“Move Out Madness”: Building bridges to manage year end waste Lesley McRae, M.A.

Town & Gown What does it mean? –The relationship between a municipality (town) and the higher education institution residing there (gown) Historical relationships –Higher ed. historically isolated (location & building structure) –Shift from government to governance Why is it important?

Innovative University-Community Partnerships Some types of innovation –Service learning –Service provision –Faculty involvement –Student volunteerism –‘Community in the classroom’ –Applied research –Major institutional change Martin, L., Smith, H., Phillips, W. (2003). Bridging ‘town and gown’ through innovative university-community partnerships. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 10(2), 2 – 16

Setting the scene… University of Guelph –approx. 18,000 students –13,000 living off-campus Distribution –Many older neighbourhoods with climbing numbers of student residents –Large concentrations of students in south end developments and newer subdivisions –Not many high density housing options

Neighbourhood Relations? Created in 2003 Goals –To support off-campus students, landlords, & community residents –To address community concerns and field PR issues –To liaise with community organizations Merged with Off-campus Housing in 2007 –Rental housing listings

Move Out Madness Goals –Environmental –Community alliance & benefits –Charitable support Stakeholders –Neighbourhood Relations & Off-Campus Housing –Guelph Students for Environmental Change –University of Guelph Meal Exchange –University of Guelph Sustainability (Physical Resources) –City of Guelph (Solid Waste Resources) –Guelph Freecycle.org –Budget Rent A Car

Stuff Swap Details –Located in University Centre courtyard –April 2 – 20 (week prior to exams – end of exam period) –Almost 100% turnover/day –Sign-ups for BIP located here –Wet/Dry+ bags available –Remaining items donated to salvation army

Clear the Shelves Details –April 9 – 20 in residence halls & UC courtyard –Primary partner - University of Guelph Meal Exchange –Bins placed in residence halls to collect ONLY non- perishable food & clothing –Guelph Foodbank arranged pick-ups from bins –Paired with bins for stuff swap

Bulky Item Pick-up Details stuff swap –55 participants, over 200 items collected –2 streams: dump quality & reusable –City of Guelph partnered to pick-up dump items –Neighbourhood Relations Coordinator & volunteers organized pick-ups of reusable items to be stored in container donated by University Sustainability –Guelph freecycle.org offered as alternative

Goods Exchange Weekend Details –Second weekend in September –Portable storage unit opened and furniture given away to students & community members –Advertised as taking place from 9 am – 5 pm – All items taken by 10 am! –Offered delivery with rental Budget van at nominal cost ($5 per item)

Talking results! Demographics: –0% first year –7% second year –10% third year –65.5% fourth year –17% fifth year & up

Results – Marketing How did they hear about it? –55% –45% Display at the stuff swap –17% word of mouth –6.9% ad in student paper –3.5% poster

Results – Content of items What were they getting rid of? –52% Couch or sofa –41% desk/shelves –28% tables –17% armchairs & recliners –14% large appliances –10% beds & mattresses

Results – Why? Why did they need the service? –72% no longer needed the item – 41% had no way to transport the item –24% because the item was poor or garbage

Results - Effectiveness How useful was the program to students? –93.3% very useful How useful was the reminder telephone call? –96% very useful

Results – Cost Would students be willing to pay for the service? –89% would pay a nominal fee (between $1-10) –34.5% would pay a fee of $5

Results – Impact What would they have done without the program? –65.5% would have abandoned their items at the curbside! – Complaint calls to NR went down from approximately 7 calls during the month to 0!

Excerpts from feedback… “It's a valuable program that saved a lot of headache for graduating students during exams.” “I was very appreciative to have my unwanted items taken away for free, thank you very much!!!” “I think this is an excellent program that diverts a lot of garbage from being abandoned at the curb. It is easy to use.” “Great idea, helpful for those of us who don't have transportation. keep up the good work.”

Barriers to positive town & gown relationships Small group discussion –What conflicts have you come across? –How did you work to overcome them, or what strategies can you think of that would improve the situation?

Compromise = no one’s happy? How can we overcome preconceived relationships? –Imagine a community resident has contacted you regarding a publication sent out by the institution asking for support from the community during new student move in. The resident is disgruntled and expresses their opinion that students don’t belong in the community and therefore shouldn’t get any support. –What are some possible underlying issues? –How would you respond? –What strategies would you employ in the long term?

Resources & Links Town & Gown Assoc. of Ontario – Neighbourhood Relations & Off-campus Housing – hood hood

Questions? Lesley McRae –Student Success Coordinator, Centennial College