The Student Life Centre (SLC) initiated a month-long virtual campaign on March 1, raising environmental awareness for the Queen’s community by addressing temporal and financial barriers facing students.

Collaborating with the AMS, Queen’s Backing Action on Climate Change (QBACC), Queen’s Sustainable Universe Network, and local Kingston organizations, the “Sustainable Student” initiative outlines weekly topics on sustainability including Food, Waste & Recycling, Fashion, and Sustainable Living. 

According to the SLC, awareness about intersectional and accessible sustainability through events and resources will correspond to a specific week’s theme. Events include Zoom DIY Beeswax Wraps Tutorials, Thrifted Clothing Auction, and an Instagram Sustainability Business market. 

Tanisha Hasan, SLC operations and sustainability manager, developed this initiative last summer after the SLC transitioned to follow COVID-19 health and safety precautions. 

“I began thinking of a virtual event campaign relating to sustainability that could be collaborative and engaging,” Hasan wrote to The Journal. 

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Hasan pitched themes and event ideas to the SLC management team, the AMS Environmental Sustainability Commission (CES), and the Environmental Coalition. 

“There was a lot of positive feedback and interest in collaborating,” she wrote. 

Hasan outlined the work done by the SLC over the past months, including event planning, creating local resource lists, and researching sustainability infographic and videos. 

Additionally, the SLC is launching a Queen’s Sustainable Student website including province-wide and Kingston-based resources like local sustainable businesses, products, and lifestyle tips. 

Hasan said the program development completed by the SLC’s Environmental Justice Youth Activist Panel included reaching out to a diverse group of climate crisis activists in Canada. 

“There has been so much work put into this event from student leaders all over campus, so I’m really excited to see the project come to life,” Hasan wrote.

According to Hasan, the Sustainable Student campaign is taking an environmental justice approach as the issues within the climate crisis disproportionately affect BIPOC communities. 

“If Queen’s students–who are very privileged, well-educated, and majorly white–are going to be our future leaders, we must ensure that the future is both equitable and environmentally sustainable,” Hasan wrote. 

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She added that leading a sustainable lifestyle can feel very overwhelming, time-consuming, and expensive to students.

“Since we are overloaded with schoolwork, extra-circulars, jobs, and simply taking care of ourselves, I wanted to make sustainability easy and accessible,” Hasan wrote. 

“We are way past the point of being apathetic towards leading a sustainable life, especially since our generation will experience the devasting impacts of the climate crisis.” 

Regarding the long-term goals of the campaign, Hasan is hoping this project becomes an annual event hosted by the SLC, increasing collaboration with student groups and local organizations to highlight the importance of sustainable living and environmental activism. 

“The SLC wants to inform the Queen’s community and beyond about issues within the climate crisis and how to implement environmentally friendly practices into daily life despite any barriers people may face,” Hasan wrote. 

“It is our hope that folx decide to make environmentally conscious and ethical choices from what they have learned from the campaign.”