Award Recipients
President’s Awards 2020 Recipients | Humber Sustainability Award
Geraldine Babcock, Lynn vanLieshout, Michael Auchincloss, Terrie Greco, Therese Gormley Hirmer
Vanier Centre Program
“This program is a successful example of the importance of sustainability that promotes sustainability on campus, in the classroom, and within the community.”
Dylan Scammell, Instructor, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences & Innovative Learning
The Vanier Centre Program is an impactful training program for incarcerated women in a medium security provincial jail. The program provides benefits to society by providing participants with the necessary workplace skills, which they can use to contribute to their community upon release. It is also a successful example of the importance of sustainability and promotes sustainability on campus, in the classroom and within the community.
This is a shining example of an internal and external collaboration among three areas of the College and external partners, Vanier Centre for Women and the Elizabeth Fry Society. This collaboration between all facets promotes positive partnerships and collaboration of Humber College and the community.
The program began in 2015/16, with another cohort running in 2016/17 and 2017/18 and another that started in 2019. Due to COVID-19, the cohort for 2020/21 is currently on hold. This program has received funding from Employment and Social Development Canada to continue to deliver the program for the next five years, recognizing its impact and importance within the community.
This program is intended to meet the growing needs for Horticultural Technicians and Arborists. The participants in this program would build on and formalize the acquisition of skills and knowledge at the Vanier Centre while working on the grounds during their period of incarceration. This program has provided an extremely impactful training program for incarcerated women in a medium security provincial jail in Milton, Ontario. It also provides benefits to society by providing participants with the necessary workplace skills, which they can use to contribute to their community upon release. This program is a successful example of the importance of sustainability that promotes sustainability on campus, in the classroom and within the community.
A steering committee comprised of all partners meets quarterly to review how the delivery is progressing, to address any issues that may have arisen during the program, and to plan next stages of the program delivery. This is critical to the success of the program and allows everyone to remain committed to the goals.
Organizers of the program have been told by the Superintendents at the Vanier Centre for Women that the success of this program to date has been beyond any one’s expectations.
