Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 59.78
Liaison Joseph Wasylycia-Leis
Submission Date March 1, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Winnipeg
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Joseph Wasylycia-Leis
Campus Sustainability Coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:

Geography and Environmental Students' Association (GESA): This organization assists students in Geography and Environmental Studies/Sciences in finding meaningful opportunities both on and off campus in their disciplines, including providing research and travel funding. They also distribute a yearly EcoGrant(s) to a campus sustainability initiative.


The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
Does the institution have gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:

Cultivate UW is a student-led rooftop gardening intiative that was originally funded by the EcoGrant. The group raises all crops from seed in the University greenhouse and distributes the vegetables at reduced cost to students and staff on campus throughout the summer.


The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Does the institution have student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)?:
Yes

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:

The mission of the UW Bike Lab is to support, educate, encourage and develop programming and advocacy toward a vibrant and progressive cycling culture on The U of W campus and in the greater community. It is run by the University of Winnipeg Student's Association, largely by student volunteers.

Established in 2011, the UWSA Bike Lab is the central hub for cyclers in Winnipeg’s downtown core. It’s an easily accessible on-campus maintenance pit-stop for students and community members. The lab hosts workshops for all skill levels and it is also open during the week for cyclists to drop-by and work on their bikes.

The UWSA Bike Lab is committed to community engagement and being a welcoming and safe neighbourhood meeting/learning space. Special programs, including cycling repair, build-a-bike and cycling safety workshops will be running over the fall and winter terms as well as regular student and community access hours during our drop-in sessions throughout the year.


The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
No

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
---

The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
---

Does the institution have conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:

Grass Routes is an annual, week-long celebration of ideas, skills, and creativity for a sustainable future. Through workshops, exhibits, and various lecture/dialogue events, the festival seeks to engage discussion about what sustainability means, what a sustainable world might look like, and how we might get there. The event is organized collaboratively between the UWinnipeg Campus Sustainability Office and the University of Winnipeg Student's Association.


The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
Does the institution have cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:

Gallery 1C03 houses a variety of artists throughout the year, and is open to students Monday to Friday from 12:00 - 4:00 and Saturday from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Exhibits often explicitly address environmental/sustainability themes. For example, in March and April of 2018, Tracy Peters exhibited her work "Littoral Landscape." Littoral Landscape offers an immersive experience with sculptural installations that use photographic processes as their starting point as well as video and sound. Peters created artworks over several months based upon repeated visits to a remote limestone beach north of Hecla/Grindstone Provincial Park as well as to the seasonal pole piers that cottagers and the municipality insert along the shores of Dunnottar. Her poetic works respond to the poignancy of eroding landscapes and urge us to consider our responsibility to protect them.

For Earth Day, visitors were invited to paint or draw on stones that recalled the ones Peters uses in her art, writing a message to the land or the water, making a statement about protecting the environment, or drawing a scene from nature.


The website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
Does the institution have wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students) that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:

The UW Wildlife Society is a student chapter of The Wildlife Society, an international non-profit scientific and educational association dedicated to excellence in wildlife stewardship through science and education. Student members regularly attend field trainings (bird banding, wildlife camera installation, etc.) where environmental wilderness ethics are taught alongside safe and ethical research methods for aspiring wildlife biologists.


The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
---

The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
---

Does the institution have programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:

In partnership with the University of Winnipeg Students' Association, the Campus Sustainability Office offers a variety of workshops during Grass Routes and other events to students, faculty and staff. These include seed starting, outdoor and vermi-composting, and proper waste disposal. The Bike Lab also hosts a number of workshops in bike repair and maintenance throughout the year.


The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:

The Campus Sustainability Office reserves both allotted budget money and grant money to provide students with part-time opportunities working in the office on sustainability related projects.

Roles taken on by students:

-Waste education and outreach
-Graphic design of reports and outreach materials
-Database management
-Scope III emissions tracking

In addition to our regular student employees, we have hired over 30 students in the last 3 years to do short-term waste auditing contracts both on and off campus.


The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
---

Does the institution have graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledges:
---

The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
---

Does the institution have other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives?:
Yes

A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:

An $2000 Eco-grant which is funded by the fundraising efforts of the University of Winnipeg student group GESA (Geography and Environmental Students Association). Students of the University of Winnipeg and Collegiate, faculty members, staff,and community members (anyone with a direct affiliation to the University of Winnipeg)
are invited to apply. A project proposal on how to make our campus more sustainable
will be presented by the applicant(s). Preference will be given to campus based projects
that will have the largest impact on our campus’s sustainability.
Objectives of the eco-grant:
o Applicants will apply for the grant to fund a project that will positively impact
the University of Winnipeg campus sustainability and environmental efforts.
o Empower campus members to engage in sustainable initiatives on campus and in their personal lives.
o Allow people to take initiative with their ideas by funding them to do so.
o Increase environmental awareness and stewardship within the campus
community


The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
Estimated percentage of students (full-time and part-time) that participate annually in sustainability-focused co-curricular education and outreach programs (0-100):
---

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.