Back to Course Outline Search >

Course Outline

Course Name: Foundations of Sustainability (GGRN 100)

Academic Period: 2023 - 2024

Faculty:

Faculty Availability:

Associate Dean:
Christina Meredith
christina.meredith@humber.ca

Schedule Type Code:

Land Acknowledgement

Humber College is located within the traditional and treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit. Known as Adoobiigok [A-doe-bee-goke], the “Place of the Alders” in Michi Saagiig [Mi-Chee Saw-Geeg] language, the region is uniquely situated along Humber River Watershed, which historically provided an integral connection for Anishinaabe [Ah-nish-nah-bay], Haudenosaunee [Hoeden-no-shownee], and Wendat [Wine-Dot] peoples between the Ontario Lakeshore and the Lake Simcoe/Georgian Bay regions. Now home to people of numerous nations, Adoobiigok continues to provide a vital source of interconnection for all.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber (Humber) are leaders in providing a learning, working and living environment that recognizes and values equity, diversity and inclusion in all its programs and services. Humber commits to reflect the diversity of the communities the College serves. Students, faculty, support and administrative staff feel a sense of belonging and have opportunities to be their authentic selves.

Faculty or Department	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Program(s)
Course Name:	Foundations of Sustainability (GGRN 100)
Pre-Requisites	none
Co-Requisites	none
Pre-Requisites for	none
Equates	none
Restrictions	none
Credit Value	3
Total Course Hours	42

	Developed By:	Prepared By:	Approved by:
			Christina Meredith

Humber Learning Outcomes (HLOs) in this course.

The HLOs are a cross-institutional learning outcomes strategy aimed at equipping Humber graduates with the employability skills, mindsets, and values they need to succeed in the future of work. To explore all the HLOs, please consult the Humber Learning Outcomes framework.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
Sustainability
Systems Thinking
Indigenous Ways of Being Knowing and Doing (IWBKD)
Critical Thinking
Collaboration
Communication
Leadership
Professionalism
Strategic Problem-Solving

Course Description

In this highly immersive, experiential course, students examine the fundamental structures, systems, and theories of sustainability, beginning with the origin of the concept itself and its varied interpretations. Through interdisciplinary examination of modern life, including vital consideration and centering of Indigenous Ways of Knowing, students will critically reflect on the impacts of food, energy, consumption, and transportation habits on the planet and its inhabitants. Students will apply various frameworks of sustainability, include the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals, Canadian environmental law, and theories on individual, and collective action. Students will be invited to demonstrate their growing knowledge through diverse and creative assessments and/or community projects. Additionally, through guided critique of environmental problems, opportunities, and solutions, Foundations of Sustainability will prepare students for further studies and training in the Green Sector.

Course Rationale

This foundational course introduces students to key topics in sustainability. Knowledge acquired in this course is used throughout and beyond the General Arts and Sciences Sustainability Stream program option.

Course Learning Method(s)

Action Learning
Collaborative Learning
Group or Team Work
Simulations
Lecture
Cooperative Learning

Learning Outcomes

Compare and contrast different understandings of relationships stemming from Indigenous knowledges and histories.
Identify the impacts of colonialism on people, land, and social movements as a way of understanding social dynamics at play on this land.
Describe the ways in which Indigenous Peoples and their associated social movements are at the forefront of social and environmental progress.
Match strategies and solutions with the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goal and describe the intersections between social problems and ecological problems.
Compare and contrast different large-scale and small-scale responses to environmental problems, such as mitigation, migration, policy-making, adaptation, resilience, and denial.
Explain the values and beliefs underpinning economic systems and the shortcomings of infinite growth on a finite planet.
Identify the related components of different systems: food, manufacturing, energy, building, and transportation and show how they create problems or present solutions to ecological degradation and social inequality.

Assessment Weighting

Assessment	Weight
Infographic	15%
Test	20%
Research Project	50%
Reflective Journal	15%
Total	100%

Modules of Study

Module	Course Learning Outcomes	Assessments
Relationships: Indigenous Understandings of self, each other, and land	Compare and contrast different understandings of relationships stemming from Indigenous knowledges and histories. Identify the impacts of colonialism on people, land, and social movements as a way of understanding social dynamics at play on this land. Describe the ways in which Indigenous Peoples and their associated social movements are at the forefront of social and environmental progress.	Reflection assignment Summative Reflection Reading Quizzes
Histories: Colonialism and Ecological Crises	Compare and contrast different understandings of relationships stemming from Indigenous knowledges and histories. Identify the impacts of colonialism on people, land, and social movements as a way of understanding social dynamics at play on this land. Describe the ways in which Indigenous Peoples and their associated social movements are at the forefront of social and environmental progress.	Reflection assignment Reading Quizzes
Listen and Learn: Indigenous Peoples at the Forefront of Environmental Movements/Solutions	Compare and contrast different understandings of relationships stemming from Indigenous knowledges and histories. Identify the impacts of colonialism on people, land, and social movements as a way of understanding social dynamics at play on this land. Describe the ways in which Indigenous Peoples and their associated social movements are at the forefront of social and environmental progress.	Reflection assignment Reading Quizzes
Understanding Sustainability: The Climate Crisis and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals	Match strategies and solutions with the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goal and describe the intersections between social problems and ecological problems. Compare and contrast different large-scale and small-scale responses to environmental problems, such as mitigation, migration, policy-making, adaptation, resilience, and denial.	Reading Quizzes
Movements Overlap: Environmental racism and Sexism. Environmental Justice.	Compare and contrast different large-scale and small-scale responses to environmental problems, such as mitigation, migration, policy-making, adaptation, resilience, and denial.	Reading Quizzes
Responses	Compare and contrast different large-scale and small-scale responses to environmental problems, such as mitigation, migration, policy-making, adaptation, resilience, and denial.	Reading Quizzes
The Economy	Explain the values and beliefs underpinning economic systems and the shortcomings of infinite growth on a finite planet.	Reading Quizzes
Energy: Problems and Opportunities	Identify the related components of different systems: food, manufacturing, energy, building, and transportation and show how they create problems or present solutions to ecological degradation and social inequality.	Sustainability Solutions Assignments Reading Quizzes
Buildings: Problems and Opportunities	Identify the related components of different systems: food, manufacturing, energy, building, and transportation and show how they create problems or present solutions to ecological degradation and social inequality.	Sustainability Solutions Assignments Reading Quizzes
Food: Problems and Opportunities	Identify the related components of different systems: food, manufacturing, energy, building, and transportation and show how they create problems or present solutions to ecological degradation and social inequality.	Sustainability Solutions Assignments Reading Quizzes
Manufacturing, Transportation, and Waste: Problems and Opportunities.	Identify the related components of different systems: food, manufacturing, energy, building, and transportation and show how they create problems or present solutions to ecological degradation and social inequality.	Sustainability Solutions Assignments Reading Quizzes
Simulation: The Climate Action Summit	Match strategies and solutions with the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goal and describe the intersections between social problems and ecological problems. Compare and contrast different large-scale and small-scale responses to environmental problems, such as mitigation, migration, policy-making, adaptation, resilience, and denial. Identify the related components of different systems: food, manufacturing, energy, building, and transportation and show how they create problems or present solutions to ecological degradation and social inequality.
Levers of Change	Identify the related components of different systems: food, manufacturing, energy, building, and transportation and show how they create problems or present solutions to ecological degradation and social inequality.

Required Resources

Name
Kimmerer, R. W. (2013). Learning the grammar of animacy. In Braiding sweetgrass (pp. 48-59). Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA: Milkweed Editions.
Liboiron, Max. (2021). Introduction. Pollution is colonialism (pp. 1-12). Duke University Press: Durham and London.
Bennett, J., Buxton, R., Reid, A., & Smith, P. (2021). Respect for Indigenous knowledge must lead nature conservation efforts in Canada.The Conversation.
Palmater, P. (2017). Decolonization is taking back our power. In Whose land is it, anyway? (pp. 73-78). 2017 Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC.
Succession. (2020). Because IPCC.
CBC Radio. (2021). Green is not white: Racial justice and the climate fight. [Audio podcast episode]. In What on earth with Laura Lynch.
Delisle, R. (March 2021). This is where Canada dumps tons of its toxic waste, tailings Ponds—And racism. Chatelaine.
McGregor, D. (2009). Honouring our relations: An Anishnaabe perspective. Speaking for ourselves: Environmental justice in Canada (pp. 27-41).
Oreskes, N., & Conway, E. M. (2010). Introduction. Merchants of doubt: How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco smoke to global warming (pp. 1-9). New York: Bloomsbury Press.
Jean-louis, N. (2019) The Convenience of denial [Video]. YouTube.
Klein, N. (2015). Intro: One way or Another, everything changes. This changes everything: capitalism vs. the climate. (pp. 1-8). New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
Energy Exchange and Pollution Probe. (2016). Chapter 1. In, A Primer on Energy Systems in Canada (2nd ed.) (pp 17-28).
CBC Radio. (2021). Taking C02 out of home heating. [Audio podcast episode]. In What on earth with Laura Lynch.
Hamblin, J. (Aug 2017). If everyone ate beans instead of beef: With one dietary change, the U.S. could almost meet greenhouse-gas emission goals.The Atlantic.
Gimlet Radio (2021). The beef with beef. [Audio Podcast] In How to save a planet. Lynch.
Lazarovic, S (2021). How to get rid of throwaway culture.Yes Magazine.
Leonard, A. (2011). The story of stuff [Video]. Simon & Schuster.

Essential Skills

Section	Skills	Measurement	Details
Communication	Reading Writing Speaking Listening Presenting Visual Literacy	Teach and measure	Lectures, group work, and individual work. Quizzes, tests, projects, proposals, and presentations.
Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving	Analysing Synthesizing Evaluating Decision-Making Creative and Innovative Thinking	Teach and measure	Lectures, group work, and individual work. Tests, quizzes, projects, proposals, and assignments.
Interpersonal Skills	Teamwork Relationship management Conflict resolution Leadership	Teach and measure	Group work. Group projects.
Sustainability		Teach and measure	Lectures, group work, and individual work. Tests, quizzes, proposals, projects, and assignments.

Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR)

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) is the formal evaluation and credit-granting process whereby candidates may obtain credits for prior learning. Prior learning includes the knowledge competencies and skills acquired, in both formal and informal ways, outside of post-secondary education. Candidates may have their prior learning evaluated against the course learning outcomes as defined in the course outline.

To find out if this course is eligible for PLAR, and how this learning would be assessed, please contact the Program Coordinator for more details.

Academic Regulations

It is the student's responsibility to be aware of the College Academic Regulations. The Academic Regulations apply to all applicants to Humber and all current students enrolled in any program or course offered by Humber, in any location. Information about academic appeals is found in the Academic Regulations.

Anti-Discrimination Statement

At Humber College, all forms of discrimination and harassment are prohibited. Students and employees have the right to study, live and work in an environment that is free from discrimination and harassment. If you need assistance on concerns related to discrimination and harassment, please contact the Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion or the Office of Student Conduct.

Accessible Learning Services

Humber strives to create a welcoming environment for all students where equity, diversity and inclusion are paramount. Accessible Learning Services facilitates equal access for students with disabilities by coordinating academic accommodations and services. Staff in Accessible Learning Services are available by appointment to assess specific needs, provide referrals and arrange appropriate accommodations. If you require academic accommodations, contact:

Accessible Learning Services

North Campus: (416) 675-6622 X5090

Lakeshore Campus: (416) 675-6622 X3331

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is essentially honesty in all academic endeavors. Academic integrity requires that students avoid all forms of academic misconduct or dishonesty, including plagiarism, cheating on tests or exams or any misrepresentation of academic accomplishment.

Disclaimer

While every effort is made by the professor/faculty to cover all material listed in the outline, the order, content, and/or evaluation may change in the event of special circumstances (e.g. time constraints due to inclement weather, sickness, college closure, technology/equipment problems or changes, etc.). In any such case, students will be given appropriate notification in writing, with approval from the Senior Dean (or designate) of the Faculty.

Copyright

Copyright is the exclusive legal right given to a creator to reproduce, publish, sell or distribute his/her work. All members of the Humber community are required to comply with Canadian copyright law which governs the reproduction, use and distribution of copyrighted materials. This means that the copying, use and distribution of copyright- protected materials, regardless of format, is subject to certain limits and restrictions. For example, photocopying or scanning an entire textbook is not allowed, nor is distributing a scanned book.

See the Humber Libraries website for additional information regarding copyright and for details on allowable limits.

Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning • 2023/2024.