By
Nicola Scahill
"More
than any other institution in modern society, colleges and universities
have a moral stake in the health, beauty, and integrity of the
world their students will inherit" (David Orr, 1998).
Students
are the heart of a university campus. They are the primary reason
why post-secondary institutions exist. For this reason, their
ideas and initiatives are invaluable to campus sustainability
efforts. The Sierra Youth Coalition (SYC) recognizes that student
initiatives often need support in the form of resources and models,
as well as a national and international voice. Thus, through the
Sustainable Campuses Project, SYC aims to support and document
the efforts of post-secondary students at creating and implementing
sustainability initiatives at their educational institutions.
The goal of the Sustainable Campuses Project is to promote student
awareness and action on university and college campuses across
Canada in order to encourage and implement environmentally sustainable
practices and policies. A campus provides an arena for students
to address ecological and social problems on a scale at which
concrete action can be achieved. Through this direct experience,
meaningful involvement, and positive reinforcement, youth gain
the confidence and will to influence decision making beyond their
campus, for example in municipal, provincial or federal government
policy.
The
Sierra Youth Coalition is the youth-run branch of the Sierra Club
of Canada and connects young activists to the greater environmental
community working towards ecological preservation and awareness,
education for sustainability, bioregionalism, and sustainable
communities. The Coalition is made up of members from all regions
of Canada, with local groups operating out of schools, universities
and communities across the country. SYC is one of Canada's only
national youth environmental organizations that fosters a voice
for youth in policy making for social justice and environmental
issues. SYC first introduced the Sustainable Campuses project
in 1999, after two students attended an international conference
on campus sustainability issues and found that Canada was lagging
far behind the rest of the attending nations.
The
Sustainable Campuses Project is the first Canadian attempt to
network post-secondary students from across the country in their
collective efforts at "campus greening." To date, the
Sustainable Campuses project has reached over 50 campuses across
Canada, and has just recently begun to reach schools in the United
States as well. Through this project, SYC seeks to move beyond
double-sided photocopying and recycling pop cans to consider the
ecological impacts of all aspects of post-secondary school life.
The Sustainable Campuses Project calls for a paradigm shift to
integrate sustainable practices into the core of educational institutions.
SYC provides resources for those students working towards campus
sustainability in the form of financial support from the national
office and a national network of student and academic environmental
leaders collaborating and working together. Past areas of focus
for the project have included campus auditing, sustainable transportation,
energy and water efficiency practices, waste management, ethical
investment practices, and corporate influence on campus.
The
Sustainable Campuses Conference
For the past four years, SYC has hosted an annual conference involving
students and academics from across the country and beyond. The
events feature panels, keynote speeches and practical training
and hands-on workshops. Discussions emphasize sharing success
stories and challenges as well as creating plans of action for
implementing sustainable practices on individual school campuses.
Each year we invite motivational experts on campus sustainability
from both Canada and the United States to share their expertise
with participants. Over the years this conference has gained momentum,
involving more schools and students, and empowering participants
to begin new projects and initiatives at their institutions.
The
first conference, held in Ottawa, Ontario (1999), brought together
15 universities from across Canada for the first time. Represented
at the Ottawa conference was Mount Allison University, where student
efforts led to the adoption of an environmental policy by the
university. An environmental audit of Mount Allison served as
a framework on which many other schools modeled their own form
of environmental/sustainability projects. Students at Mount Allison
University completed their third environmental audit of the campus
in the summer of 2002. The University of Victoria Sustainability
Project (UVSP), which became Canada's largest and most comprehensive
university sustainability audit, also resulted from the 1999 conference.
In a period of one year, the UVSP completed thirteen audits of
the school, helped establish a full time Sustainability Officer
position, and formed an advisory committee to the Vice-President
of Finance.
Given
the success of the UVSP, the second conference was held in Victoria,
British Columbia (2000), co-hosted by the University of Victoria
and Royal Roads University. Many new schools were in attendance
from the historically under-represented regions such as the Yukon
Territory, Newfoundland and Central Prairies. The conference focused
on skills building workshops in the areas of environmental auditing,
political strategies and policy formation. The establishment of
the University of Waterloo Sustainability Project (UWSP) the following
year was an indirect outcome of this conference.
The
third conference, held in Halifax, Nova Scotia (2001), was co-hosted
by Dalhousie University, King's College and St. Mary's University.
It brought together a total of 23 schools, including 65 student
participants. This year marked the first high school student participation,
with three high school representatives in attendance. Discussion
topics included ecovillages, environmental management systems,
politics of the university campus, social marketing, fundraising
and outreach, and the UPASS (universal bus pass).
This
year's conference (2002) was held at the University of Waterloo,
Ontario, and was the largest and most successful conference to
date. With 100 participants and over 31 schools represented (25
Canadian, 6 American) it is the first time the conference has
expanded internationally. This year's participants included faculty
and staff from various university campuses as well as representatives
from five national environmental organizations. Topics included
education for sustainability, sustainability indicators, corporate
influence on campus, network building with faculty, staff and
administration, housing co-operatives, campus auditing, and many
others.
It
has been exciting to see how the Sustainable Campuses Project,
especially through the annual conference, which is its main outreach
vehicle, has expanded across Canadian campuses. Various project
accomplishments include:
- The
University of Waterloo Sustainability Project (UWSP): The
UWSP was launched in January 2002 and is currently working on
various issues related to sustainable transportation, eco-residences,
EMS/ISO 14001, and native species on campus. They also hosted
the fourth annual Sustainable Campuses Conference (September
2002).
- Greening
McGill: The Greening McGill group managed to have the University
Senate adopt an Environmental Policy Statement in 2001. Through
this statement, the group was able to conduct a university-wide
environmental assessment that summer, hiring students to conduct
the research. Greening McGill continues its campaign to have
the official Environmental Policy passed, which resulted in
a rally and 4-day camp-out on McGill campus (Feb. 2002).
- Mount
Allison Blue Green Society: This Mount Allison campus environmental
group has been involved with the Sustainable Campuses project
since its inception. In fact, SYC was founded by a former Blue
Green member. Determined efforts of members of Blue Green resulted
in the creation and formal adoption of a comprehensive, university-wide
environmental policy in 1999. As a direct result of the policy,
the Mount Allison Environmental Committee was formed, composed
of students, faculty, and staff representatives. Students have
been hired during summer months to perform comprehensive, biannual
environmental audits of the university's operations. Students
at Mount Allison are now working to build a Sustainable Residence
on campus, gaining both community and university support for
this initiative.
- SYC
Dalhousie: Dalhousie University has also been involved with
the Sustainable Campuses Project since its beginning. They work
collectively with their neighboring campuses (King's College
and St. Mary's University), resulting in many accomplishments.
Currently they are addressing issues such as green investments,
composting and overall campus waste reduction. All three schools
have banded together to have a referendum on the adoption of
the UPASS (Universal Bus Pass), which would help reduce greenhouse
gas emissions on campus and promote sustainable transportation.
In November 2001, SYC Dalhousie successfully banned corporate
advertising in their student union building.
Throughout
the four years that the Sustainable Campuses Project has been
in existence, the schools, faculty and students involved have
set new standards for other schools across both Canada and the
United States. Each year more students and schools are joining
this growing campus sustainability movement, indicating the unique
value of a youth-led project such as this.
For
more information about either the Sustainable Campuses Project
or the Sierra Youth Coalition, please contact us at 1-888-790-7393
or syc_campus_cjs@yahoo.com.
We encourage everyone to get involved in this growing sustainability
movement across Canada and the United States.
Nicola
Scahill has worked for the Sierra Youth Coalition, acting as the
Sustainable Campuses Project Coordinator from 2001-2002. She is
a graduate of Carleton University, with a degree in Environmental
Studies.
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