Post one: Introduction

Posted on by
Reply

Hi! Welcome to our blog!

This blog is created by UBC (University of British Columbia) students engaged in the LFS 350 course. The purpose of this blog is to share with others the progress of our research project and some exciting events and news on the Special Olympics Canada main host by UBC in 2014. Throughout the next 10 weeks, we will be working  closely with our community partner from UBC Food Service to  organize a sustainable food procurement of Special Olympics Canada 2014 Summer Games on UBC campus.

The main objective of this project is to find a sustainable food sourcing and food delivery plan for the vendor of the 2014 Special Olympics Canada Summer games. We will also be looking for opportunities in food delivery at the event that will help improve human and ecological wellbeing, as well as creating a food procurement guideline for the event vendors to set a standard.

Our group consist of eight members: Shaoran Li, Mong Xin, Seb Zackowski, Li Tong, Ke Liao, Yuan Shi, Wenbo Liang, and Yuanxi Wang. During our first meeting on September 11, 2013, we have elected Seb Zackowski as our group representative to contact with our community partners. Wenbo Liang will be the blog administrator  responsible for updating our blog. Some ground rules was also established during our first meeting.

Rule #1- Do not procrastinate! Try finish the parts you are responsible for prior to the deadline instead of rushing at the last minute.

Rule #2- Respect others. Be on time for the group meetings. Finish hearing what others has to say before you share your thoughts. Give productive criticisms.

Rule #3- Don’t be afraid to speak up! Ask others if you need help. Share your ideas with other group members.

Rule #4- Be involved with the group. Everyone should contribute to the group project.

After our first group meeting, Seb Zackowski has emailed our community partner and set up our first meeting with our community partner on September 19, 2013. Detail of this meeting will be available on our next blog.

Thanks for reading our first blog post! A new post will be available on our blog every week!

Introduction to LFS 350

Posted on by
Reply

The Land, Food, and Community series is a number of classes that the students of UBC Land and Food Systems take every year.  The students of Land Food and Community II (LFS 350; formerly known as AGSC 350) complete extensive projects on food security issues in British Columbia.  Students work in groups of 6 or 7 to explore issues within their assigned communities and themes, and team up with members of the community to tackle these issues.  In this way, students can engage in their education by learning from community partners and immersing themselves in “real world” situations outside the classroom.  Community Partners can learn about what students are doing and learning at UBC, and can work with students to make a positive impact on their organizations and communities in terms of food security.  The Land and Food Series classes are unique from most other university courses as they emphasize teaching as a “community of learners” and community based research instead of top-down instruction and research.  Students learn from the teaching team, their peers and the communities of British Columbia making for an education that bridges university academics with real world issues.