Sue Hayduk – RRC Polytech Sustainability Coordinator

Hi everyone. Last week I confessed that I had never commuted to work by bike. I’m pleased to let you know that I succeeded in my commuter challenge and biked to work!  I found that once I got on my bike and started riding, any fear I had at the outset melted away. I prepared by using the City of Winnipeg’s 2013 Cycling Map to plan my bike route and took note of the bike lanes or wider roadways on my drive home. What really made the difference was mapping my route on Google Maps using the bike filter. I was surprised to see that the commute was only 9 km. I thought, “I can do that”, and, well, I did!  The savings to the environment were also significant. I saved 1 litre of fuel and avoided 1.87 kg of CO2 from going into the atmosphere! Read More →

I know that driving alone to work is not a sustainable mode of commuting, yet day after day I drive to work. I decided that I needed to make a change, and the Commuter Challenge is helping motivate me to explore more active, sustainable commuting options. Read More →

Jennifer Berger from the Manitoba Eco-Network gave a great presentation about the many benefits of  Organic Lawn Care. She reminded us to treat our lawn like a natural system, one that needs the right balance of nutrients to live and grow well. Along with the many reasons why we should eliminate chemicals from our lawns, she shared some great tips and tricks on how to properly aerate, mow and seed our lawns to out-compete weeds, and offered some advice on other sustainable garden-like alternatives to lawns.

Some of the highlights from the session were: Read More →

A peek at the College’s e-waste stockpile. Not to worry, it will all be recycled.

Do you have old, broken or unused electronic equipment or small appliances sitting at home or in your office collecting dust and being as useless as a chocolate teapot? If so, we want it!

E-waste, short for electronic waste, refers to all waste that comes from or is caused by electronics. Items like old computers, phones, and radios and televisions, media waste (CDs and floppy disks) and light bulbs are all e-waste.

Disposal of these items is a growing concern, because of the health and environmental hazards contained within the electronic components themselves.  Materials like lead and mercury can leach out into the ground water, soil and air if not properly disposed. There are also several non-renewable resources – like tin, nickel, zinc, aluminum, copper –  that can be recovered and reused from these items. Read More →

Even though it feels like winter, spring has sprung and Earth Day is right around the corner. To celebrate this global environmental event, Red River College is holding our 3^rd annual State of Sustainability. All students, faculty, staff, friends and neighbours are welcome to join us. We hope to see you there! Read More →

RRC’s Green Prosperity Act consultation

A big “thanks!” goes out to all of the sustainably-minded folks at Red River College who took time out of their day to share their views on the Province of Manitoba’s draft sustainability legislation – the Green Prosperity Act. Since legislation can be so far removed from our day-to-day lives it’s easy to focus on more immediate priorities at work and at home. This new act is important to all Manitobans though as it sets the social, economic and environmental stage from which sustainability policies, agreements, plans and milestones will be formed. Read More →

On Saturday March 23 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm., Red River College will be powering down for Earth Hour. By participating in Earth Hour the College will conserve approximately 2,000 KwH of electricity… enough to power a Winnipeg home for more than two months!

The Sustainability Office reminds you to do your part to celebrate Earth Hour – at work and at home. At work, before you leave for the weekend, remember to turn off office lights and shut down your workstations. At home, celebrate Earth Hour by turning your lights out, taking a moonlit stroll or having dinner by candlelight. Help us celebrate Earth Hour, the largest movement for the planet in human history, spanning 7,000 cities, 152 countries with a digital reach of 200 million.

In our second Sustainability Speaker Series, Michael Lee from Manitoba Hydro shared some great tips on how to save $$$ and energy in your home.

Michael provided lots of great information, including:

• How to order a FREE water and energy saver kit for your home.
• How to read your Manitoba Hydro bill.
• How to save money with LOW or NO cost energy saving tips.

To learn more energy saving tricks and tips and how to qualify for the Power Smart and PAYS Financing programs check out his presentation here.

What’s next:

Watch for information on the next Sustainability Speaker Series presentation coming May 14th. Food Matters Manitoba will be on campus to talk about local food, food security and sustainability.

Last year the Province of Manitoba launched TomorrowNow – Manitoba’s Green Plan. This eight-year strategic plan sets out how the Province will advance the social, economic and environmental pillars of sustainability.

The Province is also developing new legislation to support the plan and replace the existing Sustainable Development Act. Tentatively titled the Green Prosperity Act, the new Act will define government’s goals and link all current and future activities and legislation related to environmental sustainability. Read More →

This week, marked the launch of the Red River College Sustainability Speaker Series.

In this session, I asked the question “What’s Your Eco-Footprint?” and told a story of humanity’s demand on nature. Read More →