Circular Connect

Project Funded by: York Region’s Circular Economy Initiatives Fund (CEIF)

The goal of Circular Connect is to provide immersive workshops that aim to empower York Region residents with the knowledge, tools, and experiences needed to reduce waste at its source and embrace circular economy principles in their daily lives. By combining hands-on workshops and hosting community-centric challenges, complimented with digital learning resources, the project seeks to create measurable change in grassroots level waste reduction and environmental stewardship among individuals and families across the region.

Immersive learning events and experiences will focus on composting, soil/land regeneration, food waste reduction and upcycling best practices. Participants will develop practical skills and an understanding of how circular systems function. Complementary interactive digital modules will extend this learning into homes and schools, ensuring long-term engagement and impact. Community-based challenges will showcase applied learning.

By the end of the project, Circular Connect will have fostered a measurable increase in waste diversion, enhanced community awareness of circular practices, and established a scalable educational model that can be replicated across the region. This initiative aims to build a culture of sustainability grounded in innovation, inclusivity, and community action.

Objectives:

To achieve the goals of Circular Connect, the project will pursue the following interconnected objectives designed to create measurable impact, strengthen community capacity, and foster long-term behavioural change in York Region:

Advance Circular Economy Education: Deliver accessible and inclusive learning experiences that teach residents, students, and families about circular economy principles. Through 8 Community Night workshops and supporting digital modules, participants will learn practical methods of waste reduction, composting, soil regeneration, and sustainable living best practices being undertaking in cities and countries around the world.
Reduce Residential Organic Waste at its Source: Equip households with the tools and knowledge to reduce organic waste through composting and upcycling activities and local challenges. This initiative will promote ‘at the source’ household waste reduction rather than end-of-pipe waste management, ensuring measurable waste diversion outcomes.
Integrate Technology and Experiential Learning: Develop and deploy digital learning modules that complement hands-on workshops. These interactive tools will allow residents and schools to track personal waste reduction efforts, engage participants in design-thinking challenges, share best practices, and visualize their environmental impact
Measure and Share Impact: Establish clear metrics to evaluate success, including reductions in household organic waste, increases in community participation, and improvements in sustainability literacy. Findings will be documented through surveys and observations, and will be shared with participants and the broader community to inspire replication of the model across York Region.
Foster a Culture of Sustainable Living: Encourage long-term behavioural change by championing and working to embed circular practices into daily life. Participants will not only gain new skills but also become ambassadors of circular living within their communities.

By achieving these objectives, Circular Connect will demonstrate how combining innovation, education, and community engagement can create a scalable model for circular economy transformation in York Region.

Target Audience:

Circular Connect is designed to engage a broad cross-section of York Region residents, emphasizing inclusivity, accessibility, and community impact. The project will primarily serve students, families, and community members who generate residential waste and are seeking practical, meaningful ways to adopt circular economy practices in their daily lives.

The target audience includes:

Students (Grades 4–12) — engaging youth early fosters lifelong environmental stewardship. Classroom-based challenges will help students better understand and actively participate in composting, upcycling fabrics, homewares and electronics, leveraging circular design thinking
Families and Households — as key contributors to residential waste, families will participate in hands-on community night workshops and digital challenges designed to reduce organic waste, promote composting, and apply circular habits at home
Community Members and Local Organizations — including educators, community garden leaders, local non-profit advocacy groups and individual sustainability advocates / associations who can act as multipliers, extending the project’s impact across neighborhoods and schools
Underrepresented and Equity-Seeking Groups — ensuring that circular economy education reaches those who may not traditionally have access to environmental programs, including newcomers and low-income residents

Scale and Reach:

Over the course of the project, Circular Connect aims to engage:

1,000+ participants through in-person community night workshops hosted at Boreal Farms Living Lab as well as through community-based challenges administered both online and in-person
Up to 1,000 residents through the interactive digital platform developed by STEM Minds, allowing self-paced learning, waste tracking, and upcycling challenges
Dozens of educators and community leaders trained to continue delivering circular economy learning within their own contexts

Expected Impact on the Community:
Participants will gain the knowledge, confidence, and motivation to reduce household waste, engage in composting, and contribute to a regional culture of sustainability. By empowering communities through education, sharing best practices and featuring practical tools and techniques, Circular Connect will create a ripple effect—transforming awareness into action and building York Region’s capacity to lead in circular innovation.

Project Impact

The Circular Connect project is designed to create measurable and lasting change in how York Region residents understand, engage with, and act upon circular economy principles. By combining experiential learning with digital resources and simple how-to’s, the project will foster both individual behaviour change and community-wide capacity building to reduce waste and promote sustainable living.

Environmental and Waste Reduction Impacts

Reduction in Residential Organic Waste:
Through improved household composting and food waste reduction activities, participants will be directly diverting organic material away from landfill while improving the soil health of their gardens or farms. The project aims to achieve a measurable reduction in household waste among participating families and schools, contributing to York Region’s overall waste diversion targets.
Increased Circular Economy Awareness and Application of Best Practices:
Through new awareness, skill development and digital support, participants will integrate and maintain new habits—such as household composting, upcycling household materials, and improved waste sorting—into daily routines, demonstrating a tangible shift from linear to circular behaviours.
Enhanced Soil Health and Local Regeneration:
Composting, upcycling and soil regeneration workshops at Boreal Farms will yield practical environmental outcomes, including production of compost, using the composting process to generate a simple off-grid heating system for a backyard greenhouse and increased awareness of soil biology as a living system that is essential to healthy plants and carbon sequestration.

Educational and Behavioural Outcomes

Improved Circular Economy Literacy:
Participants will gain a clear understanding of how waste connects to larger ecological and economic systems. Youth, in particular, will develop critical thinking skills around sustainability, innovation, and systems design.
Adoption of Sustainable Practices:
It is anticipated that at least 75% of workshop participants will report applying / practicing new waste reduction or circular practices at home or in school within three months of participation.
Cross-Generational Learning:
By engaging students, parents, and educators together, the project will foster shared learning experiences that strengthen household commitment to sustainability.

Digital Engagement and Accessibility Outcomes

Expanded Reach through Technology:
The interactive platform developed by STEM Minds will enable ongoing participation across the Region, extending access to those unable to attend in-person sessions.
Data-Driven Impact Tracking:
Participants will be able to record and visualize their personal waste reduction data, allowing the project team to measure engagement and behavioural change at scale.
Inclusive and Equitable Access:
By integrating digital and community-based delivery, Circular Connect ensures that residents from diverse backgrounds, including newcomers and underserved populations, have access to sustainability education and tools.

Community and Systemic Impacts

Community Capacity Building:
Educators, community leaders, and local organizations will be equipped with materials and training to continue delivering circular economy education beyond the project term.
Stronger Partnerships for Sustainability:
Collaboration among Inno-Hive, Boreal Farms, STEM Minds, and York Region municipalities will create a model of cross-sector partnership that can be replicated in other communities.
Cultural Shift Toward a Circular Mindset:
The long-term outcome will be a shift in community values—where circular thinking becomes a normal part of decision-making at home, in schools, and across local systems.

Through these outcomes, Circular Connect will not only achieve measurable waste reduction but also lay the groundwork for sustained, community-led transformation toward a circular and regenerative York Region.

Project Impact Outcomes

To ensure accountability and demonstrate measurable progress, Circular Connect will employ a comprehensive evaluation framework that combines quantitative data collection and qualitative feedback. This blended approach will capture not only measurable environmental outcomes but also shifts in awareness, behaviour, and community engagement.

Quantitative Measures

Waste Diversion and Reduction Metrics

Household Waste Tracking:
Participants will track the amount of organic waste diverted through composting and upcycling over the duration of the program through a simple and standardized approach to measurement. Baseline and endline data will be collected and encouraged through the online platform to determine percentage reductions in household waste and the associated net-benefits.
Community Composting Output:
The volume of compost generated through Boreal Farms’ hands-on workshops will be recorded to quantify the environmental benefit of waste-to-soil conversion. These workshops will also generate metrics with regards to the different styles / approaches to composting performed by participants.
Participation Rates:
Attendance and engagement numbers will be tracked across workshops, community events, and digital learning modules to measure reach and scalability.
Digital Platform Analytics:
The STEM Minds digital platform will collect data on user engagement, such as logins, completion of learning modules, participation in challenges, and reported household actions.
Survey-Based Metrics:
Pre- and post-program surveys will quantify changes in participants’ understanding of circular economy concepts and self-reported behaviour changes in waste management.

Qualitative Measures

Participant Reflections and Feedback

Focus Groups and Interviews:
Selected participants (students, parents, and educators) will participate in short focus group sessions to share how the program influenced their perspectives and habits.
Open-Ended Survey Responses:
Qualitative survey items will capture personal stories of change, identifying which activities were most impactful and what barriers to behaviour change remain.
Community Testimonials:
Feedback from community organizations and educators will provide insight into how the program influenced their capacity to integrate circular economy education into ongoing work.

Observational Data from Workshops

Facilitators will record observations during hands-on activities—such as levels of engagement, collaboration, and participant enthusiasm—to assess experiential learning outcomes.

Data Analysis and Reporting

Data Integration:

Quantitative data from surveys, waste tracking, and digital analytics will be compiled into a central database managed by Inno-Hive. The integration of both physical (workshop) and digital (online platform) data will provide a comprehensive picture of reach and impact.

Evaluation Framework:

The project will use a before-and-after comparative analysis, assessing shifts in knowledge, behaviour, and waste diversion. Qualitative insights will contextualize the numbers, revealing how learning experiences translate into real-world action.

Reporting and Knowledge Sharing:

Findings will be summarized in a final impact report, including data visualizations and case studies highlighting participant stories. Results will be shared with York Region, partner organizations, and the public to promote transparency and inspire broader adoption of circular practices.

Through this mixed-method evaluation process, Circular Connect will demonstrate not only measurable environmental results but also the deeper cultural and behavioural transformations necessary to sustain a circular economy in York Region.

Funded by The Regional Municipality of York