Hey! What do you do with your cardboard toilet paper roll when you are done with them? Toss them out? Recycle them? Transform them into recycled artwork? Well if you wouldn't mind, we would like you to collect them and bring then to us. This year the Office of Campus Sustainability is looking to create some new programs that we hope will get people involved in changing the story about sustainability. The pandemic has been a very strange time for everyone trying to create engaging activities on campus. Reimagining events so that people comply with COVID regulations isn't as easy as one might think. Our office has struggled to figure out how to make our events "worth" the in-person experience. But this year we are going to work harder to find activities that let people get involved in making a more sustainable campus while learning about living a more sustainable lifestyle. So we are asking people on campus to collect their cardboard toilet paper tubes and bring them to...

Hey, so I think we need to talk. I guess you could sort of say that I’m asking you for a favour... Anyway, here it goes: The Office of Campus Sustainability is holding a couple of public consultations soon and you should definitely be involved. Okay I get it, but before you say no, hear me out. This year we’ve been running around, pumping out ideas. It’s a lot of work. Lately, we’ve been trying to get some attention from the uOttawa community. The office I am working with has been thinking about ways to get you to notice us and to make you happy because it really means a lot to us. Yes, we understand that Green Spaces are great but hey, we have a bunch of other issues as well that we want to put our efforts towards. Soooo, we started developing a sustainability plan as part of the new campus sustainability policy. Now, "what even is a Sustainability plan" you ask? Good question! We want uOttawa's sustainability plan to outline who we are, what our mission i...

In her cozy office tucked away on the third floor of the University Centre, Maryann Moffitt is working on a project that could help significantly reduce waste on campus and nourish people in the community. Maryann is a dietitian at Food Services , the group on campus responsible for the managing uOttawa's food service contract. But since she arrived on campus just a few short years ago, she has also worn the hat of sustainability practitioner, a role that that  Chartwells added to the University's food service contract. But don't think for one moment that she has taken this adopted role lightly. Since the beginning, it has been a baptism by fire. Maryann has successfully worked on the uOttawa Fair Trade Campus designation, helped Food Services earn a certification from the Green Restaurant Association , and now she has helped create a process to help donate unpurchased food to local community organizations. Donating food is not as easy as one might think. The foo...

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to participate in the IMPACT! Youth Sustainability Leadership Conference . The conference aims to help young leaders "take their next strategic step for action: to deepen their sustainability understanding, build their leadership skills, and develop or advance projects and initiatives for meaningful change." The conference demonstrated that there are no sustainable actions too big or too small: all are worthy, all are rad and all are important. Moreover, in addition to eating some delicious vegan food and meeting some other sustainably-minded individuals in the community, I got to share my zero waste journey with others. But perhaps most importantly, I learned about some other community-orientated sustainable initiatives and social entrepreneurship actions spearheaded by some very cool folks all over the city. From ethical energy to ethical brunch, here are some sustainable actions percolating across the 613, and perhaps how you ...

There aren't very many times in anyone's academic life that they will have the opportunity to make sweeping changes to the make-up of their campus. How often have you had the opportunity to say where there should be more gardens, if a street should be lined with trees or not, or even where cars should and shouldn't be allowed to go? On March 10 and 11th, the campus community at the University of Ottawa will have that chance! Facilities Service at the University is on the verge of completing the latest iteration of the campus master plan. For those of you that aren't familiar with what that means, a master plan is a planning document that indicates what development the University would like to undertake in the near future. Urban Strategies Inc , a design firm operating in Toronto, has helped create a new development strategy for uOttawa. This plan was created in consultation with many groups and individuals from around the campus community. They are currently in ...

If you’re anything like me, coffee is not just one of life’s little pleasures, it’s also a lifestyle. That sweet smell in the morning makes my mind go into a frenzy and when it’s time for that first sip I can’t help but feel as though everything is right in the world. But then when reason seeps its way back into my brain I am reminded that even something as perfect as my morning cup of coffee can sometimes come at a cost. Now I am a student so admittedly, I am always looking for a way to cut costs and until recently, not knowing what Fair Trade meant fed right into my disinterest in paying more for what appeared to be the same product. I loosely understood Fair Trade = Good, social benefits, better working conditions, all things I had heard but somehow my consumption behaviour was still not affected. While on a recent trip I was fortunate enough to tour a coffee plantation. This experience put me face to face with the costs associated with coffee which previously slipped my min...

For a couple of years now I have been trying to get the community behind the idea of creating an environmental charter of rights for the University of Ottawa community. And sure, what could be more boring then a legal framework premised completely on soft laws? But I urge you to take a moment to think about what this kind of thing could mean for a campus... and maybe even a city. So what is an environmental charter of rights? I am glad you asked. A charter is basically a testament to the rights that are granted to a group of individuals. It sometimes outlines rules and regulations that are meant to be followed and respected. When we talk about an environmental charter of rights we are basically talking about the rights individuals have to environmental services. Think clean air and drinking water. A few years ago I approached an environmental law course with the task of creating an environmental charter for the uOttawa campus. The result was two amazing reports that approached ...

Welcome to the University of Ottawa. You can't imagine how happy we are to have you with us here on campus. I think you will really like what we have here to offer you, but secretly we are just as excited about what you are going to give us. It is hard for me to sum up the campus in just a few words so you are going to have to bare with me. This is a wonderful place to learn and grow. The people are friendly, the greenery is deep, and the buildings echo with  history. The people here are very proud and very vocal. The community is a mix of French and English Canadians, with a dash of international students from all around. So don't be surprised if you hear the songs of peoples from around the globe as they whiz past you. Here you will find knowledge and a community willing to discuss it. And as the years go by, as you grow taller and as you grow wiser. You will come to know the cycles of the campus. You will see rambunctious youth crowd onto the streets and sing s...