Current Projects

Dr. Bruce Baum – Political Science

The purpose of this project is to reorganize POLI 100 (Introduction to Politics) by incorporating the climate crisis as an ongoing thematic focus. This project aims to establish a continuous theme that enables the connection of abstract political concepts—such as justice, norms, empirical reality, power, the state, rights, democracy, gender, racism, globalization, and Indigeneity—to practical challenges of widespread interest.

Dr. Katherine Lyon – Sociology

The purpose of this project is to develop new climate crisis content for SOCI 290. This content will establish connections between the climate crisis and pandemics within various course units, including disaster studies, sociology of health, sociology of race and racism, colonialism and Indigeneity, sociology of environment, sociology of gender, and media studies. In this course, students will examine how the interactions between pandemics and climate change impact different social groups and learn strategies for managing their own well-being.

Dr. Tanya Kyi – Creative Writing

The grant will support the adaptation of creative writing modules (CRWR 203, 403, and 503) to encourage a focus on climate communication. The goal is to expose students to children's climate communication and navigate the balance between factual content and calls to action in children's climate literature.

Avi Lewis – Geography

This project aims to integrate community care, emotional and psychological wellbeing aspects into the course pedagogy, projects, and materials of GEOG 302 (Climate Justice). The objective is to provide students with an open space and a supportive environment for generative discussions about the affective contours of the climate emergency in a world that desperately needs climate justice. This will allow them to push past paralysis and mobilize into action.

Dr. Andrew Almas – Forest Resources Management

This project aims to create lecture modules for UFOR100 (Greening the City), along with associated lab assignments, test questions, and discussion board topics. These materials will focus on climate change and wellbeing in the context of Urban Forestry practice.

Christopher Colton – Forest Resources Management

This project aims to develop a new module for CONS 127 with a focus on the climate emergency, including urbanization, human health, sea level rise, climate-related food security (or insecurity), climate change inequities, geopolitics, and human wellness.

Dr. Sally Stewart – Health and Exercise Sciences

The grant will support the establishment of regular meetings and round table discussions in the faculty to support instructors in creating healthier learning environments and to explore innovative ways to advance sustainability and wellbeing in their respective learning context. The grant will also support the development of resources that enhance the connections between climate change and health and wellbeing, to be shared among instructors.

Dr. Adrian Yee – Medicine

This project aims to enhance medical students' understanding of planetary health in the Doctor of Medicine (MD) Undergraduate Program, with a focus on human well-being. It will also integrate planetary health into the program's case-based learning curriculum to reinforce learners' foundational science knowledge and encourage its application in a clinical context.

Dr. Robert Pammett – Pharmaceutical Sciences

This project aims to evaluate and refine the educational module in PHRM 441 (Seminar: Advanced Topics in Pharmacy Practice) that explores the connections between pharmacists' roles in healthcare and climate change. The objective is to prepare future pharmacy professionals to address climate change challenges within the field.

Dr. Liv Yoon – Kinesiology

The grant will fund the production of a video and a study guide exploring the connections between the climate crisis, health, and social inequities for KIN 262 (Health, Policy, and Society). The video will personalize the climate issue through stories from those on the frontlines of the climate emergency in Vancouver, offering valuable local lived experiences across the entire course curriculum.

Kari Grain – Educational Studies

This project aims to revise a graduate course EDST 503 for a collaborative Master's program in three faculties, focusing on climate change and wellbeing. The modules will be revised to emphasize emotions in climate change learning, provide wellbeing strategies in the face of climate change emotions, and explore the role of hope.

Zeina Baalbaki – Civil Engineering

This project aims to enhance climate change content in key ENVE courses (ENVE 202 and 401) by highlighting technical correlations between climate change, human wellbeing, and impacts on environmental spheres. The course will guide engineering students in developing a framework for climate-resilient design. The grant will also support the offering of interactive case studies reflecting contemporary climate change challenges, fostering students’ critical thinking. The goal of this content is to equip environmentally and socially responsible engineers with the skills and tools to address climate change challenges.