Photo by Emma-Jane Burian looking out into the ocean in Sidney.
Territorial Acknowledgment
We acknowledge with respect the Lekwungen speaking peoples on whose homelands the University of Victoria Sustainability Project (UVSP) works on, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose relationships with the land and waters continue to this day. We also recognize that the majority of the UVSP membership are settlers to these homelands and we strive in all our work to commit to the active decolonization of our spaces and engaging in de-colonial actions. We recognize the important work of decolonization takes us all and is an ongoing process. Uvic is a colonial institution that was founded on systemic racism and the systematic oppression of marginalized peoples. These problematic systems and practices are still present within Uvic today. The UVSP is committed to contributing to a present and future that actively works to undo the systematic and systemic issues present within our institutions and this country as a whole, knowing that action must go way beyond this paragraph.
Our Definition of Sustainability
We see sustainability as: a method or coexisting in harmony with each other and the natural world. Currently the globe is running on unsustainable systems and structures, founded on oppression and designed to put profit above the needs of all living beings. We are currently facing many sustainability crises not just environmentally but socially as well. Allowing systemic racism to continue is not sustainable. The hate and oppression queer, BIPOC, disabled, working-class, and people apart of all marginalized groups face is not sustainable. We must work on dismantling this toxicity that is harming people and the planet. To put it simply we believe working for sustainability means working for intersectional justice.
Mission
The University of Victoria Sustainability Project (UVSP) strives to re-conceptualize sustainability by united environmental initiatives, promoting environmental choices and formulating and implementing sustainable systems on campus. We believe in pursuing the health of the earth for the benefit of all organisms and future generations
Vision
Our vision is a socially, ecologically, and economically viable campus community at the University of Victoria.
