The Village of Salmo's Sustainable Salmo Asset Management project is the 2018 winner in the asset management category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards.

Read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.

Although the Village of Salmo, BC, is small, the municipality has adopted advanced asset management practices that make the community more sustainable and resilient. (Photo: Village of Salmo, BC)

How can an organization rebuild after having no financial statements, filing system or records for two years? The small Village of Salmo, BC, faced this challenge, compounded by having brand new staff in all levels of the organization. Their solution? Take the opportunity to start from scratch and implement best practices in sustainable asset management.  

Comprehensive plan improves resilience to extreme climate events

Today, the municipality's Sustainable Salmo Official Community Plan defines the community's vision and principles for asset management and sustainable service delivery, and guides council decision-making. Community engagement exercises took place during the development of the plan, which educated community members about the importance of asset management and allowed citizens to have a say in what mattered to them.

The plan addresses capital assets, such as roads, equipment, machinery, water and sewer systems, along with the community's valuable natural assets, such as wetlands and the aquifer. This enables the Village to manage and protect those systems to ensure that the capital and natural assets continue providing services to the community.

Residents can rely on sustainable services

The municipality's asset management assessments and inventory help them deliver reliable services to residents. The information also allows the Village to budget for and maintain their infrastructure, and prepare for potential failures. This is particularly critical for a small community with limited financial resources. Having a clear picture of their assets enables them to prioritize funding for asset maintenance, and apply for grants for upgrades or new services as required.

Asset management is embedded in municipality's operations

The municipality received grant funding to support their asset inventory and condition assessment and to train 70 per cent of staff in the National Asset Management Strategy. This has saved money over the long term and has helped embed asset management practices into day-to-day municipal operations at all levels. 

The community's award-winning organizational improvements have been recognized across the province, and Salmo is a pilot community for the national Communicating Asset Management Initiative.

Want to develop a similar project in your community?

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FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.

The City of Yellowknife's Biomass District Energy System is the 2018 winner in the energy category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards.

Watch the video and read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.

Transcript

Throughout Northern Canada, heating buildings is both essential and expensive. The region relies on costly fossil fuels that contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To address these issues for their community, the City of Yellowknife, NT, came up with an innovative solution: a Biomass District Energy System, shared by several buildings and fuelled by wood pellets. This heating system is expected to reduce GHGs by 829 tonnes a year, and save the City up to $160,000 annually.

Heating offers an opportunity to significantly impact City's energy use

Heating homes and buildings in Yellowknife accounts for more than 70 per cent of the community's energy consumption. The City needed to address heating to achieve their Corporate and Community Energy Plan target to cut GHG emissions in half by 2025 (from 2009 levels). The heating oil they relied on is GHG intensive, and shipped over long distances. So, they turned to biomass energy as a renewable energy source that is less polluting, and that has potential to be sourced locally.

Switch to biomass reduces carbon footprint and lowers costs

Yellowknife's district energy system heats a group of five municipal buildings that previously consumed about 367,000 litres of heating oil a year. The switch to biomass is expected to lower GHGs by 829 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) a year, which is almost half of the City's GHG reduction target, and increase their corporate renewable energy use by 10 per cent. The City expects to see direct cost savings between $140,000 and $160,000 a year, and additional maintenance and operations savings are also expected.

Project sets example for other Northern communities

Yellowknife's district energy system is an inspiration to other Northern communities looking for viable alternative energy sources. In fact, neighbouring building owners have already approached the City to discuss the benefits and challenges of implementing similar systems. The project will support a local wood pellet plant that is currently being developed, which will bring economic benefits to the region once it is up and running.

Want to develop a similar project in your community?

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FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.

The City of Kingston's Transit High School Bus Pass Project is the 2018 co-winner of the transportation category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards. The initiative also received FCM's inaugural Inspire Award for the project that best demonstrates creativity and innovation, as decided by a live vote of delegates at FCM's Sustainable Communities Conference.

Watch the video and read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.

Transcript

How can a community encourage teens to use a sustainable, active mode of transportation to get to school, work and recreational activities? The City of Kingston, ON, and the local school boards found that giving high school students free bus passes wasn't enough to address this challenge. The solution? They introduced a transit orientation program, and now the students are on board with riding the bus.

Transit orientation generated 20-fold increase in bus trips

The City and school boards work collaboratively by providing a bus orientation program to high school students. The orientation familiarizes students with the transit system, teaches them about the environmental benefits of public transit and the cost savings compared to owning and operating a car, and shows them how riding the bus increases their freedom to travel to school and other activities.

The result? Students took nearly 600,000 trips on public transit between September 2016 and August 2017 alone—a staggering increase from 30,000 trips in the project’s first year.

Project succeeded in increasing travel independence for youth

Students said the transit pass helped them feel more independent and let them participate in more activities-such as volunteering, work, and sports. A study of the program, conducted by the University of Waterloo, showed about half the students' bus trips were to activities outside school hours, and that students tended to take the bus more often as they got older and gained experience using transit. Following graduation, students continued to use the bus to travel within Kingston.

The study concluded that the program is an important stimulant for students' travel independence that could be applied in other mid-sized Canadian communities.

Environmental and economic benefits seen in the broader community

Students, parents, the environment and the community all benefit from this initiative. Students acquire a life skill that gives them more freedom and helps them remain physically active. Parents save the time and money spent driving their children and reduce the environmental impact of using the car. And the transit system has more riders during off-peak hours, bringing the buses to life for the whole community.

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FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.

The City of Port Coquitlam's Blakeburn Lagoons Park project is the 2018 winner in the brownfields category of FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards.

Watch the video and read the case study to learn more about this project. Download our guide below to get started on a similar project in your community.

Transcript

The City of Port Coquitlam, BC, wanted to return a former sanitary lagoon to public use, but the location showed unsafe levels of contaminants. When funding became available, the City jumped at the chance to transform the area. They came up with an innovative remediation plan that avoided the costly process of removing contaminants from the site, and created the safe, natural green space residents wanted.

City tests innovative self-remediation techniques

The project team used natural techniques to develop a self-remediating site that avoided the cost of removing and replacing contaminated soil and sludge. By mixing the sludge with clean soil, they diluted contaminants and added nutrients so plants could grow. Any areas that couldn't be diluted enough were capped with new materials. To absorb and immobilize remaining heavy metals, the City planted phytoremediation shrubs, plants, grasses and trees.

Community gets desired park and access to nature

Before starting the project, the City consulted with the community and learned that residents wanted a natural recreation space - a use supported by the City's Strategic Plan. Residents can now connect with nature on the park's 1.6 kilometres of fully accessible walking trails and viewing platforms. Interpretive signs around the park enhance public education, and the nearby elementary school will use the space as an outdoor environmental studies classroom.

The naturalized surroundings create a wetland and nature preserve, including wildlife-only islands and landscape features that enhance wildlife habitat and food supply. The new plants form six ecological habitats and were installed in varying ages and sizes to increase habitat complexity.

Economically sustainable design also boosts area property values

The park's natural landscape limits ongoing maintenance costs, and linking the ponds to the area's storm systems helps manage runoff and reduce flooding in nearby communities. The redeveloped site increases neighbouring residential property values and makes it possible to develop an adjacent site, which will stimulate local economic growth.

Want to develop a similar project in your community?

Download our project guide to learn more about award-winning strategies and use the guiding questions to kick-start your sustainability initiative.

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FCM's Sustainable Communities Awards recognize and celebrate sustainability leaders and trailblazers in municipalities of all sizes across Canada.