My name is Emily Hardie, and I am a third-year Geography and Philosophy Joint Honours student at McGill University. I have a background in mobilizing for climate justice, fossil-free futures, food security, community care, and facilitating popular education programs.
CRPC is an environmental organization that focuses on reducing GHG emissions and advancing solutions to tackle the climate crisis. To achieve this goal, they focus on education as a first step in mobilizing individuals to take action. My supervisor, Jaden Phillips, is the Youth Engagement Coordinator for the Canadian branch. Not only were they highly experienced in this field, but they also exhibited great kindness and warmth to everyone on our team. From our weekly check-ins to summit sessions, I will always remember the welcoming atmosphere at CRPC.
As an intern, my tasks primarily involved preparing for the Campus Climate Action Summit 2023, the focal youth event of the summer targeted toward post-secondary students. I conducted research and strategized potential session agendas detailing various workshop themes. Some topics I looked into were the intersections between the climate crisis and racial & migrant injustice, Indigenous sovereignty, food security, and economic inequality. For the summit, I also created the participant’s guide, a 50-page informational document including the summit session outlines, schedule, panellists' biographies, and more. Similarly, I researched content for the divestment panel on topics such as reinvestment in more ethical investments and the wave of post-secondary institutions divesting from the fossil fuel industry. The divestment session was one of my favourites as the organizers from Canada and the U.S. spoke on the necessity of educational institutions to take a stand against some of the top contributors to the climate crisis and shared tangible ways for students to contribute to the movement.
One highlight from the internship was facilitating a workshop called “Intersectionality in Campaigning” during the summit. The interactive workshop first unpacked how climate justice is a form of social justice. People of colour, for instance, are on the front lines of the climate crisis and disproportionality affected by natural disasters, hotter temperatures, poorer air quality, and more. According to the IPCC, India, sub-Saharan Africa, and many areas in the global south are already and will continue to face some of the strongest effects of the climate crisis. Yet frontline communities often don’t get a seat at the table when it comes to deciding on solutions. The main takeaway from the session was how the intersectionality of climate and social issues (in campaigning) is not a token activity but rather about revealing how issues are interconnected and how they must be addressed together. Often equity is seen as a lens or an approach as if it is “optional”, but if we are not communicating how these issues are overlapping and drawing attention to the communities that are most impacted by the climate crisis, then a significant part of the story is missing. In addition, the workshop included how organizations and student groups can also take equitable considerations on the day-to-day level. For instance, incorporating accessibility in events, as well as meaningful land acknowledgements, were discussed. Giving a spotlight to these essential topics was a high point during the summit.
However, a challenge we faced was time constraints. While previous years had 3-4 months to plan the summit, our team only had two months to prepare. Despite a tight timeline for brainstorming session topics, contacting speakers and other logistics, we received the highest number of participants (70+) sign-up for the summit than in previous years. The number of students attending the summit attests to the intriguing and relevant topics chosen for the seven sessions. The team also dedicated lots of energy and time to planning the summit, all while fostering a positive working environment filled with encouragement, resulting in the creation of rich content.
I have received the Faculty of Arts Internship Award. I am not receiving academic credit for the internship. I want to thank Jaden and my other co-workers at CRPC for the remarkable opportunity this summer. I will greatly miss working with you all!
