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Adventure Traveler Garry Sowerby in his own words:
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Kelowna, British Columbia
Environmental Initiative #74
Hotel Eldorado, Kelowna,
British Columbia
The Hotel Eldorado has been a special place
for me since Lisa and I 'discovered' it as we were putting together the media launch
for the Pontiac Vibe. The 2002 'Drive the Vibe' program was a cross-country
tour as well but the participants were on the lookout for Canadian
quirk instead of environmental action.
The place is special for a number of reasons.
There is a sweeping mountain view out the large front windows
and beautiful Okanagan Lake is right at the doorstep. There are
windows on every wall of the interior main floor, so it's bright
and airy. The ambience is great. The rooms are understated yet
rich. The food in the 'El'
is fabulous. And the place rocks on the weekends! It's a true neighborhood
hangout.
It is also a place with quite a history. It was built as the Eldorado
Arms Inn by Austrian Countess Bubna Litite in 1926 as a luxurious
rest stop for her weary European guests.
Its reputation as well as its size grew and the Inn changed hands
many times over the 1950s and the decades following.
Today Mission Green was here to salute the
current owner, Jim Nixon, who bought the Eldorado Arms Inn in
1989, saving it from certain death at the 'hands' of the wrecking
ball. Jim is a quiet, unassuming guy who doesn't try to push
his ideas on you. It's hard to believe he just up and moved the
Inn! Yes, he loaded it onto a barge and floated it 5 kilometres
north, where the Hotel sits today.
But tragedy struck in the form of arson and the Eldorado burned
to the ground shortly after it came ashore. After a short period
of mourning, Jim undauntedly set out to rebuild Kelowna's oldest
inn. Following a meticulous rebuild, the new Hotel Eldorado opened
its doors one year later, St. Patrick's Day 1990.
We are here 14 years later on our Mission Green tour. What does
the Hotel Eldorado have to do with Canadian environmental initiatives?
Well, 14 years ago, Jim had a vision of expanding the hotel eventually
and the dream is now a reality in the form of a 30-room, 6-suite
wing we are exploring today, added to the northern end of the original
hotel.
The new wing is in keeping with the early 20 th -century look
and feel of the tradition-steeped Inn. But a totally modern behemoth
lurks beneath the ground in front of the new expansion. One hundred
vertical tubes reach down 30 metres into the earth, tapping into
its unvarying temperature to draw renewable, geo-thermal energy
into the building. The constant temperature provides a low-impact
means to cool the building in the summer, heat it in the winter
and furnish guests with guilt-free hot showers.
The system will also heat the new pool he has
installed as well as provide the therapeutic steam for the steam
room and hot tub. The 'vertical closed loop system' is controlled
by geoexchange tanks that act like kidneys, continuously recycling
the fluid within the tubes.
The control room looks like the belly of a
ship. When we asked Jim how he felt when he walked into the control
room, there it was! That beam of pride, that we've now christened 'The
Green Beam'.
Of course, geoexchange systems cost more to install but the 70%
energy savings provide great incentive. We wanted to know why Jim
so determinedly went for the extra expense and took the conscious
route to make the hotel an earth-friendly venue. His answer was
simple, yet multi-leveled.
"This hotel will be in my family long after
I'm gone. This is an investment in my family's future."
http://www.eldoradokelowna.com/
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Environmental Initiative #75
Environmental Education
Centre for the Okanagan (EECO), Kelowna, British Columbia
We are in the lovely, quiet setting of Mission Creek Park that
borders Mission Creek in Kelowna. The sky is a deep autumn blue
with not a cloud in sight. It's a perfect day to be outdoors.
We are welcomed to a log building in the Park by Alison Campbell
Urness, Park Interpreter, and David Cullaton, Coordinator. The
2,500-square-foot log building is the EECO, the Environmental Education
Centre for the Okanagan and Mission Green was here to get educated
about the Education Centre.
Through community donations and funding, the EECO opened in the
mid-1980s to provide a year-round resource centre for the communities
of the Okanagan region to learn about the environment through visual
displays and learning activities. The Centre is geared mostly to
children but as we all know children are very strong adult-influencers.
There is a composting education garden, an amphitheatre on the
lower level for groups and the exhibits on the main level that
are changed every so often according to the fertile imagination
of David Cullaton who coordinates the logisitics of the Centre.
The eventual plan is to expand the building. Right now, it's a
small space with big ideas. Huge, in fact.
When we asked David what the overall mission
of the centre is, his instant reply: "We want to change the world!"
The key, David believes, is children. Make environmental education
fun and you'll have them learning out of the palm of Mother Nature's
hand.
And if the month of September is any indication of how the centre
reaches out to children, there should be no problem attaining David's
goal. Three thousand children visited the Centre in September.
They came to see, among other things, a very topical exhibit relating
to the fires that ravaged Kelowna a year ago. Part of the exhibit
displays a microregion of the forest immediately after the burn.
Another part shows how the forest is regenerating, with mosses
again carpeting the ground and saplings and seedlings rising up
through the ashes. It's an exhibit of hope and facts that provides
a tangible positive experience for children for whom the destruction
of the fire is probably still quite real.
An on-going project that the EECO implements is the Kokanee-in-the-Classroom
program. Twelve local schools are involved in setting up mini ecosystems
in aquariums in their classrooms. The aquariums contain the eggs
of kokanee salmon which are bred into life right in the classroom
and remain under the kids' watchful eyes through to the fry stage
before they are set free in creeks and rivers around the area as
adult kokanee.
The kids learn about the life cycle of the kokanee by observing
it on a daily basis. At the same time, they are gaining a respect
for nature and the importance of protecting water and land so that
the kokanee salmon will perpetuate the species and hence other
species of the earth.
They also learn fun stuff like, "Do kokanee blink?" and I know
what you're thinking. well, do they? I guess you'll have to make
a trip to the EECO to find out!
Mixing education and fun is an old idea as is changing the world,
but here at the Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan,
the ideas felt fresh and new and utterly possible.
Our Mission Green hats are off to David and Alison and the EECO
in Kelowna!
http://www.regionaldistrict.com
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Environmental Initiative #76
Canadians
who regularly maintain their vehicles!
Mission Green pulled into Chilliwack late
this afternoon. We felt it was time to give the Mission Green
vehicles the once-over, an oil change, check tire pressures,
etc. They have after all covered about 15,000 kilmetres on
our cross-country tour and we figured they deserved an afternoon
at the ‘spa’.
Our ‘spa’ of choice today was the Mr. Goodwrench
located at Mertin’s Pontiac Buick GMC Ltd. Dealership
here in Chilliwack .
I’m sure Mission Green team member
Bill Rumsey felt a bit like he was coming home when we were
greeted by Service Consultant Dale Edlund and Service Technician
James Niezon, who would take care of our GMC Flex-Fuel Yukon
and Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid Pickup.
Bill has been a Grand Master Technician
at Hickman Motors in St. John’s , NF since 1994, and
knows first-hand the benefits of routine vehicle maintenance.
The routine pre-winter checkup is a small thing that all
Canadians should give their vehicles to gear them up for an
efficient assault on the Canadian winter.
It’s a small thing, yes, but it
has large implications on global climate change. Poorly maintained
vehicles use more fuel, emit more air pollutants, and wear
out sooner than their properly maintained counterparts.
Preventive maintenance helps to ensure optimum performance
of the vehicle engine and emission control equipment and should
be carried out according to the schedule in the owner's manual,
including regular oil changes.
Oil is the vehicle engine's "life blood".
It reduces wear caused by friction between the moving parts
of the engine and removes acids, sludge and other harmful
sub-stances. Oil helps to cool the engine, provides a seal
between the cylinder walls and the pistons, and prevents
the engine from rusting. Eventually, oil becomes contaminated
and its performance additives deteriorate, so it is important
that the oil be changed regularly. Neglecting to replace
worn-out oil can result in severe damage to the engine The
oil filter should be changed with every oil change.
In addition to having the vehicle serviced
according to the maintenance schedule, a quick walk-around
inspection to check for fluid leaks and low tire pressure
every time you use the vehicle is a great way to get to know
the ‘normal’ look
of your vehicle.
Leaking fluids are not only a sure sign that the vehicle
needs repair, but the fluids are also harmful to the environment.
Routinely inspect the spot where the vehicle is parked.
A dirty air filter can cause an engine to consume over 2%
more fuel. Rural vehicles traveling on dusty roads will need
air filter changes more often.
The exhaust system should also be inspected regularly - a
task not necessarily included in regular maintenance. Vehicle
emissions should also be checked on a regular basis.
Using tires as long as possible and recycling them when they
are no longer safe are both positive steps for the environment.
To make tires last as long as possible, maintain proper tire
pressure. Underinflated tires can increase fuel consumption
by 4-8% and will lose one-tenth of their life if regularly
underinflated by four pounds per square inch. Having the tires
rotated for even wear and having the wheel alignment checked
if the tread wear is uneven will also lengthen the life of
the tires.
Many products used in operating and maintaining vehicles
are a direct health hazard either through their vapours, or
by seeping into groundwater or entering public waters through
the sewer system.
Ensure that the place you have your oil changed recycles
the oil as well as other fluids, such as antifreeze, and even
discarded vehicle batteries, at an appropriate facility.
It was quite fitting for Mission Green
to stop to have the vehicles maintained in Chilliwack in
the Lower Fraser Valley , where the AirCare Porgram, the
first national emissions program was implemented in 1992.
The program identifies 80,000-90,000 excess emitting vehicles
and annually and requires emissions repairs to be performed
prior to re-licensing and renewing insurance. Since the implementation
of the AirCare Program, 800,000 tonnes of pollutants have
been prevented from entering the region’s airshed.
We knew we would be heading into Vancouver in clean, green
environmental machines.
http://www.atl.ec.gc.ca/epb/factsheets/drive.html
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