As a Geography and Environmental Studies major, I have learned what it means to be environmentally sustainable and what environmental sustainability means. Before going to school for this I considered myself as someone who was already aware of what these terms meant and how to apply them in my daily life. Growing up it was important to my family to make sure recyclables were taken to the depot or placed in the recycling bin. A question that was always asked when travelling outside of British Columbia or Canada was “where are the recycling bins, or does everything just go into the garbage?” Lunches were packed in reusable containers, never in single-use plastic wrap, and single-use containers were to be rinsed out before being placed in the recycling bin. Camping trips were always wrapped up by packing out everything that was packed in, as we were not allowed to throw items into the fire that were not to be burned. I had believed that all of these small but important practices made me an environmentally sustainable person but with my experiences over the last four years at Thompson Rivers University there has been a shift in both my thinking and actions towards environmental sustainability.
Throughout my childhood, I was taught to look after the environment, and it was a natural transition to continue this theme into my early adult life. With the vast amount of knowledge I have gained through my four years at Thompson Rivers University and in the Geography and Environmental Studies program the most influential attitude of environmental sustainability I have gained through my experiences is that no action is too small to make a difference. The broad range of classes, activities and groups I have been apart of have all enhanced this attitude and shifted my thinking and actions towards environmental sustainability.
From my Geography courses rooted in the economy, I have learned the important role the economy plays in environmental sustainability and the power consumers have over the relationship companies have with the environment. The courses I have taken that have addressed sustainability at an urban scale has taught me how cities can be designed and planned to better react with the environment and be more sustainable. My environmental courses have taught me the importance of this issue and what must be done for changes to occur on a large scale. From these courses, I have committed to understand where the products I consume come from and their production chain, look at ways in which the landscape can be interacted with to be more sustainable and better for the environment, and now look to share what I learn about environmental sustainability with others I interact with.
Activities I part take in are now more sustainable as I try to shop local from farmer markets, ride my bike as often as I can, limit my use of plastic, eat fewer animal products, and continue the practices I have been raised to do. The groups on campus that I have been apart of such as TRUGS (Thompson Rivers University Geography Society) have put me in touch with like-minded people that I learn something new from every day from sustainable companies to other sustainable practices. The changes I have made based on my learning and experiences of environmental sustainability have been small but for what I believe to be important because there is no too small of an action. A saying I think about when making any decision is that “there are always two decisions, one that puts you closer to your goal, and one the puts you further away from your goal.” Using the knowledge I have in environmental sustainability and using this saying helps me make decisions to get me towards my goal of being an environmentally sustainable person.
Based on my newfound knowledge of environmental sustainability through my years spent at Thompson Rivers University, I hope to be able to pass on my knowledge to as many people as possible. I look to continue to make changes in my current job for it to be as sustainable as possible while still providing a service for the City of Kamloops. But, in the future, I plan to start a retail solar panel company with my brother, who is an electrician, in order to provide people with the knowledge, installation, and skills to make their own homes more sustainable.