What massive event is happening in September? If you said “Back-To-School”, nope! It’s Toronto’s very first Urban Ag Day on September 15th. The Ag is short for agriculture (not agoraphobia or agony, quite the opposite). The official proclamation day is surrounded by nine days of events celebrating urban-grown food and the people who grow it. From September 9-17, community gardeners, balcony growers and urban farm businesses will host events across the city.

How to dig in and celebrate at UHN?

Check out the following events at Continue reading →

If you work at Toronto Western Hospital or if you have visited the site, you may know that we have an underground 2-level parking garage below Fell Pavilion.  To provide enough lighting for drivers, 21 powerful 250W high pressure sodium (HPS) lighting fixtures were installed on parking garage entrance ramp sidewall, some are outside and some are inside.  Those lighting fixtures share a few circuits together so the only way to run the outside ones is to keep all the lights on 24/7.  As an energy project manager I felt guilty every time I passed by the ramp area.

HPS was invented by GE in 1960s. The bulb contains a small amount of solid sodium inside a glass tube. When heated up the sodium would vaporize and the lamp would glow yellow.  Typical construction is shown as below:

HPS has higher efficiency when compared with Continue reading →

My name is Matt Riepert and I recently completed a co-op work term with UHN. From April to August 2017, I was able to fulfill the Sustainability Intern role for the Research Facilities Planning and Safety Department (RFPS). I am a student at the University of Waterloo in my 3^rd year of undergraduate studies in the Environment and Business Honours Co-operative program. Overall, my program aims to teach students how to Continue reading →

by Jessica He,

OpGreen transition team-Jennifer and Jessica

I’ve had the fortune of being the Operation Green coordinator for this year, a great program where medical students gather surplus medical supplies to donate to people and places in need. As I transition the role to our new coordinator, Jennifer Tang, I figure I’d share the top 4 things I’ve learned during my time. Continue reading →

Have you ever had that awkward experience of being at a party with plates and leftovers in your hands, but you’re not sure where to take it? Is it garbage? Recycling? Green bin? Continue reading →