The UN’s “Code Red for humanity,” issues the most dire warning yet on the state of our planet’s health and the outsized role we have played in creating this crisis. We are confronted with overwhelming evidence that our world is hurtling towards a future with irreversible and catastrophic consequences. And we know the suffering will not be borne equally.
Calls to action have never been more urgent and yet, solutions are still within our grasp. Mobilizing for change means ending unsustainable energy consumption and extraction practices and coordinating on shared commitments for action and accountability. However, resolving the climate crisis cannot be achieved if we focus only on the technical solutions that have so far eluded us. In addition to emissions reductions, effective climate action must bend towards justice. Addressing the social inequities laid bare by this emergency demands a new approach, one that centres care for the health and well-being of our planet and all living communities that depend on it. Because if we get this wrong, then nothing else matters.
The Invitation
You are invited to join us in a Call to Action as February 14-18 becomes UBC’s first Climate Emergency Week, featuring conversations, actions, celebrations and community-building. Working in the spirit of community, the Sustainability Hub, Climate Hub, and AMS join together to mark the 1-year anniversary of the UBC Board of Governor’s endorsement in principle of the UBC Climate Emergency Task Force Report and Recommendations. We invite you to wear something red this week and to post about your thoughts, experiences, and ideas from this week on social media using #UBCClimateLove.
Our teams acknowledge the real and pressing need to find connection and community among everyone working towards resolving this crisis. In response, we’re offering a week of events and activities that seek to renew, reenergize, and reconvene our UBC climate action communities. With a special focus on activities aiming to engage and amplify student voices across all disciplines and reaffirm UBC’s commitment to advancing climate justice and the 9 priority areas of the Climate Emergency.
Climate Emergency Week coincides with AMS Sustainability Week, February’s Move UBC campaign, and Black History Month.
We thank the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) and the UBC Wellbeing Strategic Initiatives Fund for funding support for this week’s events.
Monday, February 14
10AM – 10.30Am PST | IN PERSON
Nature Walk/Roll/Stroll (Theme: Decolonizing Landscapes)
Have you ever wondered what the power dynamics of a lush green lawn are? Do you ever question the significance of why some plants or trees are set into local landscapes and greenspaces and what that says about the systems we are a part of? The landscapes and greenspaces we move through daily often hold many stories and reflections of historical and ongoing systems of colonialism. Decolonizing the way we see, engage with, and understand the lands we are on is important work. This walk is meant to connect us with the landscape while also engaging us in a soft self-reflective prompt that asks, how do the landscapes I move through reflect or uphold systems of colonialism?
A Climate Hub and Move UBC event.
No need to register. Drop by before we leave at 10am. Meet at Martha Piper Plaza fountain.
3PM – 4.30pm PST | Virtual Event
Communities for Climate Justice
Climate change intersects with multiple dimensions of injustice, reflecting and arising out of historic inequalities. In the face of overwhelming evidence that our world is hurtling towards a future with irreversible and catastrophic consequences, we know the suffering will not be borne equally. Thus, resolving the climate crisis cannot be achieved only by applying cleaner technology. Effective climate action must bend towards justice. Addressing the social inequities laid bare by this emergency demands a new approach, one that centres care for the health and wellbeing of our planet and all living communities that depend on it.
Join us for this very special event to kick-off UBC Climate Emergency Week featuring a welcome from xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Elder Larry Grant and our special guest and keynote speaker, Dr. Ingrid Waldron, Professor and HOPE Chair in Peace and Health in the Global Peace and Social Justice Program in the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities at McMaster University, moderated by Temitope Onifade, PhD candidate at the Peter A. Allard School of Law and recent COP26 delegate.
Event organized by the Sustainability Hub, UBC Climate Hub, and AMS.
SPEAKER: Dr. Ingrid Waldron
Dr. Ingrid Waldron’s research, teaching and community advocacy work focus on the structural and environmental determinants of health and mental health disparities in Black, Indigenous, immigrant and refugee communities in Canada, including environmental racism, climate inequities, mental illness, and COVID-19.
Dr. Waldron is the author of There’s Something in the Water: Environmental Racism in Indigenous and Black Communities (Fernwood Publishing), which was turned into a 2020 Netflix documentary of the same name and was co-produced by Waldron, actor Elliot Page, Ian Daniel, and Julia Sanderson and directed by Page and Daniel.
Dr. Waldron is also the founder and Director of the Environmental Noxiousness, Racial Inequities and Community Health Project (The ENRICH Project), the co-founder and Co-Director of the Canadian Coalition for Environmental and Climate Justice (CCECJ), and the co-founder and past Vice-President of Rural Water Watch, which conducts water testing projects in rural Nova Scotian communities. Her research and community advocacy work inspired the federal private members bill a National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice (Bill C-230).
You can follow Dr. Waldron’s work at:
- Twitter for ENRICH Project: @inwhosebackyard
- Facebook for ENRICH Project: https://www.facebook.com/TheENRICHProject/?ref=stream
- Twitter: @ingrid_waldron
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waldroningrid/
MODERATOR: Temitope Onifade
Temitope Onifade is a Vanier Scholar at UBC. He is a sociolegal expert studying the low-carbon agenda, climate justice and Africa’s “sustainable development.” He co-founded the Liu Institute Network for Africa, UBC. He works for the Canada Climate Law Initiative, UBC, and has worked for Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative, University of Oxford.
12PM – 2pm PST | AMS Interactive Sustainability Centre (UBC LIFE 0017)
Grand Opening of the Interactive Sustainability Centre
The interactive Sustainability Centre (ISC) was created to replace the Student Life Sustainability Centre as a hub for students to foster sustainability, providing space for student sustainability-oriented clubs and groups to host meetings, workshops, and office hours. The space brings together the Sustainability Corridor in the Life Building by offering students a “one-stop-shop” to learn more about sustainability broadly and specifically at UBC, while continuing to support collaboration among sustainability clubs and projects.
Stop by to say hi to the AMS Sustainability team, learn how to book the ISC, and take a look at resources in the little library.
Part of AMS Sustainability Week.
ALL DAY DROP-IN | Virtual Event
Keeping Up with the AUS Sustainability Committee
Join AUS Sustainability Coordinators and their Administrator through a one-day takeover of @ubcaus where viewers can test their knowledge of sustainability by facing green and non-green choices and featuring the eco-friendly solutions on their channel. AUS coordinators will also discuss sustainable lifestyle choices and the harmful effects that certain choices have on the environment.
Also keep an eye out for Bob Ross (or at least someone who looks like him!), using eco-friendly paints and green products to paint an arts-related scene on campus. Whoever can send a photo to @ubcaus of themselves at the location of the painting along with the name of the location in the text of the message will win a prize.
Part of AMS Sustainability Week.
Tuesday, February 15
10AM – 10.30Am PST | IN PERSON
Nature Walk/Roll/Stroll (Theme: Climate Resilience and Landscapes)
Have you ever wondered what the power dynamics of a lush green lawn are? Do you ever question the significance of why some plants or trees are set into local landscapes and greenspaces and what that says about the systems we are a part of? The landscapes and greenspaces we move through daily often hold many stories and reflections of historical and ongoing systems of colonialism. Decolonizing the way we see, engage with, and understand the lands we are on is important work. This walk is meant to connect us with the landscape while also engaging us in a soft self-reflective prompt that asks, how do the landscapes I move through reflect or uphold systems of colonialism?
A Climate Hub and Move UBC event.
No need to register. Drop by before we leave at 10am. Meet at Martha Piper Plaza fountain.
3.30PM – 5pm PST | Virtual Event
Open Roundtable: Voice and Vision for Climate Action
Navigating climate change requires collective urgency, deep care and community building. Students are an invaluable part of building climate momentum and change on and off-campus. This Climate Emergency Student Roundtable aims to create intentional and mindful space for students to share and discuss challenges, solutions, hopes and shared dreams regarding climate change processes and impacts. Through Open Space facilitation, this session offers an opportunity for students to take the lead on identifying the climate emergency themes they want to engage with during the event’s breakout room discussions.
Register today to help amplify student voice in shaping how we can address the climate emergency to foster sustainable, resilient, equitable community systems.
Event organized by the Sustainability Hub, UBC Climate Hub, and AMS.
ALL DAY download | Virtual Event
Chasing Sustainable Business Podcast by CUS Sustainability
The Chasing Sustainable Business podcast created by CUS Sustainability aims to promote how businesses and sustainability can intersect. They’ll be featuring Soapstand, a local zero-waste soap dispensary start-up, for their AMS Sustainability Week episode. Check them out!
Part of AMS Sustainability Week.
Wednesday, February 16
10AM – 10.30Am PST | IN PERSON
Botanical Garden Walk
Did you know that UBC’s Botanical Garden is Canada’s oldest university botanic garden? Join us on a guided tour of the beautiful garden. This walk will start at the garden entrance.
A Move UBC event.
3PM – 4.30pm PST | Virtual Event
Committing to Change: Dialogue with UBC Leadership
Strong leadership is needed at every level to advance climate emergency, climate action, and climate justice.
Join us for an exciting dialogue with a diverse range of student and administrative leaders at UBC. They will share their latest updates and priorities related to the climate emergency, and you will have the unique opportunity to pose questions for a Q&A session moderated by Samuel Adeyanju, Academic Lead of UBC Climate Hub.
**Featuring video message from Santa Ono, President & Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia.**
All are welcome, especially students with questions for UBC leadership.
Event organized by the Sustainability Hub, UBC Climate Hub, and AMS.
MODERATOR:
Samuel Adeyanju, Academic Lead of UBC Climate Hub.
Samuel Adeyanju is a PhD Student at the Faculty of Forestry with a focus on African environmental politics and the socio-political dimensions of natural resources management policies and programs in West Africa. He is a forest and climate advocate with over four years of experience in climate change advocacy and education at grassroots and international level policy forums.
Speakers include:
Eshana Bhangu, Vice President, Academic and University Affairs at the Alma Mater Society (AMS) + Senator at the UBCV Senate + Co-Chair of the Student Senate Caucus.
Tashia Kootenayoo, President, UBCO Student Union.
Tashia Kootenayoo is a Stoney-Sioux, queer identifying woman from the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation who has been an active student-leader on the Okanagan campus for the past three years. Tashia currently serves as President of the Students’ Union of UBC Okanagan (SUO), representing UBC’s undergraduate and graduate students.
Lesley Cormack, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal, UBC Okanagan Campus.
Lesley Cormack is Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UBC Okanagan. Dr. Cormack joined UBC in 2020 from the University of Alberta, where she served as Dean of the Faculty of Arts. Dr. Cormack is also an historian of early modern science specializing in geography and mathematics of 16th century England. You can connect with Leslie on Twitter @UBCO_DVC and Instagram @UBCO_DVC.
Em Mittertreiner, Co-Student Director, UBC Climate Hub.
Em Mittertreiner (they/them) is a Chinese-Dutch settler studying in the Honours Psychology program at UBC, with a minor in Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice. Since early high school, building climate community with other queer, disabled, and BIPOC student activists has been a main source of joy in Em’s life, and they now serve as co-student director of the UBC Climate Hub. Especially close to Em’s heart is the Hub’s Youth Climate Ambassadors Project (YCAP), a climate justice storytelling program that they co-founded in 2019.
Linda Nowlan, Senior Director, Sustainability Hub.
Since joining UBC in 2020, Linda has co-led the development of the Sustainability Hub’s strategic plan, instituted the Climate Justice webinar series, and started a new program to convene and coordinate work on implementing the UBC Climate Emergency Task Force report. Linda is an Adjunct Professor at the Allard School of Law, where she co-teaches an environmental law workshop.
Michael White, Associate Vice-President, Campus & Community Planning.
Michael White joined UBC as the Associate Vice President of UBC’s Campus and Community Planning (C+CP) in early 2014. In this role, he leads a team of 60 inter-disciplinary staff responsible for a broad set of municipal functions including campus planning and design, development services, sustainability and engineering, community development, and public and stakeholder engagement.
Michael is an urban planning professional with 25 years of experience in North America, the Middle East and Asia, and specializes in urban and regional planning, strategic planning, leadership development, and public engagement.
Michael holds a Master of Science in Planning from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia and is a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners. Find out more about Michael’s current projects at: https://campusvision2050.ubc.ca/; https://twitter.com/campusubc; https://www.instagram.com/campusubc/.
4pm – 5pm PST | Engineering Student Centre
Succulent Social with the EUS Engineering Student Centre
Provide feedback on what you want to see in the Engineering Student Centre Garden and take home a free succulent! Check out @ubcengineers on Instagram for more information on this drop-in event, where you can learn more about sustainability resources within the community and opportunities to get involved.
Part of AMS Sustainability Week.
4pm – 6pm PST | AMS Nest 1st Floor (Across Blue CHip Cookies)
Sport4U with the KUS
KUS in partnership with Sport4U – an initiative that aims to allow everyone in the community a chance to participate in sports – invite you to donate your lightly used sports gear at 2 donations locations across campus. All donations will be gifted to the February 19 Sport4U sports equipment drive at the Kitsilano Community Centre.
Part of AMS Sustainability Week.
Thursday, February 17
10AM – 10.30AM PST | IN PERSON
Nature Walk/Roll/Stroll (Theme: Access to Nature)
Access to nature is an important aspect for fostering and nurturing our individual and collective metal health and wellbeing! However, what does it mean for individuals or communities when we don’t have, or cannot safely access natural landscapes or spaces due to historical and ongoing systems of inequity and injustice? During this Climate Emergency Week walk/roll/stroll event, we offer the soft self-reflective prompt, in what ways can we advance equitable and safe access to nature across our communities to promote mental health and wellbeing?
A Climate Hub and Move UBC event.
No need to register. Drop by before we leave at 10am. Meet at Martha Piper Plaza fountain.
12PM – 1.30pm PST | Virtual Event
World Café: Collective Climate Action
Community cohesion is a powerful community resilience dynamic that is found to insulate and uplift communities facing climate change challenges. But community cohesion is often undervalued. This partner roundtable event draws on the power and benefits of partnerships and collaborations to advance community-based solutions, wellbeing, equity, justice and sustainability. During this roundtable event, there will be opportunities to engage in climate emergency-focused discussions with the Center for Climate Justice, CJUBC, Climate Hub, Community Food Hub, UBC Wellbeing, USI IBPOC Student Engagement and UBC Campus and Community Planning.
Register today to join in expanding these community discussions for how we can all work together to advance justice-centred and equitable climate action.
Event organized by the Sustainability Hub, UBC Climate Hub, and AMS.
11.30AM – 12.30pm PST | AMS Interactive Sustainability Centre (UBC LIFE 0017)
Snack & Chat: Climate-Friendly Food Systems
Drop by the ISC to learn more about climate-friendly food systems and initiatives on campus.
Part of AMS Sustainability Week.
2PM – 3pm PST | UBC Farm
UBC Farm Walk-and-Talk presented by LFS|US
Attention UBC undergraduate and graduate students! Learn about the UBC Farm and the current sustainability challenges it faces, as well as how students can get involved. Fun prizes and snacks included!
Tour spots will be limited to 30 guests and full vaccination will be required before tour begins. Register or follow @lfsusubc to receive further details and updates.
Part of AMS Sustainability Week.
4PM – 5pm PST | virtual
EOAS and the Climate Emergency: Our multifaceted roles as researchers, educators, mentors & citizens
A new series to showcase the latest in climate science and climate solutions research, highlight intersections between science and multidisciplinary aspects of the climate crisis, and discuss opportunities and roles for Earth Sciences (and scientists) in the broader context of a society-spanning response to the climate crisis.
Part of the Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric Sciences Colloquium Series.
Friday, February 18
12PM – 2pm PST | Virtual Event
Move UBC Research Panel
Panel event and small group workshops discussing the intersections of physical activity, climate action, and social justice. This event is part of Move UBC, a month-long campaign to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior. UBC is working to create environments where movement is supported and celebrated for all our community members.
Presenters will outline their research and how it relates to this topic in a five-minute presentation. Participants will then break out into groups to discuss the implications and potential impacts of the presented research. The UBC Recreation team will then use the notes, recommendations, and key takeaways to inform our office’s future strategy and planning in this area.
Part of Move UBC’s month-long campaign.
2PM – 4pm PST | Virtual Event
Celebrating our Climate Community
The Climate Emergency has exposed many of our society’s deepest vulnerabilities, revealing the harm caused from our stories of unlimited growth rooted in an unrestrained colonial and capitalist paradigm. Can we learn, and re-learn, new stories that re-centre on the care and wellbeing of others and our lands?
Show some #UBCClimateLove and join us as we close out UBC’s inaugural Climate Emergency Week. This event features lessons and stories of climate resilience from the arctic community, Old Crow, Yukon, where the Vuntut Gwitchin became the first Indigenous Nation to declare a Climate Emergency. This declaration – Yeendoo Diinehdoo Ji’heezrit Nits’oo Ts’o’ Nan He’aa – invites all of us to reflect on “In The future, after our time, how will the land be?”
Event organized by the Sustainability Hub, UBC Climate Hub, and AMS.
Speakers include:
Dana Tizya-Tramm – Vuntut Gwitchin Chief
Dana was born and raised in the Yukon, from the Capitol city of Whitehorse to surrounding rural communities and his families home of Old Crow. Raised a proud Gwich’in Dana weathered a difficult upbringing which informed his work with youth, environmental and indigenous ways of knowing advocacy.
3PM – 6pm PST | Kitsilano Beach
SUStainable Shorelines
UBC Science Undergraduate Society (SUS) invite you to join for a shoreline clean up. Attendees are welcome to attend for part or all of the event and SUS will provide the supplies, snacks, and beverages. Follow @susubc for more information!
Part of AMS Sustainability Week.
10am – 4pm PST | Interactive Sustainability Centre (UBC LIFE 0017)
Thrifting + Food Drive Event
Drop off your unwanted clothes for donation or to swap or purchase pieces from other students. All proceeds will be donated to the Alley Outreach Project, which provides clothes and services to residents of the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. We also encourage you to bring non-perishable foods for donation to Powell Street Getaway. Follow @ubcgsa for more information.
Part of AMS Sustainability Week.
Questions?
Questions or looking for ways to get involved in Climate Emergency Week? Contact climate.emergency@ubc.ca or climate.hub@ubc.ca.
AMS Sustainability Week is organized by the student-led AMS Sustainability team, Arts Undergraduate Society, Commerce Undergraduate Society, Engineering Undergraduate Society, Kinesiology Undergraduate Society, Land and Food Systems Undergraduate Society, Science Undergraduate Society, and Geography Students Association.
Anyone in the UBC community is welcome and encouraged to attend! Events are inclusive to students and academics from all fields of study. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to the AMS AVP Sustainability at sustainability@ams.ubc.ca.
