Study Sustainability Transitions at STU

STU has enhanced its course offerings in the Environment and Society program to add greater focus on sustainability. 

  

"The world is changing—and the direction of that change is toward sustainability,” said Dr. Janice Harvey, Environment and Society program coordinator.

 

A sustainable society is one in which all people can flourish while respecting the ecological limits of our common home, Planet Earth. Problems such as climate change, species extinctions, extreme wealth gaps, and social inequality are symptoms of an unsustainable society that we ignore at our peril.

 

“Over the coming years, energy, food, and transportation systems, business and manufacturing models, consumption patterns, and health and education priorities will have to change to align with ecological and social justice imperatives, said Harvey.

 

“Today’s university students will be on the frontlines of these changes.”

 

Social Systems and Sustainability 

  

“While science can identify and describe environmental problems like climate change, plastics pollution, and species extinctions, these are not scientific problems. They are first and foremost social problems, emerging from the same social systems that generate poverty, injustice, and marginalization,” Harvey said. 

 

“There are many possible pathways for solving these problems, none of which are easy, all of which involve trade-offs. Understanding these social systems is the starting point, then decisions must be made.”

 

“What is the right thing to do and the right way to do it? This enters the sphere of ethics, grounded in critical thinking and moral reasoning. These are the tools that studying sustainability through a social sciences and humanities lens provide.” 

 

By studying sustainability transitions, students move beyond problem analysis toward reimagining social systems that support sustainability. Students will discover where and how they want to engage—and acquire the knowledge and skills they need to make a tangible difference in their world.

 

Courses in Sustainability 

  

STU’s sustainability-focused courses provide a wide scope of knowledge and skills, many of which have experiential learning components. These are offered through the Environment and Society program, along with electives from other departments, and count towards an Environment and Society major or minor. Here is a selection:

  

ENVS 1013 Understanding Environmental Problems

ENVS 2263 Understanding Sustainability 

ENVS 2043 Sustainability Communications 

ENVS 2123 Critical Food Studies 

ENVS 2143 Social Dimensions of Climate Change

ENVS/PHIL 2253 Ethics of Sustainability

ENVS 2313 Energy and Society 

ENVS 2243 Health and Sustainability

ENVS 3053 Sustainability Auditing and Reporting

ENVS 3013 Global Environmental Politics

ENVS 3043 Canadian Environmental Law and Policy

ENVS 3023 Environmental Praxis

ENVS 3613 Sustainable Community Transitions 

 

Experience Sustainability at STU 

 

STU offers many opportunities to engage in sustainability projects: 

 

• Several ENVS courses have experiential learning elements.
• STU’s Experiential Learning Office provides opportunities for students to match sustainability studies with meaningful real-world experiences including connections with community organizations, internships, and career development events. Students have interned with the Nature Trust of New Brunswick, Greener Village, Hayes Urban Teaching Farm, and more. 
• The STU Campus Sustainability Office does campus sustainability audits with help from students in ENVS 3053 Sustainability Auditing and Reporting, as well as many student volunteers and interns. Students can also participate in developing and implementing a campus Climate Action Plan.
• The student group Enactus STU is part of an international Enactus campus network with a mission to “provide an experiential learning platform for students in an entrepreneurial capacity to develop projects to help advance Canada’s economic, social, and environmental health.” Enactus STU has won regional awards for their sustainability-focused projects. 

 

Sustainability After Graduation 

  

Whatever pathways graduates choose, they will encounter the global momentum toward sustainability transitions. Whether in their workplace, community, household or personal life, changes will be needed, audits will be done, and plans will be developed and implemented. This will require the passion, knowledge and skills that sustainability studies will provide.

  

“Studying Sustainability at STU will prepare graduates to be not just participants but leaders in the quest for sustainability—a socially just world in balance with nature,” Harvey said.