U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research is a not-for-profit organization that has been facilitating community-based research and community service learning for university and college students in Haliburton County since 1999. U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research operates under the auspices of the Haliburton County Community Co-operative, a not-for-profit co-operative dedicated to the social, economic, cultural and environmental well-being of Haliburton County.
U-Links worked closely with Community Campus Engage Canada (CCEC), a national network and knowledge-sharing community for organizations and individuals addressing pressing social and environmental challenges through community-campus engagement (CCE). They worked to connect people, ideas and resources to build reciprocal partnerships and offer comprehensive access to CCE expertise and advice. CCEC provided support as a coordinator focused on connecting the offices, knowledge-sharing, and aiming to address access to information and resources on both the student and faculty sides.
U-Links worked with NGOs and rural municipalities to provide over 351 community-based research and community service learning experiences for students. These experiences focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as associated concerns related to lake health, endangered species, bio-monitoring, terrestrial monitoring, wetland evaluation, sustainable waste management, sustainable agriculture, invasive species, and shoreline naturalization.
