University of New Brunswick (UNB) professor Dr. Julia Woodhall-Melnik teaches social science at the Saint John campus, and every other year she offers students a course in community-based health research.

“It’s designed around the principles of experimental education, so the idea is that students after learning concepts and theories and methods throughout their four-year degree,” said Woodhall-Melnik.

“When they hit the fourth year, I like to offer them a course that allows them the opportunity to use the skills they’ve gained over the four years and learn a little bit more about community engagement and work with community agencies.”

Woodhall-Melnik says the course provides the students with transferable skills they can demonstrate to future employers.

In the past, students have worked with local agencies such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of Saint John, Romero House, and the Teen Resource Centre.

This year, Woodhall-Melnik and her students are working with the Fundy Regional Service Commission (FRSC) to conduct a survey on transportation needs in the Fundy region.

The results of this survey will be compiled and analyzed by Woodhall-Melnik and her students to produce a report for the commission so it can see if funding needs to be applied or if changes need to be made to its current services.

“We’d like to hear from folks who drive cars, who walk, bike, take public transit, carpool, etc., and really we wanted to get that first initial picture of how our needs are being met in the region and how they’re not being met,” says Woodhall-Melnik.

“It’s great to engage people in these types of surveys where they can get feedback about something that affects people’s lives.”

Woodhall-Melnik says she hopes to see at least 1,500 people take part in the survey before it ends on April 12.

The survey can be found by clicking here.