Sustainable Trent
P.O. Box 895 K9J 7A2 Peterborough, ON, Canada

Did you know that Trent University still invests in fossil fuels? How much do you care about the #divestment from non-renewables? We would love to hear your responses in a survey we have created. We hope to use this survey to gauge the level of community awareness and desire for action on this topic. We would greatly appreciate 5 minutes of your time to fill this out and share with your friends! Check it out here: https://forms.gle/zc1C21BF1hpLmc9J8

Short Notice! Closes TODAY! Takes 5 minutes to fill out this questionnaire The Government of Canada is conducting pre-budget_consultations until February 19th. This is a great opportunity to speak up on issues of sustainability, social justice, and food security as part of a just and inclusive recovery. For those who support a basic income guarantee as one important component of a just recovery, it is important that the Government hear this message at this pivotal time (on the survey you will need to add it into the 'Other' option as it is not included in the multiple choices provided in the questions). More info on the case for basic income for addressing food insecurity is available at https://www.obin.ca/bi_and_food_security

A reminder that we are meeting tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 19th) at 4pm! Thanks again to @a.scanga for the great meme calling out @trentuniversity and @trentlandsplan for ignoring Michi Saagiig Elders and planning to move ahead with their destructive plans. It's not too late to appeal the decision! Contact the administration ([email protected]) with your concerns! Decisions are always changing and as students we have strong voices

Hey y'all! Looking for a summer job more related to your work in environmental protection and respect for Indigenous rights? The @iess_program has a great event coming up next week, see below for details: Join us on Tuesday, February 23rd at 2pm-4pm EST to go beyond awkward networking and start the foundations of relationship building with students, employers, and folks working in the field of IESS (or associated fields). This event is open to all Trent students interested in... working in environmental protection, intercultural spaces, research, communication, environmental monitoring, and more! Representatives from organizations will share with us job opportunities, internship placements, and/or research positions for the upcoming summer and beyond. For the first time, this event will be held completely remotely via Zoom! So, who’s going to be there?? Here is a list of organizations that will be represented and students will be given their contact information to follow up with directly for details or questions. TRACKS Youth Program Rare Charitable Research Trust Ontario Parks EcoCanada Building Environmental Aboriginal Human Resources (BEAHR) Kawartha Land Trust Kawartha Conservation Otonabee Region Conservation Authority Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Trent CareerSpace But how is this event different from other Career Fairs?? At this event, it is more informal and conversation-based. We encourage participation from students AND employers. Students will have a chance to share their passions and ask employers questions. All attendees get to engage with each other in a more personal way. This will be held in a meeting format (not webinar), so please be prepared to introduce yourself and potentially say a few words (although this is not mandatory). For meeting details, please email [email protected] before February 21st, 2021.

This documentary explains how on the indoctrination of Western education creates a monoculture of human imagination and ways of interacting with other beings that is disconnected and harmful. This education can further perpetuate poverty in all countries (Canada, US, India, etc.) by separating people from nature and Indigenous Knowledges. In thinking about how education has been a tool used to create workers to serve the global consumerist economy and support the wealthy few,... we see how work by some NGOs, nonprofits or even the UN is frighteningly similar to the goals and outcomes of Indian residential schools. This documentary encourages us to think critically about the kinds of "sustainable development" being promoted as well as narratives around poverty reduction from global organizations. It's not saying these organizations are all wrong, but they are not all right either...let's think critically about education and "helping" "poor" people. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDxYWspiN-8 See more

Another meme created for us by @a.scanga! Calling @trentuniversity out for continuing to invest in fossil fuels through the professor’s pension funds. Do you have or make memes relating to sustainability (eg. Indigenous rights, climate justice)? We’d love to feature your work! #DivestFromFossilsFuels #trent #uno #unocards ... [image description: a card that says stop actively funding the fossil fuel industry or draw 25 next to a person with the label Trent University holding a great number of cards and avoiding eye contact]

The commenting period on the Trent Lands Plan closes TONIGHT at 11:59pm! Please submit a comment and show the Trent Admin that we care about biodiversity, agricultural spaces, and Michi Saagiig governance more than developing spiritually significant sites and unevaluated wetlands. Find more information or inspiration from our letter here: https://docs.google.com//1ePEonCLhl4yHTiQ7GEL6_Y4kML/edit

Great article by the Arthur

A meme prepared by one of our members @a.scanga! Many thanks Alyssa! Trent University is known as a green school and has made some great strides to becoming more environmentally friendly. But it is not enough and we have so much work to do. The Trent Lands Plan is proof of how much work we still need to do to hold the University accountable as a so-called environmental leader and advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples. Trent is proposing to build an industrial researc...h park called CleanTech Commons over the Trent Vegetable Gardens and farms as well as unevaluated wetlands in direct opposition to the shared teachings and information from Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg Elders. We must hold Trent accountable to their actions and deceit. The plan is open to comments until January 4th, 2021! Please review at least the summary report and make a comment to show your support of biodiversity and Indigenous rights at Trent. For more support around all the documentation involving the plan, please feel free to reach out us! Or check out some excellent articles in @trentarthurnews. See the link in our bio for the Trent Lands Plan commenting page.

Tomorrow at 1:30pm!! See the Facebook event for Zoom details!

Our last meeting of 2020 is tomorrow (Thursday) at 5pm! New members are always welcome, hope to see you there, and if not, have a warm and safe winter break. Good luck on your exams and finals!

The last of the Manoomin Webinar series! Learn how to "Put Manomin on Your Table" on December 1st! Register using the links below!

Activism and solidarity movements have changed in a lot of ways with the COVID-19 pandemic as our lives transition to online and remote activities. For this reason, the last few posts of our solidarity series with @startattrent are going to focus on a brief introduction to ways to pressure the government in campaigns! During land defense and Indigenous rights actions, it is important to pressure government officials at all levels because they have huge influence over policing..., emergency services, legislation that can dis/empower settlers, mainstream media, and funding! It also can be done from home. Petitions! You can sign petitions made by individuals, organizations, and/or Indigenous Nations. You may want to write your own petition, but we recommend having input from those directly related to the issue. Call or Email! You can also call or email politicians your concerns! (We'll be listing some generic contacts in the coming posts). Social Media! We recommend sharing whatever action you have done on your social media to inspire others to do the same! As well, if it safe to do so, you can organize a direct action (march, protest, sit-in) in significant areas of your town like a politician's office. Ensure people wear masks (with medical exceptions) and maintain safe distance! #solidarity #StarterKit #government #petitions #start #sustainabletrent #IndigenousRights

START - Settlers Taking Action and Responsibility at Trent and The Seasoned Spoon Cafe are hosting a film screening and discussion of Invasion on Thursday, November 25th at 7pm! Check out the event for details.

Continuing our STARTer kit for approaching activism and solidarity in collaboration with @startattrent, one of the great ways to support Indigenous Land Defenders is through sending money or supplies to movements. These movements can cost tens of thousands of dollars even just on individual levels when we consider travel costs, food, extra gear needed, missing pay from work, and more! While as students sending money is not always feasible, you may have something on the supply list that you can donate. And, you can always share the supply lists and donation emails on social media for others to have the ability to support! #solidarity #IndigenousRights #LandDefend #donate #supplies

Arthur Newspaper is looking for people to attend their AGM next weekend!

A reminder that our weekly General Member meetings will be held Thursdays at 5pm-6pm via Zoom! The first one will be TOMORROW at 5pm. If you're interested in joining, please contact us at [email protected]

There are so many important issues happening right now and it can feel overwhelming to keep up to date with them to be able to offer support in some way! Firstly, take care of yourself! Be gentle with yourself. We live in a world where innumerable forms of trauma have been normalized. Resting and finding space to begin healing from these ongoing traumas are essential to have the energy and capacity to support others. You may be looking for more ways to support the many diver...se issues in Indigenous territories across Turtle Island and around the world. It can be hard to know where to start without having close relationships with people directly involved. In this next social media series in partnership with @startattrent we are going to be listing some very general ways folx can begin to approach or START thinking about ways to support movements. Some good first (general) steps we collaboratively brainstormed that people can use as a starting point to activism or solidarity are: -Research the issue (try to find out details of who is involved and who is impacted, whose traditional territory is the issue occurring on, what treaties are in place there and the history of relations around those treaties and issues. In your research you may also find donation emails, accounts to follow, and calls to action) -Educate yourself and others (attend relevant events, have meaningful conversations about the issue) -Stay-up-to-date on the issue (keep researching the issue as it unfolds by following land defender social media accounts, reading articles, talking with people involved) -Pressure the government (send emails or make phone calls to politicians about the issue) -Donate and support (send financial support or material supplies to land defense and Indigenous rights movements) Whew, that was a lot of information! In the coming days, we will be sharing more details about ways to support, but in hopefully more succinct and digestible amounts. Do you have items that you would add to this starter list? #start #sustainabletrent #trent #GettingStarted #support #solidarity

Meet Malaika (she/her)! We're going to be doing brief intros to feature the panelists of our upcoming event "Climate Activism in 2020" on Thurs., Oct. 22nd at 12pm. Today we're featuring @MalaikaCollette: "She is a 17 year old, grade 12 student at Adam Scott and a climate activist. Her activism started and accelerated following her semester in the Youth Leadership in Sustainability program last fall. Since then she has joined Peterborough Youth Empowerment where she is a lead...ing member as well as joined the national organizing group of Climate Strike Canada. Within these groups and others she has organized climate strikes, public forums, teach-ins and presentations to the County and City Council as well as the school boards. Currently, Malaika is working with a group of youth from around the world to organise a mock COP this year - due to COP26 being pushed until next year - which will be run and attended by youth. She hopes her activism will empower other youth to use their voice to advocate for change, in whatever form that may be. Aside from activism, Malaika enjoys playing badminton, spending time in nature and exploring new places with friends and family." Register via Eventbrite to hear more from Malaika, for details please see our Facebook event

Watch the The Garden is Yours and hang out with the Seasoned Spoon on Wednesday, October 21st at 5:30pm

On October 22nd at 12pm-1pm via Zoom, join KWIC, Sustainable Trent, Peterborough Youth Empowerment (PYE) and panelists: Malaika Collette, Shaelyn Wabegijig, and Morgan Carl as we discuss the ways that climate activism has changed during 2020 and what we have to learn from the pandemic as we move forward towards effective and positive change. Panelists will share their unique experiences in activism and what steps they hope to see moving forward and invite you to join the conversation with questions, comments, and interactive participation. Register via Eventbrite by October 20th to participate. Zoom details to be sent via registration email October 21st. Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/122698449365. Hope to see you there!

Hi everyone! Thank you to everyone who responded to our Doodle poll and sent us their availability. Unfortunately, we could not accommodate everyone, but Thursdays at 5pm-6pm is the best time for the most people. We will be having our first meeting on Thursday, October 15th at 5pm via Zoom. Details and meeting invitations will be sent via email. Please feel free to DM us for more information

Raffle fundraiser for land defenders in Mi’ma’ki!

An amazing webinar about Manoomin is coming up on November 3rd at 3pm EST with Doug Williams, Dorothy Taylor, and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson! What an amazing l...ine-up of Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg!! Register and find more information here: https://www.trentu.ca/indigeno/experience//pine-tree-talks

Happening tomorrow!! Show solidarity for fisherpeople in Mi’ma’ki! Please remember to follow COVID-19 protocols and wear a mask and maintain distance.

"[Astronomers] benefit from stolen land." "Every image, spectrum, beautiful telescope picture we got taken from Hawaii is based on stolen land. We might have permission to be on there by the State of Hawaii and various lease agreements, but at this point no Native Hawaiian community has ever given us that consent, as far as I know."

Last call for registrations! Join us to hear from amazing youth activists and how they're navigating in 2020.

#MooseMoratorium

Idle No More has called for a National Solidarity Week this week to end the violence against Mi'maq fisherpeople! Here is an updated link for solidarity actions: https://drive.google.com/.../1u_LF.../view... Notable changes from previous links shared are another e-transfer email to go to the FRONTLINES: [email protected]. As well you will see an updated supply list!... #alleyesonmikmaki

Please sign and share this petition to protect the Moose Nation in unceded Algonquin Territory! https://www.change.org/p/protect-the-moose-in-la-verendrye-

A reminder of our "Climate Activism in 2020" event with amazing youth speakers happening THIS Thursday at 12pm via Zoom. Register on Eventbrite by Tuesday, October 20th.

We have started a new page dedicated to the Moose Moratorium happening on Algonquin Akii right now! Please check out the page and group that we have started to show solidarity with Indigenous land defenders

TOMORROW! "Five years in the making, Above the Law unravels the intertwined stories of three individuals who appear to have been the subjects of excessive force at the hands of Calgary police officers. A panel discussion with BLM Nogojiwanong, community members and the filmmakers will follow the screening" Check out their page for details!

We can't simply watch the violence unfold, please consider showing solidarity and be actively anti-racist through one or more of the actions listed here: https://docs.google.com//1njydkbKKbafQlJ8wN6EbYzYNy5/edit For news update on what is happening in Mi'kma'ki and discussion of some of the issues in mainstream news: https://www.cbc.ca//media-coverage-indigenous-issues-mi-km... (Please let us know if any of the info is out of date)

We have drafted a letter template in support of the Moose Moratorium in Unceded Algonquin Territory. The letter can be found at this link: https://docs.google.com//11k4D2LuDJne0HVzm7z3-sZfQ1W/edit Emails and phone numbers of politicians are included at the end of the document.... Please use this letter to encourage supportive action from the government officials. You can insert your own signatures and edit as needed. Share widely!

Meet Shaelyn (she/her)! Another panelist we are super excited to hear from at our event "Climate Activism in 2020" on Thurs., Oct. 22nd at 12pm via Zoom. "@ShaelynWabegijijg (she/her) is an Algonquin youth, Caribou Clan, and her people from Timiskaming First Nation and of European descent. Separated from her family in Timiskaming, caused by the legacy of residential schools, she grew up in Rama First Nation. She currently resides in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough, where she studie...d at Trent University and received her BAH in Indigenous Studies and Philosophy in 2018. Learning her Indigenous history, knowledge and a bit of the language has led her into the nonprofit sector where she feels she can really make a difference and help amplify the voices of Indigenous peoples for social and environmental justice, which are inextricably linked. She currently holds two positions at the Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC), as the program and outreach coordinator and the project coordinator for a KWIC project called Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda. For this project she will be working across sectors and closely with local Michi Saagiig community members to take Climate Action and build Partnerships to advance local goals, with the priorities of leaving no one behind and centering Indigenous knowledge. Outside of work, Shaelyn is an activist for justice and is currently one of the 7 young Ontarians, backed by Ecojustice, suing the Government of Ontario for weakening its climate targets because it will lead to widespread illness and death, violating Ontarians’ Charter-protected rights to life, liberty, and security of the person. One day, she hopes to help lead movements that will advance the liberation and restore the integrity of Indigenous peoples and the environment within her homelands and beyond." Hear more from Shaelyn by checking out our Facebook event and registering before Oct. 20th. See more

Meet Morgan (he/him)! Continuing our introductions of panelists for our upcoming event "Climate Activism in 2020" on Thurs., Oct. 22nd at 12pm via Zoom..."Morgan Carl (he/him) is a Student, poet, political enthusiast with questionable fashion choices. Working to understand and promote policy changes to address poverty/environmental issues." Morgan also works with Housing Opportunities and Poverty Elimination (@trentu.hope), and Income Security Peterborough. To hear more from him and our other panelists, visit our Facebook event page and register on Eventbrite by October 20th!

Our first General Member meeting is TONIGHT at 5pm via Zoom General member meetings will continue to be every other Thursdays at 5pm, email us at [email protected] for details

Check out the amazing events OPRIG is hosting in the upcoming week! (PS we’re now a sponsor of the events too and extremely grateful to have a small part in this inspiring work)

One of the many virtual events to look forward to this fall!

Join us on Friday, September 11th between 11am-3pm on Instagram Live with the TCSA to hear about Sustainable Trent (ST) and ask questions! Can’t make it? Not to worry, here is an introduction to ST and most of the information we’ll be sharing next week! ST was originally a working group part of the Kawartha World Issues Centre and then created into a levy group as a student driven initiative! We are non-hierarchical and operate on consensus-based decision making. In our sust...ainability work we focus on the intersections of race, inequity, and environment as well as prioritize Indigenous and marginalized perspectives and issues. We want to help Trent University and associated communities become more environmentally, economically, culturally, and socially sustainable. ST was created as a levy group to encourage students and other members of Trent University to take action on the issues that are important to YOU! Feel free to send funding proposals to us if your project or event falls within our mandate. We are happy to review projects to support or help students in their initiatives. Interested? We have three types of involvement: General Membership: anyone who is interested in ST and our work, may follow us on social media, and/or attend a few meetings. General Members can be involved in brainstorming ideas and volunteering at events. Active Membership: general members who have attended at least three meetings AND helped to organize an initiative or campaign. Active Members can vote on financial matters. Core Membership: active members who take on organizational and leadership roles and can vote on financial matters The structure and operations of our group is changing a bit this year to dedicate more time to new members! We are planning to host weekly General Member meetings where we can discuss ideas for initiatives, updates on campaigns, raise awareness of other issues, and general decision making. This meeting is open to everyone and targeted to new members! Then, for our more experienced members we will host weekly or biweekly Active Member meetings for voting and delegating tasks. This meeting is still open to everyone as well of course, however, there will be limited brainstorming and it may not be as engaging for new and/or General Members. Lastly, there may be as-needed working group meetings for members who choose to meet to go over tasks for their event or issue they are working on. These meetings are decided by individuals not the entire group. If you have questions, feel free to dm us or email us at [email protected].

Sustainability is more than just environmental protection. It is also cultural restoration and resurgence. All of these issues intersect! Not familiar with what we're talking about? Not to worry, there is always plenty of time to learn! Check out this great resource: https://www.ienearth.org/ At Sustainable Trent, we're going to be taking even greater strides to ensure that we're supporting the BIPOC communities and that we provide a safe, accountable space for all people. W...e have had a number of people message us and follow us over the summer during our period of inactivity to express interest in our work. We thank you for your heart and the effort you're making to be involved, especially in the middle of a global pandemic. We strongly encourage folx to check out this resource and/or others to learn more about these important intersectional issues moving forward! Other key search words to look up are Indigenous, environmental racism, resurgence, survivance, environmental justice, and Indigenous environmental justice. See more

One of our Core Members is an amazingly talented and generous artist who is using her skills to raise money for the land defenders at 1492 Land Back Lane. Please check out her raffle and other art at Sweetfern Studios #LandBack #1492LandBackLane

#blackouttuesday

In the environmental field racism is real. While ST is is inactive due to covid at the moment it is important to show solidarity with anti racist actions.

Councillors listen to students it is important to write , email and phone your Councillor. In this case it is Durham Region.

The Climate Caucus has drafted a letter asking the Federal Government to support a green and just recovery. This letter is supported by Councillors and other individuals and organizations across Canada and is non-partisan. Please share this with your local politicians, organizations and the Federal government as well as friends so that action will be taken on the Climate Crisis. In Peterborough Kim Zippel has signed this letter.

Naming plants known as weeds sounds like a great idea. Anyone doing this in Peterborough? The link is an article about botanical chalking in cities and towns.

"The deadline to apply to Trent's Student Rapid Relief Fund is tomorrow (April 17). Apply by logging into myTrent and clicking "Finances". There is a separate application for domestic and international students. If you have any questions, contact [email protected]"

Expanding Canada Summer Jobs barely scratches the surface of providing income support for students. Contact your MP and ask for real income security for ALL students: www.cfsfcee.ca/covid-19/ #StudentsNeedCERB #DontForgetStudents

Stream Life in the City of Dirty Water for free at the link below! "Rooted in Indigenous storytelling tradition, Life in the City of Dirty Water is a series of intimate vignettes that weave together the remarkable life of Cree climate change activist, Clayton Thomas-Müller. The film plunges audiences into an immersive storytelling journey, discovering the people and places and traumas and triumphs that shaped Clayton’s identity and cosmology."

Trent University is currently looking at alternative options for Convocation, as COVID 19 has understandably disrupted previous plans. No final decisions have been announced yet. Sustainable Trent calls on Trent University to make the decision to postpone Convocation to the Fall as other universities have, and not cancel it. Sign this petition to show Trent that you support postponing Convocation!

Here's something to make you feel proud to be a Peterborough resident! Peterborough Shares is a Facebook group with the sole goal of helping others. Check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1252354844975281/

You may remember the name Caleb Musgrave from the event we were hoping to put on mid-March. Caleb Musgrave is the owner and operator of Canadian Bushcraft, an outdoor education school, and is taking his teachings online for free due to COVID-19!

Seeing the Northen Lights is something that's on most peoples bucket list, and now you can see them without breaking physical distancing! The Northen Lights Centre in Churchill, Manitoba is live streaming the Northern Lights at the link below https://www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html

On Monday! If you have any food to spare please consider donating to this important cause. As a community Peterborough will get through this! This is a great way to help out while practising social distancing, simply leave your food out on your porch and someone will come pick it up! Check out the event for more details.

I am making my Inupiaq Indigenous coloring pages available to print and use/color at home. They are good for all ages and skills <3 Stay safe out there, and car...e for one another. *Edited to add: to print at home, click on picture, right click and "save image" to your desktop. Then print at home :) Follow me at instagram: nasugraqrhopson Twitter:@Nasugraq and like my facebook artist page: www.facebook.com/NasugraqHopson See more

We know, St Patrick's day was a couple days ago. But this article is pretty great, and its advice far surpasses what you can do in one day!

Some of the incredible art you still have time to bid on!! ALL proceeds go to Tar Sands Trial via https://fundraise.raventrust.com/team/285441 Check out the page Tar Sands Trial Fundraiser Art Auction to cast your bid :)

Important changes to TCSA & Trent operations, including reduced transit and info regarding prescriptions. See the TCSA's latest post.

Sustainable Trent has made the decision to cease operations for the rest of the 2019/20 school year. We will re-evaluate this summer as to when we will regain operations. As you all know COVID19 has had major impacts on the way Ontario universities are operating - Trent included. We are taking this break to ensure our volunteers are able to focus on school, transitioning to online learning, and being with their families. At this time, we can not guarantee funding or collabor...ation requests will be addressed. We apologize for the inconvenience this may have on people. We encourage everyone to remember that we are a student group with limited capacity, and thank everyone for all they have done to allow for an incredible year full of hard work and growth! We are excited to see what the 2020/21 year brings us. For more information on Trent's response to COVID-19, please see the following webpage: https://www.trentu.ca/coronavirus/

Social distancing can be hard! We encourage everyone to explore their creativity during this time, and embrace the ways the internet has allowed us to connect in new ways. The Social Distancing Festival is an awesome Toronto based project allowing artists to share the work they have been working so hard on from home! They're still taking submissions, check it out here: https://www.socialdistancingfestival.com/