Silver Springs Winterspace
“Winterspace” already had been imagined a facility in Silver Springs that would blend indoor and outdoor environments together in an existing urban green space. One with warmth and welcoming all-season space for residents, integrating people and space as one, being a refuge for recreation and learning. We surveyed the community and what we heard was that there were actually three top ideas summarized to be themed around:
1) Food Security 2) Gathering Space for Community and 3) Horticultural & Educational Purposes.
Early visions for Winterspace:
An initial dedicated group of volunteers came together in 2020 with a passion for gardening and greenhouses and created a grass roots “Ad Hoc committee” named Winterspace. Exploring the idea of a Greenhouse somewhere in Silver Springs, or anywhere nearby the community? They approached the SSCA with this idea, and the Ad Hoc committee was formed. With the work of this great group, the Ad Hoc committee formally became a subcommittee of the SSCA in October of 2021. Winterspace had been looking into technology, design and other case studies in various cities, exploring the concept of such a possibility of an all season ( or even almost all season), net zero or (almost net zero) greenhouse and what that looked like for the lifecycle of the project.
Winterspace for Silver Springs can be a Community Anchor:
* A welcoming space with an environmental embrace, set in an urban park.
*.A sun-powered, all-season space for residents to recline and define.
*A gathering place to bring people and nature together as one.
*A community refuge for recreation and learning, an anchor for the neighbourhood.
Imagine a Community Gathering Space for Silver Springs:
* Imagine a solarium of sorts, an aesthetic creative design, for area residents to enjoy.
*Imagine a facility that embraces nature, blending the seasons.
* Imagine a community refuge bathed in the warmth of the sun.
* Imagine a temperate, liveable environment, to rest, to grow, to gather, to learn
All along we have been engaging the City of Calgary, the Board of Directors and even the elected officials to understand all the moving parts of such a conceptual project. The subcommittee met on a regular basis over the past couple of years to look at various models and had been meeting with city personnel to explore any suitable sites. We even had our first public engagement booth at the “Hello Summer BBQ” in June 2022 and carried out a full ~7 month online survey, engaging the public in our community. Thank you to those in our community, who took the time and filled out our Winterspace survey and gave us this valuable feedback. We were so excited to hear from you!
With all this feedback and the survey results in, we are excited to pursue this idea and build up our volunteer subcommittee team for Winterspace. Creating new roles, new collaborations and new community involvement for such a meaningful project.
Winterspace needs your help!
We are looking for VOLUNTEERS! If you would like to be a part of this dynamic and innovative group please express your interest and fill out the questionnaire below.
Winterspace Volunteer Committee Interest Form:
