Climate Week

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | IN PERSON | ROOM 2254, MACISAAC HEALTH BUILDING

KUS Clothing Swap

Bring in gently used clothes for donation and come back on November 19 or 20 to choose new clothes from those donated!

Organized by the Kinesiology Undergraduate Society Sustainability Committee

9:00 AM – 3:00 PM | IN PERSON | 2ND FLOOR, CIRS BUILDING

Reducing Climate and Seismic Risks: Interactive Exhibits & Guided Demonstrations

Explore how building practices and mitigation measures can make a meaningful difference through interactive displays that bring climate and seismic risks to life and illustrate practical ways to reduce damage from wildfire, flooding, and earthquakes.

Representatives will be there throughout the day and will present 30-minute hazard overviews:

• 10:00 AM – Wildfire
• 12:00 PM – Flooding
• 2:00 PM – Seismic risk

Organized by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR)

12:00 – 1:00 PM | IN-PERSON | BC HYDRO THEATRE, CIRS

Who Is Paying the Price? AI, Data Centres, and the Future of Our Jobs

Data centres are placing growing demands on electricity supply, with technology companies securing renewable energy that could otherwise support decarbonization in other sectors. Can clean energy keep pace with AI’s rapid growth, or will rising demand challenge existing climate commitments? At the same time, will AI create more jobs than it displaces, and can its benefits justify its environmental footprint?

Panel discussion with: Sheldon Fernandes, M.V. Ramana, Hamish van der Ven, Christine Chen, Mohammad Shahrad, and Karthik Akkiraju

Organized by the Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC)

12:30 – 2:00 PM | IN PERSON | REGISTER FOR LOCATION

Open Classroom: COMM 314 (Strategies for Responsible Business) – Breakthrough Climate Technologies

Learn how innovative climate technologies can break through in business, with a focus on understanding s-curves.

Open Classrooms: Attend one day of a UBC climate change course and find out how students are learning about climate change across campus.

Organized by Justin Bull

12:00 – 1:00 PM | ONLINE

Discover Lightwork Meditation

Sustainability starts with sustaining ourselves. Explore Lightwork meditation in this one-hour interactive class designed to help you release stress, recharge your energy and prevent burnout while doing work that matters. Leave feeling calmer, clearer and more grounded. No experience needed!

Choose from multiple dates and times to fit your schedule.

Organized by Lightwork Meditation via UBC Library

2:00 – 4:00 PM | IN PERSON | ATRIUM, CIRS BUILDING

Trash to Textiles

Stop by for textile trivia and orange garland making while supplies last!

Organized by UBC Biotextiles

4:00 PM | IN PERSON | PACIFIC MUSEUM OF EARTH

Insights into Game-ifying Climate Action for Youth

Learn how the Pacific Museum of Earth is engaging with youth around Metro Vancouver to promote environmental literacy and climate action in classrooms! This interactive session will feature in-depth discussions on the ups and downs of this process, complete with a chance to play the PME’s ‘Climate Quest’ game.

Organized by the Pacific Museum of Earth

5:00 – 6:00 PM | IN PERSON | POLICY LABS, CIRS BUILDING

Campaigning and Advocacy in a Climate Emergency

A workshop on how to organize collective action and engage decision-makers to tackle the climate crisis. Come learn how to contact your representatives, organize within your community, and effectively advocate for change.

Organized by Climate Education for All (CEFA) in partnership with Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada

5:30 – 7:00 PM | IN PERSON | BC HYDRO THEATRE, CIRS BUILDING

Food for thought: how do our food choices impact the planet?

Join this interactive presentation and discussion about the environmental impacts of food choices.

Organized by Vegans of UBC

5:30 – 7:00 PM | IN PERSON | ROOM 229, GEOGRAPHY BUILDING

Trivia Night with Studio Ghibli

Did you know that many Studio Ghibli movies have environmental themes? Join this trivia night to learn more about sustainability through Studio Ghibli, with prizes and snacks!

Organized by the Geography Students’ Association (GSA)

9:00 – 11:00 AM | IN PERSON | REGISTER FOR LOCATION

Open Classroom: ATSC 413 (Forest Fire Weather and Climate) – Capstone Presentation and Fire Safety

Join for a student capstone presentation on the Williams Lake wildife, followed by a guest lecture by Mina Deshler on Electric Utility Public Safety Power Shutdowns (PSPS) for Wildfire Safety.

Open Classrooms: Attend one day of a UBC climate change course and find out how students are learning about climate change across campus.

Organized by Roland Stull

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | IN PERSON | ROOM 2254, MACISAAC HEALTH BUILDING

KUS Clothing Swap

Bring in gently used clothes for donation and come back on November 19 or 20 to choose new clothes from those donated!

Organized by the Kinesiology Undergraduate Society Sustainability Committee

9:00 AM – 3:00 PM | IN PERSON | 2ND FLOOR, CIRS BUILDING

Reducing Climate and Seismic Risks: Interactive Exhibits & Guided Demonstrations

Explore how building practices and mitigation measures can make a meaningful difference through interactive displays that bring climate and seismic risks to life and illustrate practical ways to reduce damage from wildfire, flooding, and earthquakes.

Representatives will be there throughout the day and will present 30-minute hazard overviews:

• 10:00 AM – Wildfire
• 12:00 PM – Flooding
• 2:00 PM – Seismic risk

Organized by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR)

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM | IN PERSON | PONDEROSA ANNEX E

Visit the Zero Waste Market

Discover how UBC is advancing a circular economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by making surplus furniture and office supplies available to UBC departments and the general public. Stop by, enter to win, and you could score a door prize discount on anything in the market!

Organized by the Furniture Reuse Program / Zero Waste Market

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM | IN PERSON | WOODWARD LIBRARY

SEEDS OF HOPE

Join and share knowledge on local seeds, soils, and plants. Booths from UBC Library, UBC Botanical Garden, and collaborators within and beyond UBC will gather to highlight the importance of saving, planting, and eating seeds through interactive activities (including seed jewelry making!).

Organized by UBC Botanical Garden and UBC Library

1:00 – 3:00 PM | IN PERSON | SHERRINGTON ROOM, WOODWARD LIBRARY

Mending Circle

Drop in, hang out, and mend or learn to mend your clothing with the student-led group, Mend the Gap! All are welcome, including students, staff, faculty, and other community members.

Organized by UBC Library and Mend the Gap

3:00 PM | IN PERSON | BEATY BIODIVERSITY MUSEUM

Daily Museum Tours

Join for daily, climate-themed tours of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, with additional 11:30am tour on Sunday, November 22. Regular museum admission rates apply, bring your UBCCard for free admission!

Organized by Beaty Biodiversity Museum

3:30 – 4:45 PM | IN PERSON | REGISTER FOR LOCATION

Open Classroom: CONS210 (Visualizing Climate Change) – AI impacts, biases and implications for environmental communication

Drawing on empirical research, this talk by Muh Syukron examines the hidden biases in Large Language Models when addressing environmental crises. The presentation will discuss how these AI biases affect our understanding of climate change and influence the ways we approach solutions.

Open Classrooms: Attend one day of a UBC climate change course and find out how students are learning about climate change across campus.

Organized by Fernanda Tomaselli

5:00 – 7:00 PM | IN PERSON | BC HYDRO THEATRE, CIRS BUILDING

How To Buy a Country Film Screening + Discussion

How To Buy A Country is a four-part documentary series from re•generation, a Canadian nonprofit media organization that uses film and digital storytelling to show how corporate power shapes our economy, politics, and everyday lives. The series traces how Canada’s economic and political relationship with the United States was built, who benefits from it, and how that dependence limits our ability to set our own direction. That includes how we respond to a warming world. 

Join for all four episodes, followed by a discussion on economic power, sovereignty, and climate. We’ll close with concrete ways to get involved. Open to all students, no background needed.

Organized by the Civic Circuit

7:00 – 8:30 PM | IN PERSON | BEATY BIODIVERSITY MUSEUM

Biodiversity Lecture Series with Doug and Pam Soltis

Join Doug and Pam Soltis, plant evolutionary biologists who use DNA methods to understand plant evolutionary relationships and elucidate evolutionary processes, including hybridization and genome doubling.

Organized by Beaty Biodiversity Museum

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | IN PERSON | ROOM 2254, MACISAAC HEALTH BUILDING

KUS Clothing Swap

Bring in gently used clothes for donation and come back on November 19 or 20 to choose new clothes from those donated!

Organized by the Kinesiology Undergraduate Society Sustainability Committee

9:00 AM – 3:00 PM | IN PERSON | 2ND FLOOR, CIRS BUILDING

Reducing Climate and Seismic Risks: Interactive Exhibits & Guided Demonstrations

Explore how building practices and mitigation measures can make a meaningful difference through interactive displays that bring climate and seismic risks to life and illustrate practical ways to reduce damage from wildfire, flooding, and earthquakes.

Representatives will be there throughout the day and will present 30-minute hazard overviews:

• 10:00 AM – Wildfire
• 12:00 PM – Flooding
• 2:00 PM – Seismic risk

Organized by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR)

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM | IN PERSON | PONDEROSA ANNEX E

Visit the Zero Waste Market

Discover how UBC is advancing a circular economy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by making surplus furniture and office supplies available to UBC departments and the general public. Stop by, enter to win, and you could score a door prize discount on anything in the market!

Organized by the Furniture Reuse Program / Zero Waste Market

1:00 – 2:00 PM | REMOTE | ZOOM

Introduction to Water Bath Canning

Join this online introductory workshop to learn safe water bath canning techniques, essential equipment, and tips for preserving fruits, jams, and pickles.

Organized by UBC Library

2:00 – 3:00 PM | ONLINE | ZOOM

The Growth of Plant-Forward Food Systems Across Canada

Join a national discussion on university leadership, health and environmental evidence, and plant-forward foodservice in healthcare. Featuring Lighting Up Canada, an interactive map showcasing institutional leadership in sustainable food systems. And speakers:

Dr. Kathleen Kevany | Dalhousie University
Sarah Jarvis, MSc, PhD Candidate | University of Toronto
Erica Sharma, LLB, LLM | PEACH Health Ontario

Organized by the Canadian University Initiative, a division of PBCM

2:00 – 3:20 PM | IN PERSON | REGISTER FOR LOCATION

Open Classroom: GRSJ 200 (Gender and Environmental Justice) – Intersectional Climate Politics and Activism

Attend a panel featuring local community activists Aish Mann (Founder and Executive Director of Tanah Air Project), Powys HJ (Vancouver artist and community organizer), and Paige Hunter (community organizer and Co-Founder of the Swordfern Collective). Each will share about their experiences, work, and organizing in Vancouver at the intersections of environmental, gender, immigrant and social justice, especially around the recent municipal elections.

Open Classrooms: Attend one day of a UBC climate change course and find out how students are learning about climate change across campus.

Organized by Leila Harris

2:30 AM – 3:30 PM | ONLINE | ZOOM

Wildfires and Wildlife with Dr. Karen E Hodges, Professor and former Canada Research Chair of Conservation Biology, UBC Okanagan

In recent decades, wildfires around the world have become larger, faster, and more damaging than the fires in many previous millennia. These pervasive and substantive fires affect entire ecosystems, changing soil structure and nutrients, water flow, snowpack dynamics, and temperatures after fire.

Although terrestrial animals they have evolved with fire, the current shifts in fire frequency and severity may imperil species because of their extreme ecosystem consequences on top of the various human-related stressors many animal species are confronting. Join for a presentation on how all of these changes affect terrestrial animals in fundamental ways.

Organized by UBC Emeritus College

3:00 PM | IN PERSON | BEATY BIODIVERSITY MUSEUM

Daily Museum Tours

Join for daily, climate-themed tours of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, with additional 11:30am tour on Sunday, November 22. Regular museum admission rates apply, bring your UBCCard for free admission!

Organized by Beaty Biodiversity Museum

5:30 – 7:00 PM | IN PERSON | PLACE OF MANY TREES

How Green is the Energy Transition? with Joshua Frank

Join the Centre for Climate Justice for a conversation with Joshua Frank, award-winning journalist, author of Bad Energy, and coeditor of CounterPunch. The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Karthik Akkiraju (Assistant Professor, Department of Materials Engineering).

Organized by the Centre for Climate Justice and School of Public Policy and Global Affairs

5:30 – 7:30 PM | IN PERSON | BC HYDRO THEATRE, CIRS BUILDING

Sustainability Panellist Event

This panel will bring together professors, students, and sustainability advocates to discuss key topics, such as innovations in the sustainability field, integrating sustainability into lifestyle and design, and collaboration between scientists and policymakers.

Organized by UBC Common Energy

9:00 – 11:00 AM | IN PERSON | REGISTER FOR LOCATION

Open Classroom: ATSC 413 (Forest Fire Weather and Climate) – Wildfire Capstone Presentations

Join for two student capstone presentations, first on the Donnie Creek wildfire and a second on the Lahaina wildfire.

Open Classrooms: Attend one day of a UBC climate change course and find out how students are learning about climate change across campus.

Organized by Roland Stull

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | IN PERSON | ROOM 2254, MACISAAC HEALTH BUILDING

KUS Clothing Swap

If you donated clothes on November 16, 17 or18, come back and choose new ones from those donated!

Organized by the Kinesiology Undergraduate Society Sustainability Committee

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | ONLINE | ZOOM

Understanding Climate Justice through Indigenous Storywork Principles 

This interactive workshop uses Indigenous Storywork to explore Indigenous climate justice through story, listening, reflection, and shared experience. Participants will consider relationships to land, community, responsibility, and ways of knowing, while connecting these ideas to their own teaching and professional contexts. The session will also introduce key Indigenous climate justice concepts and practical educational resources to support further learning and classroom application. 

Organized by UBC Sustainability Hub and facilitated by Minyoung Noh, Dianne Biin, and Kshamta Hunter

11:00 AM – 3:00 PM | IN PERSON | FLOOR 1 ATRIUM, CIRS BUILDING

The Bike Kitchen Booth

Meet folks from the Bike Kitchen, chat about cycling, and ask us anything you’d like to know about our community bike shop!

Organized by the Bike Kitchen

12:00 – 2:00 PM | IN PERSON | BC HYDRO THEATRE, CIRS BUILDING

What Does #Landback Mean?

Essential to understanding Landback, there are a multiplicity of Indigenous worldviews, relationality, and land-based knowledge systems to learn from and consider. “The #LandBack movement” is not recent; it also comes from time immemorial. Visibility in the media, academia, and community discussions can vary in perspective and voice.

Through individual reflection, discussion, and a presentation, by facilitators Kyle Shaughnessy and Janelle Kasperski, we will make connections between our everyday experiences, our personal values, the lands we live on and Indigenous knowledges that inform land-based practices and beliefs. 

Please bring something to write with/on (pen and paper, tablet, etc.) and your lunch to eat during the session.

Organized by CTLT Indigenous Initiatives

2:00 – 2:45 PM | ONLINE | ZOOM

Research in a Changing Climate: How to Green Your Lab

Green Labs at Campus + Community Planning is hosting an info session on how your lab can achieve Green Lab Certification.

Addressing climate change requires action across all parts of campus. Research labs play a vital role in addressing global challenges, but they also often have a significant environmental footprint, consuming high amounts of energy, water and producing significant waste. Green Lab Certification helps to assess the individual lab’s environmental performance and make recommendations for improvements, allowing researchers take steps to reduce these impacts and uphold research excellence.

Organized by Campus + Community Planning

2:00 – 5:00 PM | IN PERSON | PEÑA ROOM, IKBLC

Critical Play for Climate Change: Game Modification Workshop

How can we rethink familiar games to explore climate change, sustainability, and environmental justice?

Through a hands-on structured activity and playtesting session, we will reflect on how collaborative play, creative experimentation, and critical reflection can help us grapple with complex environmental problems, challenge existing systems, and envision pathways to sustainable futures.

No game design experience necessary and all materials will be provided. Come ready to play, experiment, and reimagine the rules!

Organized by the UBC Critical Play Lab

3:00 PM | IN PERSON | BEATY BIODIVERSITY MUSEUM

Daily Museum Tours

Join for daily, climate-themed tours of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, with additional 11:30am tour on Sunday, November 22. Regular museum admission rates apply, bring your UBCCard for free admission!

Organized by Beaty Biodiversity Museum

3:30 – 4:45 PM | IN PERSON | REGISTER FOR LOCATION

Open Classroom – CONS210 (Visualizing Climate Change) – From anxiety to action: Transforming climate anxiety into positive change

Climate change can evoke powerful emotions—anxiety, grief, hope, and determination. This session explores how we can acknowledge and channel those feelings into meaningful, sustained climate action. Using the Climate Action Venn Diagram, students will identify where their skills, interests, and areas of greatest need intersect to find their unique role in creating positive change.

Open Classrooms: Attend one day of a UBC climate change course and find out how students are learning about climate change across campus.

Organized by Fernanda Tomaselli

5:00 – 8:30 PM | IN PERSON | BEATY BIODIVERSITY MUSEUM

Nocturnal at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum: “Wild Dyes of the Pacific Northwest”

Join us at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum to celebrate the launch of Wild Dyes of the Pacific Northwest: A Forager’s Guide to Colour from Plants, Mushrooms, and Lichens by Zoe McDonell, with contributions from Sesemiya (Tracy Cameron) and a foreword by Nadine McSpadden. Admission by donation and all ages welcome!

Organized by Beaty Biodiversity Museum

5:30 – 8:00 PM | IN PERSON | BC HYDRO THEATRE, CIRS BUILDING

Map Your Future: Alumni and Industry Networking Night

The GSA’s Alumni and Industry Networking Night is designed to connect UBC Geography students and others interested in exploring career opportunities with professionals and alumni from diverse sectors.

The night will begin with a panel discussion where UBC alumni will talk about their post-grad experience, how they use their skills and degrees in their professional lives, and other related topics. At the career fair following the panel, companies and organizations will run booths and students will be able to have one-on-one conversations with professionals about their next steps after graduation, career options, and more.

There will be free food and drinks for all attendees, and all UBC students are welcome to attend! Email external@ubcgsa.ca to register.

Organized by the Geography Students’ Association (GSA)

10:00 AM – 4:00 PM | IN PERSON | ROOM 2254, MACISAAC HEALTH BUILDING

KUS Clothing Swap

If you donated clothes on November 16, 17 or18, come back and choose new ones from those donated!

Organized by the Kinesiology Undergraduate Society Sustainability Committee

1:00 – 2:30 PM | IN PERSON | UBC BOTANICAL GARDEN

Myco Friends Mushroom Walk

Join a walking tour of mushrooms growing at UBC Botanical Garden led by Myco Friends (@myco.friends)! Learn about fungal ecology, mushroom identification, and our local diversity of fungi.

Organized by UBC Botanical Garden

3:00 PM | IN PERSON | BEATY BIODIVERSITY MUSEUM

Daily Museum Tours

Join for daily, climate-themed tours of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, with additional 11:30am tour on Sunday, November 22. Regular museum admission rates apply, bring your UBCCard for free admission!

Organized by Beaty Biodiversity Museum

4:00 – 5:00 PM | IN PERSON | ESB 1012

Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Graduate Student Climate Research Panel

Engage with Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences graduate students undertaking climate change-related research! This panel discussion inivites audience participation and questions to collectively (re)imagine pathways that transform knowledge bases into actionable change.

Organized by the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM | IN PERSON | WESBROOK COMMUNITY CENTRE

Reuse Café 2026

Join the UNA and UBC Inspired at the Wesbrook Community Centre Social Room for free activities that celebrate circular economy and sustainability! 

Many items we throw away can be repaired or upcycled to extend their life and keep them out of the landfill. Bring your clothing items in need of some TLC and learn how to mend and patch them. Stop by and get your bike tuned up and winter ready with our friends at the Bike Kitchen. Take part in sustainable holiday crafting or simply stop by for a free cup of coffee!  

Organized by the UNA and UBC Inspired

2:00 – 3:00 PM | IN PERSON | ROOM B, ROUNDHOUSE COMMUNITY ARTS AND RECREATION CENTRE

False Creek SDG Community Engagement Event

This hands-on community event will explore the political, social and ecological dimensions of False Creek! The insights, perspectives, and information gathered throughout the event will be shared with the Government of Canada to inform the 2027 SDG Report, contributing to more equitable and sustainable development across Canada.

Whether you’re passionate about social and environmental justice, curious about the SDGs, or simply looking for a fun and meaningful way to engage with your community, come learn, connect, and help us translate community knowledge into meaningful action!

Organized by UBC Sustainability Ambassadors

11:30 AM | IN PERSON | BEATY BIODIVERSITY MUSEUM

Daily Museum Tours

Join for a climate-themed tour of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. Regular museum admission rates apply, bring your UBCCard for free admission!

Organized by Beaty Biodiversity Museum