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2 ESSENCE  March 17, 2010

 As a course union that began an astound-

ing revival a few years ago, ESSA, the En-

vironmental Studies Student Association,

has come a long way. Last year we were a

group of about eight enthusiastic individu-

als, the core of which has almost doubled

this year, and many more who contribute

 when they can.

Here are the voices of your executives,

 with a mini update from each:

Adam Podolec

ESSA to me feels like the heart and joy of 

my university experience. I feel like ESSA 

meetings are a place where I can take all the

environmental topics learned in class, and

blend it with the passion of ESSA members,

creating something real and inspired. Fun

little creations like movie nights, potlucks,

and art parties.

Challenging and rewarding big creationslike publications, conferences, and guest

speakers. ESSA exists because of its amaz-

ing members, and I feel like the ball is

rolling with some serious inertia. Unfor-

tunately as members graduate we lose some

of the inertia.

Since I only have one more year of classes

left, I will soon turn my attention to first

year ES students and hope that I can re-

cruit new members to keep the good times

rolling.

Courtney McIver

I think the best thing that has developed in

ESSA so far is the community. I have met

the most amazing people who are genuine

and accepting. Everyone in ESSA brings

such a unique viewpoint that has enriched

my experience.

Honestly, before I joined ESSA school

felt like a chore to get through, now I am

excited to come to class and wander cam-

pus because I know I will see a familiar and

friendly place. ESSA has supported all of 

my goals and provided me with a stable

backbone that has allowed me to try new 

things and challenge myself.

Sara Fralin

I joined ESSA and UVic’s ES community 

last term in September. I was a new stu-

dent at UVic and was looking for a way to

meet other like minded people. After the

first meeting with ESSA I was convinced

that this was the place for me; people were

friendly, inclusive, and shared a passion-

ate vision about the environment.

I love going to the ESSA meetings, I get

to see my friends, network with the En-

vironmental Studies community and work 

on projects that contribute to the sustain-

ability revolution. We are always learning

from each other, sharing our experiences

and support, and of course some delicious

snacks.

I am really exited to be sharing my knowl-edge of Yoga with the ES community this

term. Te Yoga classes hold a special space

that fosters care, love, and unity as we prac-

tice asana together. I am overjoyed to be

facilitating the growth of inner awareness,

and to see people come together, building

friendships and honouring one another.

Heike Lettrari

Seeing this publication develop has been

a dream come true. It’s been incredibly 

rewarding to work together with students

in the role of editor, organizer, encourager,

motivator, and mentor, and see a project

like this come together. I love being able

to go to different students and say “Hey,

here’s  your  work!” angible, legible, com-

prehensible, now show it to someone! I

know I was excited to direct my parents to

the publication online (web.uvic.ca/~essa/)

 when it first came out last year.

Recently we had Jennifer Evans from Sus-

tainable Cycles come in to speak to us about

sustainable, reusable menstrual products

opened my comfort level for talking about

an issue that I had unknowingly shunned

to the side under the label of ‘taboo’. Tese

tricky topics are exactly those that need to

be talked about, and I found it was empow-

ering and fun to do so, especially when the

nervous laughter was out of the way.

ESSA has had an amazing variety of events

and projects on the go this year. Here is a

sample of some past and ongoing:

•Inviting various faculty members for casual

conversations with students.

• A beach restoration outing early in the se-

mester.

•Reclaiming Sustainability – our con-

ference for undergraduate students from

across BC, taking place on March 19-

20th at UVic.

•Collaborating with the Dogwood

Initiative on their Urban Sprawl cam-

paign.

•Silk-screening shirts to help fundraise

for the Madrona Farm.

•Film screenings – we screened ‘Winged

Migration’ recently.

Hopefully the energy built up over this

year will succeed into the next!

Sara Fralin- Managing Editor

Heike Lettrari - Head Editor

  Julia Bennett- Layout Editor

 Adam Podolec - Advertising

Marc Junker- Martlet Assistance

Layout

 Julia Bennett

Julia Berry 

Beth Bower

Georgia Brander

Kelsey Collins

Amy Harztenberg 

Marc Junker

 Editors

Emily Anderson

Beth Bower

Georgia Brander

Colin Fulton

Jesse Howardson

Heike Lettrari

Kirsten Millington

Mark Worthing 

Artwork/Photography

 Julia Bennett

Oonagh Butterfield

Kelsey Collins

Mila Czemerys

Nicole Fong 

Sara Fralin

Reyhana Heatherington

Jesse Howardson

Amy Hartzenberg 

Mark Worthing 

Articles 

Emily Anderson

Pomme Aros

Beth BowerGeorgia Brander

Oonagh Butterfield

Manuelle Chanoine

Miranda Cross

  Jessica Dalderis

Joey Fearon

 Sara Fralin

Simon Fyall

  Jeremy Kirouac

Heike Lettrari

 Jasmine Mah 

Chris McDougallCourtney McIver

 Sara McLaughlin

 Michael Pickering 

Julie PisaniAdam Podolec

Courtney Robinson

Linden Sherman

 Niilo Van Steinburg Mark Worthing 

Special thanks to the Martletfor kindly sharing their work-space and expertise. An extrathanks to the Martlet’s Marc

 Junker for his productionassistance.

Cover image by:Mila Czemerys

CONTRIBUTORS

Please recycle thisissue or pass it onto someone else!

For moreinformation about

ESSA or to view thisissue online visit:

http://web.uvic.ca/~essa/

DISCLAIMER:THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN EACH ARTICLE ARE SPECIFIC TO THE AUTHOR; THEY DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THOSE

OF THE PRODUCERS, CONTRIBUTORS, ADVERTISERS, THE ENVI RONMENTAL STUDIES STUDENT ASSOCIATION, OR THE

UNIVERSITY OF VIC TORIA. WE ARE AN INDEPENDENT, STUDENT DRIVEN, SUBMISSIONS-BASED PUBLIC ATION.

ESSA Update from the Environmental

Studies Student Association Executives

 Jazz Jargon Crossword PuzzleJASMINE MAH

 Across2. United by ideas, compassion, goals. We are a __

3. All you need is __

5. What the green bins on campus are for (MacLauren, First

People’s House)

6. A natural form of medicine focused on stimulating the body’s

immune and defence system to heal

9. Refill this instead of spending money and plastic at the vend-

ing machine

12. Conscious; having knowledge. Are you __ of your surround-

ings? Of you?

13. Hau, Paix, Paz, Shanti, Shalom, Wolakota

15. Decaying organic matter used as fertilizer. You can make one

in your backyard!

Down1. For change, write letters to this man

4. Food grown without the use of synthetic or harmful fertilizers,

pesticides, or other unsustainable substances

7. Do this ten times slowly when you’re stressed

8. What you will do with this paper when you are done with it

10. One who campaigns for change

11. A prohibition based on social customs, such as farts, eating

dogs, and sex talk 

14. A highly insulating natural building material made of sand,

clay, straw, and water

THE ESSA LOGO FEATURING A GARRY OAK TREE DESIGNED BY MILA CZEMERYS