GUUJII - THE RAREST BIRD

SANDRINA & GUUJII

For some time now I have shared my home, on and off, with other people.  I prefer it to living alone. My whole adult life I’ve had an open door policy at home. In my own way I’ve always been building an intentional family-and often been referred to as the social coordinator.

I currently share my home with a lovely dog companion named Guujii (Oo-gee) He is a Belgian Tervuren who will be five in May. For people who don’t know the breed I describe him as looking like a cross between a long-haired Shepard and a collie. His colour is called grey with black overlay. Guujii is a Haida word meaning wolf. I think he looks similar to a wolf and I was spending time in the Charlottes when he came to live with me thus the Haida connection.  

I like to travel and would like to do a lot more of it which is one of the reasons the co-op housing appeals to me. I dislike leaving Guujii behind and don’t feel as bad if I can leave him in his own environment with people who know his routine and care about his well being. He is a very social dog and I know he would love to have more people to pay attention to him and I have to say I do find him somewhat demanding sometimes so it would take the pressure off me as well.

What brings a smile to my face when I think about the co-op are the incredible meals we will share and the fact that I will also share the cost of the food and other expenses which will create more financial freedom. We intend to share cars as well and to eliminate the use of as many cars in our household as we can by using the public transit and walking more.

This experience will give me the opportunity to downsize and simplify my life considerably. The thought of sharing the decision making and workload of a household makes me joyful.

I am a pretty private person so living in a home with 5 other units will present me with opportunity to grow, the step out of my comfort zone and to lighten up. Guujii on the other hand will not have a moment’s hesitation. I’m excited for him and the other dogs that will visit us. (Max and Finn)

I work at living a sustainable life - in my home and yard by conserving water, heat, electricity, not wasting food and xeriscaping my yard. I enjoy the outdoors, it is where I find my balance and centre, I love to hike in the hills, practice yoga and go to the beach with Guujii.

Hmmm....what else? Did I mention that I’ve left writing this entry until the last possible day….I promised my intentional family I would make an entry so, such as it is, here it is.

Sandi,

Sandra,

Sandrina Cecconi Baloni & Guujii, Nudge, Yub Yub Wolfie

BEING GREEN....

Blog # 2

                          It’s Not That Easy Being Green…….Or Is It?

“ A green home uses less energy, water and natural resources, creates less waste and is healthier and more comfortable for the occupants. The net cost of owning a LEED home is comparable to that of owning a conventional home.” (Canadian Green Building Council)

I mentioned in the first blog that I would review the LEED Home rating criteria to give us an idea of what a green / sustainable organization values in building or renovating a home. The eight LEED categories follow:

       

Innovation and Design Process

v  Integrated and ongoing project planning

v  Credentialed person as principal member of team

v  Green practices must be built in from the beginning

v  Durability must be part of home design/renovation eg. moisture control

v  Innovative or regional design eg. climate considerations

Location and Linkages

v  Site selection - use of the entire property to minimize project impact

v  Preferred locations – infill, previously developed

v  Infrastructure – transportation, shopping

v  Community resources – library, recreation venues

v  Access to open space – walking /biking trails

Sustainable Sites

v  Minimize disturbed areas on the site

v  Landscaping – no invasive plants, basic landscape design, limit conventional turf, drought tolerant plants

v  Decrease overall irrigation by at least 20% using calculation table

v   Minimize local ‘heat island’ effects – heat islands are built up areas that are hotter than outlying areas affecting summertime peak energy demand, air pollution. Mitigation using green roofs, trees, cool pavement

v  Surface water management – permeable lot, permanent erosion controls eg. management of run off from roof

v  Non toxic pest control – use of alternatives

v  Compact development – moderate, high, very high density

Water Efficiency

v  Water re-use such as rain water harvesting, grey water re-use, use of municipal recycling water system

v  Irrigation system – increase efficiency in the irrigation system, decrease overall irrigation demand. Indoor water use must have increased efficiency in fixtures and fittings

Energy and Atmosphere

v  Optimize energy performance eg. Energy Star for homes

v  Water heating – efficient hot water distribution, pipe insulation

v  Residential refrigerant – non ozone depleting refrigerants

v  Air infiltration – decrease building envelope*, use of triple glaze windows, heat and cooling distribution, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air con), lighting eg. LED lights *(a building envelope is the physical separation between the interior and exterior of a building)

Materials and Resources

v  Efficient framing – the framing order needs to consider waste factor limits, detailed cut list eg. exact cutting to reduce waste, framing efficiencies eg. use less wood, more insulation, off site fabrication

eg. pre-fab building off site

v  Environmentally Preferable Products – FSC (forest stewardship council) eg. certified tropical wood

v  Waste management - construction waste management planning, construction waste reduction

Indoor Environmental Quality

v  Energy Star with Indoor Air Package – combustion venting, moisture control eg. non paper based wall covering in showers, exhaust of moist air from BR/ kitchen, outdoor air vent, distribution of space heating and cooling eg using room by room calculations, air filtering by removing particulate matter from air supply, contaminant control during construction and indoors once owners move in, radon* protection (radon is a cancer causing natural radioactive gas), garage pollutant protection eg. exhaust fan

Awareness and Education

v  Education of the home owner needs to be centered around maintenance of the house eg. a walk through with owners to discuss the operation and maintenance of the house

These eight categories are assessed according to the four levels of certification: certified, silver, gold and platinum. Each category has a minimum and maximum number of points to be awarded. So depending on how the certification team rates the building in each category will determine the certification level attained.

A great example of this process made real is Harmony House, Burnaby, B.C..  A CMHC assisted project recently completed and open for visitors. So check it out by going on the web, look for Harmony House, CMHC.

To be continued…………..

Val

SUSTAINABLE HOUSING PRACTICES

Sustainable Housing Practices for Kamloops

Transition moments in life I have read, are time of great opportunity. As I ponder becoming part of RareBirds  building project  thus leaving my single family house I am finding an entirely new perspective on what  “sustainable” might mean in terms of community. Partly this more expansive view is due to the reading I have done. In particular, two books; Presence by Peter Senge, et al. (thanks Dan) and Sacred Headwaters by Wade Davis (thanks CBC). Current events have also played a role, namely, that 2011 foreclosures in Kelowna rose tenfold over previous years and the controversy over an open pit mine development within Kamloops city limits.

In the search for community, ie having a relationship with the people who provide our services, grocers, hairdressers, etc. as well as being able to walk to the library, art gallery, theatre, restaurants, we want to live downtown. Thus we envisioned our group of six separate couples/singles building a “family home” in the downtown core. In addition, an astute real estate agent suggested that it would be the best area in terms of investment as the land would always hold its value.

This remark, along with ideas from the two books, prompted me to start thinking about how sustainable a downtown core of single family homes was. Simply stated, the big three ideas are that we are all connected, what happens in China affects us; second, past, present, future are inseparable, we are affected by what happened in the past and what we do affects future generations; thirdly, the earth is an entity of finite resources.

I tried to envision the home we would build now as it would be a hundred years from now, would it be demolished, would our idea of cohousing be compelling enough that people would still inhabit it. About the same time, the news of Kelowna foreclosures broke. A picture of entire abandoned neighbourhoods in the USA arose. I became aware of my conviction that capitalism based on constant growth is in its final stages and we must imagine a new way of conducting ourselves. The idea of reconfiguring present structures using minimal resources came to mind. For example, one couple already lives in a downtown condo. I tried to imagine how purchasing 2 more condos in that complex could house us all, as well as allowing us to share daily meals, a communal living area etc. We could make the downstairs in one particular condo our communal kitchen,another  our communal living room etc. One of group suggested we might be able to take over the top floor of another complex that may be more suitable for our purposes. These are just ideas that could lead to more creative solutions for our home.

As well there is the current controversy of the Ajax open pit mine proposal to be developed within Kamloops city limits. As I live in a beautiful city with no industrial development to speak of, why I wondered, would I consider moving to live next to an open pit mine in a city that already has a pulp mill and a large mine just outside its limits. It’s the people within the group of course, they already live there. First nations quoted in the Wade Davis book say, “If you love the land, stay.” Live with the consequences of your actions in other words. First nations have another idea, accept that you will harm the environment as development occurs but consider how much development you will accept. They say that a generation can accept one new mine and when that one is exhausted and the land rehabilitated another mine can be accepted. The land is our garden, our water container, our provider of all materials.

 There is much to ponder but with the help of friends, involvement of community, the answers will arise.

IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN...(Kermit)...OR IS IT?

To My Fine Feathered Friends                   

# 1          It’s Not Easy Being Green….(Kermit)…….Or Is It?

Since the RareBirds Housing Cooperative began meeting almost a year ago we were clear that one of our values was ‘ environmental responsibility and sustainable practices in our

community living.’ (Living On Purpose document)

However, as time has passed, I realize that my knowledge/ understanding of ‘ green and sustainable practices’ is limited. I needed to be more conversant with current definitions, practices and technology specific to green and sustainable housing options since we may be moving in that direction.

It seems important to have this information so that we can have conversations that help us delineate the green/ sustainable possibilities available. Thus leading us to informed decisions about these priorities in our RareBird housing options.

Wikipedia defines green building/ construction as “ construction practices/ techniques to decrease and diminish impacts of building on the environment and human health.” It includes decreased energy consumption through decreases in 1) embodied energy which is energy required to extract, process, transport, install building materials and 2) operating energy which provides heat, electricity etc.. As operating energy becomes more  efficiently delivered, it becomes even more important that issues around embodied energy are dealt with as well. It is estimated that 30% of energy consumption is embodied energy over the life cycle of any building. As an example, the use of wood in any building decreases embodied energy consumption when compared to brick or concrete.

Sustainability is “ meeting the needs of present generations without compromising future generations in meeting their needs.”

As soon as I started reading about sustainable/ green building the acronym LEED (www.usgbc.org) popped up. It is an American association started in 1994 providing leadership in energy and environmental design. The Canadian equivalent established in 2009, is the Canadian Green building council  ( www.cagbc.org/homes). LEED certified homes are designed and constructed in accordance with rigorous guidelines of the LEED for homes green building certification program. There are four levels of certification:  1) certified 2) silver 3) gold  4) platinum. I know this organization is considered by some as the penultimate program for green/ sustainable home building. My thinking is why not look at the ‘ best’ because they have a solid track record and  have nailed down what they think are the most important criteria for green / sustainable building.  It seems like a good place to start.

The US and Canadian LEED criteria follow:

1)       Innovation and Design  

2)       Sustainable Site Selection

3)       Water Efficiency

4)       Material and Resources

5)       Indoor Environmental Quality

6)       Location and Linkages (US GBC Only)

7)       Awareness and Education (US GBC only)

The next blog article will review each of the criteria in detail.

Happy reading,

 Val

Spring migration sighted early

Recently spotted around town is a flock of RareBirds looking for a new spot to roost.

The RareBirds Housing Co-operative is an expanding group of committed people, looking to develop a new  nest in the heart of Kamloops this year where their intentional family can lay down permanent roots.

They are seeking more birds to join the flock to complete the family and create their CASH (creative, affordable, sustainable home)

Are the following values important to you?

•       More financial freedom

•       Creating sustainable practices

•       Protecting the environment

•       Collaborating & cooperating

•       Living in community with one another

•       Time for fun & play in an supportive  environment

The RareBirds are gathering people who are interested in sharing this vision and hopping on board with them.

If this information gets your feathers flapping in preparation for flight, check out the blog at rarebirdshousing.blogspot.com and give them a call 250-374-5015.

You may be the next RareBird!

Stay Tuned - The RareBirds will be hosting a community information meeting in late March at The Smorgasbord.