Transforming the Future

Transforming the  Future
By Geoffrey Mosher

To see more about Transforming the Future or to submit a proposal when the application window is open visit the CCSAI Website.

What is transforming the future?

Transforming The Future (TTF) is a joint collaboration between Centennial College and the Centennial College Student Association Inc. that pledges up to $100,000 annually to fund new projects on campus that will leave a positive legacy within the Centennial College community.

Students introduced the TTF fee in September 2006 to fund capital projects at each campus. The funds are not intended to offset college expenses, rather to provide for projects that are non-academic in scope and enhance the student experience.

Five projects were selected in 2018; here is one of the exciting projects that were funded this summer.

Centennial Grows, Campus Food Services Trug Gardens

Centennial College campuses have a variety of unique outdoor spaces. TTF is trying to maximize these spaces to get the most out of them. With community gardens at Ashtonbee, and patios or courtyards at all campuses, there is no shortage of outdoor space. The Trug Gardens and Centennial Grows were proposed to take advantage of such a space at Progress.

The purpose of Centennial Grows is to help teach about sustainability and provide a practical source of food right at the door of The Local and our Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts facility. These gardens will be used on campus by The Local, The Union, and Aramark to help provide fresh food where we live, study and work.

Six trug planters were installed in the green space at the centre of Progress campus in the spring. All interested Progress campus community members, along with our CCSAI, Culinary Arts and Aramark Food Services Teams will be able to contribute in the growth of this initiative.

What is a Trug garden?

A Trug Garden is a sustainable shallow elevated garden planter made of wood. Students and faculty of our Culinary Arts programs decided which items to plant based on the harvest times, and what can be most readily used by the on-campus food services. Some of the items this year included banana peppers, the three sisters corn, beans and squash, and a selection of herbs.

The project was open to collaboration from the community. Students and faculty from the Environmental Studies program were also invited to be a part of the planning and planting.

“We feel this project will bring a greater understanding of what it takes to bring fresh local produce from the ground to the table and not just have the convenience of grabbing whatever you want at the supermarket regardless of the season. This will help to ensure that our Centennial Community members know the value of eating healthy and supporting the farming community around us and we are committed to this project by having all three of our Campus Food Service providers work together in partnership to create awareness of local ingredients used throughout our campuses.”