Building sustainable communities beyond and on campus
Chances are, you’ve seen the pop-ups from Regenesis UTM around campus. But do you know who they are, and what they do?

At the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), just a couple of steps away from the Student Centre, you’ll find yourself at Regenesis UTM—a student-focused environmental organization, behind the produce food markets and free thrift store pop-ups you might have spotted around campus.

In an interview with The Medium, Christina Casciaro, director of Regenesis UTM, explains how these events and the organization extend far beyond their face value.

Goals and purpose 

When asked about the purpose of Regenesis UTM, Casciaro shared that the “main goal is to empower students as initiators of change. And we also focus on real, comprehensive and practical initiatives to make our campus and community a more suitable place.” 

The core values and objectives of Regenesis UTM are reflected in their events and organizational design. Casciaro stated, “Regenesis aims to address equity, accessibility, city and community well-being.” These values are shown through the bilingual feature of the organization’s website.

“Since we are a Canadian organization, and we want to continue to expand, there’s that accessibility piece,” said Casciaro. “We also believe that environmental awareness shouldn’t be limited to one language. So, by making this [the website] bilingual, we can make sure that more people can engage with us and understand our content.”

Behind the scenes of Regenesis UTM events

Regenesis’s food markets and thrift stores work to make necessities accessible to students at fair prices. The club credits the success of these events in gaining traction for the club with other parties as well. For example, products for the Regenesis food market are ordered through FoodShare, which sources from the Ontario Food Terminal. These platforms have enabled Regensis UTM to buy good-quality products in bulk without sacrificing its commitment to sell at affordable prices. 

On the other hand, all items from Regenesis UTM’s pop-up thrift store are donated, mostly from students. Those who donate are allowed to take up to five items, while those who don’t can take up to three items. This pop-up encourages students to play an active role in practical sustainability opportunities.

Most events hosted by the club take place at UTM’s Student Centre. By situating itself in this hot spot on campus, the club has been able to encourage more students to partake in environmentally friendly actions. Through this process, the UTM Students’ Union (UTMSU) has supported Regenesis UTM in various ways, such as allowing the club to book spaces without restrictions on what initiatives can occur.

Beyond the environmental field

Many might have the misconception that Regenesis operates only within the environmental realm. However, Casciaro explained, “It is not just about protecting nature, but more so about creating systems where students can be engaged with supporting the planet.”

One way Regenesis supports students is by providing access to experiential education opportunities in fields such as accounting and communications. These initiatives are designed to bring together diverse skill sets and areas of expertise to help build an environmentally friendly community. In addition, Regenesis addresses both social and environmental concerns, recognizing that everyday issues—such as food affordability—carry important social as well as environmental implications.

Striving to expand, with the dream of creating a bigger impact 

Regenesis not only works to transcend barriers on campus, but between campuses as well. Aside from being a tri-campus organization in all three University of Toronto campuses, Regenesis also has chapters in other universities, such as York University and the Toronto Metropolitan University. 

Casciaro shared, “Each campus location operates separately with its own way of running things in terms of an executive team and staffing.” However, she explained that all chapters are supported by the overarching Regenesis Canada. The expansion of Regenesis across several university communities has served to create a wider reach. 

While the organization is currently focused on Ontario, Quebec and the West Coast, Regenesis hopes to expand beyond Canada and eventually to the U.S.

In terms of the potential and power that the UTM chapter holds, Casciaro said, “Being at UTM means that we can tap into many different student communities and be able to expand our member base.”

While Regenesis UTM does not often directly interact with other chapters, it collaborates with many UTM organizations for events and activities. For example, it is currently partnering with the UTM Sustainability Office for BikeShare—a program designed to create affordable and sustainable access to transportation.

Upcoming events 

Driven by their passion for the environment, Regenesis has planned many events for the upcoming months. Students can look forward to events like the Repair Cafe, Indigenous hike, natural paint-making workshop, and beauty workshop.

The repair cafe will be a Halloween-themed event. What’s exciting is that it will potentially be partnered with UTM Fashion for participants to make homemade costumes. The Indigenous hike may also be hosted with the Student Association of Geography and Environment, while the beauty workshop, which provides the opportunity to create beauty products with homemade and sustainable, eco-friendly packaging, is funded through an Ocean Wise government grant.

Not to forget, their free thrift store pop-ups will continue every month, with the Regenesis food market running every Thursday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Limitless opportunities

Beyond the on-campus initiatives it offers for students, Regenesis UTM also has special opportunities for its executive and general members. An example is their Eco Leaders program. Through its requirement of 120 volunteering hours, the program provides the space and time for members to foster leadership skills and develop experience in project management. The biweekly training sessions for the program cover grant writing, outreach, communications, and more. Beyond that, executives also have an opportunity to earn their spot in a free retreat, which works to build workplace and leadership skills.

If you’re still not persuaded by the benefits of joining the organization, Casciaro’s personal story might just convince you. Having joined Regenesis UTM in her third year of university, Casciaro has found her experience fulfilling and empowering, where seeing Regenesis UTM’s development felt like a personal success to her.