Top Canadian Charity!

Once again, our charity has been recognized as a five-star, top 100 charity by Charity Intelligence, a nonprofit that researches over 750 Canadian charities annually and provides donors the information they need to make informed decisions on how they give. This year, we are one of six environmental charities to make the list.  

Making the list in our 30th year as a Canadian charity is icing on the cake, as we continue our work with community partners to build equitable, just, and sustainable place-based economies. Thank you for your support in making this possible — together, we’re proving that an economy that provides for life is possible! 

Our latest blog

By Robyn Ashwell, Facilitator, Community Energy

Manufactured homes use 61% more energy per square foot than other homes—but there's potential to change that.

I work with Ecotrust Canada's Community Energy team, whose mission is to eliminate energy insecurity in British Columbia. Our latest initiative explores how to improve the lives of people living in BC's manufactured home parks.

BC is home to over a quarter of all the manufactured homes in Canada. Making up approximately 4% of households in the province – about 80,000 homes – they are an important source of affordable housing. Most are in BC's approximately 900 manufactured home parks, and 70% are in rural areas and small towns. However, they use, on average, 61% more energy per square foot than other types of homes.

I connected with residents across 50 manufactured home parks, and gathered insights from 125 community members. Although manufactured homes often have a clever floor plan that makes good use of a relatively small space, they are often poorly insulated and draughty, so they can become ovens in hot weather, and they use a lot of energy for heating during cold weather.

Many residents I heard from are on a tight budget, so when their energy bills are through the roof, they are forced to make tradeoffs that negatively affect their health, their comfort, and their ability to work or plan for the future.

As one resident shared: "When living on a below-poverty-level income, covering the bare minimum of pad rent, utilities, groceries and travel is already quite difficult—there are no monies left over for clothing or other necessities."

Energy-saving retrofits can make a huge difference in these homes and can significantly improve people's lives by saving money and increasing comfort. The provincial government is offering extensive support for retrofit work, but manufactured homeowners still face obstacles. Over 60% of residents said that restrictive park rules were a medium or huge barrier to home retrofits.

After researching and publishing "Manufactured Home Retrofits in BC," my work with the Community Energy team is now to tackle the challenges my research identified. We're working with several park owners to examine their parks' electrical capacity and find solutions that protect the infrastructure, while also allowing retrofits.

We hope our direct support will prove what is possible, helping us to shift the broader landscape: to improve the conditions and the accessibility of retrofits across BC’s manufactured home parks.

There’s more... 

Job Opportunity in Northern BC 

We're hiring a Video Analyst & At Sea Observer for our Community Fisheries Program. If you're organized, have strong Excel skills, and are ready to collect data both in the office and at sea aboard crab boats, we want you. This part-time role in Prince Rupert offers hands-on experience in fisheries monitoring.

Open House in Prince Rupert, BC 

If you’re in the area, join us in Celebrating 30 Years of Community Partnership on the North Coast!

For three decades, Ecotrust Canada has been grateful to work alongside rural, remote, and Indigenous communities across BC — from sustainable fisheries and forests to clean energy and local food systems. Our work in the Skeena Region has been, and remains, one of our most vital connections to people and place.

We’re holding a special celebration at the Lester Centre of the Arts on October 27 from 4:30-7:00 PM as we reflect on our work with the Prince Rupert community and Tsimshian First Nation partners.

30 Years of Proving the Possible 

A series of reflections from our past three decades of work.  

2010

Qwii-qwiq-sap “Standing Tree to Standing Home” 

The Qwii-qwiq-sap "Standing Tree to Standing Home" project (pronounced Quay-qwiik-suup and meaning “transformation" in the Nuu-chah-nulth language) began in 2010 when Ecotrust Canada partnered with First Nations on Vancouver Island's west coast to close the loop between forest management and local construction, ensuring communities benefited directly from their local resource wealth.

This transformative approach has since evolved into new iterations, including Forest to Frame launched in 2017 with the Yuneŝit'in community within the Tsilhqot'in Nation in BC's central interior. The community's first housing project, the Yuneŝit'in Guest House, was completed in 2021.

A further iteration of this groundbreaking work is our Indigenous Homelands Program, which continues to explore circular regional supply chains with their pilot project Routes to Roots. Learn more here.  

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Proving the Possible

Ecotrust Canada works with rural, remote, and Indigenous communities toward building an economy that provides for a healthy and resilient natural environment; sustainable and abundant energy, food, and housing; prosperous and meaningful livelihoods; and vibrant cultures and inclusive societies. We call this approach, building an economy that provides for life. 

Thank you for your continued support!

The Ecotrust Canada Team