Brock University
EN-3: Student Life

The Brock Eco Society – A place where students can meet like-minded individuals who have a passion for preserving the environment. The club tackles a variety of environmental issues while still providing an atmosphere for students to have fun while de-stressing from school.

The Brock Vegan Society – An inclusive community for anyone who lives a plant-based, vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, or is interested in learning more about it. The three pillars they followed are animal welfare, environmentalism and health, which are the bases of the activism for the society.

https://www.brockbusu.ca/involvement/clubs/directory/

Brock University’s Facilities Management provides garden plots to students, staff, and faculty – known as the Community Gardens. There are approximately 32 plots that currently exist beside the entrance of the Zone 2 parking lot near Theal House. The Community Garden provides an opportunity for the Brock community to cultivate their green thumb, as all are invited to use one of the several free plots. Brock gardeners, whether green or experienced, can grow anything they would like. In previous years, plots that were not claimed were used to grow food that is then donated to the Niagara Farm Project, the organization focuses on teaching people in need how to become food secure, how to cook and how to preserve food.

https://brocku.ca/sustainability/initiatives/community-gardens/

The Brock University Students’ Union (BUSU) owns and operates the “General Brock” store on campus. At General Brock, every dollar spent ensures the operation of a sustainable student business. Sustainability is integrated into General Brock by providing customers with Fair Trade coffee or tea, providing discounts when reusable cups are used, and always having fresh and healthy food choices – including vegan and vegetarian options. BUSU also operates a Food Bank out of General Brock, known as the Food First Program. The BUSU Food First program offers food resources for students and can also direct students to additional community supports for counseling and assistance to ensure every student has the opportunity for success.

BUSU also collects a “Green Levy” of $1.00 per credit from all undergraduate students for the purpose of improving environmental efficiency and reducing impact. Funds collected from the Green Levy are used several ways to improve BUSU’s operations, including renovations to BUSU’s facilities that increase energy efficiency, eliminate waste, and decrease BUSU’s environmental impact. Funds can also be used towards the incremental cost of increasing the sustainability of BUSU events, activities and operations, as compared to the base cost of a standard practice.

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Brock University’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre hosts a variety of academic and community events to encourage knowledge sharing in the field of sustainability:

Transdisciplinary Seminars Series, topics include: “Investigating the impact of knowledge on climate action”, “Unsettling responsibilities in Arctic tourism: A decolonizing story”, “Impact of ecotourism on local communities in Uganda – the good and the bad”, Sense of place in NOLS education: A case study, “Environment, health and healthcare: interplay, tensions and disparities”, Brock University’s U-Pass Program: Sixteen Years of Sustainable Transportation for Students”, “Heads in the (oil) sand: individual-level barriers to climate mitigation”, “Promoting Population Health in our Changing Climate: Understanding the role of Public Health”, “Symbiosis Between Energy and the Environment: Driving Forces in the 21st Century Science & Engineering”, “Make your research stick – lessons from a knowledge mobilizer”, “Social Media for Academics”, “Anthroposcenery: imagining environmental future with feminist environmental humanities”, “Teaching and Learning for Environmental Sustainability”, “Sustainable Development as a Complex Problem”, “Ecological Nationalism and the Canadian Environmental Imaginary”

Special Events: Cohosted by ESRC and Facilities Management, topic: “Women in Sustainability: A Panel Discussion in Celebration of International Women’s Day”
Special Event: Cohosted by ESRC and PRI, topic: “Environmental Buzzwords and their Meanings”
For more information on the guest speakers and the topic descriptions, please see the link below.
https://brocku.ca/esrc/upcoming-events/#past-events-transdisciplinary

Brock University’s United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Chair in Community Sustainability created a Sustainability Poetry contest. The annual Sustainability Poetry contest initiated in 2015, was designed to celebrate the creative minds in the Niagara region and how community member can enhance their role in sustainability in the community. Each year a different theme is selected, in the past themes have been ‘The Future We Want’ and ‘Year of Indigenous Voices’. The Sustainability Poetry contest demonstrates the importance of the Arts; it provides an opportunity for community members to better express feelings and emotions and show respect for what we have in the Niagara region and beyond.

https://brocku.ca/unesco-chair/sustainability-poetry-contest/#1586361949488-39f942c3-06e9

Brock University hosts an outdoors program known as BaseCamp. The BaseCamp program is a distinctive summer experience for undergraduate students, which is led by current Brock students and alumni. Students get to explore the great outdoors through the BaseCamp program, while participating in activities such as, canoeing, backpacking and local adventure trips. The three to five-day long trips provide students with a fun way to meet new people, make friends and develop a sense of community. The BaseCamp trips also promote an appreciation for the natural environment and foster an interest in outdoor recreation activities.

https://brocku.ca/basecamp/

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The Sustainable Development Goals Training Day is an event made possible through a collaboration between Sustainability at Brock, a partnership between Facilities Management and the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, and the Brock student Model United Nations Club. The focus of the event was to introduce the 17 SDGs and to highlight how we can address these goals at both the global and local level in our everyday lives. The event included an overview of the goals, a simulation to showcase the interconnectedness and implementation of the goals, and a workshop that aimed to put participants knowledge to use in addressing issues in the Niagara Region. The event was designed to educate and inspire those who attended so that they can further progress the SDGs and make a difference whether that be in their individual choices, in their community, or on a global scale.

https://brocku.ca/esrc/2019/11/25/sustainable-development-goals-training-day-a-reflection/

Through the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, the Masters of Sustainability program offers two paid Fall-Winter term co-op positions in Research Assistant roles. The Research Assistant roles focus on the field of sustainability, students in the past have been involved with sustainability outreach, waste management projects, Living Laboratory projects, and many other projects, initiatives, and programs.

Through the Charter Agreement with the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre and Facilities Management offers one paid summer co-op position for graduate students to work in a Sustainability Coordinator role.

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https://brocku.ca/sustainability/2020/03/18/pledging-towards-environmental-sustainability/

https://brocku.ca/sustainability/2020/09/11/taking-an-active-role-in-environmental-stewardship/