The Office of Sustainability at Humber College challenged students this week to take a break from their devices to join in the cleanup around their neighbourhoods or inside their homes while celebrating Earth Day.
Students passionate about climate action can enter into a draw from April 22 to 25, 2021, for a chance to win a $200 Goodfood e-gift card by tagging themselves outside cleaning up while maintaining social distancing regulations.
The Earth Day Cleanup winner will be announced next week.
“We have gotten great feedback from our students this year. Some of the students voiced that while they enjoy learning about sustainability and our virtual webinars online, they missed the hands-on feeling of doing something,” said Taylor Buchanan, office’s communications and events coordinator. “So that’s why we thought let’s do a cleanup challenge,”
Buchanan understands the weight some students feel when discussing climate change, as some may feel they aren’t doing enough to help save the planet. The office of Sustainability has created a community for those who are passionate about climate action and can lean on one another when a student may feel overwhelmed by the pressures of trying to save the world.
“Climate change can be a very depressing topic,” said Buchanan. “While we do the nitty-gritty and kind of go into those details about what’s happening, we also try to keep it a bit light-hearted.”
The Office of Sustainability provided students with climate-conscious tips while at home.
Some suggestions include reducing the amount of waste thrown out by repurposing garbage, saving energy by unplugging and switching to energy-efficient appliances and shopping smarter by supporting local retailers.
Other tips include staying healthy by caring for their mental and physical health. For more tips, Humber students can go to https://humber.ca/sustainability/.
Student climate strikers took part in a peaceful rally downtown Toronto on Sept. 25, 2020, and demanded the federal government take progressive steps in dealing with climate change.
The Liberal government allotted $53.6 billion in green recovery and climate action in September 2020. It later introduced Canada’s climate plan on Dec.11, 2020, which outlined the government’s plan to fight the climate crisis while reaching environmental goals and a cleaner economy.
President Joe Biden invited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and 39 world leaders to the Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22 and 23, 2021. The summit was live-streamed for the public to discuss the urgent need for climate action.
Canada, along with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Norway, and the United States, is joining the Net Zero Producers Forum. This initiative will help Canadian innovation build net-zero technologies and help reduce the corporate and small business tax rates by 50 per cent for businesses that manufacture zero-emissions technologies.
“Our natural landscapes have shaped our country, and we must protect them for future generations,” Trudeau said in a press statement on Earth Day. “Let us continue to take decisive and ambitious action to ensure we leave our children and grandchildren with a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient planet.”