Blog
Learn more about the many staff and student-driven sustainability projects at Dawson. Follow along as we continue to develop a Living Campus environment that reconnects people, community and Nature.
3. 100-DAY SUSTAINABLE HAPPINESS SEMESTER JOURNAL: NEW TOOL FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Post-secondary aged youth are a social group too often consumed by uncertainty about their future and inadequate opportunities for personal fulfillment. They are immersed in questions relating to adolescence, to their current relationship with family, their community, and the overall system they live in. Known causes of stress Normal adolescent development, the climate crisis, and...
Birds seen on campus
Our efforts to create micro-habitats on site have helped attract birds. Examples of observations: A white-throated sparrow finds seeds and insects on our rooftop on its trip south in the fall, a cardinal finds seeds in the peace garden all winter, a peregrine falcon hunts for pigeons to feed its young, a thrush finds shelter...
Collaboration Room
This room uses restorative elements within a small space to encourage learning and well-being. With its six meter living wall containing 600 plants, mezzanine, natural lighting, and meeting-friendly set-up, it is special low-stress zone designed for individuals and groups to capture their creativity and ultimately enrich student education.
Dawson is Carbon Responsible (Neutral) Forever
The Board of Governors of Dawson College made the bold commitment to be Carbon Neutral Forever in October 2018. Now, that promise is being implemented with the planting of 30,000 trees this spring and summer.
Discovering Nature on Campus
We showcase a wonder of Nature that occupies our urban landscape at Dawson or introduces a College community member with a special Nature-related talent. Enjoy and discover the flora and fauna that is being invited back to the campus or was already there!
Ecological Peace Garden
On September 13, 2006, Dawson College experienced a senseless attack resulting in the death of student Anastasia De Sousa and injury to several others. The garden was proposed as a living testament to those who suffered pain and immeasurable loss.
Meditation & Realization
Well-being initiatives are offered and being developed that include and borrow from a variety of techniques and traditions to help participants release stress, practice mindfulness and focus on positive experiences. Recent activities include yoga for peace sessions, an Inside/out inner growth through Nature walk in the peace garden or Land and Meaning Making seminar offered...
Monarch Butterfly Nursery
The flowers of the Dawson College Ecological Peace Garden are part of a nectar corridor for monarchs flying over Montreal. College students and staff have been rearing caterpillars, caring for chrysalis and tagging the newly-merged monarch butterflies in order to increase the Monarch population. Before releasing the monarch, participants record the...
Rooftop Habitat Restoration
The Rooftop Gardens Project’s goal is to bring fresh, healthy, affordable, and locally grown food to the Dawson Community. With three on-site locations, the Rooftop Gardens are not only a source of delicious produce but a place to question and reimagine the current state of our food systems. Location: Cafeteria theatre entrance, Conrod’s Courtyard, 4H...
Rooftop Honey Bees
Several bee colonies are kept on Dawson’s rooftops and the honey extracted by students in the fall. Dawson’s Campus Life & Leadership team organizes a yearly health challenge for teams of students and staff. Any team participating in physical activity equivalent to 1249 kilometres, the distance 12 female bees fly to make 1 teaspoon of...
