Bow Valley Clean Air Society volunteers host a booth at the Canmore Folk Festival

Community Feature: Eco Solar Home Tour

First Eco-Solar Home Tour in Canmore June 25!

The Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley is partnering with Eco-Solar Home Tour to bring an energy efficient home tour to Canmore for the first time!

The Eco-Solar Home Tour is a free open-house style tour of homes and businesses that display practical and timely examples of sustainability including renewable energy (solar, wind and geothermal), energy efficiency, low emission technologies and natural landscaping. Canmore’s tour will feature solar arrays, passive house design principles, geothermal energy, and e-bikes and electric vehicles.

“This tour allows community members to see great examples of what others have done to increase energy efficiency in their homes, and get ideas for what you can do,” says Andrea Johancsik, Climate Engagement Lead with the Biosphere Institute. “Buildings contribute more than half of Canmore’s total community emissions, so every effort to make your home or business more energy efficient is an important climate action you can take.”

The Biosphere Institute is committed to working with Bow Valley residents and businesses to take climate action, and the Eco Solar Home Tour is a great opportunity to both showcase positive examples of local climate action and encourage others to take the next step to make their home or business more energy efficient.

Biosphere Institute’s partner Bow Valley Green Energy Co-operative and its affiliate organization Rocky Mountain Community Energy are sponsoring the Eco-Solar Home Tour. “We’re proud to feature Ralph Connor Memorial United Church on this tour, as this was the first community-owned and financed solar project in Alberta,” says Johancsik. “Come take a look behind-the-scenes!”

We need you: Take our climate survey!

Please take a few minutes to complete our survey by June 13, to help us develop our targeted climate education program. You’ll be entered to win a Biosphere goody bag!

Take the survey

Volunteers Needed!

Want to help make Banff and Canmore more bike-friendly? Volunteer to be a Pedal Poll counter June 7-9. This count will help collect data at high-traffic bike locations. All you need to do is sit for 2-4hrs and collect data with an app - it's so easy!

Send in your comments on proposed Silvertip Gondola by June 13

The provincial government has requested feedback from the public on their Proposed Terms of Reference for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the gondola project proposed by Silvertip.

We support good science, and feel this project deserves the best possible EIA. Those interested in sending their comments must submit their letter by Monday, June 13 to the Director of Environmental Assessment, Regulatory Assurance, Alberta Environment and Parks.

Send in your comments