Month: December 2013

On January 16, I will be leaving for a one-year exchange with Uppsala Universitet in Sweden. The university is the oldest in Sweden, founded in 1477, and is located in the vibrant student-oriented city of Uppsala. Now that finals are over, the reality of the situation has had time to sink in, and I can admit my excitement.

I have been accepted into the CEMUS program, a program dedicated to all aspects of sustainable development. It will be extremely interesting to participate in very specific courses related to my field of study, including Project Management in Sustainable Development, and Sustainable Design. The other aspect of studying in Sweden that I am looking forward to is the way in which classes are taught sequentially, rather than concurrently like at UBC. This allows for students to focus 100% of their energy on a single subject, rather than divided between five subjects. To me, this makes so much sense that it is hard to think of why we have a different approach to education here in Canada.

Having heard much about the Swedish culture from family and friends, I cannot help believe that this is where I was meant to be. So much of my personality, from my initially shy demeanor to my love of saunas, stems from my Swedish roots.

Having been built nearly 500 years ago, the University itself is beautiful and steeped in tradition. In the mid 1600’s the 13 student nations were formed, which are one of Uppsala’s most unique and appealing features. Every student must join one of the nations, which are spread across campus containing pubs, libraries, meeting spaces and housing while organizing events for members. Every day of the week there is an event held by at least one nation, creating a lively nightlife and ensuring the long swedish winters do not get the better of any student.

I eagerly await my arrival in Uppsala, but there is still lots to do before I go!

Carbon sequestration has become a hot topic when talking about mitigating the effects of global warming. Carbon offset companies are big business, usually planting trees in exchange for fees collected from plane tickets and other greenhouse gas emitting activities.

These trees take approximately 10-17 years until they become a carbon sink. This is because the soil that these trees are planted in is releasing far more carbon than the trees are able to sequester.  This release of carbon comes from the decomposition of organic matter by soil bacteria and fungi. As these soil microbes break down glucose, cellulose, lignin etc… into smaller, simpler molecules. If conditions are right (right microbes, temperature, pH…) these simple organic molecules can condense together to form a humic molecule, or, a complex difficult-to-decompose  molecule.

The fact that these large, complex molecules are difficult to decompose, means that carbon is locked away anywhere from 10 to 100 years.

The composting process provides perfect conditions for the formation of humic molecules. It is plausible that composting may help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by creating humic molecules as well as mitigating the release of methane and nitrous oxide had the material been sent to the landfill.

These are just some preliminary thoughts which continue to bring to light just how beautifully complex the natural world can be.

I have always been intrigued by fungi. Their extreme diversity from edible to deadly poisonous and the almost endless configurations of colours, shapes and habitats make fungi truly bizarre. Fungi are immensely important in both the visible, and invisible aspects of our daily lives. From the decomposition of organic matter in soils and the cycling of carbon in ecosystems, to the production of items we use every day (beer, wine, soy sauce, antibiotics….), the lives of humans are inescapably linked to fungi.

The mushroom is likely the most recognizable aspect of a fungus. It is a fascinating fruiting body that has evolved over hundreds of millions of years. The intricacy of spore dispersal some mushrooms employ is bewildering. For example, mushrooms in the genus Agaricales, Boletales, and Polyperales are able to sense their position in space, and grow so their caps are perpendicular to the ground. This maximizes the number of spores that will land on the soil beneath, rather than on the mushroom itself. Another characteristic in these genus of fungi is the method in which they “shoot” their spores. These basidiospores (spores that are forcibly discharged) grow on narrow stalks on the gills or pores of the mushroom. When the spore is mature, water condenses on sugars secreted at the base and top of the spore. When the droplet becomes too large for surface tension to hold it in place, the two droplets rush together, releasing enough energy to break the spore from the stalk and away from the gills.

Another fascinating aspect of fungi is that most species reproduce both sexually and asexually. Whether a fungi requires a mate or not depends on life stage and environmental conditions. For example, Saccharomyces cerivisea the fungi responsible for fermentation, only produces ethanol as a byproduct when it is undergoing sexual reproduction, initiated by a lack of oxygen. The sexual spores of some fungi can even communicate with each other in order to fuse and mate. They release a series of “transmission” and “receiving” pheromones that direct the growing hyphae towards each other.

All-in-all, fungi are extremely complex, and much about them is still not known, or misunderstood. Their ability to evolve and acquire unique adaptations to their environments will continue to interest and confuse researchers, likely indefinitely.

Over the past term, there has been great progress on the proposal for a new UBC farm compost facility. Most importantly, the UBC Sustainability Committee has become very interested in this proposal as an attractive option for reaching zero-waste targets by 2015. Support from UBC Sustainability is integral for this project to move forward, so I am thrilled that it is now on the table to be considered for funding.

Recently, the majority of work done on this proposal was to determine if a facility like this could be a cost-effective method of organic waste management. The answer is: it could be.

Like any business, there is an economy of scale to the business of composting. For a coffee shop, the cost of selling one coffee is roughly equal to the sale of one hundred (not including the beans of course); employees, rent, supplies etc.. are still paid regardless of sales. Similarly, the economic sustainability of this compost facility depends on the volume of material moved through the system. Operating at capacity, it is possible that composting on the far, would cost no more than having the organic material sent to an existing facility in Richmond. However, this means that tipping fees and volume of materials received must remain constant, and that all materials accepted would have a tipping fee associated with them. For example, at present only UBC food waste and animal bedding from the UBC animal care facilities carry a tipping fee. Approximately 300 tonnes of UBC yard waste, (valued at $12,000) would not be charged a fee for disposal at the farm, but is needed to blend with food waste in order for complete decomposition.

An official budget and investigation into all possible sources of revenue still needs to be conducted, but it is already apparent that a farm-compost facility has the potential to be economically sustainable. Always more work to do!