The Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation at Okanagan College
This was our first stop. The students were divided into two groups and then toured through the centre by our two wonderful guides, Marcy Trotter and Jackie. Students learned about many sustainable features of the building such as:
- the fact that as many materials as possible were sourced locally
- the use of beetle kill pine for base boards
- much of the flooring was made from recycled rubber
- all of the furniture was refurbished--the stools in the student study areas were originally from a casino!
- geothermal heating
- the use of Sola Light Tubes to light certain areas
- the experimental natural lighting system
- Fluorescent lighting that automatically adjusts brightness based on the natural light in the room
- using untreated geothermal water for the toilets
- motion sensitive lighting that only turns on when people are in an area
- solar panels produce most of the building's electricity with excess feeding back into the grid
Students also got to tour the college's tiny home that was built by their students.
Check out the images from this part of our trip below (link).
Structurlam South Plant, Okanagan Falls
The students had been learning about Tall Wood buildings, and they knew that Structurlam produces Cross Laminate Timber and Glulam and that they were involved in building the tallest contemporary wood building in the world; Brock Commons. Brock Commons is an 18 story Tall Wood building on UBC's Vancouver campus. This was our opportunity to see how the mass timbers are produced. Stephen Tolnai, VP of Sales and Marketing, gave us a presentation and toured us around the plant. Joshua Jenkinson, Safety Coordinator, and his capable crew kept us safe on the busy plant floor. It was a thrilling experience! As an added bonus, we found out that Structurlam provided the mass timbres for both of the other stops on our field trip--the Centre of Excellence as well as Outma Sqilx'W Cultural School.
Check out the images from our Structurlam tour below (link).
Outma Sqilx'W Cultural School and Snxastwilxtn Centre, Penticton Indian Band
Our last stop was the Outma Sqilx'W Cultural School and the adjacent Snxastwilxtn Healing Centre. Penticton Indian Band Councilor Joseph Pierre and SD 67 Aboriginal Education Cultural Coordinator Anona Kampe gave us a tour of Outma Sqilx'W. Joseph was on the planning committee for the school and shared his wealth of knowledge on the design and construction of the school. Like the Centre of Excellence the school uses sustainable building practices including;
- sourcing materials locally
- using geothermal heat
- taking advantage of natural light where possible
- using beetle kill wood
The heart of the school, the cultural room is modeled on a traditional pit house. The design is beautiful with a skylight at the top of the roof, similar to the roof opening in a pit house. Outma Sqilx'W students learn the Okanagan language, Nsyilxen, and culture.
From the school we walked over to Snxastwilxtn Centre. The centre was named by Anona Kampe and it means a place for healing. Anona and Tammy Kruger toured us through the centre, which provides medical, dental and other health services. The facility is situated with one of the most beautiful views over Penticton. Located on the grounds of the centre is a memorial to all the children who attended residential schools created by Penticton artist Clint George.
Check out the images from this part of our trip below (link).
A big thank you to our hosts at each of the sites. Thank you also to our wonderful chaperones; Terry McCartan, Jane Advent, Tannis Hiebert, Jacq Kemp, Laura Wong, Kristen Maier, Harjit Sidhu, and Julie Read. It was a pleasure having you join us and I couldn't have done the trip without you. Thank you also to our bus driver, Sheldine.
The upcoming week will be the last week of Gifted Program classes for all students in the program.
