Do you want to learn how you can help create inclusive, safe spaces in the environmental movement? Are you interested in furthering your understanding of intersectional environmentalism? Do you want to participate in activities and discussions that allow you to reflect on your connection and ties to nature? If you answered yes to any of these questions then, this training is for you!

Who is hosting this training?

In partnership with the University of Guelph Sustainability Office and Future Ancestor Services, two current undergraduate students of the University of Guelph, Nidhi and Stephanie, are leading an environmental justice training to create a virtual space for our campus community to learn collectively about environmental justice.

The event will be led by Chúk Odenigbo (He/Him), a Founding Director at Future Ancestor Services.

Chúk is a Black Franco-Albertan from Calgary. He is passionate about the interactions between health,culture and the environment. This passion inspired him to pursue his PhD in Medical Geography after completing his master's degree in Environmental Health at the School of Public Health at the University of Montréal. He is one of the Founding Directors for Future Ancestors Services Inc., and the Co-founder of The Poison and The Apple. Chúk has worked in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, fashion retail, and academia. He is interested in the multidisciplinary nature of our existence and in exploring new solutions that respond to recurring problems.

Chúk was ranked amongst the top 30 Sustainability Leaders under 30 by Corporate Knights, the top 30 Change-Making Albertans under 30 by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation, the top 10 young Franco-Albertan leaders by Radio-Canada and the top 25 environmentalists under 25 in Canada by the Starfish for three years. Chúk was MEC's ambassador for the outdoors and is an alumni of the first Ocean Bridge cohort, a group of young Canadians leading ocean health and literacy projects across Canada.

This environmental justice training is made possible through funding from the University of Guelph's Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Enhancement Fund.

What is the goal and format of the training?

This training workshop is free to attend and is spread out across three days, where each day, we will uncover different topics and try to better understand the environment and our relation to it.

Throughout the training, we intend to bring together students, staff and faculty from our University of Guelph community to learn, reflect and discuss environmental justice. This training will further participants' understanding of their own identity as this training relates the environment to the learning of anti-oppression.

When is this training, and what content will be covered?

Tuesday, July 13th, 5 - 7 pm EST (virtual event): Participants will be led through a guided discussion where we examine how one’s identity impacts one’s health, one’s connection with nature, and the way one is treated in society.

Wednesday, July 14th (asynchronous): This portion of the training will feature a self-guided reflection in an asynchronous format where the participants will reach a deeper understanding of their own connection with the land and their ties to it.

Thursday, July 15th, 5 - 7 pm EDT (virtual event): This virtual guided event will have participants focus on visioning and ideation activities in an effort to better understand the world, our society, and their place in it.

After completing this multi-day training, participants will gain a better understanding of intersectional environmentalism and have been introduced to viewing the environmental/climate movement through multiple lenses

About Future Ancestor Services:

Future Ancestor Services is an Indigenous and Black-owned, youth-led professional services social enterprise that advances climate justice and equity with lenses of anti-racism and ancestral accountability.

Event Information:

If you have any questions about the content or have any accessibility or facilitation needs, please feel free to email Stephanie Rosen at srosen@uoguelph.ca.

In the virtual events, we aim to create a space where people feel comfortable and confident in sharing their own stories, connections, and lived experiences, so, in efforts to create that space, we will not be publicly sharing the recordings of these events.

We encourage everyone to register, even if they cannot make the virtual events, as registered attendees will gain access to the customized training manual, the event links, and the asynchronous content for the self-directed day. The teachings in the guided events will be captured in the customized training manual, so we highly encourage you to register.

Have someone you think might be interested in this training? Want to help amplify this event series? Share justice.eventbrite.com to encourage others to register and attend this training.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/environmental-justice-training-tickets-160989651381