UM Sustainability Champions – Celebrating our Sustainability Award Winners
During this time of reflection on the year, we’d like to highlight the efforts of some fabulous UM students, staff and faculty in contributing to the betterment of our campus and community! The following winners of the 2020 Sustainability Awards were selected by a committee and received their awards at UM Sustainability Night on March 5.
Undergraduate Student Sustainability Award
Award Recipient: Fiona Lebar
The Undergraduate Student Sustainability Award winner goes to an individual who demonstrates:
- Leadership to educate, advocate and advance our understanding of sustainability in the campus context
- Sustainable environmental practice on campus and a keen interest in sustainability
- The link between environmental, economic and social well-being and sustainability in their studies and/or campus activities
Fiona is a 3rd year undergraduate student studying environmental science with a focus on stewardship and sustainability. As a member of the Office of Sustainability’s Sustainability Ambassador Program, Fiona became involved in various campus projects, focusing on advocating for environmental change at the University. Her work is socially inclusive by engaging other students to participate in projects like the waste audit. She knows how to communicate with necessary stakeholders and has even coordinated a workshop with students to ensure that necessary guidance is provided. She is economically mindful of projects she presents and looks for ways to maintain the bottom line while also moving the environmental needle and seeking results.
Graduate Student Sustainability Award
Award Recipient: Muhammad Aldhshan
The Graduate Student Sustainability Award winner goes to an individual who demonstrates:
- Leadership to educate, advocate and advance our understanding of sustainability in the campus context
- Sustainable environmental practice on campus and a keen interest in sustainability
- The link between environmental, economic and social well-being and sustainability in their studies and/or campus activities
Muhammad is a 2nd year graduate student in a Master of Science program, focusing on Physiology and Pathophysiology. Muhammad advocates sustainability as an active member of several environmental and sustainability advocacy groups, including the Sustainability Ambassador Program, while also practicing daily sustainable habits from using reusable cutlery and containers, to building his own bike from used parts and using it as his main form of transport. In his graduate research project, Muhammad focuses on the role of environmental enrichment on promoting healthy metabolism in mice. He focuses on improving the living condition of laboratory mice by housing them in larger cages supplied with toys and objects that fosters their mental and physical health. He also utilizes group housing of laboratory mice which not only insure healthy social interactions of these animals but also reduces the resources needed for their housing by more than 50%. Using both his personal and academic outlets to promote sustainability, Muhammad seeks to motivate others to be aware of their impact on the planet and lives out approaches to sustainable living to inspire others.
Student Group Sustainability Award
Award Recipient: Student Architecture Society – Sustainability Committee
The Student Group Sustainability Award goes to a group that demonstrates:
- Collective leadership and achievement in educating, advocating and advancing our understanding of sustainability within the University of Manitoba campus community
- A measurable and lasting impact on environmental, economic and social well-being
The Sustainability Committee of the Student Architecture Society has made great improvements to promoting sustainable practices and infrastructure within the Architecture Faculty. The committee engaged with faculty members to promote sustainable living and to incorporate sustainability topics into curriculum to pass on the mindset of sustainability to future designers.
The committee planned social events including workshops outlining sustainable strategies for students to use in their personal or academic lives. The committee implemented big changes to the architecture faculty such as assisting in starting and executing a composting program in the faculty buildings and creating a pen/writing utensil recycling program for the faculty. The committee is also currently working alongside faculty to brainstorm ideas to implement large scale changes to the architecture buildings with some of the unused tech fund.
Staff Sustainability Award
Award Recipient: Emily Clyde-Parry Yaroszko
The Staff Sustainability Award goes to an individual that demonstrates:
- Leadership to educate, advocate and advance our understanding of sustainability in the campus context
- Sustainable environmental practices on campus and a keen interest in sustainability
- Sustainability may or may not be a defined job responsibility
Emily is a staff member of the university in the Office of Institutional Analysis. As a Go-Rep, she respectfully promotes sustainable practices to her co-workers and the campus community every day. She leads by example: how to live sustainably; how to care for the earth and all living things; and how to make a difference for the future. On any day she can be found taking public transit to work, running irregular recycling projects of her own initiative, or using her personal break time to clean up litter and cigarette butts on campus. Emily confidently communicates the importance of sustainability practices, both on and off campus. She incorporates sustainability ideas into everyday conversations with co-workers. She educates co-workers with posters reminding us to not waste water, or to take the shuttle bus between campuses rather than drive. She writes messages on our workplace kitchen whiteboard with tips on how to recycle without contaminating, and reminders to remove the stickers from fruit peels before composting.
Stay tuned for next year’s Sustainability Awards and to our social media for more ways to get involved!