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DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
Fort Providence's community centre heated up on Oct. 17 as residents gathered to hear some helpful hints for winterizing their homes.

Ryanna Bonnetrouge, from left, Jacob Causa, Austin Antoine, Raynna Bonnetrouge, Conrad Landry and Dawson Landry dig through a bucket of worms during a meeting at Fort Providence's recreation centre about energy efficiency and waste reduction. - Miranda Scotland/NNSL photo

About 50 people showed up for the hour-and-a-half-long information session.

Kakisa resident Victor Fournier decided to stop by the workshop while he was in the hamlet picking up his grandson, and said it was worth the time.

"My favourite (tip) would be insulating around the doors and windows where the leaks are coming from," he said.

This energy saving tip was one of many Arctic Energy Alliance program co-ordinator Linda Todd shared with the crowd. She also suggested residents install a block heater timer on their cars, lower their water heater temperature at home so it's not producing scalding hot liquid, and replace their furnace fuel filter regularly.

"These are all little, little things but they make a pretty big difference," Todd told the room. "We can live in good, healthy ways and still be using less."

The presentation was put on by Arctic Energy Alliance and Ecology North with support from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

For some of the more labour-intensive suggestions, Todd used an instructional DVD, titled A guide to home energy savings, to illustrate the steps. One clip she showed demonstrated how to fix air leaks around windows.

In the video, contractor Tom Ashley took off the trim around a window with a putty knife and found there was a large gap in the window frame. He then placed foam rope in the gap, caulked a few of the cracks to better insulate the area and put the trim back on.

In another clip, Ashley installed a plastic window kit to keep in even more heat.

"It's really worth the time," said Todd. "Windows are basically holes in the wall with some glass."

Todd also encouraged residents to plug any leaks in their walls. She played a clip of Ashley in a laundry room where he used a caulking gun to fill gaps around washing machine piping, which goes into the wall. He suggested using latex caulking for interior use because it's relatively odour free and it can be painted over later.

"The thing about caulking is to take your time, fill the gap completely, make sure you get all the way around," he said in the video.

The DVD was handed out for free at the session, along with a number of energy saving prizes. For those who weren't in attendance the video can be obtained from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Most of the 14 do-it-yourself steps are fairly straightforward and could easily save someone about $360 a year on energy costs, said Teresa Chilkowich, Deh Cho community energy co-ordinator with Arctic Energy Alliance.

"I think with any of it is making sure that if you're removing anything, that you're just taking your time and being careful," she said.

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