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Sustainability in Education |
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Sustainability education enables us to understand ourselves and our links with the wider natural and social environment -- it is this understanding that serves as a basis for building respect. The University of Victoria strives to incorporate sustainability into the curriculum. Currently over 200 courses are offered on campus that include triple bottom line sustainability in a number of different disciplines. You can check out the complete course listings, along with descriptions, in the UVic Academic Calendar. Or check out the following department links for more information:
Above: Students in Environmental Studies learning outside the classroom! Advancing Sustainability In Higher EducationSince 2005, UVic has been a member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), a group of North American campuses working to advance sustainability. AASHE campus sustainability resources are free for UVIC faculty and staff. Simply register with your UVIC email to get access to the sustainability policy bank, publications, classroom materials, and links for campus operations efforts. Continuing Studies: Courses for The PublicDid you know that the division of Continuing Studies offers a series of practical, how-to courses and lectures on human health and wellness as well as environmental stewardship? Courses Offered Include:
The full course catelogue is available here.
Academic Courses of Interest 2010/2011Interested in sustainability classes? Want to know which departments offer the highest number of courses that are truly triple bottom line? We've created a list you can download of some of the 2010/2011 academic courses that include sustainability as a central theme or part of course content at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Note too there is a new interdiscipinary minor Human Dimensions of Climate Changewhich includes a cross section of courses from Environmental Studies, Geography, Earth & Ocean Sciences, plus electives. Contact hdcc@uvic.ca for more information.
UVic Community Green MapThe Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability, the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Office of Community-Based Research will be undertaking the creation of a UVic Community Green Map in 2007/2008. The vision for the project is to provide a participatory mapping and planning system, including learning and technical tools, to facilitate innovative and sustainable development at UVic. Check out OUR UVIC COMMUNITY GREEN MAP! Add your ideas, information and expertise by creating an account. There are 2 major themes right now: Health & Wellness AND Transportation. Over time, we will add more themes and more icons! Looking for ideas?The campus is often used as a living laboratory. If you have a class assignment or research project and want to incorporate aspects of campus sustainability into it, we are keen to assist you. Please contact Teresa Waddell, Campus Sustainability Coordinator, at 721-6678. Academic Spotlight: Environmental Studies
Aboove: Eric Higgs and 3rd Year Student Heike Lettrari Learning to Heal the Landscape: University of Victoria students are receiving academic credit for creating a greener, and more sustainable, campus. Eric Higgs is the director of UVic’s School of Environmental Studies and also the instructor for Environmental Studies 341—a one-term course on ecological restoration that is required for all major and minor students in the school. “In this course students learn about the importance of healing landscapes,” Higgs explains. “When we damage something we have a duty to repair it and by doing so we honour our obligations to ecosystems and human communities.” “What is interesting for me about environmental restoration is that it is often labour-intensive work. When people volunteer on restoration projects they become engaged with natural process. This involvement deepens their understanding and commitment.” And so the 50 students in the course have their mandate -- to break into teams of five, pick from Higgs’ list of 10 campus projects and design a plan that identifies the problems and poses possible solutions. Higgs is assisted by graduate student, Ryan Hilperts, who coordinates the student design projects. This fall marks the first time all of the projects have been campus based. Third year student Heike Lettrari and her team are adding a layer of restoration projects to UVic’s community green map project—an online map of the campus (http://mapping.uvic.ca/geobrowser) that will help the university in its continued efforts towards a sustainable campus. While the students are compiling the past, present, and future planned restoration projects on campus, the vision for the larger university-wide project is that it will lead UVic towards assisting projects in the Capital Regional District and contributing to national and global community mapping and sustainability planning. “ES 341 has been integral to creating a foundation of ecological literacy, and for how to undertake restoration that will make a difference,” Lettrari says. “The green map project is our way of realizing this. It’s energizing to be collecting a wide variety of knowledge from different people, who then lead to other people, and more information, and putting it all together. It’s making these connections that help build sense of place and caring—both of which, for me, are true to the goals of restoration and community mapping.”
Another one of this year’s projects addresses a patch of grass by UVic’s main bus loop. It’s a heavily trafficked area where the earth is compact and hard, but it’s also home to four mature Garry Oaks trees. A team is researching ways of restoring the Garry Oak ecosystem to that area. Additional projects include designing a long term plan for the wetland gardens in the courtyard of the Social Sciences and Mathematics Building; restoring the Bowker Creek headwaters stream situated by the University Club; and planting vegetation that would honour the First Nations house post located outside the Student Union Building. While the current Environmental Studies 341 students are designing solutions, there are other higher-level courses in the school and in the Restoration of Natural Systems diploma program (jointly offered by the Division of Continuing Studies) available for students to actually implement their work. “There is a lot of talent in these classes,” says Higgs. “These students are incredibly motivated people who want to make a difference. It’s very exciting to think we now have an ever increasing base of knowledge to work from that over the next five to ten years we’ll have a lot of lovely projects underway that will contribute a great deal to the campus.” Click here to view some example projects. More about Sustainability in Education
Articles originally published in Times Colonist Green Guide (Nov. 14, 2007)
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