Over thirty-five conference goers loaded into the Ottawa transit bus––it was a brand new, low sulfur model––part of a fleet that Ottawa is slowly expanding. It was also an articulated bus that seemed, from inside and outside, about as long as a train car. The purpose––the first ever EGA Ottawa green building tour. Led by Jon Jensen of the George Gund Foundation, and co-organized by Bruce Lourie of the Ivey Foundation and Anuja Mendiratta of the San Francisco Foundation, the tour’s goal was to visit some local examples of “green buildings.” For the uninitiated, green buildings are new or renovated buildings that exemplify energy conservation, material conservation, low impact and nontoxic materials, and a host of other elements that contribute to minimizing their environmental impact and provide a healthier setting for inhabitants.

Two green buildings were on the tour. The first, Conservation Co-Op Housing was an eight-year old, low-income housing apartment building that included a variety of green features (including elimination of most of the parking lot, allowing for a magnificent garden) but, more importantly, served as a reminder of how buildings can alter lifestyles––inhabitants enthusiastically bought into a green lifestyle and a community support framework.

The second stop was Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC)––a Canadian nationwide chain store that sells camping/outdoor sports equipment and clothing (sort of like an REI). MEC’s store was built from part of an old grocery store on the site and had over 40 green elements––the most striking feature of this stop was not only the array of features (which MEC plans to build into other stores) but the fabulous interpretation of these features, from wall cutaways (to show what’s inside) to big, graphic explanation panels in the entry. We also did some fun shopping at MEC, where US dollars went a long way!

At each stop we heard from both the architects and the inhabitants––sort of a “how it was planned/how it worked” dialogue. EGA’ers responses ranged from some very technical questions to “just looking” by the green building wannabes. The tour was supported by a written handout that described each site, and a short paper by Jon Jensen entitled “Nine Things a Foundation Can Do to Enhance Green Building in Your Community.” (Copies available from Jon Jensen––see below.)

The level of interest and engagement of the tourees highlighted the growth of funder interest in the green building arena––to that end, Jon Jensen of the George Gund Foundation is seeking leads on funders interested in the topic, perhaps for some kind of networking effort that could include a directory or future information sharing opportunities. Any funder interested should contact him at jjensen@gundfdn.org or 216-241-3114.