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Connecting research to action: Sustainability scholar Maggy Spence

People and Places | Strategy 3: Thriving Communities
Theme: Collaboration
Maggy Spence at a recent False Creek Friends Society outreach event | Photo credit: Maggy Spence

Maggy Spence, a graduate student in UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning, and one of 82 Sustainability Scholars this summer, is working to research, engage, and pilot community-based action towards a more sustainable future. 

Over the course of the summer, Spence is working on a unique project with local non-profit  False Creek Friends Society. The long-term goal of the Society is to establish a marine protected area within False Creek and English Bay co-managed by the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations–the traditional caretakers of this area since time immemorial. The involvement of these Nations is vital to this project, as they were the first people on this land to establish successful relationships with this marine area.

As a Sustainability Scholar, Spence’s research for the Society entails reviewing other cities’ and non-profit’s plans, policies, and actions on public engagement strategies for marine protection and conservation work.

Read the full story on the UBC Sustainability Hub.

UBC is committed to supporting the  ongoing development of sustainable, healthy and connected campuses and communities, through Strategy 3: Thriving Communities.