Daily themes range from clean water to sustainable cities and communities
The University of Guelph’s annual Sustainability Week is taking place from March 19 to 24. This year’s festivities are representing the United Nations’ sustainable development goals with a splash of localized action initiatives.
In the midst of working on beeswax wraps for the pollination blitz event that occured on Monday, Samantha Casey, one of the Sustainability Week organizers, told The Ontarion the week’s motto: “Six days of action that can help generate 365 days of commitment.” The Pollination Blitz event kicked off the week with the theme of sustainable food systems and food security.
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Casey is one of five students coordinating the week’s 22 related events and activities. In addition to Monday’s events, Wendy Li* directed Tuesday’s sustainable communities design development event. This project saw students brainstorming innovative and sustainable ways to use both community and campus spaces.
This interdisciplinary collaboration between students and local outreach organizations has displayed an incredible amount of local support and community involvement. The week has been entirely funded by community and campus supporters, including the Hunger Project Canada, Indigo Girls, and a handful of department faculties and undergraduate programs.
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On Wednesday, there was an exciting game of sex bingo to help empower individuals and promote gender equality. This event was a great way to have fun together and focus on “heating up the bedroom instead of the planet,” said Casey.
Thursday is World Water Day, so make sure to sport your blue shirt and ditch the plastic water bottle. Thursday’s events are directed by Emily De Sousa who is also the coordinator of the TapIn! campaign, an initiative sponsored by the Central Student Association (CSA).
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If you make it out to the events at the end of the week, you can count on receiving a free Fairtrade coffee and being treated to live music for animal welfare charities as part of the responsible consumer initiatives day.
The week will end with an informative presentation of Canadian settlement from an Indigenous perspective at the blanket display event.
The Sustainability Week organizers encouraged students and community members alike to use the week as a reason to make positive changes towards leading a more sustainable lifestyle.
Photo by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion
*Update March 23, 2018 1:28 pm EDT: One of the coordinators was mistakenly not credited properly in the print version of this article. This has since been updated.