Red River College Polytechnic
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

In 2019, a practicum student from the Community Economic Development program worked on developing sustainability content to be included in new and prospective student tours offered by the college. The added content pointed out sustainable building features, sustainable transportation supports, zero waste programs, and water bottle filling stations.

Working Draft is a student-produced web magazine from RRC Polytech's Creative Communications program. Working Draft brings eclectic new voices to communications and writing professionals — readers who care about great storytelling, contemporary issues and culture, the media landscape, and the broad and quickly evolving field of communications. Working Draft’s writers inform, investigate, question, challenge, entertain, critique, educate, and persuade — all from a Manitoba perspective. Some of the recent articles covering sustainability topics include: A Driving EVolution — Navigating Myths & Facts of Owning an Electric Vehicle; Flexing On ‘Em: Using Your Diet to Combat Climate Change; A Case for Adaptation: Preparing for Climate Disasters in Manitoba; Airships & Ice Roads (about feasible ways to service remote communities); Insert Token Here (about token diversity in media); and Non-Binary Workplace Practices Today: It’s Time to be Inclusive.

After a plug-load inventory found nearly 100 water coolers in office areas at the College, it had us wondering: what was the full impact of these cost-wise and energy consumption-wise? This was considering that costs for these units include a monthly rental fee, water purchases, and the energy consumed in running the coolers.

A team of Environmental Engineering Technology students assessed different options for providing clean drinking water at RRC Polytech to see which was the best, in terms of both sustainability and quality. Using energy meters, the team of students measured the energy consumption of each water cooler on campus, and along with the results from their water quality tests and staff engagement, they submitted a report with recommendations. The results of this project contributed to the decision to remove water coolers from campus and install additional bottle fill stations in 2020.

This project was co-sponsored by the Sustainability Office and Safety and Health Services. https://www.rrc.ca/redgreen/student-projects/

In 2020, RRC Polytech's Prairie Research Kitchen partnered with Winnipeg Harvest (now Harvest Manitoba) on a project that provided students provided valuable hands-on experience and engaged them in a project that will deliver healthy, high-protein foods to people in need. Students worked alongside RRC research chefs to transform raw vegetables into three dehydrated soup mixes: Mulligatawny, Chicken Noodle Vegetable, and Smokey Baked Beans. Students from RRC’s Culinary Arts program created the dehydrated mixes this summer, and donated 3,000 packages of the Nutritious Hamper Healthy™ soups to Winnipeg Harvest to be included in food hampers for distribution through their network of 350+ food banks and partner agencies across the province. https://www.rrc.ca/news/2020/10/05/soups-on-rrc-partners-with-winnipeg-harvest-on-healthy-soup-mixes-for-community-students/

In 2018, Winnipeg-based food entrepreneur James Battershill approached RRC Polytech's Prairie Research Kitchen team to undertake an applied research project to determine the optimal product formulation for Bump - his beef and plant blend product. The Prairie Research Kitchen team has a blended background of food science and research, which made them the perfect team to bring Bump to the next level over the next two years. The initial project involved ingredient selection, hydration, and ratio refinement of animal to plant proteins. Prairie Research Kitchen research manager Heather Hill designed an extensive series of trials to determine the ideal ingredients and blending process. The project also integrated culinary students through recipe development to determine the functionality and flavour of the final Bump formulation. The students initially developed four recipes to test taste and functionality, including a tasty Bump kofta kebab. The 70-30 ground beef/plant-based protein blend is the result of nearly two years of product development and experimentation. https://www.rrc.ca/ar/2020/05/05/bump-gets-a-boost-from-newfound-home-cooks/

In 2021/22, a CNC Machining and Advanced Technology created durable weatherproof covers for RRC Polytech’s bike locker locks. The College had installed new bike lockers only a few years ago, but already some of the locks were damaged from weather and wear and needed additional protection. The student designed a product from scratch to be 3D-printed and fitted to the bike lockers. The parts are made out of two pieces of polyurethane resin, as it’s tough, resistant to moisture and chemicals, and can be mixed with UV-resistant additives to boost life expectancy against the sun. https://www.rrc.ca/news/2022/05/04/mockups-and-lockups-manufacturing-student-creates-new-covers-for-on-campus-bike-lockers/

After a plug-load inventory found nearly 100 water coolers in office areas at the College, it had us wondering: what was the full impact of these cost-wise and energy consumption-wise? This was considering that costs for these units include a monthly rental fee, water purchases, and the energy consumed in running the coolers.

A team of Environmental Engineering Technology students assessed different options for providing clean drinking water at RRC Polytech to see which was the best, in terms of both sustainability and quality. The students performed water quality tests- on the coolers, developed a staff survey on drinking water habits on campus and hosted a water-taste test event comparing cooler water to other water sources. Taking the results of this, as well as the results of an energy consumption analysis, the students submitted a report with recommendations. The results of this project contributed to the decision to remove water coolers from campus and install additional bottle fill stations in 2020.

This project was co-sponsored by the Sustainability Office and Safety and Health Services. https://www.rrc.ca/redgreen/student-projects/

Because of the pandemic, there have been very few projects on campus for the last two years. Therefore, the some of the projects mentioned are from the academic year 2018/19.