As promised: Part Two of Franke James...
Franke's house, "Before".
This past Tuesday on Home Tour, I posted the home of a Toronto-based artist, writer, speaker and environmental activist, Franke Jame. Franke had an energy audit done on her older, north Toronto home (above), and having received a failing grade, embarked on a reno to make it better. Though she was always inclined toward the greener side of life, the reno coupled with her mounting concern for the environment propelled her to make a real sacrifice: she convinced her family to give up the car.
No car meant no need for the unsightly -- not to mention not at all green -- interlock pad, taking up 99% of her front yard. Seems noble right? Not so said an outdated bylaw, that stated every residence in her neighbourhood of North York was required to maintain a concrete, asphalt or interlock driveway if one was already there.
The house, "After": Franke standing on her green driveway.
So she sought another way: PermaTurf. Honeycomb-like, 100% recycled polyethylene tiles that can be filled with soil and grass seed, withstanding 100 tons of weight per square yard -- grass you can drive on: a green driveway. She fought the city on getting permission to install it, and eventually -- with the help of the Toronto Star -- got Mayor Miller himself to change the bylaw.
The journey compelled Franke to document it in her favourite medium, the visual essay, entitled Bothered by My Green Conscience. The book is a hit with adults and children alike, having met with great reviews. And I have four of them to give away to you! (Scroll beyond the video and gallery for details.)
Here is a video of Franke's and my chat at her beautiful home, in which she describes a bit of what it was like to quit the car cold turkey, and what others can do toward conserving our environment. As well, to follow up last week's photo gallery of her beautiful home, you can scroll down past the video to see the "befores" and the reno in process. Franke installed a high efficiency furnace, radiant heating, triple-glazed, double-paned windows and finally, the green driveway. (If you wish to learn more about the driveway's installation, check out Franke's blog.)
Interview
Gallery
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Giveaway: As mentioned above, you have a chance to own a copy of Franke's creative green memoir, Bothered by My Green Conscience, simply by emailing me the correct answer to the following question: what was the name of the show where Franke and I met? Email me at stylesheetAThgtvDOTca with Franke James in the subject line. Please see Contest Rules.
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