Interview with Chris Adam on the occasion of his retirement
Chris Adam, founder and first manager of Dawson’s Office of Sustainability, will be retiring this July.聽The Communications Office interviewed him about his career, his challenges and what he loved best about Dawson. Here is the Q & A.
What year did you start working at Dawson? What roles did you hold?
1n 1987, CRLT hired me through my business to offer a winter ecology outdoor program and then also a fall outdoor education intensive. This continued yearly into the early 90鈥檚 when I officially joined Dawson part time within the CRLT dept. This led to full-time teaching. I taught within the CRLT program for about 25 years, then in 2017 became a manager within the newly formed Office of Sustainability, although the sustainability work at Dawson started in 2006. I volunteered for many years on the sustainability file to establish programs at the college and then eventually received some release time to continue the expanding responsibilities the file incurred.
Looking back, what are you most proud of accomplishing during your career?One can only hope that the methods used both in formal and informal educational settings helps individuals discover, connect and build a sense of community. I believe every individual has a place in positive change. When I see this happening, I am content.聽 I think education should give students some enduring body of knowledge and skill set they can use, however it must be enveloped in action that contributes to developing responsible and kind citizens. I have tried my best to demonstrate this and I am proud of my attempt to build community while learning and teaching.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?
Innovation and change in large institutions can be both exhausting and lead you to places where you are alone in thought and practice. You must model the work ethic and vision you ask others to join. Status quo is like a rubber band around the waist that wants to pull you back to the norm, and when it does succeed, you must use it to rest, plan and then launch again into the resistance with more experience and a modified plan. Hopefully you are joined at the second, third or sometimes tenth effort and the resistance begins to wither. When innovation becomes the norm, all can smile with pride and satisfaction. To challenge an existing system with deep roots is a challenge that combines a sense of drive, courage, risk, empathy and temperance. I think looking back, I realize that never losing sight of a vision is key. Like water flowing down a hill, it can be slowed by obstacles, but it will find a way around them to reach its destination. I am still learning to be like water!
How has your profession changed since you started?
The first year I started at Dawson was the year Sustainable Development was coined in the Brundtland Report. I remember meeting a federal politician who wisely told me not to spend a career defining it, because we will still be redefining it in 25 years! That was good advice. He said just start acting on helping others and the planet. Sustainability was not well understood, and when supported, often completely outside of established institutional sectors with little integration. Environmental concerns dominated then, but now the notion of well-being for all (individuals, others and the planet) give sustainability a much broader and holistic definition. Some time in the future, when institutions do not need an Office of Sustainability, society will have succeeded in being sustainable.
What has been the best thing about working at Dawson?
Without question the relationships with staff and students that were developed while working on challenging projects that changed the college.
What are the highlights of your career here and in general?
There are many individual projects and relationships that were special to me. Having the opportunity to work and learn from Jane Goodall was special, but so was witnessing a smile of excitement of a child in Grade 1 who just caught their first tadpole! I am proud that I was able to establish several businesses that emphasized using Nature as a guide, regardless of specific goals of curricula, and through these social enterprises, give back to the community. Influencing and learning from so many children, college students and peers on the way 鈥� all of those relationships collectively are so special. I have been blessed with recognition of different types, but this recognition is really for the many people that have helped me along the way. The first schools to hire me when I was a very young and naive 20-year-old entrepreneur, the friends who said the right things at the right time and so I continued on my journey, the people who believed in a long-term vision, the office doors that were open to spontaneous visits, and so on鈥� 聽To be recognized by peers across Canada and nominated for the Governor General鈥檚 award for service that influenced the country is definitely an honour, but once again is also for family, friends and the Dawson community that encouraged me, mentored me, and let me play in our Living Campus.
What will you miss about Dawson?
Dawson鈥檚 character is a direct reflection of the character of the individuals within it. I am so fortunate to be surrounded by people who care and want to make their world a better place. I will definitely miss all of the energetic conversations that come up daily.
What are your hopes for Dawson going forward?
That Dawson continues its cultivation of a Living Campus where first-hand experience and high impact learning takes place and students, as well as staff, build a network of relationships where hope and purpose flourishes.
What advice would you give to someone just starting at Dawson or in your field?
Look ahead in the distance for goals, but act today, tomorrow and the next day. Don鈥檛 fill the information bucket at the expense of wonder and awe. Balance feeling and knowing in educational activities whenever possible. I think the greatest evaluation of a successful and-long term sustainability program is the quality of interpersonal relationships made along the way that will sustain it. Ultimately, I have witnessed that it is not a lack of funding or knowledge, or I dare say some political decree, that will drag down a sustainability program, but rather the lack of will and spirit to get to where you need to go.
The trees, butterflies, frogs and birds on campus are a living testament to all we have accomplished and are an evaluation of much coordinated work from so many students and employees. This is their home.
What are you looking forward to in retirement?
Gardening, hiking, reading and time with family are on the immediate agenda. Then, I will dive into some national and international projects I am consulting on.
Anything else you would like to say?
A big collective hug to all of you!!!
