Why you need some #GreenerSpaces in your life - Q&A with a MASc student - Jennifer Bello

Q1: Tell us a little bit about your group 'Greener Spaces' !

A: Greener Spaces is a group that was formed with the aid of a program called youth challenge international that recruited several climate action catalysts, allowing us to undertake a climate change issue in our specific region. In the case of peel region, under the climate change master plan for 2030, there is an aim to reduce GHG emissions by 45% with the use of net zero carbon buildings. This is how our group’s role comes in- where most of the general public doesn’t even know what they are, so we aim to educate and engage them about these special buildings in hopes of helping to start a beneficial change in our community.

Q2: How did you start this awesome project? Guide us through the method of problem-identification and execution.

A: We initially started by forming our group and identifying the main problem and possible solutions that Peel Region has in terms of their climate change master plans. When realizing the issue in terms of lack of education on zero carbon buildings, we started to plan out educational/engaging tools and methods that can be used to bridge this knowledge gap within the general public. We came to the conclusion that the best way of doing this would be with smaller focus groups that includes both presentation and discussion aspects, where we plan to carry these out in the new year. Stay tuned for updates on these!

Q3: Can you tell us a little more about net zero homes?

A: Net zero carbon buildings are highly energy efficient structures where all its energy is gained and used through offsite and onsite renewable resources, and no energy is wasted otherwise. This is done through methods of reduced energy demand, and tracking carbon usage in general. This helps mitigate climate destructive GHG emissions related to heating and cooling which as you can you see in the graph below on the left, is a significant chunk of Canada's GHG emissions!

Doing this will also be fiscally responsible as less energy usage equals less cost long term -- in most cases. Please follow us at @greener.spaces on Instagram if you’d like to follow our journey or have any questions!

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Jennifer Bello is a Master of Applied Science Student at the Environmental Applied Science and Management program at Ryerson University.