Kortwright Centre - A green venue?

The Kortwright Conservation Centre is another venue which promotes 'green' credentials. Here is their list of compliance, to compare with other venues, such as the Black Creek Village venue (posted below) or other sites you may visit. It's work having some of these lists to ask questions...

• Complete local and organic menus available.
• Source local vendors to supply food, alcohol and linens.
• Vegetable and soy wax candles used to create an intimate ambience.
• Fair trade coffee and tea served.
• 100% Bullfrog powered facility.
• No use of chemicals or pesticides to maintain grounds.
• Facilities cleaned with eco-friendly and biodegradable products.
• We have an onsite recycling program.
• We reduce water consumption with an onsite wetland wastewater treatment system.
• We have an onsite solar hot water heating system.
• Our staff car pool to work to reduce carbon emissions.
• All proceeds go towards environmental education programs.
• By holding the ceremony and reception here we reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by your guests' vehicles.

Black Creek Pioneer Village - a green venue?

Black Creek Pioneer Village

It's worthwhile asking a "Green" venue what concrete (sic) factors make them an ecological choice.
For instance, here's a checklist from Black Creek Pioneer Village: 'Toronto's Original Green Event Venue'

At Black Creek Pioneer Village, being "green" means going back to our past. In 1860's Toronto, being green wasn't a movement; it was a way of life. Almost everything consumed was locally made or produced. Taking our cue from this bygone era and using some common day ingenuity, we have taken the following steps to help reduce our footprint.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
* The goal is to have ZERO landfill refuse at the end of the event.
* Any left over food is composted.
* We only purchase compostable napkins, plates, cutlery and cups.
* All glass, cans, plastic containers and cardboard products are recycled.

Local Food, Wine and Beer
* We support local farms by purchasing vegetables and meats. Our goal to locally source 60% of all of the food used
* We operate an historic brewery on-site and sell locally produced craft beer and promote local craft brewers.
* We host a events that highlight and promote local food and beverage producers, including Brews Fest
* We promote seasonal menus that feature Ontario produce.

Products
* Only tap water is used at events.
* All paper products are chlorine-free, made from 100% recycled material; we use hand cloth towels throughout our kitchen.
* All coffee is fair trade.
* All dishwashing and cleaning products are toxic and chemical-free

Brickworks Culinary Wedding

An urban country wedding - thestar.com
[WE had been wondering  about  weddings at the Brickworks, as it's just down the hill from our house.. and lo, it's beginning.....]

".... Streiman, 30, and Epstein, 31, love food. There really is no overstating that. And so, their wedding is about fresh, local food, country living, family, and the Jewish faith, perfectly packaged together in an old industrial building at the Evergreen Brick Works, along the Don Valley.

Birds chirp and bees buzz at the old brickyard, which has been turned into a community environment centre but still has faded bricks and shattered windows. Fruits trees and tomato plants are tagged for sale nearby...(Guests) mingle over bread, cured beef and duck, sheep’s milk cheeses and fruit laid out on tables covered in burlap sacks. They sip beer and water out of mason jars that will later be used for canning... Last December, the couple bought a 40-hectare farm in Maple Valley, not far from renowned chef Michael Stadtlander’s Eigensinn Farm and the town of Creemore. They plan to open a bed and breakfast called Mad Maple Farm, with comfortable suites, farm-to-table brunches, cooking classes and foraging expeditions. Their urban wedding is the beginning of their foray into the country. Roughly 20 chefs are preparing an incredible meal at five stations set up in plain view of the guests.

These are rising stars in Toronto’s restaurant industry, and close friends of Streiman’s, who knows where every ingredient in this feast has come from. The fish was caught the day before the wedding, by Akiwenzie’s Fish & More, a small First Nations fishing company in Georgian Bay. The rainbow carrots, beets, salad greens, fennel, eggs and duck came from a co-op of 20 farms called the Kawartha Ecological Growers, as did the 128 chickens, raised just for today.

The fruit is from Niagara and the water, the Niagara escarpment. The artisanal breads were made at St. John’s bakery, part of St. John’s mission in Toronto. The cheese is from Monforte Dairy in Stratford. The beer from the Steam Whistle brewery. The list could go on. Luis Valenzuela, chef at Torito in Kensington market, admits he pulled an all-nighter because the fresh lamb and baby chickens arrived just before the wedding.