On Nov. 6, St. Thomas University’s Sustainability Club organized a rally for climate change awareness. The club emphasized the link between the Earth’s health and humanity’s well-being.
Participants gathered on campus at 11 a.m. before marching down to the New Brunswick Legislative Building with the theme “Health to the Earth, health for all.”
Ivory Gadsden is a third-year student double-majoring in environmental studies and human rights and is the vice chair of STU Sustainability. She said that the group is trying to show that if the Earth is unhealthy, then that automatically affects the health of humans, wildlife and biodiversity.
“We have to make sure that we’re protecting our Earth in order for us and everyone else to be healthy and live a sustainable life,” said Gadsden.
Fourth-year criminology student and STU Sustainability member, Gina Mitchell, says that the focus of rally’s such as these are also about making the world a better place for future generations.
“I feel like the message [of the rally] is super important because if I have kids, I want them to be able to live on a well taken care of planet,” said Mitchell. “I don’t want to bring them into this polluted society.”
Kayla Lemay, a fourth-year student majoring in environment and society and fine arts, is the chair and treasurer of STU Sustainability. She shared that there is an overall concern surrounding glyphosate, a herbicide coming into New Brunswick’s water systems.
The concern of glyphosate in the province began to rise in early 2023. According to a report from the National Post, a letter was sent from a doctor to New Brunswick’s chief medical officer that outlined signs of glyphosate exposure within patients.
LeMay also mentioned natural ecosystems are compromised because of industrial activity and forests are quickly becoming monocultures, threatening biodiversity.
“If we can make the right choices and start building a better policy system, the better it’s going to be for all of our generations forward,” said LeMay.
David Coon, the leader of the New Brunswick Green Party and Marg Milburn, an environmental advocate joined STU Sustainability members on Nov. 6.
Since the recently elected New Brunswick Premier, Susan Holt, is mainly concerned about the province’s healthcare system, LeMay said this rally should act as a reminder that “we also have to focus on the reasons people are getting sick.”
“We need to have Susan Holt focus on how we manage our industries and bring industries to be responsible and have better protection policies in place for our ecosystems in a way that we can also focus on people’s health, biodiversity health and ecosystem health,” said LeMay.
On the day of the rally, the temperature got as high as 21 C in Fredericton which is 13 degrees more than the average for the day. Fourth-year criminology student and STU Sustainability member, Gina Mitchell, said it’s alarming for the planet’s future.
“It’s November and it’s 21 degrees outside, it’s very apparent that global warming is real and how important it is, you just feel it every day,” said Mitchell.
