No. 5: Glimmer
No. 5: Glimmer
Moving. Languishing. Climate Justice Radio and joy. Plus, a new job posting section because why not.
Hello hello spring sparrows,
I blinked and it’s suddenly been almost two months since my last newsletter. Thanks for being patient with me. April was a whirlwind and here we are, well into May.
This spring, I was elected as one of the Ontario representatives for the NDP’s national governing body - Federal Council - during the NDP convention. I completed all of my course work for my Master’s degree. I am close to finalizing my thesis research proposal and presented my research to my department twice (once in PPT, once as a poster for Research Day). I finished my first year as a teaching assistant for “Introduction to Refugee and Migration Studies”. And we moved into a new apartment!
Feels hectic even writing it all down!
And yet, I often have days where I feel like I’m not doing enough, feeling stuck or restless, or just blah (which the NYT calls '“languishing”). It feels hard to celebrate the progress or notice it at all. It feels hard to share when life is going ok, as we see ourselves a year into the pandemic lockdown (especially where it has dragged on forever in Ontario) and then some.
But as more of my friends and family members are getting vaccinated (we are surrounded by hotspots but not in one), I feel a slight glimmer of hope. Sightings of magnolias, cherry blossoms, and tulips bring a spring to my steps. The way the sun shines on my yellow couch through the (much larger) windows in my new home.
My friend Niklas was profiled in the first ever Climate Justice Radio podcast episode. He speaks to how they sing at Climate Justice Toronto meetings because they want to be rooted in joy.
I want to live in a world of joy and I don’t want to feel guilty for when we are thriving despite external circumstances. I’m often angry and frustrated at governments that don’t do enough and corporations that put profit over human lives (and we’re allowed to be). Is it possible to work towards a political revolution and not suffer through the process?! Not sure where I’m going with this, but I feel this tension that political and community organizing should be complicated and messy and thus, hard — but it can’t always drain us or we will burn out.
I hope we can find time and space to care for one another and cultivate joy in the ways we can this late spring and summer.
HOUSING & CLIMATE JUSTICE
either or both or taxing the rich
I wanted to share a bit about my research — so here’s my recent poster I made for our department’s Research Day. I’m hoping to start my fieldwork early summer (all via zoom) and would love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions!
On the Toronto Environmental Alliance front, I’m doing a lot of work with community hub partners. I wanted to highlight a virtual tour I wrote on the climate-friendly Bathurst-Finch Unison Hub. Check it out! More community hub work to come.
JOBS (TORONTO & BEYOND)
climate, housing, community activism, politics
There’s lots of Toronto content and I’m a bit overwhelmed with Toronto stuff right now with TEA work (yes, I did attend the Toronto Water Fees and Charges Consultation and so can you) and FOCT.
So, for the rest of the newsletter, I’m changing it up a bit.
By popular request, this is a list of jobs I’ve curated that are climate and housing focused, with some others thrown in for good measure. There are a few people in my life I’m helping with job searches, but also looking at job postings is a hobby of mine. If y’all like, I can bring this back from time to time.
Internships/Entry-level
Energy Programs Assistant Summer | Windfall Ecology Centre | WFH | $15/hr
Sustainability Intern (2) | Greening Sacred Spaces | Ottawa | 6 months | Starts at $15/hr
Research Assistant, Embodied Carbon of Buildings Study | Endeavour Centre / Builders for Climate Action | WFH
Administrative Assistant | Primrose Housing Co-op | 4 days/week | $16.25/hr
Climate careers
Climate Communications Manager | Environmental Defence | WFH | $53-56K
Operations and Technology Manager | Canadian Associations of Physicians for the Environment | WFH | $55-60K
Manager, Sustainability | Mohawk College | Hamilton | $76-95k
Programs & Training Lead, Climate Programs | Toronto | $72k
IMO Dream jobs
Tenant Organizer | Federation of Metro Tenants Association (FMTA) | Toronto | $41.2K
Advisor, Capacity Development, Sustainable Affordable Housing | FCM | $75-95k (this for me gives me absolute butterflies; the dream role I would apply for when done school)
I know we should not dream of labour in a capitalist system, but I feel like I much prefer the structure of a normal working day than the flexibility of being in school. I just want people to be in fulfilling work if we have to spend so much of our awake hours doing something to survive.
That’s all for now! See you hopefully sooner than the last time.
Cheers and in solidarity,
Diana