Bateman Centre at RRU to receive $500,000 of sustainable mahogany

Victoria, B.C. – Royal Roads University announced today that it will be receiving a gift as unique as the university itself. The WaterForest Group, a Victoria-based underwater forestry company, will donate a gift-in-kind of sustainably harvested mahogany, valued at $500,000, to use in construction of the Robert Bateman Centre.

The wood will come from underwater forests submerged by hydro reservoirs. It will be made into flooring to be used throughout the Robert Bateman Centre at Royal Roads University, which has been designed to become a living building – one that has a positive impact on the environment. The centre will showcase the world’s largest collection of Robert Bateman’s work and it will offer environmental education programs to people from around the globe.

“We wanted to give a gift that would help educate people about more sustainable approaches to business,” says Doug Stables, president of the WaterForest Group, and a graduate of RRU’s MBA program. “The Robert Bateman Centre has the potential to make a global impact in that regard and I am extremely proud that we can be part of it.”

Dr. Allan Cahoon, president and vice-chancellor of Royal Roads University, said this is a double honour for Royal Roads.

“Not only are we receiving this exceptional, sustainably harvested wood product but it’s a gift from a graduate who was so inspired by his education here that he was compelled to contribute to the future of the university,” said Cahoon. “It confirms we are on the right track with the educational experience we are creating with the Robert Bateman Centre.”

The WaterForest Group is guided by a business philosophy – venture philanthropy –which it defines as the art of conducting sustainable business while creating a lasting positive legacy. The company is also the creator of a technology that has WaterForest poised to become a major player in the growing underwater forestry industry.

“There are hundreds of millions of perfectly preserved trees, including many rare and endangered hardwoods such as mahogany, teak and rosewood, submerged in countries around the world,” said Stables. “The demand for wood fibre is causing global deforestation; especially significant is the loss of tropical rainforests. We can have a significant positive impact by harvesting these ‘lost’ resources instead of harvesting standing forests.”

The wood products produced by The WaterForest Group are called ‘SoulWood™’ to represent the many lives and livelihoods that have been lost by flooding done to create the approximately 45,000 reservoirs around the world, many in developing countries. The reservoirs will now bring positive changes such as increased employment and community services to those communities affected by the flooding of the forests.

“This wood will be a showpiece for sustainable design and construction and it is one of the amazing stories that will become the part of the legacy of the Robert Bateman Centre,” said Richard Iredale, architect for the centre.

About The WaterForest Group
The WaterForest Group is poised to become a leader in harvesting submerged standing timber from man-made lakes and reservoirs around the world using its proprietary ROSCO technology which creates the most versatile, efficient and safe underwater logging equipment available.

About the Royal Roads University Foundation
The Royal Roads University Foundation is coordinating the RRU Legacy Campaign (www.royalroads.ca/legacy) which aims to raise $100 million for projects focused on three themes: The Robert Bateman Centre and Sustainability; Advanced Learning and Innovation; and Hatley Heritage and Preservation.

About the Robert Bateman Centre
Set on the grounds of Victoria’s Royal Roads University, the Robert Bateman Centre will be truly unique, combining art, education and experience to become an internationally regarded education centre for sustainability. The centre will showcase leading edge sustainable design and construction in a building that will initially meet platinum level under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) criteria. It will eventually become a living building – one that far exceeds LEED standards. Robert Bateman chose Royal Roads University to champion this cause and maintain his legacy because of the university’s tradition of leadership and innovation.

Royal Roads University was established by the Province of British Columbia in 1995 as a special purpose university charged with advancing professionals in the workplace. It is the only public university in Canada exclusively designed for this demographic and, as such, all its programs and research are focused on applied, real-world relevance and experience. The university’s campus is in Hatley Park National Historic Site and the university is committed to preserving the site’s many heritage assets.

For media queries, contact:
Communications Officer, Phil Saunders
phil.saunders@royalroads.ca  250-391-2526, cel 250-812-5065 or,

Community Relations Director, Stephanie Slater
stephanie.slater@royalroads.ca  250-391-2712, cel 250-361-5020