Written by Joelle Amir (Medicine, Class of 2024)
Despite pandemic-related restrictions, many of us have learned to appreciate and find comfort in the great outdoors. That’s why, to honour the past Earth Day, we have chosen to highlight some of the amazing community initiatives that happened in April. The organizers of these projects have done a great job in helping us educate ourselves and give back to our Earth that has done so much for us.
The IFMSA-Quebec Green Challenge is an intercampus competition between all medical school campuses in Quebec and New Brunswick. This is the third edition of the competition, that encourages students to adopt a more eco-friendly lifestyle, in order to help protect our beloved planet! Between the 12th and 18th of April, students were encouraged to complete a list of 21 challenges; examples included cooking a completely vegan meal, shopping in a local market for local food, planting a tree, picking up litter, and more. Participants were required to post a photo of themselves to prove that the challenge was completed, and then nominate and entice others to do the same. There was even a bonus challenge included for extra points, which required participation in an interactive workshop on the subject of eco-anxiety; a commonly overlooked yet important emotion that some of us may feel due to the persistent threat of climate change. As aptly highlighted by this initiative, it is imperative that we, as future healthcare professionals, learn how to better care for our Earth, in order to better care for our patients. What better way to start than through some fun challenges?
Recently, a group of motivated medical students joined forces to form the McGill chapter of Project Green Healthcare; a student-led initiative first established by the CFMS Health and Environment Adaptative Response Taskforce. The specific project, known as Inspire Sustainability, aims to provide our community of students with a website containing useful resources, educational modules, ideas for sustainable alternatives, and an accessible database of leaders in climate action and advocacy. When talking with one of the co-founders, Tania Morin (class of 2024), she shared: “Our team acknowledged that there was a lack in our education as it pertained to the most prominent health threat of the century – the climate crisis. We are very motivated to create our centralized platform where we can encourage students to gain knowledge on greener choices and help them feel more equipped to integrate these sustainable actions into their future clinical practice.” The website will be launching in June 2021, but in the meantime, Tania says:
"We must use our power to advocate for climate action at higher levels to make changes. We must further the research in the field and promote the benefits of green healthcare."
Finally, if you are a student who does not know how to start contributing, the Green Labs Initiative group at McGill organized the EARTH sustainability series, taking place virtually over the course of three days. This series included several talks and panel discussions in the following domains, based on the acronym EARTH: education, awareness, research, technology, and health. There was also a trivia night included in order for participants to test their knowledge, and recap what they had learned over the course of the event. The event was recorded, so even if you were not able to attend, we encourage our readers to tune in and get informed!
Small steps can lead to big changes, and we are proud of our community members for making strides towards a greener future. Although Earth Day is now some days past, it is never too late to start caring for our planet. Every day is Earth Day!