DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY Halifax, Nova Scotia, Natural Environment Planning, AASHE 2011 Rochelle Owen, Director Office of Sustainability,

Dalhousie University Campus 100+ buildings/houses on 79-acres in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. Includes 4.5 million gross square feet of building space. A campus population of approximately 23,000 Three Campus: Studley, Carleton, Campus District Heating System that is 2 km+ long

What we aim to do BiodiversityEnergy & emissions Water & waste Sustainable Transport Engaged People And a bunch of other stuff ….

Energy Water, Air, Land Purchasing Waste & emissions Transport Built Environment Natural Environment Policy and Planning Measurement & Monitoring Behaviour Built &Natural Infrastructure STARS Dalhousie Sustainability Plan ________ (c02e tonnes) kWhe/sqf/person /cost m3/sqf/person/co st Commuting mode % Canopy/green cover/biodiversity % Engagement outputs Building meters- integration with Metasys Dashboard Sustainability Plan and Policy _____________ Climate Change Plan Natural Environment Plan Procurement and waste Plan Transportation Demand Management Plan Campus Utility Master Plan _____________ Active Transport Guidelines Green Building Policy Natural Environment Guideline and Policy Paper Policy Vendor Code Sustainability to Purchasing Policy Created /Doing Developing Both doing and developing Rethink Sustainability On Campus _____________ Events and Campaigns Social marketing tools EcoOlympics Green Residence Forum Sustainability Teams and Challenges Rethink Energy on Campus Lighting Retrofits Full building Sustainability Upgrades Trigengeration Project Appliance and equipment upgrades Bicycle infrastructure LEED Gold NC __________ Natural areas/garden More native trees and shrubs

Components 1.Natural Environment Plan & Policy and Guidelines 2.Natural Environment Inventory and Mapping (birds, trees, shrubs, soil, air, water) 3.Planting – tree, shrubs, plants (roofs, land, pots, …); swales, corridors …

Natural Environment: Key values?

Natural Environment Plan and Policy Context Values/objectives/indic ators/targets Inventory Implementation Replacement – Diameter Breast Height Planting Guidance Funding- carbon offset, memorial, donation

Upper campus in the later 1930s – already cleared

Inventory Landscapes – Tree and shrub inventory; classification of outside areas Water – archives, maps, stormwater flows Soil - geology pit studies from building projects Air- local government air station data Birds – counts, meetings with birders, linking birds and campus habitat

Tree and Shrub Inventory

Collect Data – Student arborist and team Training is key Lidar data for GIS from the city Create maps and stastical baseline for various features Using this and campus master plan to create tree and shrub master plan for next years.

Used to determine LEED EBOM credit – native species by building site

Immediate Impacts Trees coming down for projects, knocked down for construction – policy inacted so projects pay for replacement using diameter breast height Transitioning data management and policy action to Grounds manager Trees being saved for higher end-use

Next Steps Finalize plan and policy drafts Submit data to I-Tree - for more analysis Finalize long-term tree and shrub master plan Transition process to Facilities completely with some extra training Additional training of projects staff Funding opportunities and plantings –stormwater management