Earth Day: Green Initiatives at Algonquin College

Posted on Friday, April 21st, 2023

Happy Earth Day Green Graphic with World ImageEarth Day is celebrated annually to mark environmental awareness and support environmental protection. To celebrate Earth Day, take a look at some of the things happening on campus that are reducing Algonquin College’s environmental footprint and creating solutions for an eco-friendly future.

  • Algonquin College announced the Throw in the Towel initiative in Spring 2023. We have been phasing out using paper hand towels in most College washrooms to exclusively use the already installed automatic hand dryers on the Ottawa Campus, in an effort to lower the campuses’ ecological footprint.
  • Algonquin College Print Services participates in the Konica Minolta Clean Planet Recycling Program for the recycling of used toner, toner cartridges and consumable printer parts such as imaging units, fusers, developer units and drums. Print Services utilizes this program for all Print Shop and printer fleet recycling. The College FindMe printers and Print Shop production printers also automatically enter energy saving mode after short periods of inactivity reducing overall energy consumption. The Print Shop utilizes FSC and SFI certified papers. All printer fleet paper is SFI certified assuring that the fiber used to manufacture the paper comes from recycled content or from a certified forest. The majority of paper used within The Print Shop is FSC certified, with fibers used in the manufacturing of paper sourced from sustainably managed forests.
  • The Algonquin College Print Shop and Connections: The Campus Store recycle cardboard boxes for courier and freight shipments. Whenever possible, cardboard packaging is re-used and labeled (please see the attached PDFs) to create awareness of this green initiative. The Print Shop applies labels to boxes and envelopes requesting that the materials are returned to be re-used.
  • The Horticulture Department relies on composting where all “green waste” is composted. Lights in the Building M greenhouse, have been recently updated to LED lights with energy saving software. The software controls the amount of light used based on how much sun is received that day. On sunny days, the lights dim or turn off automatically.
  • Parking Services, in partnership with Facilities Management shared that bike repair stations have recently been installed at the Woodroffe campus, outside the Student Commons (E) Building, CA Building and B Building. These stations allow cyclists to easily mount their bicycles and use the tools provided to perform minor repairs. For help with repairs use the Quick Read (QR) code on the front of the Bike Repair Station to view detailed instructions on your smart phone. Bike rack locations are also located in several places on campus.
  • Did you know that the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence is a showcase and teaching lab for sustainable construction and is one of the largest LEED platinum certified buildings in Canada? The building — which offers direct access to LRT public transportation — boasts a 4,000 m2 green roof that consists of sedum drought-resistant plants which grow in a sand medium, requiring little maintenance or irrigation and providing insulation value. This growing vegetation also absorbs and controls rainwater runoff, which creates less strain on the buildings storm sewer drainage systems.
  • Many courses in the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence, include the Vocational Learning Outcome, “Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship”. Our Green Architecture Ontario Graduate Certificate exemplifies our commitment to going green.
  • Algonquin College offers a number of sustainability-focused programs in which sustainability is a primary focus of the curriculum. These programs are intended for students with an interest in pursuing careers in sustainability-related fields. Programs include:
  • The Algonquin College Office of Applied Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ARIE) connects industry with students to conduct research and produce innovative products and services. Many of these innovations are focused on improving environmental outcomes. Over the past year, ARIE has supported research in solar panel efficiency, new transportation methods to reduce emissions, geothermal heating solutions, green roof performance, battery charging and storage efficiency, and much more.  

Creating meaningful communities: the how, why and where  

Posted on Tuesday, April 18th, 2023

“I think a lot of the time, what people describe as communities are scenes and subcultures which are really important in their own right but for something to be a true community, there has to be a sort of evolution and mutual growth between people who are learning from each other — in a reciprocal kind of way,” shared Dorian Jensen.

Jensen, who is a Two-Spirit Red River Métis person from Manitoba, is also a community activist, leader and student at Algonquin College’s Library and Information Technician program.

As both an active member of the Manitoba Métis Federation Two-Spirit Michif Local and the Métis Nation of Ontario Two-Spirit working group, Jensen uses his skills as a community leader and organizer to establish programming, events and supports for Two-Spirit citizens.

Through his work as a consultant, panellist, delegate, organizer and presenter, Jensen has shared his personal experiences and knowledge to uplift the Two-Spirit community nationwide and reinforce the importance of creating, fostering and supporting meaningful community engagement.

“The things that make a strong community are having a degree of commonality or shared experience that you can connect and bond over, but also a degree of difference so that you can learn from and teach one another and become stronger together,” shared Jensen.

Most recently, Jensen participated in a consultation committee for KIND Space, an Ottawa-based organization that is committed to providing accessible resources, events, social and educational programming to celebrate and support people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.

“Last summer, KIND Space approached me and a couple others because they wanted to establish a community consultation of Two-Spirit individuals to discuss ways in which the organization could decolonize its service approach and work more effectively with Two-Spirit community members,” explained Jensen.

Jensen added that they “took a holistic look at the organization and ways it could organize itself to be as inviting and as safe a space as it could be for Indigenous community members.”

Speaking candidly, Jensen shared the challenges he’s faced when juggling his passion for community with a full course load but explains that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I was out of school for 10 years, so adjusting to an academic schedule has been a challenge all on its own, but having other community things that I am engaged with is important for me to keep my head,” said Jensen. “Libraries and how people consume and understand information is only one of the things that I care about, and not only do I need downtime to relax but I also need time where I am working on the other things that I am passionate about.”

For Jensen, being an active member of a community keeps him grounded, something he hopes others can benefit from by participating in community as well and which he encourages students to seek out at Algonquin College.

“It’s a lot easier to build a community with a lot of people who have a variety of life experiences, as the people at Algonquin College do, than it is to build community with a lot of people who all have a ton in common with each other when you do not share that commonality,” said Jensen.

Jensen encourages students to take advantage of that and engage with their peers to find and create meaningful communities both on and off campus.

“I believe for students generally it’s really beneficial to familiarize yourself with the world outside your campus and with the city or town in which you find yourself,” shared Jensen. “There’s a world of resources that exist — I always encourage people to find out what’s out there.”

Algonquin throws in the towel

Posted on Tuesday, April 18th, 2023

This spring, Algonquin College will be phasing out using paper hand towels in most College washrooms to exclusively use alreadyThrow in the Towel. Algonquin College is phasing out using paper hand towels in college washrooms and is committed to increasing sustainable practices, and reducing waste installed automatic hand dryers on the Ottawa Campus. Currently the College spends approximately $100K/year on hand paper towels and an additional $70K in labour-related costs for stocking washrooms and collecting waste.

“The College is committed to increasing sustainable practices and reducing waste and emissions associated with daily operations,” said Ryan Southwood, Executive Director, Facilities Management, Algonquin College. “The College is committed to lowering its ecological footprint by managing waste and continuing on the path from green to sustainable.”

The actual hand paper towel dispensers will be removed. This will affect 170 washrooms on the Ottawa Campus.

In the past 18 months, the cost of paper towel has more than doubled. Not only is it more expensive, but it is non-compostable, so waste ends up in a landfill.

In terms of waste volume this represents at least 44,200 bags (30 gallons) that goes into a landfill annually. The College uses 2,100 cases of paper towels each year or 9,765,000 ft of paper per year.

Note: Paper towels will remain available in shops, classrooms, labs and kitchens as well as the E, R and X Buildings. Only washrooms with installed hand dryers will be affected by this change.