T his might be news to you our dear reader, but the University of Ottawa is a bit of a powerhouse when it comes to sustainable transportation. It might not be apparent right away, but the more you peel back the layers of this onion, the more it becomes obvious. And why not? All the ingredients are right in front of you... an urban campus, right in the middle of a dense city centre, with multiple entry points, and a lot of surrounding communities, not to mention some great amenities too. The University's main campus is serviced by Ottawa's light rail transit system, it has several bike lanes flowing into it, and in the winter time, you can even skate to the campus. A lot of these are because of the great location of the campus, but don't be fooled, the University has worked hard to make a lot of these programs a thing for the community. A car share, rideshare, and carpooling program for drivers... a U-pass, shuttle bus, and the Para Transpo program for public transportation ...

Une idée amusante m’est venue aujourd’hui alors que je discutais avec l’équipe lors de notre réunion hebdomadaire. Cela fait maintenant plus de 10 ans que nous avons mis en place le programme du panier bio à uOttawa… 10 ans ! Honnêtement, la plupart des appareils électroménagers ne durent même pas aussi longtemps. Je me suis dit que cela pourrait être une bonne occasion de revenir sur les origines du programme et de réfléchir à la façon dont nous pourrions le faire évoluer pour la prochaine décennie. Il y a dix ans, une étudiante internationale (Coraline) est venue faire un stage dans notre bureau avec l’objectif explicite de lancer un programme d’agriculture soutenue par la communauté, plus communément appelé ASC. Coraline a rapidement réussi à trouver une ferme correspondant à tous nos critères. Nous voulions… une ferme capable d’offrir des légumes biologiques certifiés une ferme locale et qui puisse livrer sur le campus Lancer un mouvement alimentaire sur le campus Nos trois critère...

A fun thought dawned on me today while I was chatting with the team at our weekly meeting. It has been over 10 since we introduced the Farm Basket at uOttawa... 10 years! Honestly most appliances don't even last that long. I though this might be a good chance to talk about the origins of the program and how we might grow this program (pun intended) for the next decade. Ten years ago, an international student (Coraline) came to intern at our office with the express interest of starting a Community Supported Agricultural program, more commonly known as a CSA. Coraline was quickly able to find a farm that fit all our criteria. We wanted...  A farm that could offer certified organic vegetables That was local and could deliver to the campus Starting a food movement on campus Our three criteria were important to us because we wanted to create a sustainable food system on campus, with one of the focal points being to source organic food. Sure, " the 100 mile diet " was a big cr...

We want to start the year off by offering you a fresh twist on the big sustainability stories from uOttawa from 2025. Instead of condensing the stories into a tight list and trendy infographic, we want to "unwrap" these stories to tell you about the impact to the uOttawa campus. It's the start of a new semester and I am sure that last thing you want to do is scroll through yet another "wrapped" list for last year. Sure, these wrapped lists have become really popular over the years with Spotify leading the way; offering you a look back at your personal music consumption over the previous 12 months. This was quickly adopted by every company in the world, offering not so much a personal experience of the year's events, but more of an self ingratiating celebration of their own accomplishments. Essentially, they took the "year in review" concept, relabeled it with the trendier "wrapped" title, and hoped no one would notice.  Well, we noticed a...

That's right friends, the Free Store is getting a new space, a new look, and a couple of new features... but more about that in a minute. First, a little background. The Free Store has been bringing a unique retail experience to University of Ottawa students for two decades! What is that experience you ask? Well everything is free for starters. But, really the biggest feature is that everything in the store was considered garbage at one point. And so, the store is quite literally keeping things out of landfill while saving the customers money. The first time anything resembling a Free Store happened was back in 2007, when a bunch of items were left in some residence rooms and then given back to new students arriving on campus in September. That first event was very modest... imagine a picnic blanket on the grass with a sign that said "FREE" in front of a few donated items. Fast-forward a couple of years and the Free Store has moved into its own retail space and grown imm...

Les fêtes ont une drôle de façon de me prendre par surprise. Une minute, on est en novembre, et la suivante, je me retrouve à faire défiler des boutiques en ligne à minuit, submergée par les messages de surconsommation, en me demandant quoi offrir à mes proches… et combien d’objets une personne a réellement besoin. Cette année, changeons de perspective : passons de l’achat de choses à des cadeaux offerts avec intention. Les cadeaux durables ne signifient pas dépenser moins ou être « parfait ». Il s’agit plutôt de choisir des cadeaux qui créent des souvenirs, soutiennent les communautés locales et ne finissent pas oubliés au fond d’un tiroir d’ici février. Voici quelques idées pour vous aider à offrir de façon plus intentionnelle (et avec moins de stress) pendant la période des fêtes, avec beaucoup d’inspiration directement d’Ottawa. 🎁 Le cadeau du temps (ou d’expériences) Si trouver le cadeau parfait vous semble stressant ou que vous n’avez aucune idée pour quelqu’un, c’est probableme...

The holidays have a funny way of sneaking up on me. One minute it’s November, the next I'm scrolling online at midnight, overwhelmed with consumerist messages, swirling thoughts of what to gift my friends and family, and wondering how many more things someone really needs. This year, let’s flip the script, from buying more stuff to giving with intention. Sustainable gift-giving isn’t about spending less or being perfect. It’s about choosing gifts that create memories, support local communities, and don’t end up forgotten in a drawer by February. Here are a few ideas to help you give more intentionally (and stress less) this holiday season, with plenty of inspiration right here in Ottawa. 🎁 The Gift of Time (or Experiences) If finding the perfect gift feels stressful or you don't immediately have a great idea for someone, that’s your sign to stop shopping for things and start thinking about moments. Experiences are personal, flexible, and often nearly free. And the best part? ...

uOttawa heat map art. Monday July 22nd might have been a wholly unmarkable day for you. It was a fairly hot day in a fairly hot month, which of course has been part of a fairly hot summer. If you live in this little part of the world, you might have noticed a lack of rain and a hint of smoke in the air from the forest fires in central and western Canada. What you might not have known was that the record for the hottest recorded in human history was being set. Many news outlets reported on the record breaking temperature  but it didn't get much coverage (the world has a lot of complicated things happening right now). I think this kind of information tends to make people's eyes glaze over. "Oh yes, yet another time we broke the record for the hottest day..." It seems to happen so often that people have become numb to the news.  This is problematic because the increase in temperature has a bunch of very serious and dangerous impacts to the natural environment and to peop...