Working for the Earth

Yardi Vancouver

By Leah Etling on May 4, 2017 in Giving, People

One of our newest offices, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, has an innovative Earth Day tradition.

Formerly Pulse Energy, Yardi Vancouver is a founding member of EarthWork Day (EWD), an annual collaboration with three other environmentally-minded companies.

“Held on or close to Earth Day every year, staff from each company dedicate their time on EWD to local environmental projects,” explained Colin Chan, a CSD manager for the Yardi Smart Energy Suite. This year, two projects were taken on the day before Earth Day, Friday, April 21.

Each team member receives a small budget of $22 to put toward supplies, and the projects selected are always environmentally conscious. Teams are mixed between the participating companies, so everyone gets to meet and work with someone new. At the end of the day, it’s time for a get together to share snacks, notes and beer.

This year’s projects were:

Maplewood Flats Habitat Restoration

“This is the third year we have participated in this project, restoring habitat for the Anise Swallowtail Butterfly that has gone extinct from the North Vancouver area from urban development,” Chan explained.

“We’ve been removing invasive plant species and planting native species in the hopes that we can eventually import caterpillars from other areas where the butterfly still exists and re-introducing it to the area.”

The effort at the habitat aids the Wild Bird Trust of British Columbia.

“It’s been personally rewarding to see the progress we’ve made from year-to-year. The Wild Bird Trust is a small non-profit with limited funding and resources, so it’s a great feeling to help contribute to the success of their habitat restoration project,” said Jennifer Sinclair, office administrator for Yardi Vancouver. “It has also been a fun annual team-building event for our office!”

Garden Planter Construction

A Vancouver public low income housing complex needed garden planters to help residents improve food security by growing their own produce.

“In one day, the team built 15 planter beds, including some that were accessible to residents who use wheelchairs,” Chan said.

Tyler Fawcett, creative director in the programming department, participated in the effort.

“We joined forces with BC Housing to construct planter boxes behind two of their residential buildings. 15 new boxes were constructed and filled with soil, to be used as flower and vegetable gardens by the building residents.

“Before the boxes were even half-done, many enthusiastic residents had come out to claim their plots in the new garden,” Fawcett shared.

Photos from the day appear in the gallery below.