Fruits and vegetables are supposed to make up a significant amount of our diets and yet they are one of the most expensive items at the grocery store, let alone going to the farmer’s market. This, among other issues, makes it difficult or impossible for many of the world’s population to meet basic nutrition guidelines. … Continue reading
I found an article about the development of a circular economy in a community in the Amazon. The community has helped revive populations of two endangered species by turning the waste from one activity into a resource for another. They have done this with non-governmental organizations, universities, and companies. Which got me thinking, is a … Continue reading
I went to Banff National Park this past weekend. Mostly I avoided popular places because Covid is raging in the province. But both times I ended up where people were, I saw people getting too close to wildlife and someone feeding or intending to feed the animals. To me, this behaviour is evident of the … Continue reading
Okay, so 2+2=4. If that’s the question, I can probably grade it. But most of what I teach is sustainability and “right” answers are a lot less clear. I’ve been doing research into self-reflection and sustainable assessment recently for a project and I think it applies here. Sustainable assessment, described by Boud and Falchikov (2007), … Continue reading
I made a video for a class project once called Oil is Personal. It followed a character through his day while looking at the positive and negative impacts he had on oil production and use. I ended the video with a question about what your priorities for oil are. Oil impacts many aspects of health … Continue reading
It’s week 3 of the Great Cycle Challenge Canada, raising funds and awareness for childhood cancer research. One of the most inspiring parts of participating in this event is the number of kids who are current or past cancer patients who ride their own distances in the challenge. Thinking of them makes it pretty insignificant … Continue reading
For the second year, I’m riding to raise funds and awareness for kids cancer research as part of the Great Cycle Challenge Canada. On August 11, a family is matching all donations made up to $1 million. I appreciate my ability to participate in this initiative but I, of course, wish it wasn’t necessary. (My … Continue reading
I can name several current athletes competing for Canada and other countries at the Tokyo Olympics. I can’t, despite my support for and interest in, name any athletes who will be competing in the Tokyo Paralympics. This probably isn’t that surprising seeing as how athletes with disabilities aren’t featured as much in the media (Rees, … Continue reading
In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada we have an organization, Fresh Routes, that runs a mobile grocery store. One of the main goals is to increase access to fresh, healthy foods in low income neighbourhoods. This is necessary because these neighbourhoods often have reduced access to major grocery stores. The residents rely on public transit and active … Continue reading
Support for making a societal shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy is growing but one of the issues is where to locate things like solar and wind farms. These generation points don’t have the same ongoing emissions as fossil fuel run plants so there is potential to locate them closer to communities without the … Continue reading
