This year, five Environmental students are assigned spots to the field for five days experience in Algonquin edited by OK (Field Research in Diversified Ecology and Evolution); a grassroots organization that increases access to field, outdoor and naturalist research experiences and career development for Indigenous, Black, and/or Racialized people students.
Field experience is the cornerstone of success for undergraduate Environmental Students, but the cost of these Opportunities are often limited and the lack of diversity in the field makes it difficult for students to consider pursuing this type of career. By the support of In the Faculty of Environment, students have been able to participate in unique student-centered experiences.
This was the first time for the University of Waterloo students get involved program along with other students from across Ontario. When they were given a small field notebook, the students wrote down what they saw and their experiences while working with bees, practicing. of the water ofmpling methods and learning from an expert teachers.
“I didn’t expect to write like us,” Oluwdamilare (Most) Come onsenior student in the School of Architecturehe explained with a laugh. “I always look back too because it was so much fun.”
As an aspiring preacher, Come on Join the program to prepare for future collaborations. “Because I am very impressed with the environmental services, I know these are the kind of people I will have many conversations with.h. So, I wanted to learn what they do.”
Come on he was impressed by the great and little things him learn; from discovering that male bees don’t do it stab for a reason i it is important to balance multiple ways of knowing. “Wchicken us do this work, Western knowledge focuses too much scientific method, which is 100 percentage benefit. But we must not just look at the natural environment as a source but as a relation and understand how to use and work with landthat it brings an extra dimension that makes your work better. This is because you make wise decisions when you don’t just look at it as a resource or a lesson learned.”
For Banujah Theivendrajah, a student studying in the Environment and Business program, the experience was empowering. “FREE has taught me the importance of speaking up for myself in my work. In the past, I struggled to do things that I couldn’t do, especially in situations where I felt pressured to show myself as a weak person. The program encouraged a positive approach, emphasizing the importance of taking breaks, asking for supplies and talking about my needs. This change in self-reliance will help me stay healthy during my career.”
He also noted that cultivating a community of peers and mentors has changed the game. “GETTING FREE made a person feel important. We had discussions related to being BIPOC in the field. I was able to build friendships in my field with people who share my experiences, something I had found lacking in my academic studies,” he says.
Now that the program has ended, students and faculty are committed to ensuring that future students can have the same opportunities next year. Come on and Theivendrajahtogether with Dr. Chantel Markle, they persistence internal funding opportunities to enable FREED to be provided to students in 2025 and beyond. Hope is to go ahead creating space for equality–qualified teams in this field and finally changeyes the status of the department’s research.
“The released LEADERSHIP really said with as much power as they could to help other people. I want to do the same because i only good for all of them we do not have many people from different cultures, whether it is race, religion or sex. It allows us to keep each other safe and know that I’m the one who did it and other people can do it too,” Come on that said.
Thank you very much Department of Environment Initiatives for Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice, School Environment, Resources and Enduringand the Department of Geography and Environmental Management offered theirs support for the five leading candidates.
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