| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.36 |
| Liaison | Patricia Huynh |
| Submission Date | Dec. 10, 2024 |
University of Waterloo
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Andrea
Bale Sustainability Engagement Coordinator Sustainability Office |
Student groups
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Waterloo has many student groups focused on sustainability. Some examples include Impact Alliance (focused on mobilizing youth action on the Sustainable Development Goals), Climate Justice Ecosystem (focused on building a grassroots, intersectional community of care on campus), Campus Compost (focused on supporting composting services and advocacy), and more. There are many other active student groups that are focused on specific aspects of sustainability (https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainability/get-involved/student-groups).
Gardens and farms
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
The Community Food Garden pilot provides an opportunity to grow food on campus while also supporting community building, knowledge sharing, and placemaking. Students can rent garden plots (12x4 raised beds) for the growing season and have access to affordable and local food.
Student-run enterprises
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
ES Coffee Shop – The Environmental Studies Coffee Shop is a student run coffee shop operated in EV1-138. The Coffee Shop is dedicated to offering premium quality coffee and foods from local shops while maintaining high environmental standards. Their coffee is Fair Trade certified and is roasted locally in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Their Policy Statement clearly recognizes and prioritizes exemplifying social and environmental leadership in operations of the Coffee Shop (https://uwaterloo.ca/environment-students-society/about/governing-documents).The Coffee Shop is operated by volunteers, and managed by two University of Waterloo students (https://uwaterloo.ca/environment-students-society/welcome-es-coffee-shop). In addition, WUSA launched a secondhand clothing store, WUSA Thrift, as a social venture to provide students with low-cost gently used items while preventing waste to landfill from clothing. (https://wusa.ca/wusa-thrift/)
Sustainable investment and finance
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
Sustainability Action Fund – The Sustainability Action Fund (SAF) supports projects and initiatives that improve sustainability at the University of Waterloo. Project funds are distributed based on a call for applications, with successful applications determined by the President’s Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability (PACES). Any student, staff, or faculty is able to apply to the fund. (https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainability/get-involved/sustainability-action-fund)
Events
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
Numerous conferences have taken place focusing specifically on Student Engagement in the SDGs, including but not limited to the annual SDG Impact Challenge hackathon in 2024, Climate Con 2024 (https://uwaterloo.ca/climate-institute/news/waterloo-students-gather-build-community-climate-con-2024) the Ontario Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution Colloquium in 2024, Sustainable Impact Summit 2024, and more.
Cultural arts
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Knowledge Integration (KI) program at the University participate in an annual Knowledge Integration eXhibition (KIX) to fulfill their capstone program requirement. Since 2018, the KIX exhibits have focused on the Sustainable Development Goals. Students are responsible for selecting a topic, establishing learning objectives, designing information/activities, and ultimately producing an exhibit. The installations are displayed on campus for one week; students, staff, and faculty from across campus are welcome and encouraged to attend. Their most recent exhibit was hosted in March 2024. (https://uwaterloo.ca/knowledge-integration/events/knowledge-integration-exhibition-kix-2024) In addition, students enrolled in ERS 318: Photography for Sustainability hosts regular installations/open houses to display student projects on different aspects of sustainability.
Wilderness and outdoors programs
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
The Outers Club (https://sites.google.com/view/uwoutersclub/about) is a student club consisting of outdoor enthusiasts who focus on doing activities all 4 seasons.They organize events and provide lots of resources. In their backpacking trip planning guide, they list Leave No Trace principles: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rPRT6aPqa-1KtjzaXfsthMJ4dYnSK2CMhVkFgMj0QDY/edit
Sustainability-focused themes
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
The Green Residence program uses monthly sustainability themes for outreach activities/events (e.g. bulletin boards, communications, outreach booths) for students living in residence with Campus Housing.
Sustainable life skills
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
The Ecology Lab provides opportunities to engage with the University of Waterloo community, prospective students, local schools, and even internationally through their established outreach programs. They offer field and lab activities designed for students, including enrichment programs, workshops, and competitions. (https://uwaterloo.ca/ecology-lab/outreach-workshops). Faculty members also piloted a “Land Skills for Wellness” workshop series throughout 2023. (https://uwaterloo.ca/environment/news/new-land-skills-wellness-and-sustainability-project-launches)
Student employment opportunities
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
Waterloo’s Sustainability Office regularly hires multiple co-op students to assist in the coordination of events, campaigns, research projects, and program implementation. Similar roles have been hired in Plant Operations to support energy and waste management initiatives. Increasingly, departments across campus are also hiring co-op students to directly support departmental sustainability efforts (i.e. Green Office program). The Co-operative Education program has also launched an SDGs @ Work activity and reflection exercise for all co-op placements to encourage employers and students to consider how their work, regardless of discipline/field, impacts and is impacted by sustainability challenges.
Graduation pledge
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
Optional Fields
Multiple design teams on campus including:
1) Midnight Sun Solar Team – Founded in 1988, the Midnight Sun Team arose with the concept of a solar powered bike. Named after the natural phenomenon in the Arctic, the Midnight Sun is when the sun remains visible for 24 hours a day during the summer – the ideal situation for sustainable solar power. As the largest student run project on campus, they have moved on from bikes to designing and producing world-class solar race cars for competitions around the globe. With a team of almost all University of Waterloo undergraduates and funding from sponsors, they have managed to build and race 12 solar race cars. (http://www.uwmidsun.com/)
2) Sedra Student Design Centre – The Design Centre features 20,000 square feet of space dedicated to student projects and design teams. Currently there are more than 25 student-led design teams focusing on a range of applications. https://uwaterloo.ca/sedra-student-design-centre/
3) Warrior Home – Formed in 2018, this student design team is focused on working with local partners do design home concepts that are affordable and meet net-zero-energy requirements. They have worked collaboratively with Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region in the past. They compete annually in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon (https://uwaterloo.ca/sedra-student-design-centre/directory-teams/warrior-home)
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Many of the above initiatives, student groups, clubs, and societies are available online on the Sustainability Website: https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainability/get-involved/student-groups
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.