All available student projects with the Community-Based Education (CBE) Program are listed below.
If you do not see a project that fits your interest or program, please contact us; we can advise you of projects currently being developed!
The project list is updated regularly – please check back often.
Project Title |
Description |
#4444 Comparing models for addiction services | The purpose of this project is to compare models of addiction services, namely abstinence versus harm reduction. Students would examine the philosophical approach to each model, determine a way to measure effectiveness of each model, and identify and evaluate programs that use each approach. This project could be completed from a medical perspective and from a legal perspective. |
| #4443 Community Belonging as a factor in youth crime | This project builds on a past students work on Analyzing the Effects of Criminal Diversion Programs on Young Adults with Mental Health Issues. Community belonging was identified as being low for young adults. The host is interested in exploring this concept further from a theoretical perspective and understanding how it may be incorporated into service delivery and/or program planning. |
| #4429 Peterborough Employment Profile | The student will be conducting research to determine how Peterborough’s job market has changed over the past decade. The findings will be summarized in a report that will be used by the Peterborough Worker’s Action Centre. The information which the student collects will be both statistical and anecdotal: We want to determine how the official employment rates have shifted, but we also want to determine how the type of employment has changed. Alongside official statistics the student will also collect newspaper articles and press releases that make announcement of job loss and proposed job creation in Peterborough |
| #4428 Inventory of Fruit Trees in Haliburton County | The purpose of this project is to identify record and map the fruit trees growing in Haliburton County. If fruit trees are growing successfully in the county this may present a viable business opportunity for local farmers. In Haliburton County the soil conditions (shallow sandy soils low in organic matter) and climate (cold winters and a short growing season) pose many challenges for farmers across the region. This project will provide a template for collecting baseline information on fruit trees and populate our understanding of how fruit can be grown in northern climates. Results from this work will help assess the extent at which fruit production is already underway in the county - with the potential to expand this market. |
| #4411 Regional Transit Authorities: A solution for rural transportation? | The purpose of this project is to gain a greater understanding of the value, role and function of a transportation management agency through a literature review and a more in-depth investigation of two or three such agencies in rural areas. |
| #4410 Parenting and Family Resources Survey | The purpose of the project is to assess participant outcomes to date (as listed in the agency’s logic model) for families who have accessed services from April 2012 to April 2013. The student would be contacting participants who were approached by program staff throughout the past year and who agreed to participate in this evaluation at that time. These participants were either pregnant or had a child under 6 months at the time they were approached. Upon agreeing to participate in this evaluation, these individuals completed a brief survey assessing their parenting sense of confidence and their knowledge of community services. The student researcher would be asked to contact said participants, re-administer the survey and compare the results to their initial responses factoring for type of program accessed and length of service. As it is the intention of the agency to continue to track the outcomes for these participants, the student will also be making recommendations for next steps in this long-term evaluation process. |
| #4398 Feasibility of Propane Conversion in Rural Ontario Communities | To research the feasibility of propane conversion for vehicles in rural Ontario (Haliburton County). |
| #4363 Brownfield Remediation Options | Brownfield sites are “lands that are potentially contaminated due to historical, industrial or commercial land use practices, and are underutilized, derelict or vacant. Brownfields are often situated in key areas throughout a community, such as the downtown or along the waterfront” [i] Brownfield sites may be identified on a provincial registry by local governments or individuals. This has not been done to any extent in Haliburton County. Requirements for site clean up come into effect when a brownfield site’s industrial or commercial zoning is proposed for rezoning to a residential classification. The purpose of the brownfield legislation and regulations is to facilitate the redevelopment of brownfiled sites; redevelopment which tends to support the provincial objective of intensification. The purpose of this research proposal is to develop a handbook on possible bio-remediation strategies for the predominant types of brownfield sites found in the county. |
| #4362 Possible Brownfield Site identification | The purpose of this research proposal is to develop a strategy for identifying potential brownfield sites and to apply this strategy to brownfield sites in at least one of the four county municipalities. Time permitting, EH! would prefer to see the strategy applied in all four municipalities. |
| #4360 Shoreline Tree Preservation | The community has identified its natural resources as a priority and community value to be protected and maintained. One of the key resources is the water and accompanying shoreline vistas. An inherent contribution to maintaining this community resource is the maintenance of treed areas along the shorelines, including the area 30 metres inland from the high water mark of the navigable waterways. Therefore, the County of Haliburton has recently adopted a Shoreline Tree Preservation By-law to govern the destruction of trees within 30 metres of the high water mark of watercourses throughout the County. The purpose of this project is to develop resource and educational brochures and material for distribution to land owners, the real estate community and the general public. |
| #4359 Local Labour Inventory: Peterborough's Food Sector | The purpose of the project is to identify current jobs in the local food sector in Peterborough City and County – ideally in the categories of GEM (Government, Education, and Medical) and the private sector in order to set a baseline in 2012 for future growth projections. |
| #4357 Supermarket Tour Marketing, Promotion and Outreach | Over the past 5 years, our organization has been working on a publication which critically examines the Canadian supermarket complex as well as global food systems. This manual, published in 2011, provides facilitators with popular education techniques to help introduce learners to food issues as they lead groups through the aisles of the grocery store. The main desired outcomes of the Community-Based Education project are to increase distribution and sales and to learn more about effective marketing tools for the manual. The researcher would be promoting the manual and researching methods of increasing distribution. The researcher will research best practices in marketing and promotions for the non-profit sector, will provide a report on the findings of this research, and will do some initial implementation of the methods that come out of the research. |
| #4356 Evaluating the Natural Capital of the Burnt River Watershed | The purpose of the project will be to identify significant features within this watershed (i.e. forested land vegetation cover wildlife corridors wetland complexes water bodies etc.) and do background research on how we can attach a dollar value to the services associated with each feature (i.e. how much would it cost to replace these services if we no longer had them). |
| #4354 Biodiversity Monitoring Checklist | The purpose of this project is to develop a checklist that volunteers could use for monitoring forest biodiversity, and provide guidelines for training interested volunteers. The data collected from these checklists will help add to baseline inventory data for one of the three properties, with the potential to extend to the other two properties as well. |
| #4346 Tritium: Use and Regulation | Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen which is a waste product of nuclear reactors, but can also occur naturally in the environment. Tritium is used locally in the manufacturing of self-luminating signs. There is cause for concern that this known radioactive carcinogen is being poorly regulated and improperly managed causing widespread contamination in Peterborough. The purpose of this project is to compile a report for public viewing that clearly outlines tritium chemistry and potential environmental and health related concerns linked to the use of tritium. Who regulates and oversees the use of tritium in Ontario? Are these regulations enforceable? What are the potential health and environmental threats? Are there differing regulations in other jurisdictions? Who is liable for tritium pollution? Who is monitoring the levels of tritium pollution in Peterborough? |
| #4340 Economic Impact of a Social Enterprise | The host organization is a social enterprise – a unique business model which aims to sustain enough profit to meet other social and environmental ends. This year the host organization celebrates its tenth year in operation. Over the past ten years the host has worked to support a sustainable, regional food system; to provide an alternative food options; and, to provide opportunities for locals to learn about food issues. The purpose of this project is to determine our economic impact over the past ten years. The host organization works to balance providing affordable food with maintaining sustainable business practices. This project will help the host to review these practices in the context of their mandate, while ensuring that they remain viable. |
| #4338 Improved reporting on Housing and Homelessness | The overall purpose of the project is to review current reports on various housing and homelessness metrics, and create a standardized reporting framework for the host organization to use for annual public reports, as required under new legislation (ie Housing Services Act). An annual public report is required by the provincial government, and these requirements are set out in the province’s Long Term Affordable Housing Strategy. |
| #4335 Free Market and Food Cupboard Video Project | The purpose of this project is to produce a series of short videos relating to two of the host organizations' poverty alleviation programs. |
| #4334 Non-Profit Social Justice Policy Development | The purpose of the project is to support capacity building within our Centre by developing recommendations for policy development. The recommendations that are put forth through this project will guide our Steering Collective in reviewing and revising our policies in the summer of 2013 |
| #4333 Community Needs Assessment for Gender and Social Justice | The purpose of this project is to carry out a needs assessment of the Peterborough and Trent communities in order to evaluate the ways in which our Centre can best serve them. It is also an opportunity to evaluate the success of the previous needs assessment project and assist in our ability to continue our commitment to serving local trans communities, as well as growing services, resources and programming offered by the Centre and providing suggestions for future direction of the organization. |
| #4330 Re-rooting gardens at St. Joseph's at Fleming | When it first opened, St Joseph’s at Fleming was surrounded by beautiful gardens. These gardens attracted many new residents to the facility. Over the years, however, the gardens have fallen in disarray. A garden committee was established recently to explore avenues to revitalize the gardens and find ways to assure their sustainability. To sustain themselves over the long term, gardens need to cultivate a strong root system. The most essential roots in this process, however, are not automatically found in the gardens themselves, they usually grow from the depth and quality of the relationships the gardens generate. The purpose of this project is to illustrate ways in which St Joseph’s at Fleming can create new, resilient and dynamic garden relationships among its most natural allies: the residents themselves and members of the neighbourhood (both residential and institutional). |
| #4325 Decolonization Workbook | The purpose of the project is to develop a Decolonization Workbook.. This project will build off of, and extend, the work of previous CBE projects including the Anti-Racism Workbook and the Anti-Oppression Facilitation Workbook. In order to achieve this outcome, students will be expected to conduct research on decolonization as a subject and a movement that includes Indigenous political, cultural, social, economic, spiritual and physical restoration, including lands. |
| #4323 History of Immigration in Peterborough | Peterborough has a rich history of immigration. While there is sufficient information and research on the early immigration waves in Peterborough starting from the 1800s, there is less information on more recent decades. Our organization would like to embark on a history project with the purpose of tracking the history of immigration in Peterborough and educating the public on the main waves of immigration, major World’s history moments that influenced those waves and the contribution of renowned immigrant families to the local community. The focus of this project will mainly be on the period from the First World War till 1980s. |
| #4318 Designing a Modern Victory Garden | The project will document historical research regarding the role and impact of Victory Gardens during the first and second world wars. Along with a general overview, a number of specific historical victory gardens will be showcased from across the country. The historical overview, along with the case studies, will provide the baseline for recommendations surrounding a modern revival of victory gardens. This research should be taken on with a focus on the health benefits to individual and communities that engage in growing their own food. |
| #4317 In search of George McLaughlin | To document and share the life story of this little known notable Canadian. |
| #4312 Investigating Labour Market Information in Peterborough | Researchers will be compiling sources of labour market information (LMI) and publishing them online and via social media. The students will be researching how to collect labour market information and will connect with industry leaders to develop qualitative labour market projections for the Peterborough area. |
| #4306 Improving Local Fundraising Using GIS | Student will be collecting and creating maps to accurately reflect the canvassing routes for the annual door-to-door fundraising campaign. The mapping will have multiple layers to show the zone, areas within the zone, and routes within an area. Verifying details of routes "on the ground" will also enable routes to be coded for criteria such as ease of walking and other special concerns. This project will focus on one area or neighbourhood and act as a pilot project with findings and suggestions for improvements to be applied to wider geographical areas after completion of the project. |
| #4303 Improving local fundraising efforts | This project will provide our local area office with information that we can use to enhance the efficiency of our annual door-to-door fundraising campaign in February, which will hopefully assist us in achieving better outcomes for the program in terms of revenue, volunteer satisfaction and use of staff time on specific functions within the program. |
| #4301 Oral Histories of Immigrants in Peterborough II | The goal of this project is to continue the documentation of immigrants' stories of integration and to investigate the social determinants of immigrant well-being. |
| #4299 Global Education Communication | The purpose of this project is to support the organizational mandate to increase capacity for public education and local engagement on relevant world issues through increased communications, web and social media presence. How can we effectively utilize communication opportunities, such as print, web, and social media to engage a larger and broader audience in dialogue on world issues and their local connections? |
| #4295 Shoreline Restoration at Public Beaches: Educational Signage | The host organization is interested in developing a shoreline restoration demonstration project at a public park located on the shores of Halls Lake. The Elvin Johnson park is approximately 2 acres in size and houses playground equipment, a picnic shelter, an open grassy area, space for parking, and a 120 meter long beach. The water levels on the lake drop over the summer months, extending the beach are as the water goes down. The purpose of this project is to use the park as a demonstration site to solve some of the existing shoreline challenges (presence of geese, erosion) and to provide information about shoreline restoration options to cottage owners and park users. In partnership with the Township of Algonquin Highlands, the HHLPOA has identified the following key considerations for the development of the park:‘ Access for swimming‘ Minimizing geese‘ Reducing the impact of undercutting of tree roots‘ Combining a natural barrier with a beach side sitting area‘ Developing educational signage‘ Minimizing on-going maintenance requirements‘ Maintaining recreational opportunities in the park The purpose of this project is to create educational signage and interpretive material that will complement that design of the demonstration site. |
| #4293 Shoreline Restoration at Public Beaches- Ecological Design | The Organization is interested in developing a shoreline restoration demonstration project at a public park located on the shores of Halls Lake. The Elvin Johnson park is approximately 2 acres in size and houses playground equipment, a picnic shelter, an open grassy area - space for parking and a 120 meter long beach. The water levels on the lake drop over the summer months extending the beach are as the water goes down. The purpose of this project is to use the park as a demonstration site to solve some of the existing shoreline challenges (presence of geese, erosion) and to provide information about shoreline restoration options to cottage owners and park users. In partnership with the Township of Algonquin Highlands, the Organization has identified the following key considerations for the development of the park: Access for swimming Minimizing geese Reducing the impact of undercutting of tree roots Combining a natural barrier with a beach side sitting area Developing educational signage Minimizing on-going maintenance requirements Maintaining recreational opportunities in the park The purpose of this project is to create design options for the demonstration site that will incorporate the identified concerns. The design may also raise other issues for consideration. NOTE: Other student projects related to this topic include: Development of educational signage, Community Consultation, and reviewing case studies from other areas. |
| #4292 Painting the picture for Food Security | In Haliburton County there are a variety of groups working to provide food to those in need. Groups include: food banks, school programs, community kitchens, etc. There is a need to quantify and track who these programs are serving and how much food is being distributed. This purpose of this project is to develop a system for all groups to collect statistics in the same format so that changes can be tracked over time. The stats should be collected according to region or hamlets of the county and by demographics. Students will need to determine who currently keeps statistics, what information is collected, how they collect the numbers, and how they use them for reporting. Incorporating the needs of all organizations and models from elsewhere, students will develop a unified system for all groups and provide training to volunteers on how to input numbers. Ideally, the project would include the implementation of the system and the student(s) could refine it based on feedback from the organizations. |
| #4265 Peterborough County Landowner Survey | A community survey of residents in Peterborough County was conducted in 1997 by the host organization to identify resource management interests and concerns of rural landowners. A similar survey was conducted in 2002 to help prepare a 10 year strategic and operational plan. The purpose of the project is to develop and conduct a third survey to identify current resource management interests and concerns of rural residents. The project will also involve analyzing data collected from all three surveys to identify trends, changing interests or static issues of rural landowners over the past 15 years. |
| #4209 Main Street Coboconk: a historical view | The purpose will be to develop maps and charts showing what buildings and businesses were located along the Main Street and side streets of Coboconk as well as those along the river.The student(s) will create maps of the business sections of Coboconk. Charts will also be set up listing the various businesses in Coboconk over the years. ie: General Stores, blacksmiths, bakeries, garages, funeral homes, etc. |
| #4207 Grow Me Instead! Invasive Horticultural Plants | The objective of this project is to inform and engage the landscape industry and gardeners in the management of invasive species and the reintroduction of native plants into our settled landscapes. This project compliments and builds-upon the previous work the Healthy Yards program, which focuses on the education and engagement of gardeners, and is informed by the results of recent market and ecological research and the continued input of the horticulture industry. |
| #4180 History of Education in Haliburton County | The purpose of the project is to record the history of education in Haliburton County. The findings (research, photos, etc) will be made available for public use. These records will be held in the HHGG resource library within the Haliburton County Library system – Minden branch. The student would seek out and record facts & stories about the history of education in Haliburton County. This would involve visits to various archives, libraries and other repositories of historical, legal and government documents & books; and interviewing past and present residents of the community. These interviews would be conducted on a one on one basis. The student may also be instrumental in writing & creating periodical newsletter articles to be included in the HHGG newsletter ‘Original Roots’. This will create further interest in assisting with information The student’s work will be compiled into an easy to read organized format. |
| #4162 Community Squash Club Business Plan | The membership in the squash club has fallen to a critical level and the club is having difficulty covering the costs of the facility in which the courts exist. The club needs assistance to develop a Business Plan for the club. It is envisioned that such a plan will include a membership marketing plan as well as suggestions of the viability of other strategies that might promote sustainability by offsetting cost (ie – attracting partners who may pay a fee for use of facility such as aerobics classes). |
| #4137 Evaluation of Professional vs. Community Theatre in Mid-Sized Ontario Communities | The purpose of this project is to examine the role of professional theatre versus community theatre in other communities in Ontario that are similar in size and demographics to Peterborough. Through specific case studies, we hope to determine how professional and community theatre manage to thrive (or not) working side by side in other communities and use this information to improve our status in Peterborough. |
| #4126 Memoir of an Environmental Health Activist II | The purpose of this project is to continue to document the personal story of a long standing occupational and environmental health activist and to capture important facts in the history of Peterborough’s industrial era. |
