Two lucky Jasper youths recently returned from an internship at Miller-Hull, an architectural firm in Seattle, where they spent the last three weeks shadowing a firm committed to sustainable buildings. 

Emily Fenton and Adrian Butler were honoured with the chance to spend their summer at Miller-Hull after they impressed executives at a convention in Seattle this spring. Butler and Fenton presented the plan they built with the Jasper Sustainability Club for Youth.

“We had a bit of a big break when the club got a chance to go down to Seattle,” Butler said. 

The 18-year-old graduate said they were treated just like any other employee at Miller-Hull. 

“While there, we were extremely well received,” Butler said. 

While initially it was thought they would be presenting ideas to the company from a youth perspective, the Seattle trip turned out to be more of an internship, with Butler and Fenton attending company interviews and meetings, and touring Seattle while learning how to keep a city sustainable. 

“It was inspiring,” Butler said. “They’re very far ahead of us as far as sustainability in Seattle.”

The city bases any new businesses on the LEED green building design certification, or Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design. LEED certification has four different levels, and under Seattle city bylaw, any new businesses must achieve at least a silver ranking, or the second level. 

During the internship the two teens spent time with firms other than Miller-Hull, including real estate agents to discuss the market in a new eco-friendly environment, and government officials. They learned about environmental regulations and building codes, what goes into a sustainable space, how to create renewable energy and about water conservation.

Butler said Jasper is a perfect fit for sustainable spaces, with its location within a national park. 

“In Jasper we have a bit of a unique situation,” he said. “I think sustainable design could and should be very important in Jasper.”

Butler said he knows that Jasper isn’t a viable area for wind power, but could easily move towards geo-thermal energy, which is harvesting natural heat below the earth’s surface as energy. 

“We have the potential to be very sustainable,” Butler said. 

Now that the two have graduated, the club will carry on without them. Butler said several younger students have picked up and will continue to discuss the future of sustainability in Jasper. 

“They’ll be involved in local issues,” he said. One of those issues is building better water conservation practices. 

Butler plans to take a year off to work and travel, then return to school next fall at the University of Victoria. 

Now that they are on their own, Butler hopes to keep his home as environmentally friendly as possible, something all Jasperites can take part in. 

“Everyone’s heard these things before,” Butler said of the easy solutions, such as replacing old light bulbs with energy saving ones, using low-flow toilets and turning off the water when it isn’t being used. “It’s all pretty simple stuff. It’s just making it a normal part of your life and not having to think about it.”

Butler said he and Fenton aren’t sure where the internship will fit into their future careers, but they aren’t quite ready to push it out of their minds just yet. 

“I think we’re both pretty sure we want sustainability to be a part of it,” he said of his future. 

Fenton could not be reached for comment before deadline.