Photo credit: Merissa Mueller Summer is drawing to a close and as the hours on my banking excel sheet dwindle, it seems like a good idea to summarize the projects I have worked on this summer. After all, for all you know I have been sitting at this desk watching The Mentalist and Lie to Me, twiddling my thumbs (which I did do, for a week actually- more on that later). I began my summer with data crunching. I sat in front of my computer staring at piles of data that was gathered by Eric Crighton’s first year Global Environmental Challenges class and compiling it into more useful information with the aid of pivot tables. The finished product was produced by Jon because of his talent with infographics. I also spent some of my time reviewing last year’s surveys and fixing them up to be more geographically correct (thank you, methods courses) for Crighton’s next year class. On campus we have a board entitled the “ SUDCOM ” or Sustainable Development Committee that oversees various...

Photo credit: zazzle.com Or at least that’s what I read on a t-shirt the other day. I thought the slogan was clever at first, but then I, an environmentally conscious individual, had a much more cynical second thought – Wait a second! Being ‘green’ is not a trend or a fashion statement. Sustainability is not a fad. And it saddened me that making sustainable choices in one’s life (i.e. being ‘green’) would have to be marketed in such a cliché way in order to make it sexy and appealing. Sigh... Have you seen the globe? Is it not sexy and attractive enough on its own? With all the hues of blues in both the skies and the waters, and the yellows of the sun beaming through the urban and rural lands; is the place you live not worth your effort and attention already? Sustainability - what does the word even mean? A buzzword in itself, sustainability is interconnected to concepts such as economy, environment, climate change, consumption, consumerism, ecology, global warming, social justic...

Photo credit: the web You know that feeling you get when you look around you and you see that everyone else seems to have much newer stuff than you? Sometimes it's new shoes or a new t-shirt or a new smart phone. I have kind of been getting that feeling lately, and not just because I have a cell phone that is big enough to stop a bullet. It just seems that things are getting newer so much faster... it is hard to keep up. I say this because it was time for us to retire an old friend of ours - our old website. Our first website was launched in 2008. It was designed to be an information repository for the campus about all things sustainable. The site was jam packed with almost 100 individual webpages and countless links to other sites and green info. But in 2010 the University of Ottawa decided that it was going to move in the direction of creating a new 960 template (this refers to the width of the website). Most older sites use 780 pixels for their width of their site but wit...

Photo credit: unknown Vegetarian Restaurants in and around Ottawa / Restaurants végétariens de la région de la capitale nationale 5. Perfection-Satisfaction-Promise (PSP) is practically located right on campus. Rare are such calming spaces as the one offered at PSP during the day. You will always be greeted with a smile and serenity even in the peaks of lunch hour. The menu is simple and filling. The lentil soup and mango lassies are delicious! 4. La Belle Verte ne reçoit que de bons compliments, en particulier pour ses desserts. C’est un restaurant végétalien cru. Ce restaurant offre aussi une cure de désintoxication de 5 jours pour ceux qui souhaite rafraîchir leur système. 3. Green Earth offers a wide selection of vegetarian and vegan food on its menu. Prices are very reasonable and we are told everything is quite tasty. 2. The Table vous présente un énorme buffet frais duquel vous vous servez à même les plats après quoi votre assiette est pesée pour déterminer le pri...

Photo credit: http://etap.com/gis-map/gis-map.htm Recently our department had a progress meeting to get an idea of how our summer projects are coming along. It was great to share with my coworkers all the things I have been doing, since sometimes we’re very discrete and have no clue what the person next to us has been assigned. I was happy to report that most of my projects were nearing to an end, waiting for translation or for various responses from different people on campus. However, I realized that a massive chunk (I doubt you could even call it a “chunk” because it is so huge) of what I have done this summer was not even asked of me back in May. Yes, I am talking about mapping. If you don’t recall from way back in January when I started working here, I am in Geography and Environmental Studies here at the University of Ottawa. This Geography stuff includes the use of Geographic Information Systems software such as ArcMap 10. In plain English, I map things digitally because answer...

Photo credit: Jonathan Rausseo A week ago we launched our new plastics recycling program . A revolutionary program (hyperbole) that will have a major impact on the University of Ottawa's waste diversion rate (not a hyperbole). If you haven't noticed, just about every recycling counter on campus not has that memorable yellow sign that just screams... "fill me with unusual types of plastic !" In case you haven't heard about this program, Brigitte Morin (our trusted waste diversion coordinator) has found a company that will recycle the plastic locally (to make . The only catch is the we have to collect all the plastic ourselves, stuff it in a truck, and of course make sure that none of the plastic is very dirty. Well, today was the day that we filled our first truck with plastic to send off for local recycling. Now before you freak out and say, "holy crap, you filled a truck in one week!", I need to tell you that we actually unofficially launched the progra...

Photo credit: Jonathan Rausseo Have you ever been involved in planning an event? Make that a large event and on campus. The amount of effort that goes into it is amazing, especially if the planners are trying to be “green”. Early this year, I attended the Sustainable Business Conference and although I was not around for the planning of the event, I was able to see the results of what I imagine to be many sleepless nights- all sacrificed in the name of being “green”. From the choice of food served at events to the selection of speakers, every decision made while planning an event has some sort of environmental consequence. It may be the decision to order from local caterers that are committed to local and organic produce or to hold teleconferences rather than have speakers travel far distances. Planning an event is stressful enough without contemplating the environmental consequences of every little decision, so I’m working on a “Green Guide” that will hopefully make this easier for pla...

Photo Credit: Jonathan Rausseo As Jon has already pointed out, we are on the final stretch of the STARS project. I know so much about STARS that it is slowly seeping out of my ears. In hopes of minimizing the seeping, I plug my earphones in, make myself a nice playlist on Grooveshark (Kat's STARS playlist) and plough through all the credits. And we are being quite efficient, if I may say so myself. En route, nous avons rencontré plusieurs pépins : personnes ressources en vacances, courriels et suivis oubliés/ignorés/brulés/disparus de façon suspecte, rendez-vous annulés, pages web contenant des infos datant de l’âge des hommes des cavernes. Malgré tout, nous nous sommes débrouillés à coups de téléphone, surtout. C’est solide, un téléphone! Mais aussi à l’aide de connaissances et de recherches ardues. The worst part was surprisingly not the slow if not absent feedback. It was often the fact that nobody seems to know what the heck STARS is. I understand, it’s an avant-garde thing f...

This list was taken from a 2006 article featured in the Guardian.UK Photo Credit: come on, this image is like everywhere 5. James Lovelock (1919-), Biologist Best known for his Gaia theory, which says the Earth's biosphere works as a single living organism, able to manipulate the climate and chemistry of the atmosphere and the oceans to keep them fit for life. The idea was hugely influential among fellow scientists and environmentalists, and religious and spiritual thinkers. An ex-Nasa scientist, his work on the Viking Mars missions sparked an interest in the way planets function. 4. David Attenborough (1926-), TV naturalist The voice of wildlife, conservation and all things that wriggle, fly and roam across planet Earth, Sir David is still going strong. His programs have brought the natural world into the living rooms of millions over 50 years and his contribution to public awareness of natural science brought him a fellowship of the Royal Society. 3. Jonathon Porritt (1950-), G...

So I have spent this last week working with Katherine on our STARS survey. We are in the home stretch with only a couple of more days left before we report and things are getting tense. I mean in reality I can't take any credit at all for the work done to date, it has all been Katherine's doing... but I still can't help but feel a small tinge of excitement. Now I can't speak to how well we are going to do on the survey. Frankly, I would be happy just to cross the line at this point. But doing this STARS thing has really given us a good look at all the things we could be doing on this campus to make ourselves greener and more equitable. Take our course offerings for example. The STARS survey accords points to institutions that have sustainability related courses, undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees, and special programs. Points are even offered if your institution provides incentives to do research in sustainability. I think we still have a long way to go...

Photo credit: Embracing Bevin There’s something lurking in the Community Garden at uOttawa; a ferocious beast of the sort that haunts my nightmares (which could be due to my deep seeded fears of creepy crawlers but that’s beyond the point). Meet Mr. Cucumber Beetle, adorned in green and black stripes with a monstrous appetite for cucumber (obviously), squash, zucchini, beans and pumpkins. Mr. Cucumber Beetle has taken it upon himself and his minions (larvae) to devour all of Brigitte’s zucchini. Brigitte has slaved over her garden all season in all weather (most notably the recent 47 degree-heat-stroke-inducing-deathly weather) in hopes that she would be awarded with delicious veggies. So, when the day came that she noticed her zucchini was being munched on she was distraught and closely inspected her plot, noticing Mr. Cucumber Beetle. Being a lovely and environmentally conscious person, Brigitte attempted to remove the beetles using natural alternatives to pesticides including a home...

Photo credit: http://www.armengames.webs.com 5. Treasure hunting on garbage day. Go for a late night walk through fancy neighborhoods and see what you can find! Chase au trésor le soir des poubelles. Promenez-vous dans les quartiers chis de la ville et voyez ce que vous pouvez y trouver! 4. Kayak or canoe the Rideau Canal from the docks at Dow’s Lake where you can rent them. Check out the duck pond while you are on the water. It’s quite a sight. Allez en kayak ou en canot sur le canal Rideau à partir des quais du lac Dow. Si vous avez la chance, passez par le petit étang des canards. 3. Go on a Bike ride on the Trans-canadian along the Ottawa River or try its sister trail in Gatineau. Why not stop for a picnic by the rapids on Bate Island while you’re at it? Faites une promenade en vélo sur la transcanadienne d’un côté ou de l’autre de la rivière des Outaouais. Tant que vous y êtes, pourquoi ne pas faire un pique-nique sur l’île Bate près des rapides? 2. Board a random bus and go on a...

Photo credit: Jonathan Rausseo There is an old hipster adage, "if you want to sell something, put a bird on it". The idea being that hipsters love birds and so if you put a bird on it, they will buy it in droves. I kind of think that this is what OC Transpo had in mind with their new "hipster purple" bus tickets. Seriously though, last year it could be argued that the U-pass saved transit for the City of Ottawa. Ridership was down after the strike and a fresh injection of the "youthful" variety has really helped out. Carleton University turned out to be the big winner with a huge increase in ridership. Anyways, when the U-pass was brought back to council this year for renewal, there was a resounding yes from the transit committee and the program was re-implemented at the same price of $145 per semester (this is not at anyone's expense, this is simply because the program is revenue neutral so the addition of thousands of more students to both institutio...

Photo Credit: Jonathan Rausseo As a child, this message was ingrained in my brain from the time I was able to understand what a blue box was for and to this day it has been repeated over and over, especially since I began my job here at the Sustainability Office on Campus. However, it has taken on a different meaning than when I was a child because I am no longer focused on which bin should my juice carton go in, in fact, I am not focused as much on recycling at all. It started way back during Recycle Mania when our Waste Diversion Coordinator decided to go waste free for the entirety of the competition. This brought up some important messages from previous courses including “life cycle analysis” which focuses on the environmental impact from the creation to the disposal of a product. Brigitte was concerned about the end point of her products, where her waste would go and how she could REDUCE her impact. After trying waste free for a week and picking up the book “No Impact Man” by Coli...

Photo credit: uOttawa After spending a week in bed recovering from a nasty kidney infection (watching bad Ashton Kutcher movies, reading and sleeping) I am back at work! Of course, drinking enough water to become PRS’ very own Niagara Falls and begging for kidney rubs from my chair (a lazy boy would certainly optimise productivity). Anyhow, once at my desk, comfortably seated with water, the first step was answering a gazillion emails and step 2 was scheduling meetings to get this STARS business done with! Now, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love meeting new people and learning awesome facts about the university campus. But I’m still on the road of recovery here; I walk as fast as a turtle and the highlight of my day is going back to bed. Last Friday, I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Zlotorzynski, a very friendly Environmental Health & Safety Officer in Gendron. As I came into his office, I shot out a joyful “Good morning Mr. Zloto….sky… ANDREW”. Fun fact is that the only oth...