Environment Canada: Atlantic Region News Releases

Fuel the School
Falls Brook Centre
Carleton County
EcoAction contribution: $21,000

Through this project, the Falls Brook Centre will promote the use of biodiesel in school buses in New Brunswick, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and toxic air pollutants. To demonstrate the use of biodiesel, 8,000 litres of biodiesel will be blended with regular petroleum diesel to operate four school buses during one school year in Carleton County, New Brunswick. Results of this project will be made available to the general public, interested parties, and transportation fleet managers in the province. A secondary goal of the project is to teach students in the district about renewable fuels such as biodiesel, ethanol, biogas, and renewably generated hydrogen. The long-term goal of the group is to have a biodiesel blend used in all school buses in the province.

Solar Mapping Project
Bathurst Sustainable Development
Bathurst
EcoAction contribution: $18,900

Working with the City of Bathurst, Bathurst Sustainable Development is a member of the Partners for Climate Change Program and has been working on climate change issues since 1995. As part of a solar program developed for the city, the group wants to conduct a curb side evaluation of 5,300 residential and 900 commercial properties to determine their potential for solar retrofitting. Some of the factors to be assessed include: slope, area, shading, roof condition, and accessibility. This information will be entered into a Geographic Information System (GIS) and posted on a website so property owners can determine if their current or future property is suitable for solar retrofitting. Homeowners will be given information on solar energy, the availability of solar technology, and contact information for certified installers. The long-term goal of the group is to encourage 50 percent of suitable properties to retrofit by 2010.

Une communauté climatosage
Groupe de recherche Littoral et vie
Saint-Louis-de-Kent
EcoAction contribution: $30,000

The Groupe de recherche Littoral et vie wants to work with community groups and students to help the residents of Saint-Louis-de-Kent adopt greenhouse gas emission reducing behaviours. The five participating groups and students will also look at ways to adapt to climate change. Each group and grade level will be asked to examine a climate change effect (e.g., human health) and a carbon dioxide-generating behaviour (e.g., vehicle idling). The group or grade level will analyze where, when, and why this behaviour occurs and promote behavioural change at the community level (e.g., initiating a promotional campaign to reduce vehicle idling). Through this project mini communities-of-change will be created where members will identify and work towards adopting behaviours that reduce their personal greenhouse gas emissions, supporting each other to take up the One-Tonne Challenge.

One Tonne Workplace Challenge
New Brunswick Lung Association
Fredericton
EcoAction contribution: $36,400

The New Brunswick Lung Association wants to educate those in the workplace about the actions they can take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and improve their overall work environment. During this two-year project, the One Tonne Workplace Challenge will be delivered in 10 to 20 workplaces per year by using the results of a workplace survey, and the development and implementation of an action plan. Social marketing techniques such as follow-up calls will be used to secure employee commitments and to measure results. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, workplaces will also be encouraged to improve their overall workplace environment through the introduction of initiatives such as scent and smoke free policies, and the development of proper handling methods for indoor air contaminants. The long term goal of the New Brunswick Lung Association is the creation of a self-sustaining workplace challenge program that can be used as a model for other Lung Associations across Canada.

Total EcoAction commitment for New Brunswick: $106,300