Green Education How the University of Northern British Columbia quickly came to embody its own slogan – “Canada’s Green University.” By David Manly USING biomass to produce its own heat and power is a natural fit for the University of Northern British Columbia. Located in Prince George, the university is close to vast tracts of pristine forests and a host of forestry operations. Al-though the school is a long way from being energy self-sufficient, the process is in full swing. Back in 2007, the university committed to becoming a leader in renewable energy in the province of a multi-year green energy plan. Soon after, it implemented two through the introduction introduct wood pellet boiler and a wood residue gasification system. projects – a woo ONE SMALL SM CHANGE Danielle Smyth, sustainability manager at the University of Northern British Columbia Colum (UNBC), says the shift towards green heat and power was not due some large initiative, but something much simpler. It came about, she says, to som primarily because a large number of the university’s students were enrolled in primari environmental programs. environ “We have always had some strength in our research and teaching in the areas of environmental issues, sustainability, ecological issues and resource-based economy,” says Smyth. “We’re in a place that has an intersection of relying on our natural resources for jobs, but also needing to balance that with sustainability and ensuring that we have resources long-term.” This manifested itself in the formulation of a green energy plan in 2007, when area wood pellet producers first approached the univer-sity to create a pilot wood pellet-heating project. In 2009, the first university-owned and -operated biomass-heating system in Canada was installed, which was designed to provide all the heat necessary for the Enhanced Forestry Lab greenhouse. David Claus, the assistant director of facilities for UNBC, says LEFT MAIN: The wood pellet biomass boiler is the first university owned and operational system in Canada and is used to heat the I.K. Barber Enhanced Forest Laboratory. INSETS:  ^jged]^llgja_`l!L`]_YkaÚ]jhjg\m[]kkqf_Yklg`]YloYl]j^gjl`][Yehmk3 MF:;j][]an]kYeapg^ogg\lqh]kafl`]ajj]ka\m]k3l`]h]dd]lkqkl]eoYkkl]hgf]g^ MF:;k_j]]f]f]j_qhdYf& Canadian BIOMASS 13
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