CONESTOGA COLLEGE
Conestoga community plants micro-forest

On October 28, more than 40 Conestoga employees and students came together at the Waterloo campus to plant Conestoga's first micro-forest.

The Conestoga community gathered at the Waterloo campus to plant the college's first micro-forest in celebration of the launch of Conestoga's Sustainability Action Plan.

In partnership with Sustainable Waterloo Region and funded through Colleges and Institutes Canada's campus climate micro-grant program, the forest includes 100 native trees and shrubs. Over their lifetime, these plants are expected to sequester between 200-250kg of carbon annually - roughly equivalent to the energy use of one home per year.

"The benefits of the forest go beyond climate mitigation", said Laura Matheson, director of Sustainability. "Co-benefits include increasing biodiversity, removing air pollutants, and providing a future space for employees and students to enjoy nature in an urban environment, enhancing psychological well-being."

According to studies, spending just 20 minutes a day in nature has been shown to provide a wide range of physical, mental and emotional benefits, such as reducing stress and anxiety, improving concentration and promoting mindfulness.

"Over time, we hope to expand the micro-forest to occupy a larger footprint, which, along with the benefits described above, will also help reduce mowing requirements", said Matheson.

"This is another example of our community coming together around a shared purpose and making a positive impact," said Michelle Chrétien, vice-president, Research. "We were grateful for the show of support, not to mention the hard work, from our community members."

Establishing the micro-forest is one way the college has marked the launch of Conestoga's inaugural Sustainability Action Plan, which includes 27 actions aimed at creating a more environmentally responsible, socially equitable and prosperous campus community.

"There is an opportunity to position Conestoga as a sustainability leader, and by building on a strong foundation of sustainable action, we are optimistic about what we can achieve," said Matheson.

To learn more about Conestoga's commitment to sustainability, view the recently launched plan. A new sustainability web presence will launch in the coming months to share opportunities for getting involved, stories showcasing the college's progress and more.

Conestoga regularly hosts a sustainability speaker series to engage the community. The next virtual discussion is on November 20, where representatives from ClimateActionWR will discuss meeting Waterloo Region's climate goals through TransformWR, a collaborative strategy to become an equitable, prosperous and resilient low-carbon community by 2050.