| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 51.63 |
| Liaison | Dwayne Doornbosch |
| Submission Date | June 24, 2021 |
Langara College
EN-3: Student Life
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.25 / 2.00 |
Dwayne
Doornbosch Director Facilities Facilities |
Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:
Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:
Langara Sustainability Student Ambassadors (SSA's):
The Sustainability Student Ambassadors provide Langara student volunteers, interested in engaging the community in sustainable practices, the capability to contribute to economic development, social development, and environmental protection within the Langara community and beyond. The SSA's raise awareness about ecological issues, encourage environmentally responsible behaviour, and plan sustainability-related events and activities within our community.
Langara Sustainability Club:
The Sustainability Clubs goal is to create awareness about different environmental issues by engaging the Langara community in education around sustainability and its importance. The club also serves as a channel to discuss environmental topics as well as promote sustainable projects and events through collaborating with the Sustainability Student Ambassadors and other groups or clubs.
More information about the SSA's can be found here:
https://langara.ca/the-hub/volt/sustainability-student-ambassador.html
More information about the sustainability club can be found here:
https://langara.ca/the-hub/student-clubs/index.html [Under Leadership and Public Service tab]
Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:
Langara Community Garden: The Langara Community Garden is run by the Langara Community Garden Society (registered nonprofit society), which members include faculty (several of which are in the Biology Department), students and community members. Faculty, staff, students and members of the community are people who can gain access to a garden plot, which include single or double plots, 26 plots in total. An additional 10 garden plots are also found west of the Library that were apart of Langara’s Adopt-a-Plot event for Langara students and faculty which ran during Langara's Community Day (Langara’s 49th birthday – 49 years on 49th avenue). The Adopt-a-Plots are maintained by students and staff.
Langara Apiary: The Langara Community Garden is also home to an Apiary that was established in May 2014, mainly for educational (Sustainable Urban Beekeeping certificate) and environmental reasons (pollinating the garden). Honey produced is bottled up and sold to the college community.
Langara Fruit Garden: The fruit garden was created in 2017 with the assistance of the Langara Community Garden Society to promote the usage of green space. Home to 20 plots, the fruit grown is shared among the community. The fruit garden also serves as a nursery for flowering plants that can be planted in other areas on the campus.
Pollinator Pathway: New project by Langara’s Sustainability Student Ambassadors include a pollinator garden going up spring 2021, with funding by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund). Volunteers will rewild a 100m2 grassy area into a habitat suitable for wildlife and pollinators. The green space will be maintained by student volunteers with the assistance of the Facilities department.
More information about the community garden can be found here:
https://courseweb.langara.bc.ca/langaracommunitygarden/about/
More information about the adopt-a-plot gardens can be found here:
https://sites.langara.ca/thepost/2019/04/08/adopt-a-plot-gardening-contest/
More information about the Langara College Apiary can be found here:
https://langara.ca/about-langara/applied-research/research-projects/langara-college-apiary.html
Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:
A brief description of the student-run enterprises:
Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:
Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:
Geography Speaker Series: Series that Langara's Geography department hosts that brings distinguished academics and practitioners to share their knowledge and experience from the field. The previous speaker was Seth Wynes who spoke about What you can do to reduce climate change. These lectures are free and open to students, faculty, staff, and the public.
Climate Talk: Student organized virtual event where Langara students, employees and alumni discuss climate change, its causes, and possible solutions.
Sustainability as a Career: A career talk webinar that discusses how companies are implementing sustainability in their workplace and values. It gives students the opportunity to get a glimpse into the field they are studying, and how the companies are implementing sustainability to contribute to a better world.
Career Talk: A series of virtual career panels that bring experts from a variety of industries to speak on different themes, specifically the Environmental Panel which consists of industry experts speaking to environmental, sustainability, and green initiatives in business.
For more information:
Climate Talk: https://langara.ca/the-hub/student-leadership/climate-talk.html
Sustainability as a Career: https://langara.ca/the-hub/student-leadership/sustainability-as-a-career.html
Career Talk: https://langara.ca/coop-and-career-development/career-talks/index.html
Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:
A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:
Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:
Langara offers i-Go activities (such as skating, bowling, aquarium, indoor rock-climbing, and hiking to name a few), where students get to know each other as they venture outdoors and participate in activities around Vancouver. The events incorporate Leave No Trace principles and students are specifically instructed to leave no waste behind as they explore the wilderness around Vancouver.
For more information:
https://langara.ca/international-education/langara-plus/activities.html (under the heading recreational activities)
Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:
Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:
Sustainability Student Ambassador Coordinator: One co-op student who works for Langara College and leads the Sustainability Student Ambassador project with the support of various departments on campus.
The Sustainability Student Ambassadors also provides paid employment for one SWAP (Student Work Assistance Program) student, a student who demonstrates financial need.
Langara Community Garden: One co-op student is hired to help manage the gardens.
Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):
A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.