The Built Environment Committee has organized two very interesting guest speakers for Thursday January 9th 5:30-7:30 p.m.in Room 208 of the Bloomfield Centre 2786 Agricola Street:

 

a.    Andrew Holley (past President of the Nova Scotia Home Builders’ Association and current Director Build Services for Habitat for Humanity Nova Scotia) will talk about the need for, intent of, and procedures for changing Nova Scotia’s Building Code.  The Building Code will be undergoing its regular 5 year review in the not-too-distant future, and this represents a great opportunity to learn about ways to propose changes which will enhance the environment by amending the Building Code, e.g. net-zero energy buildings, re-use of grey water, fitting homes for roof top solar systems, use of alternate building materials (e.g. straw bales), etc.  This presentation will help all interested people learn how to go about making lasting changes to our built environment by amending our Building Code; and

 

b.    Phillip Durand, currently pursuing his Master of Arts of Emergency and Disaster Management, will make a presentation about community resiliency and focus on his thesis which identifies the major factors of community resilience and their indicators.  See the attached file.  Given that climate change is going to create more extreme weather conditions, enhancing the ability of communities to prepare for and withstand natural disasters is a very important topic.  This is a great opportunity to learn more about community resilience and how we might go about making it better.

 

In addition to giving their presentations, both speakers will attempt to answer any questions that you may have.

 

All members of the Ecology Action Centre are very welcome to attend, as well as other groups and individuals who may be interested.  Please let me know by email if you are planning to attend so that we can ensure that we have enough chairs.

 

Thanks,

 

Brian Palmer
Acting Chair

Built Environment Committee