Work-Integrated Learning Opportunities Growing on the Smart Farm (Literally)

Work-Integrated Learning Opportunities Growing on the Smart Farm (Literally)

Greenhouse quality assessment research project on compost materials led by OCCI intern Megan Wong.

For 25 years, the Compost Technology Centre at Olds College was a receiving ground for municipal green waste, but since taking over management of the facility in 2020, Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) has been transforming the space into a venue for applied research and student-learning activities — as well as successfully producing a large amount of high-quality, ready to sell compost material.

Olds College previously leased out compost centre operations to a third party that offered commercial compost services; however, in 2020, the College decided to permanently close the facility and dedicate the space to academic and research priorities. OCCI began managing the remaining material on site in order to turn it into a finished compost product to sell, and staff and instructors seized this opportunity for work-integrated learning with students and interns.

“Providing valuable work-integrated learning opportunities in applied research with data collection, waste management, reclamation, and quality assessments during the transition and closure of the compost centre is a huge bonus,” says Dr. Joy Agnew, Associate Vice-President, Applied Research at Olds College who is overseeing the closure of the compost centre. “Actively managing and optimizing the compost process was a learning experience for everyone at the College, and our students and research assistants are involved in every step as we produce a saleable, high-quality finished compost product.”

Primarily a hands-on learning and applied research environment, students, instructors, interns and student clubs joined forces with OCCI to ensure proper composting conditions resulted in a high-quality end product.

Passionate about environmental sustainability, Olds College student and OCCI employee Becky Hutchings was a natural fit for monitoring compost centre activities as she finishes classes — which include Reclamation and Remediation, and Environmental Stewardship and Rural Planning. Hutchings performed weekly temperature measurements, compost sampling, and clean-up activities on site. Her work helped optimize the composting process by monitoring carbon levels, moisture content and composition as well as sending samples to the lab for quality testing.

Staff, faculty and students partake in a clean-up activity at the compost centre led by student Becky Hutchings.

“My life’s mission is to help heal the earth and support environmental sustainability. Applying my Olds College education to important projects on campus like managing the compost centre is a great way to combine my passion and education,” says Hutchings.

Olds College Drone Club student members Ben Kabbeke and Keith Huseby performed data collection activities with drones alongside instructors at the compost centre to complete volume calculations and infrared temperature of the materials. Kabbeke and Huseby took RGB (red, green, blue) and thermal imagery with two different drones and used GPS location targets to increase the location and elevation accuracy of the results. The students were then able to generate a map of the surface temperatures and calculate the quantity of compost in windrows in order for OCCI to optimize the composting process.

For her eight-month internship with OCCI through the Adaptation Resilience Training Program, Megan Wong was excited to contribute to research and project planning with a focus on climate change adaptation. Wong completed quality assessment trials by growing Garden Cress (Lepidium Sativum) in the OCCI greenhouse to evaluate the stability and quality of the finished compost for OCCI researchers and potential buyers. Quality assessments — along with regular lab analysis — found the finished compost to be a high quality soil amendment. “Leading a research project at OCCI was an incredible experience. It was amazing to be able to demonstrate how the compost has been transformed into a healthy and viable material to promote plant growth,” says Wong, Project Assistant at OCCI.

The germination trials were so successful, instructors in the Werklund School of Agriculture Technology are now including a semiscientific trial using the compost for an upcoming project through the cloudbased learning platform Olds College Remote Ag Ecosystem (OCRAE). Students will grow one of four different plants (oats, canola, peas or barley) in different mixes of compost and potting soil while each plant is connected to a camera and sensors. This technology illustrates plant growth over time and measures climate and soil moisture while the data streams to the cloud.

Olds College is focused on using the compost centre building and land for applied research and student-learning activities going forward since intake of all material has ended and the compost centre will be permanently closed. If you have questions or comments about the compost site — or are interested in learning more about the high quality compost material ready for purchase — please contact the Olds College Centre for Innovation.