Season 4, Episode 9: Wai Chu Cheng, and Courtney Hayes, Sustainable Seneca

Seneca College recognizes the importance of making sustainable choices in everything we do, from food services, to construction projects, to how Seneca keeps its sidewalks safe for walking during the winter, and even to curriculum design. To help formalize the processes for making sustainable choices, Seneca College has created the newly established Office of Sustainability. Working with curriculum planners, procurement, professors, and more, the Office of Sustainability provides consultation and guidance so that sustainability can truly be part of every decision Seneca College makes. The guests on today's show work directly with Operations, and with Academic, to help keep Sustainability top of mind in every aspect of life at Seneca College.

Also in this episode we:

1. Get to meet our amazing guests, Wai Chu Cheng, Sustainability Specialist Academic and Courtney Hayes, Sustainability Specialist Operations.

2. Discover how Wai Chu and Courtney will approach such a large task

3. Gain insight into the newly created Office of Sustainability, which is poised to put Seneca at the leading edge of sustainable institutions in Canada.

4. Lots more!

About today's guests, Courtney Hayes, and Wai Chu Cheng

Courtney Hayes

Courtney Hayes is the Sustainability Specialist in the Operations Department of the new Office of Sustainability. And on the day this podcast is published. She will have been in her role an entire month. Courtney has a BA in environmental and urban sustainability and her master's degree in sustainable management from the University of Toronto. Courtney also has experience in environmental consulting for clients in the IC and AI, industrial, commercial and institutional sectors to achieve environmental certifications, perform audits and reports and carry out engagement projects like internal trainings, webinars and events. Fun fact, Courtney is also a worm mom. She has a vermi compost bin in her front closet at home!

Wai Chu Cheng

Wai Chu is the Sustainability Specialist in the Academic Department of the Office of Sustainability and has been in that role for a very short time, just a few days when we recorded this podcast, but brings with her a wealth of experience in this space. Wai Chu has been named by Canadian living as one of its 10 Amazing Canadians making the world a cleaner, greener place, and is the co founder of one of Canada's longest running repair cafes called the repair cafe with over 800 volunteers. The repair Cafe diverted nearly 3000 household items from landfills in 2019. Wai Chu was also Sustainability Coordinator at Sheridan College from 2013 to 2022. YG was nominated for the 2020 shared and people award purple ribbon category for purposeful creativity, and was also nominated as a Mission Zero hero last year, as well. A project Wai Chu led involving transforming to sites filled with popcorn into pollinator friendly gardens, was a national finalist for nature inspiration awards 2021 by Canadian Museum of Nature, Wai Chu has a master's degree in environmental studies, and a second master's degree in education. In Wai Chu’s own words, “My passion comes from my love for the natural world, and the local and global community. I am part of.”

Keeping Up to Date on COVID-19

For Updates on Seneca's Policies Regarding COVID-19, visit here:

https://inside.senecacollege.ca/health

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Pat Perdue