Tiaré
Jung is a student in the IDEA program who has taken a keen interest in food and
environmental issues during her time on campus. Last semester, Tiaré began to
ask instructors what could be done to grow a campus-wide environmental movement.
According
to Jeanne Mikita, one Capilano’s professors that became involved with this
initiative, after a Sustainable Education conference last May, a group of
instructors came together to brainstorm how they could consciously incorporate the
issue of sustainability into their curricula. Jung’s line of questioning served
as the catalyst to move forward on a broad campaign, and instructors from the
from the Biology, Geography, Outdoor Recreation Management, English, Global
Stewardship, and Liberal Studies departments came forward to support the idea.
What
resulted from this was “Earthworks”, a film and lecture series focused on
environmental and sustainability issues with their ideas for films and guest
speakers that Capilano could host on campus. The group hosting Earthworks
decided to call itself the “Campus Sustainability Network”, a student, staff,
and faculty coalition whose goal is to lead a variety of university-wide
environmental initiatives.
“There
are so many people who want to see more environmental action on this campus,
but haven't found the community,” explains Jung. “I'm trying to make
connections between students, different faculties, staff, and administration …
EarthWorks could become the new banner for the environmental movement on
campus,” she says, emphasizing that it could be a “home” for people who wish
for a place for environmental activists on campus.
The
Earthworks series has already had several events on campus. On Feb. 7, UBC
Sociology professor Jennifer Chun, UBC English professor Chris Lee, and multimedia
artist and photographer Gu Xiong were invited by the Liberal Studies Department
to discuss their collaborative project entitled “Waterscapes”. The three
conversed primarily about the issues surrounding the construction of the
Yangtze River’s Three Gorges Dam, which is the largest public waterworks in the
world.
The
project, which isn’t yet operating at full capacity, has lead to “tremendous
human displace and ecological destruction,” officially displacing 1.2 million
people. Unofficially, it is believed to be closer to 3 million, and is
projected to grow.
At
the event, Jennifer Chun explained, “There is a continued displacement of
people, not only of whose towns have been submerged, but an estimated 6 million
who will be displaced in the future due to erosion, deforestation, and change in
water levels.”
There
is an entire generation of children being raised by their grandparents, while
the parents go away to find work in coastal factories, because their homes and
towns have been submerged in water.
Artist
Gu Xiong, who grew up nearby in Chongquing, Sichuan, said that in revisiting
the region, he noticed the large gap between the rich and the poor that has
resulted from the industrialization and urbanization. He has made it part of
his mission to use his art to create “images to carry on [the] issues”. While
it is impossible to bring the Yangtze and Fraser rivers together, he says that
“seeing one river makes you see another river differently”.
The
Campus Invasive Plant Pull was another event that took place under the
Earthworks banner, on Feb. 16. The hands-on experience started at 9:15am with
an orientation and went into the afternoon. The idea for the ivy pull was
suggested by Jo Ann Cook, Capilano’s groundskeeper. A similar event took place
six years ago to eradicate the invasive species, and spread quickly.
“We'd
like to host a film and lecture series each semester,” says Tiaré Jung. “[We
are] talking about having a campus wide food event and a clothing swap where we
spread awareness for food sustainability and the life-cycle of clothes. I
pitched the idea to our student team to wrap the year up with a final
‘EarthTalk’ – Sustainability Education Day – a showcasing, networking,
collaborating event to bring sustainability and environmental issues to the
forefront.”
The
most exciting part of Earthwork for Jeanne Mikita is that “faculty and students
are coming from all sorts of areas who normally wouldn’t otherwise know what
one another are doing.” These events give people from different areas, and are
“spilling out with ideas” to come together and collaborate. She hopes that this
will lead to something that will continue in upcoming semesters.
To
credit students for their extracurricular participation, Mikita created the
“Earthworks passport” which students can have stamped for attending an
EarthWorks event. The passports encourage instructors to acknowledge and credit
the students who have taken an interest in sustainability, and additionally
offers a variety of prizes, including a number of related books and films that
students will be eligible to win at the end of the Spring 2012 series.
Other
upcoming Earthworks events include The Status of Biodiversity in British
Columbia presented by Marian Adair on Feb. 29, in which Adair, an ecologist,
will discuss the status and importance of biodiversity in BC; Humanity and
Habitat Destruction: What It Means for Pollinators and Food Security, presented
by Elizabeth Elle on Mar. 22, where Elle, also an ecologist, will talk about
how habitat destruction may have adverse effects on food security. As well, a
screening of the documentary Force of Nature – A David Suzuki Story will be taking place on Apr.
3.
For
more information visit the Earthworks information page on Capilano’s website:
www2.capilanou.ca/news-events/earthworks.html
//Brittney Kroiss, writer
//Graphics by Jason Jeon
//Brittney Kroiss, writer
//Graphics by Jason Jeon
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