York wins $750,000 federal grant for community sustainability

By Nishat Karim

David Bell shares his knowledge of Lake Ontario and its water quality

The quality of our water, the effects of genetically modified foods, and toxic pollutants are all environmental issues on the minds of all citizens. Each poses questions. Questions that presently, no one has answers for. That's why York University and the University of Toronto have taken the task upon themselves to discover the hidden truth of these and other environmental issues.

Jointly, the universities were recently awarded a $750,000 federal grant for their program "Promoting Community Sustainability: Linking Research and Action", that applies academic research on the environment and sustainability to the community, and encourages public action.

Consisting of nine projects over three years, the program aims to encourage better decision making at the community level by improving understanding of environmental and social issues and involving both community groups and researchers in the decision-making process.

"This program will be a model for forging alliances between university researchers, governments and community leaders to encourage sustainability and protect and preserve the environment," said Professor David Bell, co-director of the joint program and director of the York Centre for Applied Sustainability (YCAS).

Bell will be working to provide research support for the projects with Professor Beth Savan, director of the Environmental Studies Program at Innis College, U of T. Both Bell and Savan are members of the City of Toronto Environmental Task Force, which has been working for the past 22 months encouraging the City to adopt sustainability as a core value in its policies and planning.

Although based in Toronto, the projects can be replicated in other major urban areas across the country. Among the nine projects, research will be conducted on environmental issues including the threatening crisis in food production, the viability of urban agriculture and the significance of genetically modified foods. High school students and other members of the community will partake in one project by completing the water-quality sample kits supplied by the researchers, and document the results on the Internet.

A comprehensive Internet-based report will be produced on the release of toxic pollutants, along with the laws and budgetary policies that affect the environment and health of Ontarians.

A model charter and bylaws on sustainability will also be presented that should form part of the Canadian contribution to the final draft of the People's Earth Charter, which will be introduced to the United Nations Earth Council in 2002.

The program which is funded under the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council's (SSHRC) new Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) program, will receive additional support from Environment Canada for the creation of its model charter and bylaws on sustainability.

Two leading civil sector organizations also taking part include the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP) and the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA). The City of Toronto, also a key participant, will be represented by city councillor Dr. Jack Layton who is vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities. Assisting Layton will be his executive assistant, Franz Hartman, both of whom hold a PhD from York in Political Science.

Other York scholars participating in the program include Deborah Barndt, a professor in the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES); Professor Grant Sheng of the York Centre for Applied Sustainability and FES; Professor Lewis Molot, associate dean of FES; David Anderson, a professor in FES at York; Professor Doug Macdonald, U of T professor in environmental studies, also a PhD graduate from York.