What’s happened on campus this summer!

Have you been away for the summer and missed the sustainability projects that happened while you were gone? Or perhaps you're new to campus and looking for a place to start learning about sustainability initiatives. Either way, this post is for you!

Edible Landscapes

This summer, there are several new additions to our edible landscapes. Thanks to a grant obtained by a student volunteer, Victoria Rose King, we planted 6 apple and 4 pear trees, haskap and blueberry bushes. These are here for your consumption! So, if you see something you’d like to eat, don’t hesitate to pluck a few (though the peak time is during the summer)! With the help of our volunteers, we harvest the produce, donating what is not eaten by students to local food banks. These trees also benefit the environment by absorbing some carbon and feeding wildlife.

 

Pollinator Gardens

We have also planted two new pollinator-friendly gardens. The first was a lost green space with mulch near Marion. The second is at Annex residence! We are, after all, committed to making the campus and surrounding areas, including our off-campus residences, as pollinator-friendly as possible. Bees and other pollinators do so much for the planet so it’s only right to make the habitat as safe as possible for them.

 

Buildings

In other news, uOttawa has finally completed a couple of major construction projects. Some of the construction that has been obstructing your path on campus has been cleared! The new Lees building is complete, and we are targeting LEED Platinum (the highest level of certification that indicates how sustainable a building is). This means that many features of the building were carefully considered to be as sustainable as possible - energy, water, furniture, wood, etc.

Do you remember how the Montpetit gym has been blocked for quite a while? Well, that’s because the roof needed repairs. It's back open now, and there are tables, a shade sail, a mural, and a lovely pollinator-friendly green roof to enjoy!

 

Reusable Containers

If you’ve been by any of our food services lately, you’ve probably noticed blue poster boards and bins about something called Friendlier? Well, that’s our new reusable plastic food containers! The way it works is that when you buy food in a Friendlier container, you eat your food like usual, but instead of throwing out the container or putting it in the recycling, you return it to the blue Friendlier collection bins near the same food providers that sell these items. Then the containers get collected and transported to a local facility to be cleaned and then brought back to be reused. You can find food being sold in these containers at locations including Premiere Moisson, SITE food court and all Go Cafés. There is a 50-cent deposit fee included in the cost of the food, which gets returned to you when you download the app, scan your container then drop it in the Friendlier collection bin. Just scan the sticker on the container and drop it in the Friendlier collection bin. Once it arrives at said cleaning facility, it will automatically be sent back to you! It's super easy and takes not even thirty seconds! 

 

Reusable cutlery

In line with the federal ban on select single-use plastics, plastic cutlery is now being phased out on campus! That’s right! We are making the switch to compostable cutlery at all uOttawa Food Service-managed locations on campus! With this and the food containers, we are that much closer to being plastic-free! You can also purchase your own Gee-Gees branded reusable cutlery sets from vendors on campus including Première Moisson (FSS), Go Cafés (LMX, FTX, and TBT), Food Court (SITE), Paramount (CRX) and Elements (RGN). 

 

Hope you enjoyed a list of some of the projects we have been up to this summer!

~ mélanie plante, co-op student