| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.71 |
| Liaison | Sharmilla Raj |
| Submission Date | May 6, 2024 |
Toronto Metropolitan University
EN-1: Student Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.14 / 4.00 |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer, sustainability educators program
46,462
Total number of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
46,462
Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
100
1st program
Sustainability Residence Leaders Program
A brief description of the student educators program (1st program):
The Sustainability Residence Leadership Program was launched in Fall 2021 in partnership with Housing & Residence. The goal of the program is to empower students and support sustainable behaviours across the residence community. The program covers all three residence buildings on campus: the Daphne Cockwell Health Sciences Complex, the International Living / Learning Centre and the Pitman Hall residences.
In year one of the program, residence leaders completed initiatives including:
- Conducting a residence waste audit, complete with a survey, evaluating the volume and type of waste, and identifying areas of improvement.
- Developing and distributing improved waste signage
- Hosting a Track your Waste event
- Supporting Eco Residence Move Out
In year one of the program, residence leaders completed initiatives including:
- Conducting a residence waste audit, complete with a survey, evaluating the volume and type of waste, and identifying areas of improvement.
- Developing and distributing improved waste signage
- Hosting a Track your Waste event
- Supporting Eco Residence Move Out
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (1st program):
The program targets all student residents, as well as all students passionate about sustainability across campus. All events, initiatives and programming targeted all TMU students, ie. events such as clothing swaps and the Tracking your Waste event were open to all TMU students. Social media posts were also communicated campus-wide.
Number of trained student educators (1st program):
5
Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (1st program):
24
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (1st program):
4
Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (1st program):
480
Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (1st program):
If reporting students served by additional peer-to-peer programs, provide:
2nd program
Sustainability Ambassadors Program
A brief description of the student educators program (2nd program):
The Sustainability Ambassador Program is a volunteer leadership program open to undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in promoting a culture of sustainability at Toronto Metropolitan University through peer-to-peer education, engagement, research and action.
As a Sustainability Ambassador, you will work with a team of like-minded peers to lead and inspire students, staff and faculty by organizing projects, initiatives and campaigns that promote sustainability across the entire campus. Work will be conducted in close collaboration and guidance from the Sustainability Office and broader university staff, researchers, students, and partners. The goal of the program is to enhance engagement and participation by offering opportunities to gain knowledge and skills while supporting a network of sustainability leaders across campus.
Since our last submission, the ambassador program has gone through a number of improvements. For starters, In January 2022, the Sustainability Ambassador Program officially became part of Level-Up, TMU’s official co-curricular program that enables students to earn micro-credentials while getting involved on campus. Level-Up helps students gain recognition for their involvement outside of the classroom and presents an official record to prospective employers and graduate schools to complement their academic transcript. By fulfilling the requirements of the Sustainability Ambassador Program, students automatically receive a badge that can be displayed on their resume and/or LinkedIn profile to demonstrate knowledge of sustainability.
The requirements of the program were also amended to reflect a higher outreach potential. The program now requires a commitment of approximately 5-10 hours/month, although this varies depending on the time of the year.
Students are required to attend one (1) mandatory orientation/training session (approximately 1.5 hours) and attend at least four (4) bi-weekly team meetings to connect, collaborate and share knowledge.
150 student ‘touch points’ are needed and these can be logged during a variety of situations that suit each ambassador (for example: promoting various sustainability initiatives during ‘tabling’ sessions in a campus common area; helping at an event; running a program; presenting a short talk/PowerPoint in a classroom; interactions on social media posts; etc.).
In January 2022, the Sustainability Ambassadors Program collaborated with TMU’s Leadership Lab to support Generation Climate - a three-year project to address awareness and misinformation surrounding climate challenges and solutions amongst young Canadians through peer to peer education. Twenty-one sustainability ambassadors participated in sessions focused on the basics of climate change, how to talk about solutions, addressing common misinformation, and how to communicate climate change to your friends, family, and community. They were then assigned classroom presentations aimed at disseminating this information to their peers. More than 1,200 students attended these workshops led by the Ambassadors on climate change communication.
As a Sustainability Ambassador, you will work with a team of like-minded peers to lead and inspire students, staff and faculty by organizing projects, initiatives and campaigns that promote sustainability across the entire campus. Work will be conducted in close collaboration and guidance from the Sustainability Office and broader university staff, researchers, students, and partners. The goal of the program is to enhance engagement and participation by offering opportunities to gain knowledge and skills while supporting a network of sustainability leaders across campus.
Since our last submission, the ambassador program has gone through a number of improvements. For starters, In January 2022, the Sustainability Ambassador Program officially became part of Level-Up, TMU’s official co-curricular program that enables students to earn micro-credentials while getting involved on campus. Level-Up helps students gain recognition for their involvement outside of the classroom and presents an official record to prospective employers and graduate schools to complement their academic transcript. By fulfilling the requirements of the Sustainability Ambassador Program, students automatically receive a badge that can be displayed on their resume and/or LinkedIn profile to demonstrate knowledge of sustainability.
The requirements of the program were also amended to reflect a higher outreach potential. The program now requires a commitment of approximately 5-10 hours/month, although this varies depending on the time of the year.
Students are required to attend one (1) mandatory orientation/training session (approximately 1.5 hours) and attend at least four (4) bi-weekly team meetings to connect, collaborate and share knowledge.
150 student ‘touch points’ are needed and these can be logged during a variety of situations that suit each ambassador (for example: promoting various sustainability initiatives during ‘tabling’ sessions in a campus common area; helping at an event; running a program; presenting a short talk/PowerPoint in a classroom; interactions on social media posts; etc.).
In January 2022, the Sustainability Ambassadors Program collaborated with TMU’s Leadership Lab to support Generation Climate - a three-year project to address awareness and misinformation surrounding climate challenges and solutions amongst young Canadians through peer to peer education. Twenty-one sustainability ambassadors participated in sessions focused on the basics of climate change, how to talk about solutions, addressing common misinformation, and how to communicate climate change to your friends, family, and community. They were then assigned classroom presentations aimed at disseminating this information to their peers. More than 1,200 students attended these workshops led by the Ambassadors on climate change communication.
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (2nd program):
The Sustainability Ambassadors Program targets all TMU students who are passionate about sustainability and interested in contributing to a more sustainable campus.
Number of trained student educators (2nd program):
35
Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (2nd program):
24
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (2nd program):
2.50
Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (2nd program):
87.50
Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (2nd program):
If reporting students served by three or more peer-to-peer programs, provide:
3rd program
Urban Farm Field Apprentice and Volunteer Program
A brief description of the student educators program (3rd program):
Urban Farm Field Apprentice and Volunteer Program
The Urban Farm offers a unique, hands-on work experience to TMU students each growing season through the Field Apprentice Program. This summer employment series gives students a full-time professional opportunity in urban agriculture working at the Urban Farm from May to August, which allows them to experience a full growing season. Field Apprentices are responsible for supporting all tasks related to the farm operations at the ecological market garden atop the original rooftop location, including supporting the Indigenous Foodways Program and the Black Food Sovereignty Initiative on the newest rooftop location atop the DCC. Along with field work such as harvesting and cultivation, Apprentices support the Farm’s engagement programs such as leading tours, and assisting customers at the farm stand.
The Urban Farm offers a unique, hands-on work experience to TMU students each growing season through the Field Apprentice Program. This summer employment series gives students a full-time professional opportunity in urban agriculture working at the Urban Farm from May to August, which allows them to experience a full growing season. Field Apprentices are responsible for supporting all tasks related to the farm operations at the ecological market garden atop the original rooftop location, including supporting the Indigenous Foodways Program and the Black Food Sovereignty Initiative on the newest rooftop location atop the DCC. Along with field work such as harvesting and cultivation, Apprentices support the Farm’s engagement programs such as leading tours, and assisting customers at the farm stand.
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (3rd program):
The Urban Farm Apprenticeship Program is open to all students looking for summer employment, and have a passion for rooftop farming and food justice.
Number of trained student educators (3rd program):
5
Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (3rd program):
14
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (3rd program):
35
Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (3rd program):
2,450
Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (3rd program):
Additional programs
Workbee Wednesdays -
Workbee Wednesdays is an annual volunteer program at the Urban Farm where students and community members can experience what it’s like to operate a rooftop farm. These weekly sessions welcome volunteers to the rooftop farm where they spent 1.5 hours performing seasonal tasks such as weeding, crop removal, irrigation, fertilizing and mulching.
Workbee Wednesdays is an annual volunteer program at the Urban Farm where students and community members can experience what it’s like to operate a rooftop farm. These weekly sessions welcome volunteers to the rooftop farm where they spent 1.5 hours performing seasonal tasks such as weeding, crop removal, irrigation, fertilizing and mulching.
Number of trained student educators (all other programs):
15
Number of weeks, on average, the student educators programs are active annually (all other programs):
6
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per student educator (all other programs) :
1.50
Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (all other programs):
135
Part 2. Educator hours per student served by a peer-to-peer educator program
3,152.50
Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per student served by a peer-to-peer program:
0.07
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.