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  Shackelford Lab, Restoration Scientist
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About us

About Make a Difference Week
Turning Interest Into Action

​The challenges of today requires problem-solvers who bring different perspectives and are willing to take risks. The University of Victoria's Decade Team emerged out of a pursuit to inspire and support the community, and a desire for actions to speak louder than words. The Decade, proclaimed following a proposal for action by over 70 countries, runs from 2021 to 2030. 

The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration launched in 2021. The declaration aims to halt the degradation of ecosystems and create a restorative mindset in our communities. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier the planet and its people! This Decade supports ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean. It can help to alleviate poverty, combat climate change, and curtail mass extinction. It will only succeed if everyone plays a part.

In 2021, Vancouver Island's collective work led our region to be the global leader in restoration events worldwide.
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In 2022, we are aiming to expand our network to put Vancouver Island on the map as a hub for ecological restoration. This year, we're placing our focus on sharing and compiling knowledge and both developing and helping research initiatives focused on ecosystem restoration.

​Check out 
the event map on the Society for Ecological Restoration page.

The Decade offers an opportunity to collaborate regionally on a collective push to raise awareness of ecosystem restoration in our region, and to encourage hands-on action by regional organizations and residents. Led by the Restoration of Natural Systems Program at the University of Victoria, representatives from municipalities, conservancies, and volunteer groups have come together to help organize a regional movement.
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The need is great. The time is now.
Learn more!
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About the Decade

The Goal: Preventing, halting and reversing the degradation of ecosystems worldwide.
​

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, for the benefit of people and nature. It aims to halt the degradation of ecosystems, and restore them to achieve global goals. Only with healthy ecosystems can we enhance people’s livelihoods, counteract climate change, and stop the collapse of biodiversity.

The UN Decade runs from 2021 through 2030, which is also the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals and the timeline scientists have identified as the last chance to prevent catastrophic climate change.

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed the UN Decade following a proposal for action by over 70 countries from all latitudes. View the resolution here.

​Led by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, The UN Decade is building a strong, broad-based global movement to ramp up restoration and put the world on track for a sustainable future. That will include building political momentum for restoration as well as thousands of initiatives on the ground.

Through communications, events and a dedicated web platform, the UN Decade will provide a hub for everyone interested in restoration to find projects, partners, funding and the knowledge they need to make their restoration efforts a success.

Visit the Society for Ecological Restoration's Page on Make a Difference Week.
The UN Decade
We work on the traditional territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples. The Songhees and Esquimalt, as well as the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples have deep, historical relationships with the land that continue to this day. Most of our group are uninvited settlers here. We are committed to deepening our understanding of how we can assist in the movement of reconciliation, dismantling the systems that continue to cause harm, and honoring the traditional stewards that have shaped this land.
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