Adriane Carr brings environmental awareness to seminar series

Reported by Lauren Boothby

Green Party of Vancouver Coun., Adriane Carr has been passionate about the environment since she was a child.

The former Langara instructor spoke to students last Wednesday about her career in politics, education, and her interest in the environment as part of a seminar series presented by the environmental studies department.

Carr did not always want to be a politician, but nature has always been important to her. She has fond memories of swimming under waterfalls and looking at the stars with her dad.

“We used to go out every weekend and walk the streams with him, and he would catch trout,” Carr said. “I fell in love with [the] streams.”

Carr went into politics because she was disillusioned by the lack of focus on environmental issues by the B.C. New Democratic Party.

“I felt betrayed. I felt angry at what I witnessed. And then at the same time, empowered,” Carr said. “Because the NDP wasn’t going to be a party that I could trust to champion [the environment] didn’t mean that [it] couldn’t happen in politics.”

Former Langara instructor returns to campus

But Carr does not want to be a politician forever.

“If I’m going to ever retire, I’m going to take up music again,” she said. “Anything that gets a little more technical [I think]: my fingers aren’t working properly!”

The campus has changed since Carr was an instructor, who delivered a speech in a classroom she used to teach in. Katrina Erdos, an instructor who organized the seminar series, said she enjoyed the speech from her former colleague.

“Adriane of course, has a long history of bringing about positive change,” Erdos said. “Its always great to hear someone say: stick with it, persevere, don’t be afraid to take a new opportunity. Because we tend to be kind of cautious.”