The climate crisis is now. For inspiration this Earth Week, we met with three UBC community members – an undergraduate student, graduate student, and professor – to hear how they are stepping up to the most pressing issue of our time.
UBC is home to thousands of students, staff, and faculty working harder than ever to address the climate crisis through teaching, learning, research, operations, and community building. As such, UBC is an agent of change for sustainability, urgent climate action and a more just society, and our community is helping to create the most sustainable and equitable campuses in the world.
But great challenges remain.
Earth week 2022 is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and re-energize ourselves in the face of difficult days ahead. For inspiration, we met up with three UBC community members – an undergraduate student, graduate student, and professor – to reflect on their work both on and off campus towards global sustainability, social and environmental justice, and addressing the climate crisis. We asked them what brings them hope and motivates their work through these uncertain times.
Join us to hear the story behind the story, and to learn what going ‘All In’ to address the climate emergency means to them.
"Earth week is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and re-energize ourselves in the face of difficult days ahead."
The ultimate challenge?
What do the oceans tell us about the scale of the climate crisis and how we might take collective action?
UBC professor Simon Donner engages his reverence for the ocean to address the gravity and complexity of the issues we face, and to explore opportunities for a sustainable fossil-free future. As an IPCC report author, Simon describes his role in summarising the science, the impact of assessing what is relevant to tell the world’s governments about, and the challenge ahead for his generation and his students to change the way the world gets energy.
Simon’s contributions to advancing sustainability education at UBC were supported in-part through his participation in the Sustainability Hub’s Sustainability Fellowships program.
Simon Donner, Professor, Department of Geography, Institute for Resources, the Environment and Sustainability; Sustainability Hub Fellow
"It's about the choices we make today determining what the next few centuries are going to be like on the planet and for people."
How does it feel?
“We know that youth climate anxiety is rising… especially with all the protests around the world. Youth are really trying to draw attention to their futures.”
Judy Wu, Master of Public Health; UBC Sustainability Scholar
How do we address a new form of grief for our earth?
UBC graduate student Judy Wu seeks to create greater recognition for climate grief, and better interventions to create space for healing through her work with youth, and her own experiences in navigating multiple overlapping and interconnected forms of grief. Via research and community engagement actions, Judy explores how climate change is affecting youth in BC, and what strategies might strengthen and empower a generation that is going to be ultimately facing the effects of climate change.
Judy partnered with regional organization – the Fraser Basin Council – to produce applied research on programs and interventions to address climate grief through her participation in the Sustainability Hub’s Sustainability Scholars program.
What could be?
What role do youth play in addressing the climate crisis? As a co-founder of Canadian non-profit Reimagine 17, UBC undergraduate student Anjali Mishra describes her work at the local and national level to promote student collaboration towards the Sustainable Development Goals within and across post-secondary institutions.
An optimist by nature, Anjali finds hope in youth-led communities, in the spaces where we nurture our relationships with one another, and in her connection to the earth we live on. But she also challenges us to remember – the weight of addressing the climate crisis should not be put disproportionately on young people.
Anjali’s leadership, collaboration, and peer networking skills were supported through her participation in the Sustainability Hub’s Sustainability Ambassadors program.
Anjali Mishra, Bachelor of Arts in International Relations; Co-Founder, ReImagine 17; UBC Sustainability Ambassador
"I feel deeply hopeful about our world and ability to be creative, do things differently, and provoke people to think in different ways."
Things you can do
If Earth Week 2022 has got you ready to jump in and do more, below are some quick links to get you started. For more ideas, please visit our Get Involved section and explore programs and opportunities for UBC students, faculty, and staff.
Everyone
Event Apr 21: What Can Mother Trees Teach Us About Climate Justice?
Free public talk by Suzanne Simard and the ED's of Sierra Club BC and CPAWS-BC. Online and in-person.
Register now.
COP27: Delegate Passes Open Competition
Apply to join the UBC delegation to COP27 in November. Deadline for applications May 4.
Learn more.
Sort it out: Guides, Games, and a Recyclepedia to Avoiding Waste
Garbage rotting in landfills increases the risk of soil, water and air pollution, and creates the greenhouse gas methane that is twenty times worse than carbon dioxide (C02).
Learn more.
Students
Sustainability Scholars
Paid internships for graduate students to work on applied research projects that advance sustainability across the region.
Learn more.
Sustainability Ambassadors
A leadership experience for undergraduate students to work as an interdisciplinary team on sustainability programs and events.
Learn more.
Climate Change Courses
A curated course collection highlighting some UBC Vancouver courses with climate change-related content - many with no restrictions.
Find a course.
Faculty
Sustainability Education Grants
Apply by May 16 for funding to advance and diversify sustainability education opportunities.
Learn more.
Climate Education Grants
Up to $5,000 to UBC Vancouver faculty members to incorporate climate change content and teaching approaches into existing undergraduate and graduate courses.
Learn more.
Sustainability Fellowships
Sustainability Fellowships are awarded to full-time UBC Vancouver faculty members who are leading the design of new sustainability courses and programs through a Sustainability Education Grant.
Learn more.
STAFF
Sustainability Coordinator Program
The Sustainability Coordinator Program provides UBC employees and researchers with opportunities and resources to promote and implement sustainable practices in their departments.
Learn more.
Green Labs Program
Learn about environmental best practices, exchange ideas, access recycling and energy conservation programs.
Learn more.
Sustainability Revolving Fund
The Sustainability Revolving Fund provides a minimum loan of $10,000 for projects that reduce consumption of energy, water or other resources – supporting UBC’s sustainability goals.
Learn more.