Raising Awareness with the Environmental Society (SMUES)
Written by Natasha Fernandes
Thumbnail Photo by Autumn Hebb
Headlines in previous years have shown a world in peril. The Australian bushfires, the oil spill in Russia’s Arctic region, and spring tornadoes in the USA are a few examples of natural environmental catastrophes that we have had no control over. It is understandable to feel helpless when reading the news and realize that natural disasters occur all the time. Fortunately, there’s plenty you can do as a university undergraduate to raise awareness about these issues. With classes underway and spring approaching, now is an excellent time to join environmental clubs on campus that organize students to take action where it counts.
An amazing society for students who want to meet like-minded individuals that care about the climate and sustainability initiatives is the SMU Environmental Society (SMUES). Here, students get to hone their leadership skills while engaging in entertaining and informative activities and events related to raising awareness about the environment. Students can immerse themselves in communities through networking, learning about future volunteer and career opportunities and working towards their goals by having some fun at the same time.
I had the pleasure of interviewing the President of SMUES, Autumn Hebb, who is in her fourth year of university and is majoring in Environmental Studies. We had an engaging conversation about the many upcoming events scheduled by SMUES for students, and their partnership with the School of the Environment (SOE), which is a hub on campus that brings together students and professors from all the university's programs that focus on environmental issues. I attended SMUES’ most recent event on January 22nd, which was the IPBES & Biodiversity with Dr. Jake Rice via Zoom. This engaging event happened through the partnership between SMUES and SOE, a fact which led me to ask Hebb about the process behind this teamwork and what was the secret behind the success of this occasion. Hebb commented:
“Dr. Tony Charles (who is a professor at SOE) did most of the work, I will admit, and we just have a small stake in that process. SMUES has worked with the School of the Environment in the past for many events; hence we have an excellent partnership and connection with them, a powerful relationship. We often do and still do host events with SOE, we helped Dr. Tony, but he is doing most of the magic and we are just facilitating this magic with our promotional skills, trying to get members involved and ensuring that students follow these events.”
With the SOE celebrating its 25th anniversary, there are many webinars, activities and events lined up for the whole undergraduate student body. Anyone, from any faculty or department, is welcome to attend. Hebb noted this webinar conducted by Dr. Jake Rice was a success with over 80 attendees. With this in mind, I asked Hebb to talk about some events that SMUES has successfully hosted and that she was personally very proud of. To this she replied,
“In the past, we have organized park clean-ups and hikes, which I have been a part of. We were [supposed] to have a hike last semester, but because of the pandemic we could not have the event, so instead of going out and doing it as a whole, we ended up encouraging everyone to go out on their own in their local areas and send in their photos by email or to our Facebook page. Hence we could still collaborate and work with our members but in a socially distanced and virtual way. In terms of other successful events, we have our annual farmer’s market, which is an exceptional event where we get to host plenty of vendors here at SMU and focus on sustainability and being environmentally conscious. Last year we had two markets, and one of them was in collaboration with SMUSA. But if I had to say, the most rewarding event would be our collaboration with Dalhousie for the annual Halifax Dump and Run event which usually takes place between April 24th to April 27th, but we could not have the event last year because of the pandemic. We sell organized donations by SMU and DAL residents and members from the community for very cheap prices, and we send the profits back to non-profits or other organizations that apply for funding. It is an enormous event which you can record on SMU CCR and deeply needs the aid of volunteers to be successful each year.”
Because of the pandemic, many significant events this term were postponed or cancelled. This could have brought a damper to the society's morale, but the Environmental Society has remained strong and created an environment that looks after its members and executives, and seeks to collaborate with and promote fellow SMU societies. Hebb mentioned that Salma Maliha Maisha, who is the Director of Societies and Engagement, has created a Facebook group where all the societies from SMU can mingle and collaborate. This group is beneficial in allowing SMUES to help other societies in need.
With the ensuing shift to virtual operations, I asked Hebb if there was one executive within SMUES member who has done exceptionally well during this shift. Hebb swiftly mentioned Emily Snair, the Secretary of SMUES, who handles the Society’s email communications and record-keeping and is now dabbling with event planning. Hebb dubbed Snair as her “Right-hand woman who brings rays of positivity wherever she goes.”
I had a quick chat with Snair and asked her to share with me her experience being the Secretary of SMUES, to which she said,
“Taking on the Secretary's role with SMUES has been a lot of fun, albeit busy at times. Our executive team aims to keep students engaged in SMU environmental events and activities, and to stay connected; however, this has proved difficult with everything now being done online. Behind the scenes, our team does a lot of planning on a weekly and even daily basis to plan, promote, and carry out events. Unfortunately, some of our event ideas don't come to fruition - because of reasons related to COVID - so we must adjust and find fresh ways for engaging with students. As Secretary, I often try to balance how much information we send out to our members, especially because everyone is receiving so much information now via email these days! As a society, we want to inform students of environmental events and exciting opportunities, but also don't want to bombard them with so much information that it becomes overwhelming. Despite the many challenges our team has faced this year, we have all remained determined to create and promote opportunities for students to connect and learn about the environment. Our exceptional team dynamic has made being an executive member so much fun”
SMUES shows no signs of stopping. One of the major upcoming events includes the annual BINGO event. This year, they have revamped the event and created a separate Facebook page called “SMUES Sustainability Bingo” for participants to upload their pictures when completing challenges. You can also take part in the event by uploading a photo to your Instagram story, tagging the SMUES Instagram page, or emailing your photos to the SMUES email address. Once you post a picture or email it to SMUES, it enters you into a draw to win a $50 Visa card! Every picture earns a person an entry into the draw for the prize.
Another noteworthy event that is upcoming is the annual Professor Meet and Greet in collaboration with the SOE. This event is usually at the SMU Gorsebrook lounge, but because of the pandemic, it is now virtual. Through this event, students can learn who their professors might be, what type of work and research they do, get ideas for an Honours Thesis, or learn about potential employment opportunities. This event will take place on March 12 from 3:00-4:30 pm AST and SMUES have graciously allocated $300 in prizes along with exclusive SOE merchandise. They will post more details about the event as the month goes by.
Finally, it’s worth taking a minute to celebrate some accomplishments of the SMUES team. Besides holding several events, SMUES also works towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The UN sets these goals to help achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For instance, SMUES recently achieved SDG 17, which focuses on building partnerships. SMUES has partnered with not just SOE and Dalhousie University but also worked with Regenesis and many environmental groups that collectively form the National Environmental Coalition Event Series (NECES). The NECES food justice has been collaborating on a “food justice, sustainability and resilience event” which will take place virtually on February 26 at 5:00-6:30 pm AST. This event aims to showcase what food justice, sustainability and resilience mean to migrant workers, Indigenous peoples, farmers and students. Through this event, SMUES also achieved SDG 10, which is to lessen inequalities, and SDG 8, which focuses on decent work and economic growth.
With the vast information I received from Autumn Hebb, Shreetee Appadu (VP of SMUES), and Emily Snair (Secretary), I learned SMUES has achieved many SDGs through their annual farmers market, including 17, 11, 12, 13 and 3, which encourages sustainable consumption and living to combat climate change, while fostering fellowship among community members. As SMUES is an environmentally focused society, it is important to know that they have also achieved SDG 13, which is Climate Action by participating in the Halifax Climate Strike in 2019 and 2020. They also continue to spread awareness by sharing pertinent information on their social media platforms.
Finally, they have also achieved SDG 10 with their collaboration with SMUSA by hosting a film screening of “The Whale and the Raven” as part of their Planet in Focus’s Cross Campus Tour. They hope to showcase another film this term. Another event in collaboration with SMUSA was the Environmental Racism Panel for Sustainability Week 2020, which highlighted the serious injustices and inequalities concerning climate change and race.
SMUES will continue to work on the aforementioned SDGs not just by organizing events but also by working with partners (organizations, universities, societies) to spread awareness. It’s important not to mistake SMUES for a society just for environmental science students, but one that welcomes and caters to students from all majors. All you need to join is the passion to learn more about the environment and sustainable living. If you are still hesitant, grab a friend for company. Hebb herself joined the society with a friend and now she’s the president of SMUES. Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tiptoe if you must, but take the step!
P.S: If you are a member or an executive of a campus society at SMU and would like to feature at the SMU Journal and have your opinions heard, you can email me at fernnash15@gmail.com and we can have a chat! I want to know more about your experience with societies here on campus, so reach out!