Congratulations to the 2008 Award of Excellence Recipients.

Community Projects
The Community Projects Award rewards the work of volunteers engaged in community building and conservation.

• Claire Rodger
  Claire Rodger’s ambition for the Cedarvale Children’s Garden was to create a place where children would be empowered to effect change, both in their immediate community and the greater world. Built on the values of environmental stewardship, community building, participation, non-competitive, multicultural, multigenerational physical activities and co-operation, the garden has had a big impact on the community.
• Transforming Toronto
  Transforming Toronto is a group of citizens who got together in response to the proposed construction of a new high-voltage transmission line to run through east Toronto to Lake Ontario. Since then, Transforming Toronto’s vision has grown much larger. It believes ordinary citizens need to use their power to find and install new sources of electricity through conservation, efficiency and clean, green, small-scale power generation.

Energy Conservation
The Energy Conservation Award rewards efforts to reduce energy or develop renewable energy sources to improve our air quality.

• Upper Broadview Suites
  Upper Broadview Suites is a 32-unit rental apartment building located at 849 Broadview Avenue. The building dates from 1930, and the owners have implemented environmental initiatives that have reduced waste as well as gas, electricity and water consumption. The building was a pilot project for the green bin program in apartments, and has been recognized for its waste minimization as well as being a bicycle-friendly building.
  
• James Ramesbottom
  James Ramesbottom has been instrumental in implementing sustainable environmental initiatives at the Wilmar Court Seniors’ Residence. His efforts have led to significant reductions in energy consumption as well as community building with the involvement of the tenants. This has set a great example for other seniors’ residences and social housing in terms of achieving energy efficiency, maintaining a green lifestyle and carrying out sustainability practices.
  

Environmental Awareness
The Environmental Awareness Award rewards an individual or group helping people to understand the interconnectedness of the natural and man-made worlds.

• greenTbiz
  greenTbiz is a program delivered by the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA), working with Toronto’s Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), to benefit their members and the environment. greenTbiz has delivered more than 150 consultations that include individualized energyand environmental-conservation information. Once companies have implemented changes, they are invited to participate in the Smart Mentoring program to share their learning with other companies.
• Cathy Nesbitt
  Cathy Nesbitt’s company, Cathy’s Crawly Composters, specializes in vermicomposting (indoor composting with worms) and organic diversion. She is a worm advocate, and, through inspirational story-telling, has raised the level of awareness about environmental conservation of over 15,000 students. She inspires individuals to take action and get involved, and has extended the life of landfills by singlehandedly diverting several tonnes of organics.

Green Design
The Green Design Award rewards the efforts of a company, project or group working with infrastructure, architecture or industrial design.

• Kantelberg Design
  Kantelberg Design is committed to creating sustainable interiors that feature environmentally responsible products and materials. Materials are selected based on durability, recycling or repurposing, local sourcing, energy efficiency, low emission and sustainable manufacturing properties. Their design of Tridel’s Eco Suite included recycled-content drywall, FSC-certified millwork and flooring, natural, sustainable fabric and carpet, and low-VOC drapery and paint.
  
• Stantec Wellington
  The new Stantec office space at 401 Wellington St. West was designed for a growing multidisciplinary office that includes architects, engineers and interior designers. Their goals were to consolidate the diverse groups into an integrated work environment, to express a clear identity and image for this growing company and to create a highly eco-efficient workplace. Careful restoration and renovation ensured the retrofit achieved LEED Gold certification.
  

Green Roof
The Green Roof Award recognizes an individual, company or project contributing to a healthy and beautiful city through the environmental, economic and social benefits of green roofs.

• Gardens in the Sky at Ellis Park
  The roof gardens of an Ellis Park house were designed by Gardens in the Sky to be beautiful and practical, as well as ecologically sustainable. Every possible area was used to maximize the planted areas, and the roofs provide a transition from built form to the building’s natural surroundings. The green roofs also control and moderate solar heat gain and minimize energy loss.
  
• Fairmont Royal York
  The Fairmont Royal York’s executive chef, David Garcelon, brings fresh flavours to new heights with a rooftop herb garden. The herbs contribute to the hotel’s formal commitment to using, wherever possible, sustainable, locally sourced and organically grown products as part of its everyday food-service operations. The garden is a natural extension of the hotel’s environmental program and is used as part of the chef apprenticeshiptraining program.

Health
The Health Award rewards an individual or group involved in making Toronto a healthier place to live.

• Edible Toronto
  Edible Toronto, a quarterly print magazine, aims to transform the way our communities shop for, cook, eat and relate to the foods that are grown and produced in the Greater Golden Horseshoe region. Owner, publisher and editor Gail Gordon Oliver’s goal was to create a magazine that promoted consumer education in healthy local eating, and in 2007, its first year of publication, she achieved just that.
• Jamie Kennedy
  Jamie Kennedy is the culinary mind behind Jamie Kennedy Kitchens, which operates several dining hot spots. His personal values translate into a long-standing commitment to artisanal production and sustainable food practices, reflecting a profound respect for the provenance and quality of the foods we eat. His advocacy and support of the slow food movement, local organic production and related social issues are legendary in the industry.
  

Leadership
The Leadership Award rewards an outstanding contribution to the greening of Toronto.

• Allan Sparrow
  A City councillor in the 1970s, Allan Sparrow’s more recent experience in leadership occurred when he built a political movement to stop the Island Airport expansion. He envisioned a clean, green waterfront, and through Community AIR (Airport Impact Review), he encouraged citizens to get involved. His approach included a careful analysis of the facts, a calm but forceful delivery and fearlessness in the face of opposition.
  
• University Health Network
  With over 400,000 square metres of floor space, buildings of various ages and the complex nature of work done on-site, realizing environmental improvements at the University Health Network’s (UHN) hospitals poses a unique challenge. Some of the farreaching programs instituted by the UHN include responsible disposal of biomedical waste, energy- and waterconservation programs, and waste-reduction and recycling programs. They were accomplished through staff engagement, partnerships, outreach and a green procurement policy.

Market Transformation
The Market Transformation Award rewards leadership in market-based environmental solutions.

• C.J. Graphics
  C.J. Graphics is a printing company that is taking steps to reduce the industry’s traditional environmental burdens. For the DVD case for Evan Almighty, for instance, it created a simple, cost-effective package option that eliminated superfluous plastic. There was also a significant educational component: the inside case explained the benefits of the new packaging, including the use of FSC-certified paper, soy inks, waterless printing and Rainforest Alliance Certification.
• Calstone Inc.
  Calstone is a Canadian, family-owned and operated business that creates and manufactures metal furniture products. For customers who want to buy furniture but avoid having it end up in landfills, Calstone offers an innovative Remanufacturing Program: it buys back each piece for a nominal fee and recycles or remanufactures it. The company has inspired some of its suppliers to re-evaluate their disposal processes.
  

Water Efficiency
The Water Efficiency Award rewards efforts to sustainably manage and reduce water use and promote water conservation.

• Deborah Dale
  Through the Community Program for Storm Water Management, Deborah Dale promotes urban stewardship, community-outreach activities and strategies that support the more efficient use of urban water. She encourages residents to disconnect their downspouts and conserve/redirect this water into a downspout bog garden. She demonstrates that waterefficient gardens can be colourful and aesthetically pleasing in addition to supporting environmental and community-based water-management strategies.
  
• Brookfield Place
  Operated by Brookfield Properties, Brookfield Place is creating innovative ways to conserve water and implement new environmental services that benefit both tenants and the community. Initiatives include automatic faucets that use a rechargeable battery and run only when required, and the replacement of all existing standard toilets with low-flow models. The replacement of 995 toilets in the common areas and on all 98 floors provides a water savings of 50 percent.
  

Youth
The Youth Award rewards youth who show leadership in greening projects including school ground naturalization, recycling and fundraising for environmental causes.

• Solar and Wind Initiatives
  Towards Change Team from William Lyon Mackenzie C.I. Solar and Wind Initiatives Towards Change (SWITCH) is a youth-driven organization dedicated to expanding the use of renewable energy and conservation strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions through education, conservation and action. Based at William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute, the team recently designed and built a wind turbine. They also do outreach and fundraising to expand their program.
• Greenest City
  A program of Greenest City, the Youth Green Squad is a unique environmental-awareness and leadership program for marginalized youth. It aims to connect young people to food, to their community and to their environment. It helped to start the HOPE Community Garden in Parkdale, where youth planned, planted, cared for and harvested organic local food and donated it to community kitchens. The program affected many changes in skills, attitudes, behaviour and future plans of the participants.
  

Bob Hunter Environmental Achievement Award
The Environmental Achievement Award acknowledges the actions of the City’s own organizations towards improving environmental quality in the City of Toronto.

• Children’s Garden & Exploring Toronto programs
  The Children’s Garden and Exploring Toronto programs have contributed to a major shift in the way citizens are involved in and relate to their parks and gardens by widely increasing access and encouraging environmental stewardship. Garden programs give children, youth and community members an opportunity to participate in organic gardening, and guided nature walks through parks, ravines and neighbourhoods that inspire ecological awareness and promote a healthy lifestyle.
  
• Better Buildings Partnership
  Part of Toronto’s Energy Efficiency Office, the Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) assists owners in reducing their energy consumption. As well, the BBP—New Construction program works with developers to ensure new buildings are constructed to a high standard of efficiency. The BBP has acquired an international reputation as a municipal leader and has supported energy retrofits in some of Toronto’s best-known buildings including City Hall and the Hospital for Sick Children.