Just found out about this innovative public education project, a partnership between Emily Carr, the David Suzuki Foundation and Roundhouse Community Centre. Unfortunately, it ended this past Monday, when the 17 art students, 3 musicians and 3 city planners presented their soundscapes, videos, and artwork. I include it here as inspiration. There are so many ways to engage the public in sustainability.
Empowering art students to become future community leaders in sustainability, the project is taught by Sarah Van Borek, Faculty of Culture + Community, as part of our Social Practice and Community Engagement (SPACE) program. The project’s over-arching goal is to promote a Regional Green Infrastructure Network (connected urban green spaces, thereby protecting and restoring wildlife habitat and healthy ecosystems) across Metro Vancouver.
Fragmented habitats make it harder to maintain biodiversity. Connected green spaces also make nature more accessible to all peoples regardless of income, race, culture, etc. Through the project, Emily Carr students are collaborating with 3 professional musicians (each based in either Vancouver, North Vancouver or Surrey) and a sound engineer in producing 3 original songs and music videos and an 8-week campus radio show using site-specific sound recordings, photos and video from specific green spaces in 3 municipalities (Vancouver, Surrey and North Vancouver), combined with key messaging provided by the David Suzuki Foundation, to showcase some leading best practices in green infrastructure.
- In Vancouver, the project aims to raise awareness of the city’s position along the Pacific Flyway and the importance of a recent “Bird Friendly Strategy.”
- The project features North Vancouver’s “Green Necklace” initiative, the realization of a 100-year-old vision for building a greenway around the entire city.
- In Surrey, the focus is on the city’s leading Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. While these initiatives are being lead by the cities, they depend on the buy-in of diverse local community members.
This project aims at fostering this support through educating the public about the value of these connected green spaces, as well as inspiring similar initiatives in other municipalities. Read more.