Respecting nature

Our inspirational mountain setting is a fundamental element of The Banff Centre experience; stimulating participants to connect with, and reflect upon, the physical environment. The Centre has adopted practices that will help to protect the diversity of our natural environment as well as the processes that sustain it.

Clean air

• The Centre has significantly reduced utility CO2 emissions as a result of energy efficiency initiatives.
• The Centre’s Hospitality division has phased out aerosol products.
• A no vehicle idling policy has been put in place that applies to all motorized vehicles and equipment on campus.
• Four-stroke line trimmers are used on campus to reduce noise and air pollution.

Gentle practices and products

• No pesticides are used in grounds maintenance and no salt is used on roadways.
• The Centre’s Housekeeping, Custodial, and Hospitality departments use biodegradable, environment friendly cleaning products for nearly all applications.
• Environment friendly paint stripper and stain is used to re-finish the exterior of buildings, including the Professional Development Centre and Leighton Artist Colony.
• Ox-eye daisies, considered to be a noxious weed in Banff National Park, are removed by hand throughout campus grounds every spring.
• Mountain Culture’s Banff Mountain Festivals t-shirt is 100 per cent organic cotton.

Integration with natural setting

A key objective of the Centre’s Campus Master Plan and 2005 Area Redevelopment Plans — the guiding documents for the Revitalization project — is to create a unified and cohesive campus that reflects its mountain location. The plans recognize the importance and uniqueness of the Centre’s spectacular setting within Banff National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The project’s architectural language will integrate with the mountain topography. Landscaping plans will create identified spaces for contemplation and appreciation of art in a mountain environment.

Campus greening

Throughout the Revitalization project and as part of the our environmental leadership within the National Park, the Centre will undertake a significant greening of the campus, reducing the areas dedicated to roads and paving (from 14 per cent to 13 per cent site coverage), and increasing natural landscaping (from 63 per cent to 69 per cent). The project will create a more pedestrian-friendly campus, while at the same time preserving, and where possible restoring, natural montane vegetation. Wildlife corridors will be maintained. Wayfinding and access will be improved and simplified, reducing the Centre’s overall environmental impact by reducing off-trail traffic.

No net growth

The Revitalization project proposes no net growth in the Centre’s residential capacity and no intensification of campus use. It includes no proposed changes to permitted or discretionary uses or development regulations established by the Town of Banff and Parks Canada.

Earth Day campus clean-up

Each year in the spring a campus clean-up day is organized. All Centre staff are invited to participate and prizes and refreshments are offered.

» Suzie Kern from the Human Resources department helps to clean-up the grounds of The Banff Centre campus.