How do we work together to turn a passion for sustainability into personal learning and action on campus? By building your skills, competencies, and experiences.

Overview

The Sustainability Ambassadors is an immersive leadership experience for UBC students interested in personal, collaborative, and community engaged learning. The program is designed to offer opportunities for critical and creative engagement, and experiences for students to practice their leadership skills and sustainability competencies; through learning, planning and implementing projects, events, and workshops to advance UBC sustainability priority areas and goals.

The Sustainability Ambassadors is part of the new Catalyst Certification program.

 

Program Goals

Participant-Focused Goals

  • Develop sustainability competencies and skills to foster learning, equity, and mutual respect 
  • Develop project management and facilitation skills

Community-Focused Goals

  • Increase awareness of, and engagement in, sustainability and climate issues on- and off-campus 
  • Increase involvement in sustainability and climate action

 

Commitments

The Sustainability Ambassadors will engage the community in sustainability and climate related opportunities and work collaboratively with key groups/units, both on- and off-campus, to advance sustainability and climate goals.

Through this experience students will develop the core sustainability leadership competencies (self-awareness, systems thinking, strategic application, interpersonal and collaboration, interdisciplinary integration) in the context of the focused topic. Students will join one of the themed cohort teams to work closely with their Sustainability Lead and the partner mentor under the overall guidance of the Manager, Transformative Learning & Student Engagement and support from the Sustainability Hub staff. Each team has 10-12 sustainability ambassadors. Each themed cohort will receive specialized programming and learning sessions, which will include workshops and discussions to support learning on the themed topic.

Each Sustainability Ambassador will work closely with their Sustainability Leader and as part of a team that will outreach and engage the community through:

  1. Outreach events: Each core area team will design and facilitate events on topics related to their impact area. The Ambassadors will also assist in facilitating community workshops.
  2. Planning and implementing projects: Each team will work closely with a UBC team to support the core impact area goals. These are pre-conceived projects that are planned in collaboration with our community partners.

 

Time Requirements

This is a volunteer position. Although, ambassadors have a choice to enroll in, and gain Directed Studies credits for their involvement and commitment to the program. The Sustainability Ambassadors are responsible for an average contribution of 4-5 hours per week as follows:

  • 2 hours per week: Ambassadors team meetings and on-going training
  • 2-3 hours per week: Development, facilitation and delivery of workshops and events and support project logistics/planning

 

Position Term

Successful candidates will commit to 8-month period (September 2024-April 2025).

 

Training and Commitment 

Students will develop key sustainability competencies and will be trained in leadership and professional development skills by their Leaders and supported by the UBC Sustainability Hub’s Teaching, Learning & Student Engagement (TLSE) Office. Training sessions will be held during meeting times and on key training days. There will also be on-going discussions on sustainability issues and topics during the weekly meetings. This is to ensure baseline knowledge about different UBC Sustainability resources.

Please note that these training sessions and meetings are mandatory – if you are a successful applicant, you will be asked to clear your schedule of classes or other commitments during these times; so please built your schedule of courses and other activities around these times.

  • Attend Sustainability Ambassadors Orientation—September 14th, 2024 (8:45 am - 4:30 pm)
  • Weekly team meetings - The weekly team meetings will occur every week throughout the academic year. In August, Ambassadors are invited to join the cohort whose meeting times aligns best with their time and schedule.

 

DESIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCES

  • UBC undergraduate and graduate students in any faculty

  • Positive attitude

  • Enthusiasm for sustainability and leadership responsibilities at UBC

  • Willingness to learn and share information with peers

  • Interest in speaking with others and leading workshops

  • Ability to take initiative

  • Ability to take the lead as well as work cooperatively in small and large teams

  • Committed to learning about sustainability

  • Committed to ongoing learning and education

  • Professional and reliable as a Sustainability Ambassador and Peer educator

 

benefits of participating 

  • Connection to UBC Sustainability – learn more about UBC initiatives

  • Be a UBC sustainability leader

  • Develop a set of professional and sustainability competencies

  • Assist and learn from UBC Communications with marketing and promotions

  • Increase your knowledge about specific sustainability issues

  • Meet other leaders who are also interested in promoting sustainability education

  • Gain job-related skills and experience

  • Make new friends and be better connected to the UBC community

 

Apply by February 18, 2024: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3seu7OmHEL4gDdQ