A Drive-U Hybrid? Let’s talk Sustainability on StFX Campus

On December 7th, 2023, at 1 pm, attendees of the U’s first ever Sustainability Round Table made their way to Council Chambers, a room tucked away on the fourth floor of the Student’s Union Building. Overlooking the south parking lot, one finds solace peering out into the cold, snowy landscape. It is a welcome break from the hottest summer on record, with blazing fires in the North, floods in the South, tropical storms moving up the coast, heat waves and “special weather”, to name a few. With the town relatively calm and cold, it's as though Mother Nature is giving us time, this time between seasons, to focus our energies, to gear up before another long-haul battle.  

But anticipation for what next summer, spring, and even fall with it in recent years being termed “Hurricane Season,” leaves many students and faculty distressed, anxious about the future, and anxious to do something about it. At least I do, and if you are reading this, I’m sure you are too. Luckily, we are not the only ones. The Student’s Union, the Antigonish League of People Advocating for Climate Action (ALPACA), and other campus and student bodies seem to be just as worried, and equally as adamant that something needs to be done, more than what is already being done.  

Anna Hancin and Jack Harding from the U began with a land acknowledgment and introductions. Following this, two keynote speakers, Kevin Lafreniere from FM and Tim Hierlihy from Sodexo presented each their respective departments take on sustainability on StFX Campus. Their presentations were followed by a presentation by ALPACA and a presentation by Divest@X.  

Tim Hierlihy spoke about several sustainability initiatives and programs that Sodexo (the main food provider), has undertaken. He highlighted sourcing local and increasing vegan/vegetarian options. Sysco has a local sub-out, where Mr. Hierlihy claims, if there is a better local option for a food item provided through the Sysco distribution network, they will “sub-out” in favor of the local option. He also spoke of increasing plant-based options, as they are more sustainable. Mr. Hierlihy lastly emphasized increasing the local farm network for Meal Hall. 

Kevin Lafreniere from Facilities Management had the most extensive list of ways StFX can become more sustainable. Among many things, including displaying in great detail the StFX campus’ energy usage over the past decade, he mentioned switching campus lighting to LED, a geothermal loop.  

“In 2008 alone, 250,000 KJ (exact.: 29,442 MT) of CO2 was pumped out of StFX” said Kevin. According to the records, efforts to change this hefty load of CO2 emissions have been undertaken in past years. Each worth approximately 2 million in investments, 3 rounds of efforts were undertaken according to Kevin.  

According to Kevin, the current distribution of fuels for StFX is ¾ fossil fuels, and ¼ fish oil. “It is difficult to phase out fossil fuels by relying on fish oil subsidiaries alone, since those companies are essentially giving us the “leftovers” from the bigger companies they sell to,”he said. This could be an area for growth, but as Kevin said, it would be difficult given the circumstances. 

To reduce both energy and water consumption, a possible solution is to switch to geothermal. This would require a tremendous amount of investment, once again. Kevin then went on to show the attendees the concept of a Geothermal loop, and how it could work on the StFX campus.  

The investment this would require, according to Kevin, would be a large one. 

It would require upward of 70 million dollars to install, maintain and would require a 10 km (6 mile) deep structure for it to be functional.   

Buying nuclear from New Brunswick was also something mentioned by Kevin. Unfortunately, my pen ran out of ink, so I do not have more extensive notes on this. 

Jack from the U mentioned switching the U’s Drive U vehicle to an all-electric or at minimum a hybrid vehicle. Proudly presenting a photo of the latest AI generated image of a Drive U hybrid vehicle. A low murmur of approval from the attendees was among the first indications that this is something that could be well received by the campus community.  

After the meeting, I asked some members to attend for remarks about it. Here is what they had to say:  

Michaela, 2nd year Earth Science, ALPACA Secretary:  

“I’m really glad I got to learn about the sustainability projects that are ongoing and being looked at for the future so I could understand better how sustainable the campus really is right now because I truly had no idea at all. I think it helped us at ALPACA know where we need to direct our attention and where we can go with concerns or questions for FM and Sodexo.” 

Angus, 4th year Biology, ALPACA President:  

“I found it was a very useful meeting. We often have this problem of silo-ing groups on campus and it is left up to secondhand sources to relay information. Having a round table where parts of the university come together to talk about what is going on is a great way for us to be aware of what is going on. With ALPACA's goal of advocacy being one where effort is directed at specific issues, it is very important that we share information and intent amongst groups here on campus. Meetings like this help foster cooperation amongst groups as opposed to animosity. I hope that this round table is fruitful and that we can follow up on this meeting in the new year.” 

Julia Crean, 2nd-year Climate and Environment, ALPACA member: “I found it was a nice chance for people outside of ALPACA to turn their focus to the actions being taken on campus to improve environmental sustainability. I appreciated the chance to hear ideas that some other students had, and it definitely sparked my interest in some future collaborations for projects.” 

And finally, I will conclude with a quote from my personal favourite, Jane Goodall, who has been quoted saying: “We have a window of time which is closing, and we need everybody who cares to get together and find solutions, now”. Indeed, we do. Let’s get to it. Hope to see YOU at the next round table. There will be another one, @theU, right?? I sure hope so.