Territorial Acknowledgment
We acknowledge with respect and gratitude the Lekwungen speaking peoples on whose unceded lands and territories the University of Victoria Sustainability Project (UVSP) meets and works, and the Songhees, Esquimalt, and WSÁNEC peoples whose relationships with these lands and waters have existed since time immemorial and continue to this day. We also acknowledge that our membership currently consists of a majority of Settler individuals who are occupying these unceded territories. With this recognition, the UVSP centres our work in a conscious and ongoing commitment to actively decolonizing the spaces and places in which we work and the fields we engage with. We also recognize that decolonization requires individual, collective, and systemic actions, involving us all. We acknowledge that the University of Victoria is a colonial institution founded upon the establishment and perpetuation of structures of systemic racism, and the systematic oppression of marginalized peoples existent within the walls of the institution, within Canadian borders, and beyond. In direct recognition of these statements, we are committed to actively contributing to decolonial action at all scales, dismantling systemic discrimination, violence, and harm that continue to oppress marginalized peoples within our institutions and this country as a whole. We acknowledge that tangible action is needed and we commit to ensuring that these words are not empty.
Our Definition of Sustainability
Our definition of sustainability is: A way of ongoing and reciprocal coexistence with each other and the natural world. Our social systems perpetuate unsustainable structures and practices, founded on oppression and designed to put profit above the needs and wellbeing of living beings. We currently face a multitude of sustainability crises, not just environmental, but social and cultural. The continuance of systemic racism is not sustainable. The hate and oppression faced by queer, BIPOC, disabled, working-class, and other individuals belonging to marginalized groups is not sustainable. We must dismantle the profit-oriented systems that are harming the people, and the other biotic communities and abiotic components of our planetary systems. Simply put, we believe working towards sustainability means working towards intersectional justice.
Mission
The University of Victoria Sustainability Project (UVSP) strives to re-conceptualize sustainability, observing how it has been relegated to buzzword or check-box in recent years. We seek to expand conceptions of what 'sustainability' truly encompasses and how this can be activated. Our work on-camps centres itself in interorganizational collaborations and unifying environmental initiatives, a strong commitment to accessibility, inclusivity, and breaking down barriers, and collectively pursuing ecological and social health —from local to global scales— for the benefit of all beings and future generations.
Vision
Our vision as an organization is a socially, ecologically, and economically flourishing campus community at the University of Victoria. We envision a space for all people who are a part of the sustainability movement to foster conversations and collaborative action for a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable campus and thriving community.
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