This summer we are featuring a series of blog posts from students in the ENV 2301 course "History of Environmental Thought". We are super happy to highlight the thoughts and ideas of these bright young individuals.
“To build a road is so much simpler than to think of what the country needs”. Aldo Leopold questioned the destruction of natural environments through economic pursuits. The University of Ottawa could learn a lesson from this quote as it has largely neglected the need for green spaces, despite some efforts.
Rewilding means letting nature take its course as it did before urbanization invaded. It is arguably one of the greatest solutions to climate breakdown through capturing carbon from the air, especially through restoring trees, and allowing animals to maintain balance within ecosystems. This act of designating space that species can re-inhabit inherently promotes the flourishing of biodiversity while protecting and preserving the land from development and industry.
The even better news is that perks wouldn’t end at carbon capturing! The creation of natural environments through rewilding even small areas has additional benefits including the potential to reduce stress and anxiety, increase creativity and productivity, and thereby improve people’s mood in general. The revival of a community of native biodiversity would serve as an excellent spot to perform research, such as what is being done by Wild Pollinator Partners.
uOttawa has made some advances on this front; where the University Square sits was a parking lot until recently.
While the few trees planted around the University square may be a step up from a parking lot, the University Campus Master Plan’s paragraph dedicated to “Green[ing] the campus” remains unambitious. This space is referred to as a positive landscape initiative yet the sole goal for “greening” seems to be planting a few more trees around where the huge tent is set up (for only a few months of the year). It is hard to believe that a concrete pavilion could ever become a genuine green space.
~ Mary Stuart
Rewilding means letting nature take its course as it did before urbanization invaded. It is arguably one of the greatest solutions to climate breakdown through capturing carbon from the air, especially through restoring trees, and allowing animals to maintain balance within ecosystems. This act of designating space that species can re-inhabit inherently promotes the flourishing of biodiversity while protecting and preserving the land from development and industry.
The even better news is that perks wouldn’t end at carbon capturing! The creation of natural environments through rewilding even small areas has additional benefits including the potential to reduce stress and anxiety, increase creativity and productivity, and thereby improve people’s mood in general. The revival of a community of native biodiversity would serve as an excellent spot to perform research, such as what is being done by Wild Pollinator Partners.
uOttawa has made some advances on this front; where the University Square sits was a parking lot until recently.
What I suggest is this: delimit an area of campus to be rewilded and plant native species, as restoring native plant habitat is vital to preserving biodiversity, and rewilding has numerous additional advantages. There are many reports and case studies that the University can refer to, and this project fits the Office of Campus Sustainability’s mandate well. If the University of Ottawa can acquire $1 million to construct a tent to host events for only part of the year, surely it could consider a forward thinking initiative to benefit wildlife, students, staff, and fight the climate crisis.
~ Mary Stuart