Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability
Problem Focused.
Curiosity Driven.
WE ARE...
a problem-focused and curiosity-driven interdisciplinary institute for research and learning. Our mission is to cultivate the knowledge, skills, and actions that will accelerate transitions to a sustainable and just world.
Graduate Program
News and Events
Featured Events See all
Climate Conversations UBC Botanical Garden | May 22, 8:45am to 4:45pm
IRES's Dr. Kai Chan will be one of the expert panelists speaking alongside Keynote Speaker Lisa Brideau, author of Adrift (winner of the 2024 Evergreen Award) and senior sustainability specialist with the City of Vancouver.
John P. Bell Global Indigenous Rights Lecture presents Dr. Dolly Kikon | March 13 5:30pm
The Woman who Became a Deer: Sacrifice and Salvation in the Indigenous World
In this talk, I present the Naga world through stories and focus on the web of connections about sacrifice and salvation. I invite you to meditate on knowledge, culture, and sustainability that are grounded in everyday lives of the Naga world. Far from romanticising Indigenous cultures as timeless, I draw attention to ongoing challenges such as extractive regime, structural violence, and inequality. Drawing from my ongoing engagements on repatriation, reconciliation, and redistribution, I offer some reflections about working together to humanize and care for one another, and dwell on Indigenous values as possible pathways of holding on to hope and healing during uncertain times.
-Dr. Dolly Kikon
News See all
Jiaying Zhao helps people enjoy protecting the planet
🌎💚 Can we make meaningful climate action feel happy instead of miserable? Dr. Jiaying Zhao answers this and more in the American Psychological Association.
How a lottery-style refund system could boost recycling
Dr. Jiaying Zhao and Jade Radke are featured in the Conversation for their innovative study to increase recycling rates through a green lottery. If done right, offering a chance to win a higher amount of money for recycling can meaningfully increase recycling rates, contribute to a circular economy and allow people to choose the refund option that works best for them.
