Alex Verluis We had the opportunity to sit down with Alex Versluis, Vice President, Property Management at YMCA of Greater Toronto to discuss all things sustainability. Like OTS, the YMCA values sustainability in everything they do as evidenced by our exciting collaboration in the OTS Student Design Challenge.

Why is sustainability so important to the YMCA?

It all comes down to the fact that the YMCA is about improving the health of people in our communities. The air we breathe, the land we stand on, the food we ingest; it all contributes to our overall health. As we seek to support people through their life transitions (especially children, teens and young adults), we look for ways to improve their health and recognize that environmental sustainability is a huge part of that.

Are today’s youth more in tune with sustainability?

Because our youth are so aware of the environmental impact resulting from the actions of previous generations, many are very in tune. As we work and communicate with our youth as they seek to reach their potential, we use the language of sustainability as a great way to interact about topics that are important – it becomes a vocabulary and way of working together with shared values. It also encourages young Canadians to think about social connections, physical health, and helps steer them towards reaching their full potential by focusing on a topic they want to interact with and talk about. It gets them excited. This is why these types of projects are so exciting for us; they provide an opportunity for people to participate in something sustainable and create ways for youth to meet other people and make healthy connections.

Can you tell me more about the YMCA Green Teams? What do they do?

At each of our sites we try to facilitate sustainability learning with staff and community members through the creation of Green Teams. The Green Teams are groups that come together and meet periodically (typically monthly) and work on facility-based initiatives. For example, one team looks after the maintenance of the green roof gardens, and another manages events on the same roof that include a speaker series, events, and movie nights under the stars. We have other groups that conduct waste audits to learn more about recycling habits. We also have event-based green teams – people that get together to put in soil, plants, and recycled rubber chips to liven up our green spaces. For instance, the Green Team at our Toronto West End College St. YMCA Centre (931 College Street) didn’t have a space for gardening so they found a local school with raised planters and worked with community members to develop a garden. They built on that strong momentum to create a naturalized green terrace/child care play space that is all about growing food. Teams also work on projects outside of the YMCA buildings, including participating in larger projects like Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup and events held by the David Suzuki Foundation.

OTS would like to thank Alex and the YMCA for sharing their thoughts and for encouraging Canadians to practice sustainability in their everyday lives!

To learn more about the YMCA’s sustainability initiatives, visit the Greening the Y blog or follow on Twitter @ymcagta.

Alex had so much great insight to share, that we will be featuring the second half of his interview in another blog post. Be sure to check in next month to learn more about the YMCA’s industry leading green initiatives.