The buildings and communities we live in impact our health, comfort and costs of living. 

EnviroCentre’s Retrofit Accelerator is working to increase the rate of the energy-efficient building improvements needed to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, achieve our climate targets, and provide comfortable, affordable, and healthy homes for the people in our communities.

We do this, in part, by empowering building owners, residents, and tradespeople in various ways. 

In 2024, EnviroCentre embarked on a community-wide retrofit project in Multifaith Housing Initiative’s Carver Place neighbourhood.

We set out to demonstrate the scale of retrofit work that we know is possible, and ultimately required, to improve the social housing stock in Eastern Ontario.

A total of 63 townhouse units were targeted for insulation, air-sealing, and mechanical system upgrades, including heat pumps designed to provide more efficient heating in the winter, as well as cooling in the summer. 

Funding was secured from the Natural Resources Canada’s Toward Net-Zero program and Enbridge Gas to cover the cost of the materials and equipment. Additional funding from NRCan was identified to address the need to grow the skilled labour force we depend on to carry out this kind of work and as a result, the seeds for the Retrofit Accelerator Mentorship Program (RAMP) were planted.

The first cohorts of RAMP kicked-off on May 30, 2025 with more than 40 people gathered at the YMCA Power of Trades Development Centre.

Among those participating were 1Click Energy Solutions, who would be installing the new mechanical equipment at Carver Place; O’Reilly Brothers, who were undertaking the insulation and air-sealing work; staff from the Hi-Mark Occupational Skills Training Centre; and over 20 mentees from the YMCA Home Renovation and Home Builders Training programs.

EnviroCentre’s Retrofit Accelerator staff were on hand to welcome stakeholders to a new and dynamic approach to experiential learning and skill-building for under-represented populations in the high-performance retrofit industry. 

Building Knowledge Canada’s Andy Oding gave an engaging presentation covering a wide range of practical building science training topics to all in attendance. Mentees and mentors were then given time to gather in their respective groups (insulation and mechanical) to get familiar with one another ahead of the hands-on portion of the program.

In June and July 2025, these two cohorts of mentees took part in onsite training and work experience at Carver Place. The first cohort shadowed experienced HVAC technicians from 1Click Energy Solutions, assisting with the heat pump installations in several homes. The second cohort shadowed O’Reilly Brothers’ experienced insulation contractors, assisting with improvements to the thermal envelope and air tightness of the homes.

The retrofit work at Carver Place was completed successfully, but the demand for practical, hands-on training opportunities didn’t end there.

We sought new partnerships to connect eager early-career tradespeople with in-demand skillsets in the retrofit sector and set our sights on the developing panelization industry, finding a natural partner in Tooketree Passive Homes.

Founded by Rick and Melinda Zytaruk, Tooketree is a Net-Zero Qualified Builder manufacturing prefabricated building enclosures. This method of construction can decrease project timelines, prioritize the sustainable use of materials, and make retrofit work more affordable.

When it comes to cost-effective, community-wide envelope improvements, panelization offers some distinct benefits compared to traditional techniques including the ability to build year-round, a dry environment to keep materials moisture free, and the ability to integrate automation for some of the repetitive and precision tasks. Together with Tooketree, EnviroCentre recruited a third cohort of mentees with a diverse range of work experiences and backgrounds, all united by a desire to learn new skills and put them into practice.

Since Tooketree Passive Homes is located in Baysville, and the mentees were mainly based in Ottawa, this chapter of the Retrofit Accelerator Mentorship Program looked a little different. In March 2026, mentees were taken by bus to stay the week in the Muskoka area, spending their days engaging in training with Tooketree panelization professionals, and putting their newfound knowledge into practice assembling and installing insulated panels.

The mentees also had the chance to spend some time in the evenings on cultural outings and socializing together, strengthening relationships that would last well beyond the end of the trip. EnviroCentre will continue to explore opportunities to grow the workforce we all rely on for safe, comfortable, affordable, high-performance homes.

RAMP began as an idea to provide opportunities for early career mentees to engage in real-world deep retrofit projects. What started at Carver Place, a project that brought together a community of individuals, workers, companies and community organizations throughout Ontario, represents a small glimpse of the future that is possible.