Overall Rating | Platinum |
---|---|
Overall Score | 85.74 |
Liaison | Mike Wilson |
Submission Date | Dec. 13, 2023 |
University of Victoria
EN-4: Outreach Materials and Publications
Status | Score | Responsible Party |
---|---|---|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Camille
Lauridsen-Hoegh Sustainability Intern Campus Planning and Sustainability |
Does the institution have a central sustainability website that consolidates information about the institution’s sustainability efforts?:
Website URL for the central sustainability website:
Does the institution have a sustainability newsletter or social media platform that focuses specifically on campus sustainability?:
A brief description of the sustainability newsletter or social media platform:
https://www.facebook.com/greenuvic/
https://www.instagram.com/green_uvic/
https://twitter.com/green_uvic
Does the institution have signage that highlights sustainability features on campus?:
A brief description of the signage that highlights sustainability features on campus:
•Plaques that indicate our 9 LEED certified buildings. Each of these plaques are featured in prominent high-traffic areas of their respective buildings and give information on the building’s designation as well as additional background information.
•Various signs around campus that notify passers by of landscaping areas that feature native and endangered plant species, such as in the Ian Ross Memorial Garden where the federally endangered Pink Sand Verbena is being grown among many other native plant species.
•An informational sign at the Bowker Creek headwaters area which is currently enduring ongoing restoration efforts
•A sign at the base of the S,YEWE Legend Pole in the University’s quad depicting the traditional story featured in the wood carvings as told by the Legend Pole carver Temosen (Charles Elliot)
•Several signs in and around the Rain Garden at the Mearns Centre informing passers by of successful restoration efforts in the garden including the removal of invasive species and planting of traditional native species
•Interpretive boards within Finnerty Gardens that contain the plant and its links to cultural and art information
•A series of educational signs used by classes and visitors as a learning tool that make up the District Energy plant interpretive system explaining functional and sustainable aspects of the Energy plant
Does the institution provide a sustainability walking map or tour?:
A brief description of the sustainability walking map or tour:
https://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/assets/docs/Tour-campus%20green%20walk.pdf
The University of Victoria Community Green Map project is an online community-campus initiative and office which aims to facilitate processes for community engagement, student learning, globally-relevant research and sustainable community planning through participatory community mapping. On their website, users can interactively look through various sustainability features on the UVic Campus, as well as the Greater Victoria Area.
http://mapping.uvic.ca/
There is also a Forest Biology Tree Walk Guide available online which has detailed maps and descriptions of different tree species on the University of Victoria Campus. Included in these descriptions are various additional interesting facts on the tree species.
https://www.uvic.ca/research/centres/forestbiology/assets/docs/treewalk.pdf
Campus Sustainability tours are also conducted on specials request, both by on foot or on bike. Additionally, the office is contacted to provide sustainability updates for campus tours during new student orientation.
Does the institution produce a guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience?:
A brief description of the guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience:
https://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/assets/docs/res-sustainability-guide.pdf
In addition, in September 2023, a New Student Orientation Handbook on Climate Action and Sustainability was made available to all students. It focuses on engaging and educating students on sustainability initiatives across campus, such as new sustainable infrastructure, plant-formward dining, responsible waste management, active transportation, water conservation, sustainable purchasing, and campus climate action.
https://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/assets/docs/2023newstudentsustainabilityhandbook1.pdf
A brief description of other comprehensive sustainability outreach materials and publications not covered above:
Since 2021, the University of Victoria has a dedicated central site to report the advancement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) across four areas of the university: academics, research, operations and policy-making.
On this site, a detailed set of indicators is presented for each one of the 17 SDGs in a given year, followed by evidence of activity in each area.
https://www.uvic.ca/about-uvic/un-sdg-uvic/index.php
Co-op and Career Services has a reporting site for the impact of students placements on the SDGs, featuring stories related to sustainability.
https://www.uvic.ca/coop/contact-us/co-op-and-career-services/co-op-sdgs/index.php
CIFAL Victoria has a dedicated dashboard reporting the training activities related to the SDGs:
https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/audrey7905/viz/CIFALUVicSurveyResults/Dashboard1?publish=yes
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability website is the hub of sustainability publications on campus (http://www.uvic.ca/sustainability), and many of the sustainability reports indicated above are available on that website's resources page (http://www.uvic.ca/sustainability/resources/reports/index.php). Many other units of the institution publish sustainability materials, including the Department of Geography, the School of Environmental Studies, the Faculty of Engineering and the Martlet (student run newspaper at UVic which is cited here).
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.