Embedded Files
Come back often to see actions added as they happen!
Laudato Sí and the USA Sustainability Committee hosted so many events revolving around Earth Day that it was advertised as Earth Weeks. Events included a reading of "Braiding Sweetgrass," a yoga session, a bird-friendly campus talk, and the Conservation Biology Poster sessions as well as the Queen City Forward listening session, and the Canisius Bike Day.
Spring 2026 Actions
In April, with funds provided by Go Buffalo Niagara and Canisius' participation in the Clean Mobility Project, Canisius University hosted a Queen City Forward Listening Session with the Department of Transportation regarding the future of Route 33. This event was open to the public and allowed visitors an opportunity to discuss the impacts of the current Route 33 and envision its reconstruction and impact on the East Side. Presenters offered their expertise in engineering, environmental impacts, and current issues to which visitors could share their observations and recommendations.
The Clean Mobility Project and Go Buffalo Niagara hosted a Canisius Bike Day to encourage community members to sign up for their Reddy Bikeshare memberships in April. A Reddy Bike was available to demonstrate how to rent one, and community members received assistance in setting up their memberships on phone applications. We also had bike helmets and water bottles (from 100% recycled plastic! ) to offer participants. We wanted to highlight the installation of five new bike racks on campus (courtesy of East Side Bike Club and installed by Go Buffalo Niagara) with a "yarn bomb."
Fall 2025 Actions
An update from the East-West Community Garden: The Community Garden is spectacular! It is at maximum capacity with a waitlistl possible fellowship funds to help with creating more beds is a topic to consider.Its webpage is updated. Buffalo Ground Works have half the beds and food is donated to pantries. A nearby restaurant wants to grow food there too. The garden is semi-self-sustaining. It recently lost its water source but VPAA Bridget Niland found funding (approximately $7,000) to support the implementation of a water spigot that is connected to a water source near the Delevan Townhouses. This information was shared in The Dome once report from Buffalo Groundworks was completed. https://blogs.canisius.edu/the-dome/2025/10/31/east-west-community-garden-marks-another-successful-season/
GO Buffalo Niagara and Canisius University hosted Campus Bike Day in September. This event included an information booth with Reddy Bikeshare, East Side Bike Club, and Go Bike. Campus community members were able to test drive an e-bike, receive information about Reddy Bikeshare, get a bike tune-up, and receive bike locks and bike helmets. Two e-bikes were raffled off (one to a student and one to an employee).
An NFTA Lunch and Learn presentation was scheduled in November to introduce students, faculty and staff to the ways in which they could put theirs NFTA metro passes to use, plan their routes, and safety tips.
Spring 2025 Actions
As a follow-up to a previous concern about the recycling of laboratory materials, we learned from Dr. Jamie Sheridan in Chemistry and Biochemistry that “In summer 2023, we updated the portable LabQuest instruments (electronic equipment) used in the General Chemistry I and II lab courses. These instruments allow students to record and save data in real time and incorporate temperature probes, pH electrodes, electric current probes, gas pressure sensors, and UV/Vis spectrometers. We were able to donate our older LabQuest 1 instruments to Mount St. Mary’s High School in Kenmore instead of disposing of this older equipment. At Mount St. Mary’s, Canisius alumni John Bressette (’22) teaches chemistry courses, and he now uses the LabQuest 1 instruments in his lab classes. The LabQuest 1’s are also being used in biology and physics classes at Mt. St. Mary’s.”
Dr. Sue Margulis is teaching a Core Capstone this semester, Integral Ecology, and this course will include a visit from a member of the Eastside Parkways Coalition. This is a group of neighbors, church members, and school staff concerned about the tunnel project bisecting the East Side and the environmental, social, and economic impact of it. There are serious exhaust concerns that would result from the tunnel's construction, and no Environmental Impact study was completed during the process. Yvonne Widenor, host of Laudato Sí, joined Dr. Margulis' course on February 24 to learn more from this coalition member. Individuals are encouraged to learn more about this project at https://www.eastsideparkwayscoalition.com/ The USA Sustainability signed on as a supporter of the coalition's efforts. The unversity as a whole declined to do so.
On March, Laudato Sí and the USA Sustainability Committee co-hosted "Eco-Chic Makerspace in the Library. Students were invited to embellish and embroider clothing from Griffs' Thrifts or repair and embellish their own clothing with supplies from the Makerspace Creator Lab. We used two sewing machines, embroidery supplies, and learned from each other's "craftivities."
Dr. Robin Foster is hosting a speaker series on April 7, 2025 2-4 pm representatives from Seneca Nation. They are going to speak about concerns regarding the rejection of Genesee County's interest in the development of an industrial park that would impact Seneca Land.
Canisius Conservation Conversations with previous speakers from 2019 to 2020 is available on SoundCloud.
For Earth Week, the USA Sustainability Committee will host small businesses and a Makerspace event with Laudato Sí to make buttons to spread awareness of recycling and care for the Earth.
The proposals for the campus' participation in the Clean Mobility Project have been sent to Senior Leadership and will be submitted to NYSERDA for approval on June 20, 2025. Projects will be implemented over the summer and fall of this year.
Fall 2024 Actions
Two Transportation surveys conducted as part of the Clean Mobility Project to learn more about the ways our campus community members travel to and from campus as well as around Buffalo. The results were used to compile data for the proposal of new projects to meet the goals of reliance on greener tranportation choices including mass transit.
Student representatives from USA Sustainabilitiy Committee met with librarians from the Andrew L. Bouwhuis, SJ Library to discuss the deaccessioning ove approximately 80,000 books to make room for the Center for Student Success to be located n the second floor of the Library building. They learned that many books are being donated to the Frank E. Merriweather, Jr Library on Jefferson Avenue, that Better World Books take some, and that the remaining books, magazines, and bound journals are left for recycling and available for students, faculty, and staff to take.
Yvonne Widenor, host of Laudato Sí, met with Dr. Jenn Lodi-Smith’s Environmental Psychology class to discuss ongoing efforts on campus to support Laudato Sí's missions. They had many wonderful suggestions on ways to take action as individuals and a comunity to reduce, recycle, and rely on greener methods of transportation. Their input was key to the development of the Clean Mobility Project proposals.
In October Laudato Sí and Makerspace joined to host two Makerspace events. The first one was Origami led by Judi Light from the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. Students, faculty, and staff upcycled magazine pages and paper products to create origami animals. The second event was Bird Mask Making and included materials donated by Dr. Sara Morris, professor emerita and former Vice President of Academic Affairs.
During our November meeting, Alex Bournemisza from the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) joined us to discuss the 10 cent Bottle Bill (learn more at https://dec.ny.gov/environmental-protection/recycling-composting/bottle-bill) . We learned that redemption and recycling activities have dropped in the recent years. Municipalities are then forced to sort and recycle. But plastic, aluminum, and glass in recycling bins are often contaminated and left unrecycled. Most beverage containers will be accepted with this new bill. An increase to a 10 cent deposit and expansion to cover almost all cans and bottles, and an increased handling fee will benefit consumers, redemption centers owners and employees, and by increasing items that are redeemed for deposits, we can lessen and optimize the work of municipality recycling. NYPIRG is looking for volunteers to join phone call campaigns, provide community contacts, canvas neighborhoods, support lobbying efforts with local government, garner additional bipartisan support, and join letter writing campaigns. Alex encourages us to support the bill by emailing this form to Governor Hochul, and we reached out to senior leadership to consider sending a letter of support from the university. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeyY6vebVnYCPF6ElV6adyotwm383GU0oDxTjLlVLTAALvxoA/viewform
Spring 2024 Actions
Added "Ground Truths" to the Andrew L. Bouwhuis, SJ Library collection
Participated in Earth Week with campus clean-up, tree plantings, embroidery upcycling and seed paper creation with Makerspace
$400 donated from collected recyclable containers to Petey's Pantry by Chartwells
Canisius University joined the Clean Mobility Project as an anchor institution within the East Side to study campus community use and engagement with public transportation and greener forms of transportation such as biking, walking, and carpooling
Canisius University signed on to be an anchor institution with the Clean Mobility Project overseen by Go Buffalo Niagara. This project will allow us to study our transportation uses and needs and provide funding from NYSERDA to complete projects that will impact our campus and neighborhood.
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