Above all, engaging with this course has made me hungry – hungry for solutional revelations, hungry for action, and hungry for change. While the nature of unleashing values has been surprisingly empowering, the societal level changes and transformational shifts required to combat the wicked problems encountered highlight an infinite field for me to continue learning and growing in to produce meaningful environmental advances. Gratefully, encouragement from peers and instructors to pursue difficult conversations and to exercise courage in challenging societal norms has undoubtedly shaped my personal approach to achieving the sustainable societies envisioned each week. I take solace in the thought that much like the species featured each week, who were able to creatively persevere in uncertainty or adversity, people will do the same.

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite hobbies is urban wildlife watching. From spotting Northern Saw-whet Owls and Great Blue Herons illuminated by the city scape, to admiring the entertainment of local Seagulls, maybe watching Coyotes dash between pockets of urban forest, or laughing at Mule Deer using sidewalks. It's really cool to think how we coexist, and it's important that we can continue to do so. #UnLeashValues Imagine how many more nifty flora and fauna we could observe if our city planning regulations worked to facilitate local biodiversity? The wild-life watcher in me might just explode if future cities: ♦️ could be zoned for expansion upwards rather than outwards (more land for wildlife), ♦️ could ban building spikes that prevent bird nesting, ♦️ could expedite the approval of wildlife overpasses/corridors, not only for my own life-list of urban wildlife, but in knowing that biodiversity can continue to thrive. #ReWilding #UrbanPlanning

Someday, I imagine myself and my generation in a world with happy, healthy children. In the name of science, culture, and social interactions, I also treasure being apart of an intelligent, socially complex, and long-living population. #UnleashValues However, when our plastic planet is exposing us to Endocrine Disruptors (affecting not just fertility, but social cognition, brain development, puberty onset, cancer onset...etc.) via myriad pathways, this future feels out of reach. To me, the only resolution is to stop the situation from getting any worse. For the sake of our children and our population, I advocate for: ◾️ Drastically transforming regulatory and preventative frameworks for Endocrine-Disrupting Pollutants ◾️ Immediately banning the use of single- and multi-use plastics outside of those completely necessary (e.g. PPE, or medical supplies)

What do I value? Companies that strive for holistic sustainability through comprehensive and transparent review. What do I envision? Company projects that effectively enact sustainable means to reach their business ends. What intervention can work towards this? Strong and Enforceable Environmental Law for business developments! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For those of you who don't know, Canada amended their Environmental Impact Assessment Act in 2019 (IAA2019) which requires Impact Assessments to consider: ♦️ A Project's contribution to sustainability and fulfillment of Canada's Environment and Climate Change Commitments ♦️ Positive and negative environmental, health, social, and economic effects and their interactions ♦️ As well as the need for the project at all The IAA also extended the time required for reviews to be accomplished, so project planning initiated in 2019 under the new law have yet to be finalized, meaning we have yet to see how these amendments will play out in practice. However, my personal hope is that this new Act is able to enforce the stronger environmental law it publicizes, and we can continue to see increasingly stronger environmental law such as IAA2019 in Canadian legislation. #UnleashValues

Forests are some of my favourite places to be, and fresh air is also my favourite to breathe.#UnleashValues. While forests fires have always occurred, climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of these fires. I think it would be "fire" if we could live in a society where forest fires are seen as a phenomenon of renewal and an effective management tool. Then, this might invoke a wide-spread demand for forest managers to take guidance from Indigenous fire keepers, who use prescribed burns to quite literally, fight fire with fire. If you're curious to read more, I suggest taking a read through this recent cbc article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fire-indigenous-cultural-burning-prescribed-burning-wildfires-bc-fires-climate-change-solutions-1.6503543 @CoSphere

It's not often thought that agriculture, and specifically food production, has a huge impact or has great potential for meaningful solutions on climate change. However, after some great documentaries and ENVR course discussions to #UnleashValues - I am convinced this is a field (no pun intended) worth diving into! As someone who values biodiversity both intrinsically and for its functions, envisioning farming practices that can foster biodiversity and contribute to climate change targets, seems like the ultimate win-win. For example, poly-culture farms! Farms that grow multiple species of food, use livestock to their advantage, or practice integrative pest management. I think of it as the "fruit salad" of farming - a little bit of everything, for one healthy tasty outcome! However, when government subsidies target mono-culture farms, required to produce crops or livestock and reliant on pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, (genocides!), these visions feel out of reach. In acknowledging that subsidies for integrative biodiverse farming cannot come out of thin air, what I think needs to happen is for these government subsidies to undergo a slow, transparent shift, from one farming type to another to allow the farming community the time to accept the idea, and learn the practices. To aid in getting farmers on board with evolving their practices to follow these subsidies, I think educating farmers on the human health and ecosystem resilience of poly-culture farming would be an impactful place to start! 🌿🐣

It's that time of the week again where I'm sharing my values, visions, and possible interventions for this week's ENVR 430 topic: Water - in collaboration with the @CoSphere initiative. I don't even think I realize how much I value water. Whether I'm using water as a physical resources, marveling at the life it hosts, or simply reveling in it's beauty - I don't think I can quite quantify what it means to me. This makes for quite a challenge in conservation, how do we assign value to infinity? In thinking that water benefits everyone and everything, but not everyone or everything can contribute equally to its conservation, I present two possible solutions: Philanthropic Leadership and Required Relative Contributions. The first being a voluntary solution (less controversial, but perhaps less effective) and the second a government requirement (perhaps controversial, but more guaranteed. 💧Philanthropic Leadership could be from individuals, corporations, or governments with the managerial or economic means to implement and maintain water infrastructure. This answer not only benefits the contributor, but also fulfills the Leader in knowing that their efforts will greatly benefit countless externalities. 💧Relative Economic Contributions, on the other hand, could exist similarly to tax brackets, in that individuals who make more money contribute more to the economic means required to implement and maintain water infrastructures. However, this answer would require government oversight to manage said funds, as well as to implement a water tax-type policy. My personal vision for water is that we as a species and a planet can without hesitation, continue to receive all the magnificent benefits that water currently provides, and hopefully the ideas presented provide some food for thought for others to #UnLeashValues related to the wonderful substance of water.