Grey Bruce has seen increasing engagement in local sustainability issues. The Grey Bruce Sustainability network (GBSusNet) has played a large role in such efforts, with a focus on establishing connections between individuals and organizations. This not-for-profit corporation’s objective is to facilitate sustainable communities, collaborations, programs, and research in order to create sustainable solutions for community issues. While their end goal is to support communication across stakeholder groups, GBSusNet has focused on several innovative programs in the past year.

Careers that Work

The CareerWORKS program includes an ongoing series of day-long, hands-on workshops for high school students. Each provides interactive, career-based experiences that illustrate opportunities in local communities. Through collaboration with TD Environment Fund and RBC Bluewater, this program has brought several events to Grey Bruce High Schools, with themes on Water, Energy, and Food. Each workshop details the related supply chain, painting a picture of issues like climate change, water conservation, and sustainable agriculture. In so doing, they support students in seizing opportunities in new fields that support environmental, economic, and social change. The reaction has been extremely positive – with students, teachers, and host businesses praising the program’s unique focus on future meaningful work.

Plastics that Pollute

In its first year, BGSusNet’s Film Plastic Recycling Pilot Project has been quickly embraced by Brockston residents, who contributed more than 10,000 pounds of material. This collaboration with Brockton’s Environmental Advisory Committee and Bruce Power established a depot in Walkerton for film plastics, which include a wide variety of packaging materials from plastic bags to electronics. In collecting, bailing, and shipping such plastics, this program aimed to maximize landfill lives and reduce costs while preventing pollution from materials that would otherwise not biodegrade for thousands of years. As a success, the program will help other Grey Bruce communities develop and implement similar programs.

A Map that Manages

GBSusNet has also helped develop the Sustainability Asset Map for the region, which provides a quick guide for sustainability-oriented projects, groups, and organizations. Gathering this information involves the inventorying of community assets and capabilities, a process which has been aided by the United Way and various municipalities, as well as groups like the Grey Bruce Cultural Network, Community Foundation, and Stewardship Grey Bruce. This map details potential platforms for sharing best practices and collaborating between groups throughout Grey Bruce and beyond. While the main challenge has been to develop a system for delivering current and easy-to-access information, its development is essential to making Grey Bruce more sustainable.

Programs that Progress

The electronic waste program at Walkerton’s Brucelea Haven care home has been a boon for the area community. Elderly male residents were trained through a workshop in safely deconstructing e-waste from the local community. The result of this process is multimedia resources for local schools and other organizations, as well as the appropriate recycling of materials that could not otherwise be re-purposed. This program was the result of a successful collaboration between BGSusNet and Brockton’s environmental advisory committee, along with the Community Living Walkerton and District. By engaging residents both physical and mentally, while providing materials for local communities, the deconstruction program has provided an important precedent for similar programs throughout the region.

Throughout this past year, GBSusNet has continued its successful Binder De-Construction Project, community-oriented coffeehouse for local and regional activism, and Sustainable Living Workshops, with a September event on alternative building. Through these and additional projects on a wide array of themes including a composting program in the near future, GBSusNet continues to build a better future for Grey Bruce – and for the planet Earth!