Returning organic waste produced on Selkirk College campuses into the region’s circular economy by assisting local farms is receiving praise from across the country for tangible results that help combat climate change.
Chosen as one of 10 Canadian post-secondaries to take part in Colleges & Institutes Canada’s (CICan) ImpAct Climate Campus Living Labs project in 2023/2024, Selkirk College received funds to purchase two commercial FoodCyclers that turn organic kitchen waste into a nutrient dense soil amendment or compost additive. Achieving up to a 90 per cent reduction in volume after processing, the material is a highly desired commodity for local farms that use the diverted waste to help grow food.
Clutch Farm is one of three small farms in the region that picks up the diverted materials on a regular basis. Located in Salmo, the farm grows more than 60 varieties of vegetables and uses community supported agriculture (CSA) to bring fresh food to the tables of customers.
“It’s a really great experience to come visit a farm that provides an illustrative outcome of the Campus Living Labs project,” says Kayla Tillapaugh, the college’s sustainability coordinator who stopped by Clutch Farm prior to the holiday break. “It’s a terrific example of a circular economy system. As a Feed BC partner, more than 30 per cent of the food we purchase is sourced locally in our province. Then the waste from that food supports local food production as a fertilizer, and that food is distributed locally which supports regional food security.”
Making an Impact Across Canada
CICan released its Campus Living Labs: A Best Practices Guide for Canadian Colleges and Institutes report in late-2024 that showcases the impressive efforts of 10 post-secondaries whose projects ranged from sustainable transportation at Vanier College in Montreal to an urban tree planting initiative at Medicine Hat College in Alberta. Collectively, the projects reduced and sequestered more than over 1,054 metric tonnes of greenhouse gases and inspiring climate action on campuses nationwide.
Directed through CICan’s ImpAct-Climate initiative, Campus Living Labs are creative projects that integrate applied research, teaching, campus operations and community engagement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide students and staff with hands-on experience in tackling climate challenges.
Tillapaugh was the lead for the college’s Expanding Organic Waste Diversion project that received $70,000 from CICan to purchase two FoodCyclers that were set up on the Castlegar Campus and the Silver King Campus in Nelson. Building on an initiative started at Nelson’s Tenth Street Campus when the City of Nelson loaned a similar industrial unit in 2022, the pre-treatment appliances divert more than 8,000 kilograms of organic waste annually.
“Selkirk College’s project on waste diversion has set a high standard, demonstrating how colleges and institutes can lead on climate action while enriching their communities,” says Pari Johnston, the president and CEO of CICan. “We deeply appreciate the college’s participation and leadership in making this initiative a success.”
Along with the direct impacts on the environment, the project also looks to build awareness and direct behaviour change. At Selkirk College, students and instructors in the School of Hospitality & Tourism on the Tenth Street Campus have embraced the learning that comes with waste diversion. On the Silver King Campus, students in the Steps to Opportunities, Academics & Readiness (SOAR) Program have been championing organic waste diversion efforts by collecting compost, loading and unloading the FoodCycler while keeping track of data. At the Castlegar Campus, a student is hired to work with the Food Services team to handle the compost program while boosting their knowledge of waste diversion.
“This project has provided an excellent opportunity for collaboration through innovation, bringing together post-secondary institutions, local governments and businesses to jointly pilot technological solutions to organic waste diversion,” says Tillapaugh. “The students who train at the Tenth Street Campus are a great example because introducing this type of waste diversion is something they will take into their careers and the efforts will ripple across the hospitality sector.”
Back On The Farm
Mel Weston and Angela French started Clutch Farm in 2020 with a desire to support local food security and sustainable food systems. Weston was raised on a hobby farm in Australia, worked on organic farms and has a background in environmental education, but didn’t have experience operating her own farm. Growing food that ends up on tables across the region over the last five years has been an exciting learning adventure.
“The best thing you can do is start and learn as you go. You are bound to make mistakes, but that’s life and that’s farming,” says Weston. “We grow a wide-range and mostly the staples that people eat on a regular basis so they don’t have to go to the supermarket to buy items that are shipped-in from California or Mexico or wherever.”
Inspired by regenerative agricultural techniques, Clutch Farm provides a bi-weekly delivery box program, attend the Salmo Valley Farmers Market and Trail’s IncrEdible Farmers Market during market season, and have a farm stand at its property between May and October. From lettuce to radishes in the spring, tomatoes to edamame in the summer and garlic to cabbage in the fall, Clutch Farm provides customers a scrumptious supply of both the expected and the more culinary adventurous in its annual cycle.
The FoodCycler dehydrates and grinds food waste, producing a dry and shelf-stable product that can be easily transported. In its partnership with Selkirk College, Clutch Farm collects the FoodCycler material every two weeks. Weston then adds the material to her compost pile that consists of on-farm compost produced from bed flips and spent crops, adding hay to build in the carbons. Though it requires sweat equity to get the compost ready for use in the gardens, getting the materials from Selkirk College instead of having it trucked in from regions such as the Okanagan helps Clutch Farm reduce costs and further reduce its environmental footprint.
“It’s rewarding to provide the community with quality food and the flavour we are putting out,” says Weston. “But it’s also a really tangible environmental activism piece for me. I can see on an annual basis the difference that we are making to the soil here and knowing the amount of food that we are producing off this land that is staying and being fed within our local community within 40 kilometres, makes it feel like you are making an immediate difference.”
Learn more about Sustainable Selkirk.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.