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Biting words for university at beaver memorial
Biting words for university at beaver memorial
Nearly 100 people gathered near Laurel Creek yesterday to remember four beavers trapped and killed last week by the University of Waterloo.
The memorial service and demonstration was held near the stump of a tree beavers had gnawed on and which was subsequently cut down by university maintenance crews in the interest of safety.
"We wanted the administration to know we care about this issue, that we want a better wildlife policy . . . that's pro-wildlife," said Asha Philar, a first-year environmental studies student. She said she got involved in organizing the rally because she and others wanted to send the university a clear message.
"It's not OK for them to do things like this in secret . . . at the very least, there should have been a public consultation with input from students."
Many students at yesterday's rally carried signs reading "Shame on you UW." Others wore beaver pins made by gluing backings onto ordinary Canadian nickels.
"Students clearly care about this issue," Federation of Students president Michelle Zakrison told the gathering. "I haven't seen a rally this big in a long time."
As a recent environmental studies graduate, Zakrison said UW has the oldest environmental studies program in Canada and should have been able to come up with a solution that didn't involve killing the beavers.
Environmental studies professor Greg Michalenko stood on the stump at the rally site. After taking a group of students to see the "beautiful" beaver tooth marks on the stump on Friday, Michalenko said he was shocked on Monday to see it had been sawed to the ground.
It's "as if the university administration doesn't want us to remember" the beavers' fate, he alleged.
The university needs a sustainability office to make sure environmental issues are dealt with more creatively in the future, the professor said.
University spokesperson Martin Van Nierop said there already is a group, called WATgreen, dedicated to greening the campus. The group meets twice a term, according to a University of Waterloo website.
"We're one of the most environmentally concerned and friendly in Canada," Van Nierop said. "I think we have the lowest energy consumption per square metre of any university campus anywhere (in Canada)."
The beavers posed a safety hazard because they had gnawed on several trees, including one that fell across a path near student residences a week and a half ago, he said.
Although the rally was held at a tree that wasn't near a path, most of the beaver activity was actually near student residences and paths.
The rodents were also building a dam in a flood plain, Van Nierop said.
"Backing up the water could cause a lot of problems."
But Michalenko said he didn't think the beavers presented any danger to the public.
"They work at night. They're nocturnal animals. I think (the safety concern) was overblown in this occasion."
Carole Damms, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, said when she learned about the beaver issue, she sprayed trees near the lodge with ammonia -- a method Michalenko said would be effective and environmentally friendly.
The ammonia worked, Damms said. Even trees the beavers had already started to gnaw were left alone once they were sprayed.
Damms said university officials she'd spoken to had said they would let her know if they were going to do anything more drastic than continue to monitor the situation. She was shocked when she heard beavers had been killed.
Van Nierop said there is no sign of more beavers on campus, but if any are found, they will be treated differently -- at least to the extent that there will be more consultation on campus, although it's not clear what decisions might ultimately be made.
Many people have complained to the university about the beaver killing, Van Nierop said.
"We've heard those calls and those protests . . . we're sympathetic to that and understand how they feel, even though we did follow very closely the recommended ministry procedures. So there's always other ways."