Justine Nelson is the chapter coordinator for the PIPE UP Network and an event leader at Evergreen BC. In this blog post, youth blogger Scott discusses activism and organizing with Justine.
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What was your activist moment of awakening?
Justine Nelson: I’m not sure if I had a specific moment of awakening; I have been this type of person for as long as I can remember. As a child, I was always taking on different causes and stuff.
I was doing my undergraduate work when I realized that I was ignoring the bigger picture. I had always been focused on saving an animal, or a specific human rights issue. I did not really look at the overarching threat to the world that is climate change, which impacts all of the things I care about. I started realizing this while writing a thesis for my honors program on how people get involved in the environmental movement. That was my moment of awakening.
Jacobsen: Were there any mentors that contributed to this?
Nelson: My grandfather was a mentor for me. He was always political and he pushed me to engage in things. My parents were mentors, too. They supported my causes wholeheartedly. I wrote my first petition in grade 7. They were always very supportive of everything I was doing.
They were mentors in that way and my grandfather was a mentor in showing me what it is to be politically active and engaged. Throughout the years I have had a number of people, especially educators, impact my perspective significantly, but none as much as my family.
Jacobsen: What were some of the more moving moments of political activism?
Nelson: When we were fighting the Memorandum of Understanding that KPU signed with Kinder Morgan, the entire campaign of having the students, faculty, community, and Kwantlen First Nation come together to make the university back out. We wouldn’t have succeeded without the Kwantlen First Nation taking a strong stance. I am not sure the campus has ever seen such a unified and successful campaign. It was moving for me, it was a good moment.
Jacobsen: You are at UBC earning an M.Ed. What is the degree, in terms of content and purpose?
Nelson: It is a project-based cohort based on an adaptive education model. We don’t sit in class and listen to lectures and we are not on campus. We work together to analyze problems and create are real-world projects. My group is looking at issues around food waste.
We are looking at opening a café/food waste market. Hopefully, it will be in Surrey. We will create an educational experience around it, including programming.
I am adding a written thesis to my program and it will likely focus on aspects of the project, but we’re still formulating the topic since it is the beginning of the program. I might look at the program or our project specifically. Perhaps by applying adaptive education models and social movement education theories to look at creating educational experiences to encourage people to participate in social change. Also, we are seeing how the community can be built around it.
Jacobsen: What political activities and organizing are you involved in at this time?
Nelson: I am the chapter coordinator for the PIPE UP Network, which does advocacy around the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. It is my main focus and has been for some time. Climate change and transitioning into clean/alternative energy is also part of it.
Food waste is something I am also becoming involved in, although food issues have been an interest personally for a long time. In my personal life, I consider many of my choices around feminism, food, and social issues to be political, and I am often organizing around different issues.
Jacobsen: What have been the biggest impacts of collective activist efforts in the Lower Mainland that you’ve seen?
Nelson: The Kinder Morgan expansion has been a unifying point for local government, unions, activists, First Nations communities, and universities to come together.
I think the coming together of groups that have not worked together before, or for a long time, is amazing. They are coming together to oppose the same thing and work for a better future. Maybe they are coming from different points of view, but it has provided a space for everyone to work together even if people do not always see eye-to-eye. Unions or workers and activists do not necessarily see eye-to-eye, even though unions are full of activists in their own sense, but this issue seems to be unifying for many people.
Canada-wide, we had the recent announcement of the treaty alliance with the 50+ First Nations opposed to all expansions of the Tar Sands. That is a huge moment as well. It is inspired by the Dakota Access Pipeline opposition. As a Canada-wide thing, the treaty is big. Over the next couple of months with the Kinder Morgan expansion, we will see the impact that these alliances will have.
Jacobsen: Do you have any advice for students to become involved? https://nodaplsolidarity.org/, http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/09/22/news/first-nations-across-north-america-sign-treaty-alliance-against-oilsands,
Nelson: For new students, you can do this through student activism, student unions, the public interest research groups at the school, and so on. There is so much going on at campuses. It shouldn’t be hard to find something. Community groups are great, but being on campus with other students is a good way to build your network and get involved at a level where students are in decision making positions.
I didn’t do a lot of it, personally, I volunteered outside of school. However, I know those that did gain a lot from it and a part of me wishes I had gotten more involved. If you are in a school with a public research interest group, they’re a really great place to start. It depends. You have to find your passions. If you don’t go into it with passion and a desire to make an impact then you won’t be as useful, so if you can’t find something that sparks a fire in you, create something.
By Scott Douglas Jacobsen
* All views expressed in this interview belong to the interviewee and don’t necessarily reflect the views of CYH.
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Original publication on www.checkyourhead.org.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images