SOCIAL, ECOLOGICAL, ECONOMIC, DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

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SOCIAL, ECOLOGICAL, ECONOMIC, DEVELOPMENT
STUDIES
PRESENTED BY Lorna Seppala, Associate
Director, UBC SUSTAINABILITY May 7, 2009
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What is SEEDS?
Students Staff Faculty

Innovative recommendations towards a more
sustainable campus.
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SEEDS Objectives

• Engage students in real life research
• Link staff with the universities intellectual
  resources
• Enhance teaching and community service
  opportunities
• Develop working partnerships between students,
  staff and faculty

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What are SEEDS Projects?

• Food
• Energy
• Air and Water
• Land
• Human
• Material
• Financial

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SEEDS Criteria

• Must involve collaboration between students,
  faculty and staff
• Must contribute to academic credit for students
• Must involve a real-life sustainability issue in
  campus operations

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How SEEDS works
Student
Faculty
Staff
SO Coordinator
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Role of the SEEDS Coordinator

• Project initiation, development and assistance
  with design
• Identification and coordination of participants
• Facilitation of staff/student interaction
• Reporting, communication, recognition and
  evaluation

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SEEDS Typologies

• Individual research projects
• Full class projects
• Faculty program

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Individual Research Projects

• Report completed by one student or group of
  students
• Usually portion of fulfilling an academic
  requirement
• Often thesis/capstone projects

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Full class project

• Issue assigned to the class
• Students worked in groups and individually
• Example Geography 446

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Faculty Program

• Integral part of multi-year degree program
• Example Faculty of Land and Food Systems
• PhD coordinator

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Success Factors

• Achievable projects
• Equal partnership and mutual respect
• Quality control

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Program Evaluation

• Number of students involved
• Consultant savings
• Feedback from staff, faculty and students
• Results implemented

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Quantitative Results

• 2800 participants
• 200,000 in avoided consulting fees
• Several awards

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Qualitative Results

• Positive behavioral change
• Student leadership
• Enhanced quality of sustainability research
  projects
• Excellent feedback and ongoing interest

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Impact on Sustainability

• Examples
• 20 of UBC plant operations vehicles use
  biodiesel
• Pesticide-free campus
• Design and installation of nine campus gardens
• Transformation of many food service operations on
  campus
• Electronic records retention

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Benefits for Students

• Academic credit
• Interesting, real-life learning opportunities
• Opportunity to work with staff and contribute to
  campus sustainability
• Rather than being takers of knowledge,
• we were allowed the opportunity to be
• givers of knowledge

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Benefits for Staff

• Access to current academic research and rich
  intellectual resources
• Sustainable operational solutions
• Opportunity to mentor students and contribute to
  community

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Benefits for Faculty

• Mechanism for enriched and experiential learning
• Opportunity to work with staff and contribute to
  campus sustainability
• Community service
• Potential for awards and recognition

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Benefits for University

• Long-lasting partnerships that build community
  and change campus culture
• UBC leadership in sustainability is showcased
• Sustainability project work done at no cost
• Financial savings in avoided consulting services

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• SEEDS inspires change
• and builds community.

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Sustainability Coordinator Program
PRESENTED BY Kara Bowen, Coordinator SC
Program May 15, 2009
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What is the SC Program?

• A behavioural change program
• Engages UBC staff as early adopters of
  sustainable practices
• 150 SCs
• Developed in 1999

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Program Model

• Community Based Social Marketing
• Behaviour change most effective at the community
  level
• SCs as social links to enable positive changes
• Tools created using CBSM principles

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SC Program Year and Tools
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What do SCs do?

• Use 2 4 hours per month of work time to act as
  a liaison between the SO and the campus community
• Encourage staff/faculty and students to
• Reduce energy use
• Purchase sustainable products
• Minimize waste
• Take alternative transportation
• Encourage social sustainability
• Orient new office staff and faculty to UBCs
  sustainability policies and practices
• Bring concerns and suggestions to the attention
  of the SC Program coordinator
• Identifies unique opportunities to implement
  sustainable changes within the department

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SC Initiatives

• IRES Bike the Talk Commuter Challenge
• Continuing Studies Sustainability Lunch and Learn
  
• Faculty of Education sustainability newsletters
• UBC Hospital Styrofoam reduction
• Robson Square composting program
• Water barrel pilot project

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Staff Engagement

• SC Orientation
• Training
• Kick-Off Lunches
• Educational Lunches
• Annual recognition event

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Benefits to UBC

• SCs save UBC
• 75 000 annually in electricity reductions
• Builds a sense of community and a culture of
  sustainability on campus 96 of SCs find program
  enriching

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Next Steps for 2009/2010

• GHG reduction tool
• Xerox Sustainability Fund
• Local food tool
• Increased educational lunches and SC training
• Updated evaluation for measuring behavioural
  change
• Long term program development plan
• Development of a furniture exchange program at
  UBC

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Thank You