ClimateWise Business Network, a Windfall program, has published a white paper that serves as a guide on how organizations can avoid green washing in sustainability marketing. The paper outlines common pitfalls and key principles that should be followed when marketing sustainability accomplishments.
ClimateWise Business Network, a program of Windfall, has published a new white paper on the Value of Green Buildings. The paper discusses how commercial and residential buildings can increase tenant engagement, improve energy efficiency and how asset value increases with sustainability investments.
York Region municipalities will be the first in Eastern Canada to utilize a powerful, award-winning new tool that offers insights into community greenhouse gas emissions. The York Region Business Energy and Emissions Profile (BEEP), released today and commissioned by Windfall Ecology Centre, shows that the region produces 2.32 Mega-tonnes of CO2e annually – a figure larger than the entire emissions profile of Prince Edward Island.
The Climate Smart BEEP Dashboard graphically displays a given city's energy usage and carbon emissions by industry, business type, and business size. It allows York Region community leaders to quickly identify opportunities to cut carbon and more effectively engage with local companies.
There's a little less pavement at St. Nicholas Catholic Elementary School after Windfall Ecology Centre held a Depave Event last Friday, in partnership with the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. School staff, students, parents and project partners removed pavement from the school's kindergarten area to make way for a rain garden, native plants and trees, and outdoor classroom space.
Water does Wonders!in the news
Windfall Centre's Healthy Kids Community Challenge Aurora Water does Wonders!
program was featured in the Aurora Banner. Water does Wonders!
encourages kids to drink more water and less sugary drinks.
ClimateWise is a new program supporting businesses and organizations as they transition to the low-carbon economy. ClimateWise provides the expertise, tools and support to help your business or organization succeed in adapting to new regulations and consumer demands in a quickly changing marketplace.
Windfall has an opening for a Program Coordinator to oversee an Aurora children's program. This is a full time, one year contract with a start date of November 21, 2016.
ClimateWise Business Network is hosting a webinar on Assessing Your Facility's Energy Performance. On Wednesday December 14th at 10 AM, learn from Energy@Work, Technosim and PowerStream how existing building commissioning (ECBx) and energy audits can drive deeper savings in your facilities.
Children gathered at Windfall Ecology Centre, at Sheppard's Bush in Aurora on Sunday June 19th, to experience an afternoon of nature adventure. Read the full story in the Aurora Banner.
For years, Ontarians have wondered what will become of the auto industry. What will happen to the assembly plant in Oshawa after the Camaro runs its course? The answer is high tech as new engineers to work on the cars of the future.
Ontario will begin phasing out natural gas for heating, provide incentives to retrofit buildings and give rebates to drivers who buy electric vehicles. It will also require that gasoline sold in the province contain less carbon, bring in building code rules requiring all new homes by 2030 to be heated with electricity or geothermal systems, and set a target for 12 per cent of all new vehicle sales to be electric by 2025.
Adults have become the barrier to activity
, stated speaker Drew Mitchell last week during a physical literacy summit hosted by Sport Aurora. The Community Needs Assessment Windfall carried out as part of our Healthy Kids Aurora Community Challenge program was extensively cited in the article.
Unity Christian High School is a lot greener thanks to joint efforts from students, teachers and community members who participated in a Depave event on April 22, 2016. Unity CHS partnered with Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority, Windfall Ecology Centre and R.J. Burnside to coordinate the Depave event, which is the first phase of a much larger project to green the schoolyard.
Check out photos from the Earth Day Depave event!
ClimateWise Business Network is Windfall Centre's new target based sustainability program that supports businesses and organizations as they transition to the new low-carbon economy. Join us at Aw Shucks! Oyster Bar, in Aurora, as we kick off this new program in style.
Mud, Water, Straw Bales, pots and pans, shovels, and all sorts of odds and ends to stimulate the children's creativity into making their own messy, mucky outdoor adventure playground. Children aged 3-14 will find lots to do.
Change Our World / EnvironmentalAward
Presented to an individual or organization that demonstrates character in making effective community changes in our world.
Join us for a NaturePlay POP-UP Adventure on Sunday, June 19th from 1:pm to 4:pm at Windfall Ecology Centre located in Sheppard's Bush, Aurora. It promises to be an afternoon filled with fun.
A POP UP Adventure Day is an event where we bring all sorts of loose parts to a green space. Children, ages 3 - 14 will find lots to do. Some kids will make a cardboard go-cart, others may want to build a swing, many will be happy dressing up or digging in sandy soil. Come on by and watch your children have lots of self-directed POP-UP fun!
Learn about rain gardens, how they work and how they help keep our waterways clean. Then work with expert landscapers to plant a rain garden for our Win a Rain Garden Contest winner! Lunch, refreshments and snacks will be provided. Please register for this workshop - space is limited.
Green Communities Canada's RAIN Community Solutions, a program delivered in York Region by Windfall Ecology Centre, is the recipient of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change 2015 Minister's Award for Environmental Excellence.
Join York Region MPs at a town hall meeting to discuss climate change. In attendance will be:
Leona Alleslev, MP Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill
Majid Jowhari, MP Richmond Hill
Kyle Peterson, MP Newmarket-Aurora
Deb Schulte, MP King—Vaughan
Francesco Sorbara, MP Vaughan—Woodbridge
April showers bring May flowers! Many gardeners prefer to use rainwater over tap water for their flower and vegetable gardens, claiming that rainwater improves the growth and vitality of plants. Collect free rainwater for your garden by connecting a rain barrel to your home's downspout.
Windfall Ecology Centre's Rain Barrel Sale is now open for pre-orders. Pick up your pre-ordered rain barrels and accessories at Fairy Lake Park in Newmarket on Saturday June 11th between 10:00am - 4:00pm.
The City of Vancouver is considering a target to capture 90% of average rainfall by green infrastructure on public and private property throughout the City. If this goes ahead it will be the highest standard for Canada…. details on the proposal can be found here:
Right after the COP 21 Climate Change agreement was reached in Paris this past December I tweeted, Today's COP21 agreement is definitely a turning point that marks the end of the Fossil Fuel Age
. It was not a euphoric statement as much as a grudging acknowledgement that out of the grinding multi-threaded UN process that winds up and unravels almost simultaneously there came just enough clarity of vision among 195 countries to stumble into a new era of determined decarbonisation.
Are you a non-profit, community or charitable organization in need of a desk or office space? Do you find working from home to be lonely?
Rent a space in our unique and inspiring workplace hub at Windfall Ecology Centre. Desk and office spaces are now available in our beautifully retrofitted heritage home, nestled within Sheppard's Bush Conservation Area.
In the summer of 2013, the Greater Toronto Area received five inches of water in a day (as much as the city would normally receive in the entire month, and then some). Five thousand residential basements were flooded and the Insurance Bureau of Canada reported that insured property damage was estimated to be in excess of $850 million, and costs to the city itself were $170 million, making it the province's costliest natural disaster.
Join Windfall Centre at Aurora's Community Earth Week Fair on Wednesday April 20th from 5:00-9:00pm. It's going to be fun for the whole family!
Check out the free kids' activities, test drive an electric vehicle, learn about Aurora's green spaces and environmental initiatives, find out how to reduce your energy consumption, and more.
Drop by Booth #113 this weekend to visit Windfall Ecology Centre and the Healthy Kids Community Challenge at the Aurora Chamber Home Show.
Healthy Kids Community Challenge, a partnership between Windfall Ecology Centre and the Town of Aurora, will focus on improving the health and fitness of local youngsters and those who guide them. Read the full story in the Auroran.
Attention Newmarket and Aurora homeowners, you could win a beautiful rain garden, designed specifically for your front yard and planted free of charge!
Join us for World Water Day and Canada Water Week in Newmarket. Enjoy Hands On Water Displays, Water Games and interact with the people behind our water system. Windfall will be there and we'll be kicking off our huge Rain Barrel Spring Sale.
Join Steve Auger from the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority in a discussion about managing rain water where it falls within the Lake Simcoe watershed. Steve will share experiences in addressing stormwater runoff from new developments, as well as from existing built-up areas.
Come out and test drive a number of electric vehicles! No registration required. Free coffee provided by Debbie's Café. Event sponsored by Windfall Ecology Centre, Plug N Drive, and the Town of Ajax.