From Green Rooms to Green Roofs, How the arts community can build sustainable practices into their building design (and receive support from local government in doing so)
As artists, and workers in the arts community, feeling deeply is as intuitive as brushing our teeth, getting out of bed in the morning, and sometimes, those feelings can run rampant in the face of feeling helpless.
From Green Rooms to Green Roofs, How the arts community can build sustainable practices into their building design (and receive support from local government in doing so)
By Claire Elizabeth Marshall (she/they)
As artists, and workers in the arts community, feeling deeply is as intuitive as brushing our teeth, getting out of bed in the morning, and sometimes, those feelings can run rampant in the face of feeling helpless. Indeed – feeling helpless is a common emotion tied with living through the climate crisis we face. If you wake up, go to bed, and spend your lunchtime contemplating our environmental impact and climate uncertainty, you are not alone. Your worries are valid and you have people in your corner here to empathize with those fears. And while hard feelings are, in fact, hard to embrace, it is important to experience them in order to feel impassioned to do something about them. And there is so, so much we can do to make positive impacts on our environment not only in our personal lives, but also in our professional arts workspaces.
You may have heard of green roofs, painting the tops of buildings white, turning empty outdoor spaces into pollinator gardens, or maybe you have even heard about retrofitting buildings to lower their emissions.
These are all solutions to urbanization and the effect big cities have on local habitats and air/water quality. Green roofs can collect stormwater and save on energy, painting a roof with white allows more light to be reflected off the building as opposed to absorbed, allowing for cooler temperatures during the primal heat of summer. Pollinator gardens turn your outdoor space into an environmental oasis, offering visiting bumble bees and other native insects and critters an important food source. Retrofitting buildings to be more energy-efficient reduces emissions our infrastructure is responsible for, as well as often-times directly benefits those paying for utility bills by lowering the amount of energy needed to maintain comfortable temperatures inside.
And these projects are not just for residential homes and condominiums, these are all changes we can incorporate in our theatre companies and performing arts buildings.
And while all these projects may sound daunting, especially for those with limited budget and access to funding, the City of Toronto offers a variety of resources to help make your sustainable projects into a reality.
With one of the most ambitious net zero goals in North America, the City of Toronto is working to bring its residential, commercial, and industrial buildings up to speed, seeking to achieve the goal of being net-zero emissions by the year 2040. Listed below are some programs offered through the city – they may be of use for you when you are planning what next step to take to make a difference in our community and planet.
One of the reasons biodiversity is lacking in urban areas is due to the deficit of green space available for wildlife to feed and nest. Concrete, steel and other lifeless infrastructure has dominated our built environment in the city, but there are ways to include more green spaces around and even on top of our buildings. Ecoroofs are roof-top installations that support growth of vegetation, allowing the retainment of water, diluting the heat of sun rays in summertime, and creating an aesthetically pleasing sight compared to the usual blacks and grays of non-ecoroofs.
Not all ecoroofs support vegetation – you can even make a rooftop more sustainable and better equipped to reduce heat by a simple paint job. Covering a rooftop in white paint supports the reflection of the sun’s rays, meaning less heat is absorbed in your building and by effect, less energy needed to keep the inside temperatures at comfortable levels during summer. For a project that costs around $1,000-3000, research shows your building’s internal temperature is reduced by a few degrees, which at the heat of the summer can make a big difference!
Photo Credit: Pexels
The City of Toronto has an Eco-Roof Incentive Program that helps building-owners cover expenses incurred during the installation of ecoroofs. For green roofs, you may be able to get $100/m^2, and up to $1,000 for a structural assessment to see what kind of green roof your building may support. For the cool roof program, you may be able to get up to $5/m^2. Check out the City of Toronto’s Eco-Roof Incentive Program website, and see the contact information below to learn more.
Contact for more information:
Eco-Roof Incentive Program
Environment & Climate Division
City of Toronto
Union Station East Wing
c/o Metro Hall mailroom
55 John Street
Toronto, ON M5V 3C6
Email: ecoroof@toronto.ca
One of the biggest pressures cities have on resource management is the use of water. We use it for brushing our teeths, flushing toilets, cooking and refrigeration. The City of Toronto offers a water buyback program for organizations who have made an effort to reduce their water consumption. Some examples of these water-conservation projects include cooling towers, boilers, refrigeration and food service equipment, as well as gray-water reuse and rainwater harvesting systems. If your organization implements water savings measures, you may be able to receive a one-time cash rebate for up to 30 cents/liter of water saved on an average day. Reach out to savewater@toronto.ca to learn more!
Photo Credit: Cottonbro Studio, Pexels
Contact for more information:
Toronto Water Business Support
275 Merton St.
Toronto, ON M4S 1A7
Telephone: 416-392-7000
Email: savewater@toronto.ca
With average temperatures on the rise, especially in urban centers already prone to urban-heat island effect, trees make meaningful impact by increasing shaded areas through canopy cover. This keeps temperatures down, and offers habitat to wildlife that require leaves and branches to nest and forage. The City of Toronto has a 40% canopy cover target, and is investing in tree planting and stewardship on private lands to help reach this target.
If you have garden/outdoor space, you can sign up to get a free tree sponsored by the City of Toronto’s Urban Forestry Grants and Incentives. Each native tree planted will add to the total canopy cover of your community, aiding in urban heat effect and reducing temperatures locally, as well as providing habitat for native wildlife. Not to mention will help beautify and boost happiness and comfort in your built environment!
Photo Credit: Thirdman, Pexels
Contact for more information:
Urban Forestry Grants and Incentives
18 Dyas Rd 4th floor
North York, ON M3B 1V5 Opens in new window
Email: forestrygrants@toronto.ca
From bees to wasps, butterflies to birds, Toronto is home to a diverse pollinator community that the City of Toronto seeks to protect through the Pollinator Protection Strategy. But with construction and development taking away natural habitat that our 360 native bees species and 100 species of butterflies would otherwise use for foraging and reproduction, one of the biggest barriers the city seeks to overcome is the creation of gardens and other types of green spaces to benefit our local pollinators.
Every year, the city hosts a PollinateTO program to support community-led projects for up to $5,000. To meet the grant requirement, projects must truly be community-facing, creating gardens accessible to community members to enjoy and learn about our local pollinators. These grants are open to all resident-led as well as non-profit groups, so if you have an idea to either build or expand upon your green outdoor space, make sure to come back in September 2023 to send in an application. You can learn more about the PollinateTO program here, or by reaching out to the contact below.
Photo Credit: Kat Smith, Pexels
Contact for more information:
Annemarie Baynton
PollinateTO Program Manager
Telephone: 416-392-1848
Email: pollinateTO@toronto.ca
While borrowing money to make sustainable improvements in your building may seem concerning, the City of Toronto has programming to help take the risk out of borrowing. With their Energy Retrofit Loans program, you can apply for a fixed, long-term and low-interest loan to bring your building up to standards with low-carbon and energy-efficient improvements. Up to 100% of the total cost of your project may be covered, and repayment plans may be arranged for up to 20 years for those that qualify.
For more information and to find out if your project(s) may qualify, contact the city’s Better Buildings Partnership through the city’s Environment and Climate Divison.
Photo Credit: JesShoots.com, Pexels
Contact for more information:
Environment & Climate Division
City of Toronto
Metro Hall (C/O Union Station East Wing)
55 John Street
Toronto, ON, M5V 3C6
Email: bbp@toronto.ca
