Week 9 - Green Development

To start off Green Development Day we had a presentation on biomagnification by Melissa. Unrelated but informative! It is becoming a health issue in Northern Aboriginal communities where they eat top predators such as beluga whales. 

We were already in the River Building so we went upstairs to meet with Murdo Murchison, the sustainability coordinator of Carleton.

He took us up to the experimental green roof. 

Green roofs provide ecosystem services in urban areas, including improved storm-water management,

better regulation of building temperatures, reduced urban heat-island effects, and increased urban wildlife habitat (Oberndorfer et al., 2007). 

Crab claw brought in by a bird.

We drove downtown to visit the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified convention center.  

Cal looking up at the egg containing the upstairs washrooms.

Wood salvaged from three rivers near/ in Ottawa.

Salvageable concrete was recycled from the old convention center. 

Tank-holding elevator on hydraulics!

No pane of glass is the same. Windows are fully cleaned three times a year. 

Happy to be in the ladies washroom.

After getting poutine and beavertails we were on our way to RVCA.

Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is also LEED certified, using grey water to flush their toilets. Recycling grey water is a largely under developed idea that many people turn up their noses to but using drinking to flush our toilets seems crazier than the green alternative (Jefferson et al., 2004).

To end the day Kim presented on traditional ecological knowledge and it's use in modern development. 

Jefferson, B., Palmer, A., Jeffrey, P., Stuetz, R., & Judd, S. (2004). Grey water characterisation and its impact on the selection and operation of technologies for urban reuse. Water Science & Technology, 50(2), 157–164.

OBERNDORFER, E., LUNDHOLM, J., BASS, B., COFFMAN, R. R., DOSHI, H., DUNNETT, N., GAFFIN, S., et al. (2007). Green Roofs as Urban Ecosystems: Ecological Structures, Functions, and Services. BioScience, 57(10), 823.