Ce ne sont pas des ordures!

Photo credit: Jonathan Rausseo

   

Pour ceux qui n’ont pas encore remarqué, la cafétéria du centre universitaire a maintenant une nouvelle station de recyclage pour les matières résiduelles comportant, composte, tous les plastiques, métal et verre et papier mixte. À première vue, ces quatre divisions semblent assez simples pour le tri des déchets, mais les choses se compliquent quand ont voient que beaucoup de produits vendu par la cafeteria sont servis dans des contenant composés de composés et souvent recouverts d’autres composés… Bref, c’est mêlant et on ne sait pas où mettre tout ça. Solution facile adoptée par certains, la simple et conventionnelle poubelle.

Après avoir remarqué que la pluparts des étudiants n’utilisaient pas la station correctement, soit par paresse ou par inadvertance, nous nous sommes dit, bin pourquoi pas les aider. Alors, vêtus de nos suit blanc, nous sommes partis remédier au problème en aidant les gens avec leurs déchets.  La pluparts étaient réceptifs et même enchanté du temps pris pour les informer sur cette nouvelle installation.

Pis y’avait les autres… adhérent au « ouin mais est ou la poubelle normale? »,  disposant d’un horaire trop chargé pour prendre dix seconde dans leur journée et trier leurs déchets. En d’autres mots, ceux qui s’en caliss…Non mais sérieusement, avoir la chance d’être dans une université ouverte et impliqué dans le développement durable en voyant les initiatives écologiques prisent comme une perte de temps, c’est pitoyable. La participation, il me semble, se doit d’être un motif pour l’instauration de nouvelles politiques environnementale, pas un bourbier bloquant toutes démarches d’avancement.  

Énormément de temps et d’argent ont été investis pour donner une chance aux habitudes individuelles et sociétales concernant l’environnement  d’aller de l’avant. L’université fait sa part en nous donnant l’opportunité d’utiliser un système de gestion des déchets qui recycle quasiment tout. Notre part du contrat est assez simple, l’utiliser et d’apprendre comment le faire correctement. Bien entendu, cela demande du temps et de la coopération ce qui est bien peu demander pour changer les choses. Ceci a été compris par la majorité des employer et étudiants, mais pas la totalité. Suffit simplement d’aider l’université à aider la planète.

-keven

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com 

You like recycling? How Do You Like Dems RECYCLING?

Photo credit: Marie Yassa

The day has finally arrived. The mother of all recycling counters is now up and fully operational in the UCU Cafeteria. And if things work out the way they are supposed to, this could be a game changer for recycling on campus.

So let me give you a little insight as to how things used to be. The cafeteria use to house about 8 small recycling counters that were scattered around the space. There have been problems for years with contamination, and this was further compounded by the fact that the cafeteria is likely the single largest source of waste production on campus.

So what have we done to change the situation and make it better?

1. All the bins are now centralized into one location with a MEGA counter. This helps concentrate our resources, requires fewer materials (bins), makes it easier for staff to clean up, and liberates more space in the caf.
2. The counter has much larger bins that take more waste. This means that there will be less overflow.
3. The system is more comprehensive and includes organics and plastics recycling.
4. The counter has a detailed signage system that indicates to everyone what can and can't be recycled.
5. The system is now in line with the rest of the campus (including colours, pictures, and look). And just like all the other recycling counters on campus, it is made out of FSC wood with non toxic adhesives.
6. Extra spaces have been added for trays, dishware, and cutlery.

For the next couple of weeks we will be monitoring the recycling counters to make sure that there are no problems and that students understand how the system works. And we have had some volunteers standing in front of the bin helping students sort through their waste.

The hope is that by next year the whole system will be common place and everyone will be sorting things properly. There are still going to be some challenges and we would appreciate your help to make the system better.

-jON

http://thesustainbilitree.blogspot.com

Biologique ou Locale? What's Better?

Photo credit: http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Aujourd’hui, un de nos participants Katimavik m’a posé une excellente question : ‘Qu’est-ce qui est mieux : de la nourriture biologique (organique) ou locale?’ Dans l’intérêt de ce blog, j’essaierai de donner une réponse hyper-courte et simple.

The use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers has a terrible impact on the environment, as well as the health of people working on the farm and of course people consuming the end product. Pesticides have a long list of negative health effects: the organophosphates and carbamates affect the nervous system, others can irritate the skin or eyes, some pesticides could be carcinogens, and others have been found to affect the hormone or endocrine system in the body. Pesticides can also harm local flora and fauna such as bees and birds. Moreover, chemical fertilizers usually make their way into local rivers and lakes, fertilizing blooms of algae that deplete oxygen and create a “dead zone” (no oxygen, no life).

Pour la nourriture organique; savez-vous d’où venez vos aliments organiques? Votre petite salade mélangée et ces pommes organiques; est-ce qu’ils voyagent des milliers de kilomètres du Mexique, de la Californie, ou même de la Chine? De plus, est-ce que ces aliments sont cultivés dans une ferme à opération intensive avec une monoculture d’Aragula? Les monocultures créent beaucoup de problèmes, tels qu’une mauvaise résistance aux pestes, des sols épuisés, une mauvaise résistance au changement, etc.

Still confused? Try making a trip to your local farmer’s market, and talk to the farmer’s about their operations. I always feel comforted knowing the source of my food; who grew it, how the person used his/her ressources, I know there was no ‘middle person’, making money, and I am helping the local economy. For the rest, I will suggest a couple of good reads and documentaries: The Omnivore’s Dilemma (Michael Pollan), Locavore (Sarah Elton), Keeping the Bees (Laurence Packer), Soil not Oil (Vandana Shiva); Food Inc (doc), The Future of Food (doc), Vanishing of the bees (doc), Queen of the sun (doc), Dirt! (doc), got any more to add to my list?

Pas encore certain de votre choix? Visitez un marché frais ou une ferme locale pour parler avec les fermiers. Je suis toujours réconfortée lorsque je connais la source de ma nourriture; qui l’a cultivé, comment il/elle l’a fait, qu’il n’y a pas de personne intermédiaire, et que je supporte notre économie locale. Pour le reste, je vais vous suggérer des livres et documentaires : Notre poison quotidien (Marie-Monique Robin), L’Agriculture soutenue par la communauté (Équiterre) Les Alimenteurs (doc), La reine malade (doc), en avez-vous d’autres?

-brige

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com

A Tree is NOT a F*#@king Post !!!!

A couple of days ago I left an interesting picture up on my Facebook page. You can check out the picture for yourself but it made me and countless others giggle hysterically. Of course that was minutes before I took a leisurely walk through the campus to go get something to eat...

Yeah, so what I found was this party poster blasted all over the campus. And to my utter dismay, someone had taken the time to douchingly tape these posters to the trees on campus. Yes, tape.... super thick packing tape. They went around the tree three times.

So this makes me think back to a conversation I had with our campus groundskeeper a couple of years ago. Benoit and I had a nice talk about how many trees die on campus because of the negligence of the people around us. Every year there are people that break branches off of trees to pretend that they are wands; or strip the leaves from the trees to keep as souvenirs; or even damage the bark of the trees to hang posters and banners.

Two years ago I even had a group of students create a tree user guide for the uOttawa campus - you know, simple stuff about how not to hurt nature. Some of the things they discovered about how people use trees on campus was astounding (remind me to get that up on our website).

I only want to profess this one simple message to all you would be poster maniacs out there... seriously, don't put posters on trees. We have posts to put them on and these posts are placed along high traffic corridors. People will see your message. Taping a poster to a tree risks not only damaging the tree, but it also gets people like me to call out bars (like Le Bop) to clean up their acts and stop risking our trees for their advertising needs!

-jON
http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com

Occupy uOttawa?

This post should have been put up last week but I guess I got lazy. So as the story goes, last week I ran into an old friend of mine who posed the simple question, "Should we have an occupy uOttawa protest on campus?" This got me thinking...

There are a lot of people much smarter than me out there right now to define what the OCCUPY movement is all about. Well this is my take.

In 2008, president Obama took office and there was so much optimism for this that he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize just based on HOPE. But as the years roll by many people have noticed that not much has changed and it doesn't seem likely that much will change in the near future. As each election passes, the candidates are somehow less and less appealing. In fact, Ontario's recent election drew was a record low turn out.

Unlike most people, I don't blame anyone for the low turn out. Some people will make the very real statement that, "there are people dying in other countries to have the opportunity to vote and you just squandering this gift!" And this is entirely true; but, what if you don't agree with any of the candidates that have presented? What if not one of them comes close to your expectations or values? Well my friend, in that case you have just come to the logical end of current democratic system. (sad face)

But.... something incredible happened this spring in the Middle East that should make you pause and think for a moment. Now I don't want you to mistake this following statement... I know that many people sacrificed their lives and endured many hardships so please don't think that I am being callous. But from the "western" point of view, countries were able to overthrow their dictators (some that have been in power for decades) simply being standing in the street and protesting and making their voices heard. What an incredible thing to behold; that people could completely change a system by joining together and occupying a space.

I think that you can see where I am going with this but there is something else that would like to add to the mix - the role of the corporation. In the last couple of years we have witnessed the demonization of corporations around the world; but, at the same time we have also witnessed their salvation.

I would like to call your attention to companies like Google, Apple, IBM, etc. These are large corporations that do have a bottom line the deal with. And yet they also have an ethos that somehow sets them apart from other companies. Google's motto is "don't be evil". Apple regularly sets up large e-waste drives to deal with all the junk floating around out there. IBM works with small NGO's to help them collect their data and better analyze it.

Now how is it that Google can work to help create better highway systems to save lives but local governments are busy deciding how they can cut the most amount of jobs while winning the most amount of votes? I think that people are inspired by the "apparent" selflessness of these groups and are demanding more from the system.

So to answer my friend, should there be an Occupy uOttawa campaign? The answer is simple, if you believe that your institution can do better and that it has a central role to play in making our lives better, then demand better. I believe that the university can rise to any occasion so long as you are willing to meet it half way. A better uOttawa starts with you and nobody gets anywhere without working together.

-jON
http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com

More about Occupy Ottawa

My phone? Which one?

photo credit: electrictreehouse.com

In the same idea as Extreme Couponing, an American reality show where people go completely insane, digging out coupon pamphlets out of recycling bins, collecting them in binders and then hitting the local grocery store for a 4 hour shopping adventure. They bring their children and spouse and come out of there with 6 shopping carts of random stuff (hand sanitizer, shampoo, tissue, canned goods, gatorade) and only pay about 40$. Yay for accessibility! But wait, there are still starving people out there. Oh…right! Hand sanitizer isn’t edible.

Now Verizon is offering phones for a penny IF you sign up for a two-year contract. Sorry folks, this offer only works in the United States. Again, yay for accessibility! But also nay for encouraging over-consumerism.  It’s nice to have the latest technology, check emails faster than the speed of light and to telepathically communicate with your gadgets. I may not be a technology crazed person, which would explain why I only got my smart phone when my T9 broke in half (I did try tape…). The problem lays in what do we do with the old cellphones?

We could use our old iphone as a remote control, a coaster and even a very expensive Frisbee. Or…..”recycle it”. Wondering about the quotation marks, eh? Well, Treehugger says the e-waste recycling centres are pretty much the worst place to be. All the nasty chemicals oozing out of the old ipads and tablets probably aren’t what unicorns drink to sparkle more. Sooo, here’s the downside of having cool cellphones: some are trying to survive by stripping all the precious metals off cellphones (gold, platinum and copper) in India and China, but end up dying of cancer rather than hunger.

Sources:

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/e-waste_recycling_threat.php

http://wireless.amazon.com/f/pennypincher?ref_=tsm_1_tw_s_atd_lsvjnv&tag=gmgamzn-20

-katherine

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com

Where on earth did my Veggie Chilli come from?

Photo credit: Jonathan Rausseo

While preparing dinner this Sunday October the 16^th, take a minute to think about where that food came from. Were any of your ingredients local? Fair-trade? Did it come from your freezer, ready to be nuked in the microwave? This Sunday is World Food Day, a day to recognize the intricacies of our global food production system and more importantly- your place within it.

It seems odd to contemplate where every last ingredient in your meal came from, how it was produced, who grew it, how long it was transported for, and what it cost you, but you should try it. Hell, try for even for half your meal’s worth of ingredients and you would be surprised. Thinking back to the last meal I prepared, vegetarian chilli, it seems impossible to recall off the top of my head where the ingredients were produced. I know that the tomatoes were from Canada, as were the beans…but where on earth was my fake beef, the spices, etc. made?

The intentions of World Food Day are fairly broad; according to their website it aims to promote awareness of our food production, global hunger issues, increasing the spread of technologies to developing countries and improve social conditions of workers. Okay, a lot to think about this Sunday but here is a short list of things to think about:

1. Where are the ingredients of your food produced? If not local, is this food able to be produced in your region or country? 
2. Have you ever been to where these ingredients were produced? How would you rate the quality of life in this area?
3. How much did you pay for your meal? Can someone living below the poverty line afford this meal?
4. Can you name three organizations within half an hour of your residence that offer food bank style options?
5. How often in the past year have you bought produce from local vendors?

Just a few things to mull over as you mow down this Sunday. Me? Lately I have been eating some delicious veggie chili from the Soup Truck on campus. Everything is local, even the cookies!

And remember-If you want to get to know about food security issues on campus, check out the Healthy Noon @ Agora event focused on food security coming up next week.

And of course if you must go trick or treating this year, go for “trick or eat” rather than “treat”!

-merissa

 http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com

http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/

Matinée caféinée

Photo credit: Jonathan Rausseo

Les sacs réutilisables se voient de plus en plus utilisés dans les supermarchés et dans les magasins de tout genre. Le problème des sacs de plastiques n’est pas totalement réglée mais, la population le comprend et commence à prendre les mesures en conséquence.

La prochaine étape ne serait-elle pas les tasses jetables vendues un peu partout. On peut déjà voir la tendance commencer à tourner en faveur des tasses réutilisables comme par exemple, certains kiosques réduisent le prix du café si l’on apporte sa propre tasse. Ou encore, à chaque lundi sur le campus, on offre du café équitable, chocolat chaud, et thé à quiconque apportant une tasse réutilisable.

Ce programme existe depuis quelques années et incite les gens à apporter leur propre tasse et à acheter des produits équitables. Cela me semble simple et intéressant mais, on peut voir tout le monde acheter un café Tim Horton ou whatever dans une tasse jetable quand le kiosque a café gratuit se trouve à seulement 10 mètres plus loin. Ou quand on se fait répondre « Ben voyons, j’me trainerai pas une tasse juste pour un café gratuit » on se rend compte que le problème reste inconnu et incompris par certains. J’en viens à me demander si d’attendre de tout le monde qu’ils apportent leurs tasses réutilisable partout où ils vont est vraiment réaliste. Peut-être pas partout, mais  si par exemple on conscientise le personnel et les étudiants de l’université à apporter une tasse réutilisable au bureau, le problème des 6500 tasses jetables utilisées chaque jour sur le campus pourrais être en partie réglé.

Apporter sa tasse au travail dans son bureau ne m’apparais pas très encombrant. Suffit d’y penser.

-keven

http://thesusainabilitree.blogspot.com

“45.4257, -75.6873”

Photo credit: http://www.newspapergrl.com

Someday I will be reclined in a psychologist’s lounge chair rhyming off coordinates and datums because I will have finally gone crazy from all the mapping projects I get myself into. Sigh, until then I have found myself a new task for maps on campus.

Foursquare: a tool that allows users to explore their surroundings and discover new places.
If you use Facebook, you may have noticed that you have a few friends that are constantly “checking-in” to random spots including restaurants, clubs, school buildings, etc. Personally, my phone is not legit enough to handle such applications but I can appreciate the GPS technology used by the program and apparently still get assigned the task of taking advantage of the sustainable capabilities of the service.

You may recall me ranting this summer about mapping sustainable transportation on campus and my upcoming accessibility mapping projects- this is a continuation of green mapping and involves plotting useful “tips” as they seem to be called in foursquare. These tips would include sustainable services on campus, water fountains, bus stops, etc. which would spread sustainable awareness.

In saying all of this, I am sort of a n00b when it comes to foursquare and frankly, this “badge” and “superuser” stuff has got me a tad confused but here’s to hoping I can sort through it and get some of this info out there that students, staff and visitors can access on campus.

The Office of Campus Sustainability on FourSquare

-merissa

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com

Accessibility.... have I got a story for you!

 Photo credit: Jonathan Rausseo

Want to try a social experiment that will only take a moment but that could have a major impact on how you experience the campus? Cool, okay.... here we go. Close your eyes and try to walk around the campus.

It is not as easy as you might think. You will likely fumble around a little bit. You will likely take very cautious steps. And you might even freak out a little when you get to an actual intersection with cars that could hit you. Of course this is an experiment to make you realize how difficult it is for someone with visual impairments to navigate the campus. But if you really want to make it fair, you should go to a part of the City you have never been to and try out this little experiment. Because, actually, you already know the campus and have constructed a visual map in your mind of where everything is...

By the way, don't actually try this experiment unless you are with someone. I don't want anyone to get hurt.

No less than 3 times in the last month I have had meetings with campus community members about accessibility issues on campus. There are a tonne of things to deal with.... everything from the height of service counters (someone in a wheelchair might not find it so cool when the counter is like 2 feet above their heads) to automatic doors opening in the wrong direction (no cool if you are blind and a door smacks you in the face).

One conversation that struck me was  with Yolaine Ruel (Senior Policy Officer for Accessibility and Diversity for the University of Ottawa). Yolaine mentioned how much it annoyed her that individuals would block the path of a visually impaired person on campus with an obstruction. Not on purpose of course but there are a lot of things that can block you from getting to where you want to go (sandwich boards announcing food specials, service trucks emptying garbage bins, a table to announce a new program...).

Don't think this a big problem? Let's go back to our little experiment. You are walking down a path that you think you know pretty well (eyes closed). All of a sudden you bump into something... something big. You feel around... it seems like it's a table. A table? What is a table doing here.... wait a minute, am I actually where I think I am? Okay, I guess I will go around it. Whoops, okay I just stepped off the curbed... and into a puddle... great. Take a couple of steps... is this a car i am walking into?

Take a look at the picture above. Nice eh? Luckily this time the truck is actually parked in a way that if you were in a wheel chair, there is a curb you can navigate... that's not always the case though. And if you had a visual impairment... what the hell? Odds are you will  be feeling around to see how big the truck is and your reward is that you will likely hit all the pylons with your cane... maybe you'll trip over them.

So, does a truck even have the right to be here?

Yolaine has a pretty elegant solution for things like this... create a path around the campus where no one has the right to block the route. Actually, Yoloaine and the great crew over at the Centre for Students with Disabilities have a lot of cool ideas. You should visit them and get informed... and if you see an accessibility issue that you want something done about, send us an email.

-jon

http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com

 

The Singing Wall

Video credit: Jonathan Rausseo

A couple of times a year the Office of Campus Sustainability gives sustainability tours of the campus. We give tours to student groups and to administrative groups. We give tours to prospective students and delegates. We give tours to friends and we give tours to strangers. I have even giving tours to an MPP and to foreign students.

The tours are pretty standard. We show people some of the good things about the campus and we mix in a healthy does of the bad as well. It mean we can't be perfect right? And if we were perfect than I wouldn't have a job would I? 

Now where was I? Oh yes... we talk about some of the cool green technology on campus and some of the great social programs that are hosted on campus. We usually take a tour around the green roof and of course no tour would be complete without a look at the worm compost!

But the one thing I love talking about during our tours are the really cool micro features. Maybe I should elaborate with an example. If you walk just in front of the Perez building you will see the little semi circular stage made out of concrete. If you stand in just the right place you can create a small pocket of constructive harmonic resonance; basically your voice becomes amplified by the arrangement of the concrete. I always love the faces of the people I am touring around when they say something and are instantly taken aback by the magnification of their voice.

It is exactly those special magical spaces that I think make this place more than just a group of buildings with people in them... these spaces are what make a campus.

You see, some of the spaces on campus are temporal in nature, meaning they only last for a couple of days every year before they disappear (for example, the family of ducks that live on campus for a week or two in the Spring). And, if you watch the video above you will see my most favourite space on campus. It is called the SINGING WALL. 

Every year on the wall just beside the community garden behind the University Centre, hundreds of birds get together and have a signing party. They nest inside the vines that grow on the wall looking for a warm place to hang out as the cold fall weather advances. Yesterday I went and took a video of the Signing Wall. There were at least 80 to 100 birds chirping away. 

I love this space because of how fleeting it is. The birds will be gone in just a couple of days. The leaves on the vines will fall as the winter approaches. And I will have to wait another year before I can sit and listen to the orchestra of nature.

-jON
http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.cdom

Sew Little Time

Photo credit: art.com

So it seems that with the passing of generations we have lost something special... the ability to sew. The reason why I am bring thins up right now is two fold. First, my grandmother just handed down to me her mother's sewing machine. I am really excited about this because it means that I now have something in my possession that has been in my family for 4 generations. The machine is a turn of the century Singer and is peddle powered (enviro swoon). My biggest regret is that I don't actually have a picture of it to put into this post, but I will get one.

The second reason for this topic is the recent addition of EcoEquitable to the Free Store line-up. This past week the ladies of EcoEquitable were working furiously to alter clothing at the Free Store. I was really happy to see this for a couple of reasons.

Of course it makes sense to repair and alter clothing. Back in the day, even before my time, clothing was super expensive. The thought of replacing torn pants with new ones was unthinkable. Nobody had that kind of money and quite frankly I am surprised that people still do have that kind of money. Repairing dress pants costs under $10, you would be hard pressed to get a better deal than that for new pants.

Next, altering clothing gives you more flexibility. Pants are too long, shorten them. Gain the freshmen fifteen, have your shirt or pants taken out a little. Want to add a patch or two, you got it! Altering clothing kind of gives you the best of both worlds. You have some clothing that you like and that you have potentially broken it in already. Or you like the look but it doesn't fit anymore. Altering can give you the best of both worlds.

And don't forget the environment. You may not know it but it takes over a thousand gallons of water to make one pair of jeans (from the growing of the cotton to the dying of the fabric). And if you think about it, our landfills aren't getting any emptier. Repairing clothing and increasing its useful life will keep it from the landfill.

Anyways, you owe it to yourself to give EcoEquitable a chance at the next Free Store. For a couple of bucks I think you will be extremely pleased with the results, and your wallet will thank you in the long run.

-jON
http://thesustainabilitree.blogspot.com