For past CBE projects completed in Haliburton County, use the Haliburton County Collection online catalogue or drop by the U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research office, browse the U-Links Library and talk with their knowledgeable staff.

2009-2010

Planning for Great Streets: A report on how the City of Peterborough can transform its street network into cherished public space
Peterborough Social Planning Council

In its 2002 Comprehensive Transportation Plan, the City of Peterborough committed to reducing single-occupant motor vehicle trips due to concerns ranging from traffic congestion to public and environmental health. That plan set modest targets to increase the use of “active” modes of transportation: public transit, cycling and walking. As the City updates its transportation plan in 2010, the Peterborough Social Planning Council presents this report “Planning for Great Streets” which identifies key measures the City can adopt to increase the use of active modes. Road users, community organizations, government and public health officials and the local MPP were consulted to assess the strengths and weaknesses of Peterborough’s transportation network and identify opportunities for its improvement. A literature review was conducted to establish best practices in transportation planning that accommodates a diversity of road uses. Based on this research, this report offers 22 specific recommendations to increase the use of active modes of transportation in the city of Peterborough. It is emphasized that Peterborough’s street network is one of the city’s greatest community assets which must serve all community members while being managed in a way that enhances community vibrancy and health.

More 2009-2010 project highlights to come shortly...

2008-2009

Students for Education in Retirement Homes
Peterborough Social Planning Council

As part of their Nursing 404H course, Professional Trends and Issues, students are required to participate in the development of health and social policy by examining and critically analyzing current issues and future perspectives in health care.  After completing their practical placements in retirement homes and seeing the glaring gaps in the treatment of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia, seven students were concerned about the uncertain effectiveness of care offered to residents in retirement homes.  Their objective was to create a clinical placement to facilitate the education of caregivers of people with dementia in Peterborough retirement homes.

Having this wonderful idea for a project yet very few connections within the community, their professor gave them TCCBE’s contact information to see if we could assist them in any way.  Having discussed this exact issue with the Peterborough Social Planning Council (PSPC) several days earlier, it seemed to be a perfect fit.  PSPC was able to connect the students to a number of agencies, including the Alzheimer’s Society and retirement homes, as well as individuals, to pilot the project.  Also, PSPC was able to guide the research questions and process to ensure the success of the project.  Thus the project, Students for Education in Retirement Homes, was co-developed by the students and the host.

The main purpose of this project was to establish a third-year nursing student placement at the Peterborough Alzheimer Society and form a working relationship with a local retirement home for the student to practice geriatric assessment skills, comprehensive case study, innovative care plan intervention and community referral.  The students also wished that an ongoing working relationship with the student, Nursing 404H, TCCBE, and the Peterborough Social Planning Council could be maintained to ensure the effectiveness of the student placement and future role/goal expansion.

With great enthusiasm on behalf of all stakeholders, the goals of the project were met and far exceeded the expectations of the faculty supervisor.  The students managed to lay the foundation for a one-year placement with the Alzheimer Society for a third-year nursing student, with the possibility of a continuing relationship.  From the host perspective, it was a great first step to identify the training needs of caregivers and it was a basis for students starting to understand the process of policy change.  From the students’ perspective, they had a remarkable experience and plan on continuing their research and practical work in this field of study.  One student stated that his top three learning outcomes were: 1) how to communicate effectively with his peers, 2) how to communicate and form community partnerships, and 3) how supportive a community can be when one chooses to take up a valued cause.

Community Awareness of Intellectual Disabilities
Community Living Peterborough

In the summer of 2007, Community Living Peterborough approached the CBE program with an idea for a project with the objective of completing a community awareness study on the attitudes and knowledge about people with intellectual disabilities and the awareness that community members have about the services that Community Living provides.  The results of this project would be compared and contrasted against provincial statistics to better understand the unique issues that are faced in this region.

Unfortunately the project was not picked up until over a year later.  However, in the end, the work of these students proved to be well worth the wait.  The math students were handpicked to pilot the CBE program for the Math department by their faculty supervisor.  Both in their final year of studies, these two students used their expertise in sampling and modeling to conduct door-to-door surveys in the City of Peterborough and telephone surveys in the County.  In the end they concluded that the awareness of the term ‘intellectual disability’ was lower for the Peterborough area than for the rest of the province.

As a result of this project, the host organization has decided to reconfigure their marketing and education strategy to better reflect the needs of the community.  Further, they would like to work with students again in the future to continue with their survey and assess any changes.  The math department would like to formalize their relationship with the CBE program and are hoping to have at least one, if not more, projects in the 2009-2010 academic year.

Peterborough Disease Cluster Study
Occupational and Environmental Health Coalition

The purpose of the project was to analyze significant factors influencing the incidence of disease in Peterborough through a review of published research literature.  The project also highlighted potential links between the incidence of human disease and the affected individual’s exposure to occupational and environmental contaminants.  The scope of the project developed for over a year before it was considered practical as an undergraduate student project.

A Biology student was matched with this project and she focused her research on the higher than provincial averages of incidents of breast cancer, other cancers and respiratory disease in Peterborough, as well as a site study of the contaminants in Little Lake.  Her research invited many more questions and need for research. She completed the work in the context of a CBE Biology credit.

The student’s report was well received when she presented her findings to both the Organizing Committee and the Research Committee of the Peterborough Occupational and Environmental Health Coalition (POEHC).  This was the first CBE project that this volunteer organization supported. The overall benefit of the student’s work was that it contributed to the longer term research vision and organization capacity of the POEHC.  The host identified the following highlights:

·        Well researched, neutral report

·        Contained an extensive bibliography and copies of journal articles

·        Easily readable report, therefore can reach a broad audience

·        Multiple copies of the report have been made and distributed

·        Process of supporting the student’s work has helped the research committee focus their

         ideas and intentions for future research projects and how the CBE program may play a role

Through working on this project, the student noted that she learned how to communicate effectively with various community members, how to coordinate meetings and deadlines and how to write an effective report.  Of most interest to her was the opportunity to learn about various aspects of health, particularly the impact of toxins on the human body.  She is interested in keeping contact with this organization and has offered to continue to present her report over the next year if the group would like her to.  This project has given the student confidence in her skills and insights and she intends to apply to a graduate program in environmental health in the future.

French Music Diaspora
Trent Radio

This project demonstrates a partnership between two students each participating in the context of two different courses; one “research” and one “short-term”.  The students contributed to researching and producing a weekly radio show on French language music.  The academic requirements were developed to meet the needs of each student.

From the host perspective, the impact of the students continues to resonate:

·        The project fulfilled a long standing need of the organization to increase its French music and

         language content

·        Both students continued their relationship with Trent Radio after their projects finished in December.  The students continued to co-host the radio show Jan – April.  The International Development Studies student also volunteered to be a summer executive producer, volunteering and training other broadcasters.  The Canadian Studies student intends to be involved at the station during the next academic year

·        The success of this project inspired Trent Radio to work with other modern language students in the future

·        This successful project helped Trent Radio increase its profile with the francophone community and bring new volunteers to the organization in a different way.

Through working on this project, the “research” student noted that she learned about time management and multi-party communication.  As a French and International Development Studies student, she enjoyed learning about French music and the diversity of cultures in the French-speaking world (which she developed further in her academic report).  She now identifies herself as a diehard radio fan and over the summer is managing a night of programming, training and orientating others to the media.

The “short-term” student is a first-year Trent student who did this project as part of Canadian Studies 100.  He says that he would like to continue being involved with the CBE program because of the opportunity to engage with community organizations.  Having the unique opportunity to make radio programmes for school work excited him.  He feels he improved his communication and presentation skills and learned a lot about different musical traditions and genres.  As noted above, he continued to co-host the show even after the project ended.  He would like to do a new show next year.  This student was the only first-year student to participate in the Knowledge in Action Forum.

2007 - 2008

Artist Profile and Grade 5 Art Program
Art Gallery of Peterborough

As a student, Thalia’s involvement with the CBE Program began in the fall as part of the ArtsWeek Event Support project for the first-year course Canadian Studies 100 (Producing Canada). Through contacts made during her short-term project, Thalia contacted the Art Gallery of Peterborough (AGP) to inquire about further volunteer opportunities. There she met Deidre Chisholm, who has a long history of involvement with the CBE Program. Together they developed an independent credit research project for the winter term titled ‘Artist Profile and Grade 5 Art Program.’  The project was to research art and contemporary issues related to the work of Kristi Malakoff who was exhibiting at the AGP in May/June 2008. The research would contribute to the gallery’s Grade 5 Program and support a balance between the needs of the gallery’s education program, the students’ curiosity and the teachers’ learning objectives.

Caroline Langill, the faculty supervisor trained Thalia in interviewing techniques, helped to structure the interview questions and supported the craft of writing. From the host perspective, the impact of the student continues to resonate:

·         The project brought together various stakeholders and supports within the gallery;

·         The way the project (organically) was structured presented a new way of working amongst these stakeholders and volunteers;

·         The student report and reflection has been used for promotional aspects of promoting the exhibit and the gallery;

·         Aspects of the final report will be used in an Ontario Arts Council application;

·         Working with another research volunteer, the student supported the creation of suitable activities for Grade 5 students to do while at the AGP for this exhibit/program;

·         The student developed tour guide information for this exhibit and trained the guides to bring children through the exhibit;

·         The student was hired as a summer tour guide at the gallery;

·         The student (and her mom) attended and volunteered in the opening of the exhibit;

·         The student-created interview template will be shared with other arts organizations and will be used again by the AGP;

·         The way the various parties worked together for this project is now a model the AGP will apply to future research projects.

White Oak Dispersal Study
The Land Between (Kawartha Heritage & Couchiching Conservancies)

This project was first proposed in the fall of 2006. Rory Eckenswiller, a student in Professor Colin Taylor’s Geography 440 (Research in Human Geography), completed the project in the spring of 2008 as his major class assignment. Rory was excited by the prospect of being involved on the cutting edge of research, as minimal data had been collected on the white oak in The Land Between region prior to this project.

The Land Between is an ecotone, between the Canadian Shield and the St. Lawrence Lowlands, therefore, northern species reach their southernmost limit and southern species reach their northernmost limits here. Leora knew that she had found the right student to take on her project at the first meeting where Rory described a journal article he had read. It was about the role squirrels play in white oak acorn distribution, presenting a perspective that Leora hadn’t heard before. The student queried Ontario Parks and Ministry of Natural Resource staff, related data sources and researched historical or local accounts to uncover forest stand composition that included white oak patches. Rory also conducted field assessments and driving tours to confirm findings and discover additional populations. Rory delineated the occurrence and mapped a pattern of white oak distribution.

From the host perspective, the student’s work was beyond her expectation:

• Highlighted areas of greater sensitivity for cultural protection and stewardship;
• Provided a benchmark and framework from which to understand changes over time;
• Contributed to the characterization of the lands within the “Land Between”; it supports the assessment of uniqueness;
• Set a framework for further research and analysis (both culturally and ecologically);
• Results and research will be communicated to groups across the Land Between, to agencies such as Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Stewardship, Municipalities and Watershed Councils and to educational institutes;
• The student honed skills related to field inventories and assessment techniques.

Rory has applied to continue research on a graduate (Masters) level and intends to focus his studies on The Land Between and specifically The White Oak.

2006 - 2007

Aquatic Invasive Species: A Summary of Ecology and Management Techniques for the Common Reed
Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters

In this project, a student produced a thorough report on the invasive common reed that included physical characteristics, native vs. non-native variants, habitat, economic impacts and community-based stewardship activity. In addition to the report, the student led a discussion of his findings at a staff meeting. This project begins a series of projects on invasive species that the host intends to propose. Results will be shared with other local organizations and agencies in the area interested in environmental and conservation issues. The host supervisor mentored the student, involving him in other aspects of the organization. As well, the host supervisor is a TCCBE alumnus, demonstrating that as our program matures, we will continue to see alumni in the host role.

Development in Jamaica – Executive Summaries
Jamaican Self Help

As part of a field trip course on development in Jamaica, the student produced executive summaries of the articles assigned to the class that addressed current issues of development in Jamaica.  The host reported that the work was comprehensive, informative and well written.  The summaries are being used by local staff and board members to inform them of the current academic work about development in Jamaica, where they support development projects. These summaries may also be a part of local education programs fostering an understanding of North-South global forces and their interconnectedness. The student felt that providing these summaries to the host ensured her academic success and prepared her well for her field trip.  She also noted that the experience with the course and the Community-Based Education Program made an impact on her choice of graduate studies.

Pregnancy and Nutrition Handout
Kawartha Community Midwives

With numerous requests from midwife clients for straight-forward, easy-to-read and up-to-date nutritional information, a CBE project was born. Three nursing students researched and designed a handout that included information about nutrients and their function, best food sources, and lists of community and academic resources. During the course of the project, increased media coverage about fish consumption and pregnancy encouraged the students to develop a second handout. The 'Pregnancy, Nutrition and You' and the 'Fish Consumption and Food Safety' handouts are available for general distribution and are used by staff during client appointments.