To the President and Board of Governors of Fleming College,
It was with serious concern that the Committee of the Regional Centre of Expertise on Sustainability Education (RCE) learned of significant program cuts to the School of Environment and Natural Resources. In 2016, our region (encompassing Peterborough, the City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton) was designated by an international body as only one of 3 regions in Ontario, and 8 regions in Canada, to join over 154 regions worldwide to share expertise on sustainability education. The designation was the result of a joint partnership between Trent University and Fleming College, local community groups and supported by municipal councils and economic development groups across the region. A key part of that designation was the over 40 years of expertise in environmental education and technology offered by the Frost Campus to provide applied training to meet employment demands in the region and beyond. Programs including Ecosystem Management Technician and Technology and Ecological Restoration were the first of their kind in Canada attracting students from across the country. Graduates are sought after for their expertise and have been highly successful in gaining employment because of it. Many graduates go on to complete university degrees in specialized fields thanks to the close relationship with sister programs at Trent University including the Memorandum of Understanding between Trent University and Fleming College for the Ecological Restoration program. Further, these programs have established important community and business partnerships that benefit from student engagement while they are still in school.
We are a time when serious issues such as unprecedented forest fires, floods, extreme weather events, water quality degradation, biodiversity loss and food insecurity are having devastating impacts for communities across our country. At the same time we are seeing continued growth in jobs in green economic development and the regenerative economy movement. Graduates with the expertise offered by these programs at the Frost campus are needed now more than ever. Our understanding is that, while cuts are being attributed to changes in the numbers of international students being accepted to Canadian institutions, these programs are not dependant on international student enrollment and continue to provide revenue for the College. More broadly, these cuts serve to diminish Fleming’s reputation as an international centre of expertise that students come to for high quality environmental education.
From an academic, business, community and environmental perspective we cannot see the justification for cuts to these program and we respectfully ask you to reconsider your decision.
Sincerely,
Jacob Rodenburg,Tegan Moss, Carlotta James, Linda Slavin, Cam Douglas, Elder Dorothy Taylor, Jane Gray
on behalf of The Coordinating Committee for the RCE