University of Saskatchewan students show off sustainability projects

Haven Varcoe's team used Lomi machines to recycle organic waste within the USask campus (Hallee Mandryk / CTV News)

It’s not your typical final exam.

On Tuesday, a group of environmental science students at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) capped off one of their senior-level courses by showcasing projects they developed to make the city and campus “a little more sustainable.”

Colin Laroque, a soil science professor at the U of S, said the sustainability trade show has been held each year for over a decade.

“It’s a final exam in a certain sense, but it’s kind of more than that,” said Laroque.

“You see the pride in their eyes when they’re explaining about their project or what they’ve put into their booth, and you see it and it’s so rewarding, from a instructor standpoint.”

The public is invited to come by and learn about the projects, and according to Laroque, it draws quite a crowd.

“We’ll have school kids here, we’ll have lots of people coming today, anywhere from three to 500 [people] can come by in an afternoon.”

Student Haven Varcoe said she found the project-based course particularly engaging.

“Everyone just has so much fun, and we don’t really care about grades,” said Varcoe.

“It’s more just we want to actually make a change, even if it’s a small one. Like this is very small scale, but it means something to me and I’m sure it does to all the other students in their projects.”

Varcoe’s group explored how organic cafeteria waste on campus can be recycled into a soil enhancer with the help of Lomi machines — an invention created by U of S alum Jeremy Lang.

“These machines heat up really, really hot. And they have a grinder that grinds up all your banana peels, eggshells, coffee grounds, really whatever, and it turns into some really nutrient rich soil enhancer,” Varcoe said

As Laroque shared, the ‘Trash to Treasure’ project will stick around in lunchrooms on campus for another year. The collected food scraps will eventually help feed the garden beds around campus, with the help of the Horticultural Club.