The Connection Between Environmentalism and Heritage Activism

I have often made the case on Planet Green and TreeHugger that the greenest brick is the one already in the wall, and that our heritage districts are energy conservation districts. In fact, I became such an ardent preservationist that I have ended up as President of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario. One of the constant problems that groups like ours or the National Trust For Historic Preservation is to become relevant to younger people; the membership skews old.

On the other hand, the environmental movement skews young. How does one get the message across that saving buildings can help save the planet? At a conference in St. John's, Newfoundland last week I saw how one group does it.

The Environmental Action Centre of Halifax, Nova Scotia "has been working to build a healthier, more sustainable Nova Scotia. Today we have over 1000 members, 400 volunteers and staff, and seven active teams and committees." But they also save buildings. The Morris House, built in 1760, was under threat and they rallied to save it. Aaron Muraghan explains why:

Image credit: Kim Thompson

It may seem strange at first that an environmental awareness organization such as the EAC would want to pair up with The Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia to save a couple of old buildings, but nothing could be a better example of sustainability. Every year in Nova Scotia thousands of tons of construction and demolition debris and waste is put in our landfills. According to the Building Materials Reuse Assoc. the demolition of a 2000sq/ft house can produce up to 60 tons of waste material, 85% of which could have been reused. By destroying our older buildings in favour of new development we are not only defrauding ourselves and future generations of Nova Scotians of their built heritage and the historic charm of their communities, but we are also contributing to the degradation of our land, air and water, as well as consuming large quantities of non-renewable resources.

Kim Thompson and Aaron Murnaghan, St. John's, Newfoundland

They also produced a valuable Waste? NOT! Toolkit that you can download. Aaron concludes:

A report by the UN sponsored Brundtland Commission in 1987 defined sustainable development as “development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Those needs are social, economic and environmental, and by saving at least one of these buildings we are not only practising sustainable development, but are also showing other people that they can too.

There is a direct connection between sustainability and heritage; hugging our old buildings is as important as hugging trees.

More on why old buildings are green:
Can Heritage Buildings Be Called Green?
Building Storeys: Making Heritage Relevant
In Hard Times It's Time For Renovation and Preservation
Building the Green Modern Home: Looking at Windows
Everything New is Old Again in Huffington Post