Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2010 / December / 03 / Glenmore neighbourhood a living laboratory for sustainability
Environment & Sustainability

Glenmore neighbourhood a living laboratory for sustainability

December 3, 2010

Jackie Podger, UBC Associate Vice President, Administration and Finance, met this week with City of Kelowna Manager Ron Mattiussi and Leanne Bilodeau, Director of Sustainability Operations for UBC's Okanagan campus, to discuss the Sustainable Community Development Internal Grant Award Program that resulted from a new partnership between UBC and the City of Kelowna.

Jackie Podger, UBC Associate Vice President, Administration and Finance, met this week with City of Kelowna Manager Ron Mattiussi and Leanne Bilodeau, Director of Sustainability Operations for UBC's Okanagan campus, to discuss the Sustainable Community Development Internal Grant Award Program that resulted from a new partnership between UBC and the City of Kelowna.

UBC has partnered with the City of Kelowna on an innovative academic grant program that transforms Kelowna’s Glenmore neighborhood into a ‘living laboratory’ for sustainability.

Created by the Provost and Vice Principal as a pilot project, the Sustainable Community Development Internal Grant Award Program consists of up to four $10,000 awards. The money will enable university faculty, students, staff and the community to work together on social, environmental, economic and cultural sustainable community development initiatives and programming within the Glenmore area of Kelowna.

“UBC continues to play an important role in our community through applicable, meaningful research initiatives,” says Alaa Abd-El-Aziz, Provost and Vice Principal of UBC’s Okanagan campus.  “This new grant is a testament to the strong commitment our faculty, staff and students hold towards community engagement — and building meaningful partnerships leading to sustainable solutions that enhance our collective future.”

The Glenmore area was chosen as the “living laboratory” because of the area’s diversity of old and new housing, mix of residential and commercial properties, demographic mixture and demonstrated sense of community involvement.

Projects will focus on local sustainability issues and include hands-on and research elements that have the potential to inform knowledge advancement and operational change.

City of Kelowna Manager Ron Mattiussi says the partnership will help address key areas of interest, such as water use, garbage collection, transit connections, green space and neighbourhood aesthetics.

“One of the goals of the City of Kelowna is to build strong and sustainable neighbourhoods that foster healthy community living and lifestyle,” says Mattiussi. “The City is striving to find ways to focus more of our policies and programs at a neighbourhood level. This new partnership allows us to leverage the university’s expertise to apply and evaluate emerging best practices in sustainable living and stewardship, and bring that into our communities.”

The Sustainable Community Development grant is administered by the Research Services Office and is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Okanagan Sustainability Office.

The deadline for researchers to submit their applications is February 15, with projects beginning next spring and continuing throughout the summer.

Leanne Bilodeau, Director of Sustainability Operations at UBC, says sustainability is a key area of interest for the university and that UBC is committed to fostering partnerships that result in constructive change on a local, national and global level.

“True transformation depends on engagement with the broader community, with citizens, businesses, institutions and the university working together toward shared objectives,” says Bilodeau.

The university will host a workshop in January welcoming interested faculty, staff, students, representatives of the City and members of the Glenmore community, to stimulate ideas and discuss possible partnership projects that may apply to faculty grant applications. To find out more call Bilodeau at okanagan.sustainability@ubc.ca..

— 30 —

Media Contact

Jody Jacob
Assistant Communications Coordinator
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250-807-8463
E-mail: jody.jacob@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
More content from: Uncategorized

Trending Stories

  • Pushing the boundaries of spinal cord research
  • Climate change is chasing away the salmon, so she’s ...
  • Work Study opens new doors for undergraduates
  • Strengthening Indigenous community through research
  • Safeguarding water quality
All Stories
Contact Media Relations

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

TikTok icon Linkedin icon

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility