Conservation Halton has completed a major low impact development (LID) project at its Burlington head office. Carried out with generous funding from the Government of Canada and in-kind support from corporate partners Jenkins Soil Mixtures and Unilock, the project has transformed the office’s main grounds from “grey to green” to strengthen local climate resilience.
LID, also referred to as green infrastructure, is a set of techniques that help the built landscape mimic natural systems during rainfall events. Features such as “permeable pavers”, “rain gardens”, and “bioswales” allow rainwater to percolate into the ground where it falls, as would happen in a naturalized environment, while specialized soils and native plants act as filters, cleansing the water of potential pollutants.
Prior to the project, the grounds around Conservation Halton’s main office were 74 percent impervious, with traditional building materials like concrete and asphalt dominating the main parking lot and surrounding property.
“During an intense storm event – which we’re seeing more of with climate change – rainwater at our office had nowhere to go but down, across the road, and right into a valley that feeds Bronte Creek,” said Lindsay Campbell, Conservation Halton Project Manager of Design and Restoration Services. “When water hits these hard, nonporous surfaces – paved roads and sidewalks, for example – it can pick up chemical residues from vehicle traffic, bacteria, and other debris, and all of this gets mixed in with the stormwater that enters our rivers and lakes.”
LID measures are smart interventions for the built environment used widely in cities across Canada. From Toronto’s “Green Streets” projects, to neighbourhood-based park initiatives in Montreal, to Conservation Halton’s transformed main office in Burlington, LID can be applied at all scales and across all types of properties to protect drinking water sources, mitigate localized flood risks, safeguard natural ecosystems, and make our communities greener and more resilient to climate change.
“Projects like rain gardens and bioswales can sound daunting at first if the terms aren’t familiar ones, but so many of these techniques are relatively easy to implement with a bit of expert guidance, and many are budget-friendly, too,” said Carolyn Zanchetta, Restoration Field Technician and co-coordinator of Conservation Halton’s Healthy Neighboursheds, an annual workshop series that gives residents the knowledge and skills to lead LID projects of their very own.
The team at Conservation Halton hopes that their greener office grounds and programming inspire local interest and community-focused climate action for years to come.
Lindsay adds, “we’re excited to now be a demonstration site in Burlington, where developers, municipalities and landowners can visit to learn more about LID, its benefits, and its critical importance to the safety, sustainability and overall climate resilience of our growing region.”