist of ideas in the
Energy Action Planner.
An Inconvenient Truth
The movie, "An Inconvenient Truth", offers an inspirational look
at the need to halt global warming by exposing the myths and
misconceptions that surround it, and presenting scientific facts and
projections on the increase in CO2, temperature, hurricanes, melting
glaciers and rising sea levels. The movie
emphasizes that there is still time to make a difference.
The Science of Climate Change
Dr. Paul Kushner, Assistant Professor of Physics, University of
Toronto, and editor of Journal of Climate provided an
understanding of key climate concepts and the underlying science of
global warming. This presentation was a
fantastic opportunity to understand the real science behind climate
change issues from a scientific source.
"So, Now What?"
This session provided an opportunity to discuss thoughts on
the previous seminars and reactions to what was learned.
We shared insights into energy conservation activities of
Stage 2 of the Energy Action Planner, and consolidated our action
ideas for implementation at home, at church and in the community.
Taking Action
In our workshop, we worked to establish achievable green activities, each
with its own objective and plan to be completed in a six-month period. We
insisted that each activity must be supported by and contribute to our Green
Action Vision.
Here's the process we followed for implementing the Green Action
program:
- Form BREAKOUT GROUPS for each of the six Green Action Areas
identified in our "Making Connections" seminars (property
improvements, gardening, buying locally-grown food,
communications/education, recycling/waste diversion, and
activism/advocacy). Participants join whichever Green Action Area
appeals to them.
- Brainstorm SPECIFIC GREEN ACTIVITIES for your Green Action Area
- From the brainstorm list, select ONE Green Activity. Ensure it
supports the Green Action Vision (leads by example, educates,
reduces GHG, addresses one venue: facility, home, community or
workplace)
- Create an OBJECTIVE statement to inspire you for your Green
Activity.
Each objective must be:
- clearly stated
- understandable
- measureable
- obtainable within a specified time period -- in this case,
before the start of summer
- Plan the STEPS to end up successfully achieving your Green
Objective (including how to celebrate your success!)
- Describe the SUSTAINMENT plan to ensure ongoing support for the
Green Action Activity
- Get ENDORSEMENT from Fairlawn Green Action chair and appropriate
council or committee as required
- IMPLEMENT the Green Action Activity
- CELEBRATE and report back to the Green Action Chair
- REPEAT with your next Green Action Activity from the brainstorm
list
Following this workshop, we were excited to implement Green Action
Activities in six Green Action Areas. The Green Team leader followed up
with each group on a regular basis to ensure progress, facilitate and
assist where necessary, and advertise our successes. Each team met their objective
within the time limit set, and are continuing with new activities. Click
below to read about our success in each area:
Ground Source Heat
A previous issue of
Community Life (page 11) provides an update on the ground source heat
pump (GSHP) system that we investigated. Although more expensive than regular
boilers, it is more than 300% energy efficient and would annually reduce 80
tonnes of CO2. It would also reduce operating costs considerably. We had a
400-foot-deep borehole drilled with a pipe loop used for such a system. This
loop was tested to determine the thermal conductivity of the property. Our site
was deemed favourable for ground source heat. A final decision on the type of
new heating system our church has been put on hold due to financial issues.
More green actions
As we continue on our journey, we are expanding our efforts to partner with
the Neighbourhood Centre and other groups. We organized a presentation about
Fairlawn Green Action and our recycling program for a session of Mumnet at
Fairlawn. We partnered with Toronto Green Community in their Five Pillars of
Energy Conservation program in the neighbourhood, and with the United Church of
Canada's Green Awakening Network. We have made many presentations to groups
inside and outside of Fairlawn over the years (find
out more).
Modeling green behaviour
So we are making investments in our facility and taking actions to model
steps to reduce global warming for a better world for all.
Other sources
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, The time is always right to do what is right.
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