How can your classroom change the world...and your students?

Sarah St. John goBEYOND Campus Organizer SFU

Experiential Education "makes us more active in what we learn and pushes us to figure out how we learn," says Torey Hampson, student in the Change Lab cohort at SFU. The Change Lab at SFU is a experiential education cohort made up of eight students from a variety of faculties. In the fall semester students receive skills based training from community leaders, and in the spring semester they apply these skills to a project of their choice in the community. Lucky for me, the Change Lab students were passionate about experiential education and were willing to work with me on SFU Experiential Education Dialogues 2012 for their class project.

The theme of the dialogues was "How can your classroom change the world?" The goal of the dialogues was to bring together Faculty, students and administrators/staff for interdisciplinary roundtable dialogues to initiate collaboration and generate ideas for expanding experiential education opportunities at SFU.

Both dialogues were a success. Members from the organizing committee felt that the dialogues were able to "get the conversation rolling on experiential education," "create enthusiasm and a push for real change," and "let people know that there were other people out there who want to make classes more engaged with the community and places where students are prepared to be global citizens and create positive change." While an hour and a half was too short to come up with a comprehensive plan for how to enhance opportunities for experiential education at SFU, the dialogues were able to facilitate community building. Torey says she heard a lot of networking happening in the room. Conversation like "email me about that we are going to figure this out" was common. Through interdisciplinary conversations Faculty, students and staff were able to expand the scope of their knowledge of what experiential education currently looks like at SFU and what it could look like.

As a class project, and an experiential education exercise within itself, the dialogues were also able empower the students who were involved in organizing - myself and the Change Lab students. Matt Bakker described how the dialogues made him more comfortable engaging with professors, and generally people perceived to be positions of power, about education. In his own words "I recognized the ability to bridge the gaps that I have created." For Rachel Li working on this project helped her to build teamwork skills because she learned how to work with students from other faculties who had different working styles than students within her own faculty of business. For Stephanie Leung, as a student who generally needs encouragement to speak up, it was empowering to have the challenge of facilitating - she learned she had skills she wasn't aware of. For myself, it was rejuvenating and energizing. While group projects at university are not always fun, this reminded me that working with other students who genuinely care about their class project can be inspiring - the end product was so much better than what any of us could have accomplished on our own. Thanks to a great team!

World Water Week lets student leadership shine!

Jenna Gall - UBC Okanagan Campus Organizer

It has most definitely been a month of events here at UBC Okanagan! I would like to highlight the amazing work of a student who planned and initiated World Water Week on our campus this year. Rhiannon Wallace was this years World Water Day student coordinator here at UBC-O. She did a fantastic job at bringing this 3-day event to life. The three-day World Water Week symposium was well known on campus and filled from hour to hour with fantastic events! The opening ceremonies featured many UBC dignitaries, traditional dancers, water experts and student speakers. It also featured the classic water bottle drums players who did a fantastic job of summoning everyone to the courtyard for the opening event. The speakers and booths around the courtyard were fantastic and had amazing response from students and faculty.

In keeping with this year's theme, Water and Food Security, the UBC Okanagan campus World Water Day Coordinating Committee is working with Partners in the Horn of Africa, to draw attention to the water and food security challenges faced in that region of the world. Partners in the Horn of Africa is a locally based non-governmental organization that works with communities in Ethiopia to sponsor sustainable agriculture projects that often involve the building of small scale irrigation works and water quality improvement projects.

A little history on World Water Day, in 1993, as a result of a recommendation made during the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, the United Nations declared March 22 to be World Water Day. Their goal is to focus the world's attention on the importance of freshwater resources and promote more sustainable management of freshwater resources on a global basis. The theme of world water day changes every year and depending on the theme, different UN Agency take turns organizing World Water Day events. This year's theme is water and food security and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is the lead agency (UBCO Sustainability Office website).

It is because of students like Rhiannon and her dedication to events like this that sustainability education will continue strong on campuses across British Columbia and Canada. It is fantastic to see an event like this take off in such a positive way!

How taking risks can enhance your organization: Hosting the Western Canadian Sustainable Campuses Conference at SFU

By Sarah St. John, goBEYOND Campus Organizer SFU

When I first found out SFU was selected to host the Western Canadian Sustainable Campuses Conference, honestly I was nervous. In 2011 Sustainable SFU went through some significant changes, including passing a referendum that established over $100 000 of annual funding and hiring staff for the first time. Naturally, as a result, there was a lot of internal organizational development work to be done and at the time we had a core group of volunteers of less than 10.

Did it make sense to take on a major project on top of the organizational development work ahead of us? - Absolutely. Even more than I anticipated, the Sustainable Campuses Conference (SCC) helped us as an organization to build confidence, grow, and gain credibility. The SCC was something new volunteers could come in and sink their teeth into.

Through organizing the conference, Board member of Sustainable SFU, Ashleigh Kolla gained an appreciation for the importance of “giving volunteers ownership over their section of the project as it promotes creativity.” Hosting this conference enabled Sustainable SFU to gain the attention of many new enthusiastic volunteers wanting to take ownership and contribute to Sustainable SFU in a meaningful way. Among these new volunteers was Cassandra Ly, a first year student who single-handedly coordinated all the conference food! When reflecting on the conference, Cassandra said “the most valuable thing I gained was the comfort and knowledge of knowing that wherever I was or whatever I did planning or during the conference, there was a large circle of support for me and for each other...coming in from the tiny world of high school and jumping into university is nerve-racking and being able to meet people that share similar passions to create an engaging, interactive, and progressive conference together is incredible.”

Kim Burgess, logistics coordinator extraordinaire, said she enjoyed “planning and organizing and then seeing the whole thing come together.” Julien Thomas, the conference coordinator said “I enjoyed the opportunity to be creative, to do things differently. I've gone to a few conferences and there are always things I wish I could change - here was the chance! From the lab manuals, to embedding peer facilitators, to just having fun programming, it was satisfying to show people that we can do things differently.” Overall the conference was a success. Conference delegates came from all over – as far as Portland USA and Winnipeg Canada. Delegates appreciated the knowledge and skills gained from presentations, the opportunity to network with other organizations, and most importantly the opportunity to spend the weekend with others dedicated to creating a sustainable future – a rejuvenating and re-energizing opportunity!

For Sustainable SFU, the conference was a shared success between new and old volunteers that strengthened our organization and built a strong foundation for future projects.

Never underestimate the enthusiasm of a group of dedicated, passionate youth!

Jenna Gall, Campus Organizer, UBCO

When people talk about the gloomy outlook of our current political situation or our struggles with climate change issues and ecosystem degradation, I too become very concerned. But for a group of youth who are passionate, driven and dedicated, these issues are inspiration to care and make a difference.

Nearly three weeks ago, the UBC Okanagan Environment and Sustainability Club sat around a table in the University Centre, discussing our current projects, different issues and the things we would like to address in the coming year. If anyone were to have sat in on this conversation they would have been mesmerized, as I am incredibly blown away by the ideas and passion that people have to make a difference on our campus, in the community and in the world!

There are so many issues related to sustainability, climate change and environment that are currently crying out for people who care and are willing to give their time and energy to make a difference. I have hope that our generation will face these issues with passion, fresh ideas and critical thinking. It makes me happy to know that we are able to surround ourselves by like-minded people and accomplish great things.

So what’s next for this exciting and dynamic group? Well, we are heading into the planning stages for the Sustainability Education Day where we hope to inspire other students, faculty and staff to live more sustainably, reduce their footprint and see the larger picture!

What We Have Learned: lessons in leadership development

Quinn Runkle, Campus Organizer, UBC

I believe the most crucial part of building a transformative sustainability movement is fostering strong and effective student leaders. A strong leader grows from taking risks, confronting challenges, and learning from those experiences to move forward. To allow our members to go through this process, Common Energy meets every December to evaluate progress and look ahead to the coming term. This evaluation and visioning meeting, as it has become known, is an integral part of developing the direction of the organization. This past December, we discussed “what we have learned.” Common Energy truly strives to foster leadership and develop new skills for our students and so this evaluation was an eye-opening conversation to identify what it is we have gotten out of the year thus far.

One of the biggest lessons in term one was surrounding collaboration. Collaborative work has allowed us to amplify the success of our initiatives and work strategically to utilise each organizations’ specific skill set. Do It in the Dark is a great example of a highly-collaborative project as it is organized by goBEYOND and implemented at UBC through the Campus Sustainability Office, Residence Life, and Common Energy’s Challenges team. The “Common Energizers” involved in DIITD planning identified the following skills as having been developed through the collaborative process: effective communication both by e-mail and in meetings; time management and the importance of deadlines; ideas sharing and brainstorming; respect for others’ opinions; and, most importantly, the value of strong relationships.

Common Energy is a five-year-old organization at UBC and through those five years we have strived to foster quality relationships with all groups with whom we have collaborated.

Another important lesson that our members had learned was the necessity to be prepared. Indeed, no matter how well planned an initiative may be, chances are that someone will catch a cold, a to-do item will be forgotten, or a meeting will be missed. The responsible and thoughtful approach to all teams’ work this term made it clear that all members realised the importance of preparedness.

Collaborative processes and preparedness are just two of the many skills that our team has developed this past term. As we move ahead, the organization will be able to harness the collective skill set and work more effectively in the future. It truly astounds me how far we have come throughout this year and I cannot wait to continue to grow and develop in the coming months and years ahead. These learning experiences have allowed our members to grow into stronger sustainability leaders on campus and will carry the skills of critical thinking and reflection into all that they accomplish in the future. Student sustainability organizations on campuses across this province allow students to have a safe testing ground to try new things and gain these important skills which will continue benefit themselves and the movement. A strong campus sustainability movement comes down to the incredible student leaders who are at its forefront. 

Learning by Doing: Student Leader Kim Burgess helps to plan Western Canada Sustainable Campuses Conference at SFU

by Sarah St. John goBEYOND Campus Organizer SFU

This year the theme of the Western Canada Sustainable Campuses Conference is 'Campus as a Living Lab' - examining how students can take their education beyond the classroom and learn by implementing real projects in the community that make a difference. As a volunteer for the conference, Kim describes how planning the conference itself has been an opportunity for her to use the campus as a living lab. On the student planning committee, Kim has had the opportunity to design a conference that she would want to attend - a conference where students learn and collaborate together to strengthen initiatives happening on their campuses.

Kim's first experience getting involved in a tangible project for sustainability was in the SFU dialogue program. The topic for her semester was Energy Consumption and as part of the semester students organized a dialogue event which brought the community together to discuss "how to turn conservation from passive and unpleasant to something active and fun." In this program she learned that education wasn't as narrow as she thought - she learned that she could learn a lot by doing. Also, through this process Kim learned that she loved organizing events - specifically planning logistics.

This semester Kim has been using her talents in organization and logistics to contribute to the planning of the Western Canada Sustainable Campuses Conference. The conference will be happening February 16-19, 2012. In addition to providing an opportunity for students to share what they are doing on their campuses there will be a wide variety of workshops on a board range of topics including personal development, social media, fundraising, working with the university and academics and sustainability. Kim hopes the conference will foster leadership and help leaders empower leaders.

Interested in learning more or getting involved with the conference? Contact scc-info@sustainablesfu.org

Richard Kao: Composting at Camosun College

-by Luke Kozlowski, Campus Organizer Camosun College

Richard Kao is a man on a composting mission. In the fall of 2010, when he started the Environmental Technology (ET) Program at Camosun College, he ran in student elections for the Sustainability Director position and won. Since then, his main goal has been to implement a composting program to divert all organic waste from the regional landfill.

The initial idea came from another ET student, Becky Gradisar, who approached the Capital Regional District (CRD) about using anaerobic green cone digesters to process all types of food waste. As owner and operator of the Hartland Landfill, the CRD was eager to support the idea and decided to donate 10 digesters to the College.

Once the digesters were obtained, Richard enlisted the help of the Physical Resources Department, the ET Program Chair and ET students to install the digesters at various locations on the Lansdowne Campus. For over a year now, staff and students have been able to dispose their food waste into the digesters. However, since the composters had to be installed in areas of deep, well-drained soil, they were not conveniently located for students and organic waste was still ending up in garbage cans.

To address this, Richard, along with fellow ET cohorts Mitch Brost, Maddi Lussin, Ilsa Hildebrand and Luke Kozlowski, looked into setting up a composting collection and redistribution system. This system would see small compost bins installed alongside recycling bins all over campus and it would require the creation of the two part-time student employment positions to fulfill the composting duties.

After recent consultations with the administration, Richard is happy to report that the college will be rolling out the next phase of the composting program in the new year. It just goes to show that by working together and not giving up, our post-secondary institutions can reduce their environmental footprint. Thanks Richard!

Life in Layers

By Brittany De Angelis, BCIT Campus Organizer

I spent much of the month of November working with B.C.I.T. faculty and staff from the Heat Savers Team. This group of teachers promotes sustainability on campus, and their main campaign this year is to encourage people to wear layers instead of turning the heat up. Through working on this campaign, I've learned that most of the green house gas (GHG) emissions that my school produces comes from heating the buildings.

I hate being cold. Having lived in Calgary for 5 years I've learned to layer up to keep warm in the sometimes -40 temperatures. On November 23rd I helped organize a Lunch and Learn for staff with The Heat Savers Team. We brought in a local fashion expert to do a presentation on stylish ways to layer for warmth. She had tons of great tips and advice. For example, if you are worried about messing up your hair by wearing a toque, a cashmere fabric will do the least amount of damage. And wear your heaviest fabric, like wool, on top so it's easy to take off if you get too hot. Also, cotton is best worn close to the skin.

The Lunch and Learn was really fun and we want to keep promoting dressing for warmth throughout the winter to help reduce our GHG emissions. With a Sweater Day in the horizon, we hope to include some local designers as well because who said that reducing GHG emissions didn't have to be stylish? Looking forward to seeing your favorite sweater this holiday season!

Capilano Outdoor Rec students draw our attention outside

-by Tiare Jung, Capilano goBEYOND Campus Organizer

As students moving through our daily to-do-lists we could easily break down our days into a series of physical checkpoints; 1) transit to school 2) class for a lecture 3) computer to finish a report 4) somewhere quiet to study 5) the bus loop for a ride home... While we check in, we can also check out. We tend to loose the in-between-spaces between these check points and the lessons to be found there.

These in between spaces occur every time someone steps outside on the North Vancouver Capilano University campus. Outdoor Recreation Management students, Bethany, Jessy, Rachel, and Travis have collaborated with Joanne Cook, head gardener & former horticulture student of Capilano to create a tour through the secret gardens, hidden artwork, and BC rainforest surrounding our classrooms.

On this tour, staff and students can meander the grounds with blinders removed. With eyes open campus trotters are surprised and delighted to discover a hidden moss garden, a redwood tree with incredible pinecones, a giant rhubarb plant with leaves the size of an adult's arm span, a symbiotic relationship between a hidden network of fungi and a tree's roots, and many other unique natural spaces.

Through sharing the stories of these vital processes, the guides hope to re-root us with the environment we inhabit, introduce us to the wonderful creatures we share it with, and remind us of how we can preserve these things through sustainable action.

Check in at Capilano University, tour the grounds with this map, experience the environment and remind your self what your studies are all about.

Chanel Ly: Taking Steps towards Implementing Sustainable Food Policy at SFU

- by Sarah St. John, SFU goBEYOND Campus Organizer

Chanel Ly works with Sustainable SFU's  Local Food Project and recently applied to be a Campus Food Strategy coordinator for the Sierra Youth Coalition (SYC) and Meal Exchange.   Their goal is to train and support youth leaders in advocating for and implementing sustainable food policy at their campuses.

Chanel Ly first got involved in sustainability organizing as a participant in the environmental and social justice leadership program at her high school. As part of this program Chanel worked with other student leaders to expand their high school's organic vegetable garden. Their garden grew from just a few beds into a greenhouse that grew enough food to supply their high school cafeteria with vegetables during the growing season. Chanel said "I learned a lot about myself and how much I took food for granted." The garden was a place where students were educated about food's origins, how it grows and why it is important to eat local and organic. But more importantly, Chanel says the garden was an important place for students to connect and feel that they belonged.

Leaving high school, Chanel headed to SFU with a passion to continue learning about what is happening in the world and a commitment to make a positive impact in her community. She jumped right into volunteering with the Local Food Project in her first year and now in her second year she has joined the Board of Governors for Sustainable SFU and is the Chair of the Local Food Project. The Local Food Project runs a Harvest Box Program , a Pocket Farmer's Market, and an Urban Agricultural Skills Training Program. The Local Food Project team is also working hard to advocate for a community garden on campus.

Her recent application to be a Campus Food Strategy Coordinator would help Sustainable SFU engage at a higher level with the campus food system. It is an exciting year for Sustainable SFU because the contract for Simon Fraser University's major food provider is up for renewal - this is a great time to let the administration know what students want in terms of sustainable, healthy and affordable food choices on campus. Chanel and many others advocate for better, more sustainable food choice on campus.  After all, food binds us together and largely determines our future.

Thanks Chanel for leading the way!

- Sarah

Will and Richard: from their experience at University to a career path with purpose

Richard and Will trace their ecological awareness to their high school days.  Through the TREK outdoor education program, their learning took place in forests and oceans as well as desks and chairs.

Though they have known one another for years, Richard and Will’s friendship began only after they both arrived at the University of Victoria and were both interested in creating a sustainable economy.  Richard and Will found themselves together in a student organization called Common Energy. 

At the time, Common Energy was engaged in a comprehensive climate action planning process for UVic.  Working with the likes of Naomi Devine, Jamie Biggar and Mark Chandler, Richard and Will provided a crucial piece of the puzzle.  They developed a sustainable purchasing plan that, together with plans for food, community engagement and other aspects, guided a path for the university to go beyond climate neutral. 

Richard and Will’s experience in Common Energy has already carried them far.  Building on the skills they learned and the ideas they developed, the pair started a consulting firm focused on GHG accounting and mitigation. 

The organizations they work with are making a difference.  Will and Richard are making a difference.

Tria Donaldson: My struggle for social and environmental justice began in 5th grade

Since the fifth grade Tria Donaldson has fought for a more just and sustainable world.  From constructing indigenous plant gardens to organizing multiculturalism days, Tria’s commitment to justice began early.  Tria has always had diverse interests and her studies in journalism at Thompson Rivers University helped her begin to connect her efforts together.  Climate change quickly became a central theme that ran across, and exacerbated, all issues.  She began to see global warming as not only a threat but also as a chance to examine the society we have now and the one we want to become.

Thankfully, Tria wasn’t alone.  Through her work with the Sierra Youth Coalition she began to connect with others across BC and Canada who shared her vision.  Tria traveled extensively across the province and began to build a network centred on one captivating idea: that BC’s colleges and universities could do more, much more, to solve climate change and the larger social injustices that climate change makes visible.

If there was a single pivotal moment, it was certainly the Sustainable Campuses Conference in 2008.  It was there, at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, that students from all over BC came to collaborate on a province-wide climate project that was to become the goBeyond Campus Climate Network.

Tria can see the results of the students’ actions.  From U-passes to sustainability plans, students have achieved many victories.  But perhaps the biggest success has been the growth of a network of sustainability leaders such as Tria.  A network built on friendship, shared vision, trial and error, long bus rides and many, many emails.  This network now reaches in to planning and policy, to business, to education and more.  And it is just beginning.

Tria's skill and dedication to the campus sustainability movement attracted people's attention and, in 2010, she accepted a job with the Wilderness Committee as the Pacific Coast Campaigner where she works on environmental issues ranging from coal mining to forestry to fish farms. 

When asked whether she is hopeful, Tria quotes Paul Hawken: “If you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren't pessimistic, you don't understand the data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the poor and you aren't optimistic, you haven't got a pulse.”  Tria is surely one of those people who feels both fear and hope.

Small Changes Make a Big Impact at Camosun

Although there are many things at Camosun College that could be improved, one little corner of the college has risen to the challenge and become a “Camosun Green Zone”. Portable A, located on Interurban Campus, is home to the Employment Training and Preparation Program. The faculty and staff who support this program were able to make Portable A, a self-contained building, as energy-efficient and sustainable as possible.

When entering the portable you’re greeted by clear signs explaining the “Green Zone” policies currently in place. Staff and faculty ensure that lights, monitors, printers, and computers are turned off when not in use. As well, thermostats are closely monitored to ensure the temperatures never exceed 20 degrees during the day, and are turned off at night or when the classrooms will be sitting empty.

The portable also has excellent waste management, with recycling bins clearly labelled and even a compost for organic waste from packed lunches or the food preparation program. The compost is sent out to the worm bins (by the faculty and staff) that reside in the Greenhouses where students can learn valuable gardening skills. The gardening done by the program is organic and watered with efficient practices that minimize water wastage.

The individuals responsible for orchestrating these changes were honoured by Camosun with the first ever Outstanding Contribution to Energy Conservation Award.  The determination and perseverance of the portable staff members shows what can be accomplished if everyone works towards positive changes, no matter how small they may be.

The initiatives in place are ones I hope to one day see everywhere on campus at Camosun College: composting, accessible clean chilled tap water for water bottles, and energy conservation that tackles the excess heating and cooling of empty classrooms. Portable A has shown it can be done.

- by Tessa Goodwin

Il Mio Piano Verde

Anneliese Schultz was shocked by the IPCC's fourth assessment report in 2007. It was then that she realized she must do more in her classroom. Anneliese started small by awarding extra credit to her students for bringing a reusable mug or showing her their U-Pass. The next year she took her students to the UBC Farm where they discussed organic gardening and food security (in Italian of course). She began introducing green vocabulary into her Italian grammar exercises and encouraged her students to talk and write about sustainability. She thought: If they are going to practice their Italian on something, they ought to practice it on subjects that matter.

Every semester Anneliese has challenged herself and her students to dig deeper and now, after four years, she has incorporated sustainability into the very fabric of her curriculum. Il mio piano verde – My green plan. That's the essay that every student must write to pass her course.

Because of this Anneliese has engaged hundreds of students in critical conversations about sustainability and climate justice and has challenged them, and herself, to make personal, lasting changes.

Students are thankful. They feel they generally do not get enough opportunity to talk about sustainability in school and they appreciate finding it in such an unexpected place. Anneliese says:

“I've incorporated sustainability because I feel like it trumps everything. Ensuring our place on the Earth trumps absolutely everything! I've incorporated it into my own creative writing. If it can be incorporated into an Italian class then it can be incorporated into every class.”  - Anneliese

A Deluge of Green Ideas

Students at colleges and universities across Canada have submitted a deluge of great ideas about how to make their campuses more sustainable.  Greenhouses, market gardens, composting, alternative transportation, water bottle refill stations, reusable food containers - the list goes on and on.  The people's choice winner will receive $2500 from TD.  Please support your favorite schools and vote now until March 11, 2011.

Students across the province are Doing it in the Dark

This past November students at UBC's Totem Park residence participated in the US Campus Climate Nationals, a competition involving 39 American universities to see who could conserve the most electricity. Out of 40 schools UBC came 2nd. Liz Ferris, a M.Sc student at UBC and one of goBEYOND's board members, credits this success to the hard work of students concerned about climate change. Working together these dedicated students saved 9000 kWh of electricity and 750 kg of CO2.

In March goBEYOND will host BC's very own energy reduction challenge - titled Do it in the Dark. The goal is to foster communities of practice among students living in residence. By engaging students early in their careers we hope to inspire long-term behaviour change and climate leadership.