Green Home Makeover

The Green Home Makeover was created to showcase ways that West Bolton SNAP residents can reduce water and energy use, increase tree canopy, improve stormwater management, and garden ecologically.

In 2019, we received several applications from West Bolton homeowners to participate in our home demonstration project, the Green Home Makeover.

In partnership with the Town of Caledon, Region of Peel, and Enbridge Gas, we were able to complete a full suite of energy-saving and landscape retrofits in the fall of 2020 for one lucky West Bolton SNAP homeowner!

We’ve put together a video to highlight this successful project and showcase the retrofits.

West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners
West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners and neighbours participate in outdoor garden implementation day

Green Home Makeover homeowners and neighbours on outdoor garden implementation day in Fall 2020.

Energy Retrofits

The Green Home Makeover home received a suite of indoor retrofits verified by a pre-audit assessment to offer the best return on investment for reduced energy use (and energy bills!) and impact on the environment. Funding for this project’s indoor retrofits was provided, in part, by Enbridge Gas.

Home Demonstration project grant recipients gather for DIY home energy party
Home Demonstration Project Grant recipients and neighbours gathered in Febuary 2020 for a DIY Home Energy Party to learn Do-it-Yourself projects to make their homes more energy efficient.

The completed retrofits brought the total annual energy consumption in this 1971 home from 5.7 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year down to 4.3 tonnes.

Energy retrofits included:

  • Replaced a 15-plus year-old furnace with a new energy efficient furnace
  • Replaced 20-plus year-old water heater with a new energy efficient tankless water heater
  • Topped up the attic insulation to bring it up to R60
  • Added air sealing throughout the home: caulking around windows and doors, filling cracks, foam insulation inserts behind outlets
West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover Homeowners showcase their new energy efficient tankless water heater and furnace
Green Home Makeover Homeowners showcase their new energy efficient tankless water heater and furnace

The Green Home Makeover Homeowners showcase their new energy efficient tankless water heater and furnace.

Outdoor Retrofits

Through funding from TRCA and the Region of Peel Fusion Landscaping Program, an ecological landscape will be installed at the Green Home Makeover home in fall 2020.

West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners work on outdoor retrofits
West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners work on outdoor retrofits

Rain Garden:

A garden feature that replaces an area of lawn in order to collect the rain and melted snow that runs off a home’s grass, roof, and driveway.

Rain gardens aren’t just beautiful — they also help to maintain the natural water cycle while protecting local rivers, lakes, fish, and drinking sources.

See TRCA’s Complete Guide to Building and Maintaining a Rain Garden.

West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners and neighbours plant a rain garden

Pollinator Garden:

A garden of native plants that particularly support pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

Approximately three-quarters of all flowering plants depend on pollinators, including most fruits and vegetables. Supporting pollinator populations through a pollinator garden is an important step in making sure we have fresh, healthy food for generations to come.

See Monarch Teacher Network of Canada’s Pollinator Garden Guides.

West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners and neighbours plant a pollinator garden
West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners and neighbours plant a pollinator garden

Native Plants:

All plants used in this landscape retrofit will be native species — plants that occur naturally in this region without human intervention.

Using native plants ensures that the Green Home Makeover front yard will provide food and shelter for native insects and wildlife, and will be perfectly suited to southern Ontario’s growing conditions.

An added bonus: once native plant species are established, they don’t require watering, which reduces your home’s overall water use.

Visit TRCA’s Home Garden Resource Page to learn more.

West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners and neighbours plant native species on their property
West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners and neighbours plant native species on their property

Increased Tree Canopy:

Trees provide many ecosystem services, including but not limited to cleaner air and water, mitigation of climate change, and cooler temperatures.

Increasing the tree canopy in the Green Home Makeover front yard will have a multitude of benefits, including increased shade in the summer, windbreak in the winter, C02 sequestration (which helps to mitigate climate change), cooling of the surrounding area during our increasingly frequent heatwaves, and much more.

West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners and neighbours plant trees on their property to increase canopy
West Bolton SNAP Green Home Makeover homeowners and neighbours plant trees on their property to increase canopy

Feeling Inspired?

Find the tools and resources to do a green home makeover of your own!

Questions?

For more information, please contact:
Justyna Braithwaite | (437)-880-2409 | justyna.braithwaite@trca.ca