Spring of 1970 – A shift in attitudes, values, and beliefs of 20 million Americans embodied through a movement of consciousness about our planet. 

Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, U.S., created Earth Day as a way to give environmental issues a voice and put them on the national agenda. In December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues – the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Since then, efforts to tackle environmental degradation and climate change have been adopted worldwide from introducing policy and legislation, to funding clean technologies and renewable energy, to manufacturing biodegradable materials. Here, we look at the honouring of this day through the decades. 

News headline from the first Earth Day, 1970 // Source: ETEE

In the decades leading up to the first ever Earth Day, industrialization took over North America and other parts of the world. Manufacturing (1900s), mining (1930s), transportation (1950s) and retailing (1970s), along with rapid urbanization and consumer culture, all played a part in developing our world as we know it today. North America was consuming vast amounts of leaded gas through massive and inefficient automobiles. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of the consequences from either the law or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Mainstream North America remained largely oblivious to environmental concerns and how a polluted environment seriously threatens human health.

1980 – In the U.S., this year saw significant environmental legislative achievements. Just 10 years after the first Earth Day, government protections over the environment drastically increased. By 1980, the following U.S. government acts were passed: Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. 

On September 11th, Paul Tinari, a graduate student from Queen’s University, launched the first Canadian Earth Day. Flora MacDonald, then MP for Kingston, Ontario and the islands, officially opened Earth Day Week, encouraging MPs across the country to declare a cross-Canada annual Earth Day. 

Through the 70s and 80s, Earth Day in North America focused heavily on pollution. By Earth Day 1990, organizers and environmental agencies shifted their focus to climate change. 

1990 – Earth Day goes global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. 

The activities of the 20th anniversary of Earth Day in 1990 presented a huge boost to recycling efforts and paved the way for the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. The ‘Rio Declarations’ laid out 15 principles recognizing the impact of human activities on sustainability and committing to sustainability goals. In 1997, the United Nations Kyoto Protocol was signed setting commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide as well as establish the connection between human activities and climate change.

In Canada, this was the start of Earth Day Canada (Jour de la Terre Canada), combining efforts from both France and Canada, and the internationalization of Earth Day. Since 1995, Quebec has celebrated Earth Day through raising awareness on environmental issues. 

Earth Day Canada Logo // Source: EarthDay.ca

2000 – Earth Day goes digital. Through the power of connectivity, hundreds of millions of people in 184 countries celebrate the 30th anniversary of Earth Day, with a focus on clean energy. 

By leveraging the power of the Digital Revolution, Earth Day in the new millennium meant that environmental activities and initiatives spread faster to many parts of the world. Suddenly, awareness became the greatest tool in the fight against climate change. 

2010 – This was a challenging time for the environmental community as they faced climate deniers, well-funded oil enthusiasts with a not-so-environmentally-friendly agenda, a disinterested public, and neutral politicians. The Earth Day Network repositioned Earth Day as a day for environmental activism as the right time. On Earth Day 2010, over 250,000 people participated in a rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and hundreds of millions of people observed Earth Day around the globe. Climate activism gained serious momentum. 

In 2015, the Paris Climate Agreement was drafted, going beyond the Kyoto Protocol, by setting a goal of achieving global net-zero emissions by 2050. In Canada, the French and Quebec teams joined forces to take the Earth Day movement to a new level for the French-speaking world. 

In 2018, Greta Thunberg acted as a voice for youth, by starting a protest in front of the Swedish parliament building, vowing to continue until the Swedish government met the carbon emissions target agreed by world leaders in Paris, in 2015. Students around the world quickly began following her lead, staging large protests and demanding change.

Greta Thunberg’s Climate Strike // Source: DW

In 2019, Earth Day Canada formed an alliance with EcoKids to enable environmental initiatives to be carried out across all provinces and territories. That year, I remember attending a climate rally in Ottawa and feeling empowered by the movement as a young adult living in the world today. 

2020 – Last year marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The social and cultural movements that we saw in the 1970s rose back up again as we were hit with one of the largest crises of our time: COVID-19. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic transcended almost everything in 2020 (the good and the bad), including the environment, from cancelled summits on climate and biodiversity, to a temporary dip in air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, to greater awareness of the link between human health and climate change. As climate rallies and events were cancelled, Earth Day quickly pivoted from mobilizing millions on the ground to raising hundreds of millions of voices digitally. Fittingly, in Canada, the Earth Day theme was climate action with the main message being: “keeping our distance at home, but taking action for the planet together”. Now, we’re in the slow and gradual transition to a green recovery. 

Present day – The fight for our planet continues with increasing urgency. A\J has partnered with Earth Day Canada to shine a light on Earth Day celebrations through the years and explore the evolution of this day through this editorial series. This Earth Day will be spent at home, and Earth Day Canada has put together some practical, creative, and smart ideas for #EarthDayAtHome. The Earth Day Canada 2021 theme is Take Care of the Planet. The official campaign features “animals that have to clean up their polluted environments themselves”. The goal is to raise awareness about the urgency we are facing, and to encourage Canadians to #TakeCareOfThePlanet every day because it’s our responsibility to do so. 

Earth Day Canada’s #TakeCareOfThePlanet 2021 Campaign // Source: EarthDay.ca

Stay tuned for next week’s article for more about what Earth Day means for us this year, and how we can and should be celebrating the planet in the present day.

This article is part of a 3-part editorial series, in collaboration with Earth Day Canada, titled ‘The Past, Present, and Future of Earth Day’. Check out the full series here!

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My first few days on the job were filled with uncertainties as I was just beginning to understand my role and didn’t know what to expect for the coming weeks. I was, in every sense of the word, a newbie. But it was not long before I dove head first into the sea of work and was carried off with the current, learning as I went. Bear with me as I further use this ocean metaphor.

Some days at A\J are choppy waves – full of energy, meetings, interviews, emails, busyness. Some days are calm waters, when I can float with careful planning, inspiration, and most importantly, writing. David (A\J publisher and my supervisor) always tells me to learn the ebbs and flows of my work, and that I am. For lack of a more unique pop culture reference, I feel very much like a young Jedi learning from the Obi Wan of A\J. David shares many of his pieces of advice and wisdom with me in the form of metaphors and catchphrases, and they are all valuable lessons that fuel my growth as a writer. I’ve learned how to “use the force” of environmental journalism – you need lots of input before you can produce the output. I am being filled to the brim with inspiration, having meaningful conversations with environmental leaders on the daily, and learning how to tithe to myself in the process in order to produce my best work.

I was recently tasked with writing an article on what I’ve learned so far at A\J in just 4 weeks, but if I included everything, it would be way too long for anyone to read (and for me to write!) So, I will do my best to sum up my key takeaways from this work experience so far.

The A\J Team

First and foremost, meeting the A\J team was a huge positive. It has been wonderful to work with a team of interesting people who are all different, yet share a common purpose. Everyone at A\J is driven to share environmental stories with others, to plant seeds and inspire them. We all work together with each other’s ebbs and flows, and I have observed how dedicated these people are to their work. I’ve experienced so much support, encouragement, and collaboration from the team that has kept me moving forward.

Skill Building

During the past month, I have enhanced my existing skills and established many new ones. I’ve built upon my interpersonal skills, and I don’t just mean “customer service” or people skills. I’m talking about the ability to sustain meaningful conversation and genuinely listen to others in order to gather and absorb important insights and stories from them. Along with that, I’ve greatly practiced and improved my existing communication skills through speaking (and listening), writing, emailing, interviewing, and the list goes on.

My work as an A\J intern has also given me a real experience of what journalism work is like. There are always several different projects on the go and multitasking is the way of life. I’ve had a lot of space to work on time management and self-regulation by prioritizing tasks, working with deadlines, and working around meeting times. There is no shortage of tasks, but it’s not draining, it’s actually empowering! I get to be actively involved in everything, and maybe it’s just me, but I really thrive when I have lots on the go and can be a part of everything all at once.

Creativity

I’ve also been given the opportunity to hone in on my creativity, which is something I didn’t have a lot of practice doing before this job. My writing and learning style has always been quite organized, academic, and structured. For me, the most conceptually difficult type of university assignment I’ve ever had to do (out of math, sciences, and the arts) is writing an English essay. In first year, I had to write an essay on a super short, abstract poem, and I had no idea what it was saying. It took so much original thought and effort to come up with a thesis and write a full, meaningful paper on just 14 lines of confusion. Of course, I’ve come a long way since then, but I find these assignments challenging because I have to generate fresh ideas. I have to be inspired. It is through these exercises that I improve my creative thinking. At A\J, I am challenged to think for myself in everything I do. Right from the get-go I was asked, “What do you want to write about?”, “What are your stories to tell?”, and “Who do you want to talk to?” I’m starting to answer those big questions, slowly tending and listening to that creative autonomy in my work. By doing so, I’m discovering lots about myself and know that I’ll continue to do so.

Conversations

In just four weeks at A\J, I’ve met many new people (virtually, of course), beyond just the A\J team. I’ve been able to have conversations with individuals who are highly experienced, accomplished, admired in environmental fields of work. I’ve been given opportunities to network and listen to these people’s stories. I already feel much more equipped with connections than I did before starting this job, but I’ve also realized how easy it can be to talk to people. You never know how much in common you might have with a university dean or sustainability leader until you have a conversation with them!
How to BE a writer

On top of improving my writing, I’m also learning how to be a writer. There is a difference, trust me. I think you can be very skilled at writing but not be a writer. Dipping my toe into the world of environmental journalism has taught me that…

1. The work doesn’t stop when you sign off for the day. Your work is on the news, on social media, in almost every conversation, and it is literally in your mind all the time. I’m starting to see everything as a potential story. When work aligns with your passion, it doesn’t fit into a 9 to 5 day because passion doesn’t turn off once the work day is done.
2. In order to be a writer, you have to understand yourself to a tee. Understanding the ebbs and flows of one’s own writing is so important – as David told me from day one. I’ve been befriending my inner muse, inner critic, and inner storyteller, and I’ve practiced wrangling them up and getting them all working at once. It’s not always easy, but when it happens, it’s a beautiful thing.
3. I need to find a healthy balance between the busy times full of meetings and emails, and sitting quietly with my thoughts. Sometimes in order to write, I need zero distractions, otherwise I’ll never produce anything valuable. But other times, those distractions are important to pay attention to because they might spark an idea (and they’re also part of my job). I’m learning how to balance this and how to capitalize on my opportunities to write. For example, if I have a free moment to write but have a mental block, taking a break to walk in nature does wonders.

Pathways uncovered

The most common question I receive as a young adult is “What do you want to do after you graduate?” and I’ve always struggled with pinning down an answer. I’ve never known what exactly I want to do, and I still don’t, but in many ways, working at A\J is allowing me to see that I don’t need to choose one specific pathway. I can merge my passions and do lots of things with my future career. This job has introduced me to many people and many pathways I never thought of considering before, so it has only added more options to my uncertainty of the future – in a good way! I feel driven, more than ever, to continue dipping my toes into as many places I can and keep writing and having conversations with people wherever I end up.

Published Accomplishments

Now, this article is not just a spotlight on my work, because ultimately, this is about my experience at A\J and how the team has facilitated this growth for me. But, I do want to highlight a few of my physical accomplishments on top of all the lessons I’ve learned. I’ve published 4 of my own articles and put together 4 WTF (Week This Friday) columns, and that’s just on the A\J website. I’m working on a lot of behind the scenes pieces that you’ll see in our next print issue, Playbook for Progress! This is all to say that being an A\J intern is not without its many opportunities to get your name out there and publish as much as you have to offer.

Going Forward

Clearly, I’ve experienced a whirlwind of growth and excitement in the past 4 weeks and I don’t expect it to stop now! I’ve still got 3 more months left – lots more to do, to learn, and to be a part of. I know that even once my work placement with A\J is over, the experience and lessons I’ve learned will stick with me and carry over into whatever comes next for me. Who knows – maybe I’ll find myself back here one day! I don’t know where I’ll be in a couple years from now, let alone 4 months from now, but I hope to stay connected to A\J in some capacity, and if I’ve learned anything from my time here, it’s the power of planting that first seed.

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“Good morning, everyone,” states the Executive Director, a little quieter than usual. “As you know, this past year has been very challenging for everyone on the planet – and that includes us, good folks working to protect everyone on the planet. I know that most of you work on our Programs and Initiatives but it’s important – right now – for us to come together and have a difficult conversation.”

You gulp as you hear her say those words. I mean, you haven’t been oblivious to the impacts of the global pandemic to human health – and non-profit balance sheets. You’ve tried to keep your head down, focused on your research and the upcoming release of the report. You’ve put in the extra time, working from home, and made sure that you overdelivered in terms of time and energy invested. And yet, here’s the ED looking uneasy and about to talk about……..?

“I know most of you come from the research and program side of our organization. You all do incredible work and we’re absolutely thankful for your contributions to our past success, our current impacts and, hopefully, our future sustainable growth. But, as you know, donations are WAY down and the foundations that we used to be able to count upon for slam-dunk requests are slamming the phones down – or not even returning our calls.”

You look around the Zoom-room, noticing eyes averting as you avert your own gaze.

“And that means we either need to cut back or push forward,” says the ED, now with a bit more oomph in her tone.

“You know what ‘cut backs’ mean: job loss and loss of the progress and momentum that we’ve gained over the past few years. Those jobs would be lost across the organization, from the top to the bottom (and lots of places in between). And don’t even get me started on the thought of letting down even one of the vulnerable groups that desperately need our help. I don’t like the sound of that. Neither should you. And I can tell you that our Board isn’t pleased with that option, either.”

Alright……this doesn’t sound too apocalyptic, so you lean in.

“Instead, I am committing to pushing forward, as it our Board. Now, my tree-hugging friends, I know some of you get queasy thinking about money – except for every other Friday! I’m not much different myself, except I’m contractually-obligated to get beyond my own limitations and get uncomfortable as we seek out new solutions to incredibly new and incredibly complex problems like HOW DO YOU OPERATE A CHARITY IN A PANDEMIC? and HOW DO YOU PAY PEOPLE IF THE TRADITIONAL REVENUE STREAMS ARE DRYING UP?”

Like deer in the headlights, you notice in the Zoom mirror that your eyes are WIDE OPEN. So does your ED.

“Now, Nathan, calm down. I don’t expect you to be on the street in an animal costume banging a tambourine and begging for donations…..unless you really, really want to do that!”

You laugh…nervously.

“No, what I mean by pushing forward is we’ll need to be open-minded to learn how other industries and segments empower their work by generating revenue streams from non-traditional and ancillary sources. And to help us with that, I’d like to introduce you to a leading expert in the area of revenue generation through partnerships and sponsorships, with a wealth of positive experiences and happy clients dotting a career that spans decades.”

At that, a smiling older gentleman steps up to the virtual dais and begins speaking to you about the importance of the work that you do and the need to continue that work. He’ll eventually start discussing how for-cause groups like Basketball Canada and the ArtsGames use partnerships and sponsorships to drive new impacts and generate new revenues. It’s pretty interesting stuff and, admittedly, the presenter is really good. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all….

The post PUSHING FORWARD AND BREAKING THROUGH appeared first on A\J.

A/J: The report highlights the uncertainty and difficulty e-NGOs are having with regard to qualification for government emergency funds like CEWS and CEBA. What do you think are the key changes necessary for e-NGOs to be able to access these funds more easily?

Bubelis: Those [difficulties] were actually a little bit of a surprise. The Sustainability Network communicates with thousands of people within the e-NGO community – and we ourselves accessed both those supports. It was a calculation done by our bookkeeper, so it was surprising that something like a third to 40% of people and groups may have thought they didn’t qualify, were unsure, or had not even looked into it. Looking back, showing the decrease in revenue to qualify for the subsidy was challenging for some organizations as they struggled with ‘self-screening’ due to not having staff available to make their calculations. Another issue was that other organizations had Boards of Directors that were not comfortable taking a loan (CEBA). This problem was very self-straining because even though the loans were only 3⁄4 re-payable as not everyone or every Board was comfortable taking on that sort of liability. To their credit though, the Canadian government did set up a 1-800 helpline and so I am sure that they have heard these remarks from other organizations and individuals as well.

A/J: Fundraising efforts, corporate donations, and grants are also a major part of e-NGO funding strategies. How can individuals and big funders help this sector navigate the COVID-19 crisis?

Bubelis: The key takeaway is that right now, in some ways, it is a little bit too early to tell. Unlike restaurants, e-NGOs are grant dependant, meaning that most of them are not worried just yet. They will most likely become worried around fall 2020 or early 2021 when grant season comes to an end. Individuals can help combat these challenges by providing unrestricted donations, as opposed to project donations. Unrestricted donations are significantly more useful because they are far more flexible and can be used by the organization as they see fit. Many survey respondents are asking funding for more flexibility around deliverables and timelines as well as deferrals in order to use money to pay for things that require immediate action. Lastly, respondents noted that operating grants would be very useful right now as opposed to the more traditional project-based grant.

A/J: Tell me about the opportunities within the COVID crisis?

Bubelis: We chose to finish the survey with an opportunity-framed question because most of what we were asking [organizations] to tell us about was sobering and full of uncertainty. Most respondents agree that any ‘normal’ strategy plans are probably out the window, so right now is a great time to stop, take a breath and check how your plan works within a post COVID world. The financial crisis of 2008-09 drove lots of collaboration and this time could be used for e-NGOs to reflect on partnerships, collaborations, and even mergers to benefit from economies of scale. One positive is that everyone has been cooped up for so long and really want to get outside. This provides ‘opportunity’ for those that own land trust and those who want to engage on the programming side of creating positive change within a community.

A/J: The Sustainability Network has been working with e-NGOs to strengthen this sector for a long time. What do you think will be the most significant outcomes of the COVID crisis for the e-NGO sector?

Bubelis: The outcomes needed to ensure that the e-NGO sector moves forward after COVID -19 are beyond just hunkering down and waiting for it to blow over. When there’s a crisis, it’s a time to be bold and not a time to hide. The e-NGOS must get involved in the Federal government’s response to survive throughout the medium – long term. As a community, we must make sure that it is a just recovery, e-NGOs have lots of advice and vision to offer. Lastly, this is an opportunity for many organizations to take some risks and be part of an active solution.

This article is featured in our latest issue: Invest in Change. For a limited time, Alternatives Journal is releasing FREE digital downloads, valuing at $250,000 for the first 50,000 interested Canadians! Check out this link to qualify!

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I took a sip of the beer that was nested in my hand and looked around the room. When they said the event was called “Green Drinks”, I was under the impression the beer would be green. To my disappointment, it was not.

The event* was being held by a non-profit called LEN, or London Environmental Network, in celebration of the London Brewing Co-op receiving organic certification. LEN has been connecting like-minded, local, environmental businesses together since 2015. At first, I was reluctant to go to this event. Over the past few years of my professional career, networking has always been a pain in my side that I pretended didn’t exist. But one cannot say NO to organic beer.

Now making my way through my Masters in Sustainability (Western University’s Centre for Environment & Sustainability is part of LEN), I have really come to understand the importance of networking and fully appreciate the work LEN does. By lifting smaller environmental organizations up who might have struggled to make it on their own, these businesses can share resources and network beyond their inner circles at workshops and conferences.

I took another sip of my beer. At the podium was LEN’s Executive Director, Skylar Franke. She was speaking about the latest news on LEN’s Environmental Incubator Project. “The project,” she mentioned, “allows local businesses to pitch environmental ideas and, in return, LEN will support them with coaching and financing needs to make this idea come to life”.

“One of the recent Environmental Incubator Programs is the Pollinator Pathways project…” she went on. I recognized the creator of this project, my prof, Dr. Gabor Sass. From what I knew, the purpose of the project was to encourage citizens and businesses along the Dundas corridor in London to plant pollinator gardens to support local bee populations. The idea of mowing natural spaces to fit in with a concrete jungle aesthetic has always irked me, I made a mental note to check out the gardens next time I jog downtown.

Another program run through the Environmental Incubator is the Community Composting Program. Since the municipality doesn’t collect compost through curbside pickup, Urban Roots, the leader of the project, has offered to take organic waste which would normally end up in a landfill. In my experience working as an environmental consultant specializing in organic waste, I know people want to compost in London but don’t know how or don’t see it as simple. And while London still has a long way to go in terms of composting, this program is a great first step.

Programs like these wouldn’t be able to run without the support of LEN.

After her speech, Skylar Franke came to speak to the crowd. We spoke briefly about her path and how she became the Executive Director for LEN. After her speech, I listened to Jeff Pastorius talk about an organic delivery service called On the Move Organics, as well as Becca Minielly from the Organic Council of Ontario. Not knowing much about the organic movement, the event allowed me to peer into a new social circle I would have not met otherwise.

I was glad I went.

*BC (Before Covid-19)

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Jane Goodall leaned back in an armchair by the window. It was a cold, wet southern Ontario afternoon in late April. Days earlier, Goodall gave an Earth Day lecture at the University of Toronto, and between travelling, interviews, convocations and distinguished luncheons, the planet’s most famous primatologist hasn’t had a chance to catch her breath. Her famous stuffed monkey, Mr. H, was peeking out from inside a reusable bag near her chair, eating his stuffed banana; her luggage sat neatly where she set it down moments earlier. 

“What I do is travel 300 days a year around the world,” she tells me, “giving lectures, meeting people, giving interviews and getting exhausted.” You’ve given so much, I tell her, saying in a not-quite-fangirl way that she’s a living legend. Goodall interrupts my gushing with a joke. “I’m still living. Just,” she says. Everyone laughs; Goodall chuckles. We’re all thinking it, though she’s the only one brave enough to say it – Jane Goodall is getting old. The good doctor will soon celebrate her 86th birthday, and no one knows how many more she’ll have. And the frantic pace of her work and life is unsustainable in the long run. From a conservation perspective, the simple fact of her aging wouldn’t pose a problem – except Goodall may be the most famous living scientist in the world. She has unparalleled reach to advocate for people, animals and ecosystems. Her profile cannot help but overshadow the institution she founded that bears her name. And that is a problem. 

We have to ask ourselves: What will environmental advocacy look like in a world without Jane Goodall?

Our collective love for Goodall is as strong as the first time we beheld her blond ponytail and khaki shorts on the December 1965 cover of National Geographic. She’s sitting in the background surrounded by green foliage, pen poised over a field notebook, while a half-dozen black chimps groom themselves in the foreground. At 26, Goodall crossed the ocean to visit a friend living in Tanzania (Tanganyeka at the time) and secured a position as secretary for the legendary anthropologist Louis Leakey, whose fossil discoveries in East Africa helped cement the central importance of the African continent to human evolution. Leakey’s field work also included studying primates, and he agreed to include Goodall on his expeditions. Soon she was leading a solo project to watch chimpanzees in Gombe National Park in the country’s northwest corner. After four months spent trailing a pack of chimpanzees, Goodall observed her signature breakthrough.

“One of them began to lose his fear [of me],” she says. “That was David Greybeard. And he’s the one I saw using stems to fish for termites. Using them as tools, stripping leaves from leafy twigs to make tools. And that was a breakthrough.” While not unfathomable today, in the mid-1960s, this had never been seen before. Tool use was thought to be a strictly human practice. It was a triumphant moment. 

While Goodall’s work and life are often romanticized, the truth is that her findings destroyed many long-held and ultimately untrue beliefs that animals didn’t possess emotions or personality and lacked the ability to wield rudimentary tools. Her discoveries to the contrary helped redefine our perception of humanity, detailed in her seminal paper, “Tool-Using and Aimed Throwing in a Community of Free-Living Chimpanzees,” published in a 1964 edition of Nature.

At the time, Goodall was not interested in the spotlight. Yet she knew enough to know that the images captured by Hugo van Lawick, the photographer and videographer sent by the National Geographic Society to record her work, would be useful. As an untrained woman, leading experts were skeptical of the veracity of her work. “They thought…that I was making this up. That I had trained the chimps,” Goodall says, “which would have been really something because they wouldn’t come anywhere near me.” Following the 1965 issue with Goodall emblazoned between the prestigious yellow bars of NatGeo’s cover, the resulting outpouring of media interest brought global attention to her projects – and, with it, funding. (The mythologizing of Goodall’s work also traces its roots to the publication of this iconic magazine cover.)

Despite the newfound attention, Goodall continued her work in the jungle as scientific director of the Gombe Stream Research Centre until 1986, the year she attended what became a fateful conference she helped organize in Chicago on understanding chimpanzees. It was here she came to realize that primates were under serious threat all across Africa. For the sake of the chimps, she embraced the role of advocate with the force of what was, undoubtedly, the Jane Goodall brand. 

Her advocacy work began with wildlife awareness weeks in six different countries in Africa. Looking out an airplane window during her travels, Goodall caught sight of what was left of Gombe Stream National Park. Where once the jungle stretched thick and green across the horizon, all that remained was a small patch surrounded by barren hills. “It hit me,” Goodall says, that “if we don’t help the people, we can’t even try to save the chimps.” Since then, her advocacy morphed into the Jane Goodall Institute with branches around the world to promote conservation science, the protection and research of great apes, women’s health and reproductive rights and sustainable livelihoods. In addition, Goodall started Roots and Shoots, a youth-oriented conservation program that operates in 50 countries.

Andria Teather is a powerful woman. Her dark, shoulder-length hair brushes the deep orange-red of her shoulder-padded blazer as she sits across from me. Teather, CEO of the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada, is friendly and generous with her time. But she will suffer no fools – it’s not in her nature. Teather spent years climbing the corporate ladder at TD Canada Trust, where at one point in time she was the National Manager of the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation. Unlike many of her peers in the eNGO field, Teather is no bleeding heart, but a commander. 

“I think not-for-profit needs many more people with a business mind, and a heart for the cause,” she tells me. “You’re not going to be successful in this role unless you believe in the cause. But I will tell you – I have never used my business skills more than I have in this job.”

The Canadian branch of the Jane Goodall Institute operates a multitude of programs to connect Canadians with global work on chimpanzees, maternal well-being and forest health across the African continent. They’ve expanded into areas like maternal health as a result of those first flights Goodall took over Gombe Stream National Park, where the deep connections between human well-being and the fate of the chimps became clear. Give women the chance to control their reproduction and fewer children may be born, she might have thought, which would then decrease pressure on forest for charcoal and hunting.

And here at home, the Institute recently launched an exchange program for Indigenous youth to travel to Uganda to experience the forest industry, learn forestry skills and bring relevant conservation knowledge back to communities across Canada. It’s about arming these youth with much-needed skills to pursue careers in forestry upon their return, equipped with a solid understanding of global development. 

The organization, staffed with just 12 people, consistently punches above its weight, taking on multinational projects with a holistic approach to both human and conservation needs. “I’ve worked for five different not-for-profit organizations,” Teather says, and the Institute possesses the most compassionate but efficient team she’s ever worked with.

Yet even with a corporate mind like Teather’s at the helm, this small but mighty organization faces a significant challenge being heard over the near-constant adoration of their founder. “We’ve got a brand to die for [and] we’ve got Jane Goodall in our organization name. That’s really great,” Teather says. But even organizations familiar with the Institute as a separate entity from Goodall herself typically place the founder and her exploits on a pedestal. “Jane knows this,” Teather says. “We need to start making people understand that there is a Jane Goodall Institute in this country. And they need to understand that there is work being done. Really, really valuable work.”

Admittedly, it’s hard to see past the romantic image of a young woman handing a chimpanzee a banana in the jungle in 1962. And while Goodall has embraced this role and its associated branding for the sake of her mission to save the chimpanzees, it’s time for everyone – even me – to begin looking ahead with as much excitement and awe as we’ve looked to the past. Who, I wonder, will be the next young female scientist, inspired by Goodall’s verve and passion, to be immortalized between the yellow lines of National Geographic?

“I’ve never, ever felt like burning out. It would just be losing respect for oneself,” Goodall tells me in her hotel room, our time together winding down. “You’ve never felt burned out?” I ask. “I haven’t so far, and I’m 85, so probably won’t now,” she replies. “The time will come when my body says, ‘No, you can’t travel 300 days a year anymore.’ Then I will do more writing.” 

One day, whether we like it or not, Goodall will no longer have the energy to rally the world to save itself. And on that day, the Jane Goodall training wheels will be removed from our personal environmental advocacy. It will soon no longer be enough to admire Goodall the scientist, the advocate, the person, so much as we must truly emulate her if we are to survive as a species.

Goodall doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. She still takes a shot of whisky after every presentation to honour her mother. As you read this, Goodall is likely en route to another presentation, another distinguished luncheon, another interview to spread awareness and do her part for the planet. But when Jane is gone, how will we magnify and multiply the impact of her life’s work? Are we ready to let her words move from our hearts to our hands? 

The post When Jane is Gone appeared first on A\J.

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Follow up:

Sources: News this week

The Recap is part of our Student Summer Takeover series which aims to amplify the voices of young people in environmental media. New episodes will be released at the beginning of every week, don’t miss out!

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Follow up:

Sources: News this week

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/17/greta-thunberg-four-days-into-atlantic-crossing https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/08/21/amazonian-rainforest-is-ablaze-turning-day-into-night-brazils-capital-city/?noredirect=on https://www.livescience.com/46319-oil-drilling-contaminated-amazon.html https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article234161407.html

The post The AJ Recap: Are environmental charities partisan? appeared first on A\J.

Many Canadians have become fed up with government inaction on climate, including a young group of Quebecers who recently filed a class action suit against the federal government for their insufficient response to climate change.

As politicians dither, the clocks on climate change are ticking. The Canadian government has continued to promise action on climate change—from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement—but its commitment to change remains to be seen.

Many Canadians have become fed up with government inaction on climate, including a young group of Quebecers who recently filed a class action suit against the federal government for their insufficient response to climate change.

On November 26, ENvironnement JEUnesse, a non-profit environmental organization in Quebec, sued the Canadian government for its inadequate response to the growing global crisis. ENJEU says that the Canadian government is failing its youth, and that its passive approach to climate change is undermining fundamental rights of the younger generation.

“The government needs to adopt a more ambitious target and action plan,” says Catherine Gauthier, Executive Director of ENJEU, in an interview with A\J.

“The ultimate goal [of the lawsuit] is to make sure that Canada is doing enough to protect our future,” she says. “And by that we mean a more ambitious target that would prevent the worst impacts of climate change for all young people.”

Gauthier has been involved with ENJEU since she was 16, when she started looking at how composting systems could be implemented in schools, and later took part in the UN climate change negotiations in Montréal as a Canadian youth delegate.

ENJEU claims that the government targets aren’t sufficient to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change, and its current framework won’t even allow Canada to reach these low-level goals. “The Canadian government is infringing on our generation’s rights to life and security, and also to a safe environment,” Gauthier says. “Canada’s target [is to reduce] GHG emissions by 30 percent by 2030 based on 2005 levels, which is a target that is clearly insufficient.”

According to a report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in October, global temperature increases of more than 1.5°C will have devastating impacts on the environment. Without rapid action and specific planning, the Canadian government puts people under 35 at risk of suffering these consequences.

“Young people are really scared and also ashamed to see that Canada is not doing enough,” says Gauthier. She notes that impacts of climate change are already very real, citing a heat wave in Quebec in summer 2018 that caused nearly 100 deaths. “[It is] really urgent for the Canadian government to take action and to completely change the direction we’re going.”

Canada’s economic ties to fossil fuels are another part of the concern. Funds that could be put towards cleaner and more sustainable technologies are being used to subsidize oil companies and build pipelines.

“Fossil fuel companies are putting a lot of pressure on the Canadian government… which is totally unacceptable,” Gauthier tells A\J, pointing at their $4.5 billion investment in Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline last summer. “What it means for us is Canada prefers to protect the oil industry rather than the future of young people.”

Trudel Johnston & Lespérance, the firm filing the claim on behalf of ENJEU, has won the most class action cases in Canada since it was founded 20 years ago. They are acting pro-bono on this case.

“The Canadian government’s behaviour infringes on several fundamental rights protected by the Canadian and Quebec charters,” said Bruce Johnston, a partner at TJL. “We believe that we have a solid legal case that deserves to be brought before the courts.”

And the lawsuit isn’t the first of its kind. Youth around the world are taking action and calling on their governments for a more aggressive response to the changing climate. Similar proceedings are taking place in the U.S., Uganda, New Zealand, and the European Union, to name a few.

Gauthier notes how movements in other countries served as an inspiration for ENJEU’s recent legal action. “That’s really encouraging, to see how young people are taking climate change to the court,” she says. “Our governments are clearly not doing enough, and we need more than words in [these] times.”

Just last year, a case led by 25 young people in Colombia successfully sued the government, making it mandatory to halt deforestation in the Amazon within a five month window. In the Netherlands, another winning case legally bound the government to cut greenhouse emissions by at least 25 percent by 2020 (compared to 1990 emissions).

With youth and environment groups starting to take a stand, perhaps more ambitious responses to climate change can begin to gain traction. Young people are starting to lead more sustainable lives, says Gauthier, but government action is a big barrier to change.

“Whatever we do in terms of reducing our individual GHG emissions… if our government is purchasing pipelines, we won’t be able to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees,” she notes. “So we really need to see strong action from our government.”

The post From climate inaction to government class action appeared first on A\J.

Educational Video Companion: Indigenous Entrepreneurship and Housing Security

Environatives Training Initiative

Educational Video Companion: Indigenous Entrepreneurship and Housing Security

Environatives Training Initiative

Environatives Training Initiatives is a not-for-profit started by Becky Big Canoe which aims to design and deliver training programs for Indigenous women and youth that address food security, natural building skills and entrepreneurial skills. The goal is to provide culturally sensitive and targeted training in order to help lift people out of poverty, dependence, and vulnerability to harm. The food security and permaculture training offered by Environatives provides knowledge and skills to create community gardens, take produce to the market and start microbusinesses. Experts in the sustainable building industry deliver the natural building training, and the entrepreneur training is designed to be relevant to students and their local communities. These programs empower Indigenous women and youth by helping them find independence and overall well-being in their lives. 

Indigenous Entrepreneurship in Canada

Basic assumptions of mainstream theories of entrepreneurship sometimes conflict with certain Indigenous cultural values. This is because the perception of opportunity is culturally relative, as is the measurement of success, both of which are important elements of entrepreneurship (Dana 2015). Indigenous entrepreneurship often incorporates community needs and objectives more holistically than Western forms of entrepreneurship. 

Becky Big Canoe and many other Indigenous entrepreneurs, approach entrepreneurial activities with the desire to be environmentally sustainable. This comes from a strong connection to the land as its original inhabitants, which has been disrupted by colonization. As such, taking part in entrepreneurial enterprises offers a chance to reassert control over traditional territories and build community (Sengupta & Vieta, 2015). A significant amount of Indigenous entrepreneurial activity occurs outside the realm of traditional market exchanges. In the absence of market transactions, wealth can be generated by individuals and within the community without the sale of a good or service for profit. Regulatory barriers often prompt Indigenous entrepreneurs away from the traditional market setting. While there are multiple approaches to Indigenous entrepreneurship, it is often designed to be inclusive of economic, environmental, social and cultural goals, typically with a greater emphasis on cultural values than more non-Indigenous social enterprises (Sengupta & Vieta, 2015). 

Canadian Indigenous Housing Security

Housing insecurity disproportionately affects the Indigenous population in Canada. The fact that Indigenous people are the fastest growing demographic in the Canadian population increases the challenges of supplying housing and puts greater pressure on band councils to do so.

According to 2016 census data, one in five Indigenous people in the country lived in a home in need of major repairs. Comparatively, in the same year, only six per cent of the non-Indigenous population reported living in a dwelling that required major repairs. In addition, those living on-reserve are more likely to live in the least adequate housing conditions, as people with registered Indian status who lived on reserve were 3 times more likely to need major housing repairs, with 44.% requiring repairs, compared to 14% for those living off-reserve. 

On top of the issue of repairs, about one quarter of Indigenous people live in crowded housing. A higher proportion of Indigenous people with a registered Indian status lived in crowded housing than without (27 per cent versus 12 per cent). This proportion is even higher among those living on reserve than off (37 per cent versus 19 per cent).

Overcrowding can lead to a number of health and social issues. As Becky Big Canoe mentioned, mould is often found in poorly constructed and crowded houses, and poses health risks as a result. In some communities, there are so many people living in one house that they must sleep in shifts, revealed an interim report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. This can disrupt a child’s focus in school, resulting in lower education achievement rates and lower employment rates. Overcrowding can also lead to homelessness. 

Furthermore, a number of houses built on reserves are not constructed for the environment they’re situated in. Due to the costs of construction northern regions, many receive below-par construction. This is something Big Canoe directly addressed by building her own home from straw. There is also big problem with inadequate water infrastructure, resulting in drinking water advisories. Health Canada indicated that there were 100 long-term drinking water advisories and 47 short-term in 102 First Nations communities south of the 60th parallel as of Oct. 31, 2017. Boiling water for so many people can also contributes to mould growth, and thus worsen housing conditions.

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To find out more about Becky Big Canoe’s non-profit Environatives Training initiatives, check out her website http://www.backtobasicscanada.com/environative-training

To find out more about the problem of inadequate housing for Indigenous peoples, see the following sources: 

• HOUSING ON FIRST NATION RESERVES: Challenges and Successes Interim Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, February 2015. https://sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/412/appa/rms/08feb15/Home-e.htm

• Statistics Canada. (2017). The housing conditions of Aboriginal people in Canada. Retrieved from https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016021/98-200-x2016021-eng.cfm 

The post The House that Becky Built appeared first on A\J.

Imagine catching a GO train to see, taste, and pick the best the world grows and prepares all in one place. Imagine picking your own berries and then drinking squeezed juice while watching some frisky goats. Then imagine sitting down to enjoy what can be done with the cheese they supply. That, and more, minutes from downtown Toronto: GO to food and food-to-go.

Food and food-based travel have created thriving local economies in Niagara, Prince Edward County and Vermont. For that matter, Italy and France are often thought of this way. It is exciting to realize that another place in Ontario might emerge that is accessible to millions by public transit (GO train to shuttle bus).

In Toronto (and other large cities) fewer young people are buying cars. Instead, they take transit and rent cars now and then. My Toronto-based sons have never bothered to get driver’s licenses. Many such people can afford and would love nearby day or weekend family trips getting outdoors. If the Land Over Landings group’s vision happens, that experience will become a whole lot easier for millions.

Land Over Landings is the successor to People or Planes featured in an A/J cover story in the autumn of 1972! Both oppose a second Toronto airport on prime farmland just north of Pickering. Their superb study on the economic potential of the 9,600 acres adjacent to the new Rouge Valley National Urban Park, Canada’s first urban national park is now complete.

This priceless near-urban, high quality farmland could become the envy of most global cities. If this study’s vision comes to pass, the world will see the value of having that much farmland in one piece adjacent to a National Park, and close to a huge city. The land is already owned by the Canadian government and the economists who did this study think it should stay that way.

The study’s economic analysts Dr. John Groenewegen and Dr. Atif Kubursi offer six scenarios detailing the economic impacts of various management strategies. These lands annually produce cash crops like corn and soybeans valued at $3.7 million. This land, as well as the park’s land, were placed in reserve for an airport that was never built.

Because the land is leased in short-term contracts, no tenants invest in tiling fields, buildings for animals or equipment or anything like orchards, because these activities only make money after several years. Groenewegen and Kubursi suggest renewable 30-year leases to spur diverse crops. As well, long-term leases could attract relatively young farmers while avoiding high land purchase costs that all-but-exclude non-speculators. This scenario sees these lands generating over $100 million annually from crops and agricultural tourism. Potential crops include widely varied vegetables and fruits and diverse ethnic crops to serve the GTA population as well as livestock.

The economic impact estimates are conservative, as they should be in such a study, but the authors do suggest thoughtful policies to make the transition work. For more detail I highly recommend reading the study, one eminently readable by non-economists. It will open your imagination.

Here’s a little dreaming about what this area could become. Let’s start our dream with one word: branding.  This land will be branded, as well as the crops it produces, and the foods prepared on and near to it. Think of the Big Apple (further east on the 401), think of Ben and Jerry’s and what that one ice cream factory has done for Vermont tourism and Vermont’s economy.

Then consider the possibilities for ethnic food creations including Ethiopian, South American, Asian, Middle Eastern. The possibilities are endless. We can grow most of what is needed right there. Then imagine the possibilities for restaurants and branded products made from produce grown and prepared fresh daily on the doorstep of 10,000,000 people and whoever else wants to come.

These lands could also be a living lab for something else profoundly important: food security. We must be able to produce most of what we need.

There are four reasons to avoid excessive dependence on imported food. One: climate change is already affecting California, our leading source of fresh fruits and vegetables. These impacts will worsen over time. Two: today’s political attacks on immigrants threaten to leave California and Florida produce either unpicked or more expensive. Third, fully using local food production capacities reduces carbon emissions. Innovative farmers are now growing fresh greens in Ontario year round in low-cost passive solar greenhouses. Fourth, Trump’s government is systematically weakening pesticide and water quality regulations, likely affecting the safety of food from America.

The capacity to grow quality food locally (especially year-round) depends on involving young, innovative, diverse people into farming and, of course, on preserving quality farmland. Affordable access to land is essential. Leasing opportunities like the ones suggested by Land over Landings help open such possibilities. Many people want the chance to farm, but their dreams are often financially out of reach given the cost of land.

Food production in Canada will thrive if farming is profitable, visible and exciting. These special lands and nearby communities can blossom with crops and restaurants of incredible variety. Everyone can dine, buy take-away or rent bicycles (maybe electrified by barn roof solar) to go from farm-to-farm picking or buying.

With new places created for overnight stays, there would be more jobs than the study estimates, especially if excellent culinary creations are branded and marketed widely. Visitors who enjoy products or meals will be thrilled to find them available back home in Toronto or elsewhere. Truly, the possibilities are endless.

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