Thinking green is becoming more elusive to the Canadian public, as the day-to-day tasks of life preoccupy our minds and influence our every action. It seems that being environmentally conscious in our lives has become something that must be an active and deliberate choice, as opposed to a way we carry out various aspects of our daily lives on a constant basis. For instance, the purchase of a hybrid car is not a default option and, with a significant price difference, is largely inaccessible to the middle-class income earner. Even for policymakers and city planners, environmentally conscious choices must necessarily be weighed against competing financial restraints. But, with a dismal report card in commuting times for the average Torontonian and a patchy waste management system, there is an urgency to inform the public to rethink the way we approach “thinking green” and that there are new ideas that benefit both the environment and economy. One Osgoode student is doing just that – educating the public about an innovative take on the way we think about the physical places we occupy.
Bart Danko is a Master of Environmental Studies and Juris Doctor (MES/JD) student at Osgoode, living in the rapidly expanding city of Brampton which lies north of campus. After studying psychology and sociology at the University of Toronto, he first undertook the MES portion of his dual degree; this background in environmental studies gave him the backdrop to ground the law school courses that soon followed.
“That year at MES was huge in directing my future interests and research plans, which quickly became to challenge traditional legal academia in every way,” Bart said. “Throughout the process, my appreciation for the law, and its ability to elicit actual social change, has only grown.” Not only has his understanding of the intersections of the law, social, and environmental change developed, but his creativity shines through his art of filmmaking.
Just this past January, Bart’s filmmaking debuted at the Focus on Sustainability Film Festival. His film revolves around the idea of the “commons,” the belief in reclaiming space in favour of the public benefit. Terra Communis is Latin for “land belonging to all people.” The film explores the idea of green roofs, which have been increasingly implemented in urban development projects for their multiple benefits, but have been slow on the uptake due to the lag in the necessary changes in government policies and attitudes towards the idea.
The theme of the “commons” is carried on beyond the content in the deliberate selection of media that is accessible to the public, as the film can be viewed online by lay people, unlike traditional academic research. Even the smaller details were influenced by this theme: only Creative Commons licensed music and Open Source fonts used in the creation of the film.
“Good work done by passionate people and the film The Dark Knight,” Bart said of his influences and inspirations as a filmmaker and artist. He commented, though, that the options for merging art with law are harder to find, aside from specific areas where art is the subject of legal work, such as in intellectual property and entertainment law. Even these do not necessarily involve the legal work in the artistic process. However, Bart is optimistic about his artistic future: “I hope to continue film work in my legal practice though, even if it’s just informative videos about inaccessible legal topics,” he said. Bart jokingly added – “above all, I hope to make the first ever good commercial for a law firm – I’m looking at you, Cellino & Barnes.”
Be sure to see Bart’s film and to hear his important messages in Terra Communis. His parting advice? Be innovative in your approach to law: “What would be considered nontraditional legal academic work has been one of my greatest assets in law school. Beyond the benefit of keeping me sane, it’s opened up more doors than any other course or organization I have been affiliated with, really. I have met fantastic people, gained an expertise on a subject, and gained skills that I am confident I would not have had otherwise. More than anything, I attribute this to working hard on something I truly enjoy, and letting the rest just happen.”