The RRC Sustainability Office is sponsoring a table at Reel Green 2017 on March 16 and we want to bring you! Enter to win pair of tickets to this popular event by:

1. Subscribing to the Red Goes Green Sustainability Blog
2. Liking Sustainability @ RRC on Facebook*
3. Following RRCGoesGreen on Twitter*
4. Following RRCGoesGreen on Instagram*

You will receive one entry for each of the above actions completed before midnight on Monday, March 13, 2017 (so you can enter up to 4 times). Prize draw will occur and winners will be notified on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. Read More →

The RRC Ice Rebels had a great time getting outside for the Jack Frost Challenge February 12-18. The challenge was to get outside and skate, cross-country ski, run, snowshoe, cycle and walk a total of 130km. We’re proud to announce that RRC’s very first Jack Frost Challenge team – the RRC Ice Rebels – crushed that goal early in the week and went on to travel a combined total of 247 KMs over the week!! Out of the 114 teams registered across Manitoba, we finished in 19^th place, which we think is pretty amazing for our first try!

Here are our reflections on the week:

Dave at Global Fat Bike Day in 2016

Dave:
I enjoyed being a part of the Jack Frost Challenge!  It was a fun way to meet likeminded people.  Also, through social media, it helped motivate friends and family to get out and get active.

Chris:
The weather really presented a challenge for skiing [that] week.  With temperatures well above normal we lost significant amounts of snow during the week.  Needless to say this had an extremely detrimental effect on the trail conditions within the Winnipeg region.  Waxing for classic skiing when the weather is warm and the trails are icy and deteriorating is very difficult.  Each day brought slightly different conditions and different challenges.  On Saturday we switched over to skate skiing to make the best use of the remaining snow.  Hats off to the groomer at Windsor Park Nordic Centre for keeping the trails in good condition despite the soaring temperatures.

In previous years at the end of February I have gone down to Hayward, Wisconsin to compete in the American Birkebeiner 50 km ski race.  The “Birkie” is the largest ski race in North America with an attendance of roughly 10,000 skiers.  This year I am not attending…which is fortunate for me, but not for the organizers, since they are being forced to very likely cancel this year’s race at the last minute due to these unseasonably warm temperatures.  In fact, they received 25 mm of rain yesterday, which essentially destroyed the remainder of the 50 km of trail they have been trying so hard to protect these past few weeks.  Very sad.  Climate change and global warming are having a significant negative effect on the sport of cross country skiing and other winter sports throughout the world.  Go Green…so we can keep our winter wonderlands. Read More →

The groundhogs have predicted (at least) 6 more weeks of winter, but we’re Manitobans so instead of retreating to our warm beds, we will embrace winter while it lasts!

Bougeons en Hiver: The Jack Frost Challenge is a weeklong challenge every February where people across Manitoba sign up to skate, cross-country ski, run, snowshoe, cycle and walk a total of 130km, either as a team or (for the hardcore) as an individual.

This year, we have signed up a team – the RRC Ice Rebels – and we’re ready to take on winter from February 12-18. Below, meet our teammates and find out how we plan to meet this challenge head on! Follow us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) for updates throughout the week. Read More →

The dust has settled from RRC Waste Reduction Week which was held October 24-28 and once again, we had a very successful event thanks to all of you! Below is a summary of the week.

Special Waste Depots/E-Waste Drive

We were very excited to partner with MMSM and Winnipeg Harvest this year as part of their Bag it Forward program. Over the week, we collected 286 plastic bags which will be used to deliver Winnipeg Harvest’s emergency food kits. Due to a great deal of interest, we are working on creating a permanent collection for the Bag it Forward program at RRC.

In the meantime, drop off gently-used plastic bags at our office (C519, NDC) from now until December 1. We will drop off all the collected bags to Winnipeg Harvest on December 2. If you have plastic bags but can’t make it to our office, contact Whitney to arrange something.

We also collected 180 used writing instruments (pens, markers, highlighters, and mechanical pencils) which will be dropped off at Staples for recycling as part of their partnership with Terracycle. Many of you expressed an interest in making this a permanent program. We heard you loud and clear and are working on it. Stay tuned!

Finally, about 2,262 kg of e-waste was collected for recycling, including 200 kg of used batteries. Many of your asked what happens to these items. Read More →

Piles of electronic waste ready to be picked up for recycling.

Did you know that at the Brady Road Landfill, methane gas is captured and burned thereby reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking 21,700 passenger vehicles off the road?

Did you know that Winnipeg Harvest uses approximately 1 million plastic bags to deliver emergency food kits each year?

Did you know that you can bring used writing instruments to Staples locations to be recycled as part of their partnership with Terracycle?

October 24-28, 2016 is RRC Waste Reduction Week and we have several activities planned which will give you opportunities to learn more, be inspired, and take action (including a draw for a $500 gift certificate to a local bike shop)! Read More →

Sara and Whitney — waiting to catch the LRT to the airport. For all you baseball fans, that’s Camden Yards in the background.

Last week, Sara and Whitney (RRC’s Sustainability Office) left family and pumpkin pie meals at home and spent four days in Charm City to attend North America’s largest sustainability conference for higher education. More than 1800 of our post-secondary counterparts, faculty, students, administrators (and even a few College Presidents) descended onto Baltimore to gain lessons and tools, be inspired to advance sustainability initiatives at their own institutions, and form important relationships in a rapidly growing post-secondary sustainability network. Read More →

Fair Trade Campus Week is September 26-30

Fair Trade Week will soon be upon us, and there are a lot of fun activities planned (did someone say “free ice cream”?) to help raise awareness about Fair Trade, to learn about Fair Trade options on campus, and to provide updates on our efforts to become Manitoba’s first Fair Trade Campus.

When you purchase a Fair Trade product, you are ensuring that farmers and workers in developing countries that helped bring that product to market are receiving adequate compensation for their hard work, that they have safe working conditions, and that environmental standards were met in its production.

Fair trade is a true embodiment of sustainability – working to address economic, social and environmental issues of our globalized economy.  This is why Red River College is working to become the first Fair Trade Campus in Manitoba. Some of our efforts can be readily seen when you enjoy De Luca’s Fair Trade coffee from Food Service locations; purchase a Dairy Milk Fair Trade chocolate bar from the Ox, the Mercantile or a vending machine; or participate in Fair Trade Campus Week. Read More →

Chris from Beeproject Apiaries bringing the bees to their new summer home.

Lindsay from Beeproject.

Hives with a view.

You don’t get more local than honey made on your own roof. Red River College is excited to partner with Beeproject Apiaries on their Urban Pollination Project to bring honeybee hives to the college’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. Read More →

Every year coinciding with Earth Day, the Sustainability Office invites students and staff to attend our State of Sustainability. Now in its 6th year, this lunchtime event is an opportunity to review highlights and discuss the setbacks of our campus sustainability journey.

When: Friday, April 22nd from 12pm – 1pm
Where: Notre Dame Campus, Room A137
What to bring: Yourself and a bottle or mug for something to drink.

This event will also be live-streamed. We hope to see you there!

Waste Reduction Week happens the third week in October each year.  It’s your chance to join hundreds of Canadian’s across the country taking steps to cut waste and improve the environment.

This year we are tackling food waste and disposable packaging! During Waste Reduction Week we want to encourage you to take action, rethink, reduce, reuse and recycle  – this week and every week on campus!

Here’s a few ways to participate: Read More →