Articles by author: eharper

• Achieving WWF-Canada’s Living Planet Leader Certification

  Wednesday, August 11, 2021 | By eharper

  Blog Contributor: Erica Harper

  Brock and WWF-Canada launched their exciting partnership in September of 2020 to provide students with the opportunity to work towards WWF-Canada’s nationally recognized Living Planet Leader self-guided certification through local and global sustainability and conservation initiatives. As of April 2021, I’m excited to have completed all requirements to achieve the Certification, making me a certified WWF-Canada Living Planet Leader. The various categories that all leaders must complete include:

  • Campus, community, or global volunteerism
  • Personal application of sustainability
  • Academics
  • Leadership and teamwork

  To complete the campus, community, or global volunteerism category, I completed 40 hours of volunteer work for Sustainability at Brock and for my local community. Some of my actions included planning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Training Day, creating helpful shareable content related to the SDGs and local solutions to their global goals, and creating a virtual clean-up toolkit webpage and resource for the Brock community to use during Earth Week and beyond. Completing these hours was extremely fulfilling and truly made me feel like I was making a real impact on local communities and the environment.

  In term of the personal application of sustainability category, WWF-Canada has a checklist with many items for individuals to complete in their everyday lives such as:

  • Bringing my own mug (pre-COVID!)
  • Use reusable containers for packed lunches
  • Use eco-friendly or natural cleaning products
  • Unplug appliances when not in use
  • Reduce food waste

  I was also able to add personal actions that I took such as taking more cold showers (highly recommend!), investing in sustainable companies, and even buying my favourite restaurant’s cookbook to reduce takeout waste while supporting their local business. In total, I completed 40 actions within the category and quickly realized how simple it can be to make small changes.

  Next, being a student in the Master of Sustainability program gave me many options for the application of sustainability in academics category which requires you to either take a course in sustainability or apply sustainability concepts to projects in other courses. For my submission, I shared my Climate Change Adaptation Plan that I developed for Niagara-on-the-Lake during a course taught by Dr. Jessica Blythe called Climate Adaptation and Transformation. The experience I had developing this Plan was shared with the climate coordinator of the municipality and I was able to talk about how the SSAS program provides its students with real-world projects that have a lasting impact on communities.

  Lastly, in terms of leadership and teamwork, I have been fortunate to work alongside Amanda Smits in the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre who is an inspiring leader. Together, we have been able to grow the registration rate of the Living Planet @ Campus Program by over 40% since the partnership launched in September of 2020. I’ve had the opportunity to lead exciting virtual events about the certification and speak with many students about how they can register too. It’s been very rewarding to be part of this partnership and watch it grow as students are eager to participate in campus sustainability events – event from a distance!

  Completing this certificate has made me even more passionate about how local action can truly make a difference in our communities and for our planet. To register for the Living Planet @ Campus Program and become a Living Planet Leader, click here.

  Categories: Community, Student Contributor

• Climate Change in the Niagara Region

  Tuesday, July 27, 2021 | By eharper

  

  Blog Contributor: Mikellena Nettos

  From increased weather events to melting polar regions, climate change impacts everyone (IPCC, 2019). According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2019) increases in global mean temperatures of less than 1 to 3 degrees Celsius above 1990 levels will cause drastic environmental changes, including benefits in certain areas and detriments in others. 

  When it comes to Canada, we can see a significant shift in the northern regions, with melting permafrost, changing biodiversity, completely altering ways of life for Indigenous Canadians (IPCC, 2019). In the southern regions, there will be more extreme heat events, especially in cities (CCCS, 2021). This will create a longer growing season and will cause a shift in what farmers decide to grow as winters will be short and wet, which will also leave less room for trees to rest between growing seasons (IPCC, 2019). This resting period is important for a tree’s metabolism to slow down, allowing for energy conservation to keep the tree alive in the cold winter months (Let’s Talk Science, 2020). 

  The region of Niagara will be impacted significantly as our economic growth is based on agriculture and tourism (The Corporation of the City of St. Catharines, 2014). The icewine industry will likely face unprecedented challenges with winter temperatures on the rise, decreasing economic value in certain areas (CCCS, 2021). In addition to this, there will be increased heat events that can cause heat stroke and heat exhaustion, which can potentially overwhelm hospitals, especially after what we have seen with COVID-19 (CCCS, 2021). 

  The Environmental Sustainability Research Centre is currently wrapping up a project with seven regional municipalities in Niagara who came together to collaborate on climate change adaptation through a partnership called Niagara Adapts. By working together, these municipal partners are discovering new ways to develop and  implement innovative solutions to combat flood events, windstorms, and heat waves in our region. According to a research survey produced through this partnership, approximately 55% of respondents have experienced community flooding and extreme heat – displaying the increased risk that residents here in the region already face. 

  As an individual, learning more about climate change in your region and advocating to municipal councils is a great way to promote climate adaptation within your community. Together we can become more resilient and adapt to this crisis we all face! 

  References 

  Canadian Centre for Climate Services of Environment and Climate Change Canada. (2018– 2021). Climate Data Canada [Climate Data by Geographic Location in Canada]. https://climatedata.ca/ 

  City of Barrie. (2017). Climate Change Adaptation Strategy. https://www.barrie.ca/Living/Environment/Conservation/Documents/Barrie-Climate- Change-Adaptation-Strategy.pdf 

  ICLEI. (2019, July). CHANGING CLIMATE, CHANGING COMMUNITIES: 

  Guide and Workbook for Municipal Climate Adaptation. https://icleicanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Guide.pdf 

  IPCC (2019). Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, E. Calvo Buendia, V. Masson-Delmotte, H.-O. Pörtner, D. C. Roberts, P. Zhai, R. Slade, S. Connors, R. van Diemen, M. Ferrat, E. Haughey, S. Luz, S. Neogi, M. Pathak, J. Petzold, J. Portugal Pereira, P. Vyas, E. Huntley, K. Kissick, M. Belkacemi, J. Malley, (eds.)]. In press. 

  Let’s Talk Science. (2020, March 16). How Do Trees Survive in Winter? https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-in-context/how-do-trees-survive-in-winter 

  The Corporation of the City of St. Catharines. (2014). About Our City. St. Catharines. https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/AboutOurCity.asp?_mid_=26335 

  Categories: Climate Change, Niagara, Student Contributor

• What’s in Season: Supporting Niagara Farmers 

  Monday, July 12, 2021 | By eharper

  Blog Contributor: Shannon Ruzgys

  Niagara has a very unique combination of deep, nutrient rich, sandy soils as well as an extremely favorable microclimate, which makes it perfect for growing grapes and other tender fruits such as peaches (Niagara’s Agriculture Profile). Did you know that Niagara is known as the fruit basket of Canada, with 2/3rd of Ontario’s tender fruit orchards being in Niagara, therefore producing most of the province’s peaches, cherries, pears, plums, prunes, and grapes (Niagara’s Agriculture Profile)? In Niagara, we are immensely lucky to be surrounded by such a wide variety of locally grown food and it is the time of year where everything is coming into season! Supporting your local farmers is not only great for reducing the environmental impact of your diet, it also helps support your local economy and foster a sense of community.   

  Source: Niagara-on-the-Lake Fruit Festivals, Vintage Hotels 

  Below is a comprehensive list of food that is in season in Ontario this spring/summer (What’s in Season, Ontario Farm Fresh). Lastly, a reminder that freezing and preserving local fruits and vegetable when they are in season is a great way to eat healthy, local food year-round! 

  May 

  Rhubarb (May-July) 

  Asparagus (May-June) 

  June 

  Strawberries (June-July) 

  Peas (June-September) 

  Lettuce (June-September, grown locally in greenhouses year-round) 

  Cherries (June-July) 

  Beets (June-September) 

  Beans (June-September) 

  July 

  Peaches (July-August) 

  Nectarines (July-August) 

  Garlic (Harvested in July, available through November-December) 

  Sweet Corn (July-August) 

  Tomatoes (July-September) 

  Raspberries (July-September)  

  Potatoes (Harvested in July/August, available through November-December) 

  Plums (July-September) 

  Blueberries (July-September) 

  Cucumber (July-September) 

  Peppers (July-September) 

  Onions (July-September) 

  Cabbage (July-September) 

  Cauliflower (July-September) 

  Carrots (July-September)  

  August 

  Pears (August-September) 

  Grapes (August-October, however ice wine grapes are harvested in January) 

  Eggplant (August-October) 

  Apples (August-November)  

  September 

  Squash (September-November) 

  Pumpkin (September-November)  

  Source:

  What’s in Season, Ontario Farm Fresh https://ontariofarmfresh.com/consumers/whats-in-season/ 

  Categories: Agriculture, Niagara, Student Contributor

• Reducing Food Waste 101 

  Friday, June 11, 2021 | By eharper

  

  Blog Contributor: Shannon Ruzgys

  Agriculture is one the most environmentally impactful industries in the world, from growing and production  to distribution and eventually waste. Over 1/3 of all of the food produced in the world is wasted (Food Loss and Food Waste, 2011), which is annually valued at $1 trillion dollars. All of the world’s hungry people could be fed on less than a quarter of the food that is wasted in the US, the UK, and Europe.  

  Over 25% of the worlds fresh water supply is used to grow food that is never eaten (Hall et al., 2009). If food waste were a country, it would be the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the US. And most shockingly, in most developed countries over half of food waste happens at home, on the individual level. Therefore, reducing the amount of food that is wasted at home is one of the most impactful individual actions that we can take to reduce our carbon footprint and lead a more eco-conscious life. The following tips can help you reduce food waste in your own life:

  Store Food Correctly 

  The way you store food can impact the shelf life of the food and improper storage can lead to premature ripening and increased rotting. Here are some tips for proper food storage: 

  • Items that should not be refrigerated:  
  • Potatoes  
  • Tomatoes 
  • Garlic 
  • Cucumber 
  • Onions  
  • Ethylene gas promotes ripening in foods and can lead to early spoilage. The following foods release ethylene while ripening: 
  • Bananas 
  • Avocados 
  • Tomatoes  
  • Cantaloupes 
  • Peaches 
  • Pears 
  • Green Onions  
  • Some foods are more sensitive to ethylene than others. The following foods should never be stored with foods that release ethylene: 
  • Potatoes 
  • Apples 
  • Leafy green 
  • Berries 
  • Peppers  

  Understanding Expiration Dates  

  Food expiration dates are confusing and can lead to consumers throwing away food long before it is actually expired. So, what do they mean? 

  • “Sell by” is used to tell the retailers when the product should be sold by or removed from the shelves.  
  • “Best by” is the suggested date that consumers should use the product by (note that this date does not mean that the food is unsafe to eat or expired.  
  • “Use by” mean that the food may not be at its best quality past the date and is usually the best date to follow. 

  There is currently work being done to make expiration dates clearer to consumers, however, until then it is best to use your judgement and understand what different labelling terms mean! 

  De-clutter Your Fridge  

  An overly full or unorganized fridge can lead to food getting lost or forgotten and therefore wasted. Keeping your fridge organized helps you keep track of the food you have and can help you reduce your food waste. A great way to keep your fridge organized is by following the first in first out method. When you buy new food store it behind the food already in your fridge, which helps ensure that you eat the older food first.  

  Eat Leftovers 

  Leftovers can easily get lost and be forgotten in the back of the fridge, here are some tips for avoiding leftover waste: 

  • Store leftovers in clear rather than opaque containers so you can see what is in them. 
  • Plan out your meals and factor in leftovers to meal planning.  

  Don’t Overbuy 

  Buying more than you need can be a large contributor to food waste, with research showing that buying in bulk leads to more food waste. You can avoid overbuying food by making more frequent trips to the grocery store, especially for buying fresh produce. In addition, you can ask yourself, “have I used the food I bought from my last trip?” before you buy more. You can also try making lists before grocery shopping and sticking to it as this will help reduce impulse buys.  

  Buy Imperfect Produce 

  Many fruits and vegetables are thrown away simply because of their shape, size, or colour despite the fact that they are perfectly fine to eat. Choosing to buy these “imperfect” items at the grocery store can help stop these items from being wasted and thrown in the landfill.   

  Compost 

  As much as 50% of the garbage placed on the curb in Niagara is actually organic waste (i.e., food waste) and should be composted instead (Niagara Region – Public Works Committee, 2020). When organic material is thrown in the garbage instead of a compost bin, it ends up in a landfill. Organic material needs oxygen to break down and when it sits in a landfill, it cannot breakdown into the soil. Instead, organics sit in the landfill releasing methane gas which is a greenhouse gas that has roughly 28x the global warming potential of carbon (Methane, explained, 2019). Composting is so important because when you put your organics in a green bin, it is sent to a composting facility and is turned into valuable compost in only eight weeks! 

  References

  http://www.fao.org/3/mb060e/mb060e00.htm 

  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0007940 

  https://pub-niagararegion.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=8580 

  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/methane 

  Categories: Food, Student Contributor, Waste

• Mental Health Week – Lawn Care 101 Recap

  Wednesday, June 02, 2021 | By eharper

  Blog Contributor: Elenore Breslow

  Mental Health Week is a Canadian tradition with communities, schools and workplaces rallying to celebrate, protect and promote mental health. Brock University organized several virtual events from May 3 – 7, 2021 to promote activities and techniques to add to their well-being toolkit.  

  Spending time outdoors is a great way to take care of our bodies and our minds. One of the best and simple ways to connect with nature is to care for it. On May 6, John Dick (Manager, Grounds Services) provided a wonderful webinar on lawn care techniques to keep your lawn healthy and green(ish). He shared insights on how to change our attitude to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly when caring for our lawns.  

  “Your lawn is the largest part of your ecosystem. Looking at it with diversity in mind is best for the environment by utilizing sustainable practices,” said John Dick.  

  Things to Remember for Eco-Friendly Lawn Care 

  • Plant for diversity to help maintain a healthier environment. A biodiverse lawn offers built-in pest control and promotes beneficial insects and birds that take care of pests.  
  • Promote bee and insect friendly environment. Leave some of the weeds alone, like the dandelions. This bee-friendly weed will bring in pollinators and help your flowers grow beautifully.  
  • Less is sometimes more. Your lawn may do better than you think by reducing fertilizer, pesticides, water, and labor. It will also be more cost-effective to maintain!  

  

  

  Lawn Care Techniques   

  1) Seeding 

  Seeding is an extremely important part of the lawn care process and knowing what type of seed to plant will help reduce the need for more resources to maintain your space. Canada No. 1 Lawn Mixture is a great grass seed for growing a new lawn or repairing an existing one. This is a general mix that has Kentucky Bluegrass, Red Fescue, and Perennial Ryegrass. With the various growing conditions on your lawn this mix will help your grass grow well in sunny and shaded, and drought-tolerant areas.  

  Cool Fact: Brock uses 2-3 different cultivars of Perennial Ryegrass across campus!  

  2) Fertilizing 

  Fertilizing is another essential part to help care for your lawn to encourage it to grow green and healthy. You should put fertilizer down at times that most benefit the turf and not the weeds – so timing is key. If you are going to fertilize only once a year the best time to do so is late fall. This is when the air temperature has dropped but the soil temperature is still warm. When you add fertilizer later in the year, the plant absorbs it in its roots, and it helps grow healthy grass the following spring.  

  Fertilizer is made-up of three key nutrients – nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium. Grass requires a higher concentration of nitrogen compared to a vegetable garden, so make sure to check the concentration before you buy fertilizer! 

  Did you know: Grounds Services limits the use of phosphorous when fertilizing to decrease run-off into our water system.  

  3) Mowing 

  The longer the better. Grass needs enough leaf area to photosynthesize and grow well, and longer grass helps reduce unwanted weeds. If your grass is kept 3 inches or more, it will help keep it in a healthier state in the long-run and will require less water and fertilizer to maintain. Remember to keep the clippings on your lawn – they have lots of nutrients in them to help your grass continue to grow. 

  Mowing every other week instead of every week can help increase bee populations in and around your lawn. 

  4) Watering 

  Watering is another important aspect of taking care of a healthy lawn. Most lawns only need 1 inch of water per week, so be sure not to overwater. You can purchase a rain gauge or even use a tuna can, to track how much water your lawn receives. As a rule of thumb, once the tuna can is filled your lawn had enough water for the week.  

  To conserve water during the hot summer months in July and August, opt for not watering your lawn and allow your grass to go dormant as it would naturally. Your grass will grow back after the dry season, and you will have saved lots of water!  

  5) Aerating  

  Aerating is a great practice for compacted areas of your lawn. If you notice people tend to walk in certain parts of your lawn compared to others, you should consider aerating that area. One of the simplest ways is to use a garden fork and breakup the soil, which allows the soil to loosen up. This will help the roots grow deeply and produce strong, healthy grass.  

  6) Weeds 

  Many weeds like dandelions, white clovers, and violets are beneficial for the bees, insects, and butterflies – so please leave some of your weeds alone. And remember when caring for your lawn that a weed is just a plant in the wrong place. However, there are some weeds like the Creeping Charlie that may choke out lawns and other plants. If you choose to remove perennial weeds, it is important to get the entire root out – if not it could triple when it grows back. 

  There are lots of edible weeds that have many health benefits, like narrow and broadleaf plantains. If you remove some of your weeds, check online to see if what parts of it are edible.  

  A big thank you to John Dick who shared all this valuable information about sustainable lawn care. We should all try to look at lawns in a different way than we have in the past and appreciate the weeds and the imperfect aspects of our outdoor environment. 

  Check out our Sustainability at Brock webpage, if you want to learn more about how John Dick and his team work hard to keep our campus grounds beautiful while being sustainable as possible.   

  Categories: Student Contributor

• Tips for a Sustainable Summer

  Friday, May 21, 2021 | By eharper

  

  Blog Contributor: Mikellena Nettos

  Summer is finally just around the corner – longer days, shorter nights, and colder drinks! As you enjoy your time off, we wanted to share some helpful tips on how to have a more sustainable summer: 

  1. Take advantage of natural light – turn the lights off during the day and open the curtains! 
  2. Whenever possible, turn off the AC and open the windows to get some fresh air. 
  3. Challenge yourself to grow your own food! There are many online guides to assist in this rewarding practice. 
  4. Go to your local farmers market for produce instead of larger chain grocery stores (**Make sure to check your local COVID-19 guidelines**) 
  5. If you need to go somewhere, opt for walking or riding your bike instead of driving and take advantage of the nice weather – don’t forget your mask! 
  6. Instead of using a dryer – line dry your clothes in the sun. 
  7. When using sunscreen, opt for non-toxic sunscreen – better for your skin and the planet! 
  8. Make sure to use a reusable bottle when staying hydrated. 
  9. Want to grill your food? Opt for a propane gas grill, which burns cleaner than charcoal.  
  10. Plant a tree on your property – future summers will be a lot cooler with the nice shade it will provide!  

  Make sure to check and follow your local COVID-19 guidelines while enjoying the weather this summer. If you adopt some of these sustainable practices, make sure to tell your friends and family as it could influence them to have a more sustainable summer as well.  

  Have a safe, fun, and sustainable summer, Badgers!  

  References  

  1. (2011, July). 21 Simple Eco-Friendly Summer Tips. Biofriendly Planet | For a Cooler Environment.https://biofriendlyplanet.com/green-ideas/eco-friendly/21-simple-eco-friendly-summer-tips/
  2. GME Marketing. (2018, May). Top 10 Tips for a Sustainable Summer. Green Mountain Energy Company. https://www.greenmountainenergy.com/2013/06/top-10-tips-for-a-sustainable-summer/ 

  Categories: Student Contributor, Sustainability

• Brock Students Clean Up Their Communities During Earth Week

  Wednesday, May 19, 2021 | By eharper

  Blog Contributor: Elenore Breslow

  Cleaning up trash can be a lot more fun than it sounds as it provides an opportunity to spend time outdoors and engage in conservation activities to help your local community and its natural environment. Brock University and Niagara College hosted a Virtual Spring Clean-Up event from Saturday, April 17 to Sunday, April 25, 2021. Students and employees from both institutions came together (virtually) to clean up their communities and help make a positive impact.  

  Brock students and employees took part in the event from across the world from New Delhi, India to our backyard in the Niagara Region. We wanted to share some of the highlights of the event with you, so we asked participants to share their experiences.  

  Highlights from the Event  

  “The Virtual Niagara Spring Clean-Up gave me the opportunity to incorporate a more sustainable form of living into my daily schedule. I had a great time cleaning my local community park with my brother, knowing in our hearts we were making a positive environmental impact. Highly recommend it to brighten up your day.” said Shivangi Singh, a student in the Masters of Business Administration program.  

  

  Shivangi Singh cleaning up a local community park in New Delhi, India.

  Madeline Mantler, a Medical Sciences student, not only participated in the event but also included and taught their younger siblings, “I really enjoyed leading my household in a clean-up of Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls for Earth Week at Brock. I found it especially rewarding getting to teach my younger siblings about sustainability during the event. I recommend others do a clean-up as well!”

  

  Madeline Mantler cleaning up Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

  Elaine Aldridge-Low, who works for Brock’s Centre for Canadian Studies told us, “I chose the Virgil Nature Path for my clean up.” Elaine also expressed how they came across quite a lot of garbage during their clean-up, which encouraged them to reach out to their local government, “… I reached out to a Town Councillor with the photos, and he brought it to the Town’s Environmental Committee for review. I am hopeful the area is returned to its natural state and the businesses are required to keep the area free of their debris.” 

  This experience goes to show that clean-up events not only provide an opportunity to care for your community, but also to advocate for environmental improvements from local authorities.  

  

  Photo provided by Elaine Aldridge-Low that shows some of the trash found at the Virgil Nature Path located in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

  Gargi Daga, a student in the Masters of Business Administration program, noted they had a great time at the clean-up event, “I had an amazing experience while participating in Virtual Niagara Clean Up event. I have learnt that our generation has the ability and the responsibility to make our ever-more connected world a more hopeful, stable and clean place.”  

  

  Gargi Daga cleaning up their local community in Ottawa, Ontario.

  Thank you to all our participants and we look forward to hosting another clean-up event in the fall. If you are looking to get involved sooner, we launched a toolkit with Niagara College that includes information and simple steps on how to host or join a community clean-up anytime, anywhere. Resources also direct participants to their local health guidelines to ensure all COVID-19 restrictions are followed throughout the process. 

  Follow Sustainability at Brock on social media to find out about other ways you can get involved in sustainability initiatives.  

  Categories: Community, Events, Sustainability at Brock

• The Sustainable Development Goals and Gender Inequality

  Thursday, April 29, 2021 | By eharper

  Blog Contributor: Shannon Ruzgys

  

   

  Goal number 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is focused on gender equality and empowering women and girls. However, we can see the theme of gender equality riddled throughout many of the SDGs, highlighting how important equality is for achieving the goals.

  There have been improvements in recent years, like the fact that fewer girls are forced into early marriage and more women are in leadership roles. However, despite those improvements, equality still remains unreached throughout the globe. In 2020, women still only represented 25% of national parliaments and 39% of local government roles, despite the fact that women are disproportionately on the front lines of one of the largest global crises in recent times – COVID-19. In fact, recent surveys have found that women account for 70% of all health and social workers globally, demonstrating the importance of women in fighting crises (United Nations, 2020).

  Aside from front line workers, COVID-19 has negatively impacted a large number of women, mainly by increasing vulnerability and household burdens. Lockdowns have increased the risk of violence against women and girls, with some countries reporting up to a 30% increase in cases of domestic violence.

   

  

  Source: UN Women

  Goal 5 focuses on aspects such as ensuring women’s political leadership, and reproductive health rights, as well as eliminating violence, trafficking, and discrimination. However, we see gender equality in a number of the goals such as No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Health and Wellbeing, Clean Water, Education, and Economic Growth.

  When looking at economic growth, factors such as pay gaps can have large impacts on gender equality and the economy. Research from 2017 revealed a 19% gender pay gap globally, which has far reaching economic impacts. Research has shown that closing this pay gap can have a multitude of benefits. On one hand, closing the gap could cut the poverty rate of working women in half. Others have estimated that equal pay would boost women’s earnings in developing countries by $2 trillion. Beyond raising wages, increasing female economic participation can have massive benefits, with estimates stating that if an equal number of men and women were in the job force, GDP could increase by 5% in the US, 9% in Japan, and 27% in India (Schulze, 2018). With COVID-19 pushing the world into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, integrating more women into the workforce and reducing pay gaps can be a vital tool in post-COVID recovery.

  Further, we can again see how interconnected the SDGs are when we look at the role education has to play in achieving these economic goals for women. In 2018, two thirds of the 773 million illiterate adults were women, with the majority of them residing in low-income countries. Young women in developing countries still face massive barriers towards education, including menstruation, social pressures to engage in family care over education, violence, child marriage and early pregnancy (Gender Inequality Is Keeping Girls Out of School, 2017). All of these barriers, and more, continue to keep girls from pursuing education.

  When looking at Goal 1 for no poverty it is obvious how many of these factors affecting women contribute to global poverty. For example, we know educating women is one of the most effective things we can do to reduce global poverty. The economic theory of fertility suggests that more educated women are better able to support themselves and have more bargaining power, including choices such as family sizes. Studies have also shown that increasing female education significantly reduces the number of children born per woman (Ali & Gurmu, 2018).

  Overall, while Gender Equality is its own goal, we can see just how essential achieving gender equality is for so many of the SDGs through research showing how beneficial reducing things such as the pay gap and increasing female education can be for the entire globe on multiple scales and with several impacts.

  Categories: Student Contributor, Sustainable Development Goals

• Earth Day 2021

  Thursday, April 22, 2021 | By eharper

  

  Blog Contributor: Mikellena Nettos

  Today, Thursday, April 22nd, 2021, is Earth Day. The world’s first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 and it is now regarded as a global initiative to promote the protection and care of our planet. If you’re looking for a way to celebrate Earth Day from your own home, join us virtually at one of our events.  

  Brock will be hosting a virtual event tonight at 7pm, as part of the ESRC’s Environmental Stewardship Speaker Series where Dr. Robyn Bourgeois will be presenting “Land, Body, and Sovereignty: An Indigenous Perspective”. This is a great opportunity to learn more about how environmental destruction directly affects Indigenous women and girls and Indigenous ways of knowing.  

  In addition, Sustainability at Brock is hosting a virtual clean up, in partnership with Niagara College until April 25th. The institutions are also providing the community with a virtual clean-up toolkit that can be found here. Today, you can use this opportunity to participate in the virtual clean up and help take care of our planet. This clean up initiative can also be included as volunteer hours toward the WWF Living Planet Leader Certification!  

  Students can support Earth Day by learning more about sustainable ways of living and use this day to kick start a more sustainable lifestyle for the rest of the year. There are also additional virtual events to take part in at earthday.org.  

  Make sure to check our sustainability social media pages on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to find more resources on how to lead a more sustainable life through our highlights and posts. Have a safe and sustainable Earth Day, Badgers! 

  Categories: Student Contributor

• Brock University and Niagara College Team up to Host a Virtual Spring Clean-Up 

  Tuesday, April 13, 2021 | By eharper

  

  Blog Contributor: Shannon Ruzgys

  Brock University and Niagara College have joined forces to host a virtual spring clean–up from Saturday, April 17th to Sunday, April 25th, 2021. The institutions have also created a virtual clean–up toolkit in order to engage and empower the community to join along.  

  With global issues such as climate change, it is easy to feel a sense of hopelessness about the environment. Taking action by cleaning up your local community is a way to be an advocate for sustainability, while also creating a sense of hope that small actions can help target big issues. The goal of the toolkit is to empower individuals to make a difference within their communities by providing them with resources to safely host their own virtual clean-up anywhere, anytime!   

  How do I sign up for the virtual clean-up?

  Click this link to sign up via Experience BU and participate anytime between Saturday, April 17th to Sunday, April 25th 

  Why should I join or host a virtual clean-up?

  • Spending time outdoors and engaging in conservation activities can help foster a connection to local communities and ecosystems. 
  • There is a strong connection between time spent in nature and reduced negative emotions including anxiety, depression, and irritability as well as headaches and indigestion (Ontario Parks, 2020) 
  • You can help better your own local community and make a difference for the environment. 
  • Become aware of the garbage that is most common in your own community and help spread awareness. 
  • Students can help fulfil volunteer hours for the WWF-Canada Living Planet Leader Certification. 

  What is in the virtual clean-up toolkit?

  There are currently three guides available: for students, for community members, and for organizations. Each guide provides unique resources for the respective group.  

  The Student Guide Includes:

  • Resources about how your participation in the virtual clean-up can contribute towards your Living Planet Leader Certification.   
  • A list of tips to help you get started with your own virtual clean-up.  
  • COVID-19 health and safety guidelines.  
  • A virtual clean-up checklist.  

   If you have any questions about how to join or host a virtual clean-up, please reach out to sustainability@brocku.ca  

  Categories: Events, Niagara, Student Contributor, Sustainability at Brock