The Sustainabilitree

This isn't really anything new but it is certainly exciting. The Office of Campus Sustainability participates every year in the Experiential Learning program. In the past we have worked with Eric Crighton' s first year environmental issues class. Each year these students help conduct recycling surveys on campus that ultimately end up being used to improve the campus recycling system. This year we have been working with Renate Sander-Regier, the prof for the third year natural resource management class. The concept is simple - the students of the course have to assess the natural resources of the campus and make recommendations about how to use them all sustainably. Please allow this brief interjection. I like the ELS program because it does 3 things. First, students get to do some real work and learn some practical skills, not that theoretical stuff that sometimes leaves you feeling empty sometimes. Two, a community group gets the benefit of some much needed work / info / hel...

As you may have seen from the picture above, I am trying something new this year, winter cycling. Now I am not a rampant winter cyclist; in point of fact I have never done it before. And there is a good chance that I won’t even make it a quarter of the way through this winter. But I want to try. I am not actually going to talk about winter cycling actually, i just thought it would be nice to share this picture. All day i was actually thinking about what i would call this picture. If I had to title the above picture I would call it “Nice try winter” or “Bikers 1, Winter 0”. But I digress, this post is about making easier to do something more environmentally friendly. I don’t think that you need much more of an example beyond the above picture. I am trying out winter cycling and what i need is clean roads and accessible bike racks. Otherwise, I won’t be able to keep this up much longer. In the of Sustainability world we talk about barriers. When we want people to change ...

Picture courteousy of www.bouge.c a Two years ago the University faced a stark reality... the students didn't think that the campus was sustainable. Actually, if you want to really get down to the nitty gritty, the students perceived that the Univerrsity had a low level of commitment to the environment. Every year the Globe and Mail releases a survey about universities in Canada. The survey is a perceptions based exercise which asks students to rate their campuses. Hundreds to thousands of students respond to these surveys and the G&M is able to regroup the info to grade various institutions. (Check out the special report on the environment section here ) So two years ago the University of Ottawa received a "D". Not so great. I mean it could be worse... not much worse... but it could have been. This was a wonderful opportunity actually. When universities get a bad rating, then things start to happen. The UofO responded with a massive push on recycling. My boss often t...

L’un des messages clés du discours de David Suzuki est que tout le monde a besoin de "consommer moins". Mais comment pouvons-nous faire cela avec les fêtes qui approchent rapidement? C’est aussi simple que donner un cadeau qui est facile sur l'environnement ! Voici quelques options : Cadeaux qui soutiennent des projets trouvant des solutions environnementales. Jetez un coup d’œil au catalogue 2009-2010 de David Suzuki pour envoyer une carte électronique, acheter des marchandises ou devenir un donateur mensuel ; Achetez localement et durablement ; Donnez un certificat-cadeau pour des cours de danse de couple ou traitez un(e) ami (e) à une journée de ski – un cadeau n'a pas vraiment besoin d'être un bien ou quelque chose de matériel ; Ou tout simplement fabriquez un cadeau ! Nous avons fait des cartes pour les conférenciers du colloque sur le développement durable en affaires à partir de vieux dossiers et des boîtes en carton. Des cartes pour les fêtes peuvent se ...

With the ever necessary push for alternative transportation, universities need to step up in support. This can be enforced by universal bus passes and campaigns to encourage walking and cycling. Cycling is cheaper than other modes of transportation and faster than walking. It’s a great way to enjoy the outdoors or just to get from place to place! So, how about a bike co-op? In 2008, a couple of students working in Sustainable Development and Sustainable Transportation prepared a proposal for a bike cooperative on campus. They researched other campus bike coops, where we could put one, how it could be run, and how much it would cost. With a positive reception from administration and support of the SFUO, two new students have updated and prepared a new proposal outlining the ideal way a bike coop at uOttawa would function, with intentions of seeing it open in March 2010. That’s right – the University of Ottawa and the SFUO will open a bike cooperative in 2010. Okay, so...

Green Weeks, as you must know by now, was a great collection of events taking place between November 2nd and November 13th this year. There were tons of amazing events showcasing what ’s green on this campus, what students and the community are working on, and ways in which we can make changes in policy and our own lives to improve our environmen t. Hopefully you made it out to an event or two and enjoyed it! If you have any comments on Green Weeks 2009, please send them to me! sking@ uottawa.ca The final event is on November 23rd this year; David Suzuki is coming to the Bronson Centre. Tickets are available at the SFUO office in the university centre. $15 for students and alumni, $25 for community members. Get them fast! - sarah jayne

Le moment est enfin venu... vous pouvez maintenant acheter vos billets pour le 2 e Colloque annuel sur le développement durable en affaires !!! Un grand événement organisé par des étudiants pour informer les autres sur la durabilité environnementale d’entreprise. Le colloque aura lieu le vendredi 13 novembre 2009 de 11 h à 19 h dans la salle Desmarais 4101 . Les billets sont seulement 8 dollars et comprennent quatre groupes d’experts, deux discours, un dîner organique, une pause-café équitable, un événement de réseautage social avec service de traiteur (comprenant un billet pour une boisson alcoolisée) et un paquet-cadeau pour les participants. Sérieusement, pourquoi ne pas venir ? Vous avez peut-être des classes, aucun problème ! Vous pouvez assister à la session 1 (11 h à 15 h) ou 2 (15 h à 19 h) pour seulement 5 dollars. Non seulement est le prix incroyable, mais vous aurez la chance d'entendre des idées intéressantes provenant de plus de vingt professionnels d’entreprises...

I hope you’re getting excited for Green Weeks coming up! Wait…you don’t know about it yet? Green Weeks is a two week series of workshops and events to showcase the work towards sustainability on our campus. This year, the first two weeks of November are dedicated to Green Weeks. It’s an SFUO initiative that is in its third year, and Sustainable Development Office is happy to help. We’ve developed a long list of amazing events, so be sure to check out: Free stores during the two weeks Information fairs on November 10 and 12 th Screening of Borealis – Big Wild event put on by CPAWS and MEC Students on Ice with professor Copland E-Waste drive Workshops including: alternative menstrual products, eating sustainably and cheaply, and more! Tar Sands Art and Wine & Cheese with artist Louis Helbig Movie screenings: FLOW and Food, Inc Sustainable Business Conference Keynote address from David Suzuki (November 23 rd ) “Green” has been gaining a lot of support at the University of Ottawa. The...

J'espère que vous avez tous hâte aux semaines vertes! Attend une minute... vous ne les connaissez pas? Pour une période de deux semaines, les Semaines Vertes visent à vous impliquer et sensibiliser aux initiatives de développement durable sur le campus de l’Université d’Ottawa; avec des ateliers et évènements. Cette année, les deux premières semaines du mois de Novembre sont dédiées aux Semaines Vertes. C'est une initiative de la FÉUO et le Bureau du Développement Durable qui est dans sa troisième année. Nous avons développé une liste d'événements fabuleux à ne pas manquer : Gratuiteries lors des deux semaines Foires d’Information – 10 et 12 Novembre Film : Borealis – un événement organisé par la SNAP et MEC « Students on Ice » avec professeur Copland Collecte de déchets électroniques Ateliers: produits alternatifs menstruel, manger de façon durable et à moindre coût, et plus encore! Art inspiré des Sables bitumineux et un vin et fromage avec l'artist Louis Helbig Soir...

Jon wrote a post in January about defining Sustainable Development. Here, we’ll revisit and maybe go a bit further, just for fun. Right now, I’m taking a course on environmental policy and sustainable development. Here, sustainable development refers to development in the developing world. Not just, “development” as in “progress” or any other way you might fathom before we get into more definitions. We’re at a university. And we work in sustainable development for the university, which is not a developing country. So, what does it mean here? Universities have a huge role to play in becoming the leaders of sustainable development. They are building and growing, researching new ways of doing things (integrated environmental approach anyone?), and teaching people who are going to influence the world we live in. At the university, we’re looking at environmental “sustainability” as a goal. So, Jon took the pretty well known definition, coming from an important report (the last of a s...

Click here to link to video Have you seen the piano stairs video? Really? Are you serious, cause it’s posted like everywhere. I even added a link from my Facebook account. Anyways you should take a look because it is pretty awesome and it reveals one of my big pet peeves; lazy stairs people. Allow me to preface with my list of annoying lazy people things. First are people who take the elevator when they could easily take the stairs, next are people use the handicapped button to open doors, then it’s people who don’t turn off their computers at night, and finally people who stand still on the escalator. Each is especially annoying in its own magic way (Seriously you can’t open the door with your hands? Cause the more you use the handicapped button for your own lazy purposes the more you increase the likelihood that it will break when a person who really needs it comes by – Or standing on the escalator? I know it isn’t the biggest crime in the world but if you don’t have a mobility i...

A little while ago, I came across this website for a program that runs in Toronto called Not Far From the Tree . The basic premise is that this group of volunteers goes around picking the fruit out of the yards of those who register on their site. They then divide the fruit 3 ways between themselves (as payment for their work), the owner and a charitable organization such as the food bank or a soup kitchen. I thought this was a great idea since I myself have an apple tree and a grape vine that I rarely find the time to harvest and thus the majority of the fruit go to waste. I started to look into the possibility that Ottawa has such a program, and it kind of does. Vegetable Patch operates a land sharing program within Ottawa’s city centre. The idea is that you offer up your unused land, they come in and make a totally organic garden and care for the plants all season long. In return, you get a weekly vegetable basket from the stuff grown in your yard and elsewhere around...

Il semble que les colloques/congrès sur le « développement durable » ont augmenté au cours des dernières années. La raison est assez simple : la durabilité est très importante ! Pour être honnête, la durabilité peut être un concept difficile à appréhender et certains pourraient penser qu'il n'est rien d'autre qu'une tendance, en particulier du fait que les entreprises font beaucoup de « lavage vert » avec leurs produits, services, événements, etc. L'affaire est, la durabilité ne touche pas seulement l'environnement ; elle affecte également la société et l'économie. C'est pourquoi les colloques/congrès sont idéales pour éduquer les gens à propos des solutions durables ! SPECTRUM 2009 a touché ce concept à différents niveaux avec des experts en matière de politiques ainsi que des dirigeants communautaires et des représentants de tous les ordres de gouvernement, du milieu universitaire, du secteur privé, de groupes communautaires et d’organisations ...

School’s in! It is probably appropriate to talk a bit about courses on campus. Why? Because they can contain sustainable development content, or they can be environmentally conscious in the way they are run. We’ll touch upon the latter first because it’s pretty basic: less paper, less resources, less waste. Tips for students and professors to green their classroom (these items generally must be mutually agreed upon) Double-side your assignments, or print them single spaced or on already used one-sided paper Have assignments submitted online or via email Use online course material (also lowering costs to students for copyright material) Encourage taking notes and not printing all slides or readings on paper Buy recycled paper notebooks, or reused one-sided paper notebooks (can be purchased at Reprography) As far as sustainable content, there are a number of courses offered that talk about issues of sustainability and sustainable development. The next blog post will likely be an offs...

I thought that I should make this entry based on other people’s work. Normally I love having to do very little and take credit for other people’s work, but this time I can’t really take any of the credit. And bravo to all those who had the tenacity to put a little elbow grease into their lives. There is an old adage in the waste diversion game that goes like this, “Reduce before you reuse; reuse before you recycle; recycle before you trash.” It’s a simple thing to follow and it is structured in a way that saves the most resources. If you can reduce something than you don’t have to reuse it, and so forth and so on. Now let’s put this whole thing into play. We are working on a furniture recycling program here at the University. Most of the time we are catering to the campus services but every once and a while we have some stuff we are going to throw out and we have some people in need. So why not give it to them? Well that’s exactly what happened here; some people in need of chairs ca...

I am. Are you? Is your wallet? A common immediate response to how to solve issues of environmental damages, poor animal treatment, and unhealthy food in the food industry is to focus on concerted individual (often read: consumer) efforts to make change. The idea that (and this is a direct paraphrase from the movie) your vote is your dollar. You tell the food industry that you want organic, good for you food, it will happen. I saw the documentary Food, Inc at the Bytowne Cinema. I quite enjoyed it. I found it to have a lot of useful information and even be relatively accessible to folks who may not know much about the food industry. It was pretty graphic at times, which is effective and necessary however it obviously turns some stomachs. Let’s think about this. There is something wrong with the food industry. Most can agree with this, no matter which side you are coming from. It is efficient in ways, but very inefficient in others. There is overproduction, increased risk ...

So the Katimavikers are back in town, and not a minute too late! For all of you who don’t know about the program, Katimavik is a national program that teaches youth a valuable lesson about life, the universe, and everything. Follow this link for a much better description than mine. Now this is the third year that Katimavik will be working with the Office of Campus Sustainability. I will be the first to admit that I perpetuate the myth of the Katimaslave (esclavavik pour les francophones). Really! I have them come in every day and work like dogs for basically no pay. And of course this blog is about demystifying things… so here goes. It isn’t actually easy keeping Katimavik participants motivated (that’s their real titles but sometimes I just give up and call them parts). Think about it, if you weren’t getting paid, what could I possibly offer to get you to do some back-breaking labour? Especially if some of the things we have them do is pretty monotonous. So the solution??? W...

The University of Ottawa is and has been a very green campus for many years; perhaps even since its inception. You don’t have to take this fact completely on faith, I promise to lay out my argument for this in future blogs, but for now let’s assume that uOttawa is one of the greenest institutions in North America. This begs the question; if we are so green why is it that no one knows this? The answer unfortunately is complicated, but I will do my best to keep it simple. I have actually mentioned this problem in previous posts but the University of Ottawa’s green initiatives are almost all invisible. Allow me to illustrate; the University employs a district heating system which means that there are pipes under the campus that shares the heat between buildings. Not exactly the kind of thing you would notice while strolling around outside. So the name of the game is to make the invisible... visible. Tricky, I know. But fear not, we here at the office have been dreaming up tonnes o...