At Power To Be, we believe everyone belongs in nature, without barriers, and without limitations. We are thrilled with the progress being made on our new Prospect Lake build, which will provide a permanent home for our participants, volunteers, and staff to thrive in an accessible and welcoming environment. Situated on 78 acres of land, this special space showcases Vancouver Island’s natural beauty.
Our ”Gateway to Nature”, is currently under construction, and emphasizes the values and commitment we have made towards promoting health, inclusivity, and sustainability. We are proud to incorporate achievable aspects of the Living Building Challenge into this project, as it allows us to actively fulfill our commitment to environmental sustainability. The Living Building Challenge is the world’s most rigorous standard for green buildings – the internationally recognized program takes green builds to a new level. Living Buildings strive for net-zero or net-positive energy, are free of toxic chemicals and lower their energy footprint many times below the common commercial structure. To reach this desired standard, Living Buildings optimize sustainability in seven key performance areas, referred to as petals. Each petal has a specific and uniquely focused discipline.
The Living Building challenge reflects our values at Power To Be, as it puts nature and respect for the environment at the forefront of design and construction. Utilizing it as a framework for our new home, our hope is to reach Petal Certification, optimizing Energy and Water as our primary focus. In addition to the environmental component of the build, accessibility and inclusion are two crucial elements of our new home. Our design features wide corridors for full wheelchair accessibility and non-binary washroom facilities.
We cannot wait to welcome our friends, family, and community members to our new home in 2022. Our valued donors made this dream a reality, and we are thrilled to share this space with everyone. We hope this build inspires surrounding community members and organizations to follow in pursuit of optimizing environmental sustainability in future construction projects. Stay tuned for more updates as we near the completion of Power To Be’s new home. Visit https://powertobe.ca/gateway-to-nature/ for more information.