Yasodhara Ashram Lightens
its Ecological Footprint
Kootenay Bay,
BC - Yasodhara Ashram is now officially Carbon Neutral —the successful
culmination of their 5-year program to address the global warming crisis.
The Ashram has
demonstrated that reducing green house gas emissions is possible in a small BC
community and it can be done in a way that has inspiring economic and quality of life benefits.
Dr. William
Rees, professor emeritus of the University of British Columbia, an
internationally acclaimed ecological economist and winner of a 2012 Blue Planet Prize, said of the Ashram achievement, “By striving for carbon neutrality,
Yasodhara Ashram shows that communities can take significant steps to address
global warming that are neither arduous nor a threat to their economies and
lifestyles. Other communities should
follow this example as if their lives depended on it – because ultimately they
do!”
Starting in
2007, the Ashram began to develop a strategy to be carbon neutral by 2013,
their 50th anniversary.
The Ashram’s
Carbon Neutral program – which included a shift in local food sourcing and menu
planning, converting to an integrated geothermal/solar heating and domestic hot
water system and shifting to more fuel-efficient vehicles – has led to an 83%
reduction in direct emissions. The outstanding emissions are being handled
through the purchase of carbon offsets from Pacific Carbon Trust’s portfolio of
BC-based greenhouse gas reduction projects.
“The Ashram’s
achievement of carbon neutrality sets a great example of how steady commitment
to a comprehensive plan can significantly reduce our impact on the
environment,” says Pacific Carbon Trust CEO Scott MacDonald. “By purchasing BC-based offsets from Pacific
Carbon Trust, the Ashram is helping support the low-carbon economy – proving
that environmental progress and a strong economy can go hand-in-hand.”
At each stage
of the program it became apparent that financial benefits were emerging. Arlene
Trustham, a volunteer who led the final phases of the program, cited an
example, saying “Refocusing the menus to local and seasonal items not only
decreased costs, it also better focused the use of the Ashram’s garden and
began to support a complimentary network of local farmers.”
Paris Marshall
Smith, a Director of Ashram Society says, “We embrace the ‘learn by doing’ and
‘lead by example’ concepts.” Both, she added, have personal as well as
institutional application. “It is also a practice of satya, which means living truthfully, in ourselves, in our
community and on this planet. We simply must lighten our environmental
footprint. What we are doing together here at the Ashram is one way that
works.”
Michelle
Mungall, MLA Nelson-Creston agrees. "The work Yasodhara Ashram has done to
become carbon neutral is commendable, and goes to show that these positive
steps are possible in rural areas of BC."
Yasodhara
Ashram has also been recognized by FortisBC’s 2008 PowerSense Conservation
Award, and by Tourism British Columbia with its prestigious Environmentally
Responsible Tourism Award in 2009. Reader’s Digest named the Ashram as Canada’s
best yoga retreat.
About Yasodhara Ashram
Yasodhara
Ashram (www.yasodhara.org) is a Yoga Retreat and Study Centre
founded in 1963 by Swami Sivananda Radha. Today, 50 years after it began, the
Ashram remains a vibrant community welcoming people of all ages and backgrounds
to discover the transformative power of yoga.
The Ashram is like a small village with 115
acres on the east-shore of Kootenay Lake in the mountains of southeastern BC.
The year-round population averages 50 to 55 people, with seasonal peaks of 100
to 110.
Yasodhara
Ashram is a Canadian charity and a registered educational institution. It is
operated by volunteers in the tradition of charity and service embodied in its
constitution.
About Pacific Carbon
Trust
Pacific Carbon Trust (www.pacificcarbontrust.com) is a Crown
corporation established in 2008 to deliver BC-based greenhouse gas offsets, to
help clients meet their carbon reduction goals and to support the growth of
BC’s low-carbon economy.
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