How Green Are We?

In his message for the World Day of Peace on January 1, 2010, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI spoke eloquently on the theme "If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation:"

Respect for creation is of immense consequence, the Holy Father said, not least because "creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God's works",¹and its preservation has now become essential for the pacific coexistence of mankind. Man's inhumanity to man has given rise to numerous threats to peace and to authentic and integral human development - wars, international and regional conflicts, acts of terrorism, and violations of human rights. Yet no less troubling are the threats arising from the neglect - if not downright misuse - of the earth and the natural goods that God has given us. For this reason, it is imperative that mankind renew and strengthen "that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying".²

How do we translate the teaching into bricks and mortar?

Stewardship of the environment has been a consideration both in the demolition of the old St. Joseph Seminary and Newman Theological College  building on Mark Messier Trail and in construction of the new facilities on 98th Avenue and 84th Street just east of downtown Edmonton.

The Old

As much material as possible from the old site has been recycled or will be reused. The stained glass windows, the terrazzo tile floor crest and the statuary were all removed to be installed at the new seminary. Other items and fixtures are living a new life elsewhere. For example:

• Most trees were removed and transplanted.

• Desks and other furnishings went to charitable groups such as the Mustard Seed foundation, an inner-city ministry (they used the elevators to provide access for the disabled to their building), St. Vincent de Paul, and Living Waters College, the new Christian fine arts school.

• Concrete from the demolition was crushed and turned into gravel.

• Bricks were crushed to make landscaping shale.

• Copper piping and other metals of value, including all structural steel, were recycled.

The New

Our new buildings are being constructed to a Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) designation. LEED is a rating system for developing high performance, sustainable buildings. Building this way can mean a little extra in capital cost, (typically less than five per cent) but the financial benefits occur over the long term in savings on heating/cooling, water usage, and lighting.

According to Cohos Evamy Integratedesign, the firm that designed the new buildings, these are some of the features that will contribute to the Silver LEED designation:

• Sustainable Site Design: Drought resistant and low maintenance landscaping, indigenous plant material, night-sky-friendly lighting

• Water efficient: Dual flush toilets, waterless urinals, low-flow faucets and showers

• Optimized Energy Performance: Low energy consumption, heat recovery, natural ventilation, room occupancy sensors

• Durable building: Regional construction materials, recycling of construction waste (metal, wood etc.)

• Environmental Quality: Use of low VOC materials (Volatile Organic Compounds are chemicals which evaporate into the air from products such as paints, primers, sealants and varnishes), carbon dioxide monitoring, maximize use of natural daylight.

¹ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 198.

² Benedict XVI, Message for the 2008 World Day of Peace, 7.