Carly Connor

Nominee for an ACO Next Gen Award

Carly Connor is exactly who the NextGen Award should be celebrating. While a lot of heritage preservation happens behind desks or in boardrooms, Carly is out on active demolition sites across Hamilton and Niagara, literally saving Ontario’s history from the dumpster. As a materials conservation specialist and the founder of Green Salvaged Materials Inc., she’s tackling the problem of historic building waste by doing the heavy lifting herself.

When a heritage building is slated for demolition or a gut job, Carly steps in. She carefully dismantles old-growth timber, hand-made bricks, and vintage millwork piece by piece. She doesn’t just collect this material; she tracks its history and gets it back into the hands of local masons and carpenters who need period-accurate materials for restorations. She’s keeping the physical DNA of our historic towns in circulation instead of letting it rot in a landfill.

What makes Carly a true advocate is how much she gives back. She uses her business to run hands-on workshops for homeowners and young tradespeople. She teaches people how to actually work with lime mortar or fix original wood windows instead of ripping them out for cheap modern replacements. As a CAHP intern member, she also uses her voice to push the industry to see heritage as a critical climate-action tool. Carly has never won a provincial ACO award before, she’s under 30, and her absolute grit is exactly what the heritage sector needs right now.