| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.39 |
| Liaison | Stephanie MacPhee |
| Submission Date | Feb. 5, 2025 |
Dalhousie University
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Stephanie
MacPhee Executive Director Office of Sustainability |
Student groups
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Dalhousie Student Union Sustainability Office is a student-run organization that strives to create a culture of sustainability within Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) operations thereby improving our university community by making the DSU an ecologically aware, economically responsible, and socially equitable institution.
Dal Med Green Team founded by passionate Dalhousie University medical students, has grown to include students from both campuses and an expanding network of partners. Our mission is to promote eco-conscious healthcare initiatives in the Maritime provinces, fostering connections among students, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders. Through interprofessional collaboration, we aim to drive transformative change in healthcare at local and regional levels.
Dal Bike Center offers a space to learn about cycling maintenance and promotes cycling. Their mission is to establish Dalhousie University as a community leader in active and sustainable modes of transportation. They also offer free bike loans for up to a week for all Dalhousie students.
The Loaded Ladle Food Co-op: The Loaded Ladle is a non-profit, open cooperative of students and community members dedicated to providing affordable, diverse, fresh, and healthy food to as many people as possible. They aim to tackle the unjust global food system by providing a local alternative. They serve free meals from 12:30PM-2PM on Tuesdays through Fridays from September through April, equivalent to 127 days of service and over 38,000 meals.
Dal Environmental Law Student Society: The ELSS is a student-run society that focuses on environmental issues as they relate to the law.
Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group (NSPIRG): NSPIRG mandate is to link research with action for social and environmental justice within an anti-oppression framework. Divest Dal is a working group of NSPIRG urging Dalhousie University to divest its endowment fund from the fossil fuel industry.
Your Environment Sustainability Society (YESS) is a student society for people in the Environment, Sustainability, and Society undergraduate degree program.
The Society of Undergraduate Planners (SUP) is the student society for the Community Planning major at Dalhousie. The group organizes or supports events that promote sustainable, livable, vibrant communities.
The Green Chemistry Initiative (Dal GCI) is a student-run organization that was established in 2017 with the purpose of introducing the formal education of green chemistry to the Dalhousie Chemistry community. Undergraduate and graduate students from chemistry, biochemistry, and physics come together to develop interdisciplinary solutions to improve hazard awareness and environmental responsibility in day-to-day scientific research at the university level.
Gardens and farms
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
Dalhousie Urban Garden Society: The garden operates as an educational space for students, staff, and community members to learn about the possibilities of urban agriculture, with the produce going to volunteers and the Loaded Ladle.
Students can gain experience in organic agriculture at the Sustain by Cultivat8 Garden (formerly Chef's garden) and the Agricultural Campus community garden.
Sustain by Cultivat8, a full-fledged student-run vegetable and cut flower production farm at the Agricultural Campus, allows students to explore their interests and their potential while supporting food security, sustainability and the local economy. They have a sales kiosk to streamline sales and provide further retail experience to students. They also offer CSA subscription boxes. A total of 40 subscriptions were sold in 2022, with an additional 11 subscriptions donated to families in need via a partnership with United Way. In 2023, garden sales and subscription boxes continue, along with donations to the food bank, United Way, and the Dal AC food pantry. https://www.dal.ca/faculty/agriculture/news-events/news/2023/10/30/cultivating_a_sustainable_future.html
Student-run enterprises
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
The Loaded Ladle is a non-profit cooperative of Dalhousie students and community members, dedicated to providing healthy, local, affordable food to the Dalhousie campus and community. The Loaded Ladle uses food as a platform to bring attention to political issues, such as food security, student and community poverty, and social justice. They serve free vegan meals in the Student Union Building several times per week, and source food from local producers and supplier. The Loaded Ladle was created as a response to Dalhousie’s exclusivity contracts with corporate food providers. The Loaded Ladle believes students have the right to control their campus food options, and continues to fight for those rights. https://www.loadedladle.com/
Sustainable investment and finance
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
The Dalhousie Student Union Sustainability Office (DSUSO) offers grant funding to student sustainability initiatives. DSUSO also provides a green events fund that helps to offset additional costs incurred by student event organizers who choose socially and environmentally sustainable products or services.
The College of Sustainability also offers a Green Finance and Environmental, Social and Governance Investing course (SUST3108) that explores the rapidly growing market of ESG investing. The class begins with an overview of general approaches to financial investing, combined with an examination of how ESG investing fits into these markets. Students will then practically apply this by researching, designing, implementing, and trading their own ESG investment portfolios throughout the semester. The course will also explore project evaluation for ESG initiatives, allowing students to better understand which offer the best opportunities for investment while creating the greatest impact.
Events
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
Sustainability related conferences and events includes:
Dalhousie Sustainable Oceans Conference by the Marine Management Program, Environment, Sustainability and Society lecture series, Green Week events organized by Dalhousie Student Union Sustainability Office
Cultural arts
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
A colourful mural designed by Mi’kmaw artist Tayla Fern Paul has been painted in the centre of Larch and Jennings streets near Dal campus to creatively promote community connections and mutual respect in the area. Thinking for the project emerged out of a shared desire to address drinking party culture in the Jennings/Larch neighbourhood, particularly with unsanctioned street parties that have created considerable risks and harms for both residents and students and littering the environment. https://www.dal.ca/news/2023/09/07/street-mural-art-dalhousie-neighbourhood.html
Dalhousie African Nova Scotia Community Center collaborated with the Dalhousie Art Gallery, Black Artists Network of Nova Scotians and Vale Quilters Association to showcase The Secret Codes, an exhibit of quilts made in Nova Scotia’s Black communities over the past century highlighting the ways that the quilts function as coded communication for escaping the slave trade. https://artgallery.dal.ca/secret-codes-african-nova-scotian-quilts
Wilderness and outdoors programs
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
Dalhousie Outdoors Society: The Dalhousie Outdoors Society promotes and facilitates adventuring and wandering in Nova Scotia’s beautiful wilderness with the aim of inspiring all to build a community that enjoys and respects nature.
Sustainability-focused themes
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
The Dalhousie College of Sustainability hosts a weekly lecture series throughout the semester on various sustainability-related themes.
The Dalhousie Student Union chooses a different theme each month (climate justice, food sovereignty etc.) and hosts a book club, with books that fit different themes each month. They also host events and educate students via social media about that theme.
The Residence Ecolympics is a first-year experience focused on the sustainability-related theme of resource reduction (heat, electricity, and water) as well as general sustainability goals.
Sustainable life skills
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The Green Residence Forum (GRF) is a group open to students living in any building who are interested in living more sustainably in residence. This group is also the main organizing body of Ecolympics.
The Dalhousie Student Union Office of Sustainability hosts workshops on social issues organizing, food preparation, and budgeting.
Your Environmental Student Society (Yess) hosts sustainability skill building workshops called Skilled Up, with activities ranging from low waste gifts making to sewing workshops.
Student employment opportunities
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
The Office of Sustainability offers sustainability-focused student employment opportunities throughout the academic year and summers.
Research assistants: Students who work as research assistant on sustainability focused research.
Dalhousie Student Union Sustainability Office: https://www.dsu.ca/sustainability-office
Graduation pledge
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
Optional Fields
Other co-curricular programs include Earth Week, Bike Week, Commuter Challenge, Sustainable Events Certification, Instant Sustainability Awards and Ecolympics. All these programs are geared towards promoting sustainable behaviors on campus
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.