Dalhousie Outdoors
Land Acquisition Project
Other universities such as McGill and UBC boast extensive outdoors societies and outing clubs with resources, namely land, camping areas, and cabins, that are run for students use. DOS looks forward to offering similar services to Dalhousie students and faculty. We envision a society owned and operated property with camping pads, cabins, sanitary facilities, gear storage and perhaps even basic field research stations, located on land with ample area for walking, running, and biking trails as well as access to the ocean and ideally Crown Land or a Marine Protected Area (MPA) too.
The Goal
Dalhousie University is uniquely positioned in a province with access to both inland and ocean settings, and as such, wants to create an outdoor hub for students that expands access to the myriad of possible activities. We envision a place for the Dalhousie community to gather together and be active in the outdoors. This entails space to shelter, both temporarily and permanently, as well as devoted routes and trails for walking, running, and biking and water access for launching canoes and kayaks.
DOS is also aware of the value of an endowed property in the context of research, citizen science, and faculty use. The ideal property would includes or border a Marine Protected Area (MPA), enabling access to biodiverse and healthy ecosystems that would both benefit recreational and academic uses.
The Plan
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Through the Sticks Stones and Pine Cones Freelab workshop, a proof of concept project took place during the summer of 2022 through the Dalhousie School of Architecture. (What is a Freelab?)
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Dalhousie College of Sustainability Students began contributions in the fall of 2022 through a Capstone Course focused on The Land Project.
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Fundraising will take hopefully take place through Project Dal during the 2022/2023 school year.
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It is our goal for appropriate waterfront property to be purchased or leased, with development will moving ahead with a design and build Freelab workshop following the findings of the capstone project.
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Over the following few years, Freelab workshops and other research will continue, transitioning from development into maintenance as projects are completed.
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A summary of the 2022 Sticks Stones and Pinecones Freelab can be found here.
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Contact
If you're interested in learning more, or have information that may help move this project forward, please reach out to samcutcliffe@dal.ca OR dos.capstone@gmail.com