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 a...

This month 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 indiduals. An iceberg in Tikhaya Bay in the Arctic Circle, Russia.Sputnik via AP/Vera Kostamo It is officially the start of a new decade, and everyone is already losing their cool- literally.   Amidst the devastating wildfires ravaging through Australia, as well as recent reports on increasing rates of melting Arctic ice* , concerns are growing around the world about the effects of climate change on important issues such as the protection of land and biodiversity. Today, the University of Ottawa and many other communities are at a turning point to face climate change with new and effective solutions. How can this be done exactly? Here are three steps that present how the University Ottawa should protect land and biodiversity: Reduce Consumption- As society...

A very interesting workshop organized by members of the Learning Garden took place on campus last Monday night : Wanted alive!  Appreciating and recognizing insects in the garden. First, I must confess: in everyday life, I simply abhor insects and bugs of all kinds. It's not very original, but spiders are really my worst nightmare. But hey, I still spent my evening in a workshop on insects and, what's even more amazing is that I really enjoyed it! The animator, Keith MacCallum, volunteer at the Learning Garden and 4th year student in biology at the University of Ottawa, first introduced us to various insects’ categories. We then went hunting in the gardens of the University! Here’s a little rundown of what I learned Monday: Nnative North American bees don’t produce honey at all and don’t even live in huge colonies. There's even one in the community gardens that made a hive for herself only!  The mystery of the wasp waist was also resolved last week: it allows the w...

It’s Canadian Environment Week, and here at the Office of Sustainable Development  we thought it was important to address the issue of biodiversity in the Ottawa area. Today, we are meeting Rosana, a uOttawa student who is currently doing her Master’s in biology. She explains to us why a great deal of her studies presently is ... chasing butterflies! Office of Campus Sustainability : What is your Master’s about ? Rosana : I’m looking at the response of butterflies to the interacting effect of climate change and habitat fragmentation. I want to see how the interaction of these two forces causes changes in butterfly species richness and distribution over time. I also want to predict the future, and determine extinction rates as a result of the combined effects of these two forces. OFC : How do you catch the butterflies you’re using for your research ? Rosana : We go to predetermined study sites around Ottawa. If we see a butterfly, we catch it with a net. We have a fiel...

Photo cresdit: Jonathan Rausseo I am going to fold big concepts together here so please bare with me. Concept #1 - Living Laboratory I've talked about this before but a little refresher is in order. The Living Laboratory is a concept that places the University campus at the center of unique learning experiences. These learning experiences typically happen outside of the classroom and can be structured or unstructured. Concept#2 - Biodiversity zone A Biodiversity zone is at it's heart an area with a higher variation the the number of organisms. Simply put, more living things in a given space. So if I take these two concepts and bring them together then what we get is the Biodiversity Garden for the University of Ottawa. The concept of this project would be to create a small garden on campus with a disproportionately high amount of biodiversity. This would create a space that would not only increase the number of species on campus, it would also create a space where students in t...