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January 28, 2008

Green Flooring in Ottawa

Posted by greenlivingottawa under Ottawa, building, health, household, recycled, waste reduction
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Kudos to the Ottawa Sun for running an article on environmentally-friendly flooring on Saturday (January 28). However, the article was hardly a local-to-Ottawa one. The bamboo flooring distributor they list, Silk Road Flooring, operates out of Toronto, and the eCommerce site provided for cork flooring, Fast Floors, is a US company.  So let me fill in some of the Ottawa details that the Ottawa Sun left out.

My first stop for any green renovation project is The Healthiest Home and Building Supplies in Ottawa West.  In terms of green flooring, they offer the following choices:

  • ECO-logo certified bamboo.  (Note, some other brands of bamboo flooring are finished with formaldehyde resins that give off a lot of VOCs.)
  • Carpeting that has no heavy metals, PVC, or formaldehyde in it and that is made from partly recycled contents in low-impact manufacturing facilities.
  • Cork with no formaldehyde, organic solvents, or VOCs
  •  ”Orchard-salvaged” wood flooring
  • Marmoleum, an environmentally-friendly healthy alternative to linoleum
  • Reclaimed wood flooring

The Healthiest  Home and Building Supplies, 135 Holland Avenue (right behind The Table, vegetarian restaurant), Ottawa, ON, 613.715.9014, info@thehealthiesthome.com

 

October 10, 2007

DeBoer’s Furniture Introduces Environmental Sustainability to its Line

Posted by greenlivingottawa under Ottawa, building, health, household, organic, recycled, waste reduction
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One of my readers tipped me off to DeBoer’s Furniture’s new everGreen line of “eco-conscious” furniture. DeBoer’s, an Ontario furniture retailer with stores in Toronto and Ottawa, has established a fairly rigourous set of environmental criteria for its everGreen line and has worked hard to find furniture that meets these standards. The Ottawa store carries everGreen pieces for bedrooms, living-rooms and dining-rooms, including Natura mattresses.

DeBoer’s goal is to provide furnishings to Canadians that meet Europe’s stringent environmental labeling standards. EverGreen products include those made from organic, recycled and recyclable fabrics; natural foam; sustainably harvested wood, and formaldehyde-free, low-VOC glues, stains and finishes. DeBoer’s has also looked for manufacturers that minimize the impact their facilities have on the environment.

DeBoer’s everGreen furniture line is manufactured in Italy, Denmark, British Columbia and Ontario. The Canadian companies represented in this line are Upholstery Arts from Vancouver, Natura Mattresses from Cambridge Ontario and Urban Tree Salvage from Toronto.

For more media coverage on DeBoer’s everGreen furniture see a recent article in the National Post, as well as pieces on other green-blogger sites swishlist.ca (they have photos) and greenthinkers.org.

This is a purely researched post. Though I did talk to someone at the Ottawa DeBoer’s store to make sure that they were carrying the everGreen line here, I have not actually seen any of these products. I’d be interested in getting comments from people who had seen or even bought these products. See my previous posts on local environmentally-friendly sofas and chairs and mattresses.

DeBoer’s Furniture, 1050 Baxter Rd, Ottawa, ON, Canada, (613) 828-9682

 

August 8, 2007

Random Acts of Art: Remic Rapids Stone Sculptures

Posted by greenlivingottawa under Ottawa, arts and culture, building
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stone-sculptures.jpg

The stone sculptures that emerge each summer out of the shallow waters of Remic Rapids in the Ottawa River were my introduction to the power of random acts of art in public places. Seeming to defy gravity, the rock figures embody the magic that unexpected works of art can bring to places, reminding us to pay attention to our surroundings.

These particular acts of art are now impermanent fixtures along the Ottawa River Parkway. For me, they are as much a sign of summertime in the capital as the ripening of blackberries in my backyard and the whine of cicadas in the afternoon heat. On most weekends the artist, John Félice Ceprano, is there, attending to his figures, good naturedly re-stacking them when some careless tourist ignores the warning signs and sends them tumbling back into a pile of rocks.

The NCC has even installed an official plaque on site. According to the plaque, John Félice Ceprano has been experimenting with ephemeral stone sculptures since 1986. I came across his work sometime in the mid 1990s. That summer, my friends and I were so moved by the visual and physical balance of the figures and by their transient nature that we were inspired to hold a midsummer picnic in their presence, eating strawberries and chocolate on the rocks as the sun went down on the longest day of the year.

For more information about the artist, John Félice Ceprano, and for some gorgeous photos of the sculptures over the years, check out his web-page: www.jfceprano.com

 

July 31, 2007

Keeping the Heat Out: an improvised summer kitchen

Posted by greenlivingottawa under Ottawa, building, energy, food, household
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summer-kitchen.jpg

In the summer of 2007 here in Ottawa, we no longer cook with wood stoves. But on days like these even lighting a gas stove can seem like turning on a furnace. On days like these I dream of having a summer kitchen.

I first learned about summer kitchens at Upper Canada Village. In the nineteenth century all the cooking during the long hot months of the year would be done in an alcove or out building behind the house. In this way heat from cooking was kept out of dwelling spaces.

Some day, finances permitting, I’d love to have a summer kitchen built behind our house. In the meantime, we make do with a plug in hotplate, a toaster oven, and a solar oven, cooking our suppers on the back deck, keeping the heat out.

 

June 15, 2007

Ecology and Faith in Ottawa

Posted by greenlivingottawa under Ottawa, building, volunteering
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I was deeply disappointed last week to see that a local church had exchanged its “Pesticide Free, Safe for Me” signs for posted warnings about the use of pesticides on its property. I have no idea what inspired this dramatic change of heart. I walk my dog past this church almost every day and their lawn always looks lush.

Fortunately other local faith communities are moving forward on issues of sustainability and environmentalism. The local chapter of the national interfaith network, Faith and the Common Good seems to be fairly active in Ottawa. I see them every Earth Day weekend at the Eco-Stewardship Fair at the RA Centre. Unfortunately their web-site is not very informative, seems to be updated only infrequently, and is mostly under construction.

Faith and the Common Good nationally and locally run a program called Greening Sacred Spaces. This program helps interested faith communities make their buildings (churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques) and grounds more environmentally-friendly. In Ottawa, if you are interested in helping out or are part of a faith community or religious group that would like help in becoming more environmentally-friendly, you can contact Faith and the Common Good Ottawa by email: ottawa@faith-commongood.net

On a related topic, CBC radio’s weekly news magazine on faith, religion, and spirituality–Tapestry–is airing a program on the Goddess and the Greenman this Sunday (June 17th) at 2:00 pm on Radio One. This program will explore how the history of religion in the West is related to our current environmental crises. If you miss the broadcast, they post audio files of most of their past shows in their archives. You might also like to listen to their past show: God’s Green Earth: Religion and Ecology

 

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