Durham College (DC) launched a unique partnership with the Whitby In Bloom (WIB) Committee for this year’s Garden Tour, which was held on July 16.

DC students from the Horticulture Technician and Horticulture – Food and Farming programs and faculty and Master Gardeners from the college’s Science & Engineering Technology Program Advisory Committee participated in the event, which gave the public the opportunity to tour many spectacular gardens in both Whitby and Brooklin.

The Garden Tour featured the Centre for Food’s (CFF) planting fields and greenhouse as one of 10 touring sites. At the CFF, participants explored the pollinator garden where students learn to identify types of plants, the hoop house which is used for fall and winter gardening, and the 200-tree orchard featuring five different types of apple trees.

“Our students and employees really enjoyed being part of the Whitby In Bloom event because it gave them a chance to meet with members of the local community and to explain the unique facilities we have at the Centre for Food,” said Susan Todd, dean of the School and Science & Engineering Technology. “We know that thousands of people pass by our Whitby campus every week and may often have been tempted in the past to stop by and learn more about the Centre for Food and our programs. This event was a great opportunity to let them learn what we’re all about.”​

In lieu of admission fees, committee members asked attendees to donate non-perishable food items for local food banks to drop-off boxes provided at each tour location. In addition to tours, WIB offered free garden seminars by industry professionals at Brooklin United Church in Brooklin. These included:

• Mark Cullen, gardening guru and television star, who spoke about the ever-changing methods of gardening
• Paul Zammit, Nancy Eaten director of Horticulture at Toronto Botanical Garden, who discussed gardening in small spaces
• Vicki Taylor-Scott, expert garden designer, who explored the endless possibilities of container gardening

DC is proud to showcase the college’s sustainable living initiatives through programs promoting environmental responsibility, such as WIB, and would like to thank all those who volunteered and participated.

Durham College (DC) Board of Governor Nneka Bowen joined other distinguished and remarkable individuals honoured during the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women gala ceremony at The Brighton Convention and Event Centre on June 16. One hundred women from across Canada were celebrated for their social, educational, political and professional accomplishments.

Her nomination for the award reads like a world-class resumé, highlighting her tireless commitment to education through a position on DC’s Board of Governors, among a number of other impressive achievements. Namely her leadership as vice-president, Commercial Banking at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) of Durham Region, helping local businesses grow; her contributions to the development of students through hiring and mentoring summer co-op students and creating RBC projects for UOIT capstone students; and her involvement with a number of other local organizations.

“My sons are my greatest inspirations,” Bowen said. “Having grown up with nothing but a dream for what I wanted my future to look like, I am driven every day and with every breath to give them the life I didn’t have growing up; to live as an example for them to follow and aspire to achieve and contribute even greater than my most ambitious dreams.”

Bowen’s motivation stems from those who came before her, like former federal Liberal cabinet minister Jean Augustine and the mentors and managers she had at RBC. She credits the support and encouragement she received from both of her teams at RBC and DC as the source of her leadership and mentorship philosophy, with inclusivity as a major cornerstone.

Asked about her secret to success, Bowen offered a piece of wisdom she gives her children: “Never feel entitled; work towards your definition of success, earn it, achieve it, do not apologize for it, and pay it forward.”

Even with all her tremendous achievements, Bowen sees the award as a call-to-action to do more to help others live up to their full potential; something she’s perfectly positioned for on DC’s Board, her team at RBC, and the surrounding communities.

Durham College (DC) Interactive Media Design students Christopher Chai and Zachary Weaver are the proud winners of the Interaction Design category in the Best of the Best Student Showcase at Digifest, Toronto’s three-day international festival celebrating digital creativity. The students’ winning design, the fully interactive Unreal Museum Showcase, was an engaging way for participants to experience history and learning.

The unique Best of the Best Student Showcase brought together exciting work from the brightest student minds across Ontario, and at the forefront of it all was the Unreal Museum Showcase. Powered by the Unreal Engine and Leap Motion Gesture Control, users had the opportunity to explore and interact with the museum displays in an immersive, fully 3D environment.

Taking a new, extremely hands-on approach to learning, guests were encouraged to touch, manipulate and control exhibition objects at their own pace. From ancient Roman history to the fine arts, the Unreal Museum Showcase made learning a very real, very fun experience.

Requiring a partnership to operate, one user controls a pair of 3D hands with a gesture sensing device, while the other navigates the museum with an ordinary video game controller. The hands can touch and hold on to fully rendered models of sculptures, ancient weapons and other pieces, or activate media such as sound clips or videos by pressing virtual buttons within the application.

“Digifest was the first time I was able to show off something I was really proud of,” said Chai. “It was great seeing all the visitors playing about with the project, they all seemed so engaged – especially the smaller kids.”

Chai and Weaver’s Unreal Museum Showcase was one of 30 student projects from 10 institutions across Ontario, spanning categories such as graphic communication, interactive gaming, mobile app development, visual and interactive art, and web design. Hundreds of the most renowned Canadian and international designers attend the Student Showcase every year, making it an incredible opportunity for students to expose their creativity to the biggest names in their industries.

Creating and presenting the Unreal Museum Showcase was a serious challenge, but the two winners came prepared. The Interactive Media Design program gives students all the tools and skills needed to become masters in the world of animated and digital design.

In 2015, Durham College (DC) Horticulture – Food and Farming first-year student Alisha Kingsley found a job on Kijiji. Hoping to earn some experience in her chosen field before starting at DC, she connected with Jason Atkins and Brenda Brown, two Whitby residents who wanted to grow and enjoy home-grown food with friends and family throughout the year. The duo planned to build a greenhouse that utilized a 760-gallon aquaponics system to feed crops placed in raised beds, and Kingsley was brought in to ensure its success.

She was appointed to supervise every aspect of the project including construction operations and material, installation of the water and feeding systems and daily maintenance and care of each crop. It was a task she happily accepted and one that has proven to be an ongoing challenge, making it the perfect way for her to hone her skills and master her trade. Kingsley has faced a number of setbacks that only a project like this could present – excavating the pit where the greenhouse now stands took 100 hours alone – but she views every one of these experiences as an opportunity to learn.

“My DC education has run parallel with the practical experience from the ‘mini farm’, and my main goal in both is to learn,” said Kingsley. “I’ve learned about the families of crops, their needs, and what I need to do to grow delicious food.”

Construction of the greenhouse was completed some time ago, but Kingsley’s work hasn’t finished. Troubleshooting occupies a large portion of her time as she cares for each individual crop, monitoring its needs and special nutrition requirements and maintaining the aquaponics system that feeds the greenhouse. As the warm weather begins to arrive, Kingsley must be on the lookout for pests and disease that could damage the crops, while her upcoming summer project with Atkins and Brown will shortly bring the added challenge of leaving the greenhouse and growing plants outdoors.

“Alisha was the best thing that could have happened to this project. We all underestimated what it would take to build a greenhouse,” remarked Brown. “One scoop of dirt, one piece of wood, one pane of glass at a time, it came together. Alisha’s ability to problem solve has proven to be invaluable in the flexibility required to get it done.”

Using all the knowledge she gained through this project and her first year of studies, Kingsley is working with Atkins and Brown to create a permaculture garden complete with fruit trees and perennial crops, doing so in such a way that ensures the plants grow harmoniously and no materials are wasted.

“After finishing my first year I now understand all aspects of my due diligence as a farmer and I can make educated decisions building a business of my own. Making the decision to attend DC has set my farming plans in motion,” she said.

Students enrolled in Durham College’s (DC) art programs prepared a glowing display for the ninth annual DC student work exhibit at the Whitby Station Gallery. The exhibition ran until May 22, with a special reception and awards presentation on May 19. Admission to the Station Gallery is free and open to all lovers of art in the community.

This year’s display featured more than 200 stunning works across a variety of mediums, spanning all three years of DC’s Fine Arts – Advanced program, and the one-year Foundations in Art and Design program. Student volunteers joined Fine Arts program co-ordinator Sean McQuay and gallery curator Olexander Wlasenko in greeting nearly 250 guests during the opening weekend and hundreds more over the course of the show.

Shows from previous years have been very popular with the public, making the student gallery a fantastic way for DC students to show their creativity and talent to the community. Every year, the event proves to be one of the best retention and recruitment tools available to each of the participating programs by showing students just how far their ability and enthusiasm will take them.

DC’s Foundations in Art and Design program acts as a stepping stone for students, introducing them to basic techniques and principles of aesthetic appeal, allowing the choice to branch into any aspect of visual art. Similarly, the Fine Arts – Advanced program offers a wide range of knowledge in visual arts by encouraging students to experiment with a variety of mediums, materials and techniques, giving budding artists the confidence and skills required to lead a successful career in arts and visual communication.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) recently selected June MacDonald-Jenkins, a Nursing program faculty member, to help develop its standardized licensing exams for entry-level registered and practical nurses (RN and PN).The Nursing program is offered collaboratively by Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

MacDonald-Jenkins participated in the NCSBN’s National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) item (exam question) writing panel March 7 through 10 in Chicago, Illinois.

“It was an honour to take part in the NCLEX Item Writing panel,” said MacDonald-Jenkins. “This was a wonderful opportunity to network with other nursing professionals on a national and international level, and to demonstrate the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s and Durham College’s commitment to preparing students for the NCLEX exam.”

Nursing boards in the U.S. and Canada use the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN to determine whether a candidate is prepared to enter the nursing field after graduating from an accredited nursing program.

Each year, hundreds of nurse educators, clinicians and managers help create the exam by participating in development panels. The NCSBN selects qualified volunteer applicants based on experience working with entry-level nurses, clinical specialty and nursing expertise to fill the following positions:

• Item writers: Create the questions administered in the exams.
• Item reviewers: Examine the questions the item writers create.

Canadian nurses represent 20 per cent of the volunteers invited to participate.

Volunteers are approved by their provincial/territorial regulatory body. The panels take place throughout the year in Chicago.