Proposals for admin

From Common Energy UVic

The most up-to-date version of this can be found on the Proposals page

[edit] Food

This intro will be edited and expanded upon...(Misao, thanks!)

Production and distribution of our food has a large impact on the climate, and our region meets very little of its demand with locally and sustainably produced food. UVic purchases a substantial quantity of food and is one of the largest producers of waste in the region. The goal of the Food Working Group is to develop the local and sustainable food supply in the region while decreasing our waste associated with food.

Food security, 1996 snow storm....(intro)

[edit] Goal

UVic will increase the consumption of local food on campus, increase the capacity for local food production in the region, and convert the food system on campus to become waste free.

[edit] Objectives

1. Shift UVic toward local food purchasing.
2. Increase the amount of food produced on campus.
3. Increase opportunities for campus and community members to train as sustainable food producers. Provide opportunities for university and high school educators.
4. Increase the ratio of plants to meat consumed on campus through the education of campus and community members regarding the sustainability of meat vs plant choices.
5. Increase the amount of food waste/organic waste composted and decrease the use of petroleum derived food packaging and single-use packaging.[Are we trying to make our kitchens and restaurants waste free? We might be able to stream-line this objective. - Jamie]

[edit] Strategies for meeting Objective 1

1. Direct UVic Housing, Food and Conference Services and UVic Purchasing to promote and increase the number of local food options available in campus food outlets.
   • An initial step would be Local Specials. These specials would increase awareness of the importance of local food. Allow for an easy first step in more local food in our campus food options. The special will also allow for the campus food purchasers and distributors to build new relationships with local suppliers.
   • Encourage conference services to provide local menu options for conferences. Conference attendees commonly come from all over the world. It would be a sign of leadership and foresight for the university to offer local food options to visitors.
2. Work with distributors to increase the sourcing of local food.
   • As UVic adopts and expands upon the Local Special, the distributors working with UVic will seek out local foods to satisfy the UVic mandate. This market pressure will act to stimulate more local food production.
3. Create and adopt a UVic local food purchasing policy.
   • Presently Vancouver Island does not grow enough food to support it's citizens. This central issue has profound implications upon our local food security, community fabric and sustainability of our food chain. If local farmers had a guaranteed market for their products, more land would be cultivated to meet the demand. UVic's adoption of a local food purchasing policy that would slowly increase the amount of food to be purchased locally will provide assurance to local producers that if they increase the land under cultivation, a market for the products will exist. This policy will cement UVic in a local leadership role of promoting sustainability and community.

[edit] Strategies for meeting Objective 2

1. Increase the land available for community gardens on campus and situate the community gardens in more accessible locations. #*The UVic Campus Community Garden is oversubscribed with a waiting list for gardening plots. Opening up more areas of campus for community gardens for both the campus and off-campus communities will aid in our local food security, allow students control over their own food production, and beautify the campus.
2. Promote rooftop gardens in areas where this would be beneficial and possible. If a rooftop garden is not appropriate, CE will support the creation of green roofs. Rooftop gardens help promote local food production and increase involvement in urban agriculture.
3. To further increase local food security, UVic can offer more training for gardeners through continuing education programs.
   • Continuting education programs can be held during the summer when many UVic undergraduate students are absent from campus, thus ensuring a continuity between students and cultivated land on campus.

[edit] Strategies for meeting Objective 3

1. Support the integration of sustainable agriculture into coursework on and off-campus. Several courses on campus already focus on issues such as food security, climate change, small business practices and nutrition, all of which are relevant to local food production. By growing connections between faculty and local farmers, these courses can be enhanced through experiential learning, guest lecturers and student projects.
2. Organize an inter-disciplinary, academically-based garden plot run by students and faculty centred around a sustainable agriculture course. This course would be open to undergraduate students as a means to compliment other academic courses revolving around related geographic, environmental, health or business interests. It would be an intensive field experience in methods and techniques for growing food sustainably in our region. Growth of this course would eventually lead to strategy 3.
3. Support the creation of a centre for urban agriculture on the CJVI lands. This centre would provide a space for research and innovation through experiential learning, providing opportunities for both local food production and community connections.

• Training and networking for sustainable food producers, both in future farmers and continuing education community/campus students
• Providing a space for community building and outreach to local educators, health professionals and the general public
• Offering opportunities for work-study and independent student projects tailored to individual interests and career paths
• Possibilities for graduate research as a case-study for social scientists and others interested in community building, health education and grassroots organizing
• Increasing local, nutritious food in regional food banks
• Demonstrating the University's leadership in public outreach and community involvement, innovative and creative learning opportunities and carbon footprint reduction efforts

[edit] Strategies for meeting Objective 4

1. Decrease the amount of meat served on campus.
   • Greenhouse gas production by ungulates is a major global emission, and deforestation and land clearance for cattle grazing reduces the biosphere's ability to fix the carbon anthropenically emitted into the atmosphere. Campus outlets should decrease the menu items featuring meat and increase the vegetarian protein options
2. Ensure the meat that is served on campus was produced as sustainably as possible.

[It would be great to try and get some numbers for this in the long run - and work towards a goal of a sustainable ratio of animal to plant consumption on campus. - Jamie]

[edit] Strategies for meeting Objective 5

1. Direct Facilities Management to expand the current composting system, so that it includes more outside drop-off locations and receptacles in buildings. [See comments on this objective above - Jamie]
2. Lobby the Capital Regional District to ban the organic wastes from the Hartland Landfill
   • Presently, Oak Bay and UVic pick up compostable material, however since Hartland landfill currently accepts organic waste, these programs are at a cost since the other municipalities in our area have failed to join in. If the Hartland landfill were to close to organic waste, the lifetime of the landfill will be extended greatly since approximately 30% of the waste entering the landfill presently can be composted. Extending the lifetime of Hartland is important to our area due to a lack of other desirable locations and the cost of new landfill creation.
3. Purchase and install a digestor on campus for the treatment of compostable materials
   • With the closure of Hartland to organic matter, it becomes more financially feasible for the CRD to purchase and install a local digestor facility.
4. Work towards a campus-wide ban on disposable dishware and utensils.[This is great, but could use more implementation steps - Jamie]
   • Initial step: Implement a stiff tariff on disposable food containers to change behaviour and fund the purchase of equipment for reusable food containers (such as dishwashers, containers supplies, and equipment for a deposit system).
   • Purchase and install said equipment
   • Implement a deposit system whereby those who do not bring their own reusable containers to food outlets, may pay a deposit to borrow a reusable container from campus food outlets