91快色

Veronica Brise帽o Castrej贸n, PhD student in environmental design, School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, has always been up for challenge and adventure. Four years ago, she came to Canada with her family after winning a scholarship from the National Council of Science and Technology in Mexico to pursue her PhD in environmental design.

Her challenge? She did not speak English. 

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 speak English when I came here four years ago,鈥� says Brise帽o Castrej贸n. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 hold a conversation, so it was a big adventure.鈥�

Fast forward to 2020 and Brise帽o Castrej贸n is fluent in English, has written her PhD candidacy exams and won a 2020 Graduate Student Sustainability Award. To top it off she is also running Aula Verde, a non-profit organization in Mexico that generates environmental changes through community engagement and volunteering. The organization collaborates with undergraduate Mexican students, universities, children and teachers at elementary schools, communities, companies and professionals, as well as Indigenous Peoples.  

Non-profit 'Green Classroom' invites collaboration

鈥淎ula Verde translates to 鈥楪reen Classroom',鈥� says Brise帽o Castrej贸n. 鈥淚 founded the non-profit in 2013 to identify different sustainability problems in local communities and to design activities that allow the collaborative co-creation of solutions that positively impact our environment.

"In Mexico, we don鈥檛 have a master's or PhD program in environmental design like U91快色 offers, so I鈥檓 excited to bring what I have learned and apply it to Aula Verde and in my professional life as an architect.鈥�

While Aula Verde has implemented a wide-range of initiatives in Mexico, three stand out. During one initiative, Brise帽o Castrej贸n trained construction personnel working at a hospital how to select and use construction waste materials for new projects. They designed and built greenhouses, hydroponics models and roof protections for elementary schools, transforming underutilized areas into useful sustainable spaces.

Vivid, experiential, enjoyable

鈥淥ur programs provide vivid, experiential and enjoyable lessons that improve children鈥檚 understanding of many curricular topics,鈥� says Brise帽o Castrej贸n. 鈥淎nother initiative we undertook was working with 900 youth and 100 professors to help them produce lettuce and vegetables each week in school. This led to the creation of an 鈥楨ating Healthy鈥� program to challenge the growing concern of childhood diabetes and obesity rates in Mexico. During lunch time, school staff offered free salads from their collaborative production and own harvests.鈥�

Finally, Brise帽o Castrej贸n worked with undergraduate students to implement Cactaceae gardens. They developed a manual to teach elementary schools students how to plant and preserve cacti species. The goal was to create awareness about the loss of these species in certain areas of Mexico, while also including traditional ceramic pots from Oaxaca Indigenous artisans in the project.

One of the amazing things about Aula Verde is that it has not received any governmental funding or financial support from other organizations; Brise帽o Castrej贸n and her dedicated team built the non-profit together.

Sustainability means many things for many people, but for me, based on the experience I had in Mexico with Indigenous Peoples, the meaning of sustainability is the care of life with respect to all beings.

鈥淭he real meaning is about love, humility, austerity, sharing, respect and reciprocity, and unfortunately, we have started to lose these in many ways in our societies. We need to re-learn to take from the Earth only what we really need and return it in a better way.鈥�

The 91快色鈥檚 Institutional Sustainability Strategy provides a road map for continuous improvement in our pursuit of excellence and leadership in sustainability. We aim to become a Canadian post-secondary education leader in sustainability in our academic and engagement programs, administrative and operational practices and through supporting community and industry in their aims for leadership in sustainability. Learn more about U91快色鈥檚 leadership in sustainability.