Staff and students collaborate on sustainability

When members of a University of Toronto urban sustainability class were assigned to develop ideas to reduce their environmental impact last year, a few enterprising students looked up. Way up.

And they decided to install a rain barrel system on the roof of the Galbraith Building at 35 St. George Street.

Property manager Nadeem Ahmed  immediately saw its potential. And he’s been impressed by how the project involved different organizations on campus.

“This is a great example of how different sectors are coming together for a common goal,” says Ahmed.

With a $100 grant from the University of Toronto Environmental Resource Network (UTERN), the rain barrel was purchased and connected to a robust rainwater collection system. There are high hopes for the system to help irrigate the volunteer-run rooftop SkyGarden - a venture that produces up to 500 lbs. of organic vegetables every year which is donated to the student food bank on campus.

Sarah Chu was one of the students in the urban sustainability class. She’s proud of what her classmates and the school have accomplished.

“I think our project is a great step forward to realizing U of T’s potential to capture and re-use rainwater in a very simple and cost-effective way,” she says.

The project could also help pave the way for more rooftop rain barrels in the city. A 2010 study by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority found that even the simplest rainwater harvesting system could divert up to 42% of rainwater away from storm drains, taking pressure off of local storm systems and providing non-potable water for facilities’ operations.

Chu hopes the rain barrel project will inspire urban dwellers to think about H2O in new ways.

“Hopefully, our system will serve as an active visual to get students thinking about how to conserve water on campus, as well as other sites where rain barrels could work”.