Eva's Initiatives

Congratulations to Eva's Initiatives (Suite 370), who received an urban leadership award from the Canadian Urban Institute on May 24. Eva's, which works collaboratively with homeless and at-risk youth to help them reach their potential, was granted the award for City Livability.

This award recognizes "actions that make our cities more livable from finding new ways and means to improve our healthcare, education, and the environment, to enhancing public spaces and instilling confidence about our personal safety and security."

www.evasinitiatives.com

Green Corner: Climbing Green Walls at 215

Hello from the go-green girl at Urbanspace Property Group! As you know back on March 24, 2004, we installed a 24-square metre living-breathing plant wall (biowall) in the lobby of the building. How do you think it looks? How does it make you feel when you arrive at the building? These are the kinds of questions we are interested in exploring with you over the next year or so. From our perspective the plant species have acclimated very well  in the Roberton environment and have grown and expanded profusely over the past year.

In turn, the biowall has humidified the lobby and surrounding air (particularly in the winter when we were all feeling a bit dry) and has contributed to a healthy indoor environment in the building. The biowall functions for the most part, other than the technical maintenance required by the pumps, lights, and salinity outputs that are monitored through an electronic control centre stored in the basement. The control centre can be acessed remotely by Air Quality Solutions, so that adjustments to water flow and water quality can be made quickly and accurately. The plants themselves require weekly maintenance, including dusting, biological pest control (nema-todes to control fungus gnats), and the removal of dead, or wilted foliage.

The plants require UV light to proliferate and bloom. We've noticed that more daylight enters the lobby than anticipated; hence the light from two overhead 1,000 watt light systems will be programmed for fewer hours during off-peak energy times in the next quarter. Our comprehensive air quality report (2005) validates that we have excellent air quality at the Robertson; something to celebrate!

For more information, or questions on green efforts at the Robertson, please call Beth Anne Currie, Environment, Health and Safety Coordinator at 416.595.5900 x21.

Oxfam's Big Noise

Oxfam Canada's (Suite 200) new Big Noise petition to Make Trade Fair campaign is causing quite a stir. The campaign, one of many that Oxfam spearheaded to support community programmes in food security, health, nutrition, and democratic development, features celebrities covered in food! Canadian Singer Alanis Morisette agreed to have wheat dumped on her; in an effort to influence government, institutions, and multinational companies to change the rules so that trade can become part of the solution to poverty, not the problem.

www.oxfam.ca
www.maketradefair.com

Profile: Cuppa Coffee

In a tenant profile on Cuppa Coffee Animation (Suite 400) from the December 1996/January 1997 issue of the 401 Richmond Update the company was celebrating its recent success measured as "eight full-time staff with up to twenty-five on board during peak production periods." Since then, Cuppa Coffee has grown to a whopping 250 people that create unique, playful, and cutting edge animation for the likes of Disney and the BBC, as well as their own in-house productions of programs like Bruno for Nickleodeon (a playful monkey that helps pre-school age children learn the basics).

Founded by Owner and Executive Producer Adam Shaheen - an illustrator from England who founded the company in 1992 - Cuppa has become the largest stop-motion animation company in North America (and possibly the world). This unprecendented growth necessitated a move from their home at 401 Richmond to a new one at 215 Spadina, a 40,000 square foot space that includes production studios, set and puppet building facilities, and plenty of space for the staff to collaborate and innovate. "We like how the old nature of the building has been maintained, with Margie's flair for contemporary design thrown at it. The flavour of the building suits our personality - eclectic art and design with a professional business feel."

We had a chance to speak with Adam before he headed off to the Broadcast Design Association Awards in New York, and he explained how surprised he is by what Cuppa has become. "Every year I'd say, that's enough and then I'd find us taking on more projects and things just kept growing. I didn't wake up one morning and say 'I want to build the biggest stop-motion animation company in the world,' I never had any great passion or desire to do that. I have always been passsionate about what we do and dedicated to creating great work, and when you create a good product it will attract interest."

For Adam, one of the great benefits of their success is the freedom to invest time and money in more creatively fulfilling activities like creating their own "properties" (shows created and produced in-house) while continuing to be a "work for hire" studio.

Cuppa's specialty is stop-motion animation, which involves building puppets and sets, which are then moved frame to frame to create the action. There are no courses that teach this kind of animation, which requires quite specialized artistic skills and talents, so each year the animation company trains a number of artists, some of which would have struggled to find an outlet for their talents. "A true committment to the art of the business is central to Cuppa's accomplishments - the development of the company is driven by a passion for art, design, and animation, not the bottom line."

As Adam explained, "the essence of Cuppa Coffee is an excitement about creating animation, not a push to make mone in TV. When you come to the table with some unique and special ideas, when you're risk takers in terms of visual and creative work, you grown naturally."

Cuppa Coffee's future will likely hold much of the same energy, growth, and creativity that's characterized the company so far. It is also likely to gain even more accolades - like the nine awards Cuppa brought home from the Broadcast Design Awards just before this article was published! It's clear that Adam remains dedicated to sticking his neck out to do exciting and experimental projects: "this is a really nice place to be. When you're getting started, you spend so much time and energy struggling for recognition. Now that we're established, it makes it so much easier for us to get things made" and getting things made is what it's all about.

You can learn more about Cuppa Coffee and watch their award winning reels and episodes of Bruno at:
www.cuppacoffee.com

Roots of Empathy Leonardo da Vinci Award

Hats off to Roots of Empathy (Suite 160), who received the Leonardo da Vinci Award for innovation in education on April 15. The award recognizes and celebrates those that have created new, useful, and positive inventions, developments, or improvements in arts, business, entrepreneurship, or education.

But Roots didn't stop there! They also received $500,000 in provincial funding in May to expand their international program, geared at teaching children compassion. This very program garnered a visit from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, and His Excellency John Ralston Saul, to a classroom at Winchester Public School in Toronto on April 2.

www.rootsofempathy.org

Theatre Ontario Festival 2005

Theatre Ontario (Suite 210) was busy this spring hosting the Theatre Ontario Festival 2005, held in Belleville Ontario from May 18 - 22 at the Empire Theatre + Centre for the Performing Arts. Appropriately named The Fab Four Fest, the event featured four outstanding community theatre productions chosen from regional festivals across the province. The festical also included workshops, adjudications, play readings by Canadian authors, and an awards ceremony.

Festival 2005 was co-hosted by Theatre Ontario, Belleville Theatre Guild, and the Eastern Ontario Drama League.

www.theatreontario.org

Welcome

Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Robertson Pipeline - the first of many issues to come, chronicling the activities of tenants of 215 Spadina Avenue.

Most of you already know the management staff who operate 215 Spadina, but a refresher never hurts. The Property Manager is Mike Moody, and on site we have Building Manager Richard McKinnon, and Facilities Staff Dennis Fryer and Gabriel Galuego. Dennis is the person you reach when calling 416.937.4880.

Now that the construction dust has settled, we're able to concentrate on some new projects for the Robertson Building. The first is a comfortable common area in the open space outside the Centre for Social Innovation and Roots of Empathy on the ground floor. We have recently placed a couch and chairs in this area for you to lounge and visit with your neighbours. We will also be installing a community bulletin board where you can post information about up-coming events, sales, workshops, or conferences for other tenants in the building.

Finally, we are planning an official grand opening event for the roof garden this summer. So watch for your invitation!

215 Spadina is a remarkable building filled with a vibrant community of creative and socially innovative tenants. It is our hope that this newsletter will help you get to know your neighbours, the community, and the building a little better.

Collaborating for Success

A Committment to Training and Education for Women (ACTEW, Suite 350), along with the Centre for Social Innovation (Suite 120) and Eco Nomos Consultants hosted an information session for community agencies and social mission projects interested in learning about the Social Enterprise approach to revenue generation. The July 14 workshop called Bootstrapping 101: Intro to Social Enterprise for Community Groups, attracted almost sixty participants who learned about the key concepts involved in developing a social enterprise in the not-for-profit sector. The session also explored what attendees would need to support their further learning. The three partners intend to use the information to develop services to support these needs.

www.actew.org
www.the215.ca

Cormorant Books

A tip of the hat to Cormorant Books (Suite 230) whose book Volkswagen Blues by Jacques Poulin (translated by Sheila Fischman) was selected to be a part of CBC's Canada Reads program for 2005. The book, along with four others, was thrown into the fray as five prominent Canadians debated about the home-grown novel they felt the whole country would enjoy.

Canada Reads and participating publishers, such as Cormorant Books, support literacy by encouraging people to read and developing school reading programs. Copies of the selected books are donated to libraries across the country.

www.cormorantbooks.com

Dora Mavor Moore Awards

On June 27 performers from across the city gathered at The Winter Garden Theatre for the 26 annual Dora Mavor Moore Awards. The sold-out event was produced by our very own Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA, Suite 210) and celebrates excellence in theatre, dance, and opera on Toronto stages. The Doras are named for Dora Mavor Moore, a well-loved teacher and director who helped establish Canadian professional theatre in the 1930s and 40s. Special guest peresenters this year included Mayor David Miller, Brent Carver, and Peggy Baker.

Arts patron Bluma Appel, who gives each Independent Theatre Division winner a special gift of $1000, also received her own Honourary Dora that night in recognition of her philanthropy and committment to the arts.

www.tapa.ca

Faces of the Global Village

As an organization with an interest in raising awareness regarding issues of third world development policies, poverty, and human rights, Oxfam Canada (Suite 200) is hosting an exhibition of one hundred photographs by noted documentary photographer Irving Posluns titled Faces of the Global Village. Capturing human beings with his camera from countries all over the world, Posluns brings the viewer into the landscapes and next to the people who inhabit them. The photographs, which will be on display at BCE Place (181 Bay St.) from August 8 - 28, are a candid representation of the living and working conditions of people all over the world.

www.oxfam.ca

Green Corner: Robertson Roots Go Deep...Or Do They?

There's always something interesting to report when it comes to the living systems at the Robertson Building.
For this edition of the Pipeline, we're going to take you deep into the underworld of root systems on the green roof.  Typically, when a seed germinates, it plunges a strong primary or "tap root" downward into the soil. The
objective of a tap root is to grow deeply into the soil to anchor the new plant and access nutrients and moisture for energy production and photosynthesis. Plants with tap roots are difficult to transplant - think about the last time you tried to urge a dandelion out of the ground! Even if you break the top off, the long taproot stays in the
ground and can re-generate an entire dandelion plant all over again.  

Among the many extensive greenroof plants on the Robertson Building, we have a species known as rudbeckia-
laciniata, or the Green Headed Cone Flower, located in a large patch on the east side of the roof. By mid August we anticipate that they will become a tall, vibrant, yellow stand of plants, just like  they were last season. This spring we noted that the cone flowers were in good health and had wintered well. In fact, the species was becoming invasive. We were amazed to discover how the plants root system had adapted to the shallow planting media. The tap roots were all growing horizontally or parallel to the roof membrane. This observation is encouraging for green roof advocates on many fronts. Firstly, it dispels the rumour that plant roots penetrate roof membranes and cause roofs to leak. Secondly, this form of root adaptation tell us that tap roots can sense resistance and make the micro and macro cellular changes that it takes to survive, while still bracing the plant effectively, despite the shallow environment. Interestingly, these roots were all found pointing in exactly the
same direction, which further stabilizes the plant structurally against the prevailing northwest winds on the
Robertson roof. These amazing adaptive roots show us how much we still have to learn about how greenroofs
contribute to  new and exciting natural environments. 

Stay tuned for more green updates. For more information please call, Beth Anne Currie, 416.595.5900 x21

Green TV

The green roofs at 215 Spadina and 401 Richmond received a lot of attention recently from the documentary gardening series Recreating Eden (Vision TV). The series focuses on special gardens around the world and their impact not only on the people who cultivate these amazing spaces, but also on the communities that spend time in and around them. As a special treat, Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone joinged the cast on Thursday July 14, to talk about the City of Toronto's support for green initiatives. Pantalone is an advocate of tree planting and projects like the green roof at 215 Spadina. He was happy to show his support by appearing on Recreating Eden with Building Owner Margie Zeidler, who showed him around our rooftop meadow. We would like to thank our staff and tenants who contributed to their time and thoughts to what promises to be a very magical episode of the series. We will let you know when the show will be airing.

www.recreatingeden.com

Profile: Centre for Social Innovation

Behind all great innovations are visionary minds, people who are willing to take risks on experimental ideas that provide none of the comforts of a reliable formula for success. The Centre for Social Innovation (CSI, Suite 120) is one such experiment that in its first year has already become a model of how the co-location and collaboration of fourteen social mission organizations can produce tangible results for social change. Here's the concept: provide the space for small organizations to have a private office space with shared meeting rooms/conference space, kitchen, and common areas. These groups share an Office Manager, Audrey Vince, expensive office equipment like a photocopier, phone system, and fax machine. They also share an Executive Director, Tonya Surman, who not only keeps the Centre running but adds her expertise to programming initiatives geared at creating mutually beneficial collaborations and "incubation;" a chance for small organizations that may have previously been housed in isolated basements or attics to get on their feet and increase their reach by becoming part of a community of social mission groups.

The proof that the co- location is working is when groups like the Stephen Lewis Foundation, who within seven months had outgrown the Centre and moved on to a larger facility, are able to use the unique circumstances of the Centre to expand organizationally and therefore expand their mission and message. The development of CSI was the result of a special collaboration all its own - between Tonya and building owner Margie Zeidler. The journey began with a spontaneous discussion. Tonya, who spent six years at 401 Richmond working at Web Networks (Studio 384) was also a member of the Tri-C committee, along with Margie and several other tenants at 401 Richmond. The committee spent a year talking about the connections amongst community, culture, and commerce and devising some community building initiatives. In 2003 Tonya and  Margie reconnected as a result of the social
innovators forum, hosted by Alan Broadbent and ideas that matter. "We realized there were some
interesting possibilities of bringing the community space that urbanspace is so amazing at creating, together with
ideas around creating intentional communities and collaboration amongst social mission groups. We
knew that if we could combine our forces, that anything would be possible" Mary Rowe of ideas that matter was brought in to refine the concept and the idea for CSI was hatched.  A grant for a feasability study from Canadian Heritage accompanied with guidance from Patrick Tobin Director, Strategic Policy and Communications, Department of Canadian Heritage came at a critical moment, and along with research done by Eric Meerkamper of D-Code  (401 Richmond, Studio 251) the project became a reality.

In February of 2004 CSI held information sessions for forty prospective tenants twenty-five of which applied for space and fourteen were selected for tenancy. The Centre was designed for small organizations of one to four
people, so this was one of the primary criteria for selection. Tonya was also interested in creating a mix of for-profit
and non-profit, stable and emerging, and a diversity of sectors so the tenants represent the multi-cultural, international development, and environmental areas, as well as a variety of social service agencies and professional
associations. By June the tenants were moving in to the newly renovated space on the ground floor of 215 Spadina Ave.

Now that the dust has settled, CSI can begin working on programming. As Tonya explains "we are now at the point where we've tested the co-location, its working like a charm and we can start developing the programming vision to support and answer the question: 'how do you incubate and catalyze social innovation?'" One of the ways that the
Centre is attempting this is to focus on two strategic areas of social innovation: building effective collaboration and the incubation of social enterprise. "This is about building a culture of collaboration amongst non-profit and social mission groups and revenue generation, in order to build more autonomy for organizations that are trying to do social purpose work, for non-profit and social mission organizations. As a separate initiative, the programming committee, under tremendous tenant leadership from Warren Garret of Community Culture Impresarios (Suite 125), John Degan of the Periodical Writers Association of Canada (Suite 123), Paul Bubelis of the Sustainability Network (Suite 128), and Michael Kerr of The National Anti-Racism Council of Canada (Suite 122) are exploring the development of programming that breaks down the silos between sectors.

As Tonya continues, "another way that we're planning on doing this is with 'virtual tenancy.' This will be a way
that we can affiliate with new up and coming projects and initiatives, provide them with services, and be able to
highlight the work that they're doing within the centre without actually having to give up a suite. So they'd still
be home-based but they'd be affiliated. The Centre is also experimenting with something we're calling a 'clinic
model.' Often when people come together at events and workshops they get all this synergy and all these great
ideas and then nothing happens. But, because we're a placed-based initiative we're looking at hosting follow-up clinics to these events that will explore how you create an environment that enables collaboration to happen without forcing it." These clinics would also afford the opportunity for peers to come together with consultants and
experts to problem solve and evolve their thinking in certain areas of interest.

The Centre is also working with the Ashoka Foundation and Peter Drucker Foundation to launch a Social
Innovation Awards program to recognize social innovation organizations. "And that should round the Centre's overall objective, which is to catalyze, inform, and support social innovation in Canada" - round it out indeed! 

www.the215.ca

Doors Closed Campaign

On August 9 The Conservation Council of Ontario, (CCO, Suite 132) held a press conference in front of 215 Spadina to spread the word to retail establishments about adopting a "doors closed" policy. The campaign is an effort to encourage businesses to conserve energy that is commonly wasted by leaving doors open and essentially air conditioning the street. The Council, along with volunteers, conservation groups, municipalities, and chambers of commerce spent a week speaking to local stores seeking participation in the campaign.

Studies show that a small business leaving even a single door open for one day loses enough energy to cool a house. Fellow tenant Dreams (Suite 105) was one of the first to participate by placing the Doors Closed sign in their window, which reads "Our doors may be closed, but we are open" and closing their doors. As CCO Executive Director Chris Winter explains: "we are aware that many businesses use open doors as a signal to customers. The poster allows them to show they are both open and energy conscious."

www.greenontario.org

Green Corner: Make Room for Sidewalks in Bloom

You may have noticed the new garden beds at street level in front of the Robertson Building? Early in July, it occurred to the urbanspace environmental team that it might be possible to reclaim the street level garden space that surrounds the two city trees in front of the building. We noticed that Paul Magder, a fur merchant across the street, had achieved this feat and that a colourful pocket of pansies surrounded the small city tree in front of his store.

Building on this community "greening" synergy, we were able to negotiate similar results with the City of Toronto. On July 11th, two City trucks and three City workers arrived to successfully lift and remove the concrete blocks that surrounded our two tree pits. The City provided some replacement soil, but we needed to bolster the nutrient load with our own organic mix and then add some flowering annuals and perennials to this new garden space at the base of the trees. In fact there's also a third garden planter beside the building - built atop the old hydro vault that is no longer in use. The plants in the planter box seated on the hydro vault were divided and taken from the greenroof on the Robertson building. It's been wonderful to see this area transform into a pleasant back-drop for visitors and tenants seeking some quiet space out-of-doors.

When Spacing, a magazine that acts as a hub for interesting news, events, and projects relevant to public space issues in Toronto and around the world discovered our planting efforts they wrote a story about it and dubbed us the "Tree Pit Gardening Angels." For more information try: http://spacing.ca/wire/?p=151

These three new garden spaces have softened the Robertson's concrete shoulder and added some rich colour, texture, and dimension to our immediate neighbourhood. We hope you find that they generate a welcoming feel to the exterior of the building.

Profile: Material Matters

Material Matters Contemporary Canadian Glass Art Gallery (Suite 101) is a jewel box of intriguing creations resting at the southwest corner of the Robertson Building. The gallery represents twenty-seven Canadian glass artists who rotate exhibitions each month, so there is always something new and exciting to experience. From amber diffused optical crystal (Charles Hargraves), to blown glass, feathers + rocks (Tanya Lyons), the gallery shows the best and most cutting edge works created by Canadian artists who are recognized internationally for their unique and daring perspective on the art.

This work would not have the same exposure it does today without the dedication of owner and curator Lisa Wouhela, who has been in the business for over twenty years. The gallery began its life at Queen and Parliament in the front space of Lisa's fabric arts studio. Lisa teamed up with Andrew Kuntz, a forerunner in the Canadian Glass Movement and they ran the space there for a few years before Lisa was lured to 80 Spadina Avenue to be part of a group of galleries who were all taking up residence in the old warehouse building. Lisa says this was a good move for the gallery because "the artists were excited about the beautiful space and high ceilings; for them it was a big step; it was taking their art seriously and showcasing their work with other artistic mediums. It was really the beginning of the Canadian Glass Movement."

The Canadian Glass Movement grew out of the American Studio Glass Movement started by Harvey Littleton in the late 50s. Littleton had traveled to Venice, Italy and seen the incredible glass factories that employed entire families of glass artists who passed their technique through generations. They worked in smaller studio-like spaces that were completely separated from the other artists, and after seeing this, Littleton decided that it would be entirely feasible to support this kind of work in a studio in America. "Littleton came back to the States and he made himself a glory hole [opening of the furnace used to keep glass hot and workable] and a pot furnace, where he picked up the glass and he made blobs of glass. And that was the beginning of the studio glass movement - individual people working in their studios - it had never been done before. It was the first time you had one individual completing their work from vision to production." This process of production has now become the standard for Canadian glass artists.

After five years, the economic climate forced Lisa to close the gallery at 80 Spadina. Nonetheless, she started writing, curating, and, along with Alfred Engeren, she organized a monumental project called The Glass Architecture Exhibition. The exhibition paired ten architects with ten glass artists and they worked together for two years to come up with a project involving space and glass in ways that perhaps hadn't been approached before - it was very successful. The show was first mounted in the Clay and Glass Gallery in Waterloo and then at the Design Exchange in Toronto. The gallery had one more renaissance at Queen and Tecumseth before joining the community at the Robertson Building in February 2003. Lisa says the new space is "absolutely fabulous."

Executive Director Dan Whetung joined Lisa when she moved to the Robertson Building and has been a wonderful addition to the gallery. Dan has been a quick study in the gallery business and provides a great connection for the artists - "it's been a good fit for the gallery." This year Dan and Lisa launched the first National Graduate Show, which showcases the work of graduates from schools that now offer glass art classes - a good indication of the growing popularity of the medium. There are also plans for an International Graduate Show, slated for two years from now. For many years Dan has also worked closely with an environmental organization called the Thunderbirds Necklaces Foundation and a space is provided in the gallery and works donated by gallery artists are on display with the proceeds from sales going directly to the foundation and it's efforts. As Lisa explains: "it's an exciting medium for me because I was there at the beginning. Just watching where it's grown has been exciting, it always keeps me pumped and it doesn't get boring."

www.materialmatters.ca

Roots Of Empathy

Roots of Empathy's (Suite 160) Founder /President Mary Gordon has been a very busy woman this fall. Not only has she been signing copies of her new book: Roots of Empathy: Changing the World Child by Child (released in September), but she was also named to the Order of Canada.

The book chronicles the creation of Mary's award-winning classroom program and her vision of a society of compassionate and caring chidren who will pass on thier legacy of empathy to their own children. The award recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Mary will be officially invested into the Order at a ceremony taking place in February 2006.
For more information or to order a copy of Mary's book visit: www.rootsofempathy.org

Sustainability Network: Ken Wiwa

On September 14 The Sustainability Network (Suite 128) hosted a forum entitled Ken Wiwa on Suanu: A Socio- Economic Partnership for Africa. At the breakfast presentation at the Centre for Social Innovation (Suite 120), Ken Wiwa reflected on efforts by himself and his father to prevent exploitation by multi-national corporations and western nations and on their hope to get a greater share of the revenues for the Ogoni in oil-rich Nigeria.
Watch for upcoming events hosted by the Sustainability Network on the Pipeline listings page or visit: www.sustain.web.net

Theatre Ontario Celebrates Artsweek

From September 26 - 30 Theatre Ontario (Suite 210) celebrated Artsweek, the largest multi-disciplinary arts festival in Canada, with a free public open house. Theatre Ontario, a central source of information on training, career opportunities, awards, publications, productions and resources focused on theatre in Ontario, encouraged people to stop by and learn about what they do.

There were special daily activities such as book sales and workshops, some of which were co-presented with neighbours Playwrights Canada Press (Suite 230) and the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA, Suite 210). Theatre Ontario's doors are always open anytime for anyone seeking information regarding theatre.

www.theatreontario.org

Welcome: Tides Canada Co-location

We would like welcome a new group of tenants who joined the Robertson Building community in September. Taking over Suite 360 is a co-location of seven organizations: Vartana, Institute for for Media, Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS), Tides Canada Foundation, Care Canada, Mutual Abundance, Harvey Locke Consulting, and the Canadian Environmental Grantmaker's Network (CEGN).

The group is quite large, so we couldn't get them all together for the picture, but we managed to get representatives from four of the seven organizations. Tides Canada, the originators of this multi-tenancy project, included a wonderful spotlight on their new initiative at 215 Spadina in their fall 2005 newsletter.
Visit www.tidescanada.org to read the article.

Green Corner: Rack it Up

Did you know that the City of Toronto supports nearly a million adult cyclists on its busy streets and avenues? At the Robertson Building over fifty cyclists take their bikes up and down the steps each day. Urbanspace Property Group wishes to applaud our dedicated tenants who cycle to work each day! You are each making a contribution to the quality of the surrounding air, water and soil in our city and more importantly, to the health of city residents. Thank you!

Many of you have noticed and taken advantage of the new wall-mounted bike racks that have been installed in the basement area. There are currently twenty-six new blue bike rack units. These units are safe, easy-to-use, neat and secure. Some of you are actively using the system, while others choose to stand their bikes against walls along hallways or against permanent fixtures. Please give us a call if you need help securing your bike to the wall units. We are also able to tailor a wall-mount unit to your particular bike to ensure it is safe and secure.

Did you know that our City has a Toronto Bike Plan (TBP)? The TBP is a ten-year initiative that was designed to guide the development and maintenance of cycling infrastructure and programs throughout the City. The vision for the Toronto Bike Plan is to create a safe, comfortable and bicycle friendly environment in Toronto, which encourages people of all ages to use bicycles for everyday transportation and enjoyment.
For more information on the vision for cycling in Toronto, go to: www.toronto.ca/cycling/bikeplan/index.htm

Thinking about cycling to work but aren't feeling brave? CAN-BIKE is a Toronto-based cycling course that helps commuters and recreational cyclists build navigation skills and improve safety.
For more information on CAN-BIKE go to: www.toronto.ca/cycling/bikeplan/index/htm

For access to the Toronto cycling map go to: www.toronto.ca/cycling/map/pdf/2005_map.pdf

Late breaking news: City Council adopted the Transportation Services 2006 Capital Budget on Monday, December 12, including three million dollars for cycling infrastructure!

Halloween with a Heart

Halloween celebrations are a highlight of Fall and staff at Cuppa Coffee (Suite 400) celebrated with a bash that also raised some funds for fellow tenant Eva's Initiatives (Suite 370). Cuppa Coffee staff member Neil Kingma organized the party and decided it would be great to take donations to go to a needy organization. One of Neil's co-workers had gone through an Eva's Initiatives program, which works to get homeless and at-risk youth permanently off the streets, and was hired by Cuppa Coffee through the organization's employment opportunities. This seemed like a perfect fit, so Neil donated $605 this past October.

Playwrights Canada Press

Playwrights Canada Press (Suite 230) is Canada's largest and oldest exclusive publisher of drama titles and is responsible for bringing a great number of contemporary Canadian plays to print, including John Mighton's multiple award-winning play Half Life. The playwright was recently honoured with two prestigious awards - the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, a $100,000 prize, and the Governor General's Literary Award. Mighton, who is also the founder of Junior Undiscovered Math Prodigies (JUMP, 401 Richmond, Studio 349), bestowed twenty-five percent of his Siminovitch Prize to his protégé Anton Piatigorsky whose works have also been published by Playwrights Canada Press.

Profile: A Committment to Training and Employment for Women

A Commitment to Training and Employment for Women's (ACTEW, Suite 350) name says a lot about what they do. In simple terms, they are an umbrella organization that does research and analysis on training and employment for women in Ontario, and share this information with a large membership of service organizations and individuals. Not so simple a task that certainly requires commitment. The organization, which was founded in 1987, has grown and evolved over the years and just this month, has finally been granted charitable status. They have not only fought for equal employment issues and newcomer rights, but as an explicitly feminist organization they have struggled for funding support to enable them to offer services to a constantly evolving population of women. There have certainly been challenges along the way, but ACTEW has accomplished a great deal and are now starting some new projects made possible through new funding opportunities.

There are significant challenges to operating a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in the funding structure and policy dynamic that exists in Canada. However, Executive Director Jen Liptrot is reassured by the fact that "there's been a lot of momentum around reforming the Charities Act due to the civil society's movement and more attention to social justice issues in general. There's been more recognition that there's a very legitimate and worthwhile role that NGOs can play in building dialogue around civic engagement and equity issues. The way that most government services in Canada are delivered is through the voluntary sector - in every province NGOs are
delivering services on behalf of the government. So it makes sense that the government would want to become open and demonstrate that they're willing to hear from the service delivery groups around the impacts vis-a-vis policy mechanisms or funding. That whole feedback loop mentality is starting to kick in."

ACTEW began as "an informal network of career practitioners that were working with women in the community such as literacy instructors, employment counsellors, job developers; and they were seeing that women had different employment related needs from men. A lot of women may have been out of the workforce for a couple of years raising families and they were having challenges reintegrating, or transitioning back."

So, an informal group of women began meeting and creating a network to share best practices. From there, the
organization has steadily increased its scope and membership base through a series of research driven initiatives.

Like some of our other tenants who have already been profiled in these pages, ACTEW came to the Robertson Building from 401 Richmond Street West when their needs outgrew their space. They now share a much larger space on the third floor with friends and organizational collaborators, the Toronto Training Board. The growth of the organization is reflected in their new space, a staff that now includes Deanna Yerichuk, Hong
Zhu and Carol van den Kerkhof, and the exciting multi-year projects they are embarking upon. One of which, is a research grant to assess the impacts of the new Canada-Ontario Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA).

The LMDA devolves responsibility for employment and training from the federal government to the provincial
level. Jen explains, "we're at a really exciting time, because of this agreement and we've been given a three-year grant from Status of Women to do an equity analysis on the whole piece - how the LMDA gets rolled out and
implemented and what it actually means for front-line service access for different kinds of clients and groups of
women." Ontario has been the last province to adopt the LMDA and ACTEW's involvement will mean it will be
the only one to benefit from a gender and equity analysis as it is implemented.

As one of the first umbrella organizations in Toronto with a large website dedicated to information exchange,
ACTEW has had valuable experience working in online environments. As "information brokers" their virtual
presence has been a necessary tool for providing important information to as many people as possible using the web as a portal. It has also gained them access to communities where otherwise they would not have the opportunity for interaction. "At least twice a year, we'll open the mail and find a membership application form from an agency we've NEVER heard of, or we've heard about them, but we haven't had contact with them. We haven't done any outreach or networking. They simply find our website, monitor what we're doing electronically, and then they'll join - we'll be completely delighted."

The success of their online environment has also gained them a grant from the Trillium Foundation to do more technical development on their website and expand its scope to include the "constellation" project. The project is a group of agencies in the employment and training sector producing online content which, will now have the opportunity to connect, update, and provide feedback on the information that is generated.

To find out more about ACTEW or become a member check out their website at www.actew.org.

Ralph Nader in Toronto

The Centre for Social Innovation (Suite 120) played host to activist and renowned politician Ralph Nader this October. The event, held at Ryerson University Theatre, gave Nader the opportunity to discuss Innovative Solutions for our Survival: Connecting Climate Change with Social Justice. Focusing on how effective citizenship can tackle climate change and address other social problems, he also discussed Canada's position as a potential leader in this initiative to an engaged audience. This was just one of the exciting events being organized by CSI - watch out for the Social Innovation Awards coming up in 2006.

Vital People Grant

On December 1, the Toronto Community Foundation awarded Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts' (TAPA, Suite 210) Executive Director Jacoba Knappen a Vital People Grant. The award recognizes "Torontonians who demonstrate leadership and make outstanding contributions through non-profit organizations that improve quality of life in Toronto." For many years Jacoba has contributed tremendously to helping arts organizations and through TAPA plays an essential role in the promotion of Toronto's vibrant performance arts.

Wine and Cheese Please

On October 26 tenants from the Robertson Building gathered in the lobby for the Robertson Building Tenant Wine and Cheese, Meet and Greet. There was a wonderful turn out for the event. Tenants had the opportunity to meet some of their neighbours and learn about what everyone is up to at 215 Spadina.

The event was catered by an organic catering company, Vert, which brought us a spread of artisinal cheeses from Quebec and roasted figs drizzled with a sweet balsamic vinegar reduction (among other tasty morsels). All the paper products were provided by Green Shift and are 100% biodegrade- able. It was an environmentally conscious event that fit well with the progressive community at the Robertson Building.

We got so many great pictures from the event we thought we would share as many as we could. It was also great to spend some more time with tenants at the annual Tenant Holiday Party in December.

Corporate Knights Global 100

Corporate Knights (Suite 129) Publisher Karen Kun and Editor Toby Heaps didn't spend their entire time at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on the ski slopes, we promise. They actually spent most of their time presenting the second annual Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, a list of companies that "have the best developed abilities, relative to their industry peers, to manage the environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities they face." Corporate Knights Magazine is an independent Canadian publication that focuses on corporate responsibility and has the world’s largest circulation in it's subject area. The magazine is published bi-monthly and is included with a subscription to the Globe and Mail newspaper as well as through individual subscriptions. Founded in 2002, the magazine's "goal is to jumpstart Canada to become the world leader in responsible commerce." The World Economic Forum provided a perfect opporunity for the team from Corporate Knights to highlight those companies who show leadership in sustainable practices.

www.corporateknights.ca

Defending Our Dreams

Congratulations to the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID, Suite150) who produced a pioneering collection of essays by young feminists exploring how to shape a better future in the current world order. Defending Our Dreams "presents key issues arising out of the experiences of young women living in both North and South, the challenges confronting young feminists, and the agenda for a new era of feminist leadership and activism."

The book was co-edited by AWID's Young Women and Leadership Programme Manager Shamillah Wilson with Anasuya Sengupta (UNICEF), and Kristy Evans, a recent Young Women and Leadership intern at AWID. There are also chapters contributed by fellow AWID colleagues Alison Symington and Ann Elisabeth Samson.

Defending Our Dreams, published late last year, has already received very positive feedback from readers. Sisonke Msimang says: "This book represents the most powerful, eloquent and thought-provoking collection I've seen in a long time. It brings together a poetic, jarring, often painful chorus of voices together. These are not naïve, headstrong young women with blinders on; they are experienced, committed and thoughtful activists whose challenges are complex. Each of the writers in this book brings a rare and sparkling truth to the table - what we, who read, choose to do with this truth is our choice; these young women have done their job."

If creating a groundbreaking collection of essays wasn't keeping AWID busy enough, they also hosted their 10th Annual International Forum in Thailand in October 2005. The forum titled How Does Change Happen attracted 1,800 women for a series of thought provoking panels and discussions about how women are making change happen. Development Journal has dedicated their March 2006 issue to women's rights a development continuing the conversations started at AWID's Forum. For more information about AWID, or to order a copy of either publication mentioned in this article visit: www.awid.org

Green Corner: History in the Making

On February 1 Toronto City Council committed to a green roof policy for the City marking a significant day for green roof advocates, building owners, and the wider Toronto community. After nearly a decade of research, demonstration projects, market development, and community- motivated green roof projects (like the Robertson Building) Toronto will finally have more green roofs than ever before. The Robertson Building's green roof has played a seminal role in helping city leaders "believe" in this environmentally savvy technology. A new city-managed green roof website, featuring photos of our prairie meadow green roof, helped galvanize the City's commitment to green roof policy development. The recommendations approved by Council included a commitment to install green roofs on new and existing buildings owned by the City whenever practical to do so. For example, green roofs are to be considered for existing municipal buildings when roofs are due to be replaced. For new City-owned buildings, a target has been set to cover fifty to seventy-five per cent of a building's footprint with a green roof.

Council also recommended that a pilot program of financial incentives be initiated this year for the construction of
green roofs, and City officials will work with Toronto Hydro and the Toronto Atmospheric Fund on the possibility of
offering building owners additional financial incentives for retrofits. Mayor David Miller said, "This is a perfect
example of how we expect the new City of Toronto Act will help us govern in the best interests of Torontonians. Given the power to regulate green roofs in our city, we can work with residents to implement major initiatives that will make our city cleaner, healthier and more beautiful." Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone chairs the City's Roundtable
on the Environment, which recommended the "Making Green Roofs Happen" policy. He said, "Torontonians have told us that they want the city to do more to promote green roofs. In response, City Council has approved a comprehensive approach - from establishing standards and building our capacity to support green roofs at the
City level, to offering education, funding, expert advice and promotion."

www.toronto.ca/greenroofs 

Harvey Locke on Tour

Harvey Locke (Harvey Locke Consulting, Suite 368) has been spending a lot of time on the road this past fall on a speaking tour for the Canadian Parks and Wildernes Society's (CPAWS) Nahanni Forever campaign. The campaign included an impressive roster of supporters and wilderness activists working to raise awareness about the Nahanni region, Canada's most renowned northern boreal forest area. The Nahanni National Park Reserve is one of the first World Heritage Sites declared by the United Nations, but there is increasing concern about a mine proposal that puts the water, wildlife and wilderness values of the area at risk. Harvey, a senior advisor to CPAWS, is also program advisor to Tides Canada Foundation (Suite 363) where he oversees the Sage Climate Project and conducts a philanthropic consulting practice. To find out more about CPAWS’ campaign to protect the entire South Nahanni Watershed visit: www.cpaws.org

Picture Perfect

This fall we decided it was high time we had some great photos of the Robertson Building, so we hired photo- grapher Cat O'Neill to document the transformation. Cat is responsible for many of the images taken of the recently renovated Gladstone Hotel (another member of the Urbanspace Property Group family of buildings). As tenants, you pass through the lobby of 215 daily, but we thought it would be nice to share these images with you and perhaps allow you to see these spaces in a new way.

Profile: Toronto Training Board

In the last issue of the Robertson Pipeline, we got up close and personal with A Commitment to Training and Education for Women (ACTEW, Suite 350). As a natural segue, this spring we will be spending some time with ACTEW's roommate the Toronto Training Board (TTB) learning what makes this dedicated organization tick.

ACTEW and TTB are co-located on the third floor at 215 Spadina where they share a space, a history, and a philosophy about access to employment and training opportunities. TTB's Executive Director Karen Lior spent many years creating ACTEW from the ground up. Now she spends her time working diligently to maintain and strengthen the TTB; one of the last vestiges of a national labour force development strategy that began in the early 90s with the creation of the Canadian Labour Force Development Board (CLFDB). The CLFDB was dissolved in 1999, leaving only the Saskatchewan Labour Force Development Board and twenty-one local boards in Ontario. As Karen explains, "on the Canadian Labour Force Development Board there were eight labour seats, eight business, two education and trainers, four equity, and an aboriginal seat. It was the first time that all these parties came together on a consensual decision-making basis to look at national issues around labour adjustment, low employment, how to recognize off-shore skills and credentials, among others. They did a lot of research and some really good work." TTB has continued this work in their local catchment area of Toronto (which includes Etobicoke and Scarborough).

TTB is funded jointly by the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and Human Resources Social  Development Canada. The local training boards were originally created to implement training and adjustment programs, and to look at skills development, employment, and the needs of unemployed workers. Their mandate changed in the late 90s to performing local area environmental scans to identify the needs and services required and to develop an inventory of local programs and services (available on the Internet. The TTB continues this
inventory work in connection with 211 Find Help Toronto and the Possibilities Project.

The Local Boards also deliver a Trends, Opportunities and Priorities Report. This report is an examination of what the local issues are and what's happening in the city. "We create a City of Toronto profile, with labour market information, population, and what's happening; what the jobs, trends, and issues are. Then we identify initiatives on the ground that respond to those issues and where we can plug ourselves in, or do something new." The "do something new" is usually forged in a series of partnerships that the board is funded to implement every year.

TTB has been instrumental in putting some valuable tools in place through their partnerships. After identifying the
difficulty for internationally-trained teachers to find work in Ontario classrooms, they held a think-tank bringing 
together all the stakeholders, which resulted in the Teach in Ontario project.  Three thousand newcomers
"were able to access a website that provided information in more than 167 countries around their skills and
credentials. It also outlined the process to get certified to teach here in Canada. Four assessment centres have
been set up where people can go to have their qualifications reviewed and colleges have made enormous policy
changes to help people get into the classroom." The project was very successful and over seventy-five per cent of those who were certified are currently working in the school system.

The TTB works on six partnerships annually, which has included joint ventures with the Somali Youth Association of Toronto (SOYAT) and produced a pamphlet on the conditions of precarious employment (much of the work available to immigrant workers is part-time, contingent, and does not provide benefits). The pamphlet accompanied a panel discussion on the issue in Toronto presented by speakers from the Alliance on Precarious Employment based at York University.

As the organization gains maturity there is the hope that they will be able to conquer some new ground by
producing a publication for every partnership. The Board will also continue to partner with others to work on vital
issues affecting the Toronto labour force. Being in their new space with their ACTEW colleagues has also added a lot to their basic operations. "It's amazing - I think there's a unique synergy amongst all of us who work in this space. We're seven women who come in and out, of all ages from fifty five to probably twenty five, yet there's enormous
respect and collegiality. If people have questions I can't answer I'll send them to see Jen Liptrot [ACTEW Executive
Director] and vice versa. We have a resource centre that we haven't quite amalgamated, but ACTEW's is probably
the most complete resource centre around women's training and employment issues in the country, and ours is pretty good too. I think we're really privileged to work in this environment."

For more information on the Toronto Training Board, including the Trends, Opportunities and Priorities Report, visit:
www.ttb.on.ca

C2P2

The Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention (C2P2, Suite 134) is relatively new to the Robertson Building community having joined the collaborative co-located group at the Centre for Social Innovation (Suite 120) late last fall. Established in 1992 by Environment Canada, C2P2 has been providing programs and services that encourage actions to avoid or minimize the creation of pollution and waste – pollution prevention (P2) – as well as actions that foster a healthier environment and a sustainable society.

The new office at 215 Spadina marks the continued growth of this instrumental organization, which also has an office in Sarnia. Executive Director Chris Wolnik and Projects Officer Kady Cowan will focus on and expand national projects by sharing knowledge, tools and innovative thinking with business, governments, academia, individuals and organizations in order to catalyze behavioural change leading to more sustainable practices.

C2P2 are busy preparing for their 10th Canadian Prevention Roundtable on June 14 - 15 in Halifax. The event brings together the strongest pool of Canadian pollution prevention expertise to discuss future directions. Watch our pages for information on upcoming events.

www.c2p2online.com

Eva's Spring Fantasy Auction

The Spring Fantasy Auction is the signature fundraising event for Eva's Initiatives (Suite 370). This year, guests gathered at the historic St. Lawrence Hall for the fabulous event, which included a delicious buffet dinner, musical entertainment by Eva's staff and clients, as well as a silent and live auction. The bidding was a little heated at times, but everyone left happy and with some fantastic items in hand.

Eva's provides shelter, harm reduction services, counseling, and employ- ment and training programs for youth from ages sixteen to twenty-four. The organization, which is twelve years old, has been holding the Spring Fantasy Auction for eight years with tremendous success. This year's event raised over $42,000 enabling Eva's to continue providing valuable services in all three of their shelters. The event not only offers people the opportunity to contribute to a great cause, but creates a festive and fun environment where people meet and reconnect.

www.evasinitiatives.com

Green Corner: New Green Roof Pilot Program

The City of Toronto announced recently that it will be allocating $200,000 of the budget to implement a Green
Roof Incentive Pilot Program.  The overall goal of the pilot program is to encourage green roof installations
across the City and promote a number of highly visible projects already in place.

The City was influenced in part by a recent Ryerson University green roof cost-benefit study (using data from the City's Wet Weather Flow Master Plan (2001)). This study showed that if 8% of downtown Toronto's flat roofs were greened there could be a potential savings of one to two dollars per square metre from stormwater runoff reductions. This economic rationale, along with other environmental benefits, provided the basis for establishing the pilot program, which will provide eligible property owners with a grant of $10 per square metre for acceptable green roof projects, up to a maximum of $20,000.

The program will be open to all private property owners in the City of Toronto irrespective of building size and type as long as the building is capable of supporting a green roof that meets the program's requirements.

It is hoped that the Green Roof Incentive Pilot Program will result in the construction of a variety of green roof
types that could be used for education and promotional purposes. Ideally, the roofs in the pilot program will range from an expansive industrial/commercial green roof application down to a small single family residence. The pilot program will also support and showcase various green roof technologies and planting styles.

www.toronto.ca/greenroofs

 

Political Party

As members of Friends of Kathleen Wynne, Diane Oleskiw and Jennifer Scott hosted a fundraiser in support of the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) on April 26. The event was held in the sunny offices of Scott + Oleskiw (Suite 235) with over sixty people sipping wine and catching up on Kathleen's activities.

Kathleen Wynne cares passionately about the issue of women's participation in government. As a long-time politician she has watched Canada's early success with electing women to parliament plummet and is very concerned that we now stand in forty second place globally. She "believes it's time to reverse this trend and to expand the dialogue about how to make real electoral change in our city, in our province, and in our country."

Scott + Oleskiw is a law firm that focuses on issues related to women and human rights. Diane Oleskiw practices feminist criminal law and Jennifer Scott practices human rights, constitutional and education law. Special guest Marie Bountrogianni, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Democratic Renewal was also in attendance at the event to discuss the implications of electoral reform. Kathleen is now heading into preparations for re-election in 2007.

www.kathleenwynne.ca

Profile: Association for Women's Rights in Development

Like all really vital organizations the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID, Suite 250) is continuously working to revitalize itself not only to ensure it remains relevant well into the future, but also to support and encourage a new generation of women to become involved in feminist politics and human rights. AWID is continuously finding ways to re-energize issues and make the necessary organizational changes to reflect transformations in the landscape of women's rights.

AWID was founded in 1982 as a membership organization of women involved in international development who were concerned with the role of women in the development process. The World Conference on Women held in China in 1995 marked a turning point for groups engaged in transforming gender relations. As Executive Director Joanna Kerr explains, after the world conference the emphasis shifted to "trying to increase the rights of women through any type of process, not just international development." AWID took a look at itself, questioned how relevant it was, and realized it needed to make sure that it had a broad representation of women from the rest of the world as part of the organization.
 
In 2000 Joanna, then the President of the Board of Directors, was encouraged to step in as Executive Director. Joanna had been working hard to change the direction of the organization and saw this as an exciting opportunity to be even more influential. She had a few conditions: that the organization move to Canada, and that the name be
changed. So, the group moved up north and the Association for Women in Development became the Association for Women's Rights in Development. "This was the beginning of a radical transformation."

Joanna helped mould AWID into not simply a provider of information and services about women, development,
and human rights, but as a uniting organization that now brings together over six thousand individual members
and one hundred and fifty institutional members. An organization that once found its membership almost exclusively in the United States has managed to effectively internationalize its efforts now finding membership primarily in the global south. AWID's shift in outreach was aided in large part by a move of its headquarters from Washington DC to Canada.

Joanna explains: "I think Toronto is a much better environment to do this kind of work - it is a perfect place to run an international organization because of the labour force. The diversity that we are able to hire in this space you
certainly couldn't get in Washington DC. It's a young city and it's just been a really positive and hospitable environment for us to do our work."

In order to transform itself into a strongly focused international organization, AWID has a low profile in Canada. They have an international board, which excludes them from charitable status (fifty-one per cent of the board would
need to be Canadian in order for them to be eligible). "We didn't want to have a huge Canadian membership. We
wanted to be able to really listen and respond to the needs of our members in the rest of the world."

One of AWID's key projects is the International Forum on Women's Rights and Development that effectively brings
together close to two thousand people from 120 countries to discuss and debate the key issues facing women's
rights. It is hard to achieve consensus on complex issues like sex work and trafficking, or HIV/AIDS, but the forum
makes sure that the discussion in open and on-going.

"We're developing more holistic work around HIV/AIDS, so for the past several years we've been doing a lot of work
with young women activists in Africa. For us, we can't look at HIV/AIDS without looking at it as a women's rights issue. Women's vulnerability has increased, as has the rate of women with HIV/AIDS, so we see prevention in terms of women's empowerment and young women's rights activism. We've been holding leadership institutes over the past couple of years in five countries in Africa and held a regional one in Asia."

AWID is already gearing up for the next International Forum, likely to be held in the Middle East in 2008, and continues to explore new avenues. They plan to open a couple of new offices in countries where they have a large
membership base. Joanna says, "even though we work quite effectively virtually, we have ten websites and put
out six or seven e-lists a week, we're trying to reach our tentacles around - to be a truly international organization."

www.awid.org

 

Bike Week at CSI

Bike Week, a salute to bicycle culture, celebrated it's 17th birthday this year. Organized by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Cycling Committee, the event features actions and activities created by organizations and community groups throughout the city. This year on May 30 the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI, Suite 120) joined the festivities by hosting a lunch and learn that covered commuting tips, how to protect your bike, and how to create a bike-friendly workplace.

Cycling Ambassadors came to lead the discussion and provide information on how to join an increasing number of people who commute to work on a bike, and also brush up on rules of the road with seasoned cyclists. The lunch and learn session ended with a visit to the basement of the Robertson Building to have a look at the bike racks that are used by tenants and visitors to the building, and do a demo for folks who weren't sure how to lock up.

Want to join the Robertson Building/401 Richmond Bicycle User Group? Just send an email to Maria Pazo at CSI (maria [at] socialinnovation [dot] ca) and she will put you on the list. A Bicycle User Group, or BUG, connects you with a community of cyclists and provides opportunities for cycling seminars and special events.
For more info visit: www.toronto.ca/bug

Creative Trust Awareness Campaign

Creative Trust (Suite 129) launched a new awareness campaign this June to send a message that Toronto's wealth of talented performing artists "belong in the theatre," and deserve our financial support. With a collection of witty ads showing folks who should really be on the stage Creative Trust hopes to achieve the last leg of it's $6.1 million fundraising initiative in support of 22 mid-size creative music, theatre and dance companies in Toronto.

The goal of Creative Trust is to ensure the health and stability of companies essential to Toronto and Canada's cultural well being - allowing them to devote more of their energies to producing fine art and bringing it to the community. Have a look at the ad campaign, including a comical "office opera" commercial, by visiting: www.creativetrust.ca

Equita at 215

Their slogan is "So Fair, So Good!" and this new addition to the Robertson Building community is likely to become a very popular neighbour. Founded in 1996, Oxfam Fair Trade brings a range of Fair Trade certified products to consumers under the EQUITA banner. Recently, Suresh Tumkur carved out his own space in the Oxfam Canada (Suite 200) offices where he will work to promote these tasty fair trade treats (previously only available in Quebec) through various outlets in Toronto, including the Roastery Coffee House at 401 Richmond! Suresh will be looking to work with the Toronto School Boards to create a partnership that would make Equita products available for fundraising activities in schools. Oxfam's fair trade initiatives strive to "educate Canadian consumers on the effect of globalization and on how ethical consumption can be a powerful tool to change the world."

It is about sustainable development - ensuring that local farmers in developing countries are compensated fairly for their products thereby creating thriving local communities and economies. Suresh generously let us sample some of Equita's delicious chocolate flecked with candied orange peel and earl grey tea. This is just one product in a line that includes coffee and tea, spices, rice, and sugar. Although Equita currently doesn't sell their products directly, Suresh will be setting up a table on the ground floor outside CSI (Suite 120) on Wednesday July 26 from 12:00 - 2:00 pm so that tenants can sample his wares and maybe take a sweet bar or two back to the office. For more information on Oxfam Fair Trade and the Equita Network visit: www.oxfamfairtrade.ca
You can also contact Suresh directly at: tumkurs@oxfamfairtrade.ca

Green Corner: Natural City Conference

From May 31 to June 2, the University of Toronto hosted The Natural City conference that helped participants "rethink how urban and natural environments can be integrated to promote sustainability." Several of our tenants were invited to speak including, Chris Winter, Executive Director of the Conservation Council of Ontario (CCO, Suite 132) who reminded participants that any time is a good time for conservation.

Launched in 2005, CCO's Doors Closed program gained significant media attention, community support, and business participation from across the country. With summer upon us, the time has come again to ask retailers to keep their shop doors closed while the air conditioning is turned on. The CCO has some other bright ideas up their sleeves and you can check them out at: www.weconserve.ca

I did a talk that featured heritage buildings as an ecological alternative reviewing some of the natural and sustainable practices occurring at Urbanspace. From heritage protection and conservation to green roofs, green walls, recycling, and energy retrofits: existing projects at 215 Spadina and 401 Richmond were profiled. Chris Wolnick, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention (C2P2, suite 134) introduced the work of the Centre and their mandate to help municipalities and organizations minimize the creation of pollution and waste, and promote actions that foster a healthier, sustainable society. Chris outlined an evolving program at C2P2 called Community Environmental Certification. As human health issues become increasingly attributed to environmental contaminants, it is becoming more important for organizations and municipalities to demonstrate, through certified independent third-party audits, that they are safeguarding the environment.
www.c2p2online.com

The Natural City conference was book-ended by two powerful and passionate environmental advocates: a keynote address by Stephen Lewis, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. And closing remarks by Elizabeth May, Sierra Club of Canada past Executive Director, and now a candidate for the leadership of the federal Green party of Canada.

Profile: Community Bandwidth

With the coming of a new year, we decided it was time that the Robertson Building designed it's very own website to help tell the story of all the social innovations percolating in these four walls. We of course already knew Phillip Smith aka Community Bandwidth (Suite 130) and after seeing some of his work on the interim Centre for Social Innovation (Suite 120) website, felt like his brand of web design would be a good fit. It also meant a lot that he knew the community we were interested in both assisting and promoting intimately. So, as Phillip works on serving up a tasty new website for the building, we thought it would be nice to talk to him about what he does.

Community Bandwidth is a one-man operation - a "not-for-much profit" company founded in 2002. After spending a year and a half in his house, Phillip became a member of the co-location initiative that is the Centre for Social Innovation taking up just one desk in the space. In many ways, Phillip is resistant to the incubator model believing that bigger is not necessarily better and therefore Community Bandwidth remains "aggressively small." There are other socially minded reasons why the company has stayed small, despite a large and persistent pool of charities that could certainly use his services. As Phillip explains, "I feel it's wrong to think 'Hey, there are all these organizations to serve that therefore I should grow, hire people, capitalize on their labour, and make profit.' Then I'm just turning into the problem that a lot of these organizations are trying to work against and not working in solidarity with them. It's about being small, attentive, and helping other people like me recognize the opportunity to work in an integrated way and have a very fulfilling and sustainable life."

On the flip side, the fact that there are more calls than Phillip could possibly support is also the greatest challenge of doing this kind of work. There are so few companies that are dedicated to working with charitable groups that the need is not even close to being met and this clearly disappoints Phillip. "Working with these organizations can provide a deeply fulfilling experience if you're socially minded. The ways we work together is more honest than working in a corporate environment - more integrated, transparent, and fun!" Phillip serves his clients by "keeping technology simple." He feels many organizations achieve a feeling of empowerment by becoming self- sufficient around canvassing and campaigns, but they don't feel this when it comes to technology. What could potentially be a highly effective tool for socially minded organizations to get the word out and create community, is instead the big unknown they find difficult to harness. "What I do is to help translate; not only the opportunities around technology, but the language to help make it accessible and friendly, not obtuse, geeky, and fearful. The importance lies in bringing socially minded organizations and technology together. There are huge implications as we move towards more technical interventions in every aspect of our life and these organizations should be leveraging those opportunities."

Phillip also reaches out to a broader community through a variety of "camps" or training days that bring together more technologically savvy folks, like himself, with people who want to learn more about new tools. The most recent was Drupal Camp, which introduced attendees to Drupal, an open source content management system that allows people with relatively little skill to update and manage a website easily. "It is a day to introduce people to the basic concepts, to help people who know quite a bit learn more, and just to build a little bit of that sense of community in Toronto around something that we're all using." On the horizon, Phillip is helping launch CopyCamp (www.copycamp.ca), which is being organized by the Creators Rights Alliance and will bring together about two hundred artists and creators for a discussion about the role of copyright, the internet, and evolving business models. As well, he is working on Web of Change (www.webofchange.com) in BC that will gather seventy network leaders in the field of social technology and advocacy. Phillip is also keeping busy putting the final touches on New Internationalist Magazine's (Studio 393, 401 Richmond) website, slated for relaunch this summer and continues to work with long-time client This Magazine (Studio 396, 410 Richmond). He is also crafting a new look for the Centre for Social Innovation, and last, but certainly not least, working on a site for the Robertson Building scheduled to surf through your bandwidth this fall.

www.communitybandwidth.ca

Welcome: IMPACS

The Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society (Suite 360) is committed to the protection and expansion of democracy and to strengthening civil society. Their Communications Centre provides a variety of courses and training opportunities to help members of the non-profit sector develop the necessary communication skills to effectively tell their stories. IMPACS' Liz Scanlon will be leading the next training session on Tuesday September 26 in the Centre for Social Innovation. So if you, or someone in your organization could use some media relations training specially designed for non-profit and charitable organizations visit: www.impacs.org for registration information.

Autoshare at the Robertson

Have you noticed that cute yellow Mini Cooper parked beside Dreams (Suite 105)? It's one of two Autoshare cars parked on Urbanspace properties. Our Autoshare cars have been very popular with each vehicle being used an average of eight hours a day - that's above Autoshare's fleet average!

If you haven't already explored this great service visit www.autoshare.com to learn more.

Car sharing is a concept that supports several environmental initiatives, not the least of which is to reduce the volume of air contaminants, particulates, and congestion produced in the downtown area. For over eight years, car sharing has been gaining popularity in the City of Toronto as a result of Autoshare's strong business sense and its appeal to citizens looking for transportation alternatives.

Tenants of the Robertson Building get royal treatment at Autoshare with membership fees automatically waived for new corporate members. Autoshare then provides 24/7 access to clean, modern cars at over sixty locations across the city. The average cost of Autoshare is about $6 an hour, including gas and insurance.

Car locations include 215 Spadina and 401 Richmond St. W., as well as several vehicles at Mountain Equipment Cooperative (MEC) including a SMART car.

We hope that you find this addition to our community convenient. You can join Autoshare online and begin driving within days. All you need is a full class "G" license, and a clean driving record. The process goes something like this! Join - Reserve - Drive - Pay Monthly.

At the end of each month, you will receive an itemized bill for the time and distance you've driven. You are never charged extra for gas, insurance, or maintenance - imagine that. Happy Driving!

Equita's Chocolate Fix

There's nothing like the promise of chocolate to lure folks from their offices and it worked like a charm on July 26 when many Robertson Building tenants made their way to the ground floor to taste a sample of some of Equita's (Suite 200) tasty fair trade products. Equita's Suresh Tumkur, who was on hand to answer questions, introduced Oxfam's fair trade wares to the building community and offered an opportunity for tenants to take some coffee and chocolate back to their offices.

If you missed your first chance to check out what Equita has to offer, or if you need to stock up on some favourites, Equita will be having another sampling event and sale on Thursday October 5 from 12:00 - 2:00pm.

www.oxfamfairtrade.ca

 

Farewell Cuppa Coffee

The time has come for animation powerhouse Cuppa Coffee (Suite 400) to venture out to their very own building on Ontario Street.

In the inagural issue of the Robertson Pipeline, we told the story of the company conceived by Owner and Executive Producer Adam Shaheen, which began it's life as a three person operation at 401 Richmond. As the work produced by Cuppa Coffee achieved acclaim, the animation house started growing and its expansion was becoming difficult to accommodate at 401 Richmond. It was decided that the facility, with close to 250 staff, would relocate to the newly acquired 215 Spadina.

As the Robertson Building's very first tenant, Cuppa made the top two floors of the building home to production studios and a set and puppet building facility that pumped out a steady stream of award-winning and artfully conceived commercials and animated features.

Cuppa will be moving out of the Robertson Building in stages beginning this fall and their departure will herald a new era for 215 making room for other organizations to join the community. We'll keep you posted as new neighbours come on board.

www.cuppacoffee.com

Fireside with Mary Gordon

We had the pleasure of spending our afternoon with Mary Gordon on July 20. Given Mary's hectic schedule as the Founder and President of Roots of Empathy (Suite 160), it was a rare treat indeed.

The fireside chat was organized to welcome two new staff members to the organization and an invitation was extended to tenants at the Robertson Building. Mary spoke eloquently about the philosophies and ideals behind Roots of Empathy in a talk that was both moving and inspirational.

Mary founded Roots of Empathy in 1996 and in the ten years since her program was first introduced in public schools it has undergone staggering growth. The program takes babies into classrooms where children are led by a trained instructor through exercises that cultivate empathy.

The world is seen through the eyes of the baby and the children are given the opportunity to talk about their own concerns and issues; to find a language for their feelings in a supportive environment. The program has successfully achieved its goal of reducing levels of aggression among school children.

The Roots of Empathy mission is to "build caring, peaceful, and civil societies through the development of empathy in children and adults." The organization's unofficial goal, according to Mary, is to "put itself out of business" by creating a society where the program is no longer needed.

Mary in interested in continuing these types of conversations with the rich community at the Robertson Building , so please watch out for another chance to chat with your neighbours.

www.rootsofempathy.org

Irving Posluns at 401 Richmond

This summer Oxfam's (Suite 200) stunning collection of photographs by Irving Posluns travelled down Spadina to spend some time in an exhibition in the Roastery Coffee House. The show was very well received and will likely find its way to other venues.

The collection of photographs were donated to Oxfam and they have been exhibiting the images and offering them for sale to fundraise for the organization. Oxfam has a selection of the photos on display in their offices.

www.oxfam.ca

National Glass Graduate Exhibition

This summer Material Matters (Suite 101) hosted the second annual National Glass Graduate Exhibition showcasing works by graduates from the Alberta College of Art and Design, Sheridan College, and Espace Verre.

The exhibition was conceived and launched by Material Matters' Owner and Curator Lisa Wouhela to support new artists in the growing medium. Lisa has been in the Canadian glass art business for over twenty years and is encouraged by the vibrant talent being nurtured in colleges across Canada. With thirty-six participating students, the popularity of glass art cannot be denied.

www.materialmatters.ca

 

Profile: Eva's Initiatives

Eva's Initiatives' (Suite 370) story begins in 1994 with a single shelter for homeless youth in North York called Eva's Place. It was founded by a dedicated woman named Eva Smith who through her work at the North York Board of Education saw youth daily who were having significant problems in school and learned that in many cases this was a result of homelessness. At the time, it took a lot of convincing for people to recognize that homelessness was an issue, and more importantly that it was a reality for growing numbers of youth in their own neighbourhoods.

Eva's Place became a haven for these youth and also became the first initiative towards an award winning and precedent-setting organization that, fast-forward twelve years later, has just been unanimously chosen as the sole youth employment training site for the City of Toronto.

Eva's growth and success has by no means come easily. Maria Crawford, the Executive Director since 1996, has had to fight her share of battles to achieve the awareness and committment necessary to develop and maintain three service sites (Eva's Place, Eva's Phoenix, and Eva's Satellite), launch a national initiative that assists service organizations across Canada to develop programs for youth and grant National Innovation Awards that profile innovative groups working with youth across the country.

A secret to the success of the organization is an approach to providing service that relies on youth feedback to generate its programming and mandate.

As Maria explains, "what we did fairly early was address our primary frustration: we would work with youth, get them a place to stay, and hook them up with a job only to have them return a few months later with everything having fallen apart. So, through youth working groups and taskforces we talked to them about what was happening: what wasn't working, and what they actually needed to succeed and become independent. They told us quite frankly that they needed the same things we did: a decent job and a decent place to live, but also because of personal life circumstances many of them hadn't learned some of the basic life skills we take for granted. They wanted a supportive environment where they could make mistakes and learn those things. We find that sometimes homeless youth are the best consultants we could ever have and they haven't steered us wrong yet."

As a result of a collaborative effort of staff, youth, donors, and volunteers Eva's Phoenix opened in 2000 housing the employment training program and Eva's Print Shop, a graphic communications training facility and non-profit commercial print shop. All of the printing business supports youth.

With the new facility there was a City capital grant for construction, but these are never enough and most of their financial support came from the Buzz Hargrove Training Supports Program. The program was conceived and continues to be operated by Gerry Schwartz, the CEO of Onyx Corp. and is an invaluable supporter of the organization's work.

"Buzz and Gerry have taken a personal interest and have been real champions both behind and in front of the scenes - a large part of our success is due to their support and efforts." Rather than simply providing youth with employment option one, or two from which to choose Eva's Phoenix works holistically on a case by case basis to assess career path interests before working on partnerships to make that happen. Volunteer companies and individuals take on youth and provide training and mentorship that can result in full-time employment. This year Eva's Phoenix will see over one hundred youth in their training programs.

Eva's Satellite first took shape in emergency circumstances to accommodate homeless youth who were using drugs and alcohol (in the traditional shelter system people are turned away if they are under the influence). With about six weeks notice from the City of Toronto Eva's Satellite set up shop beneath the intersection of Yonge St. and Sheppard Ave. "We were literally and figuratively an underground operation that was supposed to last only one winter as a kind of out of the cold, immediate response project. But the youth came, and they came in droves. It quickly became clear to us that there was a real need for a place for youth struggling with drugs and alcohol."

Eva's Satellite has adopted a harm reduction approach to working with youth with a "model that's educational rather than punitive where we work with the youth to help them reduce the harm in using. We often find that once youth are aware of the harms, they want to make changes in their life." For Eva's this model, still in its pioneering stages, is the only approach that makes sense in terms of results and cost effectiveness, and is now being supported and promoted by the City of Toronto's Health Department.

Maria is very excited that Eva's Satellite, which was moved to a rundown office building after its first year underground, will be breaking ground on a brand new facility this fall. The new building is a perfect example of how Eva's makes things happen by dedicating tireless energy to fundraising initiatives that really drive their operations.

The evolution of the organization shows no sign of slowing as the clearly indefatigable staff continue innovating. In the beginning there was Eva's Place, and the shelter remains home to Eva's flagship Family Reconnect Program. "Finally this year we have statistics to show the amount of money we have saved the system by investing substantially early on with youth to get them out of the shelter system for good."

When asked about plans for the future Maria is a bit secretive not wanting to let anything out of the bag prematurely, but Eva's is never at a loss for ideas and assures us that "if we had the resources, I could tell you eighteen things we're going to do right away!"

Something Eva's is doing right away is hosting its second Taste Matters, a wine and food tasting event to benefit homeless youth on October 18. Contact 416.977.4497 x124 for more information.

Also if you would like a quote on printing services from Eva's Print Shop you can contact Business Manager Alexandra Djukic at 416.364.4716 x256 or alexandra@evas.ca

www.evasinitiatives.com

C2P2's Consume This!

As part of the Canadian Centre for Pollution Prevention’s (C2P2, Suite 134) initiatives last year, they produced a fantastic colour booklet called Consume This! Buying that Matters. The guide was developed to introduce youth to the concept of sustainable consumption.
The booklet tackles resource conservation, consumer behavior, and environmentally-friendly production. The roof garden at 215 Spadina
even made an appearance in C2P2’s guide.
For more information and to view an online copy of the guide visit:
www.c2p2online.com

Giller Nominations

Congratulations to Cormorant Books (Suite 230) who had two titles nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize this past fall.
The books, The Perfect Circle, a translation by Sheila Fischman of the
French-language novel, Le Cercle Parfait, by Pascale Quiviger; and Home Schooling, a collection of short stories by Carol Windley, each received recognition from Canadian publishing’s highest honour.
www.cormorantbooks.ca

 

 

Green Corner: The Robertson's Local Flavour

This fall the Robertson Building hosted a contingent of Canadian Health Food Association (CHFA) representatives who were in Toronto to attend their National convention and trade show. The Robertson Building was one stop on a tour of interesting local venues, flavours, and people that work to uphold environmental, organic, and sustainable values.

Part of their curiosity involved not only the heritage building, but also
what happens in this creative space. They were impressed by the community of creative and socially innovative tenants who fill our
spaces with dynamic ideas, programs, and initiatives.  The group was also impressed by our living, breathing biowall and our commitment to biodiversity and species conservation on the green roof. Many delegates were intrigued by the potential for organic rooftop food production in an urban area as a mechanism to support local flavour, local food production, and improved food security in Canadian cities.

Back at the convention, the group was introduced to the inaugural set of National Organic Products Regulations with the hope that the first set of national organic product standards would be born as a result of the convention.

The Federal government first began discussions about developing a
national framework to support organic food production in Canada in 1990. In 1995, a draft set of regulations were developed and then turned down by stakeholders. In 1999, the Standards Council of Canada approved a national voluntary standard for organic agriculture. In 2002, revisions to these voluntary standards led to improvements and eventually to
their approval, 16 years later, as a National Standard for Canada in
2006. Watch for this logo as the National Standards for Organic Products move across the country.

For additional information contact CHFA Director of Regulatory Affairs
& Quality Assurance: awilkie@chfa.ca
www.chfa.ca

Happy 30th PWAC

The Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC, Suite 123)
celebrated it’s 30th anniversary in 2006 and did it up in style with a
fantastic celebration in Ottawa.

As one of the founding tenants of the Centre for Social Innovation
(Suite 120) PWAC has thrived in the co-location environment. The
association was started by a tiny group of Toronto and Vancouver
writers and has grown steadily into the national association it is today,
with 600 members-- all working freelance writers -- and local chapters in every region of the country.

PWAC provides Canada's working writers with networking opportunities,
media access, professional development, markets information, and is a powerful advocate for public and private arts and culture funding in Canada. They are also a lead organization in the ongoing copyright reform process.
www.pwac.ca

PACT's Theatre Listing

Published by the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT, Suite 210) the newest edition of The Theatre Listing contains detailed contact information for 350 professional theatres, theatre rental venues, arts service organizations and key government agencies across Canada. This up-to-date annual print resource has become an essential reference tool for producers, playwrights, actors, designers, and other theatre professionals, as well as for students, agents, and arts organizations.
To purchase a copy, please visit Suite 210 or www.pact.ca.

 

 

Profile: Sage Centre

The Sage Centre (Suite 363) and its Ontario Project Manager Doug Kerr
are rather new additions to the Robertson Building community. After nine years with the United Way of Toronto, moving to 215 Spadina Ave., and a position where he will work primarily with virtual co-workers across the country, we thought Doug might be feeling a bit lonely up on the third floor. We hope that featuring him in our profile this month might help introduce and welcome him to our community. We encourage all of you introduce yourselves to Doug. We know you'll get along famously.

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The Sage Centre was established five years ago in British Columbia as a sister organization to the Tides Canada Foundation (Suite 363), Canada's first national public foundation focusing on the environment, social justice, and innovation in the non-profit sector that connects donors with innovative projects. Both organizations recently opened Toronto offices at the Robertson Building and after only a few months on the job Doug is already busy fielding requests from a network of small organizations and independent groups interested in talking to him about how to get their ideas off the ground.

Sage represents a pretty unique model of organizational support acting as a structural backbone to emerging and new projects, or as Doug refers to it: "an umbrella for people with really good ideas. In essence Sage takes care of all the practical issues around finances, human resources, governance and infrastructure allowing the project leaders to spend their time working on the ideas. The projects must meet Sage's mandate of charitable activities with environmental and social sustainability objectives in order to be considered. As Doug explains: "Small is beautiful. Especially in Canada where we have so much diversity and so many emerging communities, we need organizations that are closer to the ground. So we wo