Lilac Gardens of Lindsay awarded grant through Community Leadership Project
Student project to improve riverbanks at the gardens selected as winning grant recipient
The Lilac Gardens of Lindsay received a $750 grant at the Community Leadership Project event on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 at the Frost Campus of Fleming College.
Students Keri Ann Ward, Brian Smith, Behrooz Ehsanirad, and Jaime Marshall gave the winning presentation on the subject of Riparian Beautification at the Lilac Gardens of Lindsay, arguing successfully about the importance of improving the riverbanks at the gardens. The students not only advocated successfully about the importance of this funding for the Lilac Gardens of Lindsay and the community as a whole, but also sought out commitments of assistance from the wider community to complete this project.
The Community Leadership Project explores the links between community and the environment. Working in teams, students in the common first semester Leadership in the Environment course, chose a non-profit organization in the City of Kawartha Lakes area – and an issue or project in which the selected agency is involved. The projects supported increased student understanding about the role that community organizations play in relation to caring for, and contributing to, a healthy environment.
The winning project was chosen by a panel of three judges: Tim Burke, Chief Operating Officer, Evergreen Power Ltd.; Hope Lee, Manager of Housing, City of Kawartha Lakes; and Brenda Roxburgh, Assistant Executive Director, VCCS Employment Services.
C-Links also wishes to acknowledge the other finalists’ excellent projects. Choosing a winner was not an easy task for the judges. The remaining finalists were: Caitlin Diver, Jen Bird, Chris Padgett, Matt Young, Jill Wykes, Brandon Ross, Joanne Wiltshire, Liz Low, Pat Callaghan, Richard Lorimer, Elizabeth Petrov, Nick McDaid, Chelsey Bouck, Ben Ambrose, Michel Dallaire, James Stephens, and Kevin White.
The guest speaker for the evening was Josh Feltham, Coordinator of the new Applied and Community Based Research Certificate program that will be offered at the Frost Campus in November 2013. This program will provide students with important skills required for conducting applied and community based research. They will also have the opportunity to conduct an extensive research project in the field for an organization.
C-Links: the Community Links Centre for Community-Based Projects and Social Mapping would like to thank everyone who was involved in this year’s Community Leadership Project Finals for all of their hard work in making the event a success.
C-Links was founded in 2011 and facilitates community-academic relationships through community-based education and community service-learning. Its goal is to engage students, faculty and the community in educational experiences which develop collaboration, innovation and empowerment for all involved. Through C-Links, local City of Kawartha Lakes businesses, not-for-profits, charities and municipal government will improve their ability to address relevant community-identified concerns through student research and other kinds of projects. C-Links was made possible through the generous funding of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Groups and organizations wishing to get involved in community-based learning are invited to submit community-inspired proposals that outline research questions and/or describe a service project.
About Fleming College
Located in the heart of Central Ontario, Fleming College has campus locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg and Haliburton. Named for famous Canadian inventor and engineer Sir Sandford Fleming, the college features more than 90 full-time programs in Community Development and Health, Continuing Education, Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Justice and Business, Skilled Trades and Technology, and Visual Arts. Fleming College has 5,900 full-time and 10,000 part-time students, and more than 63,000 alumni.
– 30 –
For more information, please contact:
Project Coordinator: Shantal Ingram
Phone: (705)324-9144 ext. 3092
E-mail: shingram@flemingc.on.ca
Website: www.c-links.ca