It’s that time again. The leaves are starting to turn, the air is crisp, and pumpkin everything has begun. Fall is quickly approaching, and so is our third annual RRC Farmers’ Market!

On Friday, September 14th, the Library Hallway will be transformed into a festive fall market full of local goodies open to all RRC staff, faculty, students and the public. Not only do we have a great line up of new and returning vendors, but this will be the first chance to purchase our very own 2018 RRC Creekside and Bijou honey.

When: Friday, September 14th – 11:00 am – 1:30 pm
Where: Library Hallway – Notre Dame Campus (2055 Notre Dame Avenue)

Check out the vendors below, start making your lists, hit the ATM and get your re-usable bags ready!

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The bees are back at RRC! 

Welcome back our busy, buzzy little buddies to both NDC and PGI campus rooftops. For the third year in a row, we have partnered with Beeproject Apiaries to install three hives on the 4^th floor patio at the Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, and for the second year, three hives on the roof of Building A at the Notre Dame Campus.

Bee hives on NDC Building A rooftop

Urban beekeeping is an important movement to promote biodiversity within cities and provide valuable educational and engagement opportunities for people to connect to nature and our local food system. Not only that, bees are an essential element to enable and sustain healthy food production.

Did you know, bee’s are the only insect in the world that make food that humans can eat? One out of every three bites of food we eat is a result of pollinators like honey bees, and crops like blueberries and cherries are 90% dependent on pollination.

Three hives are once again installed at PGI

On your next lunch break, take a walk around the NDC campus and check out our healthy, diverse and beautifully landscaped campus, maintained using only 100% biopesticides!). RRC is busy at work developing a pollinator garden on the NDC grounds to keep these bees and other native pollinators going and our environment flourishing. Stay tuned for updates as the site progresses. Read More →

Well, that’s a wrap! We rolled through June full speed, blasting through our many successful Bike Week events, finishing in FIRST PLACE in this years Commuter Challenge, for the fourth year in a row.

The RRC Sustainability Office and Mayor Brian Bowman on his Pit Stop visit.

That’s right, Red River College received the Commuter Challenge first place award for highest participation in our workplace category (500-999 employees), coming in at a total of 24% of our workplace. Because of your collective efforts to commute 16,914.67 kms sustainably, RRC staff and faculty….

Burned 151,742.26 calories!

Saved 1,192.59 Litres of fuel!

Avoided 2,255.56 kgs of Co2!

We learned that the highest number of RRC employees use transit, followed by cycling. Thank you to all who participated, we hope you continue to reap the environmental, physical, mental and financial benefits that active and sustainable transportation has to offer. Check out the Commuter Challenge results to see how Manitoba did as a whole, and how RRC compares within our City. Read More →

As you may know, this week is Bike Week, and what better time to dust off that bike and take it for a ride. So, with a ton of great events going on all week, lets get moving!

Not only is biking a great way to reduce your personal carbon emissions, but it has many other benefits on your physical health and mental wellbeing.

Our office sat down with Breanna Sawatzky, the College’s Mental Health Coordinator to discuss sustainable transportation.  Her role consists of many important facets such as drop-in counselling as well as training and education. Below Breanna answers some questions about her experience biking to work, and how it can positively affect your mental health.

Q: Tell me about yourself and your transportation strategies in the past?

A: I live in St. James and have a family of four, with one car. In the past, we would convoy together when we all worked downtown. When I started at the college, my husband and I would take turns either busing or taking the car, without really finding a method that worked better than the other. Our home is about 7km away from the campus so in reality it isn’t that far. Read More →

Start your week with off cinnamon buns and end it with ice cream! 

Gear up for Bike Week Winnipeg, held throughout the City June 18 -24 to celebrate just that – people riding bikes! Start Bike Week off right with Bike to Work Day, Monday, June 18, hosting over 70 pit stop locations.

Can’t make it to all 70? We understand. But make sure to stop by RRC’s very own pit stop location being held again for the second year in a row. Check out lasts year’s event and mark your map, as this is a stop you do not want to miss (think cinnamon buns)!

We will keep the wheel turning and roll into the afternoon with a Cyclist Meet Up to mix and mingle with fellow staff and faculty, cyclists or not, and let us know what YOU would like to see RRC do to enable and promote cycling and sustainable commuting here on campus. Read More →

Hi there! My name is Kale Kostick and I am happy to share that I have joined the Red River College Sustainability team as the Resource Reduction Assistant for a six-month term. Through the UNA Canada Green Corps program, I was selected to assist Laura, Whitney, and Sara in their efforts to improve the sustainability of all Red River campuses. Mainly, Whitney, the Resource Reduction Specialist, and myself will be working on an energy planning and implementation framework that prioritizes energy reduction projects on campus and engages both staff and students in more energy efficient operations. In addition, we will be continuing work to reduce the amount of paper on campus through interactive strategies. Read More →

Much of what we do in the Sustainability Office starts with what we hear from staff and students. One recent survey showed that 63% of staff and faculty want to see non-standard recycling options on campus. You spoke. We listened.

After conducting a successful pilot project in 2016, we’re pleased to launch ReBin. Available to all staff and students, the ReBin accepts pens, batteries and plastic bags for recycling and repurposing.

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Brady Barron (left)

Congratulations to Brady Barron for receiving this year’s BRAVO Award for Sustainability Leadership. This award is a recognition of his dedication, innovation and commitment to sustainability here at RRC.

Brady has been a valued part of the College community for nearly 10 years, first as a graduate of the Greenspace Management Program (2012) and then as a Groundskeeper at the Notre Dame Campus. Brady’s up at the crack of dawn tending to the College’s grounds and parking lots in rain, sleet and snow. Throughout his work, Brady maintains a keen eye for sustainability, often going above and beyond. Read More →

Sunday, April 22^nd is Earth Day – a worldwide event to celebrate our planetary home and to show our support for a healthy, sustainable environment. At the RRC Sustainability Office, we think that one day is just not enough to celebrate our Earth, so we’re hosting Earth Week Celebrations April 16-23!  Read More →

On Saturday, March 24 we joined millions of people around the world in powering down lights and non-essential electronics for Earth Hour 2018 from 8:30-9:30 PM.

And we couldn’t have done it without your help! Many of our RRC community helped by ensuring that lights were turned off, computers were shut down, and unnecessary electronics were powered down and unplugged before the weekend. Not only that: Read More →