Canada Invertebrate Expo: 脡dition Montr茅al 2024 will be a celebration of biodiversity, hosted by Dawson鈥檚 Living Campus on Saturday, Nov. 16 from 10 AM to 5 PM. There will be 35 interactive exhibitors and vendors.
The organizer is Daniel Zimmerman, a graduate of Dawson who is donating a portion of ticket sales to the 星空传媒视频 Living Campus fund.
Visit the link to buy a ticket. There is a reduced admission price for Dawson students.
Dawson's vermicomposting project is featured in a new report by Colleges & Institutes Canada (CICan).
The worms at work at Dawson are very busy transforming cafeteria food and campus landscape waste into rich organic soil. The project is already reducing the College's carbon footprint and still has untapped potential.
Read CICan's Campus Living Labs Report, which is found in the blog in the link. Dawson's project is featured on page 17 of the pdf or page 14 of the print version.
Food Justice is a core tenet of well-being-for-all. This is why the Office of Sustainability, the Peace Centre, Student Services, and the Dawson Student Union (DSU) have teamed up this year to expand free and healthy accessible meals to our community up to four days a week. Since Sept. 9, the Dawson Community can grab…
In what is becoming an annual tradition for the Indigenous community at Dawson, students participated in the First Peoples鈥� Centre moose harvest activity on campus Oct. 24. Organized by Cree student Angela Ottereyes (student in Law, Society & Justice) with guidance from Elders and Knowledge Keepers, students got to reconnect with their traditions and help butcher the moose delivered by hunters from Listuguj Mi鈥檊maq community.
鈹�Submitted by Geoff Kloos
Did you know we have two honey beehives on Dawson's rooftop?
The Office of Sustainability recently led a honey extraction workshop with Brian Mader's Biology of Sustainability course and next week employees are invited to harvest their own honey.
Approximately 30 biology students came last week. They had to get their hands dirty, or should I say their fingers sticky, and help extract honey from our bee frames located in the 4H rooftop hives.
Our bees are still young, but still produced a lot of honey thanks to our many pollinating聽flower gardens on campus, which are all maintained by our very own Sustainabili-team student and employee volunteers.
We will be offering a honey extraction workshop to employees on Wednesday, October 30 from 11 AM to 12 PM in the Rose Lounge (7C.5) This can be a great use of well-being hours for employees! The fun-filled hour will include uncapping honeycomb cells, hand-spinning honeycombs in the centrifugal extractor, and filtering the raw honey before jarring and labelling it.
All employees will leave with a little sample jar of Dawson's honey. To sign up, please fill out this .
Space is limited. The Office of Sustainability will send you a confirmation email.
鈹�Submitted by Jennifer de Vera
The Dawson community has now reached the goal of identifying 1,000 species on our downtown Montreal urban campus!
One of the species identified was the Red-Shouldered Hawk, photographed by Doug Smyth (Faculty, Physical Education).
Students, graduates, faculty and staff gained so much from the project.
Dawson Environmental Science graduate Ruisi Yang said: "This project boosted my confidence in the potential of making urban environments more sustainable and friendly to both people and the local biodiversity."
Current Dawson student Graham Alain said: "This project made me realize how many species could truly make use of such a small area. I would've initially guessed that fewer than 200 species would've inhabited the campus...This project will hopefully have an impact on how I treat my local environment, such as my lawn and back yard. I'm rethinking how important these places are..."
Teacher Adamo Petosa said: "We are surrounded by something extraordinary. We simply have to take the time to explore. Taking part in this project was akin to finding the key to "a secret garden", waiting to share its secrets. We are not alone on campus. Rather, we are less than one in a thousand.
"The 1000 species project gives hope. In the midst of concrete and traffic, exhaust and bustle, a tiny campus besieged by a battalion of buildings manages to sustain life at a scale I could have never fathomed. Over 1,000 species here, within this tiny oasis - living, growing and thriving. I'm also incredibly grateful to those who made such a campus possible and to those who ensure its upkeep."
More to come on the impact of this extraordinary project that has inspired Dawson and many outside of Dawson to connect to Nature.
Possibly Dawson鈥檚 first ever Bat Walk took place on Sept. 5, which led to a few more species being added to the 1,000 Species in 1,000 Days goal. The FUNmtl team, which led the activity, brought speakers that pick up the frequency of bat calls and can identify the species. Around 25 people came, including people from the external community and students. We were able to identify four species, the silver-haired bat, hoary bat, eastern red bat and big brown bat! A very exciting night for our biodiversity count! 聽The picture shows the speaker attached to an iPad so that we could see the bat calls and know when to look up to see them.
鈹�Submitted by Narcisse Waiel Hassan of the Office of Sustainability 聽
Facilitators Azra Khan and Jenn de Vera led another group of support staff and professionals in the Sustainable Happiness non-credit course. Congrats to our new SH grads of Winter 2024!
In the photo from left to right, here are the grads and their final projects:
Facilitator Holly McIntyre led a group of faculty members through the Sustainable Happiness non-credit course pioneered at Dawson. Congrats to our first SH faculty grads!
In the photo from left to right, here are the Winter 2024 SH grads along with their projects:
There will be a meeting with those who have shown interest in joining Dawson's Active Alternative Transportation Working group (AATWG). 鈥淲e plan to meet with the group to discuss future bike workshops, helping people find the best route to and from Dawson. Whether it is a biking or walking route, we want to encourage people to live healthier lives by spending more time outdoors instead of sitting in a car, bus, metro or train to get to work or school,鈥� said Jennifer de Vera (Office of Sustainability).
Don't forget to take advantage of the to all Dawson community and friends. Use discount code BIXI2024DAWSON . The deadline is May 31, 2024!
In addition, the Office of Sustainability was able to form a partnership with local bike shop , just a five-minute bike ride from Dawson. Simply present your student or employee I.D. and you will receive 15% off on all accessories. (Discount not applicable to bikes or labour)
If anyone has any bike related questions, feel free to contact Adam akingsland@dawsoncollege.qc.ca
Last Modified: November 7, 2024
