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2009 IT Hero Awards Nominees: BC’s Gitga’at First Nation band together on smart met
Posted June 23, 2009
Courtesy ITworldCanada
By: Nestor E. Arellano - ITWorldCanada.com
The Gitga’at who’ve lived on the Northwest coast of British Columbia for thousands of year have always worshiped and nurtured the land and water in which they live in. But despite with their strong ties to age old customs and traditions the Gitga’at are turning to 21st century technology to harness and conserve electric power and sustain the environment.
The Gitga’at Hartley Bay Band, a community of about 180 people living in a waterfront village in Great Bear Rainforest some 600 kilometers north of Vancouver, have recently installed networked energy smart meters throughout their village.
When fully operational this smart grid will help the community save money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower pollution levels in the area, “according to David Benton, Gitga’at band manager.
“We have this vision to be the greenest First Nation village,” Benton said.
The band is also looking into harnessing the water of the nearby Gabion River to produce hydro electric power and retrofit buildings with geothermal furnaces to will wean away the village from heavy dependence on coal and diesel generator.
“Because of our remote location, we rely heavily on diesel-powered generators. Last year, our diesel consumption was about $500,000”, Benton said.
In 2008, the community worked with Indian Northern Affairs Canada, the Province of BC and contracted Pulse Energy to install the networked energy metering devices.
The Gitga’at Hartley Bay Band is among the several Canadian individuals and organizations that were nominated for the 9th Annual ITAC IT Hero Awards presented by Intel.
The IT Hero Awards will be presented at the annual ITAC Chair’s Dinner on June 23, 2009. The IT Hero Awards program was developed in 2001 by ITAC in partnership with Industry Canada to celebrate and recognize the achievements of people across Canada who used technology in innovative ways to help others. The award was launched as a feature of IT WEEK, a time to reflect on the successful impact of IT on society. There are two aware categories: The Community IT Hero Award, sponsored by Innovapost, recognizes an individual, group or not-for-profit organization that is able to creative use IT to improve the lives of Canadians. The Corporate IT Hero Award recognizes a for-profit public or privately-owned business that can demonstrate the creative application of IT in improving the lives of Canadians. For more information, go to: http://www.itheroawards.com
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