Sowing seeds, reaping results

Rochelle Owen is the first director of the Office of Sustainability. (Danny Abriel Photo)

“Many wonderful seeds being sown everywhere at Dal,” is the way the first director of the Office of Sustainability describes the sustainability initiatives underway at the university.

It will be Rochelle Owen’s job to ensure those seeds grow into operational initiatives and come together in a university-wide plan. Ms. Owen began in early January and has received a very warm reception.

“Most people at Dalhousie are really interested in doing more in the way of environmental sustainability,” says Ms. Owen, whose mandate is to support, implement, maintain and communicate campus-wide sustainability programs.

“A lot has been done and there is definitely more than can be done,” she says. “People feel it will be great to have an office to focus on planning, policy and communication efforts.”

Ms. Owen’s job will be to develop a strategic plan for the office, help draft a university-wide policy and framework for sustainability efforts, and cultivate a culture of sustainability at Dalhousie.

Dal also will begin to focus on sustainability issues – how much water do we use each year? Can we use much less? How do we cut our electricity use? Can we use 100 per cent recycled paper? Can we get rid of the paper coffee cups that cannot be recycled … there are many possibilities.

“Ingenuity and innovation are going to be key messages,” says Ms. Owen, adding that she has found Dal to have “pockets of intellectual gold,” when it comes to designing new programs, carrying out day-to-day operations and weaving the environment into the curriculum.

That process has already begun. A multi-faculty working group has been in place since the fall and a campus-wide two-day workshop, Environmental Sustainability and Society: Towards Innovative Academic Programming is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 15 and Saturday, Feb. 16.

Professors, administrators, staff and students are encouraged to participate. The focus is the development of new interdisciplinary academic programming.

As well as developing plans for the office, Ms. Owen says there will be a 15 to 20 person advisory board, set up to help guide the university’s efforts. It will cast its net wide for students, faculty, staff and community representatives. The advisory group will have working groups on key topics.

Before filling the post as the first director of Office Sustainability, Ms. Owen was the Atlantic Head of Public Education and Engagement at Environment Canada. She has worked on such difficult issues as contaminated sites and has provided facilitation, training and presentations to hundreds of groups at the local, regional, national and international levels.

A Dalhousie graduate, Ms. Owen holds a BSc in community health education and a Masters of Environmental Studies.