Fernwood University returns with a ­free ­lecture on sustainability at the ­Belfry Theatre, ­November 21, 7:00 p.m.

Sustainability. The term has become ­ubiquitous: at the grocery store, we shop for “sustainable foods” produced from “­sustainable agriculture”; cities, federal governments, and international organizations tout “sustainable development” as a strategy for local and global stability; communities across North America compost and recycle, aspiring to a “sustainable lifestyle.” Once a peripheral abstraction, sustainability has moved to the very centre, to the point that it now dominates ­discussion ­involving everything from renewable energy to urban development to the local food movement. Suddenly, “sustainability” seems to be everywhere and mean everything.

Jeremy L. CaradonnaIn this engaging lecture, Professor ­Jeremy L. Caradonna explains the origins and ­development of the sustainability movement, from its roots in the early modern period, to its many manifestations in the present day. The lecture also connects these broad cultural changes to local sustainability efforts in Victoria and around the island.

Caradonna is an associate professor of history at the University of Alberta, an adjunct professor of environmental ­studies at UVic, and the owner of Victoria’s own Share Organics. He’s also active in the local biodiesel community. Caradonna thus has extensive experience with both the theory and practice of sustainability. He spends most of the year in Fernwood, where he and his wife and two children own a home. The lecture draws on material from his new book, Sustainability: A History (Oxford ­University Press, 2014). The book will be available for purchase at the event for $20.00.

Please join us for this free event on ­November 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the Belfry ­Theatre, 1291 Gladstone Avenue. A big thank you to the Belfry Theatre for ­helping us to put on this event. Learn more at ­fernwoodnrg.ca/fernwood-university/.