Collaborative Track Record

The concept of I-SEA was initially proposed by a team of graduate students from George Washington University (Washington, D.C.) who visited Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada in the summer of 2004 for a study abroad MBA course in Sustainable Communities and Organizations.  The following summer, another team of graduate students in the same course provided additional analyses and recommendations for such an Institute, which was established during the fall of 2005, by Mark Starik (the course instructor) and his wife, Margery Moore.  In addition other teams of students, during those summer study abroad courses, also provided important sustainability consulting information to a number of Salt Spring Island organizations, including the Capital Regional District, the Islands Trust, ArtSpring, the Centre for Economic Development, the Chamber of Commerce, the Earth Festival Society, the One Tonne Challenge, and Core Inn. 

The Institute intends to re-invite George Washington University sustainability-oriented graduate students each summer to interact with business, government, and nonprofit organizations in the Gulf Islands, BC region, and is very interested in inviting students from other universities and colleges to participate in similar (but separate) courses in the region.  The Institute also welcomes other organizations in the region to interact with these sustainability-oriented students.

Past and Current Projects that students have participated in on Salt Spring Island in 2004 and 2005:

ArtSpring - Strategic Plan for Organization

Salt Spring Centre for Economic Development - Marketing Plan for Simply Salt Spring

Earth Festival Society - Salt Spring Transportation Alternatives

Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce - Sustainable Accommodations Guide for Salt Spring Island

One Tonne Challenge - Car Free Ganges Day and Alternatives on Salt Spring Island

Friends of the Institute for Sustainability:
-       Sustainable Tourism Strategies; and Core Inn - Marketing Plan for Reopening.
-       Sustainability Futures for Salt Spring
-       Salt Spring Community