Vancouver Foundation Funds Innovative Climate Change Group At UVic & UBC
VICTORIA, BC – The Vancouver Foundation has granted Common Energy, a climate change action group with members at the University of Victoria and University of British Columbia, $20,000 to create a provincial action network.
“We are very pleased to receive this grant from the Vancouver Foundation. This money will be used to establish an inter-institutional network that will create relationships and share knowledge to create on-the-ground climate change solutions,” said Naomi Devine, member of Common Energy UVic. “This network will create momentum that would be difficult to replicate in isolation on each individual campus.”
Funding from the grant will support and expand a provincial network linking people and groups working on climate change at institutions of higher learning across BC. By generating and integrating climate change planning at individual universities and colleges, the network will accelerate the creation and implementation of solutions across the province.
“With the resources that the Vancouver Foundation has provided, Common Energy is able to work in collaboration with the Sierra Youth Coalition to stimulate and support inter-institutional networks and grow the capacity at individual schools through a common knowledge base, the sharing of ideas, and by coordinating campaigns,” said Maggie Baynham, the BC Regional Coordinator for the Sierra Youth Coalition and a member of Common Energy UBC.
Common Energy began at the University of Victoria in October 2006 and expanded to UBC in early 2007. Its goal is to move universities and colleges “beyond climate-neutral”. To achieve this goal, the group formed a network of students, staff, faculty and regional partners who began by asking the question, “how can our institution do more to solve the problems of climate change than it does to cause them?”
“The university combines research capacity, creativity and energy with the expertise and knowledge of a massive company, and the physical presence and economic power of a city. That gives us a lot to work with,” said Jamie Biggar of Common Energy UVic.
Common Energy UVic released a progress report in June outlining how the university can go beyond climate-neutral. The report, “Going Beyond Climate Neutral: Planning for Climate Change Leadership with the University of Victoria,” outlines actions and proposals in six key focus areas: creating a local “green” business cluster, reducing the impact of energy use, developing the local sustainable food supply, revitalizing buildings and infrastructure, creating a climate-friendly transportation system, and engagement in university governance and regional planning.
“We are very pleased to receive this grant from the Vancouver Foundation. This money will be used to establish an inter-institutional network that will create relationships and share knowledge to create on-the-ground climate change solutions,” said Naomi Devine, member of Common Energy UVic. “This network will create momentum that would be difficult to replicate in isolation on each individual campus.”
Funding from the grant will support and expand a provincial network linking people and groups working on climate change at institutions of higher learning across BC. By generating and integrating climate change planning at individual universities and colleges, the network will accelerate the creation and implementation of solutions across the province.
“With the resources that the Vancouver Foundation has provided, Common Energy is able to work in collaboration with the Sierra Youth Coalition to stimulate and support inter-institutional networks and grow the capacity at individual schools through a common knowledge base, the sharing of ideas, and by coordinating campaigns,” said Maggie Baynham, the BC Regional Coordinator for the Sierra Youth Coalition and a member of Common Energy UBC.
Common Energy began at the University of Victoria in October 2006 and expanded to UBC in early 2007. Its goal is to move universities and colleges “beyond climate-neutral”. To achieve this goal, the group formed a network of students, staff, faculty and regional partners who began by asking the question, “how can our institution do more to solve the problems of climate change than it does to cause them?”
“The university combines research capacity, creativity and energy with the expertise and knowledge of a massive company, and the physical presence and economic power of a city. That gives us a lot to work with,” said Jamie Biggar of Common Energy UVic.
Common Energy UVic released a progress report in June outlining how the university can go beyond climate-neutral. The report, “Going Beyond Climate Neutral: Planning for Climate Change Leadership with the University of Victoria,” outlines actions and proposals in six key focus areas: creating a local “green” business cluster, reducing the impact of energy use, developing the local sustainable food supply, revitalizing buildings and infrastructure, creating a climate-friendly transportation system, and engagement in university governance and regional planning.
-- 30 --