[ECO]How the University of Ottawa is Greening its Campus

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How the University of Ottawa is greening its campus

A few weeks ago, I visited my alma mater, the

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in Ontario, Canada. One of the things I appreciated the most about this school is the environmental initiatives they take to make the university greener and more eco-friendly.

Their newest projects include adding green roofs and pollinators across the campus. This is part of the Facilities’ Campus Master Plan, which aims to create a campus harmonious with the surrounding ecosystem and increase the amount of functional indoor and outdoor green space.

Moreover, the University of Ottawa signed the Nature Positive Universities Pledge, an initiative of the ******* Nations Environment Programme. By signing this pledge, the university is committed to addressing both the climate and biodiversity crises, building more resilient ecosystems, helping nature recover, and limiting climate change.  

The building standards across facilities have been changed so that all roofs on campus that meet the requirements must be green roofs. The university currently has seven buildings with green roofs, which measure over 4000 square metres. The roofs help to reduce stormwater run-off, cool down buildings and provide shelter for animals and insects.

The newest green roofs include seating, walking plants and a variety of hardy native plants and pollinator species. Another one of their new green roofs has a variety of succulent plants.

Across the campus, they are replacing concrete areas that serve limited purposes, and due to the recent intense rainstorms, have been contributing to flooding in the university. These areas are being replaced with pollinator plants and fruit trees. The first pollinator garden was created in 2022 by a volunteer who received a grant from the WWF- Canada’s Designing Change for a Living Planet 2022 competition to help improve green spaces on campus. Following this design, engineering students have been involved in helping the

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design pollinator habitats around campus.

Today, there are over 30 pollinator-friendly plants, with 4 pear trees, 6 apple trees, raspberry, haskaps and blueberry bushes, with more being added annually.  

In addition to adding more nature to the campus, these new pollinator and fruit tree/bushes hotspots are gathering points that bring students and staff together and create a sense of community across the campus. Adding fruit trees on campus also benefits the University of Ottawa community, including improved nutrition, stress reduction, educational opportunities, and a stronger connection with nature.

The University of Ottawa is also known for bringing nature indoors. Inside their Faculty of Social Sciences building, they have a “Living Wall”, which is a six-story, 77-foot wall that houses over 8200 plants. The Living Wall was designed to increase sustainability by saving water, improving air quality, reducing energy consumption and facilitating maintenance. As the plants grow, the Office of Campus Sustainability cuts off pieces and gives plant propagates away for free to the university community. I was lucky enough to go home with a pothos cutting.

Earlier this year, a new version of the Living Wall was unveiled with a floral design created by an Indigenous artist. The wall’s floral design is meant to resemble the beaded floral work Indigenous artists create.

The University of Ottawa does a fantastic job creating eco-friendly spaces and taking environmental initiatives. What I’ve mentioned here is only a glimpse into some of their projects. Throughout the year, they offer campus sustainability tours where you can uncover all the hidden environmental gems of the campus.

Although I’ve graduated from the University of Ottawa, it does give me pride to know that a university is doing what it can for the environment and that it encourages its community to take action and make change.

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