It was applied learning in action for a group of environmental students.
With Global Climate Strikes heating up in over 150 countries around the world on September 27, a group of students – many of them donning green shirts – gathered in the Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus courtyard with a common mission: to raise awareness about the climate crisis.
The student-led demonstration was organized by Environmental Management student Faith LaPointe, who is also a recent graduate of the Environmental Technician program. LaPointe said she felt it was very important for students to have a voice, and she hoped that voice would grow louder and have more of an impact as part of a larger group. By hosting an event on campus, she hoped to reach students who did not attend local Global Climate Strike rallies.
“We are a school of sustainability. We have environmental programs and clearly want to make an impact at this school,” she said. “Not everyone is in environmental programs, so we want to have a conversation with people who walk by, and say, ‘hey did you know about the climate strike? Here’s what you can do every day that does make a difference.'”
Environmental Management student Casey Grant noted that she felt it was important to raise awareness on campus because of the difficulties many students would face in attending an off-campus event.
“It’s about education. If people have a question, they can ask us,” she said. “We hope to make people aware of their impact on the world. We consume and consume and don’t really think of the repercussions, but we need to find new ways to make ourselves eco-friendly and carbon neutral.”
Faculty member Patrick Robson was proud to see his students taking initiative and getting involved. Key aspects of environmental management, he noted, involve raising awareness, communicating complex issues in ways the public can understand, and innovation.
“Personally, when I hear the level of conversations the students are having and how bright they are, I’m quite hopeful,” said Robson. “We’re not only attracting and graduating well-adjusted environmental professionals, but passionate, smart, innovative and dedicated ones.”
College sustainability advisor Taryn Wilkinson also applauded the student-led initiative.
“I think it’s good for our students to demonstrate what they’re passionate about and to be able to share what they’re learning in their academic programs with other students who don’t have the same background,” she said. “While there are other demonstrations happening around the region, this demonstrates that we are supporting our students on campus, rallying behind a really complex problem and discussing how we can overcome some of those challenges.”
In addition to the student-led on-campus outreach, Niagara College students were encouraged to participate in the Global Climate Strike rally in St. Catharines, if they were available to attend.
