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Tree Canopy Bus Shelter

Goal $25,000

Raised $1,028

Tree Canopy Bus Shelter

Support this interdisciplinary design project that could revolutionize the way we address climate change through the design and production of street infrastructure.

Story Description

An important approach to mitigating climate change in urban areas is the development of adaptable green infrastructure in cities. Students in film, engineering, landscape architecture and urban forestry have worked collaboratively to develop prototype green bus shelters; these shelters will be used to research the value of small, replicable structures that can retain and release stormwater with lower impact. The concept was inspired by the architecture of the forest, which can have layered canopies that delay stormwater from reaching the forest floor. This is important because part of the problem with stormwater management in cities now is that high volumes of water reach their drainage outfalls too fast, dismantling natural waterflow systems that are central to BC’s ecosystem.

The prototype is valuable is several ways. It will not only help quantify the validity of using forest architecture to address the challenge of managing stormwater more sustainably, but also address UBC’s own sustainability-based strategies such as the Public Realm Plan Evaluation and ISMP, as well as emerging plans such as the Green Building Action Plan, and the emerging Biodiversity Strategy. In order to proceed with constructing the prototype, we must raise all the funds possible. Building the prototype will also enable the development of qualitative research into how biophilic green infrastructure will impact student wellbeing (“biophilia” is the innate tendency for humans to connect with nature).

Challenges & Impact of your Support

The greatest support we have received at UBC is from the SEEDS Sustainability Program, a program that connects students, faculty and staff to further the momentum of high value projects such as ours. This learning environment has enabled collaborative interdisciplinary work that has not only developed solid research, data loggers and bus shelter designs, but has actively done so by producing opportunities for students to hone their skills from project management to website development. Such progress demonstrates the impact we have already had on our campus, and the impact we can guarantee to have beyond construction.

Nonetheless, the challenge of funding our project can only be surmounted by support from the wider campus community and beyond. The construction milestone of this project sums to $110,000, but the value of this project goes beyond that price; by funding the construction of our project, donors will effectively be enabling research in design that could revolutionize the way we address climate change through the design and production of everyday infrastructure.

About Tree Canopy Bus Shelter

A team of approximately 25 students, faculty and operational staff have worked together to achieve 2 out of the 3 milestones we set up at the project’s beginning: to obtain development permits and develop data loggers for data collection upon construction. The last milestone is to construct the bus shelters, and that’s where your support will make the difference!

Our team:

Professor Daniel Roehr: Project Supervisor, Professor at UBC SALA

Tabinda Shah: Project Manager of Tree Canopy, B. Urban Forestry, recipient of the International Leader of Tomorrow Award.

Karianne Howarth: M. Landscape Architecture, Project Landscape Architect

Roger Luo, Albert Yu, Ruth Negash, Stewart Pearson: Project Electrical Engineers

Bruno Martin del Campo: Film producer of Crowdfunding video

Krista Falkner, UBC Transportation Sustainability and Engineering

David Gill, UBC SEEDS Project Coordinator