Greening Dalhousie’s Built Environment

Abstract

The ‘Greening the Campus’ movement aims to address sustainability and environmental awareness and action on campus. This project is directed at assessing the Life Sciences Centre building at Dalhousie University for three credits that would count toward gaining LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Existing Buildings certification. We used GIS (Geographical Information System) software to map and analyze vegetation and impervious surface information to determine if the LSC meets Credit 5: Site Development: Protect or Restore Open Habitat, Credit 6: Storm water Quantity Control, and Credit 7.1: Heat Island Reduction: Non- Roof, in the Sustainable Sites category. We found that the LSC site qualifies for 1 point from Credit 5 and 1 point from Credit 7.1, with opportunities to gain additional credits for exemplary performance. Additional research is required to determine the status of the LSC regarding Credit 6, but thorough recommendations have been made.