button-green

Our student union at Ryerson University made environmental initiatives a top priority this year and, as students, we love that. But we were curious to know what environmental advocacy was taking place on other campuses across Canada.

In fall 2008, David Suzuki went across the country visiting different universities telling students why they need to get active for sustainability now. So, we asked the questions: what are student unions doing for major provincial environmental issues, as well as for their campuses?

After contacting one college or university from every province and territory, we found that most student unions take on micro-local environmental initiatives rather than provincial ones. 

To find out why student unions take on more micro-local approaches to their environmental campaigns, we talked to Shelley Melanson, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario. She says that student unions are in a position to pay attention to their own environmentalist groups on campus.

“Most student unions tend to rely on a base of very dedicated volunteers who know the issues very, very well,” says Melanson. “But the student union’s primary focus is advocacy for students’ rights.”

“Any student that is a member of a student union has the ability to bring a motion to council and seek their support of the students’ union on a particular issue…The priorities of the student union are set by the students. If the students want the union to do this [environment] work, they have to take initiative.”

As we mark Earth Day 2009, here is a coast to coast to coast survey of green campus initiatives.

 

British Columbia

Representative: Caitlin Meggs, Chairperson, University of Victoria Students’ Society

rabble.ca: For the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, thousands of trees will be cut down and mountain sides in the Callaghan Valley will be blasted to build venues. What did your student society do about this issue?

Caitlin Meggs: For 2010, I don’t know of any specific plans. We’re in Victoria, so it’s not directly affecting Victoria as it is in the Lower Mainland.

Do you think next year’s board will address the issue?

CM: Within the Student Society, there’s only so much you can do directly, but there’s a lot you can do at all levels of government. …The most important thing for student leaders to work on would be talking to different levels of governments on the impacts of the Olympics.

What has been some of the union’s activities around the environment?

CM: We’ve been raising funds for a local farm called Madrona farm, which provides us local food. …We had a local market selling local goods around holiday seasons to get faculty and students to consume less around the holidays.

Yukon

Yukon College Student Union (Interviewee did not want to be identified.)

rabble.ca: Because of swift climate change, the boreal forest’s natural functions are being deterred (i.e. it’s ability to take carbon and store it). Since the forest starts in Yukon, what is your union doing to help it?

Yukon College Student Union: I would say we definitely support the protection of the forest, especially the boreal forest. As far as climate change, we haven’t noticed any change in the forest as of yet. Right now, we support ecological diversity.

What were some environmental initiatives the student union took on this year?

YCSU: We’ve helped implement a recycling program at the institution. … It’s quite a big building. We’re looking at collection sites, looking at compost, recycling paper towels in the bathroom — we’ve identified that as a big waste. All of the garbage in the bathrooms now have recycling containers.

Alberta

Representative: Kristen Flath, Vice President of Student Life, University of Alberta Students’ Union

rabble.ca: In Alberta, oil sands are a contentious issue with environmental activists mainly because producing a barrel of oil from tar sands produces three times more greenhouse gasses than a barrel of conventional oil. What’s the University of Alberta Students’ Union stance on oil sands?

Kristen Flath: Generally, our student union focuses our student environmental initiatives on campus. We do have several student groups that have an environmental stance on the oil sands and we support our groups.

What is the union’s environmental action plan?

KF: We brought composting into our [student union] building. Within the office itself, we’re composting. One of my initiatives was also to include more environmental actions . …We have several food vendors and we’ve asked them to include discounts for [students who] bring their own containers.

 

Northwest Territories

Representative: Stephanie Gilbert, President, Aurora College White Horse Campus Student Association

rabble.ca: What have been some environmental initiatives of the Student Association?

Stephanie Gilbert: The Student Association this year has focused mainly on trying to get back on track. In previous years, there was some difficulty with paperwork and organization. We also took a fresh approach to how we were going to receive and respond to feedback from our student body, but we had no such focus on environment.

 

Saskatchewan

Representative: Craig Fink, Vice President of Operations and Finance, University of Regina Student Union

rabble.ca: There have been talks about Saskatchewan starting up its nuclear energy programs at full scale. For years, many environmental activists have been against nuclear power because it can be severely damaging. What’s your union’s position on nuclear energy?

Craig Fink: We haven’t taken a stance on it yet since it’s only become an issue in the last couple of months. We want to do some consultations with the students before taking action. … I personally don’t feel nuclear power is the answer for sustainability especially because there is no long-term plan for nuclear waste.

What are some of the environmental initiatives your union took on this year?

CF: We had the consulting firm WestSource Solutions do an audit [of our building]. We found the majority of energy and water use was in the student bar, the Lazy Owl. They have now replaced their dishwasher and light fixtures to be more efficient. …The University of Regina’s enrolment has declined so now there are fewer financial resources. 

 

Manitoba

Representative: Kelly Dawson, Vice President of Student Services, University of Winnipeg Students’ Association

rabble.ca: One of the main things Greenpeace is fighting against in Manitoba is hog farming. Industrial farming saps away natural resources and when there are floods, the runoff pollutes lake water. Is the association doing anything to stop this?

Kelly Dawson: No. That’s not something that’s on our radar.

Do you think your association should have campaigns for provincial environmental issues?

KD: It would be good, but our focus has been local because I think it’s easier to see results when you’re working on a local level. … It makes it more relevant and more tangible to students when we work on a local level. We’re certainly not against any provincial action; it’s just not our focus.

Has the union had any successful environmental action plans?

KD: We worked in participation with the University of Winnipeg to make a bike lab — [a place to] come to work with a volunteer or staff person and use repair tools to fix their bikes. That’s in the works … one thing we have eliminated recently is the sales of bottled water. We’re the first university in Canada to achieve that.

Nunavut

Representative: Allysha Sateana, Vice President and Treasurer, Nunavut Arctic College Kivalliq Campus Student Council

rabble.ca: As climate change continues to damage Nunavut’s natural environment, many animals like the narwhal are starting to lose their habitats. Is taking measures to deter climate change important for the student council?

Allysha Sateana: It wasn’t at the beginning, but now that we’re slowly finishing school, it is. We were planning on taking trips to go and get other students to see the belugas and things out on the land, but there was not enough funding or transportation to get there.

Does your student council have any environmental initiatives?

AS: Not at the moment. There is a funding issue. We have to raise our own money on our own time, but there’s nobody willing to fund us.

Ontario

Representative: Gilary Massa, Vice President Equity, York Federation of Students

rabble.ca: Smog and air quality have constantly been a hot environmental issue in Ontario. Has the union addressed this issue on campus?

GM: Not so much. The smog issue is seen in the realm of big factories. We don’t see it as something that is linked to us as students. However, we shouldn’t be isolating ourselves in the four walls of our community.

What have been some of YFS’s initiatives around the environment?

GM: In March 2008, we held a sit-in for one week at the president’s office pressuring them to embrace sustainable purchasing on campus. Now, all of our university swag sold at the shop is sweatshop-free and made of organic material.

 

Quebec

Representative: Devin Alfaro, Vice President External Affairs, Students’ Society of McGill University

rabble.ca: The logging industry continues to cut down Quebec’s boreal forests. The provincial government has taken an initiative to protect some of the land. Has the union taken any action against the industry?

Devin Alfaro: Not to my knowledge. We haven’t been proactive in doing environmental issues outside of the campus. For most students, it’s not a concrete, tangible environmental issue. I find that student unions are most effective if they don’t spread themselves too thin, but that doesn’t mean we can’t play a role.

Has the union taken any action on environmental issues on campus?

DA: We have a student group called Organic Campus that partners with local farms so that we can order more organic foods in the SSMU cafeteria. At student events, instead of plastic cups, we use reusable mugs and during orientation week, we used organic cotton shirts.

 

New Brunswick

Representative: Melissa Wah, Vice-President Education, St. Thomas University Students’ Union

rabble.ca: Environmental groups have been calling on the New Brunswick government to enforce an all-out ban on mining and exploration because of its radiation hazards. Has the union addressed this issue?

Melissa Wah: Not particularly. Our union is mainly concerned with environmental issues on campus. Uranium mining is an issue that students cannot fully grasp and understand in order to do any advocacy work on it.

What have been some of the union’s initiatives around the environment?

MW: Every year, our sustainability coordinator organizes a Boost Your Eco Festival. It’s an environmentally friendly festival that focuses on promoting environmentalism. The festival is a way to educate students on ways to reduce their environmental footprint.

 

Nova Scotia

Representative: Mark Coffin, Vice-President Education, Dalhousie Students’ Union

rabble.ca: A recent report found that littering in Nova Scotia has increased by 21 per cent in the past four years. What has the student union done to prevent this number from increasing?

Mark Coffin: We haven’t been experiencing that on campus. We have a very green, horticultural campus. We’re not too involved in these provincial issues, but we’re doing everything we can.

What have been some of the union’s activities concerning sustainability and the environment?

MC: Two years ago, students agreed to increase their tuition by $1 to start a sustainability office at the union. It’s a cooperative with the university where we’re working to make the university’s operations and actions more sustainable.

 

Newfoundland and Labrador

Representative: Cameron Campbell, Director of External Relations, Communications and Research, Memorial University of Newfoundland Students’ Union

rabble.ca: The annual Atlantic seal hunt recently kicked off. It’s one of the most important industries for the province, but many argue that it’s an unsustainable activity. Is the union doing anything to stop the seal hunt?

Cameron Campbell: No, we’re not working against the issue. I feel that it’s a misunderstood issue; the population of seals has grown rapidly throughout the years and quotas for hunting is set, so the industry is sustainable.

What have been some of the union’s activities to raise awareness on environmental issues?

CC: We just recently concluded our annual Sustainability Week where Maude Barlow was invited as a keynote speaker. We worked with Oxfam and the Canadian Federation of Students to call on the university to ensure that there will be public, accessible water on campus, as well as bottle water refilling stations.


Prince Edward Island

Representative: Justin Douglas, President, University of Prince Edward Island Student Union

rabble.ca: The use of pesticides on the potato fields has been known to stream off into rivers destroying aquatic life. The P.E.I. government plans to ban the sale of cosmetic pesticides this coming year. What has the union done to address this issue on campus?

Justin Douglas: Our union has a distinct policy to pertain only to campus issues and stay out of policy matters. We try to keep a neutral stance because a lot of students come from farming backgrounds.

Has the union had any successful environmental action plans?

JD: We passed a universal bus pass in October 2008 that will encourage more use of public transit by students. The bus pass is currently in its trial state, but there have generally been positive attitudes on protecting the environment on campus.

 

Mai Nguyen is a journalism student at Ryerson University. She loves writing profiles on interesting people and enjoys prying in on their lives without shame. She contributes to some publications on campus, including feminist magazine McClung’s.

Ronak Ghorbani is a rabble news intern. She’s an editorial assistant for the Ryerson Free Press, a progressive alternative paper on campus, and a managing editor for McClung’s, a feminist magazine.