What’s the inside story about York University’s woodlots, ponds, gardens and buildings? To find out more, take a walk with Professor Anders Sandberg and PhD student Michael Classens from the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) as they lead one of the upcoming Jane’s Walks.
The walk will take place Saturday, May7,at 1pm, starting at the water fountain in the Harry W. Arthurs Common, opposite Vari Hall, on the Keele campus. The free event will take one-and-a-half hours, and is accessible to those with physical challenges. Click here for a map of where to meet.
Right: Ross Building
The walk will give an insider’s tour of York, opening up dialogue and engaged discussion amongst interested participants, says Sandberg. The guides will introduce Jane walkers to a vigorous debate about the official and unofficial stories of natural and built forms on York’s Keele campus. They will also be invited to take part in debates over policy options and development visions of the campus landscape.
Jane’s Walk celebrates the ideas and legacy of urbanist Jane Jacobs by getting people out exploring their neighbourhoods and meeting their neighbours. It is also a way to create a space for residents to talk about what matters to them in the places they live and work. Last year, 424 walks were held in 68 cities in nine countries. This is the fifth anniversary of Jane’s Walk, which is billed as a hybrid walking tour and urban exploration neighbourhood festival.
The five stops on the tour at York will consist of two buildings (Vari Hall and Ross Building), Stong Pond, the Health Nursing & Environmental Studies Native Garden and the Michael Boyer Woodlot. Walkers will have the chance to discuss a range of topics, including public access, free speech and security, storm water treatment, native and invasive species, pesticides and health concerns, environmental impacts and popular versus expert knowledge in the context of the various stops.
Left: Anders Sandberg
The histories of the sites provide a basis from which to enter broader debates in reference to environmental sustainability, social justice and civic engagement, says Sandberg.
Sandberg says the walk will raise questions about the University, not only as a place where people study, but also a place that can be studied. The tour will invoke different images of the campus and provide walkers with deeper insights about culture and nature that they can take into their everyday lives.
For more information, visit the Jane’s Walk website or click here for more information about the Jane’s Walk led by Sandberg and Classens. Jane’s Walks will be happening across the province May 7 and 8.