News Stories
VIU biology professor restoring one of Canada’s most threatened ecosystems on Nanaimo campus
May 1, 2023
The Garry oak ecosystem is home to many species at risk in British Columbia. One of Canada’s most threatened ecosystems – the Garry oak – is coming to life on VIU’s Nanaimo campus. VIU employees, students and community volunteers have maintained a Garry oak ecosystem restoration plot since 2021. The 500-square-metre plot is located west of Building 470 near the top of campus. Dr. Caroline... Read more
VIU releases position statement on climate action and sustainability
October 21, 2022
The University has also signed on to the Sustainable Development Goals Accord. Vancouver Island University (VIU) has released a position statement on climate action and sustainability to recognize that universities have an essential role in taking meaningful action to address climate action and sustainability. In support of its position, VIU has also signed on to the Sustainable Development Goals... Read more
Celebrating Innovation for a Sustainable Global Community
January 27, 2020
VIU stages Global Citizens Week to showcase employee, student and community Innovation in Action for a better world. Vancouver Island University (VIU) is opening its doors to the local community to take part in Global Citizens Week activities showcasing the many initiatives faculty, students and community members are involved in to build a better world. Innovation in Action is the theme of this... Read more
VIU Helps to Build the Green Economy in Belize
December 19, 2019
VIU partners with Belize to strengthen technical and vocational education programs aimed at building capacity and resilience in the face of climate change. NANAIMO, BC: Vancouver Island University (VIU) is helping Belizean institutions develop programs that teach students how to adapt to environmental threats such as climate change, and create new programs in forestry. VIU, in collaboration... Read more
Overcoming Barriers to Active Transportation With E-Bikes
October 8, 2019
A VIU student research project aims to help cities formulate cycling plans that include electric bicycles. Vancouver Island University (VIU) Masters of Community Planning student Eleni Gibson used to enjoy cycling. That was when she lived in Victoria, but after moving to Nanaimo to pursue her post-secondary education, it became a grueling activity. “I was trying to cycle but it's a 35-minute... Read more
VIU Climate Change Symposium Focuses on Local Solutions
May 7, 2019
VIU student-led climate change symposium on Saturday, May 11 will spotlight sustainable energy solutions for Vancouver Island. NANAIMO, BC: Vancouver Island University’s (VIU’s) student-led climate change initiative, Awareness of Climate Change through Education and Research (ACER), is hosting its sixth annual public symposium on Saturday, May 11. The symposium, called Local Solutions to a... Read more
VIU Awards Honorary Degree to a Pioneer in the Field of Social Isolation and Connectedness
January 18, 2019
“There is no other, the other is only ever us,” is the underlying theme in Kim Samuel’s work about connectedness and acknowledging humanity and our entitlement to be treated with love and respect. Kim Samuel, Founder of the Samuel Centre for Social Connectedness (SCSC), is unwavering in her advocacy for human rights and inclusive policy change. Her life’s work has focused on the power of social... Read more
VIU Professor and Master’s Student Collaborate to Develop Vancouver Island's Water Budget
October 3, 2018
In resource-rich Canada, people often assume our water supply is limitless but between contamination and overuse, we have to wonder: how much water is really available? Vancouver Island University (VIU) Geography Professor Dr. Alan Gilchrist and Master of Geographic Information Systems Applications student, Tim Sivak, have partnered with the BC Ministry of Forest, Lands, Natural Resource... Read more
Green is the New Black
January 8, 2018
By Dane Gibson A new project at VIU’s Nanaimo campus is using the flooded, abandoned coal mines underneath the campus to build a greener future. Here’s how. Nobody could predict that the scores of workers who toiled in the Wakesiah coal mine in the early 1900s would be providing the infrastructure needed to heat and cool buildings at a Nanaimo university – nearly a century later. VIU’s $2.4-... Read more