Towards a “One Planet region” – A community conversation series

We are changing the Earth’s ecosystems in profound ways that will end up harming us. So we face the challenge of transforming our society to live within the constraints of the one small planet that is our home. We will need to reduce our ecological footprint by 75–80 percent to the equivalent of one planet’s worth of consumption and waste production, while maintaining a long life in good health for all our citizens. This will mean changing everything we do!

In the face of this important challenge, a group of UVic faculty and community organisations are organising this series of Community Conversations to explore some key issues and the challenge of how to get to a One Planet way of life. We believe this will be of interest to community associations, environmental and social justice groups, local governments, faith organizations, green businesses, urban planners and architects, the arts and culture community, health professionals and many others.

We hope you will join community and academic presenters in this series of free events exploring the challenge, culminating in a UVic IdeaFest event on March 11th.

Community Conversations’ at the Bateman Centre, 5 – 7 PM

Monday Jan 23rd
Introduction, overview of the initiative:
• The Anthropocene, the One Planet Region and the Happy Planet Index

• Trevor Hancock, School of Public Health and Social Policy, UVic

• Measuring Victoria’s Ecological Footprint

• Jennie Moore, BCIT. Jennie’s PhD was on the ecological footprint of Vancouver, and she is working on the ecological footprint for Victoria.

Monday Jan 30th
• A Conversation on Indigenous views of the One Planet region

• Nick Claxton and colleagues. Nick is an Instructor with the Faculty of Education and is Tsawout Band & WSÁNEĆ Nation Indigenous Academic Advisor/ Coordinator

Monday Feb 6th

• A Conversation on renewable energy systems for a One Planet region

  • Presentation by Tom Hackney, Policy Director, Victoria chapter of BCSEA (BC Sustainable Energy Association) with interactive discussion facilitated by climate social scientist Jan Inglis

Monday Feb 13th

• A Conversation on transportation systems and urban development patterns for a One Planet region

• Led by Todd Litman, Victoria Transport Policy Institute

Wednesday Feb 22nd

• A Conversation on a food system for a One Planet region

• Led by Jeremy Caradonna, Adjunct Professor, Environmental Studies, UVic with support from CRFAIR (Capital Region Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable)

Saturday March 11th, 2 – 4 PM, New Horizons, James Bay – IdeaFest event

• The Anthropocene is here! Living well in a ‘One Planet’ region

• A panel presentation and discussion