Ottawa Campus Environmental Factors, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The University of Ottawa is playing its role in creating a sustainable and eco-friendly space just like most urbanized university spaces. It has invested in different aspects that are meant to make its space more environmentally friendly. But despite the enhanced efforts, there are still many areas that require improvements. The university will have to put up more measures to reach its environmental objectives and goals.

Making People in Power to Encourage a Sustainable Campus

One way the university achieves its environmental goals is by making people in power encourage a sustainable campus. These are the people who have been given powers to make and implement policies. There are several techniques that these people in power can use to make the campus sustainable.

Among the most effective ways for the university to achieve the environmental goals is to compel organizations and clubs to make all their events eco-friendly. Any event held within the campus should have all the eco-friendly attributes, such as using sustainable supplies and making sure that the bins are recyclable.  Events that do not observe environmental protocols usually lead to a lot of negative environmental effects.  The university’s clubs and organizations hold a lot of events, especially during the weekends, and these events are among the major contributors to environmental degradation on the campus. UOSU and other authorities should push and support increased sustainability and events that are environmentally friendly.

Another way of making people in power support environmental conservation in the university is by providing relevant education. This includes making it mandatory for every student on campus to take ecological courses. Education should also involve educating all the stakeholders in the university, including students, workers, and professors, on ways to compost properly, reduce landfill waste and recycle correctly.  The importance of educating the stakeholders is that they create an eco-friendly culture in the university (Truong & Clayton, 2020). Even the new students who will join later will find a university that is keen on conserving the environment. Consequently, even the future generations will benefit from the education provided.

Other Infrastructural Ways to Implement Nature Into The Campus

Another infrastructural way of implementing nature into Ottawa University is applying ecotherapy and nature therapy. This involves having more trees, flowers, and other plants all over the university. Tree and plants are the ones that absorb carbon dioxide and, in return, exhale oxygen. The absorbed carbon dioxide removes some of the unwanted substances from the atmosphere within the campus. The exhaled oxygen also makes the atmosphere fresh by providing more air that is breathable by people and animals within the university. A good example of this kind of technique is the plant wall at the Faculty of Social Science building. The tree wall plays an integral role in enhancing the efforts to create an eco-friendly campus by increasing the number of plants on the campus. Ottawa University can further increase the number of plants and trees on the campus by creating more similar natural structures. The administrators in the university can encourage the students and other stakeholders to create a natural structure that is guaranteed to make the university more eco-friendly.

Some of the techniques that the university can use to increase the number of plants and trees include forest bathing. The university can use this particular technique to encourage the planting of trees that are known to grow well without occupying a lot of space (Doroski, Ashton & Duguid, 2020). These are the trees that do not become too big within a short time since overgrowing requires regular trimming. Through forest bathing, the institutions can be able to plant a higher number of trees and make sure that the trees provide the campus with optimum benefits. Forest bathing will work if there is support from the different stakeholders, including the people in leadership positions (Das, 2016). Students also have an integral role in forest bathing. It is paramount to apply biodiversity by including large and small trees, shrubs, fern, and plants. Biodiversity is helpful because it allows the plants to support each other. Data shows that places with enhanced biodiversity are more eco-friendly since the plants complement each other to produce excellent results. Biodiversity also includes planting different species of plants so that they can support each other. It has been proven that plants of a single species cannot do well unless supported by other species. Some seasonal plants and trees do well in certain seasons. Consequently, applying biodiversity ensures that there will be well-doing trees in all seasons.

Benefits of Ecotherapy and Nature Therapy

The main benefit is that there is an increased level of fresh oxygen flowing throughout the campus. Places with high oxygen levels usually feel fresh, and people in such places are likely to be happier (Sullivan, 2013). Such people are also likely to be healthier due to their bodies absorbing adequate levels of oxygen.

Ecotherapy and nature therapy also help remove the unwanted elements in the air. The unhealthy oxygen that is usually in the air is removed by the plants and trees in the compound absorbing it. High levels of toxic elements such as carbon dioxide can even lead to health problems. Plants also absorb other elements in the air, which is why the air in or near forests usually feels fresh.

Another benefit of ecotherapy and nature therapy is that they create beauty and elegance (Nguyen et al., 20200. If the campus is full of trees and plants, it will look more attractive, especially to people who are passionate about conserving the environment. Trees and flowers are used in many places as beautification elements, and therefore, when they are on the campus, they enhance beauty.

Why Rewild Areas of the University Of Ottawa

Humans are a part of nature, and as a result, it is paramount to be one with nature. Trying to alienate nature from humans usually has catastrophic results, and this has been proven through real-life experiences (Rewilding Europe, 2021). People who practice deforestation and other practices that affect vegetation usually suffer both short and long-term effects. Most of such people usually do not look into the future and the effects of their actions. The sad thing is that such practices affect even people who did not participate in the harmful practices.

Among the ideal ways of enhancing rewilding in the University of Ottawa and other similar areas is putting a value on nature. This involves making people understand that nature rewards the people who conserve it (Sukhdev, 2011). The rewards might not be monetary, but they have a bigger value than almost any monetary rewards. This can be achieved through educating people that nature has its own way of paying the people who conserve it. There is evidence that in places where nature is conserved, people feel more contented with life. At the University of Ottawa, value can be put on nature by making the stakeholders see the importance of vegetation. Some people might see plants and trees as a nuisance that blocks their existence. Some people do not see the value of the natural resources at their disposal. Such people assume that because elements such as water are available almost anywhere, they are not costly. But if the same people were asked to pay for water or air, they would realize how costly it is to acquire some of the natural resources available in the world.

The University of Ottawa should see the value of the freely available resources and, as a result, do its best to preserve these valuable resources. The students, professors, and workers should understand that every natural resource they use has a price. As a result, they would appreciate nature more, where most of them would participate in tree planting campaigns. Even those who do not participate would know that having more resources means that one is richer. It is also paramount to show how a green economy can be the primary element in jobs creation. This includes all the jobs created in companies that provide green energy solutions, such as the makers of solar panels. People need to know the importance of having a green economy that is based on tree planting and the creation of forests.

Importance of Rewilding

Many people do not see the need to rewild, especially in places where vegetation is removed to create room for structures to be built. This applies even to Ottawa University, where the campus’s building stands used to be a forest or a bush. It is important to try and plant trees and bushes back to avoid interfering with nature. Besides interfering with nature, rewilding creates an eco-friendly environment where people are able to get clean oxygen without struggling. Rewilding is also an ideal way of enhancing the beauty of any place, including the Ottawa campus. It does not take a lot since one just needs to plant trees and plants in the open spaces.

Restoring biodiversity is also an important aspect that should be taken with the seriousness it deserves. Scientists have analyzed the environment and established that biodiversity is the only thing keeping some plants alive. The reason behind this is that there are plants that rely on others to survive. Some plants and trees have slowly become extinct because there was no biodiversity. Observation of plants of different species shows that they might depend on each other more than people thought in the past. Even global organizations recognize the importance of biodiversity, which can be achieved through practices such as reforestation. There are several campaigns to plant more trees and restore forests, such as the UN’s viral trillion tree campaign, which aims at encouraging people to plant as many trees as possible. Thomas Crowther, an ecologist, has also introduced a campaign called Restore, an informative platform that is meant to allow people from different walks of life to plant trees at any time (Crowther, 2020). The primary objective of this campaign is to the biodiversity of the Earth’s ecosystem by planting as many trees as possible. The campaign also provides people with researched information that is meant to enable them to understand the effects of deforestation and the benefits of reforestation. Such information can be beneficial to Ottawa University since it enlightens the people involved with the institution, including the leaders, on the importance of creating biodiversity.

Healthy parks can also be part of the solution when it comes to tackling the problem of reforestation. These are the parks that are covered by different kinds of plants and trees and allow people to spend time enjoying the benefits of nature (Erickson, 2020). The name of these parks suggests that they provide an opportunity to enhance health. Their main characteristic is having as many trees as possible and places where people can relax while enjoying nature. Some of the things that people get to enjoy include the clean air that is produced by the vegetation. People get away from the highly polluted cities to have quiet moments in healthy parks. The University of Ottawa can also create healthy parks within the instruction by looking for spaces where people can get out and enjoy themselves. The creation of healthy parks directly leads to healthy people because people who visit these parks are likely to be healthier conscious. Some people choose these parks as places to exercise because there is pretty clean oxygen, making exercises more effective and enjoyable.

Integrated human-nature health is another concept that can help effectively deal with the issues related to biodiversity. This is because the concept encourages people to take care of nature to enhance their health (Orange & Cohen, 2010). It also entails showing people that by enhancing nature, they will be improving their health. Planting more trees leads to the creation of an environment that can facilitate healthy lifestyles. When nature is full of trees and other natural attributes, people get places and opportunities to enhance their health.

Therefore, Ottawa University can benefit greatly by adopting the different aspects of creating a more eco-friendly environment on the campus. These benefits are both short and long terms where generations of people associated with the institution stand to benefit.

References

Crowther Thomas. (2020 October). The Global movement to restore nature’s biodiversity. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_crowther_the_global_movement_to_restore_nature_s_biodiversity#t-599946

Das Nitin. (2016 Oct).Forest Bathing. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-wHq6yY2CI

Doroski, D. A., Ashton, M. S., & Duguid, M. C. (2020). The future urban forest–A survey of tree planting programs in the Northeastern United States. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 55, 126816.

Erickson Berit (2020 June). Plant it and it Will Come. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5nXqB0CkEw

Nguyen, A. T., Parker, L., Brennan, L., & Lockrey, S. (2020). A consumer definition of eco-friendly packaging. Journal of Cleaner Production, 252, 119792.

Orange, E., & Cohen, A. M. (2010). From eco-friendly to eco-intelligent. The Futurist, 44(5), 28. Rewilding Europe. (2021 June). Rewilding Principles. Youtube.

Sukhdev Pavan. (2011 July). Put a value to nature. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/pavan_sukhdev_put_a_value_on_nature

Sullivan, S. (2013). Banking nature? The spectacular financialisation of environmental conservation. Antipode, 45(1), 198-217.

Truong, M. X. A., & Clayton, S. (2020). Technologically transformed experiences of nature: A challenge for environmental conservation?. Biological Conservation, 244, 108532.