On a patch of gravel beside a rushing, rain-swollen creek, a concrete building is rising that looks to the un-schooled eye like an intruder to the dark and damp forest that surrounds it.
Inside the two-storey building, electricians and plumbers are hooking up drainage systems, hand dryers, fish tanks and other equipment for the new hatchery and education centre that will accept its first salmon fry in a couple of weeks.
Perhaps, the building looks too modern, too clinical, and too, well, warm, dry and convenient to be compatible with the surrounding environment. But in fact, every little detail and construction element is being designed to be sustainable, according to Pat Dennett and Ruth Foster, members of the Burrard Inlet Marine Enhancement Society that operates the hatchery.
"The bigger picture is the sustainability of our operations - we want to raise it up a notch," Dennett says as he goes over the thick book of plans for the new Mossom Creek hatchery now under construction in Port Moody.
For the past year, volunteer project manager Dennett and his colleagues, including building designer Gaetan Royer, BIMES president Kyle Pilon, building support worker Mel Steemson, fundraiser Tracy Green and many others have been working on the Mossom rebuilding project to make it fit in with the forest ecosystem.
"We want to keep our footprint to a minimum," adds Foster.
GREEN PLANS
To ensure Mossom 2.0 is as green as possible, many factors have been taken into consideration, from energy efficiency to using a permeable concrete called Hydromedia so rain water can flow naturally into the ground.
Today, on yet another rainy day in the forest, another important decision is being made to make Mossom 2.0 better for the environment. Plans for a green roof are being discussed with Ron Schwenger, principal of Architek, Engineered Solutions for Living Buildings, who has offered to partner with BIMES to install the green roof at a reduced cost so the small, community-based organization can meet its sustainability goals.
"A true green roof is a layered system that is integrated with the building," says Schwenger, who explained the green roof will not only protect the hatchery's new roof membrane, but will also cut down on storm water run off, provide habitat and cool the building in the summer.
"Our roof is more of a sustainable function than visible," agrees Dennett, who noted that the roof doesn't have to be pleasing to the eye but sound and relatively maintenance-free.
The growing medium sits on top of a drainage panel and a root barrier material made up of coated, woven and micro-perforated polyethylene fabric. Schwenger suggested a four-to-seven inch layer of engineered soil, made up of light-weight porous materials, such as a mixture of red lava, pumice and course sand, mixed with some sterilized compost, with the soil depth depending on the type of plant material is used. Ferns need the most soil, mosses and sedums need the least and grasses are somewhere in the middle.
For Foster, a retired educator with years of explaining how the forest works to children and high school students, the plants have to be the right mix and not be invasive. She is leaning toward mosses, which are plentiful in the forest, but worries they might not survive a hot summer. "We are also compensating for our footprint and encouraging production of oxygen on our carbon-absorbing roof," Foster added.
While on this day, no decisions were made about the plant life that will inhabit the roof, the intention is they not alter the forest or cause problems to the sensitive ecosystem. The roof will be green, but what kind of green has yet to be decided.
Approximately $40,000 is needed to completely outfit the building and another $25,000 a year to cover base operations. To help out, visit www.mossomcreek.org
