Land, Food and Community (LFC) III:

Leadership in Campus Food System Sustainability

LFS 450: 2024-2025

Schedule: Term 2 - Wednesdays 2:00-4:50 pm

Main Classroom: West Mall Swing Space Building (SWNG) (2175 West Mall):  Room 409   

Additional Classroom Spaces: Swing Space Building (SWNG), Rooms: 406 & 408 

Acknowledgement

Land & Food Systems (LFS) 450 is held on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.  The University of British Columbia’s “Point Grey” Campus in English, is land claimed by the British as a Colonial Admiralty reserve in the mid-nineteenth century and occupied by the UBC since 1914. These lands have been sites of learning for many generations before UBC stood here and have their own Musqueam names. I recognize that that as teachers, learners, researchers and individuals we have obligations to ensure the work carried out throughout our course ensures that we not only acknowledge but also work towards upholding and understanding more about this important relationship and help realize the commitments in UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan, and the Musqueam-UBC Memorandum of Affiliation, and we practice active dedication to more just and accountable relations and practices.  

Contacts

Teaching Team:

• Liska Richer (she/her), Course Instructor | Contact: liska.richer@ubc.ca    Office Hours: By appointment (minimum 24 hours advance notice). Virtual, phone or in-person.  
• Erica McFarland, Teaching Assistant| Contact:  Office Hours: By appointment (minimum 24 hours advance notice). Virtual, phone or in-person.    

UBC SEEDS Sustainability Program |Campus + Community Planning - Representatives:

• Laure Dupuy, Climate Action & Food Systems Applied Research Coordinator | laure.dupuy@ubc.ca
• Georgia Stanley, Climate Resilience & Biodiversity Applied Research Coordinator| georgia.stanley@ubc.ca
• Josh Travers, Circular Economy Applied Research Coordinator | josh.travers@ubc.ca

Course Description

Land, food and community are central components of all societies. The intensification of broad and deep impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, health pandemics, human and nature rights injustices, the unprecedented rise in acute food insecurity, soaring food prices and cost of living are a few critical and defining food system issues facing human and the ecological communities today. The food system is in crisis and the effects are evident and being experienced at global to localized scales. The study of interactions between land, food and community can offer insights into issues associated with these interconnected crises, and provide strategies aimed at solving them.    

Land and Food Systems (LFS) 450 (Land, Food, and Community - LFC III) uses an applied learning and a professional team-based approach with students to gain knowledge and skills that can contribute to the critical examination and active advancement of a just, secure, healthy, resilient and sustainable food system. LFS 450 provides students opportunities to exercise leadership, apply skills and concepts acquired in previous Land, Food and Community (LFC) courses, in addition to areas of specialization and other academic, professional and lived experiences to address food system challenges in an integrative, multi-stakeholder and multidisciplinary setting. LFS 450, like all the courses in the LFC series, is based on a “community-of- learners” approach that utilizes real-world issues in the discovery and application of knowledge. One of the primary underlying assumptions in the “community-of-learners” approach is that the diversity within our classroom is a precious learning resource available to the teaching team and students.  This class is comprised of people with a variety of personal lived and professional experiences and expertise, diverse socio-cultural backgrounds, professional experiences, and a range of academic specializations. This diversity is a precious resource and the dynamics of difference – under conditions of safety and respect – open up new and richer vistas to any subject matter. 

A guiding and central course theme includes the envisioning, planning, and implementation of localized projects aimed at advancing a just, sustainable, secure and healthy food systems for people and planet at the UBC-Vancouver campus. Opportunities are provided throughout the course to engage in the critical examination of food-related academic literature and food system issues experienced in the UBC-Vancouver Campus and broader regional and global contexts. A key emphasis is on the collaborative development and application of core professional skills and practical assets through engaging in a professional team-based project that incorporate opportunities to develop, refine and apply skills in project planning and management, community-based and action orientated research methodologies, research methods (secondary and primary), whole-systems thinking and applications, policy development and implementation, communication, and leadership.   

In the main course professional team-based assignment students will engage with the UBC food system issues by acting as junior professional consultants with food system practitioners and various community partners to provide an assessment and solutions for specific issues related to the food system. Community-Based Action Research (CBAR) is the primary pedagogy and methodology that guides teaching, learning and research in this main assignment. CBAR enables students as researchers in this class to conduct research by collaborating and exploring solutions to challenges with the community experiencing and/or affected by the issues identified, and with the aim to foster tangible change and positive impacts. In addition to a focus on applied and community-based research skills development, provision of opportunities with students to engage in all phases of a project management cycle is a central course theme, and will include meeting with clients and other stakeholders, project ideation and initiation, proposal development, project scheduling and task management, production of interim and final written and verbal reports with the clients and other stakeholders. Students and the teaching team act as peer reviewers in an open environment. All assignments and activities aim to strengthen the skills through the integration of academic and professional avenues.  

The format of the class will consist of lectures, discussions and group work. Whole class lectures and discussions will take place in the main LFS 450 course classroom. Smaller group work with opportunities for teaching team mentorship will mainly take place in additional classrooms (locations noted above).  

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of LFS 450, students will be able to:

• • Identify personal values, strengths, weaknesses, and leadership attributes  
  • Gain and apply knowledge that can contribute to professional development building    
  • Identify and critically evaluate food system sustainability and related issues  
  • Develop substantive knowledge in one or more areas of campus operational sustainability and wellbeing, including the practical institutional constraints and opportunities that can contribute to positive change 
  • Plan, critically evaluate and initiate activities that can alleviate issues posed by the interconnected global climate, nature, human health and wellbeing crises and affect concrete positive changes towards food system sustainability at a local scale 
  • Learn and apply principles of Community-Based Action Research methodological approaches   
  • Demonstrate proficiency in conducting secondary and primary research methods 
  • Learn and apply principles of whole systems approaches to practical local issues   
  • Demonstrate competence in project management skills and applications  
  • Learn to co-develop and implement a realistic project plan to address issues that are of practical importance to the university  
  • Learn and apply skills to work effectively with a client from an organization and members of a group towards shared interests  
  • Communicate effectively and professionally in written and verbal form with various audiences, ranging from non-academic to academic food system practitioners and affiliated community members  

Assignment Grade Profile

*Team-based work (total 60% of grade) is subject to a peer evaluation (multiplier of 0 to 1.1) and is to be completed at the end of the term after all team-based work is complete. See full description under peer evaluation on Canvas.   

Course Schedule

University & Course Policies 

UBC supports student success, learning and health, including ways to access resources  and  support in the event of a crisis, reflected in values and policies outlined in the following statement:

UBC provides resources to support student learning and to maintain healthy lifestyles but recognizes that sometimes crises arise and so there are additional resources to access including those for survivors of sexual violence. UBC values respect for the person and ideas of all members of the academic community. Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities and for religious, spiritual and cultural observances. UBC values academic honesty and students are expected to acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold the highest academic standards in all of their actions. Details of the policies and how to access support are available here  

Academic Integrity: A core practice of academic integrity is that we acknowledge contributions of others work to our own, including the use of appropriate citations and accurately acknowledgement of contributors. Course work and research carried out in the class must be carried out ethically, and any instance of taking credit for other’s work whether intentionally or unintentionally may and often will result in a grade of zero and reporting these instances to the department. The practice and related practices of Academic Integrity are reflected in the UBC Calendar (see “Academic Honesty,” “Academic Misconduct,” and “Disciplinary Measures,” and Student Declaration and Responsibility). Please refer to writing resources such as Online Writing Lab (OWL) for how to reference the work of others. The UBC Library provides resources to explain what plagiarism is and what it is not, and information on how to avoid it. UBC’s policies and procedures on Academic Integrity can be found here.

Generative AI: Students are permitted to use AI tools for formative work such as gathering information or brainstorming but may not use it on any assessed work or final submission. Generative AI tools, including ChatGPT and other similar tools, used in assessed course work and submissions is not allowed and would be considered academic misconduct.  

Turnitin: For this course, some of your assignments will be handed in via Turnitin.com. It is encouraged that you self-check for plagiarism to help with prevention. This service ensures academic integrity by scanning submitted papers for material copied from a variety of sources (including public websites, paper mills, essays/assignments previously submitted and published works, such as journals and books). For more information on the UBC policy regarding the Turnitin service, see the webpage at Turnitin | Teaching with Technology  (Centre for Teaching and Learning) 

Late Policy: 5% per day (including weekends) will be deducted for late assignments. Assignments will generally not be accepted after one week from the due date.  Exceptions to this policy will be only considered in advance of the due date and under exceptional circumstances. Late arrival to class must be justified in advance as in any other professional environment.  

Readings & Resources

Please see Canvas for information on course readings and supporting thematic resources.

Assignments

A summary for each assignment component of the final course mark is provided below. Please refer to Assignments on Canvas for comprehensive and final assignment descriptions and evaluation rubrics.

Participation – Individual Work (15%)

Your participation will be evaluated throughout the duration of the course by the teaching team. Key participation assessment components include:  Consistent and strong observed engagement in class plenary and small group work discussions, showing up to class and group work on time and being prepared, listening attentively and contributing actively (speaking up, asking questions, contributing to course and group discussions and activities, etc.),  active contribution towards a positive, inclusive and supportive collective teaching and learning environment, contributions to Canvas discussion boards and submissions of group IPeer reviews,  submission and quality of reflection demonstrated in individual participation mini-assignments, and demonstrating an outstanding attendance record (factoring in any legitimate absences) . Demonstrating excellent participation in each of these components is necessary to obtain full participation marks. 

Practitioner Literature Review – Food Issue: Individual Work (25%)

Overview:

As an emerging graduate in the workplace, you will likely be asked to provide an overview of a topic to inform decision making before you can begin work on a project. Work environments are increasingly collaborative, characterized by teams-based work cultures, consisting of people with diverse specializations, expertise and experiences.  Frequently, you will be asked to present information to an audience broader than your supervisor, such as a team made up of a diversity of stakeholders who may or may not have content matter expertise or experience in the topic. As such, you must able to communicate effectively in ways that are accessible to a diversity of audiences. You must also be able to get up to speed sufficiently enough to demonstrate a solid understanding of a topic including key issues, applicable and leading policies and promising practices that can guide next steps – whether for decision making or other actions. Your practitioner literature review will provide an opportunity for you to: 

• Identify at least one issue associated with your group project and connect it to broader policies and practices at different levels (local, regional, national, global, etc.)   

• Showcase your ability to find and articulate relationships between an issue to relevant policies & practices  

• Demonstrate your understanding of an issue  

• Practice writing in straightforward, practical and accessible language 

• Conduct a "deep dive" exploration of an issue independently, and at the same time provide an opportunity for you to draw on this independent research to support your group project (e.g. informing your approach, literature review, promising practices, environmental scan, recommendations, etc.) 

UBC Food System Sustainability Project:  Group Work (Total 60% - see breakdown below)

Overview & Requirements for Assignment Participation

The UBC Food System Sustainability Project is the main course group assignment that involves undertaking applied research. You will take on a researcher role in this assignment under the UBC Behaviorial Research Ethics Board (BREB) course-based ethics application as part of the UBC’s Office of Research Services (ORS).  The BREB expects that all researchers, including students conducting course-based research projects, will follow UBC’s Communicable Disease Prevention Framework and take precautions against infectious diseases; this includes doing health checks for themselves and their participants before engaging in research. The BREB also expects that researchers will accommodate participant requests for increased infectious disease protections (see the course Main Consent Form available on Canvas for further details on “Researcher Duty to Accommodate”).  

Project Audiences

Your project has multiple audiences.  The first, and most important, consists of your clients with whom the Community-Based Action Research is being conducted. Your project clients are responsible for reviewing your work and considering the potential for your findings and recommendations to affect their decision making, practices and policy implementation or formation. The second audience is Campus + Community Planning’s SEEDS Sustainability Program, who are responsible for following up on your report with the project clients as well as other relevant stakeholders, including various sustainability committees and policy representatives to determine implementation potential of your findings and recommendations, and opportunities for further research and action. The third audience is the teaching team who will evaluate your work and make recommendations for publication. The fourth audience is the general public who will have access to your report if it is published.  

Assignment Components

1. Project Proposal  (15%)

Your group will be responsible for developing a formal Project Proposal. Well-written proposals are key to a successful project and are an integral component of project management. It is expected that you share a section of your Project Proposal (section VI: Research Proposal) with your clients and SEEDS representative for review and feedback to ensure that you have sought and incorporated their feedback before moving ahead with secondary or primary data collection. Well-written proposals are key to a successful project and are an integral component of project management. This is an opportunity for your group to practice writing a formal project proposal, gain feedback to ensure that you are on the right track, and get approval from your course instructor on your proposed research methods.   

As a "researcher" conducting research affiliated with UBC, each group member is required to complete online training, including the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) tutorial Course in Research Ethics (CORE). If you have not done so already in previous course or roles, please complete the online tutorial TCOS 2: CORE-2022 (this is the latest version as of January 2025) and submit your “Certificate of Completion” through Canvas dropbox PRIOR to conducting any data collection.  

2. Project Interim Presentation (5%)

Your group will be responsible for conducting an interim presentation before your final presentation. The objective of this presentation is to provide an opportunity for you to practice professional communication in front of your peers, gain preliminary feedback on both content and presentation style prior to your final presentation and submission of your final report.   

3. Final Presentation (10%) and Report (30%)

Knowledge exchange involves both the translation and mobilization of knowledge. The culmination of your group work will result in a formal final report and presentation.  

The final presentation is an opportunity to verbally translate your work in an engaging way with the class, project clients, and other invited campus stakeholders. Sharing your findings and recommendations will provide a critical opportunity for you to inform decision making and actions with your client group(s) and other stakeholders.    

The final group report serves as your final project communication deliverable. It will serve as your most significant opportunity in the course to comprehensively convey your project with your clients, teaching team and the general public. Your report will be considered for publication (pending quality) on the SEEDS Sustainability Library and UBC cIRcle Digital Repository.  The SEEDS Sustainability Library is the most frequently visited page on the UBC Sustainability website and is referenced from other peer institutions and practitioners all over the world to inform their practices and publications. You will have the opportunity to cite this project on your resume and in interviews. This publication can serve as a formal public record that you can reference as an example of your experience conducting applied Community-Based Action Research, experience with research design and various mixed research methods, working with diverse stakeholders, engaging in full project management life-cycle, and ideally your ability to produce demonstrable results, such as mobilizing research in ways that can inform decision-making, practices, and policies.     

All affiliated project documents must be submitted upon report due date, including: 1) consent forms as a separate file submission to your instructor, 2) data (raw or compiled), 3) data collection tools (interview and focus group scripts, questionnaires, etc.), 4) recruitment tools (advertisements to participate in a focus group, questionnaire, etc.), and 5) any other work generated (e.g. guideline, strategy, inventory, etc.) in your report appendices.  

4. UBC Food System Sustainability Project: Peer Reviews (mandatory)    

While group work can be rewarding it can be challenging and unequally shared.  Your TA and instructor will monitor your group to assist groups that are experiencing challenges. Similar to other professional environments, if any group member is experiencing team issues, you are encouraged to be proactive and approach the teaching team to report an issue that you would like advice or other support to help resolve. At the end of the course, each student will submit a confidential peer evaluation through an iPeer form on Canvas within 24 hours of the final group report submission, required to obtain participation points. 

The peer review is a confidential evaluation of your group members, and the purpose is for you to assess and assign a “multiplier value” to each of your group members (yourself included). This value is determined according to an honest, respectful and reflective account of your personal experience with each member as you worked together on group projects throughout the course. Factors to consider include, but are not limited to, the level of participation and contribution to the progress of group work, a person’s ability to be a team player, the ability to lead and coordinate the group’s efforts or someone’s ability to resolve conflict and promote effective team collaboration. 

The peer evaluation uses a “multiplier value” that works to reward those that helped to make the team work effectively and penalize those that impeded the group’s progress because of their behaviour, lack of interest or genuine effort. The values you may choose are 0 to 1.1. The value of 1.0 means that a person contributed equally to the group effort and deserves the full marks for your group’s projects through the term. Members who did extra work or worked especially well could receive up to 1.1; members who did less should receive less than 1.0, in proportion to the amount of work or quality of work they contributed.  

The teaching team will use these scores to determine a final multiplier for the proposal, interim and final presentations, and final report. 

Please refer to the Assignment Guidelines posted on Canvas for link to the Peer Review Form. 

Copyright

All materials of this course (course handouts, lecture slides, assessments, course readings, etc.) are the intellectual property of the Course Instructor or licensed to be used in this course by the copyright owner. Redistribution of these materials by any means without permission of the copyright holder(s) constitutes a breach of copyright and may lead to academic discipline. Students may not record class activities without prior permission of the instructor.