STORIES

One Piece A Day is a non-profit organization with an app to inspire people to pick up litter and refuse single-use plastic. I began volunteering with the organization in early 2020 — long before I had even heard of WWF-Canada’s Living Planet Leader certification. The organization’s goal to end plastic pollution through a mobile app aligned with my studies in digital business management and my personal interests in all things eco-friendly. I put in over 100+ hours planning and executing marketing initiatives, receiving the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded individuals towards a great cause. One year later, I am currently working as a paid marketing manager at One Piece A Day, where I work to advertise app features, create educational content, and manage an online storefront. If I had one piece of advice to give to other students, it would be to volunteer with organizations in the industry they wish to work in.

“Designing for Change” was beyond a hackaton for me, it was a brilliant learning experience. Getting the first place with Humber’s Sustainability Team was a truly unforgettable moment! Our team envisioned an app to connect homeowners, renters, low socio-economic families together to find suitable housing in the city. The app’s algorithm matches people to the appropriate tools to find housing, much like a dating app matching system.We came up with the ‘live-co’ app idea by thinking that it would leverage the concept of living together with others and enhances using less space by sharing places. During ideation phase, we asked ourselves the design question: “How might we find a solution for growing urbanization and global density and how we can change behaviours?” We went back to old habits and co-living culture. My grandparents used to live in a village where 3 families share one house and all children grow together. This concept ensures sharing of childcare and security. Moreover, this system enhances the mental health by minimizing feeling of loneliness. We looked at sharing economies as signals for possibility for such a concept. Even though the main reason for using “live.co” would be to decrease expenses, sharing houses would decrease carbon footprint of individuals by sharing energy resources. Finally, we thought that this solution would create a culture and behaviour change, disrupting the idea of individuality, allowing people to adopt sustainability. I highly recommend this challenge to all students as it is a great opportunity to practice design thinking, ideation, collaboration and presentation skills. It is also an incredible feeling to be a part of WWF and working for a solution that might change the world!

Leading Students for Sustainability together in the 2017-2018 school year, Calvin and I had the idea to somehow obtain and steward an apiary for the Fleming College Frost Campus. The project was initially brought to our attention (the Students for Sustainability – SFS) by staff members at the college from the Office of Sustainability. Instantly, we knew we wanted to work towards accomplishing this. The more we sat down and hashed out details and potentials, the more excited we became at the thought that Fleming College might very well get its own apiary. The incredible staff members at Fleming who spearheaded this initiative accomplished a great deal of work. They figured out the logistics, legalities and purchasing. The SFS with its incredible team of volunteers contributed by fundraising to contribute towards the purchase. The SFS team worked to promote the project, educated students, and spread awareness about the current situation of decline in pollinators. With an incredibly successful fundraising campaign and assistance from the WWF-Canada's Go Wild School Grants, we were able to raise over $1000! All funds were used directly to purchase the bees, hives, and all necessary equipment. Currently, there are two hives located on campus besides the local community garden. The bees will undoubtedly serve an irreplaceable role within the local environment and community as they will help to pollinate local wildflowers, vegetables, fruits, crops and many other plants. In time, the Frost Campus Apiary will serve as an integral component of campus and community education by raising awareness about pollinator and honeybee decline and its critical role in biodiversity and food security. Applied learning in beekeeping can be achieved through on-campus workshops for students, events and curriculum-linked activities. This apiary can prove to be an integral stimulus for applied research to better understand the dynamics between bee ecology, the natural environment and public health. Calvin Swan, Environmental Technician 2018, Health, Safety, and Environmental Compliance 2019, Fleming College & Adam Alaimo, Environmental Technician 2018, Environmental Technology 2019, Fleming College