Last week we had the fantastic opportunity to be invited to a grade 11/12 class at Vancouver College to talk to students about the environmental impact of plastic consumption, waste management, and regulations surrounding plastic in Canada. We took what we learned in ENVR 430 and aimed to inspire more young people in our community to start making real change with respect to plastic use. The students were extremely engaged and had so many great questions about possible solutions and interventions that could be put into place locally and internationally. They were really intrigued by the stories we shared about the environmental and economic impacts that plastic pollution has on coastal cities. They also were curious to understand the process of entering a circular economy and the potential economic impact that could have on production costs. Towards the end of our workshop we asked the students to brainstorm how they want to create change in their lives, at their school, and in their communities when it comes to plastic use. The students worked in groups to come up with realistic interventions and we discussed them together as a class. Here's what the students had to say about how to help the plastic problem...

I value the time that I was able to spend this term learning about the climate crisis and the steps I can take to make real change. Life can get so busy that we forget to take the time to learn and advocate for a greener and healthier future. This course has been such a great experience and I wish that all UBC students could have the opportunity to take it. I envision a future where all young people have easy access to the information that we were taught in ENVR 430 this term. Knowledge is key when it comes to kickstarting change. I know that before ENVR 430 I felt that I didn't know enough about environmental issues to speak up about them. I was scared to have difficult conversations, but now they don't feel as daunting. I hope that going forward more and more people are empowered with this kind of knowledge so that we can all fight for a better world together. I think that implementing more classes like this one, and making them more accessible to a wider audience would be a great intervention to help achieve my vision. I know that the University of Albert provides a free course on Indigenous histories and contemporary perspectives and I think that it would be really cool if UBC could do a similar thing with environmental issues. The topics covered this term would benefit so many people, not only those who are current university students, so making the content more widely available could be a good way to encourage real change.

I value choice and access to information, especially when it comes to big life and death decisions. With respect to death care here in North America, there are pretty strong traditions and expectations with how we care for our dead. There is a lot of pressure to do the very best for your loved one who has passed, and if they didn't specify their own wishes for their body this will often default to a costly embalming and burial or cremation. Looking to the future I hope that everyone can have access to information regarding death care. I also hope that we can break down some of the taboos surrounding death and dying. So many people are so scared of death and of the decomposition process that they don't want to even think about their options. I think that if people learned to accept the idea returning to the earth after death we could start working towards making the death care industry as a whole less predatory and more green. It's also important that those of us who want a green burial are vocal about it and talk about it with others to spread awareness. To make these changes I think that awareness is key. We need to intervene by talking to people about more environmentally friendly death care. Once people know that there are more options, we need to fight for the legality of options such as aquamation and natural burial so that less effort needs to be made by grieving families to allow their loved one to return to the earth in an eco-friendly way.

It is well known that plastics are harmful to our world, and yet there is so much confusion and grey area when it comes to how we manage our plastic waste and can reduce our plastic use. I believe that the reduction of single use plastic consumption should be at the top of everyone's to do list when it comes to building a more sustainable world #unleashvalues. I envision a future where we no longer need to feel guilty everyday when we go to buy the groceries that we need to survive because they are no longer wrapped in harmful plastics. I also hope that one day we will be able to feel safe eating seafood because the harmful chemicals released by our plastic waste is no longer creeping it's way up the food chain disrupting endocrine function. To combat this issue I think that we need to intervene by banning single use plastics and by creating laws which protect us and our invaluable ecosystems from endocrine disrupting pollutants. We need to encourage lawmakers to enforce laws that hold producers responsible for the proper management of the waste they create so that we can move towards a safer future.

When I think about the traits that I value in a friend kindness, trustworthiness and honesty always come to the top of my mind. When I think about what I value in businesses that list of traits doesn't change much, transparency, reliability and a genuine effort to do good are still at the top. I know that the businesses that provide me with the everyday goods and services that I need are not my friends, but I really wish that they could be a bit more "friendly". I would love to see a future where we can trust what companies are telling consumers, and where the businesses which are transparent about their suppliers and sustainability practices aren't villainized. It's hard to be a leader when those who stay quiet get away with their questionable practices, so something really needs to change. I think that the only real way out of this problem is strongly enforced ecologically conscious law making that actually penalizes the "bad actors" who bend the rules and/or conceal the truth about their sustainability.

In class today we talked a lot about sustainable farming practices which is a topic that I haven't thought much about before, but am glad to have brought to my attention. Food is essential for survival and as such farming practices have evolved alongside people for thousands of years, far before the climate crisis was ever considered to be a problem. We are now faced with the reality of the harms that come from classic monoculture farming and the need to find ways to essentially "teach an old dog new tricks" to find a solution. One of the primary set backs in the process of implementing sustainable farming practices is economic. It is extremely costly to start a farm like the one shared in the documentary "The Biggest Little Farm" and often more sustainable farming models take years to be established and have a hard time getting the loans and financial support to start. I think that working towards sustainable farming and harnessing nature's own strategies for growing plants and animals in harmony is essential and I hope that this sentiment is spread widely. My vision for the future is one in which everyone is more open minded and willing to look at ecological problems like farming as complex systems which require complex solutions. I hated hearing about the failed search for a smoking gun with regards to the drop in the BC sockeye salmon run because a single causal factor couldn't be identified. I think that we need to intervene by supporting and funding initiatives to research and implement sustainable farming practices so that we can eventually have the evidence required for the economical support of these essential endeavours. To change the farming industry as it is right now won't be easy, since like an old dog it has been around for so long and is stubborn, however I hope that relatively new "tricks" like using local predators as a pest management strategy will become commonplace with public support.

This week I was grateful for the opportunity to think and learn about water consumption and preservation. While we all use and need water on a daily basis, it is often taken for granted especially in a place like Vancouver where water quality is great and where we are surrounded by so many beautiful sources of freshwater. While watching the Netflix show "The World's Water Crisis, Explained" I was really intrigued by the discussion of the price of water and the complexity of putting a price tag on such an essential natural resource. I believe that it is and should be a critical human right to have access to clean drinking water and a safe supply of water for sanitary purposes. I don't think that individuals should pay for this basic necessity as this could lead to massive disparities especially among those of lower income, however I do think that it is important that individuals don't take advantage of water. My vision for the future is a world where individuals use water mindfully and where bigger corporations are held responsible financially for water consumption. As far as interventions go, I think that it would be helpful to put a price on the water consumption of companies and corporations through policy changes. In the episode of Explained that I watched, one of the women being interviewed mentioned something along the lines of 'if we put a price on water, we won't be building farms in the desert'. I really liked this idea of harnessing the ecological services around us in a way that is smart and in turn reducing the amount of additional natural resources and damage that is needed for a specific farm or business to function. I hope that going forward more of the world, even those of us who may feel "water rich" will take more time to consider the true value of the water we are so fortunate to have flowing through our taps.

A lot of environmental justice and reconciliation issues are overwhelming to think about as an individual. I really valued our discussion today in ENVR 430 about learning to parse out the three dimensions of (in)justice which has really helped me to think about and articulate the complexities of stories such as those of the fishing of halibut and the reintroduction of sea otters on the west coast of Canada.  Knowing to look for distributional, procedural and recognitional injustices has given me a new way to look at and share my thoughts on these tough situations and I feel a lot more confident in participating in discussions with my peers and in online spaces related to these topics. I hope that the future includes more policies and practices that are guided by and amplify the voices of indigenous people. I think that it is a very dangerous trap to only pay attention to the economical value and impacts of an issue and to neglect to social, traditional and ecological effects, and quite frankly I think that it is morally and ethically wrong do do so. Going forward I hope that I can be much more active in seeking information and joining the discourse when it comes to ecological reconciliation and that others will join me on this pursuit.

My vision for a more positive future is one where we #slowdown and value the products and items that we consume. Our trend cycle is so fast right now and the pressure to keep up is strong. The change in fashion that used to be seen over a decade is now identifiable over the course of two years. I'd love to have pieces of clothing in my closet and cookware in my kitchen that I can enjoy for a long time and pass down as #heirlooms to my kids like my grandma has to me. I wish that going forward, we could encourage each other to consume #mindfully and popularize taking care of our things and being proud of #preserving them.

My name is Sofie and I'm a 5th year student in Biology at UBC. I am so excited to be enrolled in ENVR 430 this term and can't wait to learn more and take action towards sustainability! It is so motivating to be taking a class with so many like-minded individuals who are committed to supporting one another as we try to navigate and make a real difference when it comes to the complicated and overwhelming #climatecrisis. Acting alone can be isolating and intimidating, but #together we have the power to #amplify and #uplift one another on this shared journey!