Community Clean-Ups & Claiming Certificates with Claire

It’s hard to decide where to begin, but I think the best way to start is by saying that this whole project began on Instagram (I bet you don’t hear that very often!)…
About a year ago I was scrolling through my page, liking posts left and right as we all do, when I came across an advertisement about a new program that the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) had put out for university/post-secondary students. It caught my eye and I decided “Why not check it out?”, I had some spare time on my hands and what harm could it do? The ad looked a little something like this (see below) and I thought it might be a great addition to my growing resume; allowing me to get further involved in my university community.

I looked through the contents, decided “Hey, I can do this!” and signed up right away. When my friends heard about this new initiative, they asked questions like “Why would you do this, it has nothing to do with your program or future career?”, and to that I say: why the heck not?

The Living Planet Leader Certificate has 4 components, they are:

1. Leadership and Teamwork
2. Personal Application of Sustainability
3. Application of Sustainability in Academics 
4. Campus, Community or Global Volunteerism

And they look a little bit like this...

Accomplishing these tasks has been years in the making (2 to be exact) but they have taken me to all sorts of places. From registering to my first ENV course at university, to volunteering with profs at the Faculty of Biology, implementing more sustainable practices in my everyday life, and organizing a community clean-up I am finally on the other side (pending approval).

Most of the components of these 4 goals have been fairly easy to instill in my daily life, but I would like to take a moment to clarify some of the finer details of the volunteerism and leadership & teamwork sections. 

Volunteerism

I was fortunate enough to work with a program on campus called Let’s Talk Science where I work with youth across Canada (as well as right here in Ottawa) and bring accessibility in science to underserviced populations. We work to teach students about STEM and research, such as environmentalism and ecosystem balance, but I also took an opportunity that came my way to work with our lovely uOttawa Faculty of Biology. Here, I worked with the Government of Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) data and coded it into a management system for endangered, extinct, and at-risk populations of certain species across Canada. This was done in partnership with a professor and master’s student who was researching the impact humans have on our native species.

Teamwork & Leadership

I originally planned a student clean-up along the Rideau canal in 2020 to fulfill this requirement, however, as you can imagine that did not go as expected. As the province of Ontario was reopening this spring, I knew I had to jump at the opportunity to get this project done! I partnered with the University of Ottawa’s Office of Campus Sustainability to plan, promote, and lead my community clean-up at Annie Pootoogook Park (behind the Sandy Hill Community Centre). This brought passionate individuals to the forefront of this project, and we worked one bright summer morning to brighten this greenspace and make it a cleaner and safer area for students, families, and critters that call this neighborhood home. In respect to this section of the certificate, you may lead an activity in your community like this one, or become a part of a club/organization on campus that focuses on environmentalism and sustainability.

In case you can’t tell, I had a blast completing this certificate, and I also got to meet some really nice individuals from across the University of Ottawa. I learned about unique student services and met life-long friends. I had a great time and I think you will too! For now, happy studying GeeGees, and keep doing what you do to make this world a better place! 😊

To find out more about the program or to register, you can access the WWF's Campus Living Planet Leaders webpage.

- claire poulin - fourth year undergraduate student HBSc in biomedical sciences