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 organization to distribute to donated technology to local families in need.   

This past fall, a group of SUSTAIN 3S03 students planned a very successful donation event to collect unused devices from across, and the group captured contact information from each person who donated. Concurrently, a group of SUSTAIN 4S06 students interviewed tech donors about the experiences and motivations to donate technology to the program.  

We are interested in a group of SUSTAIN 2SS3 students to leverage information from both previous SUSTAIN groups to develop a plan to advocate for an ACCESS Tech Champions Program, similar to the newly implemented Composting Champions Program. 

For example: 

• Who already donates? What departments are they from and what roles do they hold? 
• What motivates donors to donate?  
• What are the barriers to donate, and how can we remove them? 
• What are the opportunities to donate, and how can we leverage them? 
• How do we reach out to potential ACCESS Tech Champions and encourage their involvement? 

If students are interested and able to demonstrate both their effectiveness and accountability, they have the potential to implement and test their advocacy plan by piloting the ACCESS Tech Champions Program this Winter.  

Community Project Champions:   

• Greg Iarusso, Communications, University Technology Services
• Emilia Nietresta, Project Co-Lead, IT Collection & Reuse, Facility Services, McMaster University

Project Advisors:   

• Carlos Figueira, Director, Custodial, Grounds, Logistics and Mail Services, Facility Services, McMaster University   
• Richard Godsmark, Director, IT Strategy & Services, University Technology Services, McMaster University   
• Paula Brown-Hackett, Director, Campus (Core) Infrastructure Systems, University Technology Services, McMaster University 
• Alexander Schaap, Project Co-Lead, IT Collection & Reuse, Facility Services, McMaster University 

The Greater Hamilton Health Network (GHHN) is one of the first Ontario Health Teams across the province, with a purpose of transforming healthcare in partnership with patients, families, care partners, primary care, local organizations and the community. 

A collaboration of local health and social service partners the GHHN includes representation from more than 30 organizations, we are a dedicated group of professionals, organizations and people with lived experience working to co-design a patient centred, health system grounded in engagement, health equity and the local needs of the communities we serve. 

The GHHN is in the position to advocate with and on behalf of health equity issues arising in the Hamilton, Haldimand and Niagara Northwest areas.  Addressing concerns such as equitable access to healthcare, housing and issues surrounding homelessness.  This research paper will outline an extreme heat and winter response plan to address the over-capacity of shelters, emergency rooms and the alarming number of individuals who face extreme heat events and the winter outside with little to no resources or services. Students will research Hamilton’s shelters, outreach services, hours of operation, and programming available during extreme heat and winter events and compare and contrast them to other cities to develop recommendations and a plan to address these issues locally.

Community Project Champions: 

• Megan Lynch, GHHN Manager of Priority Populations 
• Anna Burns, Coordinator of Engagement and Communications 

Information for review: 
City of Hamilton Heat Warnings and Heat related illness: https://www.hamilton.ca/people-programs/public-health/environmental-health-hazards/heat-warnings-heat-related-illness
City of Hamilton: Cold Alerts and Community Response: https://www.hamilton.ca/people-programs/public-health/environmental-health-hazards/cold-alerts-community-response 

Cycling is a sustainable alternative form of transportation, and Cycle Hamilton is a local nonprofit who is working to make Hamilton the best place for anyone to get around by bike and connect with the community along the way.  

Recently the Board completed a recruitment campaign to expand their Board but were concerned their pool of applicants lacked diversity (geographic, ethnic, gender, age, etc.). This group of SUSTAIN 2SS3 students would be responsible for conducting secondary research to understand recruitment strategies for non-profit boards, create a matrix and process for a future Board recruitment, and present the findings and plan to the Board at their monthly meeting.  

Community Project Champions:

• Rachel Weldrick, Volunteer, Cycle Hamilton   
• Abbie Little, Secretary, Cycle Hamilton Board Member 

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 , a plan to implement a native bee nesting garden in the spring, and is a Bee City Campus. McMaster is situated in a native bee ‘hot spot’ with over 200 native bee species.  

SUSTAIN 2SS3 students who take on this project would be tasked with reviewing current communication methods used, make recommendations for what can be improved, and create a plan to implement the changes.  This could include improving communication to students/staff/community on the issues, infographics/posters, new signage for campus, and any other unique methods students come up with! 

Community Project Champion:

• Noah Stegman, Coordinator of Nature at McMaster and Pollinator Team member 

McMaster’s Hospitality Services is committed to making sustainable change to their operations. One way is through the “Choose to Reuse – Bring Your Own Mug” (BYOM) program! Individuals who bring their own reusable mug at participating locations on McMaster campus will receive a discount on their purchase.   

To increase this program’s usage, students in SUSAIN 3S03 worked to create a campaign to promote this program. Through their project, they identified barriers which resulted in low numbers of students knowing about it and using it.  

Students who take on this project will build off the work of SUSTAIN 3S03 students to assess the current program, identify barriers, conduct secondary research into other similar programs that are successful, and make recommendations on how to reduce the barriers so that more students know about BYOM and use it.  

Community Project Champion: 

• Liana Bontempo, Wellness and Sustainability Manager, Hospitality Services   

Cycling is a sustainable alternative form of transportation, and Cycle Hamilton is a local nonprofit who is working to make Hamilton the best place for anyone to get around by bike and connect with the community along the way.  

Recently, the nonprofit held their Annual General Meeting which was attended by over 80 Hamiltonians. At the meeting, research students in SUSTAIN 4S06 asked attendees about their perceptions of the impact that is or could be provided by Cycle Hamilton. The SUSTAIN 4S06 students have preliminary findings ready and this group of SUSTAIN 2SS3 students would be responsible for creating a plan on how to implement these findings and present them to the Board.  

Community Project Champions:

• Rachel Weldrick, Volunteer, Cycle Hamilton   
• Abbie Little, Secretary, Cycle Hamilton Board Member 

The Greater Hamilton Health Network (GHHN) is one of the first Ontario Health Teams (OHT) across the province, with a purpose of transforming healthcare in partnership with patients, families, care partners, primary care, local organizations and the community.  

A collaboration of local health and social service partners the GHHN includes representation from more than 30 organizations, we are a dedicated group of professionals, organizations and people with lived experience working to co-design a patient centred, health system grounded in engagement, health equity and the local needs of the communities we serve. 

The GHHN is currently the only OHT to include Environmental Sustainability in their strategic plan. As part of the Sustainability Road Map for the GHHN, a survey was conducted to review and assess the current state of environmental sustainability of partner organizations. Following this survey, a report was developed with a host of recommendations, including knowledge and capacity building. As part of this recommendation, the GHHN would like to host an introductory workshop for all leaders of GHHN partner organizations. Students will be responsible for working with the GHHN Environmental Advisory Committee to identify workshop objectives, identify and invite speakers, prepare pre-workshop reading materials, develop the workshop outline and powerpoint, and complete an evaluation survey. 

Community Project Champion: 

• Marijke Jurriaans, Sustainability Project Manager (Greater Hamilton Health Network)

The Haldimand War Memorial Hospital (HWMH) aims to serve its community by providing the best possible care for its residents. Located in Dunnville, the HWMH serves several rural communities, including Caledonia, Dunnville, Hagersville, Jarvis, and Cayuga, with a total population of roughly 49,000 people over ~1,250 square kilometers. You can learn more about the Haldimand County community here. 

HWMH has embraced the call to green health care and is an active leader in hospital environmental stewardship. From their 2014 Energy Conversation and Demand Management Plan to replacing Styrofoam take-out containers with recycled cardboard containers, HWMH is on the forefront of green care. Moving into their next phase of green work, the HWMH is looking to follow the PEACH sustainability guidebook for hospitals, including the road map to environmental stewardship.  

Students will work with HWMH and their Environmental Sustainability Committee to identify low-hanging fruit as outlined within the PEACH tree diagram, develop an implementation action plan, including an evaluation to evaluate the impact and outcome, with an opportunity to present these elements to relevant stakeholders. The Committee has previously identified MDI inhalers as a top priority project for HWMH but has also identified projects within procurement as potential initiatives.  

Community Project Champions: 

• Dr. Reza Kazemi, Physician Lead for Environmental Sustainability (HWMH) 
• Marijke Jurriaans, Sustainability Project Manager (Greater Hamilton Health Network)

Stop Sprawl HamOnt is a coalition of citizens and community groups advocating in an intense and unprecendented way to defend Hamilton’s urban boundary and save farmland from sprawl development.  

They have had enormous success in a campaign last summer to engage 18,000 Hamiltonians to participate in a city-wide survey. Over 90% wanted to save 3300 acres of farmland. Now, they are up against the province which plans to override the municipal plan and impose 5,000 acres of development on some of the country’s best farmland. The soil here is in the top 0.5% of soil in the country and the need to save this non-renewable resource is priceless. 

Students who take on this project would work directly with a Co-Founder of StopSprawl to  develop community engagement tools aimed at the 13-25 year old demographic including but not limited to: developing educational workshops, planning a farm event to engage youth with local young farmers, creating a social media campaign, and drafting a blog post or opinion piece for the local paper.  

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

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

Community Project Champion:

• Michelle Tom, Co-Founder StopSprawl HamOnt  

Zero Waste McMaster is a club that is focused on promoting sustainable and accessible low waste living. In 2020, Zero Waste McMaster began its partnership with free Ecosia, a search engine that donates its ad revenue to reforestation projects across the globe. For every 45 searches, approximately 1 tree is planted. Ecosia has planted over 160 million trees and has approximately 200 million users. To date, McMaster students’ collective search count on personal devices has reached over 45,000 and consequently over 1,000 trees planted.

With the long-term goal for McMaster to adopt Ecosia as the default search engine on all university computers, Zero Waste McMaster is working with campus stakeholders to understand barriers and opportunities to pilot the installation and use and provide feedback along the way. In October 2022, Zero Waste McMaster collaborated with the McMaster Students Union (MSU) to pilot Ecosia on 20+ staff computers, and the pilot is currently underway.

Students who take on this project will be working with community project champions and student leaders from Zero Waste McMaster to prepare an advocacy plan complete with clear, concise, and compelling communications to engage other departments in an Ecosia pilot.

While the project is open to creativity, SUSTAIN 2SS3 students can expect to create and disseminate information through email, memo, and presentation to department and faculty leaders and leadership teams. Students will develop communication strategies that advocate for the importance of Ecosia to users, and gain community feedback to learn more about effective implementation strategies. This project provides an opportunity for SUSTAIN 2SS3 students to extend their course experience to go above and beyond by implementing their advocacy plan and materials and successfully launch the next Ecosia pilot at McMaster, paving the way for sustainable change on an institutional level by setting up McMaster University as the first Canadian university to make the switch to Ecosia.

Community Project Champion(s): 

• Paris Liu, Co-President, Zero Waste McMaster
• Tina Wu, Vice President of Projects, Zero Waste McMaster
• Nelly Okwu-wolu, Project Team Executive, Zero Waste McMaster
• Richard Godsmark, Deputy Chief Technology Officer and Director, IT Strategy & Services
• Kate Whalen, Associate Director, Academic Sustainability Programs