Jeff and April MacKinnon – Energy Efficiency Champion – Residential Sector

Our Home

Jeff and April MacKinnon and their three children moved from Nova Scotia to Sackville in April 2011, and into a 150-year-old Victorian farmhouse overlooking the Tantramar Marsh. Even before taking possession they began to research how to make their home more comfortable and much more energy efficient. The MacKinnons had some experience with energy efficiency upgrades having improved the EnerGuide rating of their Nova Scotia home by 30 rating points and reducing their energy bills by almost 50 per cent.

Shortly after moving in they had an energy advisor conduct a pre-upgrade assessment, the first step in their extensive energy efficiency retrofit. The most significant recommendation from the assessment report was to replace their home’s electric baseboards with an energy efficient central heating system. Jeff determined that with the grants available from the Efficiency NB’s Residential Energy Efficiency Program and the federal ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program, a ground source heat pump would provide an efficient system with low operational costs and a reasonable investment payback period.

Over a five month period the family took a top-to-bottom approach to make their home more efficient. The heritage home that, at one time, was the site of a post office, blacksmith shop and grocery store, was retrofitted from an EnerGuide 36 to 76, as energy efficient as an average new home built today.

In addition to the ground source heat pump and modern ductwork and controls, the MacKinnons added spray foam insulation to the basement stone walls (R12) and the header space (R18), blown-in insulation to the attic bringing the level from R0 to R50, they replaced six windows, choosing ENERGY STAR qualified models in locations that would maximize solar heat gain and they also carried out extensive air sealing with the use of caulking and weather stripping throughout the home.

Jeff says prioritizing which areas to improve, selecting products to use and working with contractors & suppliers was made easier with the resources available on Efficiency NB’s website. The site’s Resource Centre features presentations and other helpful links and resources on topics such as insulation, heating systems and building materials. “With the use of these resources we were able to make informed decisions,” he explained.
The MacKinnons are proud of what they have accomplished over the past year and have become advocates for energy
efficiency and Efficiency NB in their community. Jeff feels that retrofits are better for the environment than building a new home considering the total carbon footprint required to clear land, create and transport new materials, construct the building and dispose of waste. “The greenest and most efficient home is one that’s already built,” he says. They are often asked about the work they’ve completed and are quick to emphasize to the importance of doing research and using resources like those available through Efficiency NB prior to undertaking an energy retrofit.

Jeff and April were chosen as the recipients of the Energy Efficiency Champion – Residential Sector Award for their
impressive retrofit which improved their home’s EnerGuide rating by 40 points and reduced energy consumption by
over 60 per cent.

fog on the marsh at sunrise

This place is so pretty, peaceful and serene. I simultaneously want everyone to move here to experience this and want everyone to stay away so it remains unspoilt.

Fabric!

This fabric will become a table cloth and hand-stitched lotus sign…hopefully. The table cloth is half completed, the lotus sign not yet begun…

The greens are organic cotton from Cloud 9‘s nursery basics collection, purchased from Fabricworm, my favourite online shop.

I also {gasp} started RUG HOOKING. Don’t hold your breath, here folks. I’m enjoying it, but it’s time consuming so we’ll see what becomes of the final product. I’m trying to make a co-ordinating throw cushion for the above in green and brown. I had a bit of green wool that I had purchased for another project and some hand-dyed wool by my friend The Wool Fairy left over from Andrew’s baby hat. And I have LOTS of brown yarn. The goal: to use what I have and not buy more supplies…we shall see.

Country Rainbow

Pretty rainbow, taken about twenty minutes ago. This is the view from our kitchen.

Spring Bees

The bees are out! With high temperatures last week the bees were out looking for pollen, and unfortunately for it being March and all, there was none. We’ve put out “sugar water” feeders for them, which they enjoy by the dozens. Jeff also made up peanut-buttery looking “pollen substitute” from a combination of brewer’s yeast, soybean flour and water. This will provide important food for the larvae as they hatch to ensure our colony gets a good start to the season – otherwise the baby bees would hatch and starve to death, jeopardizing the entire colony.

The south-facing willow trees are already covered in fluffy pussy willows so blooms aren’t far behind – let’s home for a bumper honey yield this year and a successful colony!

Old Fashioned Horses

A few more photos from our wagon ride!

Sugarin'

For the last few years my brother has been tapping his trees, collecting sap and making maple syrup in small quantities (2-3 litres) for our own use. This year we were so excited to collect our own sap from four very large and mature maple trees in our own backyard. On a good day these four trees will produce 20 L of sap which will translate to about 500 mL of syrup. We boiled down the sap on the weekend over a wood stove in my brother’s garage. Next year, we’ll plan a party around sugarin’ time!

Last week we had RECORD high temperatures that caused the sap flow to stop and many of us feared the season was over. My brother’s trees were producing “cloudy” sap, an indication that the buds were formed and that the sap was no longer useful for sugaring. Our own trees, however, seem to have restarted, so there is still hope for the seaon!

Shoo! Outdoor Bug Spray

This is a product we’ve been working on since 2010. It’s been a long time coming and with lots of research and field testing, we’re pretty happy with the results! We’ve drawn on some of the latest research and traditional ingredients to make what we feel is an effective bug repellant.

The base ingredient is certified organic soybean oil. We use certified organic to ensure that the oil is NOT generated from genetically modified organisms (GMO), something we are concerned about at Anointment. Most conventionally grown soybeans are grown from GMO seeds. Soybean oil will provide protection against mosquitoes for 3 hours and up to 8 hours for black flies according to Health Canada.

We also use a considerable amount of neem oil. Neem tree oil enjoys an important position in Ayurvedic medicine and in addition to being an insect repellant it is useful in safely removing pests from plants and crops. Neem oil has a very distinct smell described by some as ‘peanuts and garlic’.

These two oils are combined and infused with lemongrass and bay leaf at low temperatures to extract the beneficial properties of these plants to the oil. Once infused the oils are strained and hand-blended with a mix of cedarwood (0.5%), lemongrass (0.5%) and eucalyptus (0.2%) essential oil.

Eucalyptus should never be taken internally and should never be applied undiluted to the skin. Please take extreme care that your children and babies do not have access to Shoo! Outdoor Body Spray or any other bug repellant product. Always apply bug spray to clothing first and then spray on an adult’s hand to apply to the skin of children. For extra safety, do not apply to the faces and hands of children under three. Wee ones are prone to putting their hands in their mouths!

All of our research indicates that this product is acceptable for pregnant and breastfeeding women. We do recommend following the same instructions as for children: spray your clothing first and then apply to skin if needed.

Shoo! Outdoor Body Spray is oil based and may stain light-coloured clothing. Mist carefully!

Most of all, get outdoors and have fun!

Rather than capture a “moment”, I feel inspired to capture the small details around me, to remind me to stop and smell the roses in this new iteration of our lives.

workshop wall art

The workshop wall above the stove where I spend so much time. Each one of these frames was created by the fine ladies who worked with me at Nurtured on the occasion of my first-ever baby shower (for my third baby). And of course, the walls are dill-pickle green. Thank you Simone, Gillian, Jessica, Sarah, Karen, Jessica (yes, two!) and Melissa.

If you’ve noticed interesting {details} around you, please share or leave a link in the comments.

Sackville Town Hall

Glass by Nick Chase

Sackville Memories

Sackville Memories

Last week our tiny little town opened a spectacular new Town Hall, Fire Station and RCMP Office. It is an amazing building with silver LEED certification, beautifully appointed interiors and really opens the chapter on a new era of our town. Part of the budget included public art and one of the installations is what you see above by glass artist Nick Chase.

I have known Nick since we were six years old in grade one. He always showed remarkable talent in every creative endeavour, even as a kid. Nick has found his artistic passion working with glass and his work is remarkable, beautiful and unique. Some day when there aren’t dozens of tiny feet tearing through my house I’d love to own some of his work.

Nick’s work was chosen among the entrants to permanently display a work of art in the new Sackville Town Hall. I really had no idea what to expect but was moved by what I saw. Nick is an incredible photographer and graciously allowed me to use some of his photos, but they don’t do his work justice – you really have to see it in person to understand what you’re looking at, and even then, you need to take the time to really look with more than just your eyes. Here’s what I wrote to Nick shortly after the Grand Opening:

“…your work is completely amazing and I was speechless. I had no idea what to expect but the – I still don’t even know how to say it – the nostalgia and the memories and the history you incorporated into your piece just made me want to burst into tears, in a good way. You put all the things that ex-pat Sackvillians long for when they leave, the intangible things you don’t know you missed until you come home and you can breathe deeply again because you’re in your native environment. At least that’s how I felt about coming home. You have such an amazing talent, you are destined for wonderful things. I’m so proud of you. Welcome home.”

His response: “That was exactly what I put in to those pieces…exactly, and I’m more than happy that you and everybody else actually saw it. This piece means the world to me because of what this town means to me…”

I knew then and I still know great things are in store for Nick. But this story is as much about his talent and work as the impact this tiny little town has on all of us, even those of us who find us here somewhat unwillingly or by accident. I want to share it with all of you.