Selkirk College
EN-3: Student Life

Selkirk College has an student-based Sustainability Club on Castlegar Campus. The club's mandate is to raise awareness of environmental issues and to strive to create a culture of sustainability at Selkirk. Students meet regularly and have taken on a wide range of projects, including waste audits, garbage cleanups, outreach events, documentary film screenings, and sustainability-themed workshops. They work together advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals — in their personal lives, on campus and within the local community.

The Selkirk Native Plant Garden Partnership provides students with hands-on learning experience tending to a variety of native plant species that will be used in environmental restoration projects in the region.

Selkirk's SOAR (Steps to Opportunities, Academics & Readiness) program learns about planting and caring for plants. One project includes selling flower baskets annually aligned with Mother's Day as a fundraiser. This program also utilizes an onsite greenhouse which was installed in 2020.

The "Smooth Moves Cafe" is a student-run business operating once a week by the SOAR students of the Trail campus of Selkirk College, offering healthy soups, baked goods, specialty coffees and smoothies. Students learn real life employment readiness, skills and training that can be used to gain employment after graduation in the hospitality sector and beyond. Ingredients are locally sourced whenever possible, including some food recovery in the Trail area which also helps to build a sense of community both within our campus, but also into the greater community. Part of the intention is to be a meeting point to bring our campus together, strengthen on-campus connections & inclusion with students, Selkirk staff, and the community.

TEDxSelkirkCollege Climate Countdown has been hosted annually since 2020, as part of the larger TED Countdown campaign. Countdown is a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis, turning ideas into action. The goal is to build a better future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 in the race to a zero-carbon world – a world that is safer, cleaner and fairer for everyone. In 2020, Sustainable Selkirk and the Mir Centre for Peace partnered with the the Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) Nelson/West Kootenay Chapter to host the local series that tied into international TEDx “Countdown” virtual TED talks. In 2021, Selkirk College partnered again with the Citizens' Climate Lobby, and with the newly formed West Kootenay Climate Hub to host one virual event, featuring 10 local speakers. The event remained virutal in 2022, gathering interest from our broader community.

Global Goals Week (Feb 2021) was an opportunity for our local community along with students and staff at Selkirk College to learn about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and discover how to work towards them at a personal and local level. We hosted 6 speakers throughout the week and participants attended online to hear these talks of initiatives related to the UN SDGs. Speaker subject areas included climate change related to our health, renewable energy, peace and sustainability, how the SDGs relate to personally, and local intiatives for preservation of Kootenay Lake. The week also include social media campaigns working to bring the Global Goals down to a personal level and show staff and students how they can participate.

A Sustainability Speaker Series & Climate Change Workshop was hosted in March 2021. Speakers included Jim Jacobson from Empower Energy speaking of the basics of solar energy and Fergus Kinnaird with the BC Sustainable Energy Association who spoke of the Cool It! Climate Change Education Program. Additionally, an En-ROADS workshop was hosted by Climate Reality leader, Laura Sacks, where participants worked together to create their own solution to keep global warming to the Paris Agreement goals using the En-ROADS simulation model.

Selkirk College celebrates Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Day annually. Each year, the College selects a different theme, and during 2021 and 2022, the theme was 'Sustainable Development Goals'. All students of the Advanced Diploma in GIS program created a mapping project poster related to the SDGs.

Selkirk International hosts a "Rise Above the Stars" Dance Show featuring students performing traditional and modern dances. They also host Intercultural Week and a GlobalFest Day every year that shares the cultures of all domestic and international students through art, music, dance, food and literature. These events celebrate our diversity.

The Recreation, Fish, and Wildlife students at Selkirk College participate in a number of outdoor excursions each year in which they follow "leave no trace" principles. Campus Recreation also hosts hikes and forest walks throughout the year and encourage teh same practices.

Campus Recreation supports healthy living aligning with Sustainable Development Goals 3 - Good Health and Well-Being. Meal plans and at home workouts are available to students, and they run various fitness challenges throughout the year.

The SOAR (Steps to Opportunities, Academics & Readiness) program includes many lessons for sustainable life skills such as cooking, baking, and gardening. This class has participated in a beeswax wrap making workshop and learned the benefits of reducing single use plastics.

Selkirk College offers sustainability-focused employment opportunities for students.
The Organic Waste Diversion Attendant positions are responsible for emptying the green collection bin contents into the large "Earth Tub" composter, monitoring temperatures and moisture levels and recording compost weights several times during each week.

The Sustainability Ambassador position is responsible for supporting initiatives on campus, such as the recycling, compost and carpool programs. This position has worked on developing content and programs to increase sustainable living in student housing.

The Fair Trade Ambassador position is responsible for providing outreach to students and staff on Fair Trade choices and Selkirk's Fair Trade designation.

The Selkirk College Student Ambassador Program is a student-led organization that promotes health and wellness initiatives and guides students to resources available on our campus. The Student Ambassadors make strong contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and have begun to highlight their initatives under these Global Goals.