Co-Creating a Short Program in
Occupational Therapy to Support Sustainable and just Occupational Transitions
Marie-Josée Drolet,Occupational Therapy Department, Université du
Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)
March 3, 2026
Dear Journal, on this World Wildlife Day, I am filled with gratitude. The Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières is joining our project to develop a short program in occupational therapy to support sustainable and just occupational transitions for individuals and communities. A 15-credit program, including five 3-credit courses, will be launched next year as part of the bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy. After three years of advocating for the relevance and urgency of this program, we have finally succeeded. I am so excited about this project, which is so pertinent and meaningful from an occupational perspective. Given the urgency to act in the context of the current climate crisis, which, in addition to being the greatest contemporary threat to human, animal, and environmental health, significantly disrupts the occupations of an increasing number of human and non-human animals, this decision gives me hope for the future. Considering also that the climate crisis is primarily caused by human occupations, yet paradoxically and necessarily, these occupations must be part of the solutions not only to stop the crisis but also to minimize its negative consequences, the creation of this program inspires me for better tomorrows. In the coming weeks, we will sit down at the drawing board to co-create the program with all the involved partners. This odyssey is so exciting!
March 20, 2026
Dear Journal, on this International Day of Happiness, with colleagues passionate about sustainability and occupational justice, we have started with great enthusiasm and effervescence the co-creation of the program courses. The first course, which we have titled: ECO-OCCUPATION 101 – Epistemological and Theoretical Foundations of Sustainable and Just Occupational Transitions, will focus on the epistemological and theoretical foundations of the program. To this end, we want the epistemic and theoretical bases of the course to follow the Two-Eyed Seeing approach, which invites us to ground our worldview, our understanding of human beings, and our perceptions of human occupations not only in Western epistemologies and theories but also in Indigenous, African, and Asian epistemologies and theories. Moreover, students as well as the Indigenous elder in residence at our university have agreed to take part in the project, along with a group of collaborators who are directly affected by the climate crisis (including national and international climate migrants), researchers with expertise in African and Asian philosophies, and individuals at the intersection of various systems of oppression who are more likely to suffer the consequences of climate crisis. Considering that this crisis affects some people and communities more than others, such as indigenous communities, racialized people, people with a disability experience, women, caregivers, the elderly, etc., we wish to co-construct this course, or even the program with them. Several individuals have already expressed their interest in participating in this co-creation. In our preliminary discussions, we for instance discussed indigenous knowledge, Oriental, Indian and Buddhist philosophies, ecofeminism, and queer ecology, to give a few examples.
April 7, 2026
Dear Journal, on this World Health Day, we continued our collective work. The second course, titled: ECO-OCCUPATION 102 – Reflecting on Global Occupational Degrowth for One Health, has been co-created. Given that the globalized capitalist and neoliberal economic system has been the driving force behind the ecological crisis and the occupational growth that the humanity has experienced over the past fifty years, we agreed that it was imperative to include a course in the program on degrowth theories. It seemed essential to us to address the theme of occupational degrowth, which consists of significantly reducing our engagement in occupations destructive of ecosystems, or even putting an end to them, to promote the health of ecosystems as well as that of human and non-human animals. In doing so, it also seemed relevant to us to explore various occupations that offer eco-benefits, meaning benefits for both the health of ecosystems and living beings, including humans. This course, along with the first one, paves the way for the upcoming courses, which will be less theoretical and more concrete and practical, engaging students in various occupational transitions and transformations.
May 22, 2026
Dear Journal, on this International Day for Biological Diversity, we co-created the third course of the program, which is titled: ECO-OCCUPATION 103 – Reshaping Life for More Sustainability and Justice. This course will give students the experience of the Green Lifestyle Redesign program, which was created in the United States by an occupational therapist named Camille Dieterle (https://chan.usc.edu/lifestyleredesign/news/earth-day-q-and-a-with-camille-dieterle). In doing so, they will be invited to transform their occupations so that they are both greener and fairer. Since 2024, occupational therapists from the Community for Occupational Therapy Committed to Equity and the Environment (C4E) have collaborated with French occupational therapists from the Network for Sustainable Development in Occupational Therapy (R2DE) to translate this program into French. In doing so, they developed modules addressing various occupations with a high ecological footprint, such as food, transportation, digital usage, and leisure, to support sustainable occupational transitions. This program, proven effective, includes group activities and individual interventions conducted by an occupational therapist to help various individuals modify their occupations. To enable students to support the implementation of this program in various settings in their future professional practice, it seemed appropriate to dedicate the third course to this innovative program.
June 5, 2026
Dear Journal, on this World Environment Day, we co-created the fourth course for the program, titled: ECO-OCCUPATION 104 – Guiding Individuals and Communities in Reshaping Their Lives for More Sustainability and Justice. In this course, students will work in subgroups to implement the Green Lifestyle Redesign program in a clinical or community setting and with a clientele that has shown interest in it. Schools, senior residences, rehabilitation programs, municipalities, and private clinics have already expressed their desire to collaborate with the students. Through this course, students will have the opportunity to guide and support individuals, and communities in their efforts to transform their occupations towards more sustainability and justice. Our team is thrilled with the strong interest shown by our partners in this program as well as by the commitment and passion shown by the students who believe in the program and recognize its relevance to contemporary and future global challenges. Several media have contacted us to learn more about our new program, which is generating significant enthusiasm.
August 9, 2026
Dear Journal, on this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the final stones of the profile have been laid. The last course has been co-created and titled: ECO-OCCUPATION 105 – Collaborating with Various Communities in the Context of the Climate Crisis. In this final course, students will be brought to collaborate with a community to participate, on the one hand, in mitigating the consequences of climate crisis within this community or, on the other hand, in developing resources to support sustainable and just occupational transitions. In the first scenario, students might for instance collaborate with an Indigenous community or with residents of a disadvantaged neighbourhood in a municipality affected by urban heat islands. In the second scenario, students could collaborate with professional communities that work on sustainability and justice (such as C4E in Quebec, R2DE in France, OTEA in the United States, or OT-CAN in Canada), to develop resources and tools. These could for example enable occupational therapists in combating the climate crisis, support various individuals and communities in their sustainable and just occupational transitions, and mitigate the negative consequences of climate crisis for different populations. By engaging in this work, students will become allies to individuals and communities affected by this unprecedented global crisis.
September 7, 2026
Dear Journal, on this International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, the very first session of the inaugural course was delivered. The reception from the students was truly excellent. Over a third of the first-year students in the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy have enrolled in this short new program. Applications for admission to our Bachelor-Master continuum in Occupational Therapy have increased, and it seems to be due to our program on sustainable and just occupational transitions. The enthusiasm for sustainability and occupational justice has been evident among our students for several years, and they have been eagerly anticipating this innovative program. Given this clear interest, the university is considering offering the program to students in other health programs at our university.
December 10, 2027
Dear Journal, on this Human Rights Day, the very first cohort to have completed the short program shared its perceptions of it. The students are unanimous: they loved their experience of the new program which responds to crucial occupational needs in a socially relevant and responsible way. They are all enthusiastic about the idea of applying their new knowledge and skills in their future professional practice. Many are considering creating their own social enterprise to support sustainable and just occupational transitions for individuals and communities, while others plan to work within various government ministries to effect structural and sustainable changes. Among them, many are those who wish to contribute to the carbon neutrality of health and education systems by 2035. For our part, we have noticed that since we have been working on this stimulating project, our eco-anxiety has greatly decreased. We feel engaged in a meaningful occupational project that has the potential to contribute locally and more broadly to the fight against the climate crisis. To encourage other occupational therapy departments to co-create similar programs, we plan to disseminate our educational initiative widely. Additionally, we are already collaborating with other departments at our university to co-create a similar, but interdisciplinary program. All in all, this pedagogical project has been meaningful for the students, the faculty members, and the many partners who contributed to it, and it has opened doors to new projects that are just as significant.
April 22, 2030
Dear Journal, this is my last entry, on this International Mother Earth Day. The objective of supporting sustainable and just occupational transitions is now integrated into all competency frameworks for occupational therapists and, consequently, academic curricula. Similar interdisciplinary programs have also been incorporated into competency frameworks and academic curricula for all healthcare professionals, who are now indispensable allies supporting and working towards One Health, meaning the health of humans, animals, and the environment. Our collective occupational commitment has not been in vain. Looking forward to a more sustainable and just world in terms of occupation! Thank you so much, dear journal, for listening!