The project with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority , an agency that promotes the understanding, enjoyment and care of the natural environment, will entail the development of a robust data acquisition and monitoring system. This will be used for the long term performance evaluation of the various new and emerging green/sustainable/renewable housing technologies. The finished […]

Evapotranspiration is a fundamental component of the hydrologic cycle. According to Environment Canada, on average, as much as 40% of precipitation in Canada is evaporated or transpired. Since evaporation makes up a considerable portion of the water budget, its variability will therefore have proportionally larger impacts on all other related processes. For example, evaporation impacts […]

In response to the continued loss of biodiversity and natural cover in the landscape the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) has developed the Terrestrial Natural Heritage System Strategy (TNHSS), which has been implemented since 2007. The Strategy, based on contemporary ecological principles, developed a set of models and tools that allowed for the development […]

Many Canadian municipalities have targets for reducing their greenhouse (GHG emissions, but most are struggling to develop and implement strategies for substantially reducing GHGs. This research project develops an on-line, interactive software tool that municipalities can use to develop GHG reduction strategies. This work involve adapting equations and tables from our previously established guidebook (Getting […]

The relationship of biodiversity to trail density (e.g. meters of trail per hectare) will be the focus of this internship, an attempt to determine the carrying capacity of ecosystems for trail density. The following tasks will be undertaken: 1) A focused literature search on selected trail management, focusing on trail density; 2) The design of […]

This project targets a major research gap of the recently proposed Sustainable Sites Initiative (SSI), which is a North American green rating system for landscapes; scheduled to be released in 2011. Our research will focus on establishing the characteristics of urban trees that affect their ability to provision habitat to urban biodiversity (insects and birds)- […]

In response to the continued loss of biodiversity and natural cover in the landscape, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) has developed the Terrestrial Natural Heritage System Strategy (TNHSS), which has been implemented since 2007. The Strategy, based on contemporary ecological principles, developed a set of models and tools that allowed for the development […]

  The overall objective of the proposed project is to conduct long‐term performance analysis and evaluation of major renewable energy and advanced mechanical systems installed in the two TRCA‐BILD Archetype Sustainable houses located at Kortright Centre in Woodbridge. Ontario. The facility will be served as an education, demonstration, training, and research infrastructure for sustainable housing technologies in the […]

  This project targets a major research gap of the recently proposed Sustainable Sites Initiative (SSI), which is a North American “green rating system” for landscapes; scheduled to be released in 2011. Our research will focus on establishing the characteristics of urban trees that affect their ability to “provision habitat” to urban biodiversity (insects and birds) […]

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) has launched a series of pilot Sustainable Neighbourhood Retrofit Action Plan (SNAP) projects in the Greater Toronto Area. Dillon Consulting is a lead consultant in Phase 3 of one of the pilot projects, the County Court SNAP in Brampton, Ontario. The SNAPs bring together residents, businesses, community groups and […]

Canada ranks very poorly in terms of energy usage per capita and in energy efficiency. As a large portion of this energy is used by buildings, saving the energy consumed by buildings will significantly reduce our carbon footprint. Efforts are underway to incorporate various energy-preserving and generating techniques to create such “Net Zero” (or even […]

This project aims to leverage the TRCA Archetype Sustainable House facilities, the innovative HVAC, DHW and renewable energy equipment and on-site comprehensive monitoring system to identify opportunities for systems integration and optimization and, together with the manufacturing partner and utilities, demonstrate a control module that can both inform homeowners of their energy consumption via a […]