Read about how our workshops and Eco Home Kits are making homes more energy efficient and affordable for newcomers to Canada!
This fall, Green Venture partnered with newcomer communities across Hamilton through a series of Home Energy Workshops. For many newcomers, the cost of heating and electricity in Canada can be unfamiliar and overwhelming. Our workshops aim to build confidence in understanding utility bills, promote safety during winter, reduce energy costs and environmental impact, and promote home energy assistance programs in Canada. We also distributed our Eco Home Kits that include renter-friendly ways to save energy (and lower bills!) at home.
Image 1: Title slide from Green Venture’s Energy 101 workshop, introducing newcomers to the basics of home energy use in Canada.
On November 15, we joined the Rafiki Hamilton Men’s Conference, organized by our community partner Liliane Kabamba, Founder and Director of the Rafiki Hamilton Centre. Rafiki Hamilton supports Black Francophone and Anglophone Africans in Hamilton by promoting personal growth, professional development, and successful integration into Canadian society. The conference brought together approximately 40 men for a full day of learning and community support, with sessions focused on navigating life in Canada, including local laws, job-readiness skills, mental health resources, and more.
Our contribution was a presentation on home energy efficiency, covering draft-proofing, winter safety tips, and how to understand heating costs. Participants left equipped with Eco Home Kits and educational resources to help make their homes more comfortable and affordable this season!
Image 2: Community members gather for a session at the Rafiki Hamilton Men’s Conference, where they learn about community resources and skills development.
We were grateful for the opportunity to provide Eco Home Kits to Micah House, an organization that welcomes newly arrived refugee claimants to Hamilton by offering safe shelter, supporting settlement, and facilitating community connection. With support from Tyler Bouman, Settlement & Outreach Worker at Micah House, these kits will help newcomers transition into their own homes, reduce energy use, and manage their utility bills with confidence.
Image 3: Green Venture’s Eco Home Kits. These kits are distributed during some workshops to support home-owners and renters alike make sustainable changes in energy usage.
Finally, we partnered with Wasan Mohammed, Director of Community Connection Program at the Immigrants Working Centre (IWC), to lead a workshop for community members enrolled in their Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada program. The IWC in Hamilton supports newcomers by offering services for settlement, employment, English-language learning, and community connection to help people fully participate socially, civically, and economically in Canada. Our session introduced energy-saving tips using accessible language and hands-on demonstrations. Many participants were new to Canadian winters, so topics like how to read a utility bill, how to safely heat your home in the winter, and ways to reduce energy use were particularly valuable.
Image 4: Nicole Raitakari, Energy Program Manager at Green Venture, presenting Energy 101 for Newcomers.
Green Venture’s Eco Home Kits provide simple, practical items to help households reduce energy use, lower utility bills, and stay comfortable year-round. Each kit includes a selection of easy-to-install items, such as shrink-and-seal window film to block drafts, foam weatherstripping and door sweeps to improve air sealing, and outlet and switch sealing gaskets to prevent air leaks. Kits also feature helpful tools such as a furnace filter whistle for maintenance reminders, a low-flow showerhead and water flow rate bag for water savings, an LED night light, and an energy-efficient bulb. These items support low-cost, renter-friendly upgrades that make homes more efficient and comfortable.
If you have received an Eco Home Kit from us, we would love to hear from you how you have used the different items in your home! Your feedback is incredibly valuable for future iterations of our kits.
Image 5: A visual guide to the items included in Green Venture’s Eco Home Kits, featuring energy and water-saving tools along with simple instructions for how each item helps improve home efficiency.
These workshops were made possible through the support of the City Enrichment Fund and Ward 2, whose contribution helps ensure our community has access to practical, empowering climate and energy education!
More Eco Home Kits will be available in 2026. In the meantime, Green Venture continues to offer educational presentations and workshops on Home Energy for community organizations in the Hamilton-Wentworth area.
Please contact [email protected], we would be happy to collaborate with you!
Read about how our workshops and Eco Home Kits are making homes more energy efficient and affordable for newcomers to Canada!
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