Dawson in the news
CBC Montreal's Evening News Anchor Debra Arbec visited Dawson on April 22 for an Earth Day feature interview with Chris Adam, Head of Sustainability at Dawson.
Visit the link for the six-minute video feature.
Earth Weeks at Dawson 2024
This year's Earth Weeks once again promoted well-being for our students and employees and brought back some favourite activities and events while introducing new ones.
On April 23, Kaye Francis led a cooking workshop, which was the crowd favourite.
"I wanted to inspire participants to bring out their inner chef," she said. Kaye, a trained French chef who likes to inject Caribbean influences into her cooking, presented couscous and suggested many different ways to use it or other grains as a base to create flavourful, healthy and satisfying meals. "People get stuck on recipes, I wanted to focus on methods," she said.
Couscous is a blank canvas and you can create different meals by adding vegetables, protein, and dressing/sauce. Here is Kaye's recipe for Italian or Greek couscous.
Photo credit: Christine Layne
Large Peace Garden photo collage celebrates 1,000 Species project
During this final push to get 1,000 Species in 1,000 Days identified on Dawson’s downtown Montreal campus, a gorgeous photo collage celebrating the project has been printed and posted around the college. It was created by Doug Smyth, a faculty member in Physical Education. Doug has photographed hundreds of species and taken thousands of photos…
Celebrating Chris Adam’s Meritorious Service Medal at Dawson
Director general Diane Gauvin hosted a Dawson celebration with the Office of Sustainability team, the Community Recreation and Leadership Training family, staff and faculty who have participated in the Sustainable Happiness course and sustainability projects, management team members and the Communications Office to celebrate Chris Adam on April 4. Two weeks before he had received the Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division) from Governor General Mary Simon.
Photo by Debbie Resurreccion (CRLT)
New approach to Earth Week at Dawson
Earth Week celebrations will look a little different this year. That’s because the Office of Sustainability would like to offer the Dawson community opportunities to celebrate Earth Week throughout the academic year. In the past few weeks, the team organized a variety of activities for employees and students, including a bike prep workshop and salsa dance breaks.
From April 16-25, there are many opportunities for you to learn and reconnect with people, community and Nature!
There will be garden dig-in workshops, Living Campus Tours and much more. To see the full offering and to sign up, please use this Link.
Other events include:
- Eco-friendly Vendors Market Monday-Friday, April 15-19 (Lower Atrium)
- Pop-up Eco-Cafe Monday-Friday, April 22-26, will sell fair trade coffee, tea and other treats to raise funds for our Living Campus student-driven initiatives and projects (Conrod's)
- Foodie Fest Tuesday and Wednesday, April 23 & 24 (Conrod's)
Take part in the worldwide BioBlitz at Dawson April 29
People around the world will be participating in a four-day BioBlitz April 26-29, including students, staff, alumni, retirees, friends and neighbours of Dawson on Monday, April 29. Take a break and drop by the Peace Garden at Dawson anytime between 3 PM and 6 PM on April 29. This global BioBlitz is part of the City Nature Challenge.
Photo by Doug Smyth
Visit the link for the homepage news story and invite your friends and family to join you at Dawson on April 29!
Tom of Dawson is species #826 identified on campus
On April 9, 1,000 Species project coordinator and Biology faculty member Brian Mader’s phone started lighting up with messages from the Dawson community.
“There’s a turkey at Dawson!” was the gist of his 30+ messages.
The turkey was seen by many staff and students and was entered into the 1,000 Species in 1,000 Days official count on iNaturalist.
Brian is not surprised that a turkey showed up on campus since many have been spotted in Westmount. “Maybe he was looking for more turkeys,” he speculated. “They nest around this time of year but in groups.”
The lone Dawson turkey was thought to be a male, also known as a tom or a gobbler. He was spotted near the theatre garden, on the roof and in one of the rooftop gardens.
“If you see the turkey, like all wildlife, give it space and respect,” Brian advised. “And please do not feed the turkey!”
Last month, the City of Westmount issued an advisory to residents saying that “wild turkeys are being spotted more regularly in Westmount,” and said that residents should not approach them or feed them.
Insect Show a Huge Success!
On March 9, Dawson was host to the Montreal Insect Show. We had 3,000 visitors from the public visit Dawson during the day, including over 50 vendors. Families were overjoyed to be able to hold live insects and arachnids, take a walk with moths, taste test different insect-based food items and browse the various vendors. In fact, I personally have pet shrimp in my home thanks to the curiosity of my daughter. The organizers are currently in talks with the Office of Sustainability to plan for 2025.
A very special thank you to the entire Office of Sustainability, Natalie Trepanier and FAMA as well as Dawson Security for making this happen. Also, all our student volunteers were amazing with the crowds and represented Dawson well. Student volunteers were mainly first-year, second-year and alumni Environmental Science students; Jared Brace, Jacob Davies, Flora Finch, Imane Louni, Sabina Riga, Cassiana Silva Young, Amelia Valencia Frias, Ruisi Yang, Narcisse Hassan, Tom Brunet, Alyson Meadows, Alice Liang and Chemistry teacher Adamo Petosa.
Some of our treasured trees must be cut
After an extensive review of all trees on the Dawson grounds by forestry consultants, the College is presently securing permits from the City of Westmount to cut some of them.
“Many of our trees have suffered injuries and disease that have weakened them to the point where they are at a high risk of breaking. Others, like our large silver maples are reaching their age limit,” explained Luc St-Germain of Facilities Management.
About a dozen trees will have to be cut immediately, with another 30-35 being monitored during the next 12-24 months.
All trees have been thinned in the past to allow severe wind to pass through them. Chris Adam, of the Office of Sustainability, says that wind and ice related storms are more common now and causing damage.
The Facilities Management Team and the Office of Sustainability are cooperating to establish Dawson’s first tree management program. Every tree will have a health card that identifies their species, age and diseases as well as any maintenance procedures taken. Each tree will be followed by forest management consultants.
Stay tuned for more news about the trees of our Living Campus.
25 participants at first monthly wellness activity
On Feb. 28, 25 members of the Dawson community, mostly students, responded to the invitation of the Office of Sustainability to take part in the first monthly wellness event.
It was beautiful weather, so they went outdoors for part of the Biophilic Tour of Dawson. “Jenn de Vera gave a tour of some of the many wonderful student driven projects that are a part of our Living Campus,” Sophie La Font reported.
The indoor portion showcased the many ways we have incorporated the theory of Biophilia* at Dawson College. The activity concluded with planting a baby spider plant that participants could take with them as a gift.
The March wellness activity took place on March 7 and was a panel discussion with Elder and Knowledge Keeper, Niioie:ren Patton & Concordia's Sustainability Living Lab Coordinator, Sandra Mouafo Nouadje.
*The biophilia hypothesis is the belief that humans are genetically predisposed to be attracted to Nature. It states that all humans inherently love the natural world. This idea that we are drawn to and need Nature was first put forth by a man named Edward O. Wilson in his book, Biophilia, published in 1984.
Last Modified: April 25, 2024
