There’s nothing funny in the above paragraph. Which is ironic given that no one here at Alternatives Journal (A\J) who had the pleasure of working with (or even just meeting with) Wayne went away without smiling. The subject matters that interested Wayne most were also important and very serious matters, yet our team members first recall the witty headline suggestions and the self-deprecating asides. Don’t get us wrong; the deep ponderings and unique perspectives that Wayne shared with our readers in A\J issues throughout the years were always a feast of food-for-thoughts. You don’t become an ’eminence gris’ without earning the accolades, which Wayne did as individual Canadians, government officials, leading corporations and impactful charitable organizations came to appreciate Wayne’s persistent advocacy for more secure food systems to benefit all Canadians.

We all – all Canadians – have benefited from Wayne’s insights and ideas as they’ve shaped policy and planted the seeds for more meaningful actions to ensure that access to affordable and healthy food choices are available to each and everyone of us.

“When someone in Toronto goes to a farmers’ market or they harvest from a community garden or they see that their local grocery store has more local food in it — Wayne played a vital role in making that happen,” Mike Schreiner, Guelph MPP and Green Party of Ontario leader said.

“He is the godfather of good food policy for Canada for the things that he contributed to food policy in Toronto and Canada at large,” mentioned Anan Lololi, executive director of Afri-Can FoodBasket.

And, as mentioned, we were fortunate to have Wayne share his wisdom and witticisms with our readers on a frequent basis, starting in the mid-00s. His frequent collaborator on our side is long-timer A\Jer and our Publisher Emerita, Marcia Ruby. Marcia shared her thoughts with as as she reflected on Wayne’s involvment and impact our our own work – and the legendary legacy he leaves for others to follow.

In early 2000s, Wayne reached out to A/J to ensconce the idea of food sovereignty in food conversation and policy (29:4, 2003). Food issues have been one of the most popular issue themes here at Alternatives, performing the best on newsstands, and referred to by researchers and activists.

Three years later, for the same reason, Wayne led the editorial charge to scale up on Canada’s food security measures. (32:3)

had many conversations with Wayne apart from his issues and articles. He was generous in contributing advice and strategy for Alternatives, quite separate from editorial. He was a connector– sometimes he’d refer writers working on cutting edge research to me and I’d often refer budding food activist students to Wayne. Not many months would pass without an email exchange or two.

Wayne would always add a special splash to any line of copy, including this, the last line in the editorial for Food Securtiy:

Welcome to food sovereignty: crisp and eager, with a note of the commons, an undertone of nature, a good nose and a sharp finish.

We were very fortunate in 2007 when Wayne agreed to join the A\J’s editorial board, the roundtable of luminaries who help shape issue themes and story ideas. Not a Food issue went by that Wayne did not contribute to. One of the memorable articles was “Eat This Recession” (35:6, 2009) where Wayne crunched a bunch of numbers to show the virtuous results of several approaches including green roofs and a four-day work week. It was so thick with numbers that our editor, Nicola Ross, was compelled to send it to several referees. She had so many opposing views that she wrote a little intro, shared these views and invited others to offer theirs. And I summarized these scenarios by working with an artist to create diagrams of each. One of the higher maintenance but rewarding things I’ve done at A\J. It was a lot to chew and pretty popular.

I sent him this note this past Sunday.

Hi Wayne

You are one inspiring man, Mr. Roberts! Thank you for the years of guidance and for all of your contributions to the food movement – in Alternatives and the ocean of other initiatives and thinking that you have created over the years. So much of your generous and sage advice came my way (always delivered in good humor and your infectious giggle, hence, whenever I think of you, I see your face and your great big grin).

Wayne, I’ve got to say, you get the prize for most innovative and entertaining writing on food in Alternatives! “Digest This!” “Eat This Recession” and “Eating Insects: Waiter, There’s no Fly in My Soup” to name but a few.

Love you lots Wayne.

Marcia

Wayne’s contribution, Eat This Recession, in a 2009 issue of Alternatives Journal (A\J)

Nicola Ross, A\J editor from the mid-00s to 2011, also remembers Wayne fondly:

Wayne had the best laugh and the most positive outlook. So smart and he came up with what I think was the best article title during my tenure. On his article about eating insects, the title was “Waiter, there’s no Fly in my Soup.”

Wayne most recently wrote for us in 2017, contributing Radical Food Resistance to our, you guessed it, FOOD issue that year. You can read it yourself – actually, you really should – as he started the article as follows:

I feel totally torn about what I’m going to write here. I’ve been working mostly from the right side of my brain since I became a food enthusiast 20 years ago, but now I feel my left brain calling me to pay more attention to logic and analysis. My right brain tells me we have chalked up a string of successes over the past two decades, and should continue building on that momentum.

Indeed, few social movements can claim as impressive a list of accomplishments as food movements, advances made almost entirely through the efforts of young volunteers, poorly paid employees of grassroots groups and mindful shoppers.

As an organization dedicated to crafting and delivering entertaining and enlightening environmental storytelling, we always knew we could count on Wayne to lift our spirits and expand our mental horizons. We were so very fortunate to have shared those stories with you, our readers, as it gave us an opportunity to meet the man himself. And, as you can read from the above anecdotes and special notes, we are so profoundly grateful for that opportunity.

Please enjoy Wayne Robert’s writing in A\J.

The post Reflections on Wayne Roberts appeared first on A\J.

After living through one heck of an eventful year in 2020, I have reflected a lot on what social media activism really means, and the recurring question I ponder is whether social media activism is actually effective or if it can be counterproductive to its objectives of advancing social and environmental sustainability.

What is Social Media Activism?

Social media activism is a form of advocacy that can include protesting, campaigning, or raising awareness through the use of social media platforms. By using hashtags, online movements can rapidly spread through the world of media, and gain momentum and attention by “trending”, which means becoming one of the top concerns on social media at a given time. But social media activism can often come across as lazy and fake when it is not followed by genuine action, so critics coined a new term for this online facade: “slacktivism”. How do we differentiate between genuine activism on social media platforms and slacktivism?

SOURCE: The Nib

A trend I see amongst my fellow young people on social media is that we each have an “image” that we’ve created of ourselves on our profiles. We are concerned with our aesthetic – what our online presence says about us – and those things are driven by what we post and share on social media. That even applies to people who don’t post anything at all. The silence, unwillingness, or lack of interest in sharing and posting content still upholds a certain image.

I’ll be honest with you, I am completely guilty of slacktivism myself.

What we share and post contributes to and upholds our online reputations by showing what we care about; however, it is all too often that I see people sharing posts that contribute to their identity as an activist, yet it seems that no real action or growth have followed. And isn’t change the main goal of activism? Raising awareness only goes so far before the sharing and posting needs to turn into demonstrating and changing.

I’ll be honest with you, I am completely guilty of slacktivism myself. I have shared plenty of posts on Instagram, adding my own comments encouraging or challenging people to “wake up” to those issues because I support the cause and want to share it, yet sometimes that’s as far as my activism goes. Sometimes I even find myself doing the opposite of what I have shared and advocated for online. I’m sure there have been times when I’ve shared a bunch of posts about the importance of buying local, seasonal produce, and then gone to the store and bought a bag of oranges from Spain. Or perhaps there was a post about a crisis in a developing country that had been circulating through my social media feed and I shared it without actually doing any of the work, like signing the petitions, donating, or educating myself further on the issue at hand.

I was in school this past summer in 2020 and took a literature course that required me to buy 5 novels for the class. Although I tend to be quick to post and share things about boycotting unsustainable corporations, screwing capitalism, and the like, I still somehow ended up ordering all the books I needed on Amazon, which probably came from all over the world and simply put more money in Jeff Bezos’ pocket. I don’t even recall looking at local alternatives beforehand or even asking friends if they had those books that I could borrow. My brain defaulted to searching the books on Amazon and clicking “buy”. Sharing posts on my social media didn’t result in a genuine change in me.

Obviously, no one is perfect and we should all just do what we can. It is not terrible to buy oranges or occasionally buy products on Amazon, as long as you’re doing your best with the resources and capacity that you have. But my point is that my social media image and the environmental and social activist posts that I shared were not followed with genuine change on my part, even though I could easily make those changes. I was not practicing what I preached.

So, can the progress of movements actually be stalled if people are just sharing the content but no one is taking action or actively trying to change? This is how the rise of social media activism can be counterproductive to genuine activism. The act of retweeting a post on Twitter may allow people to feel as though they have done their part and satisfied their “activist duty”, even when no action or transformation has really taken place (me being anti-Amazon online, then buying books on Amazon offline). Maybe my social media activity gave me a sense of fulfillment that allowed me to mentally check off the “activism” box in my mind, giving me more space to make less sustainable choices, given that I had “already done my good for the day”.

Source: Diginews

We have been living in an online world for a while now, and the global pandemic has only accelerated the extent of online life. As young activists, it may seem harder than ever to do anything beyond the online work. But even during the pandemic, we can take part in both social media activism and activism in our offline lives as well. Online activism needs to be followed by real action that supports those ideas.

Despite all the toxic traits of the social media world, there are still plenty of positive aspects of social media activism.

I wanted to dive deeper into this concern because it’s clear that there are issues with slacktivism, but I know social media activism isn’t all bad – like anything, there are pros and cons. So, how can we embrace the advantages and be wary of the problems?

Cons

First, a few of the cons…

• Misinformation

Activism on social media can lead to a variety of issues regarding the legitimacy of information that is shared. Not all information online is reliable. Social media is notorious for spreading misinformation because people tend to believe what they want to believe and don’t always fact check the sources.

• Confirmation bias

Social media also drives strong oppositions of “sides” by upholding worldviews. There are issues with confirmation bias, which is just a fancy term explaining how people only see information online that they support and that confirms their beliefs.

• Systemic issues with algorithms

On social media there are also behind-the-scenes mechanisms at work called algorithms, which are programs that learn what you like and support from your information, like the accounts you follow, content you like and share, and so on. But algorithms are not unbiased in the slightest. Algorithms ensure that the content you see and hear is content that supports your worldview, and this is dangerous because how can you ever learn the full story when you only ever see your perspective of it? No change can come from this. The walls that separate us from the stuff we don’t want to hear need to be broken down in order for transformation and dialogue to happen.

Speaking of algorithm bias, Instagram and Facebook have been accused of having racist algorithms. And they likely do. Algorithms are programs that are created and controlled by programmers. Take the programmers of Instagram, for example. Those people are working for someone, so who is instructing their work? Who is the head honcho directing orders? The head of Instagram is Adam Mosseri, an American, white man. And prior to him, Instagram was founded by two other American, white men. So… it might be safe to say that some systemic issues are likely embedded in our social media, and they may present issues of oppression by burying and uplifting certain voices in the algorithms.

• The mute button and “cancel culture”

The mute button is also alive and well on social media. If posts are circling around that you don’t agree with, you have the choice to simply click one of many buttons to make it all go away – mute, unfollow, report, block. Conflict can easily be avoided, at least by the people who are privileged enough to experience those issues only second hand through media. It’s too easy to shut yourself off from conflicts that you could take part in solving. And this past year, people on social media were muting these issues in a new way through “cancel culture”, where a group of people publicly shamed and ostracized individuals and brands, essentially “cancelling” them from society. But cancelling something is not very productive. We can’t resort to voting people off the island just because we don’t like them. Cancel culture does not allow the necessary space to have conversations and begin transformation.

• Lack of real action

And of course, likes and hashtags do not always result in change, actions do. Posts and hashtag movements and sharing can be a wonderful way to spark the flame, but they won’t fuel the wildfire.

Pros

Despite all the toxic traits of the social media world, there are still plenty of positive aspects of social media activism.

• Messages to movements!

Social media is a strong vessel for raising awareness, and spreading news and messages. Within seconds, ideas can spread across the globe and movements can be started.

• Educating and inspiring

Social media platforms have also transformed into spaces where people can learn from one another by listening to each other’s stories. As long as you’re learning from reliable information, there are plenty of online resources to educate ourselves on certain topics. Social media can be a wonderful place to spark ideas and gain inspiration!

• Global connections

Online, people can network, establish meaningful relationships, and join together in solidarity across the world with others who believe in a common purpose.

• Gaining support

Fundraising or gaining support on petitions for causes have never been easier. Think about how much change and awakening have come from the Black Lives Matter movement across all media platforms. Or Greta Thunberg’s social media activism with her weekly photos of her climate strike.

SOURCE: Hypebae

Overall, social media activism is not a bad thing, but it can potentially be counterproductive to activist movements and present barriers to change if it turns into slacktivism, when the online work is not followed with offline work.

Conducting Genuine Online Activism 

My reflection and research on this topic have allowed me to compile a list of simple actions that I believe we can do to avoid slacktivism and make sure our activism efforts are genuine and productive. And going forward, I aim to follow all of these pieces of advice to improve my own activism and make it meaningful.

• Be mindful. Try not to share posts blindly. Read and understand what you’re sharing before you do so. Make sure you ask yourself whether you’re sharing that post for the greater purpose of progressing the cause or simply upholding your image.
• Follow with action and show the world. Do more than the act of sharing and posting – take actions and make changes in your own life to reflect that you genuinely support the causes you share. And show those actions on your social media! That is the beauty of social media activism – you can inspire others with your own personal experiences and contributions!
• Take advice from more experienced activists. Talk to an activist that made change before the age of social media. You may learn some valuable lessons from them.
• Have conversations. Talk to your friends and family and others who don’t agree with you. Try to have those difficult conversations in order to plant seeds in their mind and inspire them.
• Educate yourself. If you don’t have the capacity to take action in your life, then take time to educate yourself. Mental changes are just as important as physical ones. Learn about all perspectives, read other people’s stories, do research. Reflect, journal, and ponder. These are all exercises and activities that will support your activism and make it meaningful.
• Ask questions. Pause and ask yourself questions while undertaking social media activism – does this align with my moral compass and internal purpose? How can I advocate for change in those areas on social media and in my own life?
• Be authentic and be honest. Remember – no one is the perfect activist ; there is no one right way to do activism. Find what works for you and roll with it. Do the work, but remember to take care of yourself too. We all still need time to rest and recharge when fighting for a better world.

What do you think? Is social media activism an effective tool for making positive change, or is it a barrier? I don’t think there is a simple answer. Activism on social media is definitely a catalyst for change and a first step towards transformation, but we, as online activists, need to be aware of slacktivism and the systemic issues within social media. At the end of the day, the goal is to be a better version of you and to keep doing good in the world on screen and off screen. So, what are you doing off screen to support your activism that your followers might not see?

The post THE REALITIES OF SLACKTIVISM appeared first on A\J.

…including ways we can right our environmental wrongs and help nature thrive…”

I do not believe that humans are inherently bad for nature. In history, humans lived harmoniously with nature for generations, living as an intertwined part of nature rather than separate from or in control of it. In fact, even today, in many places in the world, healthy ecosystems actually depend on human intervention and stewardship to thrive.

Does that mean the problem is that humans aren’t living in harmony with nature anymore, as we should be? Well, that may be a piece of it; however, in addition to being better environmental stewards by taking measures to protect the environment, I also believe that we should be taking reactive measures to fix the problems we have already caused. This is where ecological restoration comes into play. There are plenty of things individuals can do to help the environment, including ways we can right our environmental wrongs and help nature thrive in places it used to. Ecological restoration is just that – righting the wrongs, repairing the relationship.

WHAT? – Defining Ecological Restoration

The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) is the leading organization in ecological restoration across the globe. SER defines ecological restoration as “the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed”^[1]. In other words, ecological restoration involves looking at spaces that used to be natural areas that have been ruined in some way as a result of human activities and disturbances, and then taking measures to turn those areas back into functional ecosystems.

The process of ecosystem restoration // SOURCE: Medium

An example of this process in a community could be transforming a damaged, unused parking lot space into a city park where native vegetation can be planted. A larger scale project might look like reverting a decommissioned, highly polluted mine site back into a thriving natural ecosystem. But, wait. Isn’t this supposed to be about how individuals can practice ecological restoration? Absolutely! Ecological restoration does include large scale projects, research, and experiments, since restoration ecology is an academic field of study. But the concept of restoring natural spaces can also be scaled down to the local, household level. So let’s get into what ecological restoration has to do with YOU.

WHY? – The Benefits

Before we discuss the how, we should discuss the why. Why should you care about ecological restoration? Because it benefits you!

Restoring natural areas can do wonders for human health and wellbeing by making our communities healthier and more desirable places to live. For example, transforming degraded areas into functional, natural spaces may improve air and water quality. Ecological restoration projects could also combat climate change, since plant life takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and cools our environment.

Natural areas also directly benefit human mental health and wellbeing by providing recreational outdoor space, and making urban and suburban areas more aesthetically pleasing. Several studies, including one conducted by the NASA Earth Observatory, have shown the link between positive mental health and both the accessibility and proximity to green spaces. Green spaces are valued by many for enjoyment, boosting their mood, and inspiring deeper connections with nature. To break it down: Ecological restoration = more parks and gardens = more outdoor fun and good-looking cities = happier people.

Ecological restoration projects also usually provide increased and improved habitat spaces for wildlife. Now, I know this article is focused on why ecological restoration is relevant to people, and you are probably not a butterfly or toad looking for habitat, but hear me out. Some very important species are at risk of extinction since their habitat needs are becoming harder to meet in this era of urbanization and climate change. Many natural areas have been reduced or destroyed, and the animals who need to live in those spaces are struggling to survive in many cases. The karner blue butterfly is just one of many examples of a pollinator species that has gone locally extinct in Ontario.

The Karner Blue Butterfly // SOURCE: Nature Canada

Pollinators are especially valuable species for the health of the entire planet, so we really can’t afford to lose any more of them. It is estimated that up to 95% of flowering plants depend on pollination^[2]. In terms of plants that humans eat, that means roughly one out of every three bites of food that you take exists because of pollinators. So if pollinators can’t find habitats and continue to decline, our entire global food system could be at stake. Now that is a scary thought. Allow me to bring back the optimism. It is truly amazing that we have the capability to stop those environmental dooms from happening, and a key method to do so is ecological restoration!

HOW? – The Actions

The individual’s role in ecological restoration is simple: transform your areas with little to no diversity into biodiverse paradises, and take part in local community projects.

One great starting point for figuring out where you should do ecological restoration is identifying areas outdoors that have little to nothing growing there. The average North American lawn is a great example of this. What comes to mind when you think of a lawn? Probably an expanse of short, uniform grass. Let me explain why lawns are one of the areas with the most potential for ecological restoration at the household level.

Lawns are very common green spaces in urban and suburban areas, yet they have no ecological value. Many lawns actually do more harm than good for the environment because they require lots of water and can even release more greenhouse gases than they absorb. It is nonsensical that these precious areas of green space are being wasted on lawn grass!

The key to remember here is simply – restore your green spaces so they are welcoming to a diversity of species in order to create functional ecosystems and promote sustainability.

nstead of having a boring, homogenous lawn, you can transform that space into something more beautiful and ecologically-beneficial! Alternative lawns may look different depending on where you live and what kind of space you have available, but planting a diversity of native plants is a good start. Using a diversity of plants, meaning plants of different species, is important to create habitats. The more diverse your space is, the more types of pollinators and other species it will accommodate, and the more functional the ecosystem will be! If you take pride in the beauty of your yard, then now is the time to let your creativity shine! Check out Credit Valley Conservation’s tips and resources on how to “ecologically landscape” your lawn.

SOURCE: Hamilton Pollinator Paradise

If you don’t have the resources to completely change your lawn right away, don’t worry. You can also just let your grass grow longer instead of regularly cutting it, which can lower the lawn’s water requirements and still foster a space for pollinators. Even simply taking a break from raking leaves in the fall is a strategy to make your spaces more ecologically beneficial because leaf piles are actually super important spaces for small critters to live and hide, like butterfly larvae, salamanders, and shrews!

The key to remember here is simply – restore your green spaces so they are welcoming to a diversity of species in order to create functional ecosystems and promote sustainability.

 For those who don’t have a lawn and don’t have any areas where you can create habitats and gardens, there are still things you can do – just get involved. There are so many local ecological restoration community projects, practically across the whole globe. Finding a project near you that you can help with is just a few clicks away! Just research ecological restoration projects near you. You can also go to the project database on SER’s website to find some larger scale projects in your area if you’re interested in learning more! Many ecological restoration projects welcome volunteers with open arms. You could spend a day in nature by joining a team pulling invasive species in a natural area, or donate to a local initiative trying to turn an old landfill site into a park in your city, or even take a field trip to a conservation area! For example, the Ontario branch of SER hosts several field trips each year in order to introduce the public to restoration efforts near them. Even during the pandemic, they are hosting virtual field trips and webinars.

I study at the University of Waterloo and I like to go for walks on my study breaks. Recently, I took a walk in Filsinger Park, in Kitchener, and I found out that the Filsinger Park stream had been a restoration project. The city replaced the concrete stream channels with native vegetation to create a naturalized, functional stream ecosystem, and it is now a beautiful place to take a walk and appreciate nature! My point is, simply going for a walk and discovering ecological restoration in your city could be the first step in making your mark on the environment a positive one. Ecological restoration is relevant to you. We can all contribute to restoring natural spaces in our own backyards and communities. And by making these contributions, we can restore our relationship with nature, one step at a time.

^[1] Society for Ecological Restoration, “International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration: Second Edition” (accessed January 7, 2021) <https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ser.org/resource/resmgr/docs/ser_international_standards_.pdf>^[2] Ollerton J, Winfree R, and Tarrant S, “How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals?” (accessed January 7, 2021) <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18644.x>

^[2] Ollerton J, Winfree R, and Tarrant S, “How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals?” (accessed January 7, 2021) <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18644.x>

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Every year around the holidays, we go into this “EVERYTHING IN EXCESS” mode where our brain wants to consume, consume, and consume. And with all that consumption comes a whole lot of trash and waste. In fact, we produce 25–30% more waste around Christmas time than we do the rest of the year.

However, there are many ways we can still celebrate the holidays without the environmental guilt….

1. Purchase eco-friendly gifts

“Studies have shown that a single wash of polyester clothing can release as many as 700,000 microplastics into the water supply…Consider plastic-free gifts like tote bags, sponge cloths, produce bags and plastic-free toiletry kits, as well as clothing made of merino wool and cotton over polyester and nylon clothing over the holidays,” says Dmytriy Pereklita, the founder of OnePieceADay.  Pereklita says that many brands like Patagonia are still stylish yet sourced from more sustainable materials.

OnePieceADay has recently launched an e-commerce marketplace where you can find environmentally-conscious gifts for your friends and family (I like the reusable produce and bulk food bags- pictured above).

Pereklita also emphasized consumers should be thinking about where their gifts are coming from. “Are they from local shops which you can pick up and deliver with minimal carbon footprint?” he asked, “Or are they being flown in from overseas, driven by a truck across the country? Try to support local businesses as much as possible especially during the pandemic.”

2. Switch to reusable gift wrapping

In Canada, we send 540,000 tonnes of gift wrapping and gift bangs to the landfill every holiday season.

“Avoid the usual fancy paper gift wrapping since most of it cannot be recycled. Consider using burlap, old newspapers, dish cloths etc.… For deliveries, you can ask vendors how they package their products prior to making a decision to purchase” says Pereklita. “Reuse as much as you can…or go naked – i.e. no wrapping! Try hiding unwrapped gifts in the house for a fun gift hunt!”

My Green Closet has a useful YouTube video which shows you how you can make your own reusable gift bags here (pictured above).

I would also suggest that if you do decide to go down the gift bag route, skip on the tissue paper and keep the bags you get this year to reuse for someone else’s gift next year.

3. Avoid plastic and single-use housing decorations

Christmas decorations tend to be a plastic heavy, glitter ball mess that usually ends up in a landfill after a few years. Instead of going this route, why not try making your own holiday decorations using sustainable materials? It could be a fun activity for your friends and family.

I like the recycled card wreath from Good Housekeeping (pictured above).

4. Buy a real tree

I know what you are thinking – cutting down a tree? No way! But hear me out. When you look at the lifecycle or the plastic tree alternative, it is actually much worse for the environment. According to Environmental Defense, most plastic trees are not recyclable. After a few seasons, they sit in landfills for the next THOUSAND years! So Instead of purchasing a plastic tree, opt for a real one. If you are still feeling bad about it, plant a new tree in its place afterwards!

When the holidays are over, there are many eco friendly ways to dispose of your real-live tree and bring it back to compost. Cities all over Canada, like Calgary, run Christmas tree composting programs after the holidays so you can be sure your tree is going back to the earth.

5. Go plastic free during holiday gatherings

SOURCE: HUFFPOST

While it may be nice to not have to do the dishes, Environmental Defense says plastic waste from (COVID-19 friendly) holiday gatherings like cups, plates and cutlery often do not end up recycled and go straight to the garbage. So, if you can, use reusable plates, cutlery, and cups.

Single use cups often get thrown out more as people mix up their cups at gatherings, stay with reusable glassware and to avoid the mix up, you can use a wine glass writer to mark your cup!

After the gathering, you can label different bins for recycling, compost, and trash so your guests can also properly dispose of their waste.

6. Avoid wasting food

SOURCE: Fork in the Road

The best part about Christmas, the food! Unfortunately, food waste accounts for a massive portion of holiday waste. If there is leftover food after dinner, send your guest home with food goodie bags! Another option is to save leftovers and scraps for soup stocks instead of throwing them out.

Find a good recipe on how to make vegetable broth from food scraps here.

7. DIY gifts

A DIY gift is a gift from the heart! I am on the east coast for the holidays this year and our beaches are often littered with broken bottles and sea glass. So instead of buying gifts, I am going to gift my family sea glass art pieces (link here). But shhhh… don’t tell them!

8. Offer vegetarian/low meat meals  

According to Random Acts of Green, “At Christmas in 2019, 2.7 million whole turkeys were purchased in Canada!” And yes, the Christmas ham and turkey are holiday staples, I know. But are they really needed? If you answer yes, opt for purchasing ham and turkey (and any other ingredients that end up on the table) from more ethically sourced options. Try buying local or organic instead this year!

Or even better, go meatless this Christmas! Make a new family tradition to use Christmas as the one time a year the entire family goes meatless. Also, you can cut down on the size of the turkeys and or switch to a smaller chicken instead to ensure less food is leftover.

9. Use LED lights

I love going for late night walks around the holidays and looking at all the Christmas lights in my neighbourhood. Christmas lights just put people in a good mood. This year, inside or outside, try and use LED lights instead of regular incandescent ones (LED lights actually use up to 80% less energy).

10. Gift an experience

Instead of buying something that will be donated or tossed in a landfill a few years down the road, why not gift someone a fun experience and happy memories? Environmental Defense has a ton of great gift ideas like Spanish lessons, paint night, salsa dancing, going to the theatre… There are tons of options. I am just saying but if someone gifted a young version of myself hip hop dance lessons for Christmas, I wouldn’t have been mad.

11. Donate to a worthy cause/ upcycle

“Instead of gifts, consider giving the gift of giving,” says Dmytriy Pereklita. “There are groups around the world in need of financial support for eco-friendly causes. Honour someone special by donating on their behalf to one of the following groups committed to helping the planet.”

A few worthy ones Pereklita mentioned:

Save the Whales https://savethewhales.org/donate/

Plastic Pollution Coalition https://connect.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/donate

WWF https://shop.wwf.ca/collections/virtual-gifts

OnePieceADay https://ca.gofundme.com/f/td4eg-one-piece-a-day

12. Create a new sustainable family tradition

Random Acts of Green says starting a new sustainable family tradition can give you much needed time to reflect on how we can help the earth, while still spending time with your loved ones. A few ideas they suggested included, bird watching, going on a nature walk, collecting garbage, or planting a tree to symbolize the value of nature.

The post 12 Eco Tips for Christmas appeared first on A\J.

Plastic Free July Series (Volume 2 of 5)

It’s time to break free from our plastic dependency. Environmentally-friendly alternatives to plastic exist and we can all make small changes in our daily lives to promote the sustainability of our environment.

Source: Ethique

Plastic Free July Series (Volume 2 of 5)

It’s time to break free from our plastic dependency. Environmentally-friendly alternatives to plastic exist and we can all make small changes in our daily lives to promote the sustainability of our environment.

Plastic is hidden in our clothing fibres (polyester), disposable wet wipes and even in teabags. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, 47% of plastic waste comes from single-use packaging and Oceana Canada reported that only 9% of the 3.3 million tonnes of plastic waste in Canada is recycled.

“The people who make the biggest difference are the ones who do the little things consistently”. – Katrina Mayer

While it is difficult to live a completely plastic-free life in a consumer market that is dominated by plastic products, we can try our best to use plastic alternatives while minimizing our waste. Since only 9% of Canadian plastic waste is recycled and the remaining 91% is sent to the landfill, incinerated or littered, we can do our part to reduce future plastic purchases, find environmentally- friendly alternatives and ensure that plastics end up in the recycling bins and not the landfill.

Source: Simply Green Rebekah

As part of Environmental Defence’s #PlasticFreeJuly, Volume 1 of this 4 part series highlighted the impact of plastic waste in Canada. However, this week I’ll be discussing how we can make simple changes to our daily lifestyles to help reduce the purchasing of new plastics and to repurpose what you already have before they get recycled.

We are all familiar with the 3 R’s of “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” but let’s consider these 10 R’s to rethink your plastic waste:

1. Rethink – Stop and ask yourself, do I really need this plastic item? Holding ourselves responsible for our actions and the influence they may have on the environment can help us make more meaningful decisions to respect nature and reduce the impact of plastic pollution on animals, plants, the air quality and water.

2. Refuse– Say NO, thank you! You can do without single-use items such as plastic cutlery especially if you’re ordering in at home where you already have reusable cutlery. Similarly, take your own reusable grocery and produce bags instead of getting single-use plastic bags at the store. A variety of non-plastic straw styles exist and some are collapsible and easily portable for on the go.

3. Reduce– Stop buying plastic! Limiting plastic purchases play a large role in eliminating the problem of improper disposal that industries have placed on consumers. Researching eco-friendly alternatives and local stores to obtain these items can reduce our dependence on plastic usage. Our purchasing power drives further production and therefore only if an item is necessary, then plastic alternatives should be bought instead.

4. Reuse– How can this item be upcycled? Your shrunken sweater can be transformed into a cushion cover. While plastic water and milk bottles can be cut and used as planters, toothbrush holders or stationery organizers.

5. Repurpose – How can this item be used in another manner (but in its same form/ without alteration)? Plastic containers can be used for kitchen spices and ingredient storage. Purchasing pasta sauce in glass bottles can be later used to store nuts or even filled with a cool drink and enjoyed in the summer sun with a macaroni-, bamboo- or stainless steel straw.

6. Repair – Before you throw it out, think to yourself- can I fix this? It’s easy to purchase new items but items that perform at less than their optimal level can most likely be repaired. This includes fridges, printers and computers. This will also reduce waste sent to the landfill.

7. Refill – Stainless steel and glass water bottles can be refilled, are more durable and better than constantly purchasing bottled water that usually gets tossed out after a single-use. Zero-waste and bulk stores allow you to take your own containers to refill items such as spices, shampoo and detergent. Find your local store!

8. Regift– Would this item be of use to someone else? Shelters and thrift stores accept donations and friends may enjoy a clothing swap.

9.  Recycle – The best option to get rid of your plastic waste is by recycling. This will ensure that it is not sent to the landfill where it will take years to decompose and in some cases, outlive us there. Recycling will ensure that plastic is reused or disposed of properly.

10.  Reach Out – Having this knowledge and keeping it to yourself won’t help raise awareness of how these steps can help reduce plastic purchases and manage plastic waste in our lives. Reaching out to family and friends about these 10 R’s can educate others to make a dynamic difference.

     Source: Refill NZ

These thought-provoking 10 R’s can be applied to our everyday lives and not only to Plastic Free July. While this list was to reduce future plastic product purchases and influence the way we deal with the plastic that we already have in our possession, may we find biodegradable, stainless steel, wood, bamboo or other natural alternatives (that can later be composted or recycled) to the items we usually use and reduce the use of single-use plastics that play a large part of the waste in the landfill. Reaching out to educate others on the 10 R’s can help spread awareness of what can be done to discontinue the cycle plastic plays in our lives.

Let’s Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Repair, Refill, Regift, Recycle and Reach Out together to make a dent in this plastic-dependent lifestyle.

   Source: Cindy Mangomini

Stay tuned for volume 3 of the series where my colleague will show you how to plan a plastic-free trip to the beach. Then I’ll be back in the final installment of the Plastic Free July Series to discuss how policies can help reduce the environmental impact of plastics.

***

For more on the Plastic Free July Series see:

• Volume 1: Strong and Plastic-Free
• Volume 2: Breaking Up With Plastics
• Volume 3: A Guide to a Plastic Free Beach Day
• Volume 4: Revolve, Reduce, Reuse
• Volume 5: We ACT Upon It For Our Children

Or read about its impact on the ocean in my article “Two Million Too Many” or it’s presence in our food.

The post Breaking Up With Plastics appeared first on A\J.

Editor’s note: This article is an exploration of a truly complicated topic: food and climate change. We’ve shared perspectives that touch upon the personal aspects, the scientific realities, and the actionable first-steps that can be taken to better plan for future changes in our climate.

The Morning Meal

“Aunt Mary, what’s baann knock?” I looked over my mug of chicory root “coffee” at my nephew screwing his eyes at the word. He was looking through an old cookbook of mine. “Bannock. A bread made by many of our Indigenous neighbours. Or Scottish. Depends who you ask,” I answered in all scholarly seriousness.

“Oh” replied Evan. “So, is that what you’re making now?”

My answer to this latest question was a chuckle; Evan does not like surprises and that’s exactly what I was serving him for breakfast.

He was staying with me for the weekend while his parents were down in that crammed Barrie metropolis. They were closing the sales on the last of their land holdings in the Greater Barrie area before leaving the city for good. Some would fold into the Greenbelt, and some they would sell or lease. Boring stuff for a child. Of course, I didn’t mind having Evan stay with me on my little farm in Foleyet. I can always use more hands out here.

“I told you I’m making a special breakfast. Have you finished your goat’s milk?” As if the milk moustache hadn’t given that answer away, Evan put down the Parr Trail cookbook and gave his glass a last sip.

“But, Aunt Mary, how come today is a special breakfast?”

“Because, Evan, it’s just you, me, and the tummy tickler!” I said as I found the same spot on his belly that used to send his father and me into fits of giggles. “Now,” I said, “can I trust you to fetch a few eggs from the coop?”

“Yes!” He was still young enough to love watching the chickens scratch the dirt and cluck at each other.

“Alright, then grab a basket and remember to say thank you to the hens.”

“I will Aunt Mary!” And with the speed known only to seven-year-olds, was out of the kitchen and over to the coop before the door could swing back shut.

Tempus fugit is no joke. Did the radio really say it was summer 2040? It’s when I spend time with my nephew I realize just how much has changed. When I was Evan’s age, almost every weekend breakfast was a thing of wonder. It was easy to enjoy mountains of bacon, homemade bread, BBQ fruit skewers (my grandfather loved cooking fruit, no matter the season), eggs however we liked them, REAL coffee, and, of course, pancakes. Someone’s birthday or a holiday might’ve meant adding to the table smoked salmon and Montreal bagels, or fried chicken and waffles, or – “Thank you Hen” – like a pin to a balloon, my nephew’s serious voice broke through my food montage. I looked through the window and spied him adding two more eggs to the basket.

I never thought I’d be living (never mind farming!) – so far north in Ontario. I worked hard in Toronto for my finance degree and lived the ideal urban life for a while – no car, a solid Bay Street job and a few potted plants on my condo balcony.

Our diets shifted so gradually, I barely noticed at first. I only started paying attention to the differences in the land and food once the economy followed the climate, and changed as well. Breakfast tables today are 

no longer laden with imported wonders and mountains of processed meats; one just can’t afford them for the everyday.

Now, we save bacon for special occasions. Grandpa’s BBQ fruit skewers aren’t the same without a bit of pineapple (wow, I can’t recall the last time I saw a fresh pineapple), but I’ve been making my own peach and cherry skewers for years. Two years ago I joined other homesteaders to supply a community shared agriculture program to 500 people. Anything from yellow watermelons to patty pan squashes might show up in our boxes, so we never know what we’ll cook with next. No, breakfasts aren’t the same as they were 15 years ago.

But then again, not much is. 

Climate Change and Food Production

On one hand, a warming climate in cooler parts of the world like Aunt Mary’s homestead on the Canadian Shield will provide extra heat for plants to grow bigger and faster. This, combined with the higher carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels, could increase food production in these regions.

On the other hand, rising temperatures in warmer areas will push crops past their heat tolerance threshold. This will likely offset any increase in food production on a global scale. A recent publication in Nature suggests that with just a 1°C increase in global temperatures, global wheat yield will decline by 4.1 percent to 6.4 percent. This is extremely bad news for a crop that, together with rice and maize, supplies over half the world’s calories.

Ethiopia’s 2017 drought crisis led to the death of over two million livestock. A severe heat wave in central California killed 6000 cattle. However, while, the food system is a victim of climate change, it is also responsible for approximately one-third of all human-related GHG emissions. Infographic by Evan Gravely

Ethiopia’s 2017 drought crisis reminds us about the fragility of our food-producing landscapes. Extreme water shortages brought on by warming temperatures in the Indian Ocean exhausted pastures and dried up local water supplies, leading to the death of over two million livestock. Normally, these animals supply milk to Ethiopia’s pastoral communities and are a major source of food. Without them, people go hungry. By August, nearly one in twelve Ethiopians were depending on dwindling emergency food aid.

The changing climate, sped up by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere, is changing humans’ ability to grow food. For regions in Africa, rising temperatures could double the risk of drought by the end of the 21^st century, and the pattern follows for other areas of the world at middle latitudes. Flooding, which devastates crop harvests, will also increase, along with the risk for severe heat waves, such as the one that killed an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 cattle in central California this past June. Most regions in the world are not prepared for such climatic extremes, and even a modest increase in extreme weather events could wreak havoc on food production.

The trajectory of global food production will depend on how well societies adapt to the effects of climate change. For example, a warmer climate will likely increase the spread of diseases like Asian soybean rust, which can reduce soybean yields by anywhere from 10 to 80 percent. Rising temperatures and other human factors are disrupting pollinator populations, which are essential for food production and contribute billions of dollars to the agricultural economy.

Most of the higher-tech, scientific agricultural innovations to address climate change impacts (such as engineering disease- and drought-resistant crop varieties, or inventing pollinator drones) are concentrated in the richest regions of the world, despite the fact that climate change will most heavily impact the poorest regions. As a result, the damage caused by climate-related food system disturbances will be asymmetrical between the richest and poorest parts of the world.

But the true crux of the problem is this: while the food system is a victim of climate change, it is also responsible for approximately one-third of the human-related GHG emissions. As well as adapting to the regional impacts of climate change, societies must contain rising global temperatures by reducing their GHG emissions, and much of that will concern farming practices.

Agricultural lands take up over 40 percent of the Earth’s land surface, and food production activities on that land contribute billions of metric tonnes of GHG’s to the atmosphere every year. This is primarily through the emission of methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) – gases that are drastically more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of their warming potential. One important source of nitrous oxide comes from the widespread use of nitrogen-based fertilizers to grow crops, which has increased sevenfold over the last half century. Methane production from worldwide rice cultivation, the conversion of natural areas to agriculture, on-farm energy use, and the production of fertilizers, pesticides, and other farm inputs all add to the GHG burden of food production.

Methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) are the most potent source of farm-related GHG. The largest portion – 65 percent –
of agricultural emissions come from cattle and other ruminant belches (CH₄), and from applying natural or synthetic fertilizers and wastes to soils (N₂O). Plants use only a portion of the nitrogen from fertilizers and as soil microbes break down the rest, they release NO₂ back into the atmosphere.

Smaller sources include manure management, rice cultivation, field burning of crop residues, and fuel use on farms. In the underground carbon cycle, organisms decompose organic material into its simplest components. One of these is CO₂ and it is stored in the soil in high concentrations. Because the concentration of soil and atmospheric CO₂ is different, some CO₂ diffuses into the atmosphere. However, there are huge fluxes in the uptake and release of CO₂ through these two processes and the net release of CO₂ into the atmosphere is estimated to be quite small (less than one percent of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions). Diagram by Ryan Garcia | adaptedfrom ippc (2006)

Overshadowing these factors, however, is global livestock production, which accounts for well over a third of all food-related GHG emissions. When cows and other ruminants digest food, microbial fermentation takes place, which releases CH₄ into the environment when the animals pass gas. Furthermore, since livestock production diverts approximately one-third of all cereal crops for their feed, this system also carries the GHG footprint of intensive crop cultivation.

Beyond production, food often has to travel long distances for distribution and undergoes energy-intensive processing and manufacturing activities. After processing, food must be packaged, stored, and sold through a food retail infrastructure that generates its own GHG emissions. While there are no globally available estimates, in the United Kingdom, food supply chain activities occurring after production make up nearly half of all food-related GHG emissions.

A final but important consideration is how food waste contributes to climate change. Approximately a third of all food ends up wasted. This occurs for various reasons, including poor handling, issues with storage and transportation, as well as the rigorous quality standards that food retailers impose upon their suppliers. Food waste fills up landfills and releases N₂O and CH₄ into the atmosphere
when it decomposes. Moreover, food waste represents the lost potential to mitigate GHGs by using what we produce more efficiently.

Ultimately, we need to start feeding ourselves in a way that does not contribute climate change – the force that threatens our future food supply. Agricultural technologies and techniques may shield our food-producing landscapes from the worst effects of climate change, but these responses are only viable on a global scale if they’re accessible to the most vulnerable. We must prioritize solutions that work for everyone. 

Back to the Futue of Saving Seeds

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What do you do when you get old? Play golf and lie in the sun? For about 100 Suzuki Elders, the answer has been to spend their later years involved with environmental issues – although some also, at times, do play golf and lie in the sun.

But why do more? Many get involved because they want to leave a healthier world for their grandchildren and for generations to come. Others just feel their generation hasn’t taken great care of the natural world, and want to work to alleviate the damage before they leave it. It’s the future that these people care about, not just the past and present.

Suzuki Elders, part of the David Suzuki Foundation based in Vancouver, was established 20 years ago by environmentalist and television personality David Suzuki. He wanted to share their wisdom with the younger people who work for The Suzuki Foundation.

For a dozen years, these early Suzuki Elders were listened to, politely. But they didn’t really have much influence. The mostly young staff of the foundation didn’t really need a lot of advice – they just wanted to get on with their jobs working to preserve wilderness, animals, fish, the atmosphere, and many other concerns.

The elders, too, realized they were being too passive. Seven years ago, encouraged by those heading the foundation including Suzuki himself, the Suzuki Elders decided rather than doling out advice they would reach out to the growing numbers of “Boomers” like themselves, and encourage them to lend their hands, heads and hearts to help the next generations and stewards for our planet.

Baby boomers form a large portion of today’s Canadian population: three out of every 10 persons. They are the people born during the 20-year period after the Second World War, from 1946 till 1965. Today, the average family has one or two kids, but back then, families averaged three to four children each. Boomers born before 1950 are now 66 years or older – about a fifth of Canada’s boomer generation. So there are a lot more boomers coming down the demographic pipeline.

We learned that, yes, Aboriginal Elders gave out advice, but at crucial times they also took action – even putting their bodies on the line to prevent the clear-cut logging on Haida Gwaii in the 1990s.”

During the next five years, people reaching the age of 65 will be slightly more than 400,000 every year. From 2021 to 2025, the number of 65 year olds will increase by 500,000 annually. And from 2026 till 2031, that rate will increase to 550,000 each year.

The first thing the revised Suzuki Elders group did was organize a forum in Vancouver on Elders and the Environment in the fall of 2009. The response was encouraging. Nearly 200 people attended. Speakers spoke about the urgency of meaningful action to save our environment.

We heard from First Nations speakers about elders taking on their centuries-old role in Aboriginal communities. We learned that, yes, Aboriginal elders gave out advice, but at crucial times they also took action – even putting their bodies on the line to prevent the clear cut logging on Haida Gwaii in the 1980s and 90s.

As a direct result of the forum, membership was increased, and we created a formal Association of Suzuki Elders with the enthusiastic assistance of the David Suzuki Foundation.

So what has the Association of Suzuki Elders done? We’ve set up numerous working groups, where any elder can be involved. There is no specific age requirement – anyone who considers her or himself an “elder” can join the group. Most members, though, are in their 60s or older.

The Elders’ education and community engagement working group created banners and pamphlets for use at booths and events to urge other people to get involved. There’s lots of interaction, for instance, at Seniors Day at the Vancouver Public Library.

An educational group also sponsors many public lectures and round tables to increase environmental awareness.

Suzuki Elders supported and promoted nature walks and related informational talks around the Vancouver area. Elders who walk in the woods and along the beaches are motivated to preserve our natural environment, we’ve found.

We held several sessions on how we can build psychological resilience in order to deal with such frightening topics as wholesale environmental disruption. In the face of the real possibility of dramatic and harmful climate change, Suzuki Elders, assisted by psychologists and counsellors, have organized group sessions to help us and others keep our spirits up and stay positive and active. We must believe that people can make a difference.

One of the many other sessions was on the pros and cons of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and the big companies that are promoting them. Another was on whether we are prepared for food security in the 21st century. Yet another on the mechanics of climate change. All these sessions have been open to the public (as space allows). Twice the Suzuki Elders have worked with the local North Shore Elder College to bring information to a larger audience.

The Suzuki Elders have also been involved in advocacy – advising governmental bodies as to what we feel should be done. While maintaining a non-partisan stance, we have forcefully pointed out to governments the danger that will be brought by various proposals to increase the extraction of fossil fuels and shipping it via pipelines and tankers. 

Indeed, members of the group have gone further than writing letters and petitioning the politicians. Acting as individuals, many Suzuki Elders attended demonstrations in Burnaby against the twinning of the TransMountain pipeline at its Kinder Morgan facility – and one was even arrested for civil disobedience. (Charges were later dropped.)

Perhaps the most encouraging activity of the Suzuki Elders has been working with young people. Today’s youth, we find, often are just as informed and concerned about environmental issues as we are. The work with high school and university students to produce a video has already been mentioned. The Elders have also been invited into schools to read stories about nature and animals.

In our public events, an effort is always made to include young people, especially those of high school age. At our Elders, Environment and Youth Forum in 2013, we explored the many ways young and old can work together, be it on Earth Day or with groups such as Catching the Spirit Youth Society, or the Metro Vancouver Youth Summit Network.

Over the years, a group of about a dozen Suzuki Elder advisors has grown to an organization of over 100 people located throughout British Columbia (most in the Vancouver area) with a scattering of members in other Canadian provinces. Elders in a handful of other countries have joined us.

Encouragement and support from the David Suzuki Foundation has been important – David Suzuki, who at age 80 is happy to call himself a Suzuki Elder too, has inspired people of all ages.

Suzuki Elders are one source of society’s collective memory, and they share it by telling their stories.

What the experience of the Suzuki Elders has shown is that lots of older people do care about our natural world and are willing to cut into their golf and beach time to be engaged in doing something to care for it. As the boomer generation expands, we expect to keep busy for many years.

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– Stephen Augustine

“Knowledge provides people and students a freedom – the freedom of choice to decide for themselves what our future could look like.”

– Stephen Augustine

Last year, the Knowledge Keepers of Mi’kma’ki and Cape Breton University worked together to offer a course about Indigenous Mi’kmaq history, culture and knowledge – designed and delivered by the Knowledge Keepers themselves. And they made the course free and open to anyone with an Internet connection.

Ashlee Cunsolo, then Canada Research Chair and associate professor in the departments of nursing and Indigenous studies, and Stephen Augustine, Dean of Unama’ki College and Aboriginal Learning at CBU, proposed the idea in November 2015, created a course syllabus in December and launched it in January 2016.

Augustine and Cunsolo had hoped for 200 participants, but the response they received was breathtaking. Twenty-six students completed the course for credit, 5,326 people signed up to participate without receiving credit, 250 paid and wrote coursework to receive a certificate, and thousands upon thousands tuned into watch the weekly classes and participate online from across Canada and 26 other countries. Bell Aliant, the local Internet service provider, reported a peak of 15,000 visitors to the site while the live-steam class aired.

“I mean, we were just flooded,” says Consulo. “After the first class, I had so many incoming emails that my inbox shut down. We had server problems, likely because there was just so much traffic coming in.”

Cunsolo and Augustine believe the course was so successful because of the sense of community that developed, timing with the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report earlier in 2015, and because the content and delivery-style of the course was unprecedented. Augustine reflects that Indigenous and non-Indigenous students alike communicated how grateful they were for the content, and that nothing like it had ever been available in their educational experience.

“It is all of our responsibility to reach out and learn,” says Cunsolo. The key to our country’s reconciliation will be knowledge. More learning opportunities like this course provided by CBU are needed to provide it.

Reconciliation, says Cunsolo, “has to be done together. It’s not an Indigenous journey, it’s not a non-Indigenous journey, it’s everyone together.”

Leah Gerber has always been pretty nosy. Sometimes she still has trouble distinguishing between being curious and being rude. She loves exploring Canada’s nooks and crannies, especially on a bicycle. Her goal is to tell stories, visually and with words, that inspire change in our world, even just a little. 

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Right now, you – yes, you reading this magazine – have access to thousands of absolutely free, open, online courses covering hundreds of topics taught by the world’s leading experts and teachers. Welcome to the information revolution! Advancements in technology and knowledge sharing have transformed all areas of learning and education. Join the movement that utilizes digital platforms to enable widespread access to information: Massive Open Online Courses – also known as “MOOCs.”

MOOCs are courses offered on the Internet with unlimited enrolment and are accessible by anyone with an Internet connection. They generally feature content, instruction and assessments that are open and available to all.

Millions of people are taking advantage of the opportunity. According to Class Central, an online MOOC portal that monitors and reports on the global MOOC movement, more people signed up for MOOCs in 2015 than in the previous three years. This brings their calculated total number of MOOC students to 35 million, increased from 16-18 million in 2014. MOOCs are taking over.

Currently, MOOCs have three basic ways of engaging students. First, they provide information via videos of lectures or readings, often from experts in the field. Second, they include additional interactive elements, such as peer grading, study groups (both in-person and online), discussions among students as well as between students and instructors.

Finally, the coded infrastructure allows students to share insights from their projects in a “knowledge base” that grows within the course and after completion. This is the community-building element of MOOCs, and has helped drive MOOC’s popularity. Today, there are many exciting varieties of MOOCs developed, such as student-driven and cross-university collaborations.

Knowledge can no longer be contained in a silo.”

In 2008, the term “MOOC” was coined by University of Prince Edward Island’s Dave Cormier in response to a course called Connectivism and Connective Knowledge, and refers to online courses. Today, most top universities including the likes of Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, have created some form of MOOC and have attracted enrolment numbers in the hundreds of thousands.

EdX, for example, is a non-profit, open-sourced MOOC provider developed by MIT and Harvard in 2012. The website boasts education partners from 90 countries and students from every country in the world taking courses on subjects ranging from engineering, computer science, philosophy, architecture and everything in between.

By providing expanded online content that covers the required foundational knowledge, instructors have new opportunities to revolutionize the classroom into more experiential, interactive environments. The New York Times’ 2012 “Year of the MOOC” piece gives an example. In fall 2011, the University of Stanford offered a MOOC on Artificial Intelligence. 160,000 students in 190 countries registered. 200 Stanford students attended the course in-person, but by the end of the year only 30 students were going to class. This was because most students actually preferred the online version. Online, students took ownership of the course by setting up a Facebook group, discussions and voluntarily translating the course material into 44 languages.

In today’s digital world, the growing pressure to provide information in a free and open way will encourage the development of education structures, like edX, with fewer inequities. Knowledge can no longer be contained in a silo.

We are all participating in profound changes to the way information is created and consumed. This includes deep disruption to structures of how information is acquired, created, shared, manipulated and managed as we know it.

Because of this, the ability to share and mobilize knowledge is critical for everyone, including the environmental movement. The MOOC format can:

• Provide information globally

• Address inequalities in information access

• Revolutionize institutional learning

• Diversify perspectives and connect disparate viewpoints

• Drive social change.

Perhaps most exciting of all, MOOCs could help the sustainability movement.

What are GhGs? What is climate change? What are the top three actions an individual can take to contribute to collective environmental change?

The ability to share and mobilize knowledge is critical for everyone, including the environmental movement.”

New people are joining the sustainability movement every day and want to know the answers to these questions. Besides unprecedented diffusion of information, MOOCs have an untapped potential for creating social change. Environmental organizations could design MOOCs that offer an introduction to the basics of sustainability for newcomers, as well as access to a community of like-minded, active people. When information is personally relatable, people are more motivated to act on it.

Sustainability experts and community activators could work together to improve the collective movement’s network of knowledge, using MOOCs as the vehicle. This would make the process of learning about sustainability as straightforward as possible, improving the efficiency of the movement as a whole.

The Waterloo Region Environmental Network (WREN) is dedicated to collecting and disseminating the cumulative knowledge of the area’s environmentally oriented groups. Through the Network’s efforts, Waterloo Region has experienced the effects of organizing and sharing the knowledge and resources in the local environmental scene. Since WREN was first proposed in 2014, their collective effort has connected 112 organizations, recruited 680 volunteers and raised 30,000 dollars. MOOCs could help create outcomes like these on a global scale.

The MOOC movement is hitting critical mass, and is already provoking disruption to the status quo. With our collective effort, MOOCs could be fundamental to achieving significant, rapid environmental change. If we do, the environmental community stands to gain well-informed and active participants as we target and develop MOOCs on sustainable life.

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