With the end of classes at the beginning of April, many students were out celebrating and soaking up the spring weather. “Sure,” laughed Caitlin Currie, a fourth-year Gender and Women’s Studies major, “I could be sitting on a patio somewhere with my friends.” But for Ms. Currie, and for more than a hundred other Trent and Fleming students, the spring weather took back seat to the annual Community Innovation Forum. In a packed room at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club, students mingled with business and community leaders, taking the opportunity to network and to present the results of their applied community-based research projects at the day-long event.
For Ms Currie, whose project involved developing an organizational history for Peterborough’s Centre for Gender and Social Justice (formerly the Trent Women’s Centre), the event was an opportunity to reflect on her university experience before moving on to graduate school. “I think this project encompasses everything that I’m looking to do with my university education,” she observed, speaking above the hum of the busy room, “and that is really to understand praxis – how to practice or implement my knowledge and theories in daily life.”
Her feelings were echoed by Kristin Boyd and Julie Gardner, fourth-year Geography students in the Concurrent Education program. The pair worked with R.F. Downey public school to develop a ten-year plan for greening the schoolyard, including creating space for outdoor classrooms and gardens. “I think that as concurrent education students, this was the best way to be able to apply our degrees. We’ve been able to learn more about the research process, but also to implement it and see how it can impact students - how it can change their lives.”
Every year, the Trent Centre for Community-Based Education connects dozens of Trent and Fleming students with local organizations, where the students are given a chance to put their knowledge into action in hands-on research projects that aim to enhance the social, environmental, cultural and economic health of the community.
Caileigh Morrison, a third-year Canadian Studies major, worked hand-in-hand with Kawartha Heritage Conservancy to develop a report on the social benefits of arts, culture and heritage in the community. “Lots of people know that there are benefits to arts and culture in the community, but they can’t measure them,” explained Ms. Morrison. Her research results provide her community partners with a concrete list of tangible benefits that can be used for future advocacy. “It was really good to take what knowledge I had and my research skills and to be able to apply them to a project that is actually going to make a difference,” she affirmed, “but also in terms of professional development, I think that it was a great experience for me. I know that I would like to work in the heritage and culture industry in the future so this was great because it got me networking and out in the community talking about it.”
Danni Dickson, a fourth-year Environmental Science major, combined her academic expertise with personal passion in her project with Trent’s Seasoned Spoon Café. “I grew up on a farm so we grew a lot of our own food,” explained Ms. Dickson. “You get so used to having that fresh food available and knowing exactly where it comes from that it’s a shock when you have to go into a grocery store to buy eggs.” Ms. Dickson plans to use her experience at the Seasoned Spoon to continue working on sustainable food issues. “We have a farmer’s market in Peterborough but I don’t think people understand the food supply very well. Organizations like the Seasoned Spoon can draw people in with good food, and then find ways to educate them about the problems with the food system and ways in which it could be more sustainable.” As for her own education, Ms. Dickson is clear: “I think it’s great to think theoretically about these broader issues in the food system, but it has been really valuable to actually look at something close to home and to have a personal involvement and commitment to it.”
Posted on Wednesday, April 11, 2012.