BC Community Climate Funding Guide

A $500,000 grant from Forestry Innovation Investment’s Mass Timber Demonstration Program is helping build one of the first zero-emissions mass timber buildings in Canada. The District of Saanich’s new fire station – slated for completion in 2023 – will feature a steel and timber post-and-beam system with a cross-laminated timber roof, all topped off with solar panels. The station will showcase innovative uses of B.C. wood and serve as a template for how mass timber can be used in a building designed to withstand emergencies – all while meeting ambitious environmental targets.

With a $500,000 boost from the Active Transportation Infrastructure Grant Program, the City of New Westminster is creating the Agnes Greenway, a 1.2 kilometre mixed-use transportation corridor that will link Douglas College and the city’s residential neighbourhood to the Pattullo Bridge. The Agnes Greenway will mean safe walking, wheeling and biking between key locations, with a separated two-way lane for cyclists, improved sidewalks for pedestrians, and new greenspaces with stormwater infrastructure, trees and benches. A second phase of the project will extend the path to the New Westminster SkyTrain station and the city’s waterfront.

Cortes Island cyclists and pedestrians will soon reap the benefits of the Union of BC Municipalities’ Active Transportation Planning Program. The $20,000 awarded to the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) will make it easier for islanders to leave their cars at home. The SRD plans to use the money to develop an inventory of Cortes’ walking paths, cycling routes and support facilities, such as bike parking and repair sites. They’ll also provide information on safety and road conditions to help make active transportation a worry-free option.

Through a combination of federal and provincial support, the City of Kamloops completed a $13.5 million project to upgrade the energy efficiency of its Canada Games Aquatic Centre. The project started with a need to replace the centre’s critical ageing infrastructure. But – thanks to provincial and federal funding – it turned into an opportunity to simultaneously improve the environmental performance of the building. Bolstered by more than $1.1 million from the provincial government through the CleanBC Communities Fund and $1.37 million from the federal government, the city was able to install a heat-recovery system that uses the heat that evaporates off the pool to warm the new air entering the building. This reduces the centre’s reliance on natural gas and lowers its greenhouse gas emissions – taking Kamloops one important step closer to meeting its climate goals.

A fully-electric vehicle has replaced a gas-guzzling security van in the Coquitlam School District’s fleet, thanks to funding provided through the CleanBC Go Electric program. Emissions from the fleet are one of the main contributors to the School District’s carbon footprint and the van – the most-used vehicle in the fleet – was a major source of those emissions. Driven more than 200 kilometres each day and using 7,700 litres of gas each year, it produced more than 18,300 kilograms of greenhouse gases annually. The new electric vehicle runs completely on B.C.’s clean electricity, charges quickly and efficiently, and can travel 260 kilometres on a single charge.