Capturing Carbon: Screening and Panel Discussion

Accounting for 9% of forests worldwide and 35% of the country’s total area, Canada’s forests are vast ecosystems that have long played a vital role in sustaining the people that inhabit them. Forests are central to our natural environment, history, culture and economy—providing everything from the air we breathe to the wood we use for shelter. Our forests also play a critical role in helping maintain our planet’s carbon balance, both storing and releasing carbon in a dynamic process of growth, decay, disturbance and renewal. Over the last four decades, forests have moderated climate change by absorbing about 25% of the carbon emitted by human activities.

But we are affecting this balance. In recent years, unprecedented insect outbreaks and increasingly common wildfires have transformed our forests from carbon sinks to carbon sources, releasing more carbon than they are able to absorb.

As we confront the consequences of a warming planet, what role can we play in ensuring the health of our forests and preserving their role as important carbon sinks? If human intervention has upset the balance, can we take actions to not only restore it but build upon it?

Join the Toronto Society of Architects for a night of discussion and dialogue as forestry professionals, environmentalists, and architects share their thoughts on Canada’s forests, their role in climate action, and our responsibilities as stewards of this land. The evening will start with a screening of Capturing Carbon, a short film exploring the role of forestry in wildfire mitigation, forest regeneration, and sustainable construction. The film will be followed by a post-screening panel discussion reflecting on the themes of the film, including the rise of mass timber and what sustainable resource management entails. Attendees will then be invited to continue the conversation in an informal setting with light refreshments.

 

 

Schedule

6:30 PM Doors Open

7:00 – 7:30 PM Film Screening

7:30 – 8:30 PM Post-Screening Panel Discussion and Q&A

8:30 – 9:30 PM Continuing the Discussion (Social)

 

 

Panelists

Carol Phillips is a Partner at Moriyama & Teshima Architects (MTA) and a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Her passionate drive for powerful and graceful architectural solutions has been honed over a span of 20 years. Carol’s projects reinforce principles of generous, regenerative, and inspiring spaces that not only serve their communities, but also address their historical and urban contexts. Her portfolio includes MTA’s most ambitious, low-carbon, mass timber, LEED Platinum, and net-zero targeted projects, including Limberlost Place (a joint venture with Acton Ostry Architects) for George Brown College, and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation Multi-Tenant Commercial Building. Other notable and award-winning works that she has been involved in include the Toronto Metropolitan University’s Centre for Urban Innovation, the University of Toronto Multi-Faith Centre, and Algoma University’s Mukwa Waakaa’igan, a facility committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive space for cross-cultural teaching, learning, healing, and reconciliation.

 

Robert Wright is a professor at the University of Toronto, in the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. Mr. Wright has a BSc from the University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in Open Space Planning, with a minor in Ecology and an MLA from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. His work and research focus on urbanism, urban design, landscape and environment. He is a full member of the OALA and a Fellow of the CSLA. Mr. Wright, the Interim Dean of the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. Dean of Forestry, Director of the Centre of Landscape Research, Director of the Landscape Program, Associate Dean of Research, Associate Dean and Director of the Knowledge Media institute.

 

Dr. Sean Thomas is a research professor in forests and environmental change at the University of Toronto’s the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design and an expert on forest carbon processes. Dr. Thomas has worked extensively in forests in Canada and in tropical forests in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. His current research focused on biochar – or charcoal made from wood waste materials and used to enhance and restore soils – and on methane fluxes of forests and urban green infrastructure.

 

 

OAA Members

This event is eligible for 1.5 Structured ConEd. When registering, please include your full name as registered with the OAA to ensure your certificate of participation is credited properly. Please also include an email address you check frequently to ensure you receive our certificate in a timely manner.

This event is one of two organized by the TSA as part of DesignTO Festival 2023. Join us on Tuesday, January 24 at noon for our IDEAS Forum: Deconstruction, organized in partnership with DesignTO, exploring circular construction in the building industry, including design for disassembly, embodied carbon and sustainability, and material salvage and reuse.

 

 

About DesignTO

The DesignTO Festival is Canada’s largest annual celebration of design with over 100 exhibitions and events forming Toronto’s design week, January 20–29, 2023.

Going into its 13th year, the Festival transforms Toronto into a hub for creativity, taking art and design out of the studio and into the urban sphere. The Festival brings people together to celebrate contemporary culture, provides opportunities for emerging talent, and engages the community with exceptional and accessible public programming.

Register Here

When January 25, 2023

Where Part of DesignTO Festival 2023
CSI The Annex Lounge (720 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON, M5S 2R4)

Duration 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM

;