The Greening of UCiM
Our Journey to Becoming Green Leaders
Early in 2023, the United Church in Meadowood congregation voted to replace our aging heating system with a geothermal ground source heat pump system.
After considerable discussion, we thought about our children and grandchildren and about the line in the United Church Creed:
“Living With Respect in Creation”
These words from the United Church Creed express our goal. Earth is a gift from God, our Creator. Our task is to care for it and to share its abundance in a sustainable way.
Reducing our carbon footprint by greening our building was our overall goal and installing a geothermal ground source heat pump system was our first big action. It was commissioned on December 24, 2024. This green technology provides both heating and cooling so that the activities hosted in our building can continue in comfort.
A Commissioned Study Reveals Many Learnings
What motivated UCiM to model green leadership with a geothermal project? With the help of a grant from Efficiency Manitoba, we commissioned a thorough study of our project to help answer this question.
The study documents the model of change we used that helped people adopt new attitudes about their own ability to address climate change through taking a tangible, practical step in reducing fossil fuel consumption. Becoming green leaders led us to find our mission as people committed to God’s good green earth.
The study asks and explores questions about how this project helped us to:
- Find a common purpose/mission.
- Overcome skepticism about geothermal technology as a viable option.
- Empower people when they are feeling overwhelmed.
- Demonstrate the link between what we believe and how we act.
Learn More
UCiM Geothermal Project Lessons Learned (11 pages)
UCiM Geothermal Project Study Executive Summary (5 pages)
UCiM Geothermal Project Study Report (63 pages)
We Aren't Stopping there!
We are also exploring ways to make more sustainable choices in our everyday lives.
- Educating our congregation with greening tips.
- Producing inspirational climate change videos.
- Teaching our children about composting.
- Learning from our teens through initiatives like climate related videos.
- Advocating with our elected officials and joining protests and rallies.
We don’t have all the answers, we may not even be asking all the right questions, but we are on the path.
Videos
Swift Underground Installed Geothermal Loops
Our geothermal ground source heat pump system was commissioned on December 24, 2024. Swift Underground installed over 16,000 feet of pipe with 24 loops as part of the project. This video, made by Swift Underground, details the installation of the pipe and loops.
Decision Making Process
These two videos formed part of our decision making process for choosing geothermal.
This video explains the very basics of how heat pumps work.
On Sunday, March 26, 2023 we had a Question and Answer session with our congregation about potential heating and cooling systems for our church.
Talking About Climate Change
We produced several videos informing people about the effects of climate change. These videos were shown to our congregation on a regular basis to remind them that we were still in the process of The Greening of UCiM.
