Past SUSTAIN students worked with McMaster’s Facility Services and University Technology Services (UTS) and with Empowerment Squared to coordinate ACCESS Tech, a technology reuse and donation initiative. Empowerment Squared is a local charitable organization that empowers newcomers, racialized, and marginalized communities with tools and opportunities to thrive. Empowerment Squared refurbishes collected devices and works with their network of community organizations to distribute donated technology to local families in need.

The goal of this project is to iterate and build on the previous students’ work for promotion and communication as well as for increasing the number of devices that are refurbished for donation.

Each group of SUSTAIN 3S03 students will be responsible for developing and implementing a communications strategy to encourage individuals to prepare for the upcoming IT Collection Event /Distribution Event (dates to be confirmed) by saving their devices, marking their calendars, and taking part in the collection event. Creating a ‘living’ communications plan that future student teams can use and build upon is another main goal. Students may want to leverage social media channels, potentially connect with the McMaster Daily News or the Silhouette to ensure that people are aware of the collection/distribution events. Students taking on these projects will be required to participate in the actual event taking place on campus.
 

Community Project Champions

Sanya Sharma, Coordinator, ACCESS Tech, McMaster University

Project Advisors
Dave Cano, Director of Sustainability, Facility Services 

Carlos Figueira, Director Custodial, Grounds, Logistics and Mail Services, Facility Services 

Project Liaison

Nathan Butterworth, Community Engagement Coordinator

Past SUSTAIN students worked with McMaster’s Facility Services and University Technology Services (UTS) and with Empowerment Squared to coordinate ACCESS Tech, a technology reuse and donation initiative. Empowerment Squared is a local charitable organization that empowers newcomers, racialized, and marginalized communities with tools and opportunities to thrive. Empowerment Squared refurbishes collected devices and works with their network of community organizations to distribute donated technology to local families in need.

The goal of this project is to iterate and build on the previous students’ work for promotion and communication as well as for increasing the number of devices that are refurbished for donation.

Each group of SUSTAIN 3S03 students will be responsible for developing and implementing a communications strategy to encourage individuals to prepare for the upcoming IT Collection Event /Distribution Event (dates to be confirmed) by saving their devices, marking their calendars, and taking part in the collection event. Creating a ‘living’ communications plan that future student teams can use and build upon is another main goal. Students may want to leverage social media channels, potentially connect with the McMaster Daily News or the Silhouette to ensure that people are aware of the collection/distribution events. Students taking on these projects will be required to participate in the actual event taking place on campus.
 

Community Project Champions

Sanya Sharma, Coordinator, ACCESS Tech, McMaster University

Project Advisors
Dave Cano, Director of Sustainability, Facility Services 

Carlos Figueira, Director Custodial, Grounds, Logistics and Mail Services, Facility Services 

Project Liaison

Nathan Butterworth, Community Engagement Coordinator

McMaster University is signatory to the Okanagan Charter, which is committed to optimizing the health and well-being of campus. Since 2019, McMaster has worked to promote native bees on campus as a Bee City Campus. McMaster is situated in a native bee ‘hot spot’ with over 200 native bee species. Notable efforts to facilitate native bees include construction of 75 bee hotels for mason bee nests and the planting of native flowering plants.  

In the fall of 2022, a group of SUSTAIN 3S03 students and their Community Project Champions laid the groundwork for McMaster’s ground nesting bee garden. In 2023, another group of SUSTAIN 3S03 students and project champions facilitated the planting of native pollinators in the garden — the group planted pollinator species and created the infrastructure for bees to nest.To continue supporting native bees at McMaster, SUSTAIN 3S03 students who take on this project will be looking to create a Bee trail – guided walk to bee conservation sites across main campus, west campus, and even the McMaster Forest Nature Preserve. 

Students who choose this project may bring their own ideas however, they may want to consider the following:

• Creating Informational signage to be placed around the campus OR  
• Create various QR Codes that could easily share information about the bees on campus to be placed on bee hotels or signage near the Native Bee Nesting garden
• potentially host – a launch event of the Bee Trail, that may also double as a planting event to fill in a section of the garden that wasn’t successful. 

Resources available to students: 

https://facilities.mcmaster.ca/sustainability/native-bees-at-mcmaster/ 

Community Project Champions:

• Noah Stegman, Coordinator of Nature at McMaster and Pollinator Team member
• Susan Dudley, Professor of Biology and Pollinator Team member

Project Liaison 

• Nathan Butterworth, Community Engagement Coordinator, Academic Sustainability Programs Office

Hamilton Bike Share Inc. is the local not-for-profit organization that operates the City of Hamilton’s bike share system.  The bike share transit system has over 800 smart bikes across over 25 square kilometres of Hamilton.   

In the Winter of 2024, McMaster students voted in support of advocating for a heavily discounted universal bike share pass for all full-time undergraduate McMaster students, with the option to opt out.   

This project is designed to encourage new and experienced cyclists to consider  exploring the McMaster Community by organizing a “learn to ride” event and/or mini bike ride series in partnership with Hamilton Bike Share (potential options may include bike rides from McMaster to Dundas or McMaster to Bayfront park, to explore the beautiful areas that are close to McMaster campus.  The goal of this project is to encourage McMaster students to take advantage of the Hamilton Bike Share and explore the community through an active/sustainable form of transportation. 

Community Project Champion 

Olivia MacAskill, Hamilton Bike Share 

Cycling is a sustainable form of transportation and Cycle Hamilton is working to make Hamilton the best place for anyone to get around by bike and connect the community along the way. Cycle Hamilton is a non-profit advocacy organization that hosts many events throughout the year including an Annual General Meeting (AGM). At the AGM, community members come together to learn about the past year accomplishments, listen to guest speakers, discuss future plans, and socialize with others in the cycling community. Cycle Hamilton is looking to work with one group of students to host their 2024 AGM on Thursday, November 21, 2024 at Collective Arts.

The student group will focus on communicating, promoting and the logistics of planning the AGM. Tasks may include: contacting potential speakers, generating an overall theme, creating the agenda for the event, creating an Eventbrite, creating social media content, advertising in Cycle Hamilton’s newsletter and on their website, being present during the event to help ensure it runs smoothly, or developing any other content they believe will promote the event and anything else the group thinks would make a successful event.

Students who take on this project must be available to attend the AGM in person in November. 

Community Project Champion

Abbie Little, Cycle Hamilton Co-Chair 

For decades, cities have expanded their urban/suburban boundaries to use precious farmland for low density housing, which increases emissions, affects food security, and is costly for taxpayers.¹ About 38% of the world’s land area is dedicated to agriculture but this is changing with urban development.² In 2022, the Ontario provincial government ordered the City of Hamilton to expand its urban boundary by 5,400 acres, despite Hamilton city council’s support to hold the boundary firm.³

Stop Sprawl HamOnt (SSHO) is a “volunteer organization consisting of concerned residents who believe the best future for our city is one that invests within the existing suburban boundary and preserves Hamilton’s surrounding farmland and green space for a sustainable future”.³   

The soil of much of the farmland is considered to be in the top 0.5% of the best soil in the country and we need to save this non-renewable resource as this land is priceless.

Student who take on this project will work directly with a Co-Founder of SSHO to host a farm event at Manorun Organic Farm on Saturday, November 2, 2024 to engage with young local farmers.  The goal of this project is to increase McMaster students’ awareness of agricultural land use and its scarcity. 
 

This project is open to student creativity, and some ideas may include adding live music, food, and/or games.

Ideal students would be those who have an interest in or curiosity about saving farmland, politics, and who enjoy collaborative planning with others.

There is room for all ideas and skills, just bring your passion! 

Group 1: Event Planning

This student group will would focus on the logistics of planning this event. Tasks would include: contacting potential speakers, determine a suitable caterer, finalizing the overall agenda for the event along with anything else the group thinks would make a successful event. 

Note; when declaring your interest in this project, be sure to note that you must be available on November 2nd  for the event set-up, the duration of the event, and wrap up.

Community Project Champions

• Michelle Tom, Co-Founder Stop Sprawl HamOnt

• Sunit Toor, Stop Sprawl Students

CPC Support:

• Chris Krucker, Manorun Farm

• Nathan Butterworth, Community Engagement Co-ordinator

1. Lowes , K. (2022, November 23). The problems with Bill 23 and the proposal to remove lands from the Greenbelt. Ontario Nature. https://ontarionature.org/news-release/joint-statement-bill-23-and-greenbelt/ 

2. 2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2020, May 7). https://www.fao.org/sustainability/news/detail/en/c/1274219/
3. Stop sprawl hamont. Stop Sprawl HamOnt. (n.d.). https://www.ssho.ca/

For decades, cities have expanded their urban/suburban boundaries to use precious farmland for low density housing, which increases emissions, affects food security, and is costly for taxpayers.¹ About 38% of the world’s land area is dedicated to agriculture but this is changing with urban development.² In 2022, the Ontario provincial government ordered the City of Hamilton to expand its urban boundary by 5,400 acres, despite Hamilton city council’s support to hold the boundary firm.³

Stop Sprawl HamOnt (SSHO) is a “volunteer organization consisting of concerned residents who believe the best future for our city is one that invests within the existing suburban boundary and preserves Hamilton’s surrounding farmland and green space for a sustainable future”.³   

The soil of much of the farmland is considered to be in the top 0.5% of the best soil in the country and we need to save this non-renewable resource as this land is priceless.

Student who take on this project will work directly with a Co-Founder of SSHO to host a farm event at Manorun Organic Farm on Saturday, November 2, 2024 to engage with young local farmers.  The goal of this project is to increase McMaster students’ awareness of agricultural land use and its scarcity. 
 

This project is open to student creativity, and some ideas may include adding live music, food, and/or games.

Ideal students would be those who have an interest in or curiosity about saving farmland, politics, and who enjoy collaborative planning with others.

There is room for all ideas and skills, just bring your passion! 

Group 2: Communications?? 

This student group would focus on communicating and promoting the Farm Fest. Tasks will include creating an Eventbrite, creating social media content, advertising the event to McMaster students and developing any content that would help promote the event.?? 

Note; when declaring your interest in this project, be sure to note that you must be available on November 2nd  for the event set-up, the duration of the event, and wrap up.

Community Project Champions

• Michelle Tom, Co-Founder Stop Sprawl HamOnt

• Sunit Toor, Stop Sprawl Students

CPC Support:

• Chris Krucker, Manorun Farm

• Nathan Butterworth, Community Engagement Co-ordinator

1. Lowes , K. (2022, November 23). The problems with Bill 23 and the proposal to remove lands from the Greenbelt. Ontario Nature. https://ontarionature.org/news-release/joint-statement-bill-23-and-greenbelt/ 

2. 2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2020, May 7). https://www.fao.org/sustainability/news/detail/en/c/1274219/
3. Stop sprawl hamont. Stop Sprawl HamOnt. (n.d.). https://www.ssho.ca/

Encouraging and supporting sustainable mobility to and from McMaster is a priority of McMaster’s Parking & Transit Services. 

McMaster’s Parking & Transit Services is looking for SUSTAIN 3S03 to contribute to the future direction of the multi-modal transportation plan, whereby students will look at creating a multi-modal path from Cootes/Emerson to Sterling due to expected changes with the new residence, increased cycling on campus with the addition of  the Hamilton Bike Share being integrated into full time tuition fees.

Students undertaking this project will look at best practices from other Ontario Universities, the current multi-modal plan, new bike infrastructure and help Parking & Transit Services review quantitative/qualitative data to best prepare for the future. 

Students will be focusing primarily on the increase to cycling around campus, but it is encouraged that students look at a comprehensive approach for all forms of multi modal transportation including transit, pedestrian traffic etc.  

Community Project Champion

• Robert Morrallee, Director, Parking & Transit Services, Real Estate, Partnerships and Ancillaries, McMaster University

Project Liaison 

• Nathan Butterworth, Community Engagement Coordinator. 

Queer Biking Hamilton was created in 2024 with the goal to celebrate and bring together the queer biking community in Hamilton. The social group currently exists on Instagram and is looking to grow their presence and establish a mandate. Students who take on this project should be an ally of the queer community or member of the queer community and will be tasked with:

1. Determine a mandate (i.e., who can join, how to join, the mission/vision of the group, and any rules that members should follow)
2. Identify social media trends (reel/tiktok video) that would work and plan how to execute it
3. Create branding guidelines (logo, branding colours, font, messaging, and graphics)

Community Project Champion

Cara Sanelli, Founder of Queer Biking Hamilton

Project Liaison 

Nathan Butterworth, Community Engagement Coordinator 

Mental health conditions stand as one of the leading causes of disease burden worldwide, costing an estimated 50 billion a year in Canada (Mental Illness and Addiction, n.d.). In 2022 over 5 million Canadians aged 15 and older met the diagnostic criteria for mood, anxiety or substance use disorder in the last year (Government of Canada, 2023). Given the global health crisis posed by mental health disorders and the scarcity of accessible mental health resources, this project advocates for the integration of greenspaces at McMaster as a step to address these broader global health issues. Indoor greenspaces have been found to foster mental and physical well-being while also improving concentration and academic achievement. Despite the literature’s well-documented benefits, McMaster University falls short in incorporating indoor greenspaces. Last year students put out a campus-wide survey gaging the student’s perspective on increasing green space on campus, and the 250+ responses were overwhelmingly positive for implementation.  

The goal of this project is to develop an advocacy plan, providing the groundwork for a campus-wide initiative for implementing indoor greenspaces. 

Community Project Champion

Mikayla Robinson  

Project Advisors

Dr. Susan Dudley, Biology (Greenhouse) 

John Hemmer, Director of Maintenance Services 

Past SUSTAIN students worked with McMaster’s Facility Services and University Technology Services (UTS) and with Empowerment Squared to coordinate ACCESS Tech, a technology reuse and donation initiative. Empowerment Squared is a local charitable organization that empowers newcomers, racialized, and marginalized communities with tools and opportunities to thrive. Empowerment Squared refurbishes collected devices and works with their network of community organizations to distribute donated technology to local families in need.

The goal of this project is to increase the number of laptops and smart phones that are collected, refurbished, and donated.

ACCESS Tech is hosting their next collection event in late October/early November (date and time tbc) whereby SUSTAIN 2SS3 students can learn about and support promotion/communication, event planning, collection, sorting, and refurbishment. Students can then apply what they learn to develop an advocacy plan to McMaster staff to increase donations for future events.

More information related to ACCESS Tech can be found – ACCESS Tech: IT Collection, Reuse, and Donation – Facility Services (mcmaster.ca) 

Community Project Champions

• Sanya Sharma, Coordinator, ACCESS Tech, McMaster University

Project Advisors 

• Dave Cano, Director of Sustainability, Facility Services 
• Carlos Figueira, Director Custodial, Grounds, Logistics and Mail Services, Facility Services 

Project Liaison

• Nathan Butterworth, Community Engagement Coordinator 

McMaster’s ACCESS Tech program facilitates the collection, refurbishment, and donation of technology to Hamiltonians in need (read more here). In addition to computers, monitors, and keyboards, the team also collects smartphones, laptops, HDMI cables and more for reuse and redistribution.  This advocacy project will provide SUSTAIN 2SS3 students with the opportunity to work with student staff of the ACCESS Tech program to develop their ideas and engagement strategies in the creation of an advocacy plan to encourage students to consider the environmental impact of purchasing “new tech” vs. refurbished products. 

Community Project Champion

Sanya Sharma, Coordinator, ACCESS Tech, McMaster University

Project Liaison

Nathan Butterworth, Community Engagement Coordinator 

The Bring Your Own Mug (BYOM) program aims to decrease the amount of single use paper and plastic cups at McMaster, thereby promoting a sustainable campus environment. Through discussions with the Hospitality Services team, it was found that the BYOM program is currently being under-utilized by students. The goal of our project is to create awareness and advocate for behaviour change to the McMaster community. 

Students taking on this project will create an advocacy project plan that aims to raise awareness about the program on campus to increase overall student participation. 

SUSTAIN 2SS3 students will advocate to McMaster student leaders (Residence or MSU) in hopes that the project will be able to quickly expand as incoming students are acclimatized to this being part of the McMaster culture. 

Community Project Champion

Liana Bontempo, Hospitality Food Services  

What waste goes where in Hamilton? And on campus?

With Blue Box & Recycling programs, Green Bin & Composting, wet and dry systems found in other municipalities,  Waste Collection in the City of Hamilton and on campus can be confusing and often may be different from one city to the next. 

This Advocacy project is meant to reach out to NEW McMaster students providing them with the resources that students need to know with respect to waste management on and off campus.   

Community Project Champion

Dave Cano, Director, Sustainability, Facility Services, McMaster University 

McMaster University is signatory to the Okanagan Charter, which is committed to optimizing the health and well-being of campus. Since 2019, McMaster has worked to promote native bees on campus and currently has 75 native bee nests and is a Bee City Campus. McMaster is situated in a native bee ‘hot spot’ with over 200 native bee species.

In the fall of 2022, a group of SUSTAIN 3S03 students and their Community Project Champions laid the groundwork for McMaster’s ground nesting bee garden. In 2023, another group of SUSTAIN 3S03 students and project champions facilitated the planting of native pollinators in the garden — the group planted pollinator species and created the infrastructure for bees to nest.

This semester, SUSTAIN 2SS3 students have the opportunity to plan an advocacy campaign for Pollinator Week, which will take place June 2025. The task involves conducting background research, exploring past SUSTAIN projects, and reviewing previous content posted on the @macsustain Instagram account related to Native Bees at McMaster.

The proposed social media campaign aims to raise awareness about native pollinators at McMaster through various components:

1. Informative Carousel Post: Develop concepts (storyboards) for an informative carousel post based on background research, focusing on key messages and visually appealing elements.
2. Engaging Reel: Brainstorm ideas for an engaging reel using footage from previous events, with the option to record additional nature-focused content from around campus.
3. Instagram Story Highlight: Recommend consolidation of specific content related to pollinators into a story highlight, planning the sequence and organization. This will serve as a centralized resource for followers interested in learning more about McMaster’s initiatives and the significance of pollinators.

Community Project Champions

• Ashley Low, Communications Assistant, Academic Sustainability Programs Office

• Molly Mikola, Instructional Coordinator, EIP 

Liaison and Project Mentor

• Susan Dudley, Professor of Biology and Pollinator Team Member
• Noah Stegman, Coordinator of Nature at McMaster and Pollinator Team Member

“Although we may not always see them, bats are hard at work all around the world each night – eating thousands of mosquitos and other insects, which helps all of us by providing millions of dollars’ worth in pest control. Bats are in trouble. A disease known as White-nosed Syndrome has wiped out millions of bats in North America. Habitat loss, pesticide use and evictions from roost sites produce an added threat to already stressed populations.” (https://cwf-fcf.org/en/explore/bats/?src=menu#overview)

Additionally, did you know that McMaster University is home to Canada’s only captive colony of insectivorous bat. (https://batlab.mcmaster.ca/) ???? 

This semester, SUSTAIN 2SS3 students have the opportunity to plan an advocacy campaign for Bat Week, which will take place in October 24 -31, 2024 (actual advocacy campaign may be used in 2025).  

?The proposed social media campaign aims to raise awareness about bats at McMaster through various components:?? 

1. Informative Carousel Post: Develop concepts (storyboards) for an informative carousel post based on background research, focusing on key messages and visually appealing elements.??
2. Engaging Reel: Brainstorm ideas for an engaging reel.  
3. Instagram Story Highlight: Recommend consolidation of specific content related to bats into a story highlight, planning the sequence and organization.  

Community Project Champions??? 

Ashley Low, Communications Assistant, Academic Sustainability Programs Office??? 

Noah Stegman, Coordinator of Nature at McMaster  

Advocating for active mobility as part of Winter Bike to Work Day?? 

Every year, the City of Hamilton celebrates active mobility in the winter months with Winter Bike to Work Day (WBTWD). This year, Cycle Hamilton and Environment Hamilton are teaming up to coordinate WBTWD 2022 which will encourage people to get out on their bike and join the Hamilton community at Gore Park in February (date TBA).? 

Students who take on this project will be responsible for advocating active mobility to students at McMaster and lead a ride* from campus to Gore Park on WBTWD 2022. This will include:? 

• Educating McMaster community on the benefits of active mobility? 

• Promoting WBTWD?? 

Although not taking place during the Fall term, students who take on this project may be asked to be available on WBTWD , to assist with actual WBTWD ride (participation is not mandatory). 

Community Project Champion

Nathan Butterworth, Community Engagement Co-ordinator? 

With more than 300 student clubs and associations, faculty and staff events across McMaster’s campus, McMaster community groups are constantly meeting with one another for various reasons, whether it is as simple as a meeting that occurs weekly/biweekly or monthly, or even an end of year celebration.  Student groups are meeting and often those meetings have food/drink at them. 

This project is about creating a Zero Waste Event Guide that could potentially be used by any group on campus – the focus being primarily on student clubs and what they can do to be more sustainable. 

Community Project Champion

Dave Cano, Director, Sustainability, Facility Services, McMaster University 

Nelly Chisom Okwu-Wolu, Zero Waste McMaster