| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 76.79 |
| Liaison | Mike Wilson |
| Submission Date | Jan. 27, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Victoria
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Student Groups
Yes
A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:
The University of Victoria Sustainability Project (UVSP) is a student-run organization that aims to create tangible results and visible change on sustainability issues on campus and within the local community.
Common Energy is an on-campus organization made up of students who work together with staff, faculty, and regional partners at the University of Victoria to move the institution and surrounding community towards a sustainable future.
The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Gardens and Farms
Yes
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
The Campus Community Garden is a group at UVic that primarily manages the urban agriculture space on campus that includes 90 plots, including individual allotment gardens, communal “giving gardens” for volunteers and food bank donations and garden plots used by advocacy groups and classes. They hold work parties every week, where members can come and work on their individual plots in the company of other gardeners, or help out with the communal tasks and the giving gardens. They also offer workshops on gardening and food related topics throughout the year.
The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Student-Run Enterprises
Yes
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
The University of Victoria Student Society (UVSS) operates the Student Union Building (SUB) which houses nine unique businesses run by students for students. These businesses are social enterprises, meaning they are businesses run for a social good. The mission and the purpose of these businesses were designed to keep students’ needs in mind and to strive to be as environmentally sustainable and socially conscious as possible. All profits made at the following student-owned and run businesses go back to students in the form of advocacy, events, and services.
Date Revised: Aug. 24, 2017
The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
Sustainable Investment and Finance
Yes
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
The Campus Sustainability Fund empowers members of the university community to create stakeholder-driven projects that further the Sustainability Action Plan and advance leadership in sustainability, whether they provide a direct financial payback, or not. It launched in February 2016.
The Fund provides one-time allocations to projects that focus on energy or water savings, sustainability awareness or learning opportunity. It will provide seed money for a project or money for a continuing project for incremental changes.
Students learn how to prepare grant proposals, manage and track budgets, manage and evaluate projects, market and/or promote their sustainability projects, and write project reports to update project funders. The students’ sustainability projects must demonstrate fiscal responsibility and support sustainability values; thus, allowing students to explore and gain experience in how to develop and implement real projects that support the links between social, environmental, and economic responsibility while developing their financial skills. The Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability and the Campus Sustainability Fund committee support students through the project processes.
Completed projects to date:
http://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/involved/sustainability-fund/projects/index.php
Date Revised: Aug. 24, 2017
The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
Events
Yes
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:
IdeaFest (annual)
Ideafest is the University of Victoria’s annual festival of research, where scholars present on topics ranging from human health and urban renewal, to space exploration and climate change.
Sustainability-related IdeaFest events (2016):
Change-makers: Bright minds and big ideas
A walk in the park: (Re)visiting urban forest relations exhibit
Sustainable construction materials and technologies
Magical mushrooms! Composers to decomposers
Truth and reconciliation in Canada: Coming to terms
Megawatts and marbles: A playful approach to understanding power systems
Hotter, drier summers? Implications and adaptations for B.C.
From coral to sharks: Unravelling the coral reef food web
Quuquuatsa: Speaking our own language
Urban restoration walk - University of Victoria campus
The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
Cultural Arts
Yes
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:
In celebration of the Campus Bike Centre being open for 2 years in 2015, the Office of Campus Planning & Sustainability (OCPS) wished to celebrate the cycling hub’s birthday during Sustainability Week (October 13-16) by commissioning a wall mural to bring colour and creativity into the bike amenities space.
A fourth-year visual arts student was OCPS’s first Artist-in-Residence, and her mural is the first of its kind on campus. A 20-metre concrete wall was turned into an abstract mural showing the links between urbanization, sustainability, cycling and art. The mural gained much of attention from local media, such as with the Times Colonist newspaper and a local television station.
The website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Wilderness and Outdoors Programs
Yes
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
The UVic Parks Club is a dedicated collective of nature lovers that want to make a positive impact while getting out and exploring local and regional parks. They participate in restoration, education, and conservation activities around Vancouver Island while also experiencing outdoor and wilderness activities. Their mandate focuses on three distinct pillars: Restoration, Education, and Recreation. Their projects and activities range from beach cleanups, to ecosystem conservation, to guided hikes and surf trips.
All members of the UVic Parks Club are expected to adhere to the concept of Leave No Trace principles as it is the group’s “cultural norm” and intrinsic within all program activities. The concept of Leave No Trace principles are also standard practice and a requirement of all visitors to Regional, Provincial, and National parklands of which these groups regularly attend in their outdoor and wilderness activities and activities.
Links: UVic Parks Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/uvicparksclub/ and http://www.uvicparksclub.org/
Date Revised: Aug. 24, 2017
The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/uvicparksclub/
Date Revised: Aug. 24, 2017
Date Revised: Aug. 24, 2017
Sustainability-Related Themes
No
A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
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The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
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Sustainable Life Skills
Yes
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
UVic has an entire student housing building, South Tower Residence, that is a themed-community focused on sustainable living and is a LEED Gold certified building. Students participate in programming that teaches sustainable living practises such as recycling, composting, waste reduction, energy and water conservation through fun, collaborative and student-led programs. Students also learn to develop skills to be sustainability leaders in their communities and in society.
The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
Student Employment Opportunities
Yes
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
Each year the Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability offers a co-op student position, which provides students working on the sustainability issues facing UVic campus operations. UVic also runs the successful work-study program, which employs students who are enrolled and who show financial need. This program provides sustainability focused employment thought the different departments on campus including the School of Environmental Studies, the Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability, and the Centre for Co-operative & Community-Based Economy in the Gustavson School of Business. These opportunities are, however, in among the many non-sustainability focused employment opportunities.
The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
Graduation Pledge
No
A brief description of the graduation pledges:
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The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
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Other Programs and Initiatives
No
A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
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The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
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Optional Fields
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
UVic's student environment includes a number of different opportunities to engage with sustainability. Student can engage by volunteering with Community Garden, the various student groups, and/or as an elected member of the Student Society, they could attend the various sustainability related events on campus, or even find part-time employment one of the businesses or departments of the institution doing sustainability related work.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.