Green Residence

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WATERLOO'S GOAL

By 2018, establish a sustainability leaders program in partnership with students from residences, clubs and societies, student government, and for students in off-campus housing

Supporting SDGs

Help Campus Housing go green!

Two Green Residence Ambassadors at a booth in residence, holding up pledge stickers and with sustainability promotional materials on the table in front of them Students have an incredibly important role to play in making the University of Waterloo a more sustainable campus. To support students in this journey, we've launched the Green Residence program in partnership with Campus Housing.

The goal of the Green Ambassador program is to build student sustainability leadership skills and experience, support sustainable behaviours across the residence community, and provide meaningful feedback to the University on housing sustainability.

The Green Residence Ambassador program is an amazing opportunity for students to:

Gain valuable leadership, teamwork, and communication experience
Make a tangible impact in lowering your environmental footprint
Fulfil requirements for WWF Canada's Living Planet Leader designation
Make new friends and have fun!

Applications are now open for the Green Residence Ambassador Program Fall2022-Winter2023 Cohort!

SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP TRAINING

Ambassadors will be trained in how they can step into sustainability-related leadership roles and support their peers in residence. It will provide an introduction to communicating sustainability, outline "behaviour change" basics, and discuss how it applies to the Green Residence program.

ORGANICS COLLECTION PILOT

6 countertop organics bin stacked together with sticker to indicate what can go in them (food scraps and compostable food containers) Seven amazing ambassadors volunteered to help to divert organics from landfill in UWP by collecting organics from student rooms and dropping it off in the large outdoor bins. The pilot took place between February 1 and March 26. In total, our volunteers performed 160 collections and helped to divert nearly 130 bags of organics from the landfill!

BIWEEKLY DISCUSSIONS

In Winter 2021, ambassadors participated in biweekly virtual discussions on sustainability topics, including Climate Change & Energy, Sustainable Travel and more (~1 hour every 2 weeks). Current ambassadors will have the opportunity to explore these topics in training sessions while also recieving professional development training.

EVENT PLANNING

The Fall 2022- Winter 2023 cohort will support event planning and hosting on campus. In 2020, five amazing ambassadors volunteered to organize and host a virtual Earth Hour event for students, including creating marketing materials, preparing questions for the trivia activity, and facilitating the event. Our students did an amazing job pulling the event together, and we all learned a lot about Earth Hour and broader environmental topics!

What students are saying about the program

The Green Residence Ambassador Program is a great opportunity to get involved with the local community and engage with peers who are interested in creating a more sustainable world. I joined the program to learn how I could contribute to sustainability initiatives on campus and had the pleasure to learn from colleagues about different topics, such as green infrastructure, biodiversity, and water conservation.

Rodrigo, 2021 Green Residence Ambassador

My experiences in the program have allowed me to build friendships with others who are also interested in sustainability. I also learned a lot that I am applying in my daily life. For instance, in our biodiversity discussion we talked about the importance of native plants, and I am currently working towards creating a native plant garden to attract pollinators.

Arunemathi, 2019/20 Green Residence Ambassador

What's in store for the Fall 2022-Winter 2023 Cohort

Waste Week Challenge mason jar full of food wrappers. The upcoming academic term is an exciting time as more things can occur in-person. The Green Residence program will take a hybrid approach this term, with both virtual and in-person activities, as permitted.

We will continue to run our bi-weekly discussions centered arounf professional development. These discussions will be also focused around understanding opportunities and barriers on sustainability challenges in residences.

New this term includes the Organic Collection Project. After being on hiatus, the intention is to begin

This cohort will also explore sustainability initatives on campus like:

Promoting campus wide-events (i.e., Waste Week 2022)
Creating communication materials for Residences
Green Ambassador hosted Movie Nights
Sustainability Events (i.e., booths, events, and workshops)
Living Planet @ Campus (WWF project opportunities

Time Commitment:~10-15 hours a month starting the week of September 5, 2022.

Time breakdown: Training and Green Ambassador Onboarding (2-3 hours a month), biweekly discussions (2-3 hours a month), Organics Collection Project (4 hours a month), event planning and hosting (2-3 hours a month)

Become a Green Residence Ambassador (Fall 2022-Winter 2023)

Does being a Green Residence Ambassador sound like a good fit for you? Fill out our application form now! Please do not hesitate to contact us by email at sustainability@uwaterloo.ca for any questions, concerns or comments. Deadline: September 4th 2022.