Making Canmore More Sustainable Together Built on Coal

CANMORE

Making Canmore more sustainable together Built on coal. Moving to sustainability.

In 1884, Canmore was just a whistle-stop on the newly built Canadian Pacific Railway when two prospectors unearthed black coal on the west side of the Bow River. Two years later, Queen Victoria granted a Charter to mine coal in the Canmore area and in 1887 the No. 1 Mine opened just below present-day Quarry Lake. View of Three Sisters Mountains, Canmore, Alberta. Date: [ca. 1880s-1890s] Canmore grew to be one of Photographer: Thompson, S. J. / Glenbow Archive NA-937-2 the most important coal-mining centres in Southern Alberta, producing almost five million tons of coal a year just before the First World War. By 1969, production had dropped to about 200,000 tons a year. The last mine closed July 13, 1979. Today, the Town of Canmore and the people who live here are committed to striving toward sustainability. Canmore’s Environmental Transportation

Sustainability Action Plan (ESAP) lays out a number of targets. By 2050, we will reduce community CO2 emissions by 50% from 2007 levels.

Water By 2035, we will reduce residential water consumption by 50% per capita from 2000 levels. Waste By 2035, we will reduce total municipal solid waste land filled by 62% per capita from 2008 levels (that’s 0.3 tonnes per person, per year).

Energy This guide will help you help Canmore be more sustainable. By 2050, we will reduce community CO2 emissions by 50% from 2007 levels. Read on to learn more about some simple measures you can take to help all of us meet our goals. You can read the entire ESAP at www.Canmore.ca/Municipal-Sustainability WATER Canmore’s waterclean water youuseandkeep Reduce theamountof reservoir inKananaskis. gets mostofitswaterfromtheSprayLakes town—and theRundleForebay,areservoirthat groundwater—an aquiferthatflowsunder the Canmore’s drinkingwatercomesfrom disinfection—and thendischarged intotheBowRiverwhere Treatment Plant,whereit’s treated—theprocessincludes Used waterfromyourhome travelsthroughsomeofthe 90 kmsoftheTown’s sewerpipestotheWaste Water the waterflows downstreamtoCalgaryand beyond. screening, biologicalaerated filtrationandfinallyUV

Canmore’s stormdrainsordrywells,bringingpesticides fromlawns, and creeks.Therunoffthatgoesintothedrywellsinolderparts litter, petwasteandotherpollutionwithit.Therunoffthatgoesinto the stormdrainsisnottreated—itgoesdirectlyintonearbyrivers of townpercolatesdown,eventuallyreachingthewatertable. in upforCanmore’s MyYard is Pesticide Freepledge • Sign • nativeandlocallyadaptedplantsgrasses • Choose Sustainable landscaping Stormwater, therunofffromrainorsnow, flowsdirectlyinto Toxins-Reduction.html www.canmore.ca/Municipal-Sustainability/Environmental/ is needed.Setlawnmowerbladeshigh(2inches). Only oneinchofwater, onceperweek(includingrainfall) Water intheearlymorningoreveningtoavoidwaterloss. and requirefarlesswater. which arenaturallyresistanttolocalinsectsanddiseases Canmore –InfoSheetsat www.biosphereinstitute.org reduce toxins inrunoff, lookfortheSustainable Action To findouthowyoucanconservedrinkingwater and

sources ofenergy and choosealternative Reduce yourenergyuse Energywind-powered plants. comes fromhydroelectric,biomassand 40% fromnaturalgas.Theremaining10% is generatedbycoal-firedplantsandanother In Alberta,abouthalfor50%ofourelectricity We cangoalongwaytoreducingouruseofcoalandnatural turning offthelightswhenyouleaveroom and turning gas—both ofwhichemitgreenhouse gases—bysimply down yourthermostatwhenyouleavehome.

provides renewableenergytotheprovince’s grid.Thinkabout Savings Total lifetimecost(a+bc) (at $0.10 perkilowatt-hour[kWh]) Lifetime electricitycost(c) Replacement lightbulbs(b) Life (hours) Light output(lumens) Initial cost(a) qualified CFL Cost comparisonofa60-Watt incandescentlightbulbversusa15-Watt ENERGY STAR generating yourownhome’s electricitywiththeuseof Consider switchingyourelectricitytoacompanythat solar panels,windorgeothermalsources. www.biosphereinstitute.org Sustainable Action Canmore–InfoSheetsat For acompletelistofenergy options,lookforthe – $65.00 $0.10/kWh =$60.00 10,000 hrs×60 9 @$0.50 =$4.50 1,000 800 $0.50 Incandescent 60-Watt $47.00 $18.00 $0.10/kWh =$15.00 10,000 hrs×15 – 10,000 800 $3.00 (ENERGY STAR 15-Watt CFL qualified)

If you have to drive, try to bundle your appointments and Reduce the amount errands to drive around as efficiently as you can. Or, catch a ride with a friend and consider signing up for carpooling you drive and drive and make some new ones. more efficiently

Canmore has lots of options for getting Canmore pathways and trails Canmore has an impressive network of walking/ around that can help reduce our use of single biking trails in and around the town. You can also purchase or rent bicycles from local businesses. occupant vehicles—reducing CO2 emissions as For trails and maps visit www.canmore.ca well as cars and trucks in traffic. You can enjoy walking around town or hopping on your bike Trails between Canmore and Banff • Legacy Trail www.pc.gc.ca (or a rental bike), Canmore has some public • Goat Creek Trail www.albertaparks.ca transportation choices as well.

Take the new ROAM bus between Banff and Check out the notice boards at grocery stores around Canmore, or other bus services to various ski Canmore and find out a lot more about your options for hills and the Calgary International Airport. transportation by reading the Sustainable Action Canmore – Info Sheets at www.biosphereinstitute.org WASTE community drop-offlocations. glass—to oneofseveralneighbourhoodand recycling—mixed paper, plastic,metaland your neighbourhoodandbringstandard take yourgarbagetotheanimal-proofbin in garbage orrecyclingpick-up. Instead,please and otherwildlife, Canmoredoesn’t havecurbside Because weshareourtownwithbears,ravens and recycle Reduce, reuse fluorescent lights,oldcomputers andanyothere-waste Please take yourusedoil,batteries,bicycletires, to theBoulderDepotforrecycling.

or useagarburator. worm compostingworkshop), indoor composter(i.e. attenda Instead, youcansetupan permitted, asitattractswildlife. Composting outdoorsisnot Canmore whereyoucantake householditems , As forreusingitems,thereareseveralstoresin www.biosphereinstitute.org Sustainable Action Canmore–InfoSheetsat Get moreinformationabout thethreeRs inthe sports equipment,booksandotherthings. Community GarageSales Banff Alpine Racers Ski Swaps Canmore NordicSkiClubSwap Rundle MountainBike Swap Community Reuse Events items, remembertheother ‘R’ andreducetheamount But asyou’rerecycling materials andreusing of wasteyoucreate.

Canmore’s Landscape Mountains located adjacent to and visible from the townsite are: Ha Ling Peak (2,407 metres (7,897 ft); Grotto Mountain (2,706 m / 8,878 ft); Mount Lady Macdonald (2,606 m / 8,550 ft); Mount Lawrence Grassi (2,685 m / 8,809 ft); and The Three Sisters (2,936 m, 2,769 m, 2,694 m or 9,633 ft, 9,084 ft, 8,839 ft).

Mount Lady Macdonald

The information provided in this booklet was put Grotto Mountain together by the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley in collaboration with local REALTORS® and the Town of Canmore. More information can be found at www.biosphereinstitute.org. Ha Ling Peak

Mount Lawrence Grassi

This booklet was sponsored by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation.

Three Sisters