Nova Scotia Community College
EN-9: Community Partnerships

Our Annapolis Valley Campuses (AVC) has a partnership with the Carleton Road Industries. This is an organization located in Lawerencetown, Nova Scotia (Near our AVC) and it employs people who are mentally challenged. AVC has made the deliberate choice over the past number of years not to go out to tender for their lawn maintenance contract, but rather they employ people from Carleton Road industries. The campuses also purchase wooden items made by their facility. The Annapolis Valley Campuses (AVC) also partner with the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute(MTRI). The AVC sustainability committee toured the MTRI in June 2016 and learned about the white-nosed bat virus problem plaguing Nova Scotia and have partnered with MTRI to install bat houses on the campuses' property. Some of the AVC sustainability committee members have also become member of MTRI (including their butterfly club).

The NSCC works closely with Divert NS. Divert NS is a not-for-profit corporation championing recycling in Nova Scotia. Each region of the province has education officers. NSCC works closely with the education officers to develop educational programs at our campuses. In collaboration with divert NS many different waste education initiatives have been started. Education offers participate in student orientation and have a booth at our sustainability days event at the Annapolis Valley Campuses. A college-wide program is currently being piloted at our Burridge and Kingstec campuses called "Waste-101" this is a waste sorting class that is conducted by the education officers that is given to the students and staff at each campus each year. This collaboration is ongoing and the support the college is provided is returned by facilities staff presenting at conferences and participating in videos. https://youtu.be/hxmqd7rOXNo

In 2014 NSCC partnered with Wagmatcook First Nations band, located in rural Cape Breton, to construct the Wagmatcook Learning Centre. The construction and operation of this facility is a collaboration between NSCC and the Band. This facility provides post secondary learning opportunities in various construction trades as well as health and wellness, in a community that previously did not have access to post-secondary opportunities. The Centre participates in NSCC's strong sustainability program, including an active waste management system, where staff and students are involved in regular waste audits. Currently, the centre boasts a waste diversion rate of 79! This facility will be a strong catalyst to revitalize the local and regional economy though sustainable development. Through formal programming and building operations, students are learning skills to improve their community and the local economy, while supporting and sustaining an rich culture.

For the past two years, NSCC has sent a delegation of staff and students to a remote community in Tanzania to install and commission a photovoltaic system to supply power to pump fresh water. This initiative not only provided power and water to a remote community in need, but also forged symbiotic learning opportunities for both NSCC and the community.