In a global effort to reduce energy consumption and contribute to the fight against climate change, people from around the world will participate in Earth Hour Saturday, March 28 by turning their lights off for an hour starting at 8:30 p.m. their local time.

Brock University is encouraging faculty, staff and students to participate from home and will be turning off the lights in Schmon Tower, Roy and Lois Cairns Health and Bioscience Research Complex, and Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Before and after Earth Hour, Schmon Tower will be illuminated in green.

The annual event, which started in 2007 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and partners, is now known as one of the world’s largest grassroots movements as millions of people in over 180 countries participate. One of the reasons why Earth Hour is so popular is because it shows people how simple it can be to implement small sustainability-related changed into their lives and make a difference.

Since the event has gained mass popularity around the world, many large businesses, hotels and public buildings began joining the movement and have pledged to turn off all non-essential lighting in their establishments.

WWF Canada encourages participants to focus on uniting with those around us, even from afar, and being mindful of the environment during the hour and beyond, noting that making changes towards a more sustainable lifestyle is the accumulation of small efforts.

This story was written by Erica Harper, a master of Sustainability candidate and research assistant at the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre.