Sustaining our past for the future

Parks Canada has been giving Cape Breton’s Fortress Louisbourg a much-needed energy retrofit and the savings are impressive.

The Fortress of Louisbourg. Photo Courtesy of Parks Canada.

Stretching out along Cape Breton's east coast, the Fortress of Louisbourg gives a glimpse into what life might have been like in the 1740s when the French fortified their overseas empire on the rugged shoreline.

 Its stone and wooden buildings that flank the fortification were built in the likeness of the original structures when a reconstruction effort began in the 1960s to recreate the Canadian outport that was abandoned in 1763.

But look closely and one might notice discreet signs that the national historic site is undergoing subtle, yet important upgrades to 'green' operations and increase its environmental sustainability.

"In the last couple of years, we've really started working on reducing our carbon footprint when it comes to heating fuel," says David Skinner, technical service coordinator at the site. 

"When we started it (in 2016), it was more of a budget review and then when it got down to the nuts and bolts of it, I thought, 'We're going to save huge here,' and it's pretty cool to be part of something that will help sustain the future of this place."

Over the last year there has been a consolidation of workspaces, with employees moving into one office over the winter, allowing Parks Canada to winterize some of the other buildings.

 "People are adjusting — they realize this is where we have to be to meet our goals," he says.

The work, though not dramatic, produced sizeable results. Over this past year alone, Skinner says they reduced their oil consumption by 59 per cent.

The consolidation of staff and archeological items in buildings is one part of a broad effort by Parks Canada to conserve energy and reduce the site's ecological footprint while preserving its colonial history.

Veronique Hotton, a communications officer with Parks Canada in Cape Breton, says in addition to the consolidation, over this last year changes have been made to operations to winterize more buildings. The park, about 40 minutes from Sydney, remains open for the winter, but access to interpretive buildings was replaced by self-guided tours on the Parks Canada App.

About half of the 40 buildings are now closed during the winter season, allowing staff to reduce heat to minimum levels for some of the structures, which house exhibits and space dedicated to living history, administrative offices, and maintenance operations, like carpentry shops.

As a result of the changes (over the last year), she says electricity consumption was reduced by 25 per cent.

"Environmental stewardship is one of the key objectives in the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic site's management plan for 2024-2034," Hotton says of the document, which includes an explicit objective to reduce the carbon footprint of operations.

Crews have also added programmable thermostats, in-floor heating, and spray foam insulation in some of the buildings that had been constructed much like they were centuries ago. Over the last decade, several employees have also relocated from a compound about six kilometres away to the fortress site itself, which has helped reduce fuel costs.

They also installed vinyl coverings over period windows to conserve heat, and made frames that could accommodate insulated steel doors over wooden ones.

One of the more expensive changes was the addition of a fully electric truck, hybrid SUVs, and two electric utility carts for cleaners. There are also about five charging stations on site for use by both employees and the public. 

Skinner says they have two new ductless mini-split heat pumps and may get more, though says they had to be a little creative in installing them. 

"They are on the period building, and we disguised them, so from a distance it looks like they're part of the building but as you get up closer there is this disguise around them, so you don't even see they’re there," he says.
And as for the fortress’s site management plan going forward, Hotton’s message is clear.

“When opportunities to green operations arise in the future, we’ll be ready to act on them.”

Climate Stories Atlantic is an initiative of Climate Focus, a non-profit organization dedicated to covering stories about community-driven climate solutions.