2,000 people at Dawson for first Canada Invertebrate Expo
November 20th, 2024
Over 2,000 people visited the first Canada Invertebrate Expo on Nov. 16 hosted by Dawson College. Organized by Dawson alumnus Daniel Zimmerman, who is owner of Live Beetles Canada, this Expo hosted over 30 booths with displays of insects, spiders, lizards, frogs, snakes, bonsai, carnivorous plants and more. Children and adults alike enjoyed a day of discovery and learning about the care of living things. Collectors were also here in abundance. It was organized as part of our 1,000 species accomplishment and part of the proceeeds went to the Living Campus Fund.
Daniel says “Dawson’s biodiversity efforts are amazing! Fragmentation of habitat in our urban environment is a problem and Dawson’s on-site micro-habitat development is inviting insects back to the urban landscape.”
He will be involved in creating a large indoor beetle breeding unit at the college with students and staff in the near future. He will also help further develop habitats that will attract native beetle and invertebrate species to the campus grounds.
November 20th, 2024
Support staff and professionals and now teachers too, have the amazing opportunity to actively participate in Dawson’s Sustainable Happiness non-credit community certificate group. The Sustainable Happiness training will guide people to reflect on positive psychology and sustainability. It contributes to Dawson’s commitment of well-being for all, sustainably. What is Sustainable Happiness? “Happiness that contributes to…
Beeswax Food Wrap Workshop Nov. 25
November 20th, 2024
The next event in the Zero Waste Cafe Series is an opportunity to learn how to make your own food wrap with beeswax.
Dawson employees and students are invited to learn how to make your very own beeswax wrap, a reusable alternative to plastic wrap. We will be using beeswax harvested from our Dawson 4H rooftop beehives.
What? Beeswax wrap Workshop
Who? Led by Susan Hoffmann (Faculty, Philosophy/Humanities) and Jenn de Vera (Office of Sustainability)
When? Monday, November 25, 2024
Time? 11 AM-12 PM
Where? Conrod's kitchen area 2F.4
Spaces are limited, please use the form to RSVP. Check your Dawson email for a confirmation email.
November 19th, 2024
Last week, staff were offered another opportunity to use their well-being hours.* Cooking with Jamal was a two-hour workshop presented by the Zero Waste Café and the Office of Sustainability on Nov. 14. The small group of five students and two employees were given the chance to cook a delicious vegan meal with chef Jamal…
Canada Invertebrate Expo will be at Dawson Nov. 16
November 7th, 2024
Canada Invertebrate Expo: Édition Montréal 2024 will be a celebration of biodiversity, hosted by Dawson’s Living Campus on Saturday, Nov. 16 from 10 AM to 5 PM. There will be 35 interactive exhibitors and vendors.
The organizer is Daniel Zimmerman, a graduate of Dawson who is donating a portion of ticket sales to the Dawson College Living Campus fund.
Visit the link to buy a ticket. There is a reduced admission price for Dawson students.
Dawson project featured in national sustainability report
November 6th, 2024
Dawson's vermicomposting project is featured in a new report by Colleges & Institutes Canada (CICan).
The worms at work at Dawson are very busy transforming cafeteria food and campus landscape waste into rich organic soil. The project is already reducing the College's carbon footprint and still has untapped potential.
Read CICan's Campus Living Labs Report, which is found in the blog in the link. Dawson's project is featured on page 17 of the pdf or page 14 of the print version.
October 24th, 2024
Food Justice is a core tenet of well-being-for-all. This is why the Office of Sustainability, the Peace Centre, Student Services, and the Dawson Student Union (DSU) have teamed up this year to expand free and healthy accessible meals to our community up to four days a week. Since Sept. 9, the Dawson Community can grab…
Moose activity at Dawson
October 24th, 2024
In what is becoming an annual tradition for the Indigenous community at Dawson, students participated in the First Peoples’ Centre moose harvest activity on campus Oct. 24. Organized by Cree student Angela Ottereyes (student in Law, Society & Justice) with guidance from Elders and Knowledge Keepers, students got to reconnect with their traditions and help butcher the moose delivered by hunters from Listuguj Mi’gmaq community.
─Submitted by Geoff Kloos
Honey extraction workshop Oct. 30
October 24th, 2024
Did you know we have two honey beehives on Dawson's rooftop?
The Office of Sustainability recently led a honey extraction workshop with Brian Mader's Biology of Sustainability course and next week employees are invited to harvest their own honey.
Approximately 30 biology students came last week. They had to get their hands dirty, or should I say their fingers sticky, and help extract honey from our bee frames located in the 4H rooftop hives.
Our bees are still young, but still produced a lot of honey thanks to our many pollinating flower gardens on campus, which are all maintained by our very own Sustainabili-team student and employee volunteers.
We will be offering a honey extraction workshop to employees on Wednesday, October 30 from 11 AM to 12 PM in the Rose Lounge (7C.5) This can be a great use of well-being hours for employees! The fun-filled hour will include uncapping honeycomb cells, hand-spinning honeycombs in the centrifugal extractor, and filtering the raw honey before jarring and labelling it.
All employees will leave with a little sample jar of Dawson's honey. To sign up, please fill out this MS form.
Space is limited. The Office of Sustainability will send you a confirmation email.
─Submitted by Jennifer de Vera
Dawson community has now identified 1,000 species on campus!
October 10th, 2024
The Dawson community has now reached the goal of identifying 1,000 species on our downtown Montreal urban campus!
One of the species identified was the Red-Shouldered Hawk, photographed by Doug Smyth (Faculty, Physical Education).
Students, graduates, faculty and staff gained so much from the project.
Dawson Environmental Science graduate Ruisi Yang said: "This project boosted my confidence in the potential of making urban environments more sustainable and friendly to both people and the local biodiversity."
Current Dawson student Graham Alain said: "This project made me realize how many species could truly make use of such a small area. I would've initially guessed that fewer than 200 species would've inhabited the campus...This project will hopefully have an impact on how I treat my local environment, such as my lawn and back yard. I'm rethinking how important these places are..."
Teacher Adamo Petosa said: "We are surrounded by something extraordinary. We simply have to take the time to explore. Taking part in this project was akin to finding the key to "a secret garden", waiting to share its secrets. We are not alone on campus. Rather, we are less than one in a thousand.
"The 1000 species project gives hope. In the midst of concrete and traffic, exhaust and bustle, a tiny campus besieged by a battalion of buildings manages to sustain life at a scale I could have never fathomed. Over 1,000 species here, within this tiny oasis - living, growing and thriving. I'm also incredibly grateful to those who made such a campus possible and to those who ensure its upkeep."
More to come on the impact of this extraordinary project that has inspired Dawson and many outside of Dawson to connect to Nature.
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Last Modified: November 20, 2024
