Neder Grantham-Segal and Kendra Perrin are using hammers and crowbars to dismantle wooden shipping pallets in a backroom at 撸奶社区ReBuild. At first glance, the connection between the sliver-inducing labour and a course on Democracy and Justice at Quest University Canada may seem tangential at best.
But the students insist they鈥檙e fully on board with a new partnership that links the postsecondary institution鈥檚 students with hands-on volunteer work provided by 撸奶社区community-based organizations such as 撸奶社区ReBuild. The non-profit society鈥檚 aim is to be self-sustaining through the sale of recycled and 鈥渦pcycled鈥� former building materials that might previously have wound up in the landfill.
Grantham-Segal and Perrin, in fact, said tearing apart pallets and some of the concepts they鈥檝e been examining during tutor Eric Gorham鈥檚 Democracy and Justice class are a perfect fit.
鈥淚 think a lot of the time when we speak about societies in a classroom, it seems very practical and philosophical,鈥� said Perrin, from North Vancouver. 鈥淭he idea behind 鈥榮ervice learning鈥� is that it helps you connect with real, on-the-ground challenges.鈥�
Grantham-Segal, who hails from northern California, said he appreciates the chance to connect with the likes of 撸奶社区ReBuild, part of whose mission is to promote social justice through the creation of lasting partnerships.
鈥淭here are a lot of young people who love helping out, and this is about creating those opportunities and those connections,鈥� he said.
Inis LeBlanc, the store鈥檚 general manager, said that since Quest students began coming last November, she has been able to assign them to help some of the projects 鈥斅爏uch as turning shipping pallets into plant boxes and the like 鈥� that are often overlooked in the facility鈥檚 day-to-day operations.
In return, students get a glimpse of what an organization that promotes environmental awareness through the productive use of discarded materials works.
鈥淧art of our mission is to collaborate with other organizations to create these kinds of partnerships,鈥� LeBlanc said. 鈥淪o much can be done when you鈥檙e working together.鈥�
Gorham said Luce M茅lan莽on, an educational consultant for Quest, first put him in touch with LeBlanc about a potential partnership. Gorham had been looking to include a 鈥渟ervice learning鈥� component in his classes, and 撸奶社区ReBuild seemed like the perfect match.
鈥淒emocracy and Justice helps students learn about principles and theories of governance and socioeconomic distribution,鈥� Gorham wrote in an email. 鈥淚 use the service-learning component to help them implement some of their ideas into practice and to see how political and economic activities reflect some of the ideas in the course.
鈥淩eBuild is directly concerned with environmental justice 鈥斅燼 key branch of distributive justice. At the end of the course, students develop their own Quest organization related to their service work,鈥� he said, adding that Quest鈥檚 current student government model grew out of his Democracy and Justice class.
Gorham said he鈥檚 also looking to partner with other community organizations in the future.
Madeleine Kunda, a second-year Quest student from Pennsylvania, said as she hand-painted a 撸奶社区ReBuild sign to make it more visible from Highway 99 that she has enjoyed the 鈥渉ands-on鈥� approach to learning.
鈥淚 jumped at the opportunity because I heard it was hands on and Inis is an entrepreneur. I have a real interest in that,鈥� Kunda said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 pass on it because it鈥檚 a chance to get off campus and parallel what we鈥檙e doing in class.鈥�
LeBlanc said she first had the idea of connecting with Quest when she met M茅lan莽on at a 撸奶社区Rotary meeting.
鈥淚 was wanting to create more opportunities for more people to get involved in the success of 撸奶社区ReBuild,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople are very supportive of the idea of recycling building materials 鈥� wanting to recycle, purchasing items made from recycled materials 鈥� but I wanted to take it to another level.
Added LeBlanc, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a social enterprise, and I think it鈥檚 the future of doing business because it鈥檚 showing people that it鈥檚 possible to run a business and do good things for the planet and for our communities.鈥�
