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Lake Edge Cottages Global News Clip

As a final chapter to our Sun Dog blog, it would be amiss without acknowledging our family’s sincere gratitude to our business and tourism partners who made our transition from hydro to solar energy, a very successful and rewarding journey for all who were involved. To show our appreciation we hosted everyone for a ribbon cutting ceremony, tour, and lunch at our property in Lakefield. Attendees included:  ⦁ Martina Chait-Hartwig, Township Clerk – Representing our local Mayor Heather Watson, Township of Douro Dummer ⦁ Joe Rees, Director of Tourism for Peterborough and the Kawartha’s Economic Development ⦁ Tegan Moss, Executive Director, GreenUp, and Jackie Donaldson, Lili Paradi – GreenUp Economy Peterborough ⦁ Paulette Prentice, Director General FedDev Southern Ontario – Representing the Honourable MP Filomena Tassi ⦁ JP Pawliu and Simon Boone – owners of Generation Solar ⦁ Rob Irwin and Mark Davidson- Whippletree ⦁ Jessica Gordon – Peterborough Chamber of Commerce ⦁ Steve, Anne and Jakob Wildfong – Owners, Lake Edge Cottages ⦁ Long-term guests of Lake Edge Cottages The media coverage included: Global News, and a variety of others: Global News video The Peterborough Examiner Kawartha Now PTBO Canada The Wolf News Energy Portal As of this writing, we are well on track to meet the solar generation targets that will give back 110% of our traditional hydro annual burn rate. This brings to mind other, less obvious benefits, such as: helping Hydro One and our community, by giving them access to our excess energy that we produce during the warmer seasons, which reduces stress from the grid. The amount of electricity that Hydro borrows from us is measured ongoing and reported on our monthly statement as a month/month accumulated credit owing back to us. This accumulated ‘tax-free’ credit is then used by us during the cooler months of year when we produce less (due to less daylight hours, snow on the roof, cloudy days, etc.) Sun-Dog also provides a clean energy foundation to build upon as we go forward – such as EV charging, and using more electric heat over gas during the cooler months, purchasing an electric vehicle. And, our positive client feedback so far has been phenomenal, as they feel good knowing that we’re investing progressively in the future of Lake Edge Cottages and the future generations to follow. Overall, this project has been a very positive experience for my family. Our children (now adults), muse at seeing their parents in the news and on tv, while making a positive impact within our local tourism, business and client communities. Looking back, I would do it all again. As I mentioned to the media: This isn’t just about preserving our past, but also giving hope to our younger generations.

As a member of GreenUp Peterborough Economy, we were both humbled and honoured when we were called up to accept a Sustainability Award at the GreenUp annual awards ceremony in Peterborough earlier this month. We were also excited to see six other companies awarded for their sustainability projects, as well as the mayor of Peterborough – Jeff Leal, discussing his plans for a greener Peterborough. Collective minds and efforts can make a difference where we work and live! LEADING WITH MOMENTUM Award In summary of our Sun Dog project, this has been a very rewarding experience for our family in more ways than one. Our son Jakob reminds us of a quote by Horace Mann – known as the ‘father of American education’…. “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” “Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.” With that in mind, we look forward to tomorrow, and finding more ways to help make our community and planet a better place to live.

It seemed like a long winter, as the new walkthrough and garage doors for Sun Dog didn’t arrive until early April. However, solar testing continued throughout the winter. Our solar array officially went live on January 21st, 2023, and passed final performance testing on April 9th. (Yeah!)  With shorter winter days and snow-covered roofs, harvesting solar energy was far more challenging in the winter months, as expected. Today, we are collecting more solar energy than we are using at Lake Edge, as the excess is passed back to the hydro grid for others to use. This excess production will be credited back on our future Hydro One invoices when needed (i.e., next fall/winter). It’s raining today, so our utilization is low. However, we still continue to harvest solar energy. This web-based monitoring tool will also help us understand the ongoing beneficial impact on our environment, and if there are any production issues with the solar panels themselves, so that we can remediate if necessary. In summary, we’re now living off the land with healthy well water and natural sunshine, which is powering every electrical outlet on the property, while also giving back to the environment. With this foundation in place, we will continue to build towards our green objective of becoming a net zero business/resort. And remember, our EV charger, which was recently added, is currently complementary for all Lake Edge overnight clients to use.

Much has happened since my last update, and I don’t want to simplify the complexity involved in getting to the current ‘Sun Dog’ framing stage. Note to self – plan extra weeks when putting up a new structure. Everything being constructed underground is far more complicated and painstakingly longer to deal with as compared to that above ground. The primary risk for project Sun Dog project, was getting the foundation poured during favourable weather conditions, and we were very fortunate this November (with the previous delays) to have had mild weather on our side. However, following the day of our pour, the temperature fell to -5 Celsius overnight. Yikes – didn’t get much sleep that night, as temperature plays a huge role in enabling the concrete to set properly. In fact, my resources worked for 20 hours that day from 8am to 4am the next day, as they spent the night hours planing the newly formed concrete surface, which is critical before it dries. It was a long night, but would be another long day ahead, as the team returned 4 hours later (at 8am) only to discover that part of the concrete slab did not dry properly. After some deliberation among the team, an appropriate masonry (Type A) slurry was prepared, and the entire 1600 square feet of concrete was resurfaced and re-planed to remedy the situation. Fortunately, the hearts and minds of my team prevailed that morning, as well as the blessed sun, which fostered another mild day at Lake Edge. By noon that day, the resurfaced concrete had dried beautifully, and the team was well rewarded for their persistence, and outstanding effort. Needless to say, we are now into the framing stage of the new building. Trenching and installation for the new cables to all three buildings is now complete, which will enable us to direct any unused solar energy that is harvested back onto Hydro One’s grid. Referred to as ‘net-metering’, Lake Edge will not be storing electricity on-site. Instead, we will leverage Hydro One’s grid for any overage that is produced, while receiving credits that will be applied to our future monthly utility bills, during cooler months, when the sun’s rays are less direct. So essentially, the amount of solar energy that we will produce, was engineered to meet 110% of our current hydro demand. Measured annually, any excess that is produced, will spawn new green initiatives at Lake Edge, such as reducing our dependence on propane heating. Next month, 95% of our project will be completed – less the installation of the new doors for Sun Dog, and Hydro One’s final circuit testing.

So why didn’t I just hire a contractor to manage the project? It would cost more money, but would be much easier for me to interface with one individual who would be responsible for all of the project activities, deadlines, dealing with builders, suppliers, and attaining the necessary permits from our local township. Besides, all of this needed to begin while Lake Edge was still in its busy season – up until Thanksgiving weekend. And, what do I know about managing a construction project anyway? However, I soon came to the realization that most of the reputable contractors were busy 1-2 years out, and there was a shortage of both skilled labour and materials (e.g. concrete). So, with these constraints, I deduced that I would need to ‘dig deep’ to find reliable resources, and then project manage it myself. The risk being that I don’t know what I don’t know, so there will be some learning/growth pain throughout the process – but that never stopped me before. I learned from running a student painting business during my university days that “some people make things happen, others watch things happen, and those who don’t know what’s happening”. We get to choose. Above it all, I find motivation in life through continual learning, transformation, and improvement. This is often where new opportunities emerge that can make a positive difference in one’s self, your career, and stuff you’re accomplishing as you go forward. And so, the project blueprints, phone calls and networking to find the right resources began. Generation Solar (as discussed earlier), had already earned my trust, so I leveraged their network of suppliers to find “ Whippletree ” a well-experienced company that would build a pole-barn framework that would satisfy our needs. As I got to know the owners, I realized how fortunate I was to have them on my project. Not just because of their extensive experience, but also their collegial and positive attitudes, that would make the project fun to work on together. I learned through personal experience to expect issues on any project, and having a strong team that works well together, much easier to navigate through obstacles that come along. And finally, I chose a reputable concrete supplier – or so I thought. After several weeks of discussions and my agreement to move forward with them, they sent an email saying they could no longer commit to my project. Huge disappointment, as I had wasted several weeks and it would be difficult to find a replacement with only 8 weeks to go before breaking ground on the new foundation. Neither Generation Solar, nor Whippletree had any recommendations either. So, I sourced one through my local building material suppliers. Definitely not the ideal situation you when your options are limited. With 4 stages of pouring concrete – and 2 left to go, the foundation has taken longer than expected as we are currently 3 weeks behind schedule. This stems from a combination of earlier wet weather, and resource challenges. Our updated schedule tells us that we are about 10 days away before we move to the framing stage. Our picture below illustrates 15 concrete piers, resting on 4-foot-deep in the ground, concrete footings, upon which the white pine timber beams will be attached using 8-inch-deep concrete screws re-secured with epoxy. The fog is typical at this time of year as our lake is warmer than the cool night temperatures. Most mornings see frost while our fog burns off around 10am. It’s my favourite time of year!

The first thing about starting a project like this is to recognize that it’s not going to be inexpensive. It’s a long-term investment – no different than putting an addition on your home that you plan to live in for a while. Therefore, one needs to do their research by finding companies that have a vested interest in helping you engineer the right solution for your needs. Never rely on an organization who provides an over the phone quote, that hasn’t taken the necessary time to visit your site. We decided to only work with green energy companies that can demonstrate: ⦁ A stellar track record for delivering quality (references, experience); ⦁ Staying power (20+ years in the business); ⦁ A local presence in our community (this is key when dealing with the local utility/hydro); ⦁ Technical and managerial leadership to drive the project forward; ⦁ Trust – the person in charge will become your trusted advisor, by looking out for your best interests. Technical discussions will take place that are far from intuitive to understand if you don’t have the background. We chose Generation Solar(GS) , a small local Peterborough firm that was founded by 2 engineers with over 20 years of complex project experience. After making that decision, choosing the other suppliers was somewhat easier. With an objective to completely transfer off of hydro in 2023, GS reviewed our annual hydro usage from past years, and then reverse engineered the number of solar panels required to meet our needs. With that in mind, GS recommended three large roofs, but we only had two. To meet our objective, we needed a third location, which would entail a 30ft x63ft area to place the solar panels, and I knew the perfect location. However, this added cost wasn’t envisioned upfront. So, we needed to rethink our project scope, and whether the additional cost was worth it! Enter our application to FedDev for tourism funding, plus the benefits that we and our guests would derive from having both a storage garage, and an extended roof covered recreational area for guests to enjoy at the back of our property. That said, most important to us is our protection of the environment, which we are very passionate about, and want to sustain for future families to experience and enjoy. When you stop to think about it, our largest financial events in life tend to be those that we are most passionate about, not due to necessity, but because of the way they make us feel. (i.e. large weddings, buying a home/cottage, vacations, having kids, family events, vehicles). Hence, project Sun Dog was born. Our next update will discuss my role in the project, and the criticality of managing all the moving pieces, each with specific deadlines, while also managing our busy resort.

It all started over a friendly weekend conversation with a childhood friend last November when I brought up the topic of our concern over climate change. My friend was also concerned, but then with a look of despair, said “So what can you or I do about it?” It was the perfect question to ask, and there was no immediate answer. But it was an important question that deserved an answer. So, with the slower flow of off-season traffic at the resort, Anne and I attended a meeting with Green Economy Peterborough (GEP) where they discussed measuring our current consumption of gas, propane, and hydro. Through this exercise, we learned that we are consuming ~50,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually. Mostly during the summer months. Later, we contacted green energy firms to help us understand the costs of converting to solar energy. (HINT – It ain’t cheap, but a worthwhile exercise to consider if you are thinking long-term benefits.) Then came FedDev Ontario , who were offering funding for new innovative growth initiatives for Ontario Tourism related businesses. So we applied, and were fortunate to (later) be selected as 1 of 33 recipients in our region, which we are grateful for. And, so our journey towards a greener future began to emerge. Coming back to my friend’s question: “What can you or I do about it?”, I realized that there is a small role we can play in making our tiny piece of the world a better place to live. And, while there are no guarantees in life, I take comfort in knowing that we’re doing our part for ourselves, and those who come later. Our next update will cover the project scope – stay tuned…

Welcome to Lake Edge Cottages!! Although Ontario has lifted most Covid restrictions on March 21st, 2022, including the mandate of wearing of masks while indoors – the virus continues to remain active throughout our community. We will respect Lake Edge guests’ choice as to whether or not they wear a mask – it’s your choice during your stay with us, whether indoors or outdoors. As some guests are more comfortable wearing masks, Lake Edge staff will continue to wear masks while inside of our office/library room when guests are present. Covid restrictions have been lifted for our pool and firepit areas, regarding sign in sheets, and person limits. We will continue to monitor these areas to ensure they are not overcrowded. Your cottage rooms will continue to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected as you would expect during any stay you have with us. If you’re feeling sick, have a temperature, sore throat, or feel you may have been in contact with a person who has COVID-19, please take our local health unit’s Self Assessment Tool, and follow their recommendations. Enjoy your stay at Lake Edge Cottages!!