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Capitol Hill Green Initiatives Committee Presents

Summer Bike Meet-ups!

(These bike rides will happen monthly over the summer)

June 10th, 11am: Eco-Solar Bike Ride

Grab your bike, your helmets & your kid (if you have one) for a low-key, informal bike ride to check out an energy efficient house on the Eco-Solar Homes Tour (http://www.ecosolar.ca/calgary.html). Plus we'll stop for ice cream! Let's meet at 11am and expect to spend 3-4 hours on bike. All kids must bring their own grownup. Adults without kids are also welcome.

Click the registration button to sign up. An email update with the meeting place and trip details will be sent to you.

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Meeting place: To be shared with registrants, in Capitol Hill NW.

Distance: Estimated 16-18km round trip from Capitol Hill to the river path to Ramsay and back. We can stop to meet people by the river if there is interest. Cyclists can bail out at any time. Be prepared to ride back uphill to Capitol Hill from the river on the way home.

Bring: Helmet, bike lock, hat, water, snacks, sunglasses, extra clothing layers, rainjacket, sunscreen.

At our May 14th Bike Parade, we launched the 24th Avenue NW cycle track with 175 riders, striders, scooters, and skaters rolling from Banff Trail to Capitol Hill! Watch the fun with this video by Jonas Cornelsen (Twitter: @thejcorn). Let’s make sure to let our city leaders know how much we love safe cycle tracks!

To help with our bike infrastructure advocacy campaign, contact green@capitolhillcommunity.ca. Thanks to all of the volunteers and supporters who made our Bikefest such a huge success!

Our Bike Parade made Global news! Watch the video and read the article here.

Photos below of the May 14th Bikefest & Parade by Matthew Hicks (matthicksphoto.com.)

Green Committee Tips

December 2021

With our sun-soaked summer still fresh in our memories now is a good time to talk about solar power in Alberta and the province’s unique power market that has helped drive the development of over 1,200 MW of new solar and wind development since 2019.

When Cowley Ridge Wind Farm, located near Pincher Creek, was first commission in 1993 it represented Canada’s first commercial wind farm. Since then, the province has added 1,650+ MW of wind power capacity to the grid. With some of the most recent wind additions contracting to sell their power at the lowest-ever recorded weighted average price of ¢3.7/kWh2, it is clear Alberta wind power industry is something to be proud of. 

Growth in Alberta wind took the conventional path of developers contracting with governments or utility players for the sale of its power. The difference with incremental development of the 1,200MWs mentioned previously, 73% of which is solar1, is that these projects were contracted between a non-utility buyer and the project developer. One such deal involves Amazon purchasing 375MW of solar output from the 465MW Travers Solar project, which is set for completion in 2022 and will be Canada’s largest solar facility. The online retail giant also purchased 80MW of solar production from the Lotham Solar project.

Alberta’s fully deregulate Power Market, which gives open access to generators, transmitters and retailors, is unique in Canada and allows for this type of bi-lateral project development.  This market setup combined with a 90% and 70% drop, over the last decade, in respective solar PV and wind power prices, Alberta’s world-class wind and solar resources, and a global-corporate sector hungry for cost-effective and meaningful decarbonization pathways, is an ideal combination for Alberta.

The province will forever be linked to all things Energy. As the global community continue to embrace the energy transition, Alberta will need adapt and evolve. Since 2019 Corporate Power Purchase Agreements have brought in $2.5bn on investment and much needed jobs1. With the project know-how in the province and the strong resources this should only be the beginning. 

Green Initiatives Round Up 2021

by Pamela McHugh

CHCA launched the Green Initiatives Committee in early 2021 and its members have been off to a busy start. Exploring solar panel feasibility at our community hall, monthly park cleanups, co-hosting community climate conversations, and organizing kids programming represented the bulk of our efforts the past 12 months.

Are you interested in any of the above projects or do have new ideas for environmentally focused
initiatives in our neighbourhood? Please get in touch with our committee at green@capitolhillcommunity.ca. Our committee is always accepting new volunteers.

We will take a hiatus over the winter months from our monthly park cleanups but stay tuned in the spring of 2022 when we get back out there with our garbage pickers, recycling bags and enthusiasm for clean public spaces.

Curious Kids Capitol Hill is a new program funded by the CHCA and the City of Calgary’s Inspiring Neighbourhoods Grant program. We’ve designed this workshop series to encourage kids’ curiosity around concepts of environmental stewardship and scientific thinking. Below you can check out photos
from our kickoff workshop on October 15th : Slippery Science presented by Mad Science of Southern Alberta. Event registration was filled within 36 hours of the workshop announcement! Thank you to all the parents who got their kids involved.

Workshop registration is free with a donation to our fabulous community pantry and public health protocols are always observed. Our second Curious Kids workshop takes place on November 19th at 6pm and we will be talking about “Waste in our World” with Green Calgary. We are also planning a science
workshop on December 11 as part of our Christmas parade----stay tuned for details.

Other workshop themes we will explore through this program:

Walloping Weather
Stormwater in the City
Science Citizen – Urban Wildlife
Early Engineering – Towers and Structures
Mineral Mania
Dry Ice

Workshops will be promoted through our e-newsletter (sign up if you haven’t already) and on our
Facebook page.

Colleen Garnsey, CH Green Initiatives Committee 31/01/2022

February is here.  Know what that means? That spring is coming!  Not exactly tomorrow but soon.  And that makes me think about gardening.  Gardening is good for the soul (not too mention our planet, and our pollinators). Right here in Capitol Hill we have lots of avid gardeners who spend these winter months planning and dreaming of their next chance to dig in the dirt.  One of our neighbours, Maggie Malapad, has one of the most inspiring urban gardens (in a tiny infill backyard!) I have ever seen. Here are some question I had for Maggie along with some amazing photos from her garden. 

What has been your favourite crop? 

- Tomatoes! I love growing indeterminate cherry types. Or maybe Oyster mushrooms? I’ve grown mushrooms from kits available for purchase from Red Fox Fungi near Strathmore.

Where do you find your gardening inspiration? 

- I’m inspired by the process of growing some of my own food. It’s been fun for me to experiment with starting many of my veggies from seed.

- Am also inspired by others who grow in a small space. It’s amazing what you can grow in our inner city yards.

June 6, 2021 early season view, white fabric for hail protection 

What seeds are you planting this year and when will you start or have you already? 

• Various tomatoes, squash (both winter and summer varieties), herbs, flowers (including zinnia, marigolds, dahlia) and whatever is on sale 😊. Haven’t yet decided when I’ll start seeds but likely sometime in March.

What are your favourite local resources?

Urban Farm School

 https://www.urbanfarmschool.ca/

- I attended an open yard event and was wowed by the owner’s passion for growing and their deep knowledge of permaculture. Get on their mailing list, keep your eyes peeled for the open yard dates and prepare to be amazed 😊

Calgary Horticultural Society 

https://www.calhort.org/

- Join and get access to courses, webinars and discounts at nurseries, garden centres and soil suppliers.

Perennial Bee Balm...with a Bee!

July 28, 2021 in the garden

I am grateful to Maggie for sharing these photos and some of her crazy sweet Tomatoes and Swiss Chard with me ;)  Hope this inspires you to start some seedlings and see what grows. 

Want to see more?  You can look Maggie up on Instagram @25fttogrow.

The CHCA Green Initiatives Committee is pleased to present TELUS SPARK on Earth Day 2022. Workshop attendees will be embarking on a learning journey with TELUS Spark staff, focused on Alberta birds, insects, and wildlife.

There will be interactive stations, and an entertaining presentation from the awesome staff at TELUS Spark.

The workshop has been tailor-made for CHCA’s celebration of Earth Day 2022.

Places will be limited to 40 kids aged 4-12 years. Parents are expected to stay on the premises until the workshop has finished. This event coincides with our monthly pub night, so parents can relax, while their children attend the workshop.