What a term! This class has by far been one of my favorites in university. It really made me realize how important it is to have a welcoming and innovative space to share your ideas and learn about new things. This class absolutely exceeded my expectations! We learned and talked about things I had never even thought of. Topics like death practices, overconsumption and water waste were definitely difficult and saddenning to talk about, however it helped me grow as a learner and activist! Looking forward in life, I hope to take everything I have learned from ENVR 430 and share it in my day-to-day life, beginning with hard conversations and my final workshop! My overall vision is to live in a world where sustainability and saving our environment is a global priority. I value making eco-friendly choices and continuing to incorporate sustainability and climate change action into curriculum at the pre and post secondary level. Thank you all for an amazing term and wishing everyone the best in their future endeavours! #unleashvalues #climateaction #sustainability #vision #values

Death is something that everybody has been uncomfortable to talk about at some point in their life. However, it is SO important that we encourage the conversation. Death care is a big decisions and has many impacts on the environment and world around us. I envision a world where"eco-friendly" burials are available globally in a legal and accessible manner. I value a variety of CHOICES to be given to all people and their families in preparation for and after death. This comes from pushing for innovative and eco-friendly options to become available to all, challenging and potentially changing the norms and default options for burials. This starts with making eco-friendly alternatives legal all around the world. Encouraging for sustainable options such as acqua-mation and natural burials to become legal and more known about is the first step in sustainable options being chosen for death care. #difficultcoversations #deathcare #sustainability #options

I envision a world where it is the norm globally to live in a plastic free world. This vision is obstructed by corporations and producers taking advantage of the lack of consumer knowledge surrounding the dangers of plastic consumption. We see constantly that throwing a "recyclable" label on products allows buyers to feel less guilty about their consumption. However, this sense of guilt is necessary in order for there to ever be systemic change. My vision for the future is for the world to live plastic-less. This involves enforcing strong laws banning various plastic products, educating consumers on how to recognize if the products they are buying can be sustainably disposed of and promoting innovation for plastic alternatives. It is important that society as a whole values fighting for solutions to our plastic problem! #plasticfree #fighttheproblem #myvision

I envision a future where transparency amongst the business world is mandatory. This vision is obstructed by the power billionaires have to shape society without public consent. This power is both dangerous and concerning, and it is important to realize that the "Big Philanthropists" aren't the solution to the global issues we see today. The true motive behind these philanthropic actions we see in the media is often clouded by praise and dollar signs. Future changes include having strong laws to prevent the various tax-break loopholes that are often taken advantage of by billionaires. The true meaning of philanthropy needs to be valued and protected by all. #rememberthemeaning #shapingsociety #thebillionaireproblem

It's crazy to think about how many forest fires happen around the world each year. I remember last year when I had to drive passed the town of Lytton in the summer shortly after the fires. It was absolutely devastating to see the destruction the fire had... We are in a losing game! We are in an endless loop of literally putting out one fire, to only have another one pop up. Some can argue that this is due to us FIGHTING NATURE. The more we fight fires, the longer we are preserving those fuels in nature that would have otherwise been burned. In turn, we are leaving more fuels in nature that only helps ignite and spread future forest fires. This sparks the thought: what is the best method to mitigate the fires? One way to tackle this is prevention -for example, prescribed burns? There are so many beneficial outcomes of this... however it has to be done to just the right amount. It is interesting to entertain the idea of fighting fire with fire. My Vision is to live in a community/ environment where climate change no longer is on the uprise for causing more fires (through drying fuels in nature). My values are to truly realize the impact climate change as on our globe; from temperatures rising, glaciers melting and fires starting. Modes of intervention come from as a community, finding sustainable methods to both prevent and fight fires. There is a fine balance between fighting fires to just the right amount in order to lead to further prevention (burning some of those fuels). This is a tricky thing to balance, and it's hard to know if there is perfect solution out there - but the least we could do is try, and try to mitigate our impacts that contribute to climate change. Continuing education surrounding this topic is important in order to create aware members of society who will in the future contribute to to fighting fires in the most sustainable way! #fightingfirewithfire #fire #findthebalace

Our system for getting food is one that is not only complex, but also contributes to our climate crisis in many ways. The list goes on, from meat consumption, pesticide use and the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere upon agricultural practices. My vision is to have a world where sustainable farming practices are globally used. Agricultural is used and largely backed by the growing demand for more and more food as our global population grows. As this demand grows and government policies lack harsh consequences we consistently see how harsh farming practices are continued to be utilized, from excessive pesticide use to harmful treatment of animals. My values include not only eating and valuing food in a way that is just and deserving, but also implementing practices in your own life to support sustainable farming. This means anything from shopping local, "knowing your farmer," and reducing meat consumption. In Terms of intervention, throwing money at the problem isn't going to solve it. Change is rooted in government policies implementing a reason to make agricultural practices more sustainable. We often look for a "smoking gun"/ root of each agricultural issue. However, this does not need to be found in order to push for change. Sticking to what we know about the affects farming and other agricultural practices on dangers such as greenhouse emissions, is enough to begin change. #UnleashValues #Change #food #agriculture

Water is something that many of us, living in British Columbia take for granted. Water is arguably the MOST important resource our planet has. Without it, we would have nothing! Our lives, material resources and other important production processes rely on it. The infinite value of water is something that the majority of society hasn't even started to understand. There are so many innovative ways that have been developed in order for us to more efficiently and sustainably use water - aka ****recycle and save it!**** When Cape Town was in their water crisis of 2018, "DAY 0" was discussed - the day general water supply would be cut off to the public. When news of this broke, a sense of urgency overcame Cape town and water waste was reduced by 50%! I think this is an excellent example of how urgency is a crucial driver for change. My vision would be to live in a world where everyone treated everyday like DAY 0 was around the corner. This would help everyone realize the true value of crucial resources such as water: they are invaluable! A key intervention to implement water saving practices would be to regulate and incentivize water saving amongst not only individuals, but big corporations. The excessive amount of water needed to make things from food, clothes and cosmetics contributes to society's biggest use of water. Implementing incentives and regulations on water usage for mega corporations would encourage them to make their practices more sustainable - by investing in water saving tactics. #savewater #UnleashValues #thebigW #sustainabillity

My Vision for the future is one that works on reconciling specific injustices from environmental racism, while also aiming towards a future where all communities and groups are consulted on decisions that both directly and indirectly affect them. It is important that us as a society find the value in continuing to support diversity, celebrate cultural practices and care for each other equally. As we saw in the "There's Something in the Water"documentary, there were various examples of how minority communities were directly exposed to harmful practices, such as in Halifax where a garbage dump site was made in a primarily African - American community. It saddened me to watch the harmful effects seen today of many residents in that community dying from cancer as a result from exposure to the dump site, and the little that is being done to reconcile them. This is just one example of how environmental racism has lethally effected many communities. As we become more aware of these injustices, it is important to continue to educate and have progressive conversations not only in our own communities, but on a global scale. #UnleashValues #Reconciliation #Justice #GlobalChange I have also linked the documentary "There's Something in the Water": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRP4Ikwsqls

My Vision for the future is to create a world where sustainability and environmental impact are well understood and recognized globally. This includes raising awareness about the detrimental effects various social “norms” the world around us has, such as fast fashion. The goal would be for everyone to value durable, long lasting and sustainable consumer practices. This includes STOPPING fast fashion and promoting alternate brands who are more sustainable. I believe that everyone has a responsibility to help the world around us, and one of the ways to do this is to reduce our excess consumerism. Although it may be hard for some individuals to justify spending more on an article of clothing , it is important that it is clear to ALL consumers the net positive impact shopping sustainably has for themselves and the environment around them. Ideally, this education should begin to start in the early stages of childhood education. This way, we can raise the upcoming generation to have a forward-thinking approach to consumerism and a broader understand of how supply chains work and the impact fashion can have on our environment. For those who cannot receive this sort of education in the school setting, it is important to continue to share information and educate on various media platforms such as CoSphere, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. #UnleashValues #stopfastfashion #sustaibility #educate #understand #spreadawareness

My name is Maria and I am currently a 4th year Biology student with a Minor in Commerce at UBC enrolled in ENVR 430 this fall! I am both eager to be apart of the movement to foster real world impact. I am looking forward to learning about strategies and taking part in discussions surrounding sustainability and steps to success. #UnleashValues #sustainability #change #worldimpact