Green Wednesdays are more than a free movie ticket

Film screenings and discussion forums on contemporary issues are a common part of university culture, but Gary Jones thinks his evening series of documentary films and speakers at Kwantlen’s Langley campus is more than just a clichéd fixture of campus life.

For the last two years, Jones, chair of Production Horticulture at Kwantlen’s Langley campus, has been organizing a monthly evening of films and discussion on sustainable agriculture, called Green Wednesdays.

Beginning in October and ending in March, the event happens on the second Wednesday of every month in one of the labs that Jones teaches in at the Langley campus.

Jones began the event as a government-funded speaker series in the fall of 2008, but government funding was eventually curtailed, forcing him to look elsewhere for material to inspire discussion.

Luckily, people involved in the Green Ideas Network, a Burnaby-based environmental advocacy organization, were looking for a new venue for to the Surrey Environmental Film Festival. Jones linked up with the network, and began hosting evenings of film, discussion and networking around an array of environmental issues.

So far this year, Jones and his students have shown features dealing with peak oil, energy use and climate change, all films that highlight the need for people to consider more sustainable lifestyles. This Wednesday, Jones, his students and some members of the Langley community will gather to watch Good Food, a 2008 film about the resurgence of small-scale, family-run farming initiatives in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

Participation in setting up and promoting the evening has become required coursework for students in Jones’ Sustainable Horticulture class. Students help organize the event and do assignments based on the films being shown.

“It’s a good way for the students to get involved and to make connections out there with the organic community and the public who turn out,” said Jones.

Jones is enthusiastic about the potential for exposing people to the broader issues that affect the environment. He is aware that the evening has an outreach potential, in that it brings people to the campus who might not otherwise.

“One of my desires for the Green Wednesdays was to use it as a link between the community and the school, so people in Langley or Surrey or wherever could come on to the campus when they might otherwise not do so,” said Jones.

“The evenings are bringing new information to the students, but they’re also getting the students to share their information with the public. It’s a good way of extending the education to the wider community,” said Jones.

Richmond students welcomed back with food, info

Both new and returning students were greeted by slices of pizza and air brushed tattoos, when they walked through the doors of Kwantlen’s Richmond campus this week. The food and festivities are part of the Kwantlen Student Association’s Welcome Back Week, which gave students a chance to get familiar with the different services available this semester and get free food.

Students had to wait patiently for their pizza, which came from the Fresh Slice on Granville Street, because the location in the Lansdowne Mall was closed because of a planned power outage. Vanessa Knight, the director of student life for the KSA, hoped the event planned for Thursday at the Langley campus would go smoother. Students at the Cloverdale campus were to be treated to a pancake breakfast and guest speakers for the next month, said Knight.

Among the displays at Richmond was one from Apex Martial Arts, which is offering students 10 classes for $60, hosted at the Yyoga studio on the Richmond campus. “It’s an awesome deal for students,” said Marcy Hilario, assistant kickboxing coach and assistant kids martial arts coach at Apex. “Regularly, if you go to a martial arts studio it’s $25 for one class.”

A free drop-in session will be offered Wednesday, Jan. 13, with the 10 sessions starting the following week.

Hip-hop dancing and pilates will also be offered in the studio: for a complete schedule check the Student Health Improvement Plan’s website .

Amanda of Tattoos For Now was turning out the air brushed tattoos all day. She encouraged students to check out the web site and try out the tanning the studio offers. (Kyle Vinoly photo)

This student decided to go for something besides a panther, which the artist said was the most popular tattoo of the day.(Kyle Vinoly photo)

Students didn't seem to mind waiting for the free pizza to arrive from down town. (Kyle Vinoly photo)

There were student volunteers on hand to help guide curious students through the various booths. (Kyle Vinoly photo)

Vanessa Knight said that feeding the trade students at the Cloverdale campus is a frightening experience. (Kyle Vinoly photo)

It’s a fashionable life for Kwantlen student Sara Lanyon

Kwantlen Chronicle reporter Kristi Jut caught up with fellow student Sara Lanyon to talk about the school’s fashion-design program and where it’s taking her career. Lanyon talks about her own clothing collection, Radii, and her involvement in up-and-coming headwear company, Vivo Headwear.

Special report: Horticulture studies offer sustainability solutions

Introduction: The Institue for Sustainable Horticulture

A video interview with Deborah Henderson, director of the Institute for Sustainable Horticulture.

The program: Experiments, hands-on experience drive program, students

At Kwantlen’s School of Horticulture, modern-day environment concerns meet experimentation and hands-on experience.

The school, located at the Langley campus, has assumed a high profile in recent years for its innovation in the field of horticulture.

The Institute for Sustainable Horticulture, a research laboratory which opened in October, received millions of dollars in government funding for its initiative to breed insect, fungus and viral bio-controls that have the potential to replace chemical pesticides as eco-friendly alternatives.

Another project, the construction of a geothermal-heated greenhouse that aims to cut the use of electrical power in Kwantlen greenhouses, is currently in progress. And recently, the school was recognized for installing a “green roof” at the new Salvation Army Gateway of Hope shelter adjoining the campus. The roof will provide food and herbs for the shelter’s kitchen, moderate storm-water runoff and increase building energy efficiency.

Students at the school also regularly participate in experiments testing products such as fertilizers for local companies.

“It’s so important for people to understand what horticulturalists do,” said Michael Cain, a practical horticulture apprentice. “You need plants to grow and be healthy for the Earth as a whole to be sustainable.”

The four-level apprenticeship program, which runs from November to March during the industry’s off-season, gives students hands-on experience in plant-growth, irrigation, machine maintenance and other field work. The apprenticeship students are all currently working in the industry and returned to school to add education to their experience. The program gives students the option to study production horticulture (which focuses on nurseries), propagation and plant-growth or landscape horticulture (which focuses on turf management, design and machine maintenance), after the first two levels of core courses in science.

The school also offers a degree in integrated pest management; diplomas in greenhouse nursery and production, landscape design and installation, and turf management; and 11 different citations.

Cain, superintendent of Guildford Golf & Country Club, is optimistic about the future for horticulturalists. “Everyone’s going green now,” so knowledge about growing healthy plants is invaluable, he said.

Landscape horticulture received a Red Seal approval in several provinces, including B.C., in 2008. Apprentices now fulfill government testing to receive a Red Seal journeyman ticket upon graduation, which legitimizes the industry as a trade and provides a national license to operate.

“Anyone could call themselves a landscaper at one point… People were doing a lot of damage killing trees and planting stuff in the wrong places,” said the 37-year-old Cain. “Now, what you’ll find when people start getting more qualified, is our landscapes will be more sustainable, grow healthier and bigger and be free of diseases and pests because they’re grown properly and maintained properly.”

Cain found the School of Horticulture a good fit after 20 years of work in turf management. Two kids, a job and a mortgage limited his educational opportunities, but the timing of Kwantlen’s apprenticeship program allowed him to continue to support his family during his education.

“I love that my office [at Guildford Golf & Country Club] is 150 acres of green space,” he said. “I just want to be a better steward of our environment.”

Knowledge about plants, pest control, irrigation and machinery could potentially allow horticulturalists to grow plants, shrubs and trees that last for hundreds of years, said Cain.

“You’re never going to be rich… but it’s a really rewarding career choice because you’re surrounded by nature.”

Horticulture students at work

Classes are done, but events roll on

While fall semester classes and exams are quickly coming to an end, there are still many sales, events and activities at Kwantlen campuses for the next couple of weeks.

The Surrey campus will have counsellors on staff Tuesday and Thursdays during the next few weeks to help students with classes and instructor problems. No appointment is needed, and students will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis.

All of the university’s bookstores are holding a 20-per-cent-off sale throughout December, offering a discount on all general novels and books. The bookstore is also encouraging students to purchase sale items as Christmas gifts this year.

Student Leadership Conference tickets will also be on sale during the holiday season, for those wishing to attend the event on Jan. 23. The conference will be taking place at the Surrey Conference Centre this year, and ticket are $20. It is recommended that students purchase tickets early, as there will be limited space in the conference centre.

All of Kwantlen campuses will be open during the break, except for Dec. 24, 25, 28 and 31 and Jan. 1. Students are welcome to use school labs and other services during this time to catch up on missed school work or get a headstart at the next semester.

Movember: They grew a ‘stache to raise some cash

Last month was November on the Gregorian calendar, but it was also the third annual Movember. During November, men around the world grew moustaches to raise money for prostate cancer research. Some participants joined teams and promoted their facial hair to receive donations for the cause.

On the Movember website, teams explained their “mo-tivation” and listed prominent figures who inspired their moustaches, such as Tom Selleck or Jack Layton

The following video includes Nick Frühling, the program assistant of Kwantlen’s design program, and Steve Bobroske, an accounting major, who each grew moustaches for Movember.

As well, Natalie Burgwin of the public relations program is in the video. She supported her father’s Movember group as a “Mo Sista,” the term for women who have joined the cause.

Click to play

Kwantlen instructor’s book explores ‘mythology’ of addiction

Kwantlen professor Ross Laird will have his third book published, in the new year.

The book, yet to be titled, focuses on addiction.

Instead of taking the common clinical view on addictions, Laird looks at the subconscious stories that addicts tell themselves, calling it “mythological intervention.”

After 20 years of working with addicts on the downtown eastside, Laird noticed that the path to addiction and recovery, is similar to many mythological stories about struggling with demons and coming to a place of enlightenment.

Laird believes by changing the stories, or the myths, that addicts and society have about the nature of addiction, then those struggling with addiction can be better served.

“Addicts have all kinds of beliefs about themselves, conscious and otherwise, and society has all kinds of beliefs about addicts, too. In a way, addicts have become the projected shadow of society,” said Laird.

Laird was shortlisted for the 2001 Governor General award for his first book, Grain of Truth, which was about the mythology surrounding woodcarving.

He started working with the creative writing department at Kwantlen and is now in the process of creating an expressive arts program.

Video: Kwantlen at belt level

Emily Brook is a Kwantlen student who, due to a lifelong disability, relies on a wheelchair for mobility. Here she discusses her disability, as well as the issues of being wheelchair-bound, a state she did not choose but which defines how others see her.

Students exchange culture and classrooms

If you have always wanted to study abroad but didn’t want to pay international student rates, then Kwantlen is for you this week.

On the heels of International Education Week, Kwantlen is hosting information sessions for students who wish to apply to spend a semester studying at selected schools around the world.

Journalism is one program that has been involved in student exchanges in the past.

“All the journalism students who have gone on our European exchanges have pretty much had life-changing experiences,” said Beverley Sinclair, journalism program coordinator at Kwantlen. “Apart from the journalism education they get abroad, they get the experience of living in a different culture, surrounded by the history and beauty of Europe.”

Kwantlen is currently accepting applications for exchanges during the 2010/11 academic year. Students who wish to apply must meet certain requirements to be considered for the exchange program. Applicants must have a minimum 2.67 GPA and have completed at least 30 university credits, 15 of which must have been done at Kwantlen. As well, once finished the exchange students must then return to Kwantlen and complete a minimum of nine more credits in the following semester.

Along with academic requuirements, students are also responsible to cover their own costs of travel and living while on exchange. The one major advantage is that students will only have to pay tuition to Kwantlen, at the same rates they would pay if attending school in the Lower Mainland, and not the much higher international student fees traditionally charged visiting students.

Students are often encouraged to do the exchange during the spring term, because European school semesters do not match up with Canadian ones. If a student went abroad in the fall semester of 2010, their European exchange wouldn’t end until four weeks into Kwantlen’s spring term. Also, if students spend the spring semester studying, it frees them up to travel around Europe for the summer before they have to return to Kwantlen for classes in the fall.

Students who would like more information but who were unable to attend or missed the information sessions this week, can do so by contacting international programs and exchanges through e-mail at Internationalprograms@kwantlen.ca or by phone at 604-599-2255.

Magazine’s $40,000 will endow journalism program

Some Kwantlen journalism students will be provided financial assistance in the form of a $40,000 endowment from a local magazine.

Mehfil Magazine, a popular Indo-Canadian lifestyle publication, has established the endowment because its publisher feels it’s important to support good journalism since it plays an important role.

Rana Vig, Mahfil’s co-publisher, hopes that by being the first Indo-Canadian publication in B.C. to establish an endowment of this size he’ll convince others will follow suit and support a high level of professional journalism in the community. Vig feels the university has been a leader when it comes to engaging the communities it serves, including the Indo-Canadian community.

The magazine, which was established in 1993, focuses on events in the Indo-Canadian community in the Lower Mainland. It’s also a source for features on people, lifestyles and fashion, as well as commentary on issues related to today’s Indo-Canadian

“We are very grateful for Mehfil’s support of our students,” said Robert Adamoski, Kwantlen’s social science dean.

The Kwantlen journalism program, which recently left the faculty of design and communications for its new home in the faculty of social sciences, has existed for more than 25 years. It offers students both four-year Bachelor of Journalism degrees and two-year diplomas.

Adamoski feels the Kwantlen program provides journalism students a strong understanding of the industry and prepares them for careers in multimedia journalism on graduation.

The endowment will provide annual funds for journalism students, according to journalism coordinator Beverley Sinclair. Sinclair feels this money could go a long way towards easing the financial burden university tuition and books puts on students.

“It amazes me how few students actually apply for scholarships,” said Sinclair, who recalls a previous student who almost completely paid for her tuition by applying for and receiving scholarships that are available every year to students.

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