British Columbia Institute of Technology
PRE-2: Points of Distinction

Guichon Creek Restoration: the integration of campus development, curriculum, applied research, and wellness with ecological restoration.

Guichon Creek is an urban waterway and a vital campus resource that runs directly through BCIT’s Burnaby campus. It is one of the most significant tributaries of Still Creek and was a popular fishing spot in the early 1900s. As the century wore on, Guichon Creek was dammed, urbanized, and partially culverted and became sterile for salmon and other fish. In the 1970s, restoration work began at its south end and in 2006, the creek was restored to a largely natural state thanks to the efforts of BCIT, students, the Rivers Institute and the City of Burnaby.

Guichon Creek has since become a shining example of a campus as a Living Lab for applied student learning and research for sustainability, integrating the work of faculty and staff across departments as well. The south daylit and naturalized section of Guichon Creek includes walking trails and interpretive signage. Students from the Ecological Restoration and Forest and Natural Areas Management programs have removed invasive vegetation and planted native vegetation along the banks. Chemistry students have collected water samples which have then been assessed by Fish, Wildlife and Recreation students. Excavated soil from the construction of the new Health Sciences Building was used to fill in a previous parking lot next to the creek as a part of restoration efforts, also with student assistance. As the campus develops, the natural ecology of the riparian area will be preserved and enhanced. The recently drafted Stormwater Design Strategy includes objectives for erosion control, water quality treatment, and volume retention to preserve and enhance the riparian ecosystem.

The north section of Guichon Creek is urbanized and currently culverted so trout and salmon still cannot navigate upstream through the underground section. This portion of the creek will be daylighted in stages as campus development permits to continue creek restoration, yield a functional aquatic ecosystem, and expand the natural public realm amenity. When a sinkhole developed at a covered portion of the creek in 2023, Campus Planning and Facilities staff used this problem as an opportunity to restore that section of the creek and add a fish ladder. The new Trades and Technology Complex is being designed with creek restoration as a key feature, both in terms of surrounding natural ecology but also with integration of enhanced student learning. It is envisioned that students in various BCIT programs will continue in the ongoing restoration and monitoring of Guichon Creek.

Guichon Creek is also of value to researchers. One project used the creek to assess the impacts of road salt on salmon; another on how hydrological connectivity can be restored through wetland creation. Multi-institutional collaboration with streamkeeper groups ensures restoration knowledge is being shared beyond BCIT’s borders.  

To celebrate the importance of this waterway, BCIT held its first Guichon Creek Day in 2022 as a part of World Rivers Day. At this now annual event, students, faculty, and staff run activities – such as a creek walk, scavenger hunt, and planting sessions – while conservation groups host information booths.  

Further information:

Guichon Creek page from Campus Development

https://www.bcit.ca/inspire/priorities/campus-redevelopment/guichon-creek/

Guichon Creek Ecological Restoration as a part of Factor 4 Initiative:

https://commons.bcit.ca/factorfour/restoration/ecological-restoration 

“BCIT plants new orchard close to Guichon Creek”:

https://commons.bcit.ca/news/2024/08/bcit-plants-new-orchard-close-to-guichon-creek/ 

“Newly daylit section of Guichon Creek emerges from beneath the ground”:

https://commons.bcit.ca/news/2024/01/daylit-guichon-creek/

“BCIT uses waste from Health Sciences Centre project to ecologically restore part of Guichon Creek”

https://commons.bcit.ca/news/2022/06/bcit-uses-waste-from-health-sciences-centre-project-to-ecologically-restore-part-of-guichon-creek/

News article “Once nearly dead, creek through BCIT marks another milestone in salmon restoration”

https://globalnews.ca/news/10208289/bcit-guichon-creek-fishway/ 

BCIT Guichon Creek Day: https://www.bcit.ca/construction-environment/about-the-school/sustainability/guichon-creek-day/

BCIT’s adaptation of applied learning and research in trades and technology for sustainability: a response to the critical climate challenge, post-covid recovery, and industry needs.

The world is at a critical inflection point. As a result of COVID-19, we are experiencing a dramatic acceleration of existing trends. Specific to post-secondary education, learner demand shifted because of physical restrictions and the state of the economy. These are compounded by existing challenges of climate change, industry skills gaps, and inequities in access to higher education by those already facing systemic disadvantages. BCIT reviewed its Strategic Plan to ensure that it leveraged its differentiating strengths and its momentum to address the new and shifting requirements.

BCIT is well positioned in this context, with skills and resources closely aligned with the demands of the time. These strategic advantages include traction in customized and flexible learning, notably through part-time studies; a provincial mandate for workforce development; close industry and government relationships; and expertise in key sectors and fields, such as technology, health, trades, and sustainability.

Three transformational opportunities emerged from the assessment: Agile Learning, Digital Transformation, and Partnership in Provincial Resilience. Within these areas, many opportunities were developed. The way curriculum was delivered became more flexible with growth of part-time studies programming, expanded work-integrated learning, and new partnerships to expand BCIT’s offerings. Use of physical learning spaces was re-examined and there was a rapid expansion and innovation in e-learning, notably online and blended learning, simulation, and open education.

While these shifts brought several sustainability benefits, such as reduced student and faculty commutes and improved access for rural and remote communities, the launch of new curriculum was arguably the biggest move for sustainability.

Microcredentials – short, for-credit modular programs or courses – led the charge in helping students gain new skills and knowledge essential in Canadian industries. Since 2021, dozens of new offerings have emerged in areas deemed essential to fighting climate change, providing learners with valuable transferrable skills in a short timeframe, ensuring resiliency of British Columbia’s ecology and economy, and boosting prosperity of Canadian businesses. Other curriculum also pivoted to offer a range of skills and knowledge for learners to become problem solvers for sustainability challenges.

New sustainability-focused microcredentials and other responsive curriculum includes:

• Mass timber construction
• Applied Circular Economy: Zero Waste Buildings
• Building Energy Modelling and Simulation
• Climate Changemakers Leadership Training
• ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Fundamentals
• Drone Applications for Environmental Risk Assessment
• Field Skills for Environmental Professionals
• Community Energy and Emissions Management
• Natural Resource and Environmental Protection
• Forest Health Quantification
• Regenerative Building
• Distributed Design for Electrical Utilities
• Net-Zero and Passive House Construction
• Thermal Power Plan Simulation
• Whole-Building Life Cycle Assessment
• Heat Pump Maintenance and Troubleshooting
• Retrofit Solutions for Rural Communities
• Wind Turbine Essentials
• Advanced credentials in Sustainable Business Leadership
• Electric vehicle service, maintenance, and repair.
• free EV courses to support Canadians in making the switch to zero-emission vehicles.
• Environmental and Climate News and Analysis
• Master of Engineering in Smart Grid Systems and Technologies

These curricula complement BCITs existing expertise from its Zero Energy/Emissions Building Learning Centre (ZEBLC), Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team (SMART), Emission Reduction and Research Test Hub (ERRTH), School of Transportation’s EV-focused automotive trades, School of Construction and the Environment’s ecological restoration and environmental engineering programs, School of Energy’s environmental technology and smart grid programs, School of Health Science’s sustainability in healthcare courses, and many other applied sustainability examples across the institute. 

In a 2022 report from Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) on how their members are addressing climate change and supporting Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy, BCIT came out as top performer in greening its curriculum. BCIT’s approach to flexible learning and responsive curriculum will continue to be needed as the complexities of our global convergent crises amplify.

Further information: 

BCIT microcredentials: https://www.bcit.ca/explore/microcredentials/

BCIT launches Master of Engineering in Smart Grid Systems and Technologies:

https://commons.bcit.ca/news/2021/10/master-engineering-smart-grid-systems-technologies/

Zero Energy/Emissions Building Learning Centre

https://www.bcit.ca/zero-energy-buildings/

Electric Vehicles: https://www.bcit.ca/transportation/areas-of-study/automotive/electric-vehicles/

Smart Microgrid: https://www.bcit.ca/applied-research/smart-microgrid/

BCIT recognized as Top Performer by CICan ImpAct-Climate project: https://commons.bcit.ca/news/2022/09/cican-impact-climate/

BCIT Strategic Plan: https://www.bcit.ca/strategic-plan/

Energy and emissions reductions through operational and planning improvements, applied research, and Living Labs.

 BCIT is tackling climate change in keys ways on several fronts: through operational and planning improvements on campus, through new ways of delivering and using energy, and by linking all of it to student learning opportunities.

 As a public sector organization, BCIT supports CleanBC, the BC Government’s climate plan. The Provincial emissions reduction targets are 40% below 2007 levels by 2030, 60% by 2040 and 80% by 2050. BCIT is going beyond that, stretching to 50% by 2030, 80% by 2040, and 100% by 2050. This is consistent with the strategies within BCIT’s Sustainability Vision as well as Economic, Social, and Environmental Policy (#1010) which outlines seven sustainability goals, including becoming greenhouse gas neutral and a net energy producer. 

 To reach these targets, a decarbonization roadmap was created with a primary focus on renewable energy and efficiency in its buildings. Electricity is largely supplied by BC Hydro’s low-carbon hydroelectric grid but other renewable energy options are used, depending on need and specific building context.

 For instance, the recently built Health Sciences Centre is an all-electric building with an enhanced building envelope that also uses an existing geo-exchange field shared with a neighbouring building to transfer heat to an underground storage system. In cold weather, the heat can be moved back up into the buildings. The building is also equipped with EV charging to further reduce transport related emissions.

 The Tall Timber Student Residence currently under construction has a passive house design with triple-glazed windows to decrease the need for cooling and heating and will also use CO2 heat pumps to deliver hot water. BCIT’s future Trades and Technology Complex will include a carpentry pavilion, marine and mass timber workshop, campus services building, and an ecologically restored Guichon Creek. This project is currently in design and will include passive house and other efficiency features.

 New Campus Design Guidelines in 2024 stipulate all new buildings are to preference passive solutions and systems with renewable or low carbon sources of energy; no new base building fossil fuel equipment are to be used in new facilities and where possible for equipment replacements in existing buildings; and all future capital projects and major renewal projects are to be net-zero ready with provisions to accommodate future renewable energy sources. This will include a combination of both distributed low carbon renewable campus district energy systems and on-site renewable energy systems. The guidelines also include a commitment to using the Envision Framework for all infrastructure projects.

 Meanwhile, improvements are taking place through retrofits and other adjustments in existing buildings. Replacement of the boiler in the Central Heating Plant may not be as exciting as some of the new design features but it is a significant project that will reduce its energy use by 80%. Upgrades to the exterior of the NE25 building reduced energy use and provides better control of classroom temperature, particularly for the south side of the building where a new solar shading system was installed.

 Coupling applied research with efficiency upgrades led to a heat recovery system in an IT data centre which has reduced emissions at the Downtown Campus by 30%. The new Wood Waste to Energy Centre at the Burnaby Campus uses a biomass boiler to recycle wood waste from carpentry and joinery programs into clean energy to heat buildings. The Zero Energy and Emissions Building Centre (ZEBLC) helps transition the  British Columbia building sector to the Zero Carbon Step Code performance requirement for all new construction in British Columbia by 2032. ZEBLC integrates leading ledge research as well as operational examples from around BCIT into practical hands-on skill training that learners of all kinds can immediately apply to reduce energy use in the building sector. 

 Engagement or applied learning by students has been integrated into many of these projects. IT students learn about the impacts and possible mitigation interventions from the data centre heat recovery; trades students learn how wood waste can be used to generate energy. The Trades and Technology Complex will incorporate a robust set of interactive elements designed for student learning about the energy saving aspects of its buildings. A Living Lab lecture series and site tours provide BCIT’s faculty and students opportunities to engage directly with BCIT staff and consultants developing actual building projects on campus.

 Student and faculty researchers across BCIT are also showcasing how different trades and technical programs can be leveraged for energy reduction. A Computer Systems Technology (CST) Bachelor of Technology (BTech) student won an Energy Management and Green Computing Best Paper award for using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to optimize Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) in buildings. In 2022, BCIT appointed a new Research Chair in Advanced Building Technology to focus on advancing education and research in housing, with particular emphasis on decarbonization of new and existing buildings, and development and integration of advanced building technologies. Others researchers in the Smart Microgrid Applied Research Team (SMART), Emission Reduction and Research Test Hub (ERRTH), and across BCIT’s schools and research groups are also bringing energy innovation applications to their students. Whether its something from a conversation with an energy consultant, from a construction site tour, or from the very building they’re learning in, students will take their new leading-edge knowledge and skills to amplify the energy-reduction impacts beyond BCIT.

Further information:

BCIT Living Labs: https://www.bcit.ca/sustainability/living-labs/

 BC Hydro’s recognition of BCIT’s Living Labs: “New and retrofitted buildings at BCIT are all part of a 'living lab'”: https://www.bchydro.com/news/conservation/2024/bcit-clean-energy-champion.html

 Campus Plan and Campus Design Guidelines: https://www.bcit.ca/facilities/campus-planning/campus-plan/

 BCIT Energy & Greenhouse Gas Management: https://www.bcit.ca/facilities/facilities-services/energy-greenhouse-gas-management/

 Student’s green computing paper recognized internationally: https://commons.bcit.ca/news/2022/11/students-green-computing-paper-recognized-internationally/

 New BCIT Research Chair in Advanced Building Technology aims to transform the residential construction industry: https://commons.bcit.ca/news/2022/12/research-chair-advanced-building-technology/