George Brown College
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

For her 14-week thesis project placement, a 4th year Honours Bachelor of Behaviour Science student carried out a project to focus on using different behaviour analytic techniques to help GBC community improve their recycling behaviour. Behaviour Science is a field of study which uses a natural science and data-based approach to human behaviour change. The project used the St. James and 300 Adelaide St. E. cafeterias as the pilot site.

Observational data on behaviours and engagement associated with waste disposal as well as the physical arrangement of the cafeterias’ waste disposal system was carried out to understand the ‘problem’ and to determine possible barriers or issues that existed that maintain those behaviours and engage the campus community. Self-report surveys collected opinions related to recycling and other pro-environmental behaviours. This was done to determine whether people personally value recycling; this information was used to design interventions that had the potential for the greatest effect.

Proper recycling is very complex and confusing to most people; The ‘rules’ of what is right or wrong regarding proper separation and disposal vary greatly between our home and school environments. Behaviour Analysis offers a potential solution to this question through the organization, control, and examination of the variables that lead to proper or improper behaviour and engagement. Variables were tested (such as signs or prompts, receptacle openings) using the methodologies of behaviour analysis, and informed data-based decisions regarding which methods proved effective and which ones ultimately failed.

The Café was built In 2016 specifically to address the amount of food waste that was coming from culinary classes. CHCA recognized that there was a considerable amount of food being returned from classes for a variety of reasons including students missing from classes and recipe modifications, and needed to develop a strategy that would enable the division to utilize the leftovers in a sustainable way, while teaching students the importance of food waste recovery. The Café course is embedded into the second year of our Integrated Culinary Management program. Students take the food that is returned from classes and with the CHCA support staff team, develop recipes to make dishes that are sold in the Café during the week. Our food waste has dropped significantly. The students are also learning about the importance of using compostable, recyclable materials, along preserving techniques to use products when they are local and season. The café also uses only Oceanwise recommended fish as part of the CHCA sustainability strategy.

The Chefs Garden was implemented in the summer of 2017 as a way to provide hands on experiential learning focused on teaching students the importance of growing produce in a local, sustainable way. The students in the Integrated Culinary Management program working in the Café and Chefs House learn how to plant, grow, harvest and utilize food grown in the garden. This garden teaches the students the importance of growing food without the use of pesticides, while also learning how to make use of as much of the plant as possible to reduce the garden waste (eg. tea from the leaves of plants).

Sustainability is a concept that can be applied across all professions. The School of Dental Health is no exception recognizing that dental practices have environmental impacts which can be minimized. That’s why in the WAVE Dental Clinic at the Waterfront Campus, dental students are now implementing a comprehensive recycling program to recycle materials such as plastic cups, barrier tapes, head rest covers and masks, saliva ejectors and sterilizing paper. In addition, we moved completely form paper to electronic forms. This means that all patients’ records (and we see 3,500 plus/year) are all electronic. We are no longer using physical charts and multiple forms that were very expensive and using a lot of printing .

We are also working in the installation of a digital lab. For dental, this means that we will be moving into digital dentures to start decreasing the use of non-recyclable materials for the fabrication of dentures. This is for the future but it’s a good start with the installation of the digital lab.

URL: http://www.georgebrown.ca/wave/dentalclinic/
http://www.georgebrown.ca/dentalhealth/industry/

George Brown College's Centre for Health Sciences believes that students "learn by doing". The WAVE (Wellness, Applied Research and Visionary Education) is a series of health and wellness clinics that provide services for the public like dental care, personal training, and hearing tests. These clinics help our students practice their newly learned skills on real clients in real-world environments while being supervised by faculty. As part of its Health Promotion Centre at WAVE George Brown College invites partners and like-minded organizations to collaborate, research and discuss health and wellness issues with our students. Through this platform, our partners and students will research critical issues including child obesity, nutrition and food literacy, disease prevention and more. Located in a state of the art, eco friendly building on Toronto’s waterfront, WAVE offers a wide range of economical services for clients of all ages.
URL: http://www.georgebrown.ca/wave/