Restoring Systems

It’s that time again – time to start putting my mind to the SFU Applications Course, part of the Sustainable Community Development Certificate Program. This year our three day field class will be only two days. Don’t worry, the course will still be jam-packed with engaging models of sustainability. The reason for this is that the Foundations Course was expanded to three days to allow for more, well foundation, before you take off into the field and the other amazing courses. That way, you will have a solid grounding in the sustainability principles when you land in the Studio Course and have to present your sustainability plan to real live municipal staff!

I’m excited about a new module we’ve added this year, we’re calling it Restoring System Integrity. We’ll be looking at municipal-level projects aimed at restoring health and sustainable function to the urban fabric. The focus is placed on the controls and levers for change that lie within reach of municipal policy and assets such as school yards, community centres, zoning bylaws and property tax arrangements.

We’ll be working on the exact sites and guest experts over the summer, but it will likely include some of the following:

• SOLEfood Farm: an intensely-cultivated food-growing operation on a parking lot in the downtown eastside, providing jobs for marginalized people and fresh food for local kitchens;
• Still Creek: a comparison of two stream daylighting efforts and the city/business arrangements that supported them;
• Grandview Woodland Earth Tub mid-scale composting system: school curricula, communal space, and waste reduction are combined in this integrated sustainability effort.

You can see the full certificate program and course descriptions here. They are now accepting applications for the 2011 Cohort. Deadline: July 15, 2011.