Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Environmental Café

Summary of Community Engagement Feedback

1 INTRODUCTION

This report summarizes the key themes and ideas that emerged as a result of the
Environmental Café, a community engagement meeting held at Kitsilano Neighbourhood
House. The purpose of this session was to gather feedback from community members
and sustainability professionals about how sustainability can be incorporated into the
‘KNH Community Service and Affordable Housing Pilot Project’.

2 PROJECT BACKGROUND

Beginning this coming fall/winter (2010), Kits House will begin redeveloping its facilities.
This project (called the ‘KNH Community Service and Affordable Seniors Housing Pilot
Project’) is meant to enhance existing
Neighbourhood House services while expanding
its facility to offer affordable housing for seniors.
This pilot will have the potential to be replicated
across the Province.

Since launching the project, KNH has committed

to an ongoing consultation process and the
Environmental Café was the sixth community
consultation session that has been held over the
last two years.

The Café took place in the KNH Community Hall on Saturday, May 15th from 1:00pm to
3:30pm and included 22 participants as listed in Table 1:

Table 1: Environmental Café Participants

Nancy Butler Charlotte Roth
Karen Lawrie Derek Irland
Michael Chan Gord McGee
Helen Obrien Lorraine Kluber
Lawrence Boxall Skot Nelson
Laurelle Santana Alex Hutton
Thara Vayali Paulette Stroo
Grant Wyllychuk John Gillis
Nate Rosie Tony Swain
Roya Bard Catherine Leach
Sean McEwen Meredith Hunt

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 Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Environmental Café
Summary of Community Engagement Feedback

3 SESSION FORMAT AND AGENDA

A café-style format was set up for the event which included four tables, each with a
specific discussion topic. Participants were free to choose any topic that resonated with
them and they were also encouraged to spend some time at each table. The tables
were covered in butcher paper in order to record ideas that emerged throughout the
discussions. Groups were asked to choose one person to report out on the outcomes of
the discussions.

The discussion topics for the tables were as follows:

∞ Incorporating Sustainability into Public Spaces

Participants at this table were asked to think
about how communal spaces (both indoor and
outdoor) could be used in a sustainable way.
The group was encouraged to think about the
three arms of sustainability including
environmental, economic and social.

∞ Incorporating Sustainability into Office

Space
Groups at this table to asked to think about how
sustainable practices could be incorporated into
office space. Individuals focusing on this area
were encouraged to think about not only good green practices but how to address social
sustainability issues as well as economic.

∞ Incorporating Sustainability into Residential Space

Groups at this table were asked to think about models for sustainable living areas.
Again, groups were asked to focus on the three arms of sustainability.

∞ Parking Lot
This table was reserved for those ideas that did not readily fall under the designated
discussion areas. Participants were encouraged to share any and all ideas related to
sustainability and were asked specifically to think about diverting waste from landfill
during the redevelopment process.

Group Discussion and Session Evaluation

After the break-out sessions, each group presented a summary of the ideas discussed.
Sean McEwen then led the group in a general discussion to solicit more ideas around
design. The session closed with a brief evaluation exercise where participants were
asked to provide feedback on the café style format.

A summary of feedback from the break-out groups and the general discussion as well as
the session evaluation is presented in the next two sections.

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 Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Environmental Café
Summary of Community Engagement Feedback

4 SUMMARY OF SESSION FEEDBACK

To follow is a summary of the feedback that was provided. Many participants indicated
that prior to implementing any idea, lifecycle factors should be considered. For example,
considerations around water use should be researched when determining how best to
approach dishwashing in the office environment.

Specific feedback is presented in Table 2 and is organized by discussion topic or table.

Table 2: Session Feedback

Discussion Topic Feedback
Incorporating ∞ Ensure that the process for incorporating sustainability is
Sustainability into always dynamic and democratic; continue to refine ideas
∗
Public Spaces and seek agreement amongst community members
∞ Be mindful of localizing inputs and outputs when
considering energy, food and materials; as an example look
for ways to use power efficiently and sparingly while
exploring opportunities to use alternative forms of energy
such as geothermal and/or solar
∞ Related to food or garden space; ensure any food waste
coming out of the facility is used to make compost in order
to grow more food or fertilize gardens, use grey water and
night soil
∞ Expand agriculture use of land into other areas such as
sidewalks; explore the feasibility of using this land for
communal food such as planting fruit trees
∞ Create opportunities for the community to get access to
alternative forms of transportation; create a bike share
program and ensure the facility as access to co-op cars and
vans
∞ Develop programs, social enterprises and educational
opportunities for residents; create internships to provide
training in the trades. Offer bike repair services to the
community as a means to generate revenue or open a café
that offers food grown in the community garden
∞ Look for opportunities to engage youth and children; for
example showcase community art done by children
∞ Use the new facility as a teaching tool for residents; as an
example host gardening workshops
∞ Find opportunities to engage the community in the


Participants at this table felt it was difficult to limit ideas to a public space context and
focused more on a general approach of minimizing the overall eco-footprint of the facility.

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 Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Environmental Café
Summary of Community Engagement Feedback

Discussion Topic Feedback

redevelopment project; use the barn raising concept to
promote involvement
∞ Take advantage of volunteer energy and expertise
Incorporating ∞ Create an open work space with lots of natural light
Sustainability into ∞ Ensure office has good air circulation
Office Space ∞ Assemble an office green team to encourage staff buy-in of
environmental initiatives throughout the office
∞ Ensure there are open ways of communicating throughout
the office; create a common area for inter-office
communication, use whiteboards and chalkboard to post
staff notices rather than sending information to individual
workstations
∞ Create mechanism to encourage community building in the
office
∞ Develop strategies to minimize printing; have a drop-box for
hardcopies that staff can review, set up all printers for
duplex printing, etc…
∞ Minimize paper use / report length by being mindful of font
size, margins etc…
∞ Set up “carrot and stick” mechanisms to encourage staff to
engage and participate in sustainable behaviour. As an
example, provide personalized dishes to ensure individuals
take responsibility for their own cleaning
∞ Create a flex space for downtime or for yoga classes
∞ Encourage employees to eat well and choose healthy food;
offer healthy snacks
∞ Use Interface Flor eco carpet tiles and other sustainable,
eco friendly materials
∞ Choose durable, long lasting office equipment to minimize
waste
∞ Emphasize the 3 Rs, not just recycling; encourage
reduction first then reuse and then look for opportunities to
recycle what’s left
∞ Rent out office space to external service providers as a way
of generating revenue
∞ Use LED lighting
Incorporating ∞ Ensure residences and common areas have accessible and
Sustainability into adaptable building features such as flush thresholds, walk-
Residential Space in showers, grab rails, shower seats, moveable flex space
to allow for aging in place
∞ Create a common room or area that is for residents only;
include a kitchenette for preparing drinks or snacks

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 Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Environmental Café
Summary of Community Engagement Feedback

Discussion Topic Feedback

∞ Include a family room that can be reserved by residents
when they receive visitors
∞ Be mindful of isolation of seniors; host community events
such as dinners to engage seniors; create social
opportunities
∞ Ensure housing is affordable and available for local low
income seniors
∞ Create programs to bring youth and seniors together
∞ Include “green” features to minimize energy and resource
use such as day lighting (skylights), motion sensor lighting,
low cost electrical baseboards, capillary tube radiant
heating, feedback mechanisms for residents such as water
and energy meters, trickle vents, thermal mass, concrete
floors
∞ Strive for net zero energy; incorporate LEED standards,
maximize air circulation or cross flow through the position of
doors and windows, use natural durable materials and
consider the WABI SABI concept in choosing building
materials or approaching design
∞ Use indigenous plants for landscaping
∞ Use non-toxic products in order to be able to use grey water
∞ Suites should have fireplaces and good soundproofing
Parking Lot ∞ Use this lead time (i.e. from now until redevelopment
begins) to plan ways to maximize building materials reuse;
there are many opportunities to reuse shrubs, lumber,
playground materials (e.g. fencing, patio tiles)
∞ Generate income by having a demolition sale or a silent
demolition auction
∞ Use expertise from the community to develop strategies to
∗
approach demolition and salvaging
∞ Showcase the history of Kits House (use old photographs)
in the new buildings

5 GENERAL DISCUSSION & SESSION EVALUATION

Prior to closing the session, Sean McEwen prompted the group to provide more ideas
around sustainable design. He cited some examples to consider such as using potable
water in the new facility and expanding the community garden / landscape to other areas
such as boulevards. Some ideas that emerged in this wider discussion included:


One of the participants indicated that he is in the salvaging business and would be willing to
volunteer his time and expertise to help KNH develop strategies to reuse building materials

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 Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Environmental Café
Summary of Community Engagement Feedback

∞ Include medicinal herbs in community gardens; consider alternative forms of

healthcare when planning agricultural landscapes.
∞ Create a social enterprise café that
offers food grown in the community
∗
garden and look for opportunities to
create synergies with local
businesses to support the café; e.g.
use their facilities to store food.

To close the session, participants were asked

to evaluate the session using the ‘Plus/Delta’
method (a short formative evaluation exercise
designed to highlight what worked well and
what could be improved). Generally
speaking, participants felt that the session
went well and appreciated the café style set-up. Some specifics included:

Table 3: Plus / Delta Results

Plus
∞ Great space to meet; nice open room
∞ Good breadth of ideas; a lot was
achieved
∞ Flexibility in room set up and session
format; participants could move about
freely and join in any discussion
∞ Participants felt they were on level
ground with everyone; there was no
hierarchy of experience
∞ Room set up allowed everyone to see
one another
Delta
∞ Focus was broad; give more sense of
what is achievable, narrow the focus to
specific topic areas
∞ Encourage participants to share the
responsibility of taking notes; give each
person a pen so he/she can write their
own thoughts
∞ Provide more information about the
drivers for the project and more
information in general about the
background and the history of the
project
∞ Allow time for participants to introduce
themselves and indicate their interest
in the project
∞ Ensure there is ample paper at each
station


The group discussed this concept at length and debated the feasibility of offering food with
only having limited space. One participant suggested that KNH look for opportunities to
create synergies with local businesses such as Capers and Safeway and use their facilities to
store food. Some concerns were raised about how this could work. This idea could be
explored more at subsequent engagement sessions.

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 Kitsilano Neighbourhood House Environmental Café
Summary of Community Engagement Feedback

6 NEXT STEPS

The bullet points to follow include a series of recommended next steps in the community
engagement process:

1. Distribute report to session participants and post it on the Kits House website.

2. Evaluate with project architect and other key stakeholders (e.g. project engineer,
landscape architect, operations staff) session ideas and feedback against other
considerations such as budget or feasibility in terms of implementation.

3. Determine more focused feedback areas for future meetings and engage specific
organizations.

4. Ensure future meetings are planned well in advance in order to ensure

∗
representatives from organizations have enough notice.


Many organizations contacted expressed an interest in the project and wanted to participate
in the engagement process however they needed more notice in order to plan to send a
representative. Organizations include the City of Vancouver, Lighthouse, SPEC, BEST and the
Environmental Youth Alliance among others.