February 2023

This blog post is for assignment 1 in the CALS691 course.

The photo collage above summarizes the values and motivations I hold as an environmental practitioner, and how these influence my approach to climate action work.

The photo at the bottom shows the heavily treed cul-de-sac where I grew up in south Calgary. The cul-de-sac is directly across the street from Fish Creek Provincial Park, the second largest urban park in Canada (Travel Alberta, n.d.). I was surrounded by greenspace as a child, which undoubtedly led me to a career in environmental studies. This photo communicates my deep belief that ecosystems have intrinsic value. Not just value for us as humans, but value as an ecosystem.

In Dare to Lead, Brené Brown provides a list of over a hundred values and invites her readers to choose two values they hold most important (2018, p. 188). The values I ultimately chose were adventure and integrity. The two photos on the left side represent my value of adventure. I enjoy challenging myself and exploring new areas, both physically in the outdoors and mentally in my work.

The photo on in the bottom right corner represents my value of integrity. These are my current walking shoes which I bought in 2015. They are very dirty and tattered yet they still keep my feet warm and dry. I use items and clothes as long as possible because it is important to me to use resources responsibly and live in accordance with my environmental values. I see integrity as living in accordance with your values.

For more details about how these two values influence my work, I invite you to read my blog post on the subject.

My mother bought me the mug that is shown in the centre. It says “I’d rather be forking my compost”. It’s a ridiculous statement, but it reminds me that my environmental advocacy began when I started a composting program at my high school. I believe that we have a responsibility to make change within our spheres of influence, and to maximize (not minimize) our positive influence. As a teenager, my sphere of influence included my high school. At each step in my career, I push myself to expand my influence a bit more.

The context in which I want to work is my hometown of Calgary. The photo at the top of the collage is the view of Calgary in 1913 from Scotsman’s Hill (Glenbow Museum, 1913). A print of this photo hangs in my apartment and reminds me everyday of my history; my great-great-grandparents moved to Calgary in the 1880s. I have a deep love of this land built on generations of family history. Yet I also recognize my responsibilities as a non-Indigenous Treaty 7 person to uphold the rights of Indigenous communities and be reflective as I work and live on this land.

The final photo explains how I wish to work for climate action (CTV News, 2020). During the early days of the pandemic I worked on the Defend Alberta Parks campaign. This was a non-partisan grassroots campaign that pushed back against the Government of Alberta’s announcement to close and remove 175 areas from the park system. Through a volunteer-driven lawn sign and letter writing campaign, we were able to engage thousands of Albertans across the political spectrum, and in Dec 2020 the government walked back the plan. This campaign laid the groundwork for the Alberta Beyond Coal campaign which in turn has influenced conversations about the energy transition.

This campaign exemplifies my approach to climate action. I love to work on projects that are high-impact, community-driven, strategic, and lay the groundwork for future work. I want to provide leadership by living my values, deepening my network, and approaching projects pragmatically.

References

Brown, B. (2018). Dare to lead: Brave work. Tough conversations. Whole hearts. Random House.

CTV News. (2020). Organizations fighting against the Alberta government’s plan to remove almost 200 recreation areas say it will result in those lands becoming inaccessible to Albertans [Photograph]. CTV News. https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/albertans-continue-to-stand-up-for-parks-that-sit-on-the-chopping-block-1.5166701

Travel Alberta. (n.d.). Fish Creek Provincial Park. Travel Alberta. https://www.travelalberta.com/ca/listings/fish-creek-provincial-park-10792/

Glenbow Museum. (1913). View of Ramsay and Inglewood districts, Calgary, Alberta [Photograph]. Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesPhotosResults.aspx?AC=GET_RECORD&XC=/search/archivesPhotosResults.aspx&BU=&TN=IMAGEBAN&SN=AUTO8439&SE=1851&RN=0&MR=10&TR=0&TX=1000&ES=0&CS=0&XP=&RF=WebResults&EF=&DF=WebResultsDetails&RL=0&EL=0&DL=0&NP=255&ID=&MF=WPEngMsg.ini&MQ=&TI=0&DT=&ST=0&IR=4484&NR=0&NB=0&SV=0&BG=&FG=&QS=ArchivesPhotosSearch&OEX=ISO-8859-1&OEH=ISO-8859-1