Kinark Outdoor Centre's Sustainable Living Centre and EcoClassroom

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In 2006, the Sustainable Building Design and Construction program of Fleming College designed and built the Sustainable Living Centre for Kinark Outdoor Centre near Minden, Ontario, Canada.

The building incorporates the following features:

• Fully accessible, single story
• 1200 square feet
• Double wall rammed earth bag foundation with insulation spacer
• Cordwood masonry columns
• Hemlock log roof rafters
• Straw bale wall insulation
• Curved stud wall with rammed straw-clay fill
• Earthen plaster
• Passive-solar heating and shading design
• Eastern white cedar roof shingles
• Solar hot water heater
• Rainwater collection for toilet and handwashing
• Peat-based septic system
• Solar light tubes for interior daylighting
• Off-grid, renewable solar photovoltaic electricity
• Storage of summer attic heat underground for winter comfort
• Curved rammed earth bag internal partition with radiant heat tubes
• Very low embodied energy
• Extensive use of recycled, re-used, and locally available materials

Thank you to the Haliburton County Development Corporation for their on-going support

Vision of a Sustainable World

"Our vision is a world in which there are many opportunities to learn about sustainable development. A world where a skilled population makes informed decisions in their home, community and working lives and in their leisure activities. A world where people understand and take responsibility for the impact they have on the quality of life of other people, locally and globally."

Sustainable Development Education Panel, UK (1999, p.11) First annual Report 1998. London: Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.