BRANTFORD – Six Nations Polytechnic (SNP) revealed a year’s worth of renovations at its Brantford Campus that made the building more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. This work was made possible through a $5 million grant from the Government of Canada’s Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, which was announced last November.
With strong support from Sheldon Levy, formerly Deputy Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD), local city councillors, Six Nations leadership and staff, SNP’s Brantford Campus now has LED energy efficient lights throughout the entire campus, which are anticipated to generate more than $2.3 million in electricity savings over the next 10 years. Another energy efficient feature that may not be as evident to visitors is the 400-kilowatt solar net metering rooftop project.
SNP worked with Brant Renewable Energy, a leader in energy generation and conservation projects, to design and implement both of these green initiatives.
Other renovations include technological infrastructure, bringing students the best of modern learning experiences. SNP’s Brantford location now has campus-wide Wi-Fi, brand new computer labs, video conferencing capabilities, as well as a variety of printers (including 3D), to allow learners to design, code, build, and print prototypes.
Learning spaces have been vastly improved and approximately 777 metres squared of small spaces were updated and repurposed. The new, larger multifunction rooms give SNP additional flexibility to deliver new programs and to carry out research (scientific and academic) and innovative projects. This includes the new commercial kitchen that was designed and supplied by Russel-Hendrix Food Service Equipment, which can accommodate an intimate culinary program. It features a walk-in refrigerator, walk-in freezer, and all the cooking equipment for today’s aspiring chefs.
“At SNP, student satisfaction is our top priority, so it’s no surprise that we were recently ranked number one for student happiness on CampusRankings.com,” said Rebecca Jamieson, President/CEO, Six Nations Polytechnic. “We believe in our students above all else, and hope that these renovations will foster a learning environment that will lead to even greater success and happiness for every one of them.”