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Shopping for sustainable products? Take your bike!

SEPT. 21-28: Get ready for Mon Campus à Vélo and Fair Trade Campus Week at Concordia
September 13, 2018
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By S. Baker


From BIXI discounts to secure indoor parking facilities, biking at Concordia is a breeze. | Photos: Concordia From BIXI discounts to secure indoor parking facilities, biking at Concordia is a breeze. | Photos: Concordia

Starting September 21, Concordia will be joining CEGEPs and universities across Montreal to take part in Vélo Québec’s Mon Campus à Vélo Week, as well as Fair Trade Campus Week.

The overlapping events, organized by Concordia’s Environmental Health and Safety's Sustainability Team, aim to cultivate environmentally and socially sustainable habits among the university’s community.

Mon Campus à Vélo promotes the benefits of biking, while Fair Trade Campus Week raises awareness about how educational institutions can support better working conditions for producers around the world.

Fair Trade at Concordia

For three years now, Concordia Food Services and student-run cafés such as The Hive Café, have committed to offering 100 per cent fair-trade coffee, three types of fair trade teas and one type of fair trade chocolate in non-franchised campus outlets.

In 2016, these actions led Fairtrade Canada to recognize Concordia as Canada’s 17th Fair Trade Campus.

So how can you make a difference?

First, opt for products that have been certified as fair trade. Next, get informed, and help organizations like Fairtrade Canada raise awareness.

Biking at Concordia

From BIXI discounts and stands on campus to secure indoor parking facilities, biking at Concordia is a breeze. In 2016, Vélo Quebec awarded the university with a Vélo Sympathique silver certification for its great cycling culture, infrastructure and active promotion of cycling.

Check out these events taking place during Mon Campus à Vélo and Fair Trade Campus Week:

SEPT 21: PARK(ing) Day

On September 21, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., the Sustainability Team, in partnership with Conseil Régional de l’Environnement de Montréal, will be working with faculty, students and community partners to temporarily transform eight metered parking spots on Mackay Street into artistic installations and kiosks celebrating public spaces and sustainable transportation alternatives.

The activity offers students and community members a chance to connect, have fun and learn more about projects happening on campus.

Launched in 2005, PARK(ing) Day brings together citizens, activists and artists to generate debates over how public spaces are created and allocated. The event calls attention to the need for more open areas in cities and aims to improve the quality of the urban habitat by transforming metered parking spots into temporary public spaces.

Check out the installations on the Sir George Williams Campus and strike up a conversation about sustainable transportation.

SEPT 24: Bike to a fair trade breakfast

What do biking and fair trade coffee have in common? Both help you wake up, make your mornings better and are easy ways to live more sustainably.

On September 24, between 9 and 11 a.m., start your day off by making your own smoothie with a bike-powered blender. Every participant is eligible for a chance to win a Smart Halo bike GPS.

Don’t forget to check out our kiosks to get some freebies, tips and information about cycling in the city from Vélo Québec and Concordia’s Environmental Health and Safety. Concordia Food Services will also be on hand to fuel you up on fair trade coffee, chai lattés and muffins, and Concordia Stores will host a draw to win one of five Concordia Fair Trade tees.

SEPT 25: Fair trade office day

Did you know that more than 70 per cent of Canadians drink coffee daily and that most consume three cups per day? Little by little, a little becomes a lot. This is why it is important to encourage co-workers across Concordia to choose fairly traded products such as coffee. For this fair-trade office day, opt for a fair-trade cup of joe!

SEPT 26: Commuting to Concordia: History, Accomplishments, and Survey Findings

Do you want to learn more about how Concordians commute to and from the university? On September 26, between noon and 1 p.m., you can voice your ideas on how to encourage sustainable transportation and discuss the results from Environmental Health and Safety’s recent survey. The findings include estimates about greenhouse gas emissions.

Coffee and snacks will be provided — confirm your attendance on Eventbrite.

SEPT 27: Annual bike engraving

The Service de la police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) will host an on-campus bike engraving session on September 27. By bringing in your bike and getting a permanent identification number engraved on it, police will have all your information in case someone steals it, including its brand, model and serial number. Engravings improve the chances of having your bike returned.

SEPT 28: Cycle at the Concordia Shuffle

On Friday, September 28, the annual Concordia Shuffle is back and this year’s event will include a biking team. The walkathon is a long-standing university tradition that raises much-needed funds for student scholarships and bursaries. Come bike the 6.5-km route from the Sir George Williams Campus to the Loyola Campus! Departure begins at 12:30 p.m. from the EV Building.

Register online and join the “Mon Campus à Vélo” team. You can also support students by sponsoring the biking team! Get all the details here.

 

Visit the Sustainability Hub to learn more about sustainable initiatives on campus.



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