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Pine Bungalows receives eco boost

Faced with aging buildings, Wasuita examined options to achieve green structures while also using environmentally friendly building practices.

Faced with aging buildings, Wasuita examined options to achieve green structures while also using environmentally friendly building practices. Already committed to achieving a greener footprint through his 2004 master plan, he raised the bar even higher and decided to use the internationally acclaimed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard as a benchmark for future renovations.

LEED uses a points system assign ratings for structures. Wasuita settled on the Silver LEED Standard. The new joint high school facility is also being constructed to the same standard.

Eight buildings at Pine Bungalows have already been built to a Silver LEED Standard and are ready for this season’s tourists. Wasuita will continue to convert the remaining buildings in phases and said the next phase of 12 buildings will begin later this year.

One of the hurdles to using LEED was finding a category that reflected the Pine Bungalows property. “There wasn’t a category for a residential building on a commercial property inside a national park, so one was made,” Wasuita said with a laugh. 

After that category was made, Wasuita joined the Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC), an organization that administers the LEED program. 

“There’s only two companies in Alberta that can do the work to give you LEED certification,” he noted. Of those two, Wasuita chose EcoAmmo out of Edmonton.

“They helped guide me through this process based on my building plans, my architectural drawings, all my [other] plans. They helped me to pick the right supplier of material, too.”

Wasuita did a great deal of research in an effort to earn as many points as he could. Some were easier to achieve than others, like one point for having greenspace on the property or 10 for designing a bedroom that doesn’t exceed 714 feet.

“One really important thing that I caught on to right away was the indoor environmental quality (IEQ). I want to make sure that the indoor air is going to be good for the human body,” said Wasuita.

This involves using products that are manufactured to a higher environmental standard, like vegetable oil-based stain and paint, or caulking with less volatile organic compounds (VOCs). 

Wasuita garnered more points by incorporating “innovation credits.” One example is making the bungalows “solar ready” by establishing a chase— “an empty space right from the mechanical room to the roof, there’s no division or floors in between. With this chase, I’m now solar ready and can add a solar panel in the future.”

He also opted for spray foam insulation over traditional batting, even though the price is twice as much.

When asked why he spends more money on certain products, Wasuita’s response is simple: “Change your attitude. Everything is easy after that.” 

His inspiration for renovating to a Silver LEED Standard is his mom and the former Jasper National Park superintendent and assistant superintendent from the 1970s.

Wasuita said he recognizes that there is still a lot of work to do at Pine Bungalows and reiterates that he’s not replicating these buildings to save the world; he’s simply doing his part.

“If everybody does a little bit, collectively we do a lot.”

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