Join the Zero Waste Cafe for a VERY special Thursday program after the Early Bird Breakfast, on Nov. 14 from 12:30 PM - 2:30 PM - Cooking with Jamal.
Learn to cook delicious vegan cuisine under our beloved Dawson Dinin鈥� head chef Jamal Spence! Students and employees are welcome to join us.
Register here for your spot to Cook with Jamal:
Should you require any accommodations to participate, please email Diana Rice, Office of Sustainability.
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.
As part of the College鈥檚 Well-Being for All initiative, the Sustainability department offered a Honey Extraction workshop Oct. 30. The initiative has been set up to allow employees to have a break from their work routine, to promote inclusivity, to build a sense of community, and to improve collaboration between employees as well as promoting learning and growth. Keeping in mind those goals, the Honey Extraction workshop really fit the bill.
Led by Jennifer De Vera, the workshop was chock full of interesting information and hands-on experience. The 12 employees in attendance learned about the life cycle of bees, jobs they do such as nurses, builders, cleaners, etc., and how honey is made and how it can be extracted. Besides all the interesting information Jennifer gave us, she also invited us to extract honey from the honeycombs. We uncapped a couple of frames then learned that the honey is extracted using a machine that uses centrifugal force. A few gave that honey a spin then a couple of people scraped the honey to the bottom, and we poured it into small jars. Each participant was able to take home one jar of honey.
Dawson recently began to raise and take care of our bees. We no longer have an outside company to do this. This means more work (for Jennifer) but the experience of doing this really has brought us closer to our bees.
It only took a mere one hour for all of us in attendance to have a newfound respect for what these small insects are able to accomplish in their short lives and really care about the thousands of bees we share our beautiful property with. A great way to learn about these amazing insects and form a strong bond with the world around us.
鈹�Submitted by Carey-Ann Pawsey
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…
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
There were already 40 containers dropped off for Dawson Dinin鈥� by 8:30 AM on Sept. 10, the first day of the free lunchtime service for this school year.
One-hundred and ninety-two free vegan meals were distributed at the two lunchtime services on Sept. 10 and 11 and another 140 people enjoyed an Early Bird Breakfast on Sept. 12.
鈥淭he DSU and the Office of Sustainability see this as simple measure of what students need to support their academic success.聽We had roughly 6 or 7 student volunteers who showed up to work hard and feed their peers!鈥� reported Diana Rice of the Office of Sustainability.
鈥淲e would like to thank all of the faculty and staff members who helped spread the word to students who need this service. We appreciate you helping us to help our community! Remember, we love all our volunteers, including employees, so feel free to join the love of community and make well-being for yourself and students a part of your day at Dawson.鈥�
Dawson Dinin鈥� is every Tuesday and Wednesday and is offered to all students and employees who drop off their reusable container by 11 AM at Conrod鈥檚 (2F). Early Bird Breakfast is every Thursday at 10 AM in Conrod鈥檚 and breakfast is served on a first-come, first-served basis.
To volunteer, contact Diana Rice, Office of Sustainability.
In offices and learning spaces across the campus, homes of employees and schools connected to the Dawson community, Painted Lady butterflies are emerging this week creating a sense of wonder and connection to Nature and strengthening the community through sharing this special experience.
After a year hiatus, Dawson鈥檚 Office of Sustainability was delighted to distribute 425 Painted Lady caterpillars. Another 325 moved into the new Butterfly Nursery built by Industrial Design students and faculty in the rooftop garden.
This photo was taken by Natalie Trepanier of Student Services, who released her butterfly on Sept. 11 in the Peace Garden. If you fostered/are fostering butterflies, please share your photos and stories with commsoffice@dawsoncollege.qc.ca and sustainability@dawsoncollege.qc.ca
The Office of Sustainability will host Coffee & Zero Waste Kitchen Workshops on every second Monday, beginning Sept. 16. We will offer free coffee from 10 AM 鈥� 12 PM as well as a workshop in Conrod's kitchen. Bring your own mug or cup, we will supply the coffee!
The first workshop hosted by Diana Rice will be: "Teas, Spices & More! The many uses of your indoor or garden herbs!" We will talk about drying herbs and flowers, and all the different things you can do with them to reduce your kitchen and garden waste! Everyone will get to bring home something to dry and use at home after the workshop. To reserve your spot please click on the form:
We will hold seven sessions, Sept. 16, Oct. 14, Oct. 28, Nov. 11, Nov 25, and Dec 9. Should you be interested in hosting one of these workshops, we have two available spots for anyone interested in sharing their knowledge with the community that helps reduce waste and shows how we can individually contribute to climate action!
We look forward to see you there!
-Submitted by Diana Rice
Last Modified: November 7, 2024
