Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.86
Liaison Joseph Wasylycia-Leis
Submission Date March 3, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Winnipeg
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.20 / 4.00 Alana Lajoie-O'Malley
Director
Campus Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Is the institution utilizing the campus as a living laboratory for multidisciplinary student learning and applied research in the following areas?:
Yes or No
Air & Climate No
Buildings Yes
Dining Services/Food Yes
Energy No
Grounds No
Purchasing Yes
Transportation Yes
Waste Yes
Water No
Coordination, Planning & Governance Yes
Diversity & Affordability No
Health, Wellbeing & Work No
Investment No
Public Engagement Yes
Other Yes

A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Air & Climate and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Buildings and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

Students from the faculty of Business & Economic completed a class project to assess the feasibility of creating a social enterprise at the University for cleaning services. The social enterprise model was ultimately deemed not feasible; however, the findings were applied to further efforts to improve cleaning services on campus.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Dining Services/Food and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

An environmental studies student compared the quality of compost consisting of primarily vegetable scraps with that consisting of a large quantity of the university’s compostable food packaging.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Energy and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Grounds and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Purchasing and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

A class in Business and the Environment made a case study out of the Student Association's purchase of a local, sustainable furniture provider. The project is currently underway.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Transportation and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

One student wrote a research paper on increasing commuter cycling to campus which included a student survey on barriers to cycling to campus. This work was later applied to an event called "Election Cycle" which engaged candidate in Winnipeg's 2014 civic election on issues related to cycling around the University.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Waste and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

There are numerous examples of student examining waste-related issues at the University. Two examples are provided here. (1) An environmental studies student completed a research project assessing students’ knowledge of waste diversion on campus. (2) A student in Environmental Studies completed a research project to compare the effectiveness of different bin configurations for maximum waste diversion.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Water and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Coordination, Planning & Governance and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

With the support of an Eco-Grant, two students coordinated a substantial student submission for the University's strategic review in 2012. The project engaged 13 students to develop concrete, specific recommendations on the future of campus sustainability at the university. Students also participate actively in the Campus Sustainability Council and are provided with a training orientation at the beginning of each year to ensure that they have access to the knowledge and mentorship that they require to be active participants in sustainability planning and governance.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Diversity & Affordability and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Health, Wellbeing & Work and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Investment and the positive outcomes associated with the work:
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A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory for Public Engagement and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

(1) A student from a course in English created a mobile website for the Campus Sustainability Office (2) A practicum student from the department of Rhetoric & Communications created an educational video about the University’s sustainability initiatives. Both of these efforts are now part of the Sustainability Office's web presence.


A brief description of how the institution is using the campus as a living laboratory in Other areas and the positive outcomes associated with the work:

(1) An Environmental Studies student completed a research project to determine if the amount of years attended at the University of Winnipeg influences students to a more environmentally friendly way of life (i.e comparing 1st, 2nd, 3th and 4th year students). (2) An environmental studies student completed a class project to begin developing a UWinnipeg version of Vancouver’s successful “CityStudio” program to provide students with hands-on experience developing sustainability projects. The University is now investigating potential models for Winnipeg.


The website URL where information about the institution’s campus as a living laboratory program or projects is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.