Tag: sustainability

Categories
Student Life

Let’s talk about trash baby!

Photo by Laurence BD

“One day, I was browsing Reddit and I saw a lot of posts that were tagged #TrashTag; it was a picture of before and after of a trash cleanup,” said Lucas Hygate. “I saw that and was like ‘hey, I can do that.’ Then I thought I’ll do it way bigger and now it’s TrashTalk.”

Hygate, a 21-year-old philosophy student at Concordia, began TrashTalk Montreal, or TrashTalk for short, earlier this year. The idea started in February and has massively evolved from the stages that began in Hygate’s basement.

“Now, we’ve grown and evolved into a much larger, official organization that really tries to cater towards hosting these cleanups and inviting people to an event that is really something that we do, rather than just for helping the earth, the motivation is really to try to have some fun with it,” said Hygate.

Photo via @trashtalkmtl

The project came into fruition in April after floods devastated many communities in the West Island. Hygate recalls the intersection of Pierrefonds and Saint-John Boulevards was so flooded that it resembled a lake more than a street.

The organization is a non-profit that aims to pick up trash in public areas that’s been discarded and collecting for years – but why call it TrashTalk?

“One night I was telling my friend Sam about this idea, he was driving me home,” said Hygate. “Suddenly, he looks at me and goes ‘Lucas! I have the perfect name for you: TrashTalk’ and then it was TrashTalk.”

“We want to make sure it’s not just superficial talk, we actually want to turn that talk into action,” said Kayleigh Tooke. Tooke is the VP of communications for the Concordia club of the same name that was started on Oct. 7 to facilitate the non-profit’s activities, according to Hygate. She also works with the nonprofit by trying to connect to people to get involved with the organization. Also members of the nonprofit are Malcolm Adamson, Nicholas Tsibanolis and Nicolas Vyncke.

“Half of the name is Talk: more than just cleaning it up, it’s preventing it for the future,” said Angad Malhotra, a computer engineering student at Concordia. Malhotra is one of TrashTalk’s members, taking care of the visual design and marketing aspect. He and Hygate know each other from John Abbott College, where Concordia has a sister club, but it wasn’t until TrashTalk that the two became closer.

“I didn’t talk to Angad three years prior but I still had his number in my phone,” said  Hygate with a laugh. “We don’t remember why. And now we’re friends.”

Diego Rivera, the VP External in charge of event planning for TrashTalk Concordia, is also a philosophy student, which is how he met Hygate and decided to join the club. He spent time in Cambodia over the summer and heard about Tijmen Sissing, the Trashpacker who backpacked across Asia picking up trash.

“Out of that, I really wanted to start some kind of movement that, when I met Lucas, I was like ‘holy shit, this is perfect’,” said Rivera.

Photo via @trashtalkmtl

On the note of international trash cleanup, 18-year-old Joseph Poulin, who recently joined the club after meeting Tooke, was also inspired. During his trip to Kigali, Rwanda over the summer, townspeople would congregate every week or so and clean the community. Not only has the movement inspired him to join TrashTalk to pick up trash, it has also inspired him and those around him to create less trash.

Native to a small town near Quebec City, Poulin’s family owns a sugar shack. “We started a garden right next to it so that reduces our amount of trash,” said Poulin. “Instead of going to the grocery store and buying packages, we produce our own stuff, like fruits and vegetables.”

“On the first cleanup, it was me and my friend Nick,” said Hygate. “We were going out and we went to this place right next to this very popular commercial area. We looked at it and we started picking up. We cleaned for a solid half an hour or so, not too long, and we found a $10 bill – our first piece of good karma came out of the very first cleanup.”

Since its founding, TrashTalk has conducted approximately 15 cleanups in various areas throughout the West Island. Each cleanup takes approximately four to six hours and can yield massive amounts of trash. To plan a cleanup, they usually scout a few areas that potentially have lots of trash, choose one, then tell city councillors  they plan on conducting a cleanup. They’re well supported by the community in this respect: most of the cleanups attract local politicians, city district members, large groups of volunteers.

One of the places that they’ve worked on is Angell Woods in Beaconsfield. Their most successful cleanup at this location resulted in 1,275 pounds of trash collected – in a space no larger than a couple of hundred square feet. After the trash is picked up and sorted and divided, it’s usually brought to the edge of the location and sectioned off until city workers pick it up and properly dispose of the various types of trash. The boroughs also often offer gloves and garbage bags to facilitate cleanups which, as Hygate explains, is already a solid blueprint for successful trash removal.

“At all of our cleanups, we’re able to find some very interesting things,” said Hygate. With the interesting trash they find – tractor parts, decomposing cars and 50-year-old 7-Up cans with branding that no one recognizes anymore – they plan to create art pieces such as sculptures. The aim is giving passerbys an incentive to keep the space clean and to not litter in the first place.

“There’s a lot of layers that add up to why TrashTalk is a fun thing to do and a purposeful thing to do as well,” explained Hygate. “People need the opportunity to come out and engage with the environment in a whole, very productive manner where the impact is direct and you see it right in front of you. When you’re done a trash cleanup, what will happen is you’re going to turn around and the place you’ve just been slaving at for three or four hours, and you took out a thousand pounds with another 20 people, you look back and that place really does look cleaner and it really does have a great difference to it.”

For more information about TrashTalk, how you can participate or to donate, visit https://trashtalkmontreal.org/about/.

Feature photo by Laurence B.D.

Categories
News

CUCCR opens a brand-new space after seven months

“It’s really wonderful to be back and have our doors open, see a bunch of familiar faces, and a bunch of new people discovering CUCCR”

Concordia University’s Centre for Creative Reuse reopened last week in a new location after seven months of renovations. The new centre is located in the Grey Nuns Residence, and the bigger space allows for more room for CUCCR to grow.

CUCCR is an organization that takes material – like school binders and fabrics – that would usually be thrown out by Concordia, and offers it for free to Concordia students and anyone that is a member of the organization.

“It’s really wonderful to be back and have our doors open, see a bunch of familiar faces, and a bunch of new people discovering CUCCR,” said Anna Timm-Bottos, the creator of the organization. “People really were waiting very patiently, and we felt so bad not being open because we know this is such a valuable resource.”

The new space in Grey Nuns, open Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, mainly focuses on being a place where people can create things. It currently has sewing machines, cutting and book binding stations, and Timm-Bottos plans to expand this in the future.

She explained that in May, CUCCR’s original space in the basement of the Hall Building closed to allow for renovations in the new space. She had planned to open in September, but because of strict security at the Grey Nuns Residence – as it has to be secure for students – there were delays.

With a new and bigger space, Timm-Bottos is excited to see an influx of people, but because they reopened in a quiet time of the year – with exams and holidays – it’s hard to say how popular the new space will be.

Yet, the traffic is still increasingly higher than what it was last year. Timm-Bottos explains that according to their records from last year, around this time of year they would have 20 to 30 people a day, and in the busy times of the year, 70 people a day.

According to Timm-Bottos, with the new space, they are having around 50 to 60 people a day, and in the first week since reopening, they had over 250 visitors.

One of the plans for 2020 is to have a tool library, where people pay either a monthly, yearly, or by-the-semester membership fee, to rent out simple tools like power drills and wrenches, to take home. Timm-Bottos explained that she wants people to have more tool literacy, so that people understand how and when to use them.

She started off as a high school art teacher, where she witnessed teachers being afraid of lacking the budget to buy art supplies and being forced to use their own money to buy them. When she came to Concordia to do her Masters, she saw the same fears in the teachers she was training.

Two years ago, Timm-Bottos got involved with Concordia’s sustainability community, and realized the huge amount of material that an institution like Concordia throws out. The project she then proposed was originally waste diversion, but now it has become a complex organization with around 3,000 members.

There was just a missing link, which was CUCCR.

“There was a lot of fear of what it could look like,” said Timm-Bottos. “But what we found is we have diverted over 19 tons of material in the two years we were open. Concordia discards over 60 tons a year, so we are barely scratching the surface, but at least it’s something.”

Timm-Bottos hopes the new CUCCR will be more active in making things, rather then the Basement Shed, which refers to the old space in the Hall Building and was seen as more of a free store.

The Basement Shed is currently open Tuesdays and Fridays as a material depot. In January, it will focus more on being a space where people can make things with reused material.

“It still functions that way, but hopefully there are more opportunities [with the new space] for skill shares, workshops, more educational opportunities, where people can learn some skills,” said Timm-Bottos.

 

Photo by Maya Jain

Categories
Opinions

Why we have all fallen victim to greenwashing

Have you ever noticed that your favourite shampoo is now mysteriously in a green bottle, with shaded trees and reminding you that plastic can be recycled?

Or maybe you feel like the paper towel you usually buy to wipe your dirty counter is helping you change the world because it has a leaf on it? Did that kombucha bottle come up from the roots of the earth, or is that just the new design?

If any of these scenarios resonate with you, you might be a victim of a marketing tool called greenwashing. This term was coined by an environmentalist named Jay Westerveld in the 1980s, “to describe companies which grossly overstate the environmental or ethical benefits of their products and services.”

That’s right, 1980. We have been manipulated by falsely sustainable products for almost 40 years and the trend is only growing. This marketing tool could not be more valuable in our modern economy, as everyday we collectively panic about the climate crisis.

Many of us are doing what we think is right by buying what we think are sustainable products. Capitalism has a funny way of turning a disastrous crisis into an economic opportunity, with big companies exploiting and manipulating the market for their personal gain.

One of the main issues with greenwashing is that defining sustainability is not as straightforward as it is marketed to be. We tend to respond well to simplified categories and digestible explanations, but sustainability is a very complex issue. It is often defined as maintaining ecological balance or being environmentally conscious, but these terms are vague, and companies are using this to their advantage.

Let’s take a look at a textbook greenwashing example: Fiji water bottles. Fiji as a company has done a very effective job at perpetuating a message that they will help you connect with nature. One of their slogans was “a gift from nature to us.” Not to mention, they got a cute little girl to say it, which creeped me out, but seemed to work for others. The creepy little girl also says, “bottled at the source, untouched by man.” I mean, it’s beyond me how they created mass amounts of bottled water without touching anything. Also, where is that girl’s mother? Anyway, the irony here is obvious. Fiji promotes connection to nature, while feeding into the destruction of it.

According Our Changing Planet, 47 per cent of Fijians do not have access to clean, safe water. This company is sending a message that they are saving forests and creating sustainable change, but it’s propaganda. The unnerving thing is, even though, New York Times Magazine came out with an article criticizing Fiji’s integrity in 2008, the company is still a massive capitalist giant. Although we can rationalize the clear intent of the company, they are professional manipulators. We have to push back against our instincts to get lost in a little girl’s cute voice and a pretty forest background.

My consumer conscience relaxes when I clean my toilet bowl with a green bottle. I fall for buzzwords like “all natural,” “eco-friendly,” and “sustainable” all the time. A lot of people do — that’s why companies continue to do it. This being said, we have more control than we think. There are good companies out there — but greenwashing is loud and invasive, and often drown them out.

Try your best to buy local products and try to avoid chains when possible. I know that sometimes this can be more expensive, but often choosing the more environmental choice just takes a bit more time and research. When you are buying products keep in mind where they are coming from, how much packaging they use and what ingredients they consist of, although this is just the tip of the melting iceberg.

Like Our Changing Planet states, “One of the greenest things you can do is to buy fewer things. No matter how great the product is, it’s probably still kind of deceptive to market it as green.”

So remember, mass consumption of sustainable goods is a harmful paradox, and for goodness sake, get a reusable water bottle. 

 

 

Photo by Britanny Clarke

 

 

Categories
Arts

Saving the environment, one craft at a time

 Children around the world work together to design for a sustainable future

The fifth annual edition of the Global Children’s Designathon took place on Nov. 16 at 4th Space, bringing together 40 children from Montreal to work with others around the world. The children – from seven to 12 years old – worked to develop creative solutions from various Sustainable Development Goals related to food and climate action.

After brainstorming their plans, the youngsters brought their designs to life, using simple electric motors, micro bits, LED lights, sensors, and recycled material.

They worked in groups, developing alternative shelters and projects that would deliver food to those in need, pick up waste, and more, all powered by solar energy.

Although, the prototyping process did create a fair amount of waste. Bringing 40 children together working with the Designathon team, a pizza lunch, snacks and oh so much hot glue  is bound to be a messy time.

4th Space was well equipped with proper composting and waste disposal, urging everyone to mind their waste and clean up after themselves throughout the process.

But such an activity can lead to one asking themselves, how can this possibly be good for the environment?

Such crafting empowers children; they too have a role to play in shaping our future, not just scientists and politicians. They develop skills, creative and critical thinking, communication, collaboration, digital literacy and a deeper understanding of the world.

Occurring around the world at the same time, the Designathon sets aside time to Skype with children working towards the same goals in another country. This year’s young Montrealers, though still quite sleepy at 9 a.m., Skyped with young Arubans, who were excited to see the snow on the corners of Mackay St. and Maisonneuve Blvd.

In addition to the crafting process, Designathon conducts research, recording the children’s shared concerns, solutions and the language they use surrounding the crises. Sometimes, these simple prototypes are adopted by companies and, in consultation with the young designers, can be developed into a product or service. In order to facilitate this kind of cross-pollination, the Designathon team records the children as they present their ideas, making them available on their website.

While the Global Designathon occurs only once a year, the organization continues to work with schools throughout the year to develop their “changemaker” curriculum.

In this way, these children become part of something greater than themselves. It might seem simple or even silly at first, but the impact of this kind of education is no joke.

 

 

Photo by Maxime Lapostolle.

Categories
News

Concordia announces plan to divest

The Concordia University Foundation announced its intention to withdraw all of its investments from the coal, oil and gas sector before 2025.

The Concordia University Foundation plans to be the first Quebec university with 100 per cent sustainable investments within five years. Currently, $14 million of Concordia’s $243 million assets is going into the coal, gas and oil sectors.

“We believe that being socially and environmentally responsible in our investments is the surest way to be Concordia University’s best possible fund management partner,” said Howard Davidson, Chair of the Board of the Concordia University Foundation, in a press release Friday. “Investing in sustainability is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.”

While Concordia cancelled classes for the climate strike on Sept. 27, some questioned why the university still invested in fossil fuels, as pointed out by Jacob Robitaille, internal coordinator of Concordia’s La Planète s’invite à l’Université in a previous interview with The Concordian.

“It doesn’t send a straightforward message,” Robitaille said of Concordia’s environmental position.

But now, the university is aiming to double investments that generate social and environmental impact with a financial return. For instance, Concordia partnered earlier this year with Inerjys Ventures, a global investment fund promoting the adoption of clean tech.

“It’s a social movement as much as a financial one, and this announcement has a lot of power for the climate justice movement across the country,” said Divest Concordia representative Emily Carson-Apstein. “We’re looking forward to keeping the students updated as this process goes on.”

“Promoting sustainability and fighting climate change are priorities for the Concordia community,” said Concordia’s interim President Graham Carr in a press release. “Our researchers, students, faculty and staff are all engaged around this issue and want to be part of the solution. The Foundation’s commitments are crucial next steps in our sustainability journey.”

Student organizations, such as Divest Concordia have long advocated for the withdrawal of the university from those investments. In a previous article for The Concordian, Alex Hutchins reported that since its creation in 2013, Divest Concordia has been continually pressuring the foundation to freeze its assets.

In 2014, the student-run group joined forces with the CSU to create the Joint Sustainable Investment Advisory Committee (JSIAC). Now, they see their own $10 million investment in sustainable funds from 2017 as laying the groundwork for the university’s decision, Divest Concordia explained in a statement sent to The Concordian.

“This has always been an issue of priorities, and it’s great that the foundation agrees with what the students have been shouting about for years,” said Emily Carson-Apstein, the Divest Concordia representative on the committee. “It’s a social movement as much as a financial one, and this announcement has a lot of power for the climate justice movement across the country. We’re looking forward to keeping the students updated as this process goes on.”

Long-time member of Divest Concordia Nicolas Chevalier agrees. “Concordia has finally decided to listen to the voices of the student body and align their investment portfolio in a way that doesn’t fund our collective demise. Climate change is one of the most important issues of our time, and the institutions that produce research on this crisis should strive to align their operations with the science, fossil fuel divestment is no exception.”

Divest Concordia members work across multiple environmental advocacy organizations. Hania Peper, a representative of Divest Concordia and LPSU (La planète s’invite à l’Université), was hopeful in the wake of Concordia’s decision: “Last week, Concordia took its first true steps towards addressing climate injustice by divesting from an industry that has been funding both climate change and the degradation of human and environmental communities all over the globe. While the ripple effects of this decision have yet to be seen, I’m hopeful that this can serve as inspiration for other Canadian universities to follow-suit and begin divesting from fossil fuels and non-renewable resources.”

This article is an updated version from a previous article published on Nov. 8

Feature graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
Student Life

Clearing a path towards a waste-free future

Photo by Brittany Clarke

The third annual Montreal Zero Waste festival took place at Marché Bonsecours in Old Montreal, from Nov. 8-10. 

Held by the Association québécoise Zéro Déchet (AQZD)－ who aims to sensitize and inspire citizens, governments, enterprises and organizations to become aware of the benefits of developing a zero waste lifestyle－the festival explored sustainable consumption, ecology, and composting among other eco-conscious themes.

With 14,000 expected visitors, up from the 7,000 attendees in 2017, the festival featured around 90 exhibitors, from hygiene products, to fashion, services and home goods. Over 90 per cent are Quebec-based initiatives.

“When [Life Without Plastic] started out, it was very difficult to get people’s attention regarding zero waste and zero plastic because people thought that all of the products they put in the recycling were, in fact, recycled,” said Chantal Plamondon, co-founder and president of Life Without Plastic. The company is a zero waste brand aiming to eliminate plastic use from everyday life by offering entirely compostable products.

Photo by Brittany Clarke

“It’s only recently that people have started to realize that there is plastic everywhere, and that garbage finds itself in the ocean,” said Plamondon. “Now, there is an increased conscientiousness around Montreal, for the past three-four years, around plastic and garbage waste and consumption.”

While the idea of a zero waste lifestyle was very niche a few years ago, it is now making its way to a larger portion of the population. Solid shampoo and conditioner bars were mass popularized due to Lush Cosmetics’s surge in recognition. Bamboo toothbrushes and solid deodorants are also slowly making their way into pharmacies, and institutions are opting out of selling plastic water bottles, such as McGill.

“You don’t expect that we produce so many beautiful, quality items here [in Quebec],” said Coralie, a returning visitor who chose not to give her last name. “It’s so easy to just go to WalMart and everything is cheap, but it’s not a conscious purchase. Here, you can slowly take steps towards a more simple way of life.”

However, Plamondon noted the superficiality that lies within the green industry. “People get very swayed by marketing, they will think ‘oh, look a bamboo toothbrush’ because the packaging says ‘organic’ and ‘zero waste.’ But if the bristles are made of nylon, it’s not compostable,” she said. “The good thing is, people are aware of the problem and they are looking for a solution, they just need to dig a little further and see what they are actually buying.”

In fact, the sudden surge in adopting a zero waste lifestyle, and the conscientiousness that comes with this, has incited many to make their own products. This can help minimize their ecological footprint as much as possible and be certain of what exactly they are consuming.

Photo by Brittany Clarke

“Seeing all the products gives you ideas; there are so many things you can make yourself,” said Audrey-Anne Pouliot, who attended the festival for the first time after a friend’s recommendation.

“I’m trying to change my lifestyle and the way I consume things,” said Philomène Dévé, another festival goer. “I purchased a lot of things to help me make my own products.” She noted that the climate march was, in fact, a driving factor towards her changing her lifestyle.

An estimated 500,000 people attended the Sept. 27 climate march, a 900 per cent increase from the 50,000 who attended Nov. 10, 2018, according to statistics from La planète s’invite au parlement, an independent coalition fighting for climate justice and one of the climate march organizers.

Moreover, with the Concordia University Foundation announcing its intention to withdraw all of its investments from the coal, oil and gas sector before 2025 earlier this week, it is becoming more apparent that key players in Montreal are increasingly invested in fighting for the climate and adopting sustainable practices.

From 2018 to 2019, there was a 9 per cent increase in the implementation of food waste collection in the city, bringing the total up to 540,000 units offering composting services, bringing hope for the future of waste elimination and zero waste initiatives in the Greater Montreal Area.

“This sensitivity for the environment really increased in the past few months,” said Dévé. “Especially with all the infatuation for the climate march, and it made me think that I was buying way too much and this buying pattern didn’t correspond with my true values.”

But the problem does not lie solely in the hands of the consumer, nor does the solution. While the environment and sustainability have definitely become a trend within the past year, it is important to remember that, with a movement comes infatuation and, ultimately, people who are trying to make money.

“Manufacturers must involve themselves, because they are currently exporting the price of plastic; they make the product without asking themselves what will happen to the waste, thinking that it’s not their problem,” said Plamondon. “As consumers, we have to inform manufacturers and give them incentives; we have to let our favourite brands know that we want them to make more effort in regards to waste production and packaging.”

When it comes to food, clothes and transportation, being mindful of what one is purchasing and how much one is consuming is a good mindset to have. In fact, the Global Footprint Calculator allows for you to calculate your personal ecological footprint based on factors such as how much meat you consume, the distance you travel daily and your electricity consumption.

“The way that we are currently living is not viable, so this type of festival is really good to initiate everyone and introduce them to a new way of living,” said Dévé.

While adopting a zero waste lifestyle is one aspect towards a waste-free future, it is not the only thing you can do. Eating less meat, shopping second-hand and supporting local businesses is a great place to start.

“I think there is a certain path [towards a waste-free future] that has been made that is irreversible,” said Plamondon. “I think it is durable, I have hope.”

“It’s one small step at a time,” said Coralie. “To simplify life.”

For more information about the Association québécoise Zéro Déchet and how to get involved you can visit their website at https://www.aqzd.ca/. Calculate your global ecological footprint at https://www.footprintcalculator.org/.


Photos by Brittany Clarke

Video by Calvin Cashen

Categories
News

Planting trees on the Loyola Campus

The Concordia Greening Project collaborated with non-profit organization Soverdi in planting over 185 Indigenous trees at the Loyola campus.

You may have noticed a new addition to Loyola’s scenery this week – around 129 Concordia students, professors and staff planted various types of trees that are native to Quebec’s forest system on campus.

The Loyola tree-planting event began last week, on Nov. 5, but the idea came up last February at the Concordia Greening Project’s first committee meeting.

The Concordia Greening Project is a new student-faculty collective that aims to promote greener practices on Concordia campuses.

Before the project, the campus’ landscape was mainly occupied by species of maple trees. Now you can find more than 20 varieties of Indigenous species such as the Canadian Serviceberries, White Birches, Red Oaks and Jack Pines.

“It’s a shame not to use the wonderful space that we have to its fullest benefits,” said Concordia Biology Professor Rebecca Tittler. “Trees provide cleaner air, water filtration and also improves well-being,”

Trees feed off carbon dioxide which takes up a little more than 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

“Young growing trees sequester a lot of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and put it into their own growth; the growth of their leaves and trunk,” Tittler said.

According to a 2019 StatCan report on greenhouse gas sources, the combustion of fossil fuels is the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide in Canada.

Trees are also commonly used to help fight extreme hot weather by providing shade and protection against heat waves. They cool the air with the water filtered through their roots, which is later released through the trees’ leaves. Trees also filter stormwater runoff from transporting toxic substances into nearby rivers and avoid contaminating the city’s clean water system.

A little over 100 trees were planted around the Stingers Dome, 44 more native trees near Hingston Halland and 41 forest trees similar to Quebec’s woodlands in front of the Communications Studies and Journalism building.

“We’re just students trying to see action in what we’re studying and trying to make changes,” said Founding Member of the Concordia Greening Project Theo Vergnet, who also studies Human Environment at the university.

With over 500,000 people who joined this year’s Montreal climate march, this is a step up for Concordia students and faculty members to demonstrate their part against global climate change. The event went on for four days, but the new installation provides the Loyola campus with a sustainable and long-term solution to certain environmental issues.

These Indigenous trees will be used as a teaching tool for the biodiversity classes taught by professor Tittler at the university. Being right outside the school buildings, students in the Sustainability program can get a more hands-on experience of the subject rather than learning about it from lectures in a classroom setting.

Over $50,000 went into funding Loyola’s tree-planting project, with the City of Montreal subsidizing 54 per cent of the cost and TD Bank covering 36 per cent as part of its #TheReadyCommitment program. Concordia University contributed 10 per cent.

“I think it’s a great partnership between institutions and Soverdi. Green spaces are really important; that we preserve and take care of it.” said Mayor of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Sue Montgomery in an interview with the Concordian. She visited the sites and even planted her own tree at the campus.

 

Photo by Laurence B.D.

Categories
News

Concordia to be a leader in sustainable investments

The Concordia University Foundation just announced its intention to withdraw all of its investments from the coal, oil and gas sector before 2025.

The Concordia University Foundation plans to be the first Quebec university with 100 per cent sustainable investments within five years. Currently, $14 million of Concordia’s $243 million assets is going into the coal, gas and oil sectors.

“We believe that being socially and environmentally responsible in our investments is the surest way to be Concordia University’s best possible fund management partner,” said Howard Davidson, Chair of the Board of the Concordia University Foundation, in a press release Friday. “Investing in sustainability is not just the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do.”

While Concordia cancelled classes for the climate strike on Sept. 27, some questioned why the university still invested in fossil fuels, as pointed out by Jacob Robitaille, internal coordinator of Concordia’s La Planète s’invite à l’Université in a previous interview with The Concordian.

“It doesn’t send a straightforward message,” Robitaille said of Concordia’s environmental position.

But now, the university is aiming to double investments that generate social and environmental impact with a financial return. For instance, Concordia partnered earlier this year with Inerjys Ventures, a global investment fund promoting the adoption of clean tech.

“Promoting sustainability and fighting climate change are priorities for the Concordia community,” said Concordia’s interim President Graham Carr in a press release. “Our researchers, students, faculty and staff are all engaged around this issue and want to be part of the solution. The Foundation’s commitments are crucial next steps in our sustainability journey.”

More details to come.

Feature graphic by Jad Abukasm

Categories
Student Life

Going the extra mile in the field of green restaurants

Photo by Cecilia Piga

Nestled into the vibrant borough of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, La Cale pub marks the first of its kind in the new wave of zero-waste restaurants in Montreal. Behind this innovative project stands a group of friends who let us peek behind the scenes of managing such a place. 

Josh Gendron shared how everything came to be after a long discussion with his co-owners Gabriel Monzerol, Lann Dery and Luca Langelier.

“We go way back and, after a while, we ended up working all at the same place,” said Gendron. “We wanted to open up a pub and be our own bosses.” Thus, the idea of overseeing a place of their own was conceived.

They did not want to conform to the status quo as, across Montreal, you can easily find an everyday pub. The four partners forced themselves to think of a way that would make them stand out, and that was when Monzerol suggested opening a pub with an ecological concept.

“Since we have been open, in our style of operation, we have not accumulated a full [amount] of trash yet,” said Gendron. Inspired by Béa Johnson’s book, Zero Waste Home, and her “refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, compost” model, what originated as being eco-friendly quickly transitioned to the zero-waste formula. Hence, even the minimal accumulated trash, which is essentially compost, is properly taken care of by a private company.

At this point, Gendron said that many considered their business idea as quite ambitious in regards to questioning how it would be sustained. However, with enough restaurant experience under their belts, they knew which practices to incorporate and how they were going to handle the pub.

Various approaches were taken into account in preparation for the opening. From interior design to day-to-day operations, La Cale follows its zero-waste philosophy in creating a business from scratch that is green at every step. The process began with how each piece of furniture was brought into use.

“Instead of buying new furniture, most of what you see inside is all recycled, second-hand or [materials] that were in the trash,” said Gendron. “Some [pieces] we built ourselves, like the bar countertops that came from pallets and the wood beams from the floor.”

The chairs and the tables again reaffirm the zero-waste motto of reusing, as they were taken from different restaurants that went out of business. Customers can also except sprinkler pipes as table legs, two-by-two pieces of wood from pallets used for lamp holders, trash lamps. Despite being rather nontraditional and not straight out of an IKEA catalogue, each of these little details helps create La Cale’s distinctive ambience.

Behind the bar, there is also a great deal of self-production in regard to the preparation of drinks. Instead of relying on mainstream plastic bags, which get thrown away after use, tonics and syrups are homemade. They are stored in glass bottles, which not only preserves the freshness of the taste but also spares the owners the need of a supplier. The pub does not stop there; it has even gone the extra mile of revolutionizing the beer culture.

Because the caps on beer bottles cannot be recycled, the solution La Cale provides is simply getting rid of serving this option.

“The only substitute is canned beer,” said Gendron. “Everything else is on tap because it’s the most efficient and eco-friendly alternative. Pretty much all of the alcohol is local, from local Quebec breweries, which also helps reduce the carbon footprint.”

Usually, local products translate to a boost in prices in comparison to outside imports. However, despite the dominating presence of local brands, La Cale puts the effort into balancing out the green concept to bill ratio. Unlike many places that serve beer, La Cale offers a pint for $7.50, which can be considered rare for Montreal.

Indeed, the project aims to change the way we think of pubs but, at the same time, it manages to remain competitive. Gendron claims that what makes the real difference are the small details in relation to execution. He doesn’t deny the hardship in taking up such a risky endeavour but knows that this is just the beginning.

“Financially, when opening a pub, there is a small margin of profit,” said Gendron. Right now, we are fresh, we are new, and we hope people will be interested.”

For him, La Cale can also be an inspiration for other businesses to follow the zero-waste model.

In the future, the owners are seeking to host more live performances. The pub has already hosted a couple of gigs featuring local bands and musicians. The show area, as Gendron refers to it, is also open for comedians to perform their bids while customers enjoy their eco-friendly drinks and good food.

The chef has currently cooked up a seasonal vegetarian menu that will leave anyone longing for a portion of the restaurant’s sweet fries. Carnivores should not lose hope in this place, as meat options will soon be introduced.

The interior aesthetics will also undergo more decoration with the addition of plants and mural paintings by emerging artists.

“What we really want is to influence other people, but without forcing our idea down their throats,” said Gendron. “Just to show that it is doable.”

Photos by Cecilia Piga

Categories
News

Concordia’s epic book fair

From Nov. 4-5, the 22nd edition of the annual book fair is taking over Concordia’s EV building

Whoever said that people don’t read anymore might want to stop at Concordia’s epic book fair for a reality check.

The two-day sale has been a successful tradition. For over 20 years, it has attracted students looking for their textbooks to save money, but also staff members and even non-Concordians looking to find a treasure.

Luke Quin, writer and coordinator for the fundraising book fair.

“It seems like for young people, though they utilize technology or listen to audiobooks, there is still an appeal for hard book,” said Luke Quin, writer and coordinator for the fundraising book fair. “Especially when it comes to older books, earlier edition, things that might not be accessible on Amazon.”

Quin explained that the idea behind having thousands of books on display at a low rate is to collect funds for scholarships, but also for the Student Emergency and Food fund. This particular fund is intended for any students in immediate financial need, to provide them with gift cards for groceries.

Books donations are made all year round, often from professors and retirees who are emptying out their offices, Quin said. While people might expect it to contain only academic novels, there are also entire sections dedicated to children’s books, sport, fiction or even good old romance.

“I came last year, so I am coming back to try and find anything interesting,” said Nazim Ben, a Concordia student in the Finance Department. “I am just curious for anything that is cool!”

Indeed, patience is needed to browse through the multiple sections. Susan Hawke, a retiree who has volunteered at the fair since its second edition, remembers how it started simply with two or three tables in the Hall building.

“It was always my fear, for a long time, that people would stop reading or [stop wanting to read in book format], but it always seems to be the reverse,” Hawke said.

If you’re measuring success in terms of money, the event has been prosperous, managing to increase the number of donations over the years. The Advancement and Alumni Relations reported that the 2018 edition raised over $31,000, a record for the event.

But for Quin and the volunteers, it’s also successful as it takes used books that might have ended up in the garbage and offers them to students instead.

“People that go through the cash register, they go with a stranger’s book that is falling apart or some old fiction book that was selling for 25 cents,” Hawke said. “You never know what appeals to people, it’s quite fun, matching people and books.”

 

Feature photo by Jad Abukasm

Categories
Student Life

November Events Calendar

Graphic by @sundaeghost

School events:

Nov. 4-9: International business week, JMSB

Nov. 6: Discover Multi-Faith Fair 2019 

Nov. 8 and 28: Therapy Dogs in the Zen Dens

Nov. 9: Music Therapy Workshop

 

Sustainability:

Nov. 8-10: Zero-Waste festival

Nov. 27: Concordia Farmers’ Pop-Up Markets

 

Lifestyle:

Nov. 9: Science Fiction and Fantasy Used Book Sale!

Nov. 9: DANCE PARTY 2000 Icons Edition

Nov. 9-10: Opening The Arts of One World

Nov. 16-17: Expozine 2019

Nov. 23: Santa Claus Parade

 

Graphic by @sundaeghost

Categories
News

Giving a second life to compostable foods

Megan Clarke, a Concordian Sustainability student, is trying to get Concordia to find alternative ways to deal with food-waste other than composting it, with the aim of becoming fully waste-free.

According to Clarke, Concordia would be the first university in Quebec to do so.

She is planning to create ways for food waste to be redistributed on campus instead of just composting it. This entails taking wasted food from Concordia events or on-campus stores and giving it to organizations, such as shelters.

Clarke has gathered over 1,500 signatures in the hopes that the Concordia Student Union (CSU) will make zero food waste a university-wide policy.

“Hey, if France can do this, we can too,” Clarke said. “The student body wants this, it is about time we do this.”

According to an article in the Guardian, in 2016, France passed a law banning supermarkets from throwing out unsold food, making them donate it to food charities instead.

Concordia Compost said in a statement that “Food and organic waste are the largest waste component generated at Concordia – yet we only compost 26% of organic waste. Half of what Concordia sends to landfill could be composted instead.”

“You can’t eat compost,” Clarke said, emphasizing that her project is not about composting food waste, but getting that food to people that need it.

Clarke admits that in 2008 to 2009 she struggled with finding affordable food, and knows people that are still having those issues.

“It’s a lot of work, I didn’t think I’d be this deep into it to be honest,” said Clarke. “I wanted to give back to a society that so desperately needs nutrition.”

She started the project alone in February and was shot down by every organization she contacted. It wasn’t until Clarke met Faisal Shennib from Zero Waste Concordia that she was able to start gaining traction.

According to Clarke, it was through this that the idea of a communal fridge was created. She invisions multiple communal fridges, which are maintained by volunteers, across the campus where anyone can take and leave food.

There are multiple communal fridges across the city, in Rosemont, Little Burgundy, and Saint-Henri.

“We already started redistributing food from events to organizations,” said Clarke. “But sometimes those organizations don’t want to come by for one or two slices of pizza. What do we do with that? Do we just throw it out? No, it’s zero waste, we have to go all the way.”

“Because it’s amongst the people, by the people, there is no liability,” Clarke said. “You trust the person you are getting this from.”

“It does work in other places, so let’s try it out here,” Clarke said. “Let’s try to reduce waste, try to eliminate waste across Concordia.”

Besides the fridges, Clarke has many other projects in the making.

She wants to collaborate with student food resources such as People’s Potato, who have a free lunch Monday to Friday, and Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, that has a two dollar lunch every Thursday. Clarke wants to create another free meal in the evening, Monday to Friday.

“I want leftover food to be distributed as well,” she said. “If we have those leftovers, and we have a space, then we would be able to feed 200-500 students on a daily basis.”

In addition, Clarke works with the Dish Project, which is a waste reduction organization, and together they try and reduce food waste at Concordia events.

Yet, because Clarke is doing this mostly alone, she doesn’t have much visibility and people do not know they can donate food waste to her initiative.

Organizations that Clarke works with like Zero-Waste Concordia and The Dish Project are always looking for help. The best way to reach Clarke is at Zerowaste@concordia.ca.

 

Photo by Laurence Brisson Dubreuil

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