Get Involved!
Sustainability Groups
Sustainability Stewardship Council
The Sustainability Stewardship Council (SSC) provides a forum for students, faculty, administration, and community members to create Lakehead University’s unique sustainability profile by examining key sustainability issues and developing and implementing a sustainability action plan impacting all sectors of the University at its Thunder Bay and Orillia campuses.
Planeteers
Lakehead University Residence student-led volunteer group.
The purpose of this committee is to help make students more aware of their actions and how they are impacting the environment.
Fossil Free Lakehead
Fossil Free Lakehead calls upon Lakehead University to divest its endowment funds from the fossil fuel corporations that own the majority of carbon reserves and reinvest in socially responsible funds.
LUSU-Sponsored Clubs
Check out what's going on this year at Lakehead! Each fall, LUSU updates the list of active student clubs. There are usually environment and climate-focused groups on both campuses and each would be happy to welcome you!
Annual Initiatives
Watch the Sustainability Events section of our website and the Campus Connections weekly emails for more information on the following initiatives held throughout the year.
Campus Beautification Days
Campus Beautification Days encourage our Lakehead community to spruce up our campus, spend some time outdoors with peers and colleagues, and lend a helping hand.
Activities Include:
- Tidying up our perennial gardens
- Removing Invasive Species
- Collecting debris
- Revitalizing our courtyards
We aim to create a clean and welcoming environment that instills a sense of pride in our campus!
Office Supplies Drive
Save your used office supplies and recycle them on designated days! Students, faculty and staff can drop off their ink and toner cartridges/drum units/writing supplies/batteries at the designated station in the Agora. Writing supplies include pens, pencils, markers, highlighters, and so on.
Ink and toner cartridges can take 450 to 1,000 years to decompose. Similar to the other office supplies listed, when cartridges are sent to the landfill they leach into soil and nearby waterways. Many of the materials found in cartridges and other office supplies can be recycled.
These materials will be recycled into new products courtesy of Staples and Terra Cycle. The collected items are "mechanically and/or manually separated into metals, fibers, and plastics. Metals are melted so they may be recycled. The fibers (such as paper or wood-based products) are recycled or composted. The plastics undergo extrusion and pelletization to be molded into new recycled plastic products."
While recycling is an important way to divert waste, always consider where you can reduce your purchase and use of these items first. Electronic waste is not accepted at this event. If you have university-owned electronics you need to recycle, please submit a work order to have them picked up.
E-Waste Collection Days
Drop-in and bring your e-waste or simply learn more about our waste diversion programs at Lakehead.
Acceptable Items:
Printers, Cartridges, Monitors, Display Devices, Headphones, Speakers, Chargers, Cables, Laptops, Tablets, Cell Phones, Cameras, Recorders, Batteries
Clothing Swaps
Help contribute to the circular economy by bringing clothes you no longer need and swapping for some new-to-you items! No items to swap but in need of some new clothes? You are welcome too!
SDG Week
SDG Week Canada is a national collaboration featuring workshops, panels, and other interactive programming to increase awareness of and engagement with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on university and college campuses. Brought to you by the Sustainability Hub at UBC, SDSN Canada, and Colleges and Institutes Canada, and locally through the Office of Sustainability. SDG Week Canada aims to:
- Raise awareness of the SDGs through interdisciplinary teaching and learning opportunities on post-secondary campuses.
- Build long-term momentum around the SDGs in Canada’s post-secondary sector by embedding and institutionalizing the SDGs in campus operations, strategic planning, teaching, learning, and research.
- Create a cross-disciplinary collaborative environment for post-secondary institutions to work together and across sectors to advance the SDGs in Canada.
- Integrate the guiding values of the SDGs to create inclusive and respectful conversations to inform universal, transformative, and interconnected solutions.