[Uvic-sustainability] News and Events for week of Sept 8th

Details: Published on Monday, 08 September 2014 13:00; Written by editor

NEWS

UVic Printing Services has officially switched to using wheat paper as the house stock. This paper is made from 60% wheat straw residue from the wheat farming process, 35% FSC certified recycled wood fibre and 5% FSC certified plantation fibre, and produces 40% less carbon emissions than traditional wood papers. Compared to conventional paper, one box of wheat paper conserves an entire tree, which means Printing Services will conserve 600 trees per year! Find out more from the Printing Services website.

Speaking of (not) saving trees - Move over Brazil! A new report shows that Canada is the world’s leader in degradation of virgin forests. “Canada is the number one in the world for the total area of the loss of intact forest landscapes since 2000,” Peter Lee, of Forest Watch Canada. The main drivers of the loss are logging, fires, and energy and resource... development, with the pace of decline accelerating. See Canada.com for details.

Congratulations to all the zero-waste volunteers and participants at last week’s New Student Orientation BBQ for achieving a waste diversion rate of 82.5%! That means less than 20% of all the waste generated went to the landfill – the rest was either composted or recycled.

A reminder that students and employees can rent bike lockers and gear lockers in the Campus Bike Centre and various other locations across campus. Rates for bike lockers are $40 per semester (plus $50 key deposit), and gear lockers are $10 per semester, plus $10 lock deposit. Both are available through Campus Security.

The Victoria Car Share Co-op is upgrading its vehicle fleet to include brand new Prius C hybrids. Don’t forget that UVic offers a free membership in the co-op (worth $400) to full time employees and residents of the Family Student Housing Complex who do not have a parking permit, and to grad students for $25. See our website for more details.

EVENTS

ARE OUR BRAINS WIRED TO IGNORE CLIMATE CHANGE?
Sept 9th, 3 to 4 PM, University House One, UVic
PICS presents a talk by UK climate change communications specialist George Marshall. Also webcast live. See website for more details.

ECOLOGICAL FLOWS IN A CHANGING CLIMATE
Sept 10th, 3 to 4 PM, University House 1, Room 002
PCIC and PICS host seminar with Dr Daniel Peters from Environment Canada on issues related to the health of river and linked floodplain and lake ecosystems. See website for more info.

RAW MILK: DOES IT STILL CONSTITUTE A HEALTH HAZARD?
Sept 10th, 7 to 8:30 PM, HSD A240
Public talk by Mark McAfee from the Raw Milk Institute of California on the latest on the health benefits of raw milk, food safety standards and ways to make it more available in BC.

ELIZABETH MAY TOWNHALL
Sept 10th, 7 PM, Gordon Head United Church, 4201 Tyndall Ave, Saanich
Join Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands and Green Party leader for a town hall meeting with constituents and to hear about your concerns and priorities and to update constituents about her actions and work in the House of Commons on your behalf. See website for more details.

RESILIENT REGION EXCHANGE
Sept 12th, 8 -9:30 AM, Hotel Grand Pacific, 463 Bellville St.
A quarterly community breakfast meet up that brings together business leaders, politicians, activists, bureaucrats, and academics. The goal is to provide a space for forging new partnerships, incubating ideas, and developing projects that contribute to a resilient, healthy and green capital region. See website for more info.

DRIVE ELECTRIC VICTORIA - ELECTRIC VEHICLE DEMONSTRATIONS
Sept 16th, 11 AM to 2 PM, Lot C in front of Clearihue
Stop by to see view some electric cars and talk to their owners about the many benefits and pleasures of electric vehicle ownership.
Sept 21st, 9:30 AM to 4 PM, Lot 4 on McGill Road, next to the stadium
Join us as a passenger in an Electric Vehicle on a scenic tour from UVic's Lot 4 on McGill Road, along a section of Victoria's shoreline. All you have to do is go to http://tinyurl.com/DriveElectricVictoria and get a free ticket. Bringing friends? They'll each need a ticket too - free again. When the tour is finished, we'll have a FREE picnic lunch waiting for you. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A BLUEPRINT FOR WATERSHET GOVERNANCE IN BC
Sept 17th, 9 to 10:30 AM (PST)
A free online webinar hosted by UVic's POLIS Project on Ecological Governance will explore current water and watershed governance issues in BC with a focus on some of the “winning conditions” needed to move towards a more sophisticated approach to watershed governance in B.C. including the introduction of B.C.’s new Water Sustainability Act. Free but space is limted: Register now!

CREATING A CITY FOR EVERYONE: TRANSFORM SPEAKER SERIES #3
Sept 18th, 7 to 9 PM, Alix Goolden Hall, 907 Pandora Street
The CRD presents renowned sustainable city advocate Gil Penalosa (originally from Bogota, Columbia and now with the non-profit 8-80 based in Toronto) and Kay Teschke (from UBC’s School of Population and Public Health) for a discussion on how to make our region a safe place for people of all ages to walk, bike and play. $5 suggested donation to the Greater Victoria Cycling Association. See CRD website for more info.

Rita Fromholt

Sustainability Coordinator

Office of Campus Planning & Sustainability

University of Victoria

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it."> This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., O: 250.853.3758, C: 250.884.5751