Climate Crisis in Urban Biodiversity (CCUB)

Goal:

Advance resilient campus ecosystems and greenspaces that support climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity, connectivity and human health and wellbeing.

Key Deliverables:

• A campus natural asset baseline that quantifies the contributions of UBC’s natural assets to a range of ecological and socio-cultural services
• A community-driven process to inform the development of the Adaptation, Resilience and Biodiversity Strategy for climate action through nature-based solutions (e.g. co-define climate principles to advance climate change mitigation and adaptation, eco-human health and wellbeing, and biodiversity metrics as a key indicator of climate resilience on campus)
• A UBC Campus Climate Risks and Vulnerabilities Assessment to inform planning and implementation of Climate Action Plan 2030 and Campus Vision 2050, Resilience and Adaptation

Goal:

To protect nature and biodiversity through urban planning and design in the UBC built and landscape environments that actively seeks opportunities to support and create habitat while also reducing harmful wildlife-infrastructure interactions.

Key Deliverables:

• Threats and Vulnerability Assessment of species at risk and campus habitat baseline classification of vulnerable mammal and bird species
• Inform the development and implementation of  an enhanced UBC Bird-Friendly Design Guidelines for Buildings
• UBC Bird-Friendly Action Team created to inform policies and practices that advance bird conservation on campus through interdisciplinary partnerships and student research

Goal:  

Understand and advance connections between climate-resilient human and natural communities, with a focus on marginalized communities (including BIPOC and other equity-seeking communities) including access to greenspace for health and wellbeing, such as fostering eco-hope and addressing climate heat-impacts.  

Key Deliverables:

• Deliver community-driven Interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange Workshops (IKEWs) to build capacity for mental health, resilience and community care strategies on campus through the climate emergency
• Campus landscape and design applications that foster urban green equity and climate-resilient human and natural communities on campus

Goal:

Strengthen campus community food security, food justice, and food system resilience in the climate emergency.  Advance climate justice and biodiversity in food systems and supply chains beyond campus through UBC procurement guidelines, policies and plans.

Key Deliverables:

• Draft Climate-Friendly Food System (CFFS) actions to support just, sovereign and resilient communities and promote resilient and regenerative food systems (e.g. to inform the UBC CFFS Procurement Guidelines, supply chains, policies and practices)
• Advance nature-positive food systems in the UBC built and landscape environment to support community food security (e.g. community and pollinator gardens)

• Over 1200 students engaged in curricular and co-curricular applied research projects to inform policies and practices that accelerate action on the climate and biodiversity crises.

CCUB student-led research and partnerships produce tangible outcomes, including:

UBC Operational Sustainability & Wellbeing Plans and Policies:

• CCUB has provided policy recommendations to support UBC in furthering its climate, biodiversity, food and wellbeing targets. Key policies and plans include: the UBC Climate Emergency Declaration, UBC Climate Action Plan 2030, Wellbeing Strategic Framework, Green Building Action Plan and Campus Vision 2050.
• The initiative has also informed the integration of biodiversity and climate change in various campus plans and guidelines. Key examples include:
  • Climate Action Plan 2030: Informed the university’s commitment to adopt biodiversity metrics as a key indicator of climate resilience on campus as reflected in the UBC Climate Action Plan 2030: Resilience, Adaptation and Biodiversity Area
  • Bird Friendly Design Guidelines for Buildings: Informed guidelines to raise awareness about the dangers buildings pose to birds and inspired the incorporation of bird friendly design strategies in campus development
  • Residential Environmental Assessment Plan 3.2: Informed relevant bird-friendly credits in the Residential Environmental Assessment Plan 3.2

UBC Operational Sustainability & Wellbeing Practices:

• Increased understanding of UBC Vancouver Campus ecosystem's resilience to climate change. This included the development of a climate and tree canopy cover data model that can inform climate adaptation and resilience planning for urban forests.
• An assessment of the resilience of UBC’s Vancouver Campus during heat waves demonstrated the cooling effects of urban forests and their key roles in mitigating surface temperatures on campus.
• Informed the development of the UBC Vancouver Campus Community Food Hub to strengthen campus community food security, food justice, and food system resilience in the climate emergency.

Committees & Action Teams
Formalized governance structure includes a Climate Crisis in Urban Biodiversity Strategic Plan, interdisciplinary CCUB Steering Committee, and supporting Action Teams who provide interdisciplinary expertise and guidance on student research and collaborations that can help inform interconnected climate, biodiversity and wellbeing campus planning and practices. They also provide feedback on strategic priorities and initiatives, input on initiative progression, and promote the communication of outcomes.

• UBC Bird-Friendly Action Team: The Bird-Friendly Action (BFAT) is a group of engaged experts and stakeholders from UBC and beyond who collaborate to advance bird conservation through interdisciplinary partnerships and applied student research that can inform nature-inclusive urban planning and design  on campus.
• CCUB model has been successfully scaled to support and inspire new and enhanced partnerships and networks, including the UBC Bachelor of Urban Forestry (BUF) Research Nexus which supports faculty and student urban forestry and climate change research, and linkages between urban forests and human health and wellbeing.

Publications

• Over 60 student research reports published

Maps

• UBC Ecological Connectivity Map
• Interactive GIS Story Maps and WebMaps showcase innovative student research on urban biodiversity and climate that can inform campus planning and policy decisions ranging from:
  • Campus Urban Green Space Analysis: This map integrates virtual gaming technology to map cultural use and biodiversity hotspots on the UBC Vancouver Campus.
  • Baselining UBC Vancouver Campus Urban Forest and Land Use: This map shows UBC LiDAR-based tree inventory and the land classification map of the UBC Vancouver Campus.
  • UBC Trees in a Changing Climate: This map models the potential impacts of climate change on urban forest diversity on the UBC Vancouver Campus from 2050 to 2080 and can be used to inform future projects and management practices
  • Estimating Productivity on the UBC Farm with Remote Sensing: This map shows the capability of using remotely sensed data as a soil health monitoring tool on the UBC Farm.

Events

• Interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange Workshops
  • A novel CCUB engagement model was created created - “Interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange Workshops” (IKEWs). IKEWs are co-hosted with campus partners to engage UBC students with community, staff and faculty to co-develop ideas for accelerating action on climate change and the nature crises through student research and interdisciplinary collaborations. 7 IKEWs have taken place that have included over 400 participants. Participants contributed to dialogue on the climate and nature crises in art to science based workshops. Partners for CCUB IKEW events have included: UBC Climate Hub, Geography Climate Action Committee, Faculty of Arts, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), UBC Botanical Garden, Youth4Nature, and others. CCUB IKEW Partners: UBC Climate Hub, Geography Climate Action Committee, Faculty of Arts, Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES), UBC Botanical Garden, Youth4Nature, and others
• UBC Biodiversity Days 2022 - Urban Biodiversity Research to Action Showcase
  In honour of the International Day for Biological Diversity,  Biodiversity Days was hosted by the UBC Botanical Garden in collaboration with SEEDS Sustainability Program and CCUB Climate Crisis in Urban Biodiversity Initiative. The event was a month-long celebration throughout the month of May with events both online and at various locations across campus. The celebration featured family nature walks, a student research showcase, virtual events, practical workshops and more. As part of Biodiversity Days, UBC SEEDS hosts a Research to Action Showcase each year in collaboration with UBC Botanical Garden, where student researchers present highlight projects that have helped to deepen our understanding of on-campus biodiversity. Topics from this year’s event included campus bird conservation, biodiverse food procurement, climate adaptation prediction for maple species, and public engagement strategy for biodiversity topics.