In celebration of Earth Day, we’re checking in with Kayla Tillapaugh, sustainability coordinator and Selkirk College graduate, to learn about sustainability-focused projects at the college.
Kayla talks about what makes her hopeful for the future—and how students and employees can get involved and have an impact.
*This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Can you explain what you do in your role as sustainability coordinator?
My role encompasses four different areas: academics (curriculum), engagement, operations (grounds, dining, procurement, facilities, campus management), and planning and administration (plans, policies, governance, well-being, affordability).
There are opportunities to implement more sustainable practices in every single thing we do at the college.
I work with students through workshops and presentations—from making beeswax food wraps to learning about the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). I also coordinate the Sustainability Club. Anyone super passionate about sustainability can join, and then they become ambassadors among their peers.
Tell us about one of your most fulfilling projects this year.
Our organic waste diversion program! It’s a multi-campus initiative that has seen really great success. We purchased two FoodCyclers through Colleges & Institutes Canada’s (CICan) ImpAct Climate Campus Living Labs project. We had one FoodCycler on loan from the City of Nelson and had great success with it, so we wanted to get two more.
Students are involved in—and even employed by—the program. We have a work-study student on the Castlegar Campus who helps with the program. Employees handle it on the Tenth Street Campus, but students in the Professional Cook Program get hands-on, direct education in organic waste diversion in the class. At the Silver King Campus, students in Steps to Opportunities, Academics and Readiness (SOAR) do the compost collection and manage the FoodCycler. They get ongoing hands-on experience. I see these students go on to become leaders and educators about composting.
Since we started using the FoodCyclers, we’ve diverted 13,314.96 kg of organic waste from the landfill.
What is the college doing to promote a culture of sustainability?
We are launching an employee campaign looking at internal consumption and waste production. We started with the Great Trash Bin Turn-In. We see an abundance of trash bins on campus, which reduces the likelihood of people recycling and composting and results in the use of an excessive amount of garbage bags. That’s a lot of plastic ending up in the landfill. We’ve created a voluntary turn-in process inviting people to turn in their trash bins.
More initiatives are coming out to address paper consumption, energy use and more.
The college’s new strategic plan really integrates sustainability. What are you excited about seeing in the coming years?
It’s so exciting to see the focus on sustainability. I can see big changes to come. The college is committed to advancing sustainability in academics and bringing education about sustainability into programming.
The biggest hope we have for the future is that young people and young learners are going to gain the knowledge and skills they need to cultivate a sustainable future.