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Sky-high atrium: greenhouse  

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Though the odour of pizza was wafting through the air, volunteers didn’t even pause for a quick bite as they remodeled the common space in the greenhouse on the 13th floor of the Hall building.

“It’s a good incentive,” R4 SGW Compost Coordinator Faisal Shennib said of the tasty morsels that Louise Hénault-Ethier brought. As Environmental and R4 Coordinator, Hénault-Ethier was overseeing the placement of huge wooden crates, which will serve as new homes for fruit trees, medicinal herbs, and native species. They also set up a living wall, allowing vines to creep up along the glass.

A year and a half ago, the Greenhouse Atrium Project was born. Graduate student Diana Kirkwood from Environmental Impact Assessment created a sustainability framework to help redesign two rooms. With funding from the Sustainability Action Fund and Facilities Management, the space is being revamped with eco-friendly materials so it will be cleaner, greener, and more inviting.

Once it is officially launched in January, the Atrium will be available as a study space or for local events.

On Sept. 16, a volunteer party celebrated the work that has been accomplished so far and served as a farewell party for Hénault-Ethier, who is going on maternity leave.

For more information about the Greenhouse Atrium Project, see greenhouse.concordia.ca or contact the Greenhouse Coordinator Arlene Throness at concordiagreenhouse@gmail.com.