The introduction of a pollinator garden at Mohawk will support local food production and a diverse, healthy plant population while creating teaching and learning opportunities that engage our students and community members.

The project was funded through a $6,000 grant from the World Wildlife Fund. Mohawk College was one of 21 grants from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada’s ‘Go Wild’ Community Grants, presented by Telus.

Results from the pilot project will be shared at a province-wide summit for colleges in the fall of 2017 to help other post-secondary institutions find opportunities to increase their own procurement of locally sourced food. Mohawk College is expecting the project to help increase local food purchases by $1.5 million over the next two years — a 15:1 return on the LFIF’s investment.

“Mohawk College’s leadership in local food will create a model that can be replicated across the province,” said Burkhard Mausberg, CEO of the Greenbelt Fund. “The public sector spends $745 million on food each year, and we are investing to make sure more of that money is spent on Ontario grown and made food.”

“Through the Local Food Investment Fund, our government is helping to expose more students and young people across this province to the great foods we grow, harvest and make here in Ontario, while helping to create new opportunities for our local agri-food producers,” said Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.. “By tapping into broader public sector institutions, like colleges, this funding can change procurement habits to ensure more public money is spent buying Ontario products, and in turn, make more Ontarians aware of local food while building a strong agri-food sector to help grow our economy.”

“Mohawk College is committed to sustainability and local food is a key component of that commitment,” said Deborah Brown, Vice President of Corporate Services at Mohawk College. “Our hope is to use our experience to establish best practices we can share with Colleges Ontario to change the way students eat across the province.”

Through the LFIF, the Greenbelt is investing nearly $850,000 to support ten projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe region, bringing more Ontario grown and raised food to Ontarians. A total of $1.5 million in funding is being invested across the province.

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Erica Woods
Communications Manager
Greenbelt Fund
Phone: (416) 960-0001 ext. 306
ewoods@greenbeltfund.ca

About 20 students, from area schools and the Kiwanis Boys and Girls Club, participated in the eight-week City School Sprouts progam. A joint project between the Eva Rothwell Centre, Mohawk Sustainability and City School by Mohawk, the Sprouts program focused on cultivating environmental stewardship and social entrepreneurialism among youth attending programs at the community centre. 

The students were taught how to care for their seedlings and the importance of healthy eating and sustainability. After a lesson in marketing and advertising, the seedlings were sold at the Mustardseed Co-op on Mother’s Day weekend, and at Fennell campus this past Tuesday to celebrate the end of the program.

Mohawk is one of three colleges in Canada to make the 2016 list, and one of two colleges in Ontario. A complete list of this year’s winners is available on Canada’s Top 100 website.

Quotes:

Fast Facts:

• Canada’s Greenest Employers competition is now in its 10^th year. Winners are considered to be national leaders in creating a culture of environmental awareness.
   
• This year’s competition recognized 65 Canadian employers.
   
• Mohawk is the only Hamilton employer on this year’s list.

• Among other priorities, Mohawk’s new five-year Strategic Plan commits the college to reducing or eliminating observable, wasteful energy consumption on campus and to ensuring students leave Mohawk with a solid understanding of environmental sustainability and skills they can apply in the workplace.

• Mohawk’s first Environmental Management Plan committed to a 20 per cent carbon reduction target below the 2007 baseline by the year 2020. Mohawk exceeded this target reaching a 24 per cent reduction by the end of 2012 and set a new target of a 30 per cent reduction by 2020.

• The college’s Sustainability Office oversees numerous activities and initiatives aimed at encouraging faculty, staff and students to live sustainably. These include programs promoting alternative transit, an on-campus community-based garden with plots available for students, staff and the community, and a seasonal mobile Farm Stand that sells fresh, locally grown produce.

• Mohawk has also been recognized for its efforts to build a more sustainable campus. Its 64,000 square foot David Braley Athletic and Recreation Centre achieved LEED Gold certification in 2015, becoming the second building on campus to obtain the sought-after certification.

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For more information, contact:

Jay Robb, Director of Communications, 905.979.8893, jay.robb@mohawkcollege.ca

Join Dawn Lambe, Executive Director of the Biomass North Development Centre, on Tuesday, March 22 at 7 p.m. and Wednesday, March 23 at Noon in the McIntyre Performing Arts Centre at Mohawk College’s Fennell campus for an entertaining and provoking presentation on emerging technologies and economic trends and a frank discussion about their impact on your world.

Dawn’s background as an economist, technology designer, and part-time comic can help put your future into perspective. From the emerging bioeconomy to the future of renewable energy and fossil fuels; from food security to how best to kick-start Canada’s flagging manufacturing sector; from social media to social conscience, Dawn will share her insights into what you can expect over the next 10 years.

Whether your role is to shape policy, develop strategy, calculate the best bet for investment dollars, or to figure which electives to take to broaden your future job prospects, you’ll leave with tools and knowledge to help your decision making processes. Both events are offered free of charge. Seating is first come, first served.

Integrated Animation student Erica Eldridge was last year’s Sustainable Initiatives Fund Idea Bank winner. Erica suggested adding a rainwater harvesting system to the college’s community garden at the Fennell Campus. The system was installed last summer.

Last year’s campaign saw nearly 100 sustainable ideas published to the Idea Bank website. A team of 20 student volunteers had more than 1,500 conversations with students on campus, generating ideas around topics like waste management, health and wellness, renewable energy, student participation, and improved outdoor spaces.

Check out the winning projects implemented on Mohawk’s campuses as a result of last year's campaign:

• Rainwater Harvesting System
• Recycling Information Board
• Bike Repair Stations

The contest is open to all Mohawk students. Ideas can be submitted to sif.mohawkcollege.ca between March 7 and March 18. The winning idea receives $500. Two runner-up ideas will also receive a prize of $250 each. You can also submit your idea at the Mohawk Minute booth at the Fennell Campus, or in person at one of the outreach booths.

The Idea Bank campaign is a partnership between the Sustainability Office and the Mohawk Student’s Association, and is made possible by the Sustainability Intiatives Fund. The Sustainability Initiatives Fund (SIF) invests $50,000 each year to implement student ideas that will make Mohawk College a more environmentally friendly place to learn, work and play.

It’s a small two-story house that wouldn’t look out of place on any residential street. But its modest exterior hides a secret: the house is built with the most advanced materials, connected to renewable generation, outfitted with energy efficient heating and cooling technology, utilizing energy storage and wired top to bottom with sensors that monitor insulation efficiency.

The house is a living lab, facilitating opportunities for research, innovation and teaching that will benefit industry, academics and teachers. It’s a modern home that allows visitors to visualize every aspect of energy and power research that is taking place in the space.

You can’t find it using Google Maps- the almost-completed eco-friendly house is located at Mohawk’s Stoney Creek Campus, housed within a soaring three story lab space that is dedicated to everything sustainable. The house is part of the Sustainable Resource Centre, a centre dedicated to helping us reduce our environmental impact and focused on the pillars of clean energy, reuse of resources and waste minimization.

Efficient Energy

As more homes adopt energy storage, renewable energy and start selling back to the grid, Researchers with the Mohawk College iDeaWORKS Energy Research Centre - which has labs located at both Mohawk’s Fennell and Stoney Creek campuses- wanted to learn more about how it wouldimpact the grid, especially on the power distribution equipment and transformers. Their research interests found a home in the new eco-house.

New energy efficient appliances, like our dishwashers and washing machines, are generating more harmonic frequencies than their previous iterations. These harmonic frequencies are undesirable, as they impact power quality and can shorten the lives of transformers.

Energy researchers based at Mohawk College recently presented a paper at the 2015 IEEE conference on the topic, showing how harmonics generated by solar, energy-saving home appliances and electric vehicle chargers pose a potential threat to the distribution network systems. If they are allowed to continue unabated it could cause fuse failures and premature failure of pole-mount transformers.

Mike Dang, a researcher with the Energy Centre, and a retired employee of Hydro One, calls the transformer failures that are coming from the energy efficient appliances “a costly and dangerous failure”.

“Let’s say the utility company bought a transformer to hopefully last 50 years- now it might only last five years,” says Dang. “The cost could keep adding up to the point where in five to ten years’ time, the problem would be unmanageable. Plus, you can’t afford to lose power in the winter- to replace a transformer, homes would be without power for two to five hours.”

Peter Sztur, the Bachelor of Technology in Energy Engineering student who works with the iDeaWORKS Energy team sums up the issue with harmonics and the push on using energy efficient appliances.

“When you are looking at the consumer perspective, it is great to save money, be sustainable and use energy, but at what cost to our utilities companies?”

Hands-On House

“It will be a very good research and development house.” says Ivan Sverko.

Sverko is a Conventional and Renewable Energies Professor at Mohawk’s Stoney Creek campus.Like the researchers in energy and power, Sverko is also using the house to solve problems and test new technologies in the area of renewable energy. He is just one of the many Mohawk faculty that helped in the planning and implementation of the lab and he’ll continue to use the lab to conduct renewable energy projects and integrate the lab into his teaching on renewable and sustainable energy systems.

Sverko, his colleagues and students are using heat testing to see how effective the house is on the whole. The house itself was built using energy efficient materials and has been outfitted with the latest in heating and cooling technology, including geothermal and radiant floor heating.

It’s also linked to solar panels and wind turbines located on the roof of the Stoney Creek campus.

“Once we outfit the house with the temperature sensors, we will determine out the amount of heating needed to heat the house, and figure out how efficient the house is at keeping things warm without needing to have a heat source that needs to be used as often,” explains Sverko.

“If that is the case, then the house will be a success.”

The sustainable house, although still not quite finished, is already a home for knowledge, innovation and teaching:

“We are solving problems, we are reinventing the wheel,” says Sverko.

“Students can see it instead of studying it. The house is hands-on and something they can discover for themselves.”

This article was originally published in the 2015 volume of Quanta, Mohawk College’s annual celebration of research and innovation.

Author Andrea Johnson is Promotions and Industry Liaison Officer for iDeaWORKS and the editor of Quanta.

Griffiths grew up on his fifth-generation family farm in Thorold and planned to carry on farming but decided on a whim to give college a shot. He earned a pre-technology certificate and then enrolled into the environmental science technician program.

The environmental work of his grandfather David Griffiths was his inspiration.

“He has been a true environmental advocate in the Niagara Region for many years, so it was something that appealed to me.”

After completing his diploma, Griffiths served two terms as president of the Mohawk Students’ Association before being offered a one-year contract with the college to develop its first sustainability plan.

“I was challenged to develop a plan that was tailored to a college. It had to fit how we do business and focus on student engagement.”

With the plan approved by the Board of Governors in 2011, Mohawk became the first college in Canada to create an environmental management plan with bold targets around carbon reduction.

Thanks to the collective results of many initiatives, Mohawk exceeded the original target of a 20 per cent reduction in 2007 baseline emissions by 2020. The college managed a 24 per cent reduction eight years ahead of the projected timeline.

Much of the reduction is due to the province’s elimination of coal-fired power generation, says Griffiths, but 10 per cent is directly due to changes at the college in transportation, energy consumption, waste management and paper use.

The college is now working on bringing to life its Environmental Management Plan 2.0. launched in 2014. The new target calls for a further 30 per cent cut in baseline 2007 carbon emissions by 2020.

The college’s sustainability commitment has produced plenty of honours, including five Smart Commute recognitions and being named Canada’s Greenest Employers in 2014 and 2015.

Griffiths, who was promoted to manage the Sustainability Office in 2013, says college leaders fully back the sustainability work.

“Our senior administration recognizes the success of what’s come in the past and are helping us plan for the future.”

Both versions of the EMP are built on eight pillar sectors that touch virtually all aspects of campus life. That includes building the David Braley Athletic and Recreation Centre and the Cummings Library to LEED gold certification and changing how thousands of people arrive to Mohawk each day.

Griffiths says Mohawk’s Fennell campus was in a “parking crisis” in 2009. Lots were jammed with single-occupancy vehicles and there seemed to be no end to the demand.

But after reaching a deal with the HSR for a universal transit pass, instituting a carpool and car share program, installing lockers, racks and showers for cyclists, and improving connections into adjacent neighbourhoods, Mohawk has seen its parking demand drop sharply.

In fact, though there are 40 per cent more students now than there were in 2009, there are fewer parking spaces today and the crisis has passed, says Griffiths.

A full 60 per cent of Mohawk’s daily people count arrives to campus by means other than a single-occupant vehicle. Daily HSR share alone has jumped from 18 per cent in 2009 to 34 per cent this fall.

That’s expected to only grow. A new Mohawk College Terminal planned for 2016 will be a “game changer” in how students, staff and visitors get to Mohawk, says Griffiths. The sustainability office continues to work on convincing those within a 30-minute radius of campus to take transit.

On the local food front, Mohawk students and staff have embraced community gardens, a seasonal produce stand and a campus orchard.

“We are located next to some of the most prime agricultural lands in Canada and agriculture is central to the local economy,” said Griffiths.

“We are helping to improve food literacy among our staff and students. To have a sustainable food system, we need to provide students with healthy, sustainable food options on campus.”

The community gardens have bloomed from eight plots in the first year to 50 now. The gardens include an outdoor classroom, sheds, fruit trees and rainwater harvesting from the rooftops of neighbouring buildings. Griffiths says it may be the nicest site in southern Ontario.

The orchard of 21 apple and pear trees is planted at the southern edge of the Fennell campus. It’s a nod to the history of the property because the land that became Mohawk was once a farm that grew the food for what was then the Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital across the street.

Griffiths hopes to eventually see all the trees on campus replaced with fruit-bearing varieties.

Many projects are supported by the Mohawk Sustainability Initiatives Fund (SIF), which pools $5 per student per semester to act on a student’s idea. It adds up to an impressive $140,000 per year that is governed by a steering committee made up by an equal split between students and college staff.

“These are enhancements for the students by the students,” said Griffiths, pointing out that building students at the Skilled Trades Centre in Stoney Creek built the boxes, composters, raised beds, sheds and water harvesters for the community gardens.

Erica Eldridge, a student in Integrated Animation and Graphic Design Production, put forward the idea for a rooftop water harvester and then helped design it.

“Many students who participate are not environmental or technology students. There is just natural skill set for environmental issues in today’s students. If they see their feedback shapes what happens on campus, they will get involved more.”

Another idea from a student and funded through the SIF is the seasonal farm stand. That is a partnership with the Mustard Seed Co-op, Hamilton’s grocery co-operative, which provides products at cost. Environment Hamilton operates the stand.

In the off-season, the offerings are extended with a biweekly bounty bag filled with local fruits and vegetables.

Being part of the sustainable renewal of the Fennell campus is rewarding work for Griffiths.

“It kind of feels like we are building a little city here. This city is growing, adaptively reusing buildings, building in pedestrian mobility and growing its own food.”

Contact Alan at:

alan.griffiths@mohawkcollege.ca

905.575.1212- ext 4168​

Spotlight on is written by Freelance writer and editor Meredith MacLeod.

Follow Meredith on Twitter @meredithmacleod

Mohawk College has been named Smart Commute's 2015 Employer of the Year in Hamilton.

Launched in 2007, the Smart Commute Awards recognize outstanding commitment, leadership and innovation in employers that implement Smart Commute programs.

Smart Commute is a program of Metrolinx and the municipalities in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

Mohawk was named Regional Employer of the Year in 2013, received the Parsons Brinckerhoff Employee Engagement Award in 2012 and was recognized as Employer of the Year in Hamilton in 2011.

Since joining the Smart Commute program in 2008, Mohawk has enhanced its Smart Commute presence by building on previous successes and investing in new infrastructure so students, faculty and staff can use alternative modes of transportation.

During this time, the number of students, faculty and staff has increased by more than 40 per cent at Mohawk's Fennell campus. A recent audit showed that between 60 and 70 per cent of campus commuters are now travelling using a method other than driving alone. This shift allowed for an overall reduction in parking capacity, leading to an estimated savings of more than $5 million since new parking facilities did not need to be constructed.

Mohawk has reduced the use of single-occupant vehicles through a variety of ways. An expanded carpool program includes 50 dedicated carpool parking spaces and two Campus Student Car Share vehicles. Mohawk has introduced four electric vehicle charging stations and four self-service bike repair stations. A new Mohawk College Transit Terminal is also under construction, which will include bus bays and terminals serving multiple transit routes. This new facility will make transit a more viable option for the 4,000 students, faculty and staff who travel there daily.

These initiatives are funded through the Sustainability Office’s annual budget and supported by events and incentives, strong collaboration with key community partners and on-campus outreach activities. The success of these initiatives is inspired by the needs of faculty, staff and students.

• Enhancing the pedestrian realm and promoting a pedestrian-first campus


• Connecting with transit and alternative forms of transportation


• Connecting the campus with new features and landscape improvements


• Increased food production and an expansion to the Community Garden


• Creation of an Aboriginal Gathering Place


• Sustainable features, e.g. storm water management

News Desk: Planting Day at Mohawk College's Community Garden from Communications and Media on Vimeo.

• Bicycle Friendly Business/Organization – Café Domestique


• Pedestrian Friendly Business/Organization – Mohawk College


• Transit Friendly Business/Organization – Green Venture


• School of the Year – St. Marguerite d’Youville


• Advocate of the Year – Yes We Cannon


• Media Award – Samantha Craggs, CBC Hamilton

1. Walk, cycle, carpool or use public transit during Smart Commute Week;


2. Register or log-in to your Carpool Zone account at carpoolzone.ca;


3. Click on the Trip Diary tab and enter your trip information.

• An iPad mini;


• One of two AMEGO e-bikes and scooters;


• A one-week cycling holiday with The Great Waterfront Trail Adventure Tour: Lake Erie Edition;


• A pair of tickets to a Toronto Blue Jays game with seating at dugout level;


• Four, one-year CAA memberships;


• 32GB Toshiba Tablet;


• Raleigh Revolution Mountain Bike;


• and, many more exciting prizes!

• Wednesday, Jan. 23, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Cafeteria (across from Tim Horton’s)


• Thursday, Jan. 24, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Cafeteria (across from Tim Horton’s); & 3:30 p.m. - 6 p.m., MCACES Lounge (F114)

• Wednesday, Jan. 23, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Student Engagement Office


• Thursday, Jan. 24, 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., Student Engagement Office

Visit http://www.cleanaircommute.ca/commuter-registration-form/ to create your online Commuter Log account. This is where you’ll record how you get to work during Clean Air Commute week.

During the week of June 18-24, Mohawk College is participating in Pollution Probe’s 2012 Clean Air Commute. Please join the Sustainability Office and Smart Commute Hamilton by commuting to work in a cleaner more sustainable way. Try walking, cycling, public transit, carpooling, telecommuting – or even give your car a tune-up so it runs more efficiently.

It’s very simple. Register, log one clean air commute and you’ll be entered into a draw for these great prizes:

• One of two smart e-bikes from smart Canada (retail value $4,000 each)


• A four-hour skippered yacht charter on Lake Ontario for up to 12 people on a Gemini 105Mc catamaran


• One of three Mongoose mountain bikes


• Four tickets to a Toronto Blue Jays game with seating at dugout level


• A Cyclone 21 Speed Mountain Bike

Clean Air Commute Week Launch

Monday June 18^th  8-11AM

Location: C-Wing Entrance

Kick off Clean Air Commute Week by dropping by the C-Wing Entrance and register with the Mohawk College Sustainability Office and Smart Commute Hamilton.  Light refreshments will be provided to those who visit the booth.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact alan.griffiths@mohawkcollege.ca or visit www.mohawkcollege.ca/environmental-sustainability

Stop by the main entrance of the C-Wing between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. to register and receive your thank you gift for cycling in. The Sustainability Office will be holding a draw for a $100 gift certificate to Mountain Equipment Co-op for one lucky cyclist.

Register now for Bike to Work Day on May 28^th at:  www.smartcommutehamilton.ca

If you haven’t cycled to work yet, this is a great opportunity to start. Grab your bike and try an active, convenient, and cost-effective commute that is fun!

Get Connected:   

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact alan.griffiths@mohawkcollege.ca

The Employer of Year Award recognizes organizations for outstanding achievement in the areas of commitment, leadership, innovation and results in the Smart Commute program. 

Among its many accomplishments, Mohawk College has:

• established the fastest-growing Carpool program in Hamilton, doubling the amount of registered carpoolers at the college;


• constructed a new secure bike parking facility for more than 40 bikes;


• established 12 new carpool parking spots;


• organized an annual Residence Active Living Fair with Smart Commute as a central theme; and


• supported a student-led initiative to launch a discounted transit pass program, which is now available to all students at the college for unlimited use of the HSR. 

Mohawk has some of the highest participation rates in Hamilton and is a strong supporter of green commute initiatives such as Clean Air Commute, Bike to Work Day and Smart Commute Week.

Commenting on the award, Mohawk's sustainability initiatives coordinator Alan Griffiths says, “We’re absolutely thrilled and honoured to have been chosen for this award. As an innovative and community oriented College, it's important for us to be a leader in programs like this, and to set an example for others to follow. At Mohawk we work hard to walk-the-talk, and we’re truly thankful for the recognition.” 

Mohawk College is committed to providing sustainable transportation solutions for students and employees, says Alan. The College works closely with Smart Commute Hamilton to promote environmental awareness and to reduce its carbon footprint.  

Run by the City of Hamilton's Public Works department, Smart Commute Hamilton is part of Smart Commute, a program funded and supported by Metrolinx and the municipalities of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. More than 177 employers with a combined total of 430,000 employees participate in the Smart Commute program. Smart Commute Hamilton works with organizations in the City to promote more sustainable modes of commuting and help organizations manage their travel demand effectively.

“We’re making our best effort to turn off all the lights we can taking into consideration issues around safety and security,” said Alan Griffiths, Mohawk’s sustainability initiatives coordinator. For safety reasons lights in areas such as college parking lots will remain on, he added.

Staff and students are encouraged to take part in Earth Hour. Apps are available for download for Blackberry and Android devices.

You can also check how Hamilton ranks against other Canadian cities in the battle against climate change at wwf.ca. For more information on Mohawk's efforts to reduce its environmental footprint visit the Sustainability Office website.