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First Prize
Holland College, PEI
Quote from Project:
“Atlantic Canada’s economic and Environmental future should come not just from the provinces traditional resources, and that is why our goal with Greenville is to provide a template that can be used throughout Atlantic Canada to make our towns environmentally friendly, energy conscious, healthier and happier places to live.”
JUDGE’S COMMENTS:
Their vision was ambitious, but well researched and included the need for planning to make proposed projects a success. I was impressed with the innovation of creating local energy self-sufficiency and requiring energy audits in re-sale of homes. The project was comprehensive, in that it would engage all elements of the municipality (household, municipal, businesses, etc.). The coordination of the initiatives was well-thought through and the marketing & education component ambitious and creative. They also demonstrated how initiatives could be financially sustaining over the long-term, through a recycling Eco-Equity Loan Fund and income from things like energy efficiency and energy generation. The idea of the Smart Grid is relatively new in North America and would put their Greenville on the map in Atlantic Canada.
Second Prize
Universite de St. Ann Green Dragons
Quote from Project:
“Considering the environmental issues caused by global warming, it is essential for rural communities, such as Greenville, to adopt a plan to reduce greenhouse gases as well as becoming environmentally sustainable. A large-scale version of this business plan could be applied at a provincial, national or international level.”
JUDGE’S COMMENTS:
This project was pragmatic and took into consideration the financial constraints and ongoing opportunities for communities, such as Nova Scotia’s Community Feed-in Tarriff program, to generate income for communities like “Greenville.” The budget was well thought through, and different aspects of the community (municipal, household, businesses, etc.) were included in the scope of the work proposed. A very innovative idea was the requirement that local businesses become ISO 140001 Certified: it might require greater funds to help businesses achieve this goal! The marketing plan was comprehensive and would generate buzz, but a greater part of the budget should have been allocated to achieve the activities described. I really enjoyed the focus on local biodiversity as part of their Greenville vision. In the words of Sierra Club founder John Muir, ” Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”
Third Prize
NSCC
Quote from Project:
“By investing in local food, sustainable transportation and renewable technologies; we are improving the environment, sense of community and decreasing dependency upon other countries for necessities.”
JUDGE’S COMMENTS:
The vision was exceptional for this entry, and I appreciated the commitment to galvanizing change, especially in terms of local food and farming methods. I also appreciated how the projects proposed were reasonably budgeted and scoped, and grounded in the local context. However, incentives to switch to biodynamic farming, efficient building methods, and renewable energy would need to be thought through a little more to be successful in terms of results. Sometimes awareness and training are not adequate for instigating change, so more research would be needed in this area to make the project a success. The marketing of the plan needed to be coordinated more than indicated in the description and budget. The entrant did not fully demonstrate how the income for the initiatives would sustain the vision long-term.
