| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.27 |
| Liaison | Jesse Russell |
| Submission Date | Dec. 30, 2024 |
Canadore College
EN-5: Civic Engagement
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
6.00 / 8.00 |
5.1 Percentage of students that participate in civic engagement programs
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s civic engagement programs for students:
Canadore College supports student civic engagement through several programs. The Canadore Volunteers program encourages students to contribute to the community by volunteering their time and skills, with their volunteer hours recorded on their co-curricular record to aid their educational and career development. Canadore students logged approximately 25,000 volunteer hours last year.
Additionally, Sustainable Canadore initiative emphasizes "Giving Back to the Community" by providing students with opportunities to support local organizations such as Clean, Green, Beautiful, Trees for Nipissing, and Friends of Laurier Woods. This time can be counted as volunteer hours and included as part of their co-curricular record.
Collaborations with student leadership (iCanLead) further enhance civic engagement by hosting workshops and demonstrations that encourage responsible and impactful student involvement.
Additionally, many of our academic programs include a component which promote volunteerism as part of academic curriculum and outcomes. One example being our Recreation and Leisure Services programs. The Police Foundations program also requires students to volunteer within the community.
Percentage of students that participate in community service and/or other civic engagement programs:
Approach used to determine the percentage of students that participate in civic engagement programs:
Narrative outlining how student participation in civic engagement programs was determined:
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
5.2 Employee community service program
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s programs to support employee community service:
The Canadore Volunteers program actively encourages staff to contribute to the community by volunteering their time and skills in various opportunities. These volunteer hours are tracked and celebrated annually during a Spring event that also honors staff anniversaries and retirees. Last year, Canadore staff collectively donated over 6,000 hours to community service.
Additionally, Sustainable Canadore initiative emphasizes "Giving Back to the Community" by providing staff with opportunities to support local organizations such as Clean, Green, Beautiful, Trees for Nipissing, and Friends of Laurier Woods. Staff are encouraged to support sustainable initiatives during work hours and are granted relief from their regular duties to participate.
Canadore College partners with local organizations to support the Santa Fund, an initiative dedicated to providing food and toys to families in need during the Christmas holidays. The event, held at our Commerce Court Campus, is a community effort. During the evening, participants come together to pack baskets, while the daytime is focused on loading these baskets into vehicles driven by private citizens, local businesses, and community organizations. Along with other local organizations, Canadore staff play a key role in this process, ensuring the vehicles are ready for delivery to those in need.
Does the institution support employee volunteering during regular work hours?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s support for community volunteering during regular work hours:
The institution supports employee volunteering during regular work hours. As part of the "Giving Back to the Community" initiative within the Living Sustainability Plan created by Sustainable Canadore, employees are encouraged to unplug from their regular duties to offer in-kind support to community organizations. This initiative allows staff to volunteer within the community during paid time, emphasizing the institution's commitment to outreach and community collaboration and is supported by administrators.
Supporting local volunteer organizations with tree extraction to support planting across the community.
Hosting a plant based muffin sale with proceeds donated to local charity.
Trail maintenance for Friends of Laurier Woods.
The Reporting Tool will automatically calculate the following figure:
5.3 Support for public policies to advance sustainability
Narrative outlining how individuals affiliated with the institution have helped develop local or regional public policies that address sustainability challenges:
Canadore College, in collaboration with the City of North Bay and the Merrick Landfill, has conducted a comprehensive audit of the city's waste collection over the past three years. In this study, approximately 80 bags of waste from randomly selected locations throughout the city were analyzed and sorted by students. The materials were categorized into waste meant for the landfill and waste that could be diverted to other streams such as recyclables, textiles, and hazardous materials.
The findings from the 2023 audit prompted the city to implement a new policy, reducing the number of trash bags collected per household to two. Additionally, students had the opportunity to present and discuss their results with the city council.
News stories on the audit can be found below:
Sustainable Canadore are participants and contributors to "The Community of Practice(COP)", organized by the Nipissing and Parry Sound Health Unit, aims to bring together local leaders and parties interested in health, sustainability, and policy-making to address climate change and health within our region.
The themes that are being focused on include:
- Community Collaboration
- Education/ Awareness/ Buy-in
- Human & Social Health / Emergency Management
- Infrastructure / Built Environment / Land-Use Planning
- Sustainable Systems
- Advocacy / Policy Change
The Student Life Coordinator at Canadore College and Assistant are part of the North Bay and Area Food Security Network. The group meets regularly and is comprised of a group of organizations and social service agencies seeking to support solutions to food insecurity within the community.
Narrative outlining how individuals affiliated with the institution have helped develop national or international public policies that address sustainability challenges:
Has the institution advocated for public policies to advance sustainability during the previous three years?:
Narrative and/or website URL providing an overview of the institution’s advocacy for public policies to advance sustainability:
SDG Accord: Canadore College and Canadore Students’ Council are proud signatories of the SDG Accord, demonstrating their commitment to advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Through impactful initiatives, they integrate sustainability into education, operations, and community engagement, fostering environmental stewardship, equity, and innovation while empowering students to create a sustainable future. President George Burton signed the accord in January 2022 and our Students' Council signed in May 2023.
Canadore College has actively advocated for public policies to advance sustainability during the previous three years. For instance:
- Registrar and Senior Director Jeannette Miron was part of a working group that co-authored a position letter sent to three federal ministers. The letter called "Building Back Better to Ensure Well-being for All" is linked here
- This letter called for government commitment to the 2030 Agenda and climate action, emphasizing the importance of policies that promote social entrepreneurship, campus sustainability, and accessibility for students across Canada. These efforts align with the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This demonstrates the institution's commitment to advancing sustainability through advocacy and collaboration with national organizations.
Documentary evidence of the institution’s advocacy for public policies to advance sustainability:
Online resource that provides evidence of the institution’s advocacy for public policies to advance sustainability:
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Optional documentation
Additional documentation for this credit:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.