Sustainability issues highlight campus initiatives in Glenmore neighbourhood
Three community development research projects that were awarded internal grants by the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Sustainability Office will be recognized at a special campus event on Wednesday Oct. 26.
The Sustainability Community Development Internal Grant solidified a new partnership between UBC’s Okanagan campus and the City of Kelowna to help foster sustainable community development within the Glenmore neighbourhood of Kelowna.
“The University is a part of the City and we share common sustainability goals,” says Jackie Podger, associate vice president of administration and finance. “We wanted to provide seed funding for this project to contribute and help advance sustainability in our community.”
The Sustainable Community Development Internal Grant Forum will celebrate, discuss and share the outcomes of the projects.
“This grant program enabled faculty members and students to engage members of the Glenmore community and city staff to develop and implement projects and research to address key social, economic, environmental and cultural sustainability issues and topics of interest within the community,” says Leanne Bilodeau, director of UBC’s sustainability operations.
“The combined university expertise and the guidance of the City enabled a ‘living laboratory’ for sustainability within the community in which to apply and evaluate emerging best practices in sustainable living and stewardship,” she says.
The three research projects awarded from this grant are:
- Social Potluck: Gabriel Newman created a project combining theatre, storytelling, community-building, community art and community food action as part of a Master’s in Fine Arts thesis supervised by Neil Cadger, associate professor in the Performance program. The project’s first of two acts involved Gabriel hosting five free dinners – with food from local suppliers – in exchange for stories from those who attend. The second act involved Gabriel presenting a performance, based on the stories collected, at a community potluck dinner.
- Reducing Water Usage in Civic Parks Using Adaptive Irrigation: Ramon Lawrence, associate professor of Computer Science, PhD candidate Scott Fazackerley, undergraduate student Ryan Trenholm and Neal Klassen, coordinator of the City of Kelowna’s Water Smart program, looked at reducing water use in civic parks using adaptive irrigation. The goal was to customize and install an adaptive irrigation system in a portion of a civic park alongside a conventional system.
- Sustainable Glenmore Transportation ComPASS Pilot Project: Gordon Lovegrove, assistant professor of Engineering, worked with Bernard Momer, associate professor of Geography, on a sustainable transportation pilot project that explored the Sustainable Glenmore Community Universal Transportation Pass System (ComPASS). The goal was to develop an integrated, sustainable transportation system that competes with, and cuts down the use of, single-occupancy vehicles. Users were entitled to privileges at various stores, gyms, coffee shops and the like to encourage them to hop on the bus, bike and/or sidewalk.
The public is invited to join UBC’s faculty, staff, students, Sustainability Office, City of Kelowna and members of the community on Wednesday, October 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. in University Centre 200 to celebrate this event.
The event is free, but members of the community are asked to register online at:
http://www.ubc.ca/okanagan/sustainability/sustcamp/academic/sustainablecommunity.html
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