This column is imaginary correspondence between Byron the bicyclist and Maddie the Motorist
Dear Byron.
I was in Winnipeg in the spring which, like us is in climate zone 3. Yet, year-round, a few citizens conserve money, reduce carbon and bicycle. Have you heard of Velo Renovation?
Signed Maddie the Motorist
Dear Maddie.
Yes, I have heard of Velo Renovation. Velo is French for bicycle.
Velo renovates buildings. Owner Nathaniel De Vila encourages building owners to conserve and reuse as much material as possible. If, for example, a potential customer wants to replace a whole kitchen he will ask what is wrong with it. Usually, it works well but they see it as dated. De Vila suggests they paint it instead. This reduces landfill waste and saves the customers money.
The other thing that sets Velo Renovation apart is how they get around. Yes, their team bicycles to work and on the job. Employees can use their own bike or a company bike. Some company bikes are electric cargo bikes which can pull a trailer. For larger loads, the supplier delivers it.
Why do it this way? To lower overhead costs? To reduce their carbon footprint? Because they like to bike? All good reasons.
Nathaniel De Vila explains it this way. He grew up in a household with a cookbook called More with Less by Doris Janzen. Its recipes list basic ingredients to make good nutritious meals. Recipes sometimes include using leftover food.
Similarly, applying the more with less philosophy to building renovation means refusing to throw out good materials, reducing, and reusing materials. Their use of cycling has saved 16,325 km of vehicle travel.
Reducing carbon emissions by bicycling will not save the world, De Vila states. But it isn’t unimportant either.
Signed, Byron the Bicyclist
Bert Groenenberg gleaned ingredients for this article from the Winnipeg Free Press (10/15/21), Christian Courier (8/7/23), velorenovation.ca and the More with Less Cookbook (Herald Press).
