Sustainability Field School Blog

Below you'll find the location-based blogs compiled by students from the 2012-2016 Sustainability Field Schools. Use the drop-down menu below to filter the blogs by year. You can also explore the each blog post on the Cascadia Sustainability Experience Map.

City Studio - Vancouver

Submitted by camo on

"The City is the Classroom" - City Studio Vancouver

This video produced by 2013 Cascadia Field School students highlights the collaborative approach to learning being developed by City Studio- Vancouver. Duane Elverum introduces this energetic hub of learning and leadership where students design and implement sustainability solutions in support of the City of Vancouver's Greenest City plan. Check it out... 

 

Everyone has a Right 2 Dream

Submitted by camo on

As part of the Cascadia Sustainability Experience Video Series, "Everyone has a right 2 dream" features our 2012 field school's visit to the Right 2 Dream 2 camp in Portland, OR. Ahmed graciously shows us around the site and leaves us with troubling questions about social justice in America's most "sustainable" city.

2013 Field School Eugene

Submitted by camo on

Eugene was our second to last stop before our Cascadia Sustainability Field School was over. Not many of us had visited or even heard of Eugene before this field school, but we were all more than excited to escape from Seaside’s sideways rain and howling wind. Our group took a biofueled bus from Seaside to Eugene, and thankfully the weather was in the process of turning around and we were able to pull over and view the beautiful scenery and get great pictures on cliffside of the Oregon coast.

2013 Field School Oregon Coast

Submitted by camo on

On the first day we arrived on the Oregon Coast after a full on city experience in Portland. Everyone was looking forward to some down time and with any luck, some relaxing on the beach. Little did we know the beach would be much wetter and windier than we could ever expect. The first stop was Astoria for the Public Market was filled with local vendors selling their wares: birdhouses, freshly caught fish, veggies, wine, and the amazing cigar box guitars, which Alec could not resist.

2013 Field School Portland

Submitted by camo on

 

After an inspiring few days in Seattle, it was time to move on to our next, and highly anticipated stop: Portland, Oregon. The city welcomed us from the train with sheets of rain, and we got a brief glimpse of downtown on the soggy tromp up to our hostel in the northwest section of the city.

2013 Field School Seattle: The Emerald City

Submitted by camo on

Seattle, also known as the Emerald City, stop number three on the Cascadia Sustainability Field School. We arrived by bus from Vancouver; awaiting was our shuttle to bring us to the funky neighbourhood of Fremont. Fremont, just north of the downtown core, was our home from May 19th until May 22nd.

 

The Fremont Troll, funded by the Seattle Department of Neighbourhood's Matching Fund.

 

2013 Field School Vancouver: City of Contradications

Submitted by camo on

Vancouver is the second city for Cascadia Field School and our first stop on the road. We arrived Thursday May 16 and settled in to the YWCA hostel downtown. As we toured around Vancouver, the students kept in mind the purpose of our journey in the Cascadia region. For us, urban 'sustainability' involves social and economic dimensions as well as the more obvious environmental ones. We aim to see how each of the sites we visit and people we hear from are actively contributing to sustainability.

2013 Field School Victoria

Submitted by camo on

Welcome to the interactive map / blog of the 2013 Cascadia Sustainability Field School. We are a group of UVic geography students traveling down the coast from Victoria, BC to San Francisco, CA meeting with community groups, First Nations, planners, academics and others grappling with the pressing social, ecological, economic and cultural challenges in our region.

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