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Guelph Gets $33.6M for Environmental Hub
Funding to support retrofitting, renovation of Axelrod Building to create cutting-edge environmental teaching, research centre
BY LORI BONA HUNT
U of G will overhaul an old building to create a cutting-edge environmental teaching and research centre, thanks to a $33.6-million investment from the federal and provincial governments.
The funding was announced May 25 on campus by Gary Goodyear, minister of state (science and technology), and Guelph-Wellington MPP Liz Sandals. The U of G project is one of 28 in Ontario that received a total of $1.4 billion from the federal Knowledge Infrastructure Program as part of a joint government plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at Canada’s colleges and universities.
“We are extremely grateful and pleased that our governments have recognized Guelph as a national leader in environmental research and teaching,” says president Alastair Summerlee. “This significant contribution will allow us to cluster our expertise in a state-of-the art teaching and research hub and to showcase our innovations and green technologies. It will also facilitate future opportunities to improve the quality of our air, water and soil.”
The project involves retrofitting and renovating the Axelrod Building to serve as Guelph’s environmental teaching and research centre.
The revamped building will eventually house faculty and students from the Department of Land Resource Science, as well as components of the School of Engineering, the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development and the Faculty of Environmental Sciences. It will also be home to the Guelph Institute for the Environment, headed by former federal environment minister David Anderson.
Summerlee says the environmental cluster will reduce U of G’s deferred-maintenance costs and improve energy efficiency because many of the units are currently housed in portables or old greenhouses that are inefficient and expensive to operate.
He adds that the project will build on support from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, as well as other granting agencies such as the federal granting councils and the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
“It will allow us to leverage additional research funds and support from other agencies and the private sector.”
The Knowledge Infrastructure Program is a two-year, $2-billion economic stimulus measure to support infrastructure enhancement at post-secondary institutions across Canada.
Projects are assessed according to their ability to generate economic activity and support job creation, enhance research capacity, support the attraction of new students and provide a better educational experience.