Have you ever thought about the current challenges we face with pandemics, land degradation, societal issues, and climate change?
If so, join us for a series of discussions about how we can rethink our relationship with the natural world so that, together, we may create a more positive future.
The cafe’s will be hosted by members of the Beyond Sustainability: Radical Transformation Through System Thinking project, funded under the New Frontiers in Research Fund – Exploration grant.
Guest speakers and hosts will also join in the discussions and will be announced closer to each event date.
Past Events
Were you aware of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Do you know that they apply to you and every Canadian?
The goal of this talk was for participants to learn more about Goal 2: Zero Hunger and what we can all do to help.
Attendees were asked to bring non-perishable items for the Food Bank.
DETAILS
- Date: Monday, March 6, 2023
Time: 7 pm (EST)
Location: Mahtay Café
Host: Liette Vasseur
Panelists: Betty-Lou Souter, Community Care; Mary Wiley, Niagara Connects; Karen Orlandi, Social Justice and Equity, Brock University; Jon Braithwaite, Hope Centre in Welland
In this session we ask “from one holiday to the next, we are constantly solicited to consume and purchase new things or replace old or out of season things. But is this sustainable? How do we break the whirlwind of consumption in which we find ourselves?”
Attendees were asked to donate a used piece of clothing for recycling/repurposing as part of an art project that will be presented to the public in the spring.
Details
Date: Monday, February 13, 2023
Time: 7 pm (EST)
Location: Mahtay Café
Hosts: Liette Vasseur; Christine Daigle; Soji Cole
Guests: Cassandra Carlson; Thomas Dunk,; Véronique Rousseau
In this session, talked about the Beyond Sustainability project and noted: “This new project seeks to bring together both experts and members of the public in meaningful ways so that both may together rethink a more sustainable social-ecological system. We have much to learn from one another and it is the goal of the Beyond Sustainability team to facilitate an exchange of ideas that will support a worldview that benefits all of earth’s inhabitants.”
Details
Date: Monday, November 1, 2021
Time: 6:30-7:30 pm (EDT)
Host: Liette Vasseur
Guests: Charles Conteh and Michael Hallé
In this session, we asked: “What is sustainability and sustainable development? How can the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) help us to achieve a future that is both just and environmentally healthy? In this session, we will explore the interconnected nature of the different goals and the importance of considering them as integral components of a bigger picture.”
Details
Date: Monday, November 15, 2021
Time: 6:30-7:30 pm (EDT)
Host: Liette Vasseur
Guests: Paulina Fedko and Luisa Diele-Viegas
In this session, we asked: “What do you recall your first memory of nature to be? Was it the leaves of a tree dancing in the wind, or the first drops of rain on your face as a child? How can remembering help us to better understand our place within the complexity of the natural world? Nature can be one of the best medicines against many illnesses. We explore its importance in our lives as well as how much we forget about it.”
Details
Date: Monday, December 6, 2021
Time: 6:30-7:30 pm (EDT)
Host: Catherine Longboat
Guests: Isaac Murdock and Liette Vasseur
Organization of a discussion group on Women in Science at Brock University for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
Organized by the Chair in conjunction with the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, this event featured two guest speakers:
- Dr. Julia Baird, Environmental Sustainability Research Centre
- Dr. Blair Feltmate, School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, University of Waterloo; Intact Centre on Climate Adaption.
Organized by the Chair in conjunction with the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, this event discussed water and its importance in the Niagara Region.
Guest speakers included Karl Dockstader, Niagara College alumni and representatives from Ontario Power Generation.
Organized by the Chair in conjunction with the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, this event featured guest speakers:
- Dr. Pierre Filion, School of Planning, University of Waterloo
- Jo Flatt, Evergreen Cityworks
- Brian Dick & Greg Bowie, Region of Niagara
Organized by the Chair in conjunction with the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, and in Celebration of UNESCO’s World Bird Migration Day, this event introduced the public to the special Chimney swift bird. These birds have been sighted not only in downtown St Catharines, including the former Canada Hair Cloth Co. Limited, which is now the Brock University’s Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts but in many parts of Niagara.
