{"id":49613,"date":"2018-03-01T16:28:01","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T21:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=49613"},"modified":"2018-03-02T09:46:58","modified_gmt":"2018-03-02T14:46:58","slug":"brock-unveils-new-environmental-sustainability-research-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2018\/03\/brock-unveils-new-environmental-sustainability-research-centre\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock unveils a new showcase and a new era for environmental sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was built nearly two centuries ago, but the oldest structure on Brock\u2019s campus has been given new life and a new purpose as a focal point for the University\u2019s sustainability efforts.<\/p>\n

Theal House, an original farm cottage that dates to 1837, has been transformed into the home of Brock\u2019s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC), which produces world-class research and educates students in topics relating to environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n

Unveiled during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, Feb. 28, the revamped space features sustainable flooring and furniture, as well as an integrated system that controls heating, cooling and lighting, and monitors real-time energy use for the entire campus.<\/p>\n

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Environmental Sustainability Research Centre Director Ryan Plummer, left, reads over a new project charter with Tom Dunk, Interim Provost and Vice-President, Academic, and Brian Hutchings, Vice-President, Administration. The agreement will see the ESRC work with Brock’s Facilities Management team on upcoming sustainability initiatives.<\/p><\/div>\n

LED lighting has also been installed throughout the heritage building, with dimmer and daylight harvesting switches in place to reduce energy consumption.<\/p>\n

In addition to highlighting the space, Wednesday\u2019s ceremony was an opportunity to solidify a new collaboration between the ESRC and Brock\u2019s Facilities Management team. The collaboration is enshrined in a formal charter that brings together the academic and operations units on various sustainability initiatives on campus. It is also an important step forward for Brock\u2019s new integrative approach to environmental sustainability, and deepens the University\u2019s commitment to sustainability \u2014 one of the seven core values listed within its strategic plan.<\/p>\n

Also announced Wednesday was $5,000 in new scholarship funding provided by Toromont CAT that will support students studying sustainability.<\/p>\n

Professor and ESRC Director Ryan Plummer said the partnership signals a new era in the University\u2019s journey to be a national leader in sustainability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe charter enables rich opportunities for experiential education relating to environmental sustainability, and the scholarships recognize as well as support excellence in this area of study,\u201d said Plummer. \u201cThey will have a profound and positive impact by enhancing student experience, promoting innovative approaches for learning excellence and furthering engagement with sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brock has been dedicated to improving energy and operational efficiency on campus with dozens of energy projects and green initiatives completed over the years, said Scott Johnstone, the University\u2019s Associate Vice-President, Facilities Management.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoving forward, we want to further our partnership with staff, students, faculty members and the larger Brock community to enhance, challenge and maintain a campus culture of sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sean Goodman and Ron Cocking, of Toromont CAT, presented Scott Johnstone, Brock’s Associate Vice-President, Facilities Management, and Ingrid Makus, interim Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, with $5,000 to support students in sustainability programming at Brock.<\/p><\/div>\n

Hands-on experiential learning opportunities that contribute to sustainability at the University will be made available to students through co-op placements, research assistant opportunities, independent research and course-based projects.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s announcements reinforce the University\u2019s values around sustainability, while also taking into consideration Brock\u2019s role in a global context, said President Gervan Fearon. \u201cWe\u2019re part of the broader ecosystem and as such, we need to think about the impact our footprint has and what our actions in support of sustainability mean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brock recognizes its distinction as one of only a few universities within a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve and intends to continue pushing forward with its environmental sustainability initiatives, he said.<\/p>\n

Brock\u2019s programs concentrating on sustainability are growing quickly. The Master of Sustainability program was introduced in 2014 and continues to receive considerable uptake from across Canada and around the world. In 2017, the ESRC launched the Minor in Environmental Sustainability and early signs suggest it is following a similar positive trajectory.<\/p>\n

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Theal House is now the home of Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was built nearly two centuries ago, but the oldest structure on Brock\u2019s campus has been given new life and a new purpose as a focal point for the University\u2019s sustainability efforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":49604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,3319,4052,1,4,38],"tags":[296,53,5398,5119,5536,2261,6362],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49613"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49635,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49613\/revisions\/49635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}