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Sustainability Update: Winter 2025

Posted on January 30, 2025

Did you know that FortWhyte Alive has a staff Sustainability Committee?

Since FortWhyte first opened its doors, doing good for the environment, and the plants and animals that call it home, has been at the forefront of every decision we make. But with so many facets of sustainability to consider, it can be challenging to manage it all.

That’s where our staff Sustainability Committee comes in.

The Sustainability Committee is made up of staff with different backgrounds from across FortWhyte who meet monthly (or more) to discuss ways to reduce or limit FortWhyte’s impact on the planet, maintain ongoing initiatives, and find opportunities to reduce waste and emissions, educate our community, or improve the health of our land.

Here are just a few things the Sustainability Committee is working on…

deer on winter trail peeks around trees

Reducing Transportation Emissions

One of FortWhyte’s most popular sustainability initiatives among staff are our sustainable transportation options, the most used of which is our electric car, a Chevy Bolt. This car is the mandatory first choice for transportation around the city for our team, meaning if staff need to run an errand or program off-site they MUST use the electric vehicle if it’s available. When it’s not in use, staff are invited to book it for personal use for a “green commute” home and back the next morning, for personal errands, or even the occasional camping trip. In the summer, staff also have access to a fleet of bikes for on-site transportation as well as electric golf carts.

The Sustainability Committee maintains the Bolt booking system, trains staff on how to use it, and ensures it gets the maintenance and cleaning it needs.

Since FortWhyte first got the Bolt in 2017, it has driven 75,193 km!

Chevy Bolt parked in front of FortWhyte

Reducing Waste

FortWhyte uses many specialized waste reduction programs. You might already be familiar with the waste stations in our buildings that have spots for garbage, recycling, and compost but our washrooms also have separate bins for paper towel composting so they can be properly processed instead of blowing away in our normal collection bins.

FortWhyte staff and volunteers are also invited to take advantage of many specialty recycling programs, like e-waste, hazardous materials, pens and office supplies. We also accept batteries for recycling from everyone. You can drop your used batteries in the collection box in our Alloway Reception Centre on your next visit.

The Sustainability Committee manages the safe collection of all these materials and drops them off to the appropriate places when things start to pile up. To make sure everyone takes advantage of these programs, the Sustainability Committee also trains staff, volunteers, and Buffalo Stone Café staff on how to dispose of things, and designs the signage so you know how to recycle and compost on our site too.

In case you missed it: The Sustainability Committee did a garbage audit in the fall to see if people are putting waste in the correct bins. We’ve been doing audits for years and they always inspire new actions!

waste from recycling bag that should have been in compost

Improving Water Quality & Site Health

The FortWhyte Alive site was once a clay mine and cement factory; everything you see today was planted or created by former volunteers and staff. Being man-made, it’s our responsibility to ensure the land and water are healthy and support our greater ecosystem and all the living beings that call it home.

To support our site health, FortWhyte’s Sustainability Committee coordinates essential site care in partnership with other staff to monitor and test our lake health, manage shoreline erosion, coordinate site trash clean ups, and even track water usage in the buildings to ensure it remains low.

A double layer of live dogwood fascines underlies this layer of coir logs, both of which are held in place by live dogwood stakes. Anti-scouring branches can be seen projecting out into open water.

Planning Ahead

In 2024, FortWhyte Alive began a new five-year Sustainability Plan to guide informed choices, enable more sustainable practices, and provide the foundation for improving FortWhyte’s long-term environmental performance. It took a lot of planning and coordination because FortWhyte has so many initiatives (more than we could ever touch on in one blog), but the Sustainability Committee is so excited to have already made progress on many of our goals.

The full Sustainability Plan is 31 pages long but we’re excited to share our goals with you in this condensed version of our 2024-2028 Sustainability Plan.

drone view of FortWhyte site including wetlands, trails, and lake

A sustainable buying policy, solar power, staff challenges, education and training programs, first-of-its-kind in Manitoba Passive House and zero carbon construction – FortWhyte Alive does so many things that we couldn’t share them all here. Keep an eye on our social media channels as we continue to share more about the essential work we do to reduce our impact on the environment.

Want to learn more about FortWhyte Alive’s sustainable actions? Check out our Sustainability page.