January Newsletter: Sharing Gratitude & Excitement for 2024!
Happy New Year! We hope you had a memorable holiday season and a positive start to 2024. At Be the Change, we are energized and excited for the year ahead!
Be the Change’s Youth Blog Series highlights blogs written by university student interns at Be the Change Earth Alliance. In the blogs, the interns reflect on their experience completing “Action Packs,” which are learning resources that guide students in research, critical thinking and tangible action related to a global sustainability topic.
Summary of the Action Pack
I completed the Food Security Action Pack which explores how food security is a social justice and environmental issue for local and global communities. Food security is a condition that ensures all people have physical and economic access to adequate amounts of nutritious and culturally appropriate foods. In the Action Pack, students will take the Action Survey to see if they have already taken actions that pertain to food security. For instance Students can take action by choosing to not eat foods contributing to food insecurity for a week, talking with the cafeteria about purchasing from local sources whenever possible, and volunteering at a local farm, or garden project. Students are encouraged to choose at least two actions and complete them by a specific date.
In the Global Research section of the Action Pack, students will first research the concept of community food security to increase their 
understanding of the major theme. Next, students explore why food security is a serious issue in Canada. Furthermore, students will be able to research how food security is increasing in poorer countries due to the land grabbing trend, which is the buying or leasing of large pieces of land, by domestic and international investors in developing countries. Additionally, students will identify ways different projects address food security, such as urban agriculture, with a critical eye. It is important for them to determine whether the projects are sustainable and long-term in addressing food security.
In the Local Activity section, students will visit a local supermarket and conduct research on where the different types of food that students commonly eat come from. Then, they will identify any local alternatives that they could buy and compare the price differences of the foods to see what action they could take for food security. To develop critical thinking, students will reflect how their choices around buying, eating and wasting food connects to global and local food insecurity. Lastly, students will evaluate the personal, environmental, social, economic cost and benefits if they choose to actively support local food security by eating local food whenever possible. Overall, the Action Pack increases students’ understanding towards food insecurity and guides them to take actions that can address the issue within their local communities.
My Reflection
While taking actions, I found it difficult to dine out while being mindful about food security. It is hard to know where restaurants source their ingredients from. I was able to find some restaurants which offer locally sourced ingredients and I was glad to know that there are restaurants taking food security seriously. The best way for an individual to avoid contributing to lack of food security is by sourcing and cooking the food by yourself. After learning about food security, I decided to be more mindful of what I ate, and chose to cook at home. By doing this, I was able to spend more time with my family, while educating them about food security.
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December 2023 Newsletter - ⛄‘Tis the season to celebrate at Be The Change!⛄
As 2023 comes to a close and school winds down for winter break, we’re taking a moment to reflect back over the past year. 2023 was a very regenerative time for BTCEA! We developed and delivered our Climate Action, Resilience, and Emotions (CARE) program in communities on the frontlines of wildfires in our province. And as an organization, we prioritized creating space to discuss what decolonization could look like both internally, and in our programming. Here are the highlights:
Oct 2023 Newsletter - Check out our mid-October climate-justice resources!
Hello,
An introduction from Communications Coordinator, Lucy Wicken
Dear Be The Change community,
As we approach mid-October, I’m reflecting on the changing seasons, from the warm and active days of summer to the cooler and quieter days of autumn. Personally, I’ve noticed a desire to slow down, take on fewer responsibilities, and stay inside where it’s cozy. Have you felt this way too?
As 21st century humans living in a world that operates under capitalism, white supremacy, and other oppressive systems, we can be made to feel guilt or shame about listening & responding to our needs. We are expected to maintain the same energy and productivity levels throughout the year, no matter how cold or dark the days are, how heavy world events feel, or how much we’re struggling in our personal lives.
This is where the concept of regenerative education comes in. Introduced to the BTCEA team by former staff member Jake, regenerative education calls on us to slow down and turn inward to consider our connection with the natural world. It asks us to examine the living systems that are breaking down due to violent human activity (such as fossil fuel extraction, destruction of Indigenous lands, and human-caused flooding and wildfires) and connect this breakdown with our own high levels of stress.
