The Portage Campus was one of the winning offices in 2018.

The December break is fast approaching but before you flip the switch to holiday mode, don’t forget to flip the off switches at the office and give our College’s electronic equipment and appliances a much-needed break too.

Red River College will be closed from December 24 at noon to January 2. During this time our buildings will go into “Un-Occupied Mode” which means lower temperatures, and less energy consumption. But we need your help! By participating in the Seasonal Shutdown Office Challenge your actions will help reduce the environmental and financial impacts of our energy use this break. Plus… by participating you could win a catered coffee break for your office (find out how to enter below).

Help us make sure that Rudolph’s nose is the only thing shining over RRC this holiday season with these three simple steps:

1. DISPOSE OF PERISHABLES

Remove perishables and clean fridges by December 24, 2019

Note: Offices at NDC will not be cleaned during the break. Please place all garbage in the hallways by 11 am on Dec 24th to make sure it is picked up before the the campus is closed.

2. TURN OFF ELECTRONICS & UNPLUG APPLIANCES NOT IN USE

Where it is safe and possible to do so. Please leave printers ON, they’ll go into energy saving mode on their own.

3. TURN OFF LIGHTS

Take the Seasonal Shutdown Office Challenge and Win!

The Library was one of the winning offices in 2018.

Before you dash away into the night this holiday, recruit your colleagues to participate in the Seasonal Shutdown Office Challenge. We’ve made a list and checked it twice, all you have to do is fill it out and shutdown unnecessary lights and equipment before you leave for the break and you will be entered to win 1 of 3 catered coffee breaks for your office!

Complete the Checklist Here

• What is an office? An office can be one person or multiple people in one office space, or across many offices, as long as you are in the same department. You can even challenge other offices within your department to participate as well. Please have just one person per office complete the checklist.
• When can I fill in the form? You can submit the form before December 24 as a pledge to do these actions. Anyone who submits a form before December 23 will receive a reminder email on December 24. You can also fill out the form anytime between December 24 and noon on January 3, 2019.
• Having trouble with the form? Contact Whitney for help.
• The more, the merrier! Recruit participants and help conserve energy at the College by printing and posting Seasonal Shutdown downloadable poster in an office common area.

SMALL ACTIONS CAN HAVE BIG IMPACTS

Institutional Analysis and Planning was one of the winning offices in 2018.

You might think that the few items in your office aren’t going to make much of a difference if they’re shutdown or unplugged for 11 days, but consider this: in the 2018 College-wide plug load inventory of more than 500 staff offices and common areas,  we counted nearly 3,000 personal electronic items (i.e. computers, monitors, speakers, etc.), almost 600 personal appliances (refrigerators, microwaves, etc.), and over 450 lightswitches. That’s a lot of potential for unnecessary energy consumption, either through leaving items and lights on, or through standby (phantom) power that many electronic items draw even when turned off.

MORE SHUTDOWN TIPS

• Lab equipment: Together with your colleagues identify equipment that can be safely turned off, unplugged, or placed in standby mode over the break.
• Don’t forget to turn off lights and shutdown projectors and AV equipment in any meeting rooms or classrooms that you use.
• Do a department walk-through to ensure valuables are secured and cabinets are locked.
• Activate alarms if applicable before you leave.
• Set yourself a reminder in your calendar or on your phone (or even on a sticky note on the door) to remember to do your seasonal shutdown checklist before you leave.
• Set yourself a reminder for when you return from holidays to plug needed items in or turn them on.
• Don’t forget to water plants and feed and water vermicomposting worms!

HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY!

Just hear those RRC bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling, too. Come on it’s lovely weather for a Winter Market with you!

It’s time for our 2nd Annual Made by RRC Winter Market! We’re always so impressed by the talent and creativity by our staff, students and alumni, and are excited to announce another winter market of amazing local vendors that all have connections to the College (by being current students and staff, or College alumni). Come on by, get some of your holiday shopping done, and support RRC talent!

When: Thursday, November 28th 10:00 am – 1:30 pm
Where: Library Hallway – Notre Dame Campus (2055 Notre Dame Avenue)
RSVP

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 While the leaves are changing with every season so is sustainability. There are so many colours of sustainability and places to find where it may be. To share everything Red River College is growing, changing, and creating to be a sustainable campus, we have a map for you! Read More →

The last days of autumn fell quickly and just before the snow landed, ACC baking students joined our Grounds Department to assist with this year’s Grow-A-Row harvest. Led by Grounds Gardener Shivcharan Sandhu, the team broke the RRC record with 4,270lbs of carrots, beets, onions, pumpkins and potatoes. Read More →

Check the real-time status of your bus at one of four Transit Screens.

Real Excited about Real-Time Transit Screens 

In a progressive step, Red River College has partnered with Winnipeg Transit and the Students’ Association to install real-time transit information screens across our campuses. These four screens, or passenger information kiosks, keep you ‘outta the dark’ (and out of the cold) while you wait for your bus. We know that transit is a primary commute mode for a large number of our students and staff and we’re excited that this technology will help improve the transit experience for so many. Read More →

Jaya’s Preserves is back for their second market

The leaves are changing, sweater weather is back and it’s time to mark your calendars for our annual RRC Farmers’ Market!

On Friday, September 20th, the Library Hallway will be full of local vendors offering jewelry, candles, art, personal care products, sweet treats, produce and everything you need to usher in fall. And don’t forget to pick up your jars of our very own 2019 RRC Creekside honey. The Market is open to all RRC staff, faculty, students and the public. Read More →

September is an exciting time at the College with new classes, new faces, and new goals.

Our Sustainability Office is also in a period of change and new beginnings. We are happy to welcome a brand–new team member (blog post coming soon) and also have a big announcement that we are really excited for so stay tuned for that in the first few weeks of September.

Whether you’re new to the College or returning, here’s your “Intro to Sustainability” for keeping it green on campus this semester. Read More →

We’ve partnered with Beeproject Apiaries for 4 years and we are excited to bring the fascinating world of honeybees, not the mention the delicious honey, back to Red River College*.

Meet the Bees!

Our busy, little buddies have settled nicely onto the rooftop of Building A at the Notre Dame Campus and we invite all students and staff to meet them at their summer residence. Space is limited so be sure to sign up. Read More →

Bike Week Winnipeg starts Monday, June 17th and goes all week in celebration of riding bikes, in Winnipeg! To kick off a full week of events, The Sustainability Office is excited to be back at Omand’s Creek during Bike to Work Day for the 3rd year in a row! Pit Stops will be set up around the City to offer repairs, treats and activities to cyclists on their way to work.

Mark your calendars and test your brakes because these events are coming in fast! Read More →

Staff must authenticate at the device to release their print job

In May 2018, the Print Optimization Working Group (POWG) implemented the Print Release feature on College Xerox devices – aka “Swipe to Release”. This feature required all staff to login at the device to release their print jobs after sending them to the print queue. There were two main reasons for the implementation of this feature:

1. Security: Releasing your print job at the device means no more “print and sprint” to make sure you get to the printer to retrieve confidential documents as soon as they come out of the printer. This feature helps to ensure that printed documents, especially those with confidential information, are not inadvertently seen or retrieved by other parties.

Read More →