Archives
EEMAC Program Update
Thunder Bay, Jan 4, 2008
Booshoo! Wachiyah! Tanse! Greetings to all! This
is to provide you with an update of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Measures (EEMAC) program for the First Nation communities in Ontario.
Five communities were selected for the Energy Retrofit Program.
Each community has a community liaison as well as apprentices that
have gained some experience in the blower door tests and other
areas of the assessments. Ron Nokes, auditor will be visiting each
community to re-assess some of the homes to gather information
that was lacking in the first attempt. He has visited Stanjikoming
and Big Island and now have completed their reassessments. He plans
to visit Sheshegwaning and Sheguiandah and Slate Falls First Nation
in the new year. Apprentices will partake in this process and will
gain a full understanding and awareness of details that are required
for a full and complete audit. Since this is a pilot program we
have learned some valuable lessons, including the need to have
one team of auditors, visit all communities to ensure consistency
and efficiency in all information gathered. This will be a recommendation
that we will highlight, should the program be rolled out for a
province wide approach.
Gail Lawlor from Energy Matters will provide energy efficiency
workshops geared to the homeowners. These workshops will focus
on energy efficiency appliances and simple measures that homeowners
can do in the home to conserve the light.
All seven posters with positive messages that remind us to revitalize
our conservation culture and to take care of our mother earth have
been distributed to all First Nation communities in Ontario. These
posters will serve as a foundation from which to build a curriculum
that will be offered to classrooms for our First Nation schools.
We will begin the initial meetings with our elder’s council
and the network of champions for the development of appropriate
curriculum for elementary, secondary, post-secondary and adult
education for our First Nation schools.
Our Energy Conservation Kits have been distributed to all First
Nation communities who have signed contracts. We would like to
thank all of the contact people from our communities that have
gone over and above their job duties to ensure that each household
had received their Energy Conservation Kit. We want to thank you
all for your efforts and hard work to get the job done!
A special congratulation goes out to Cameron Staats from Six
Nations who was successfully recruited and organized volunteers
to deliver almost 3000 kits to every household there. Proceeds
to their efforts will go towards Essie and Gil Martin’s “Walk
With Me” diabetes program, who are raising funds for a dialysis
machines at the health centre in Six Nations. Great Job!
A final payment will be issued to each community once we have
received the final one page report that was included in the contract
that was signed. Final reports that have been received will be
compiled for a full report on the experiences and some comments
that were generated as a result of this unique program.
If you have any products that you might have trouble installing,
please check out our web-site, www.conservethelight.ca and under
the Energy Conservation Kits tab, you will find a video that was
created by two of our summer students, Dylan Hardy from Biinjitawabik
Saugeen Anishinabek and Aaron Gray from Lac Seul First Nation.
We would like to acknowledge and thank our youth for their participation
and production of this video. This video has been separated in
segments by product. This will assist you to simply click on the
product to learn how to install it and how it will help you to
conserve energy in your home.
Any questions with any other aspects of the program can be directed
to Charles Fox or Meladina Hardy who can be reached at 807-622-8008.
On behalf of OPA & CFCI Chi-Miigwech! Thank You for your
continued support for this unique program and to revitalize our
conservation culture to do our part in conserving the light!
|
