脪If you want one year of prosperity, plant corn. If you want ten years of prosperity, plant trees. If you want one hundred years of prosperity, educate people.鈥� Chinese proverb
Do you know where the ivy that covers the Henry Hicks and Chemistry buildings comes from? On a recent tour conducted by fourth year Environmental Studies student Lilith Wyatt, we learned that the distinctive plant was brought from Germany more than 100 years ago. "It's Dalhousie's touch of Europe," said a student as we found out this and many other facts about Dalhousie.
This fall, students in Environmental Studies began offering 脪green tours鈥� of the campus to share information about environmental initiatives here. The tours were initiated by Alexandra Malone with two of her classmates for a project in her first year in the Masters of Resource and Environmental Management Program.
In addition to being smoke and scent-free, Dal is also a sustainable campus. The university is making strides in being eco-friendly, keeping in mind the relationship between people and nature, and the impact our actions have on future generations. The university has implemented several initiatives to be more sustainable.
Our tour guide, Lilith, shared some of these initiatives. She discussed our "ocean pond," which has nine different eco-systems. She also pointed out how Dal encourages eco-friendly transportation with bike racks throughout campus and the U-Pass program, and encourages composting in residences. Dal constructs buildings according to ecological standards, she said, pointing out that the Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building has a sustainable, environmentally-responsible design that includes renewable and recycled materials, low flush plumbing features and occupancy sensors for lighting control.
Lilith has hosted tours for Open House and the Environmental Research symposium as well as customized tours for individual classes by request. Peter Duinker, Professor from the School for Resource and Environmental Studies, wanted his class to experience the tour. 脪My students already know most of what can be explained about the campus. I want them to see more.鈥� He has also taken them to forests, parks and water treatment facilities to challenge them to think differently about the environment.聽
Another green initiative at Dal is the Campus Green Guide: Living Sustainably in Halifax. The booklet was developed this year by Adam Popper who graduated in 2006 from King's and Dal with a major in English and a minor in Environmental Studies. He created the booklet with a team of students, consultants and teachers - each of them wishing to find easy, simple ways of living a more eco-friendly life.
Here's what you can do:
-聽聽聽 use compact fluorescent bulbs that save you money and last longer. Don脮t forget to turn them off when you leave a room!
-聽聽聽 use cold water for rinsing clothes in your washing machine to save energy
-聽聽聽 slow your car down 10 or 20km/h and reduce 20% fuel consumption
-聽聽聽 choose food with minimal packaging
-聽聽聽 recycle
For more information on campus sustainability, contact the Dal Integrated Sustainability Initiative at disi@dal.ca. To download the Campus Green Guide, go to: .
Alyssa Dominioni is a student from Paris, France who is completing an internship with 黑料吃瓜网Communications and Marketing.