Living Campus – Page 11

New bird feeder installed in Peace Garden

November 17th, 2021

Chickadees and nuthatches have already been spotted at Dawson’s new bird feeder, installed in the Peace Garden in early November.

“We hope to attract 15-20 species over the winter,” said Chris Adam of Dawson’s Sustainability Office. Chris made the bird feeder and installed it with help from Phys. Ed. faculty member Doug Smyth, who is also an avid birdwatcher and photographer.

The 10-foot-high untreated cedar bird feeder will be up year-round and holds a variety of seeds high in protein, restocked by student volunteers. A separate suet feeder on the nearby ash tree snag is a much-needed source of fat to non-migrating birds.

Special thanks to a group of Mechanical Engineering Technology students who made a squirrel and raccoon baffle so animals can’t climb to the feeders or jump up over it. Snow will also be cleared around the bird feeder to prevent squirrels from raiding it.

Students and employees are encouraged to observe our bird visitors. Observations and photos can be sent to sustainability@dawsoncollege.qc.ca or you can drop by the Sustainability Office in 4B.3. Maybe you will be the one to identify and document the 53^rd bird species to visit Dawson!

New gift-wrapped partnership with Alexis-Nihon

November 17th, 2021

For years, the Alexis-Nihon shopping centre across the street has been like a second home to the Dawson community – from dashing over (through the tunnel in bad weather) for lunch to getting groceries or doing a little shopping. Dawson will see an extension of its relationship with Alexis-Nihon this holiday season when all proceeds…

From Hive to Honey jar: Bee workshop for employees Nov. 17

November 3rd, 2021

A hands-on, sticky, and sweet celebration of the beekeeping season coming to an end! Our local beekeeper from Alvéole arrives with two bursting honey frames and all the equipment necessary to extract it. Participants actively participate in uncapping honey frames, turning the manual extractor, bottling the honey and—most importantly—tasting the fruits of the bees’ labour! Due to health restrictions, we can only welcome 30 participants. We will contact you to confirm your participation.

Wednesday Nov. 17
12 -1 p.m.
Conrod's 2F.4 near the stage

To express your interest, please email sustainability@dawsoncollege.qc.ca

Photo: Several employees, including Jenn de Vera, watched a beekeeper wrap up the bee hives (home to 100,000 Dawson honey bees) for winter on Dawson's 4H rooftop on Oct. 20.

Thank you Team Open House 2021

November 3rd, 2021

Dawson’s Open House 2021 was reimagined this year to help visitors experience the best version of the College and all it has to offer. We achieved record-breaking attendance by keeping the best elements of the first online Open House in 2020 and introducing new features and in-person tours for the first time since 2019.

Gone were the one-hour waits to have questions answered and navigating a hot, loud and crowded building. This year the maximum wait time for a question was not more than 2-3 minutes during the chat sessions for Open House on Oct. 24. Team Dawson Open House 2021 made sure the event was useful, smooth and pleasant for everyone.

Director General Diane Gauvin and Academic Dean Robert Cassidy would like to thank the more than 150 faculty members, current students and deans as well as managers, professionals and support staff from the Registrar's Office, the Communications Office, the Sustainability Office, Information Systems and Technology, Student Services, the Office of Academic Development and more.

Special thanks to Carey-Ann Pawsey, Jennifer de Vera, Lucy Segal, Ivana Bonaduce, Catherine Fusk, Marien Griffin, Dianne Hawryluck, Irene Kakoulakis, Antonina Nobile, Michele Pallett, Julie Pellegrino, Madalina Radu, Jane Valihora, Diane Wong, Carmela Gumelli, Julie Brosseau, Laura Paterson, Tommy Diamantakos, Maxwell Jones, Mylène Saucier, Dana Dragomir, Donna Varrica, Christina Parsons, Jonathan Perlman, Chris Georgieff, Pat Phutthavong, Virginia Law.

Click Read More for the report about our successful Open House 2021.

Link

Learning at the Living Campus

October 13th, 2021

Last Thursday, first-year Environmental Science students in Brian Mader's General Biology I class were given the task of comparing the biodiversity of bacteria on two different surfaces. Students decided to head to the rooftop to compare the potential bacteria found in our two rooftop ponds. They compared soil samples with others on campus as well as sampled the surface of leaves. Results will be analyzed in a few weeks.

This is an example of learning outside the classroom on our Living Campus. If you would like to share your own experiences or those of your students, please write to cparsons@dawsoncollege.qc.ca

Photo credit: Brian Mader (Coordinator, Environmental Science)

Please don’t feed Dawson’s wildlife

October 13th, 2021

During the tele-teaching and tele-working period, little human activity at the College meant wildlife reclaimed our landscape.

Foxes, groundhogs, raccoons and a host of birds have been visiting. Now that we have returned, it is great to see staff and students enjoying Nature. Several well-intentioned people, both staff and Dawson neighbours, have been asked to stop feeding the birds because of unintentional consequences we would like to share with you:

Feeding bread, muffins or other baked goods fills birds’ stomachs, but has little nutritional value and can lead to health problems for the bird. Young birds especially are affected.

Gulls and squirrels eat most foods given by humans and then boldly take food from people sitting at tables outside when they can’t find any elsewhere. Squirrels enter backpacks for food and gulls swoop down and take open food from the tables.
Feeding animals diminishes their foraging skills and can lead to larger litters of babies
Wild animals can lose their natural fear of humans and become a nuisance or dangerous to humans
Rats and mice come to eat leftover food at night. We do not want to attract these animals to the landscape. The squirrel population on campus is also high and they do significant damage to the gardens and they even chew on rubber or plastic on cars in the parking areas! We do not want to attract more!
Peanut shells that are left throughout the landscape are a serious hazard to the members of the Dawson Community who live with severe allergies and would like to benefit from our outdoor spaces.

Feeding wild animals is illegal in Westmount and offenders can receive a first fine of $50 and subsequent fines of $100

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