NSCC Sydney Waterfront Campus Strives for RHFAC Gold
Students and visitors to Nova Scotia Community College’s (NSCC) new Sydney Waterfront Campus, no matter their ability, can now participate in everything it has to offer. This past September, the campus opened, and it is one of the most accessible buildings in the province, aiming for Rick Hansen Accessibility CertificationTM Gold.
One of NSCC’s values is accessibility, it is at the core of their efforts to transform Nova Scotia, one learner at a time. NSCC “commit[s] to opening pathways and providing equitable opportunities for students to engage fully in our programs and services.” Creating this campus to a higher standard of accessibility is something that NSCC is very proud of.
Targeting RHFAC Gold
Accessibility has been at the forefront of the project from the start.
“In the beginning, prior to the design and development of Sydney Waterfront Campus, the design team met with the community, including people from the disability, Deaf, and Neurodivergent communities in Sydney to gather input and share lived experiences to help inform on an accessible design for the campus,” Melissa MacKenzie, RHFAC Professional and Facilities Support Technician at NSCC, said of the project.
RHFAC is a rating and recognition program that measures the meaningful accessibility of a site based on the holistic user experience of people with varying disabilities. It is a program designed to challenge building owners and operators to go beyond code minimum to embrace innovative solutions to make their sites universally accessible.
This school is not new to RHFAC and has quite a storied past with the work being done at RHF. NSCC already has two campuses that have achieved RHFAC Certified status – NSCC Kingstec Campus and NSCC Institute of Technology Campus. Further, the RHFAC Professional Training course has been held out of NSCC for many years, taught by Kristen Habermehl.
NSCC truly strives to live its values.
The New Sydney Waterfront Campus
Melissa explained that the team that designed the campus wanted to be proactive rather than reactive and build for accessibility from the start. Many of the features on this new campus exemplify this effort.
One important feature is the emergency alert system. When there is an emergency, the campus “is notified through the flash of strobes installed throughout the building and by email when a pull is activated and when the situation is resolved”, Melissa detailed. Beyond the visual alarms and emails, there are LED light signs located throughout campus that will provide updates in a written format.
“All of these measures alert people when there is an emergency, especially people who are Deaf and hard of hearing as well as people using loud equipment and wearing earplugs and sound cancelling headphones.”
Another exciting feature was to incorporate the student body into the vibrant setting on which the campus was built. Poised against Sydney Harbour, the campus has wonderful access to the waterfront. To ensure everyone had access to this, NSCC built a boardwalk along the coastline to encourage gatherings and viewing opportunities to the water.
The work doesn't stop here. NSCC is committed to learning more and continuing to improve access throughout its new campus.
“NSCC recognizes that there will be a need to keep up with emerging innovative technologies, standards and approaches to removing barriers and creating accessible learning and working environments,” Melissa said. “NSCC is ready to continue the momentum, to be a leader in accessibility centered with equity, diversity, and inclusion in mind.”
Accessibility is Part of the Culture
Melissa took RHFAC Training to learn more about accessibility and how to incorporate it into her work at NSCC.
“The focus of my work is to accelerate accessibility through creating accessible environments and breaking down barriers for the disability, Deaf and Neurodivergent communities,” Melissa explained. “However, many people don’t realize that in creating accessible environments following a universal design approach, it benefits the experiences for people of all demographics.”
Melissa is an example of someone who is living the values of her workplace and striving for better for the visitors, students and employees that visit NSCC campuses, including the new Sydney Waterfront Campus.
“Be a change maker. Ask yourself – what can you do in your community or workplace to make it more accessible?” Melissa noted. “Even if it’s educating yourself on an introduction to disability or the barriers to accessibility, it will create a positive impact on others as you will start to see the world differently.”
