Preparing for Winter at The Forks

Posted on Oct 30, 2014 by The Forks Market

The wind is getting chilly, the days are getting shorter and no one can deny there were a few little white flakes floating through the air this week…

Winter is coming.

What does that mean for The Forks site crew?

It means more staff, more work and a big to-do list!

Out with the old Farmers' Market Banners…in with Christmas lights!1. Switch the geothermal heating system from cool to warm
Along with several other Target Zero initiatives, all the ventilation in the Market was redesigned with efficient heat recovery ventilation units that pre-heat fresh air with recycled heat generated by the restaurants which comes through 53 heat pumps throughout the Market to efficiently distribute heating and cooling.

Since we switched to geothermal, we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 42% (448 tonnes of CO2e) and reduced our heating costs by 14%.

2. Rake leaves

It's wonderful to visit a green site, full of trees in all shapes and sizes in the summer, but our site crew definitely does not take this for granted when they're raking up all the fallen leaves in autumn. They estimate that more than 30, 1-yard bags full (about 300 garbage bags' worth) of leaves were deposited into our BIOVADOR composter this fall. This industrial composter creates the perfect environment for trillions of bacteria and microbes to do their jobs breaking down organic waste.

3. Prepare for the river freezing

The warming huts have been selected and the Zamboni has been tuned up, but even before the river begins to freeze, all the docks must be removed and stored until the spring thaw. As soon as the river is safely frozen, we'll let everyone know and all the river trail activities can begin!

4. Prepare Urban Garden for hibernation

We're giving the Urban Gardens the fuel they need to make it through the winter by giving them a final prune and topping them with nutrients in the form of compost from the BIOVADOR

5. Put up Christmas lights

While the holidays are still a few weeks away, we're best off getting the Christmas lights up before the first blizzard of the season. And besides, lights on sight make spirits (and dark evenings and nights) bright!

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