Meet the team working hard to transform Trinity College’s approach to sustainability.
Jeevan Dhindsa, Writer
Photo source: @sustainabletrin
Climate change isn’t waiting or stopping anytime soon, but neither is Sustainable Trin.
Sustainable Trin is a student-led initiative dedicated to raising awareness and action for environmental protection, conservation, and restoration. They can often be seen gardening, hosting environmental movie nights, potting plants, and, most importantly, fighting for a better future for the students of the University of Toronto.
“There’s a lot of potential—I think we aren’t necessarily where we want to be overall, but there are so many good people among the staff, students, and faculty. I think, especially right now, there’s so much happening with the Lawson Center and everything—I just feel like Sustainable Trin is really going to be moving forward this year,” says Kate, the current president of Sustainable Trin, who initially joined the community out of concern for the environmental crisis and a desire to inspire other students to use their voice.
Looking ahead, Sustainable Trin plans to collaborate with the Dramatic Society to host a Halloween costume swap, where students can borrow and return costumes to reduce consumerism. They also plan on working with the Trinity Food Systems Lab, a community garden where students can help on Sundays from 3-4 pm, and get free produce from the garden every second Friday at 2:30 pm in front of St Hilda’s. Furthermore, they’ll be teaming up with the Trinity One stream and other colleges to share resources, as well as with the Trinity College Meeting (TCM) to sever Trinity’s ties with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
On February 28, 2025, Trinity became the first college at U of T to divest from all fossil fuel investments, five years ahead of its original 2030 goal. But as RBC continues to fund liquified natural gas projects, weapons used in genocides, and violates Indigenous rights, it has become clear that financial divestment isn’t enough. Ending the university’s relationship with RBC and switching to a credit union has become a necessary move in furthering Sustainable Trins’ cause.
These ambitious goals come with their challenges, and according to Kate, there is resistance. “But if Sustainable Trin isn’t asking, no one will,” Kate says. This is why the team continues to remain focused on moving towards a more sustainable future at U of T. “The process takes time and money,” Kate says, “but if we keep asking and coming up with solutions, I think we can succeed.”
For now, with the $550 allocated to Sustainable Trin by the TCM, Kate hopes to renovate St. Hilda’s rooftop garden by adding a bench, planting new greenery, and addressing the issue of bird deaths caused by the glass railings surrounding the garden. Kate, alongside her team, also aims to understand the reasons behind food waste at Trinity, whether it is caused by cooking practices or students throwing out food. Sustainable Trin hopes to establish a student-led waste management system, which, according to Kate, “Ideally would allow students to take the lead in setting up recycling and composting, rather than putting more work on the facility staff, who are already doing so much.”
As the Trinity College community continues to grow, Sustainable Trin hopes to implement a survey system where all individuals in the community can add their ideas to create a greener place that students feel comfortable living and participating in. In addition, they are hiring students, particularly from Rotman Commerce and the Life Sciences stream, to join the Advisory Committee on Sustainability. This is a group dedicated to understanding sustainability from diverse academic perspectives and working alongside U of T professors to identify possible solutions and improvements to environmental challenges. Nevertheless, the club meetings remain open to all students regardless of program or experience.
At the end of the day, Sustainable Trin is a movement. It’s a reminder that we, the students, are in charge of building a greener society and that even one small step can help to change the trajectory of our future.
