Durham College (DC) President Don Lovisa, with Susan Todd, dean of the School of Science & Engineering Technology, joined horticulture students at Windreach Farm on Tuesday, August 26 to help yield the first harvest of beets for the Centre for Food (CFF).

As part of the college’s commitment to bring field to fork, the vision of bringing locally sourced, quality produce from field to table, to Durham Region, students have been growing produce at WindReach since May.

Dan Tomarchio and Matt Marrone, students entering their second year of the college’s Horticulture – Food and Farming program, enthusiastically provided Lovisa and Todd with a tour of the field they have been passionately cultivating where, in addition to beets, they have been growing tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, sunflowers, Swiss chard, fennel and more.

Bringing the field to the fork, the group then delivered 50 pounds of freshly picked beets to Benjamin Lewis, manager and chef de cuisine at Bistro ’67, a full-service, teaching-inspired restaurant housed at the CFF, and David Hawey, chef, professor and co-ordinator of the college’s culinary programs. The beets will be used in farm-fresh dishes at Bistro ’67 and by second-year students of the Culinary Management program for a beet salad challenge, in one of their first lab classes.

“Interest in the farm-fresh movement is higher than ever before,” said Todd. “Durham College is helping to answer Durham Region’s increased demand for locally sourced ingredients through our horticulture programs, the Centre for Food and Bistro ’67. We are excited to be offering our students the opportunity to gain hands-on training in everything from plant propagation; soil and plant nutrition; and fruit and vegetable production under a varied range of conditions, to food processing and regulations; entrepreneurship; branding and marketing; and more.”

In addition, the college recently launched Field to Fork: Sowing the Seeds of our Community, a crowdfunding campaign to support the landscaping required at the CFF including the planting of trees, shrubs, fruits, vegetables and arboretum; the purchase of garden tools; a walking path; new soil; and more.

Construction on the college’s first-ever greenhouse is now underway for use by students in the horticulture programs. Designed to accommodate multi-laboratory classes and provide students with a better understanding of the full potential of growing plants and produce all year long, the greenhouse will provide students with a unique opportunity to gain a hands-on understanding of greenhouse design, required control measures, energy consumption and how to work in a controlled environment in both operational and plant production modes.

Durham College (DC) welcomed Thomas Mulcair, leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) and Official Opposition, on Wednesday, August 20. Mulcair visited the college’s Oshawa campus to host a discussion on a series of issues affecting Canadian families in need of childcare with local politicians and members of the community.

Susan Sproul, dean of the college’s School of Health & Community Services, was part of the group invited by Mulcair to be a part of the round table. President Don Lovisa also had the opportunity to meet with Mulcair as DC always welcomes opportunities to advance issues of importance to the college’s students.

Durham College (DC) is excited to announce the launch of Field to Fork: Sowing the Seeds of our Community, it’s first-ever crowdfunding campaign. Inspired by the college’s commitment  to bring field to fork, the vision of bringing locally sourced, quality produce from field to table, to Durham Region, the online campaign aims to garner support from the community for the completion of the landscaping and planting needed at the Centre for Food (CFF). A new learning facility created in direct response to the demand of the local culinary, hospitality, tourism, agriculture and horticulture sectors that opened to students in September 2013, the CFF houses both Bistro ’67, a teaching-inspired restaurant, and Pantry, a unique retail store that brings student-created goods straight from the culinary classroom to the community.

Field to Fork: Sowing the Seeds of our Community offers a unique opportunity to support many aspects of the CFF’s landscaping including the planting of trees, shrubs, fruits, vegetables and arboretum; garden tools; a walking path; new soil; and more, all of which will be used by the college’s CFF students, engaging them in the growing, harvesting, storing, processing, packaging and selling of delicious food.

Crowdfunding works by identifying a specific initiative(s) or project(s) online and making its intended purpose and details available and accessible to prospective donors.  Interested individuals have the option to choose any project(s) they would like to support.

Supported by ambassador and celebrity chef Jamie Kennedy, the CFF can accommodate approximately 900 students studying in programs based on the field-to-fork concept, completing the full cycle of farming to the preparation, serving and celebration of food. This includes:

• Cook – Apprenticeship
• Culinary Management
• Culinary Skills
• Event Management
• Horticulture – Food and Farming
• Horticulture Technician
• Hospitality Management – Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism
• Hospitality Skills
• Pharmaceutical and Food Science Technology
• Pharmaceutical and Food Science Technology (compressed, fast-track)
• Special Events Planning

“From a philanthropic perspective it is our hope that Field to Fork: Sowing the Seeds of our Community will support the link between the college and our community by offering donors an opportunity to provide financial assistance to any project where they have a special interest,” said David Chambers, associate vice-president, Office of Development, DC.

Officially launching today, the campaign is being rolled out to alumni, donors, faculty, staff, students, community members and the general public. For more information on how the college is changing the way our local communities eat and grow food, please visit the Field to Fork: Sowing the Seeds of our Community website.

“There are 15 landscaping projects to choose from including a Culinary Herb Garden, Kitchen Garden, Arboretum, Pollinator Garden and more,” added Chambers. “By helping to support the completion of the landscaping at the Centre for Food, donors will help us strengthen field to fork in Durham Region including providing our students with first-hand experience in the planting, growing and cultivating of plants, fruits and vegetables via enriched, real-world curriculum and an outdoor extension to the indoor classroom.”

Although there have been no reported cases of the Ebola Virus in Canada, the Campus Health Centre is taking this opportunity to inform everyone about the signs and symptoms, as well as the possible methods of transmission of this viral disease.

The Ebola Virus is a viral illness primarily transmitted through direct contact with blood and body fluids/excretions of infected people, as well as contact with environmental surfaces contaminated with these fluids.

Symptoms are similar to most other viral infections such as: fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat associated with recent travel to and from endemic areas. Symptoms usually occur within two to 21 days of being infected.

Please be mindful that the Public Health Agency of Canada has issued a Travel Health Notice advising Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel to Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

We encourage all members of the Durham College community to continue to exercise good hygiene and remember that close observation is essential in detecting this virus.

Please refer to the Durham Region Health Department for more information.

On July 30, Durham College (DC) announced its new Experience DC campaign, a progressive marketing campaign launching Tuesday, September 2 and running through August 2015.  Featuring a unique group of DC students who share their college experience through a website, personal interaction and a variety of social media platforms including blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Experience DC is designed to bring the college experience to current and prospective students; parents; teachers; and the community.

Beginning today, Experience DC is introducing its team of students starting with James, known for his quirky and fun-loving nature and fondness for being behind or in front of the camera.

A new team member will be revealed every weekday until Friday, August 29 so be sure to visit the Experience DC website to get to know James and the rest of this incredible group of students to follow and share in their experience over the coming year. 

At Durham College (DC), the student experience comes first, a mission that we are taking to heart with the introduction of the Experience DC campaign this fall!

Launching Tuesday, September 2 and running through August 2015, Experience DC will feature a unique group of DC students, each with their own perspective, who will be sharing their college experience through a variety of media platforms and personal interaction including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This includes the new DC Experience website where current and prospective students; parents; teachers; and the community can connect with these amazing students – representing a wide cross-section of programs, personal interests and personalities – and share in their experiences over the coming year.

Please visit the Experience DC website to meet this dynamic group and follow and enjoy their stories this fall.

In the meantime, check out the site for a sneak peek at what Experience DC is all about!