What makes a sustainability leader?

Every year, the University of Calgary Sustainability Awards continue to reflect the outstanding work that students, faculty and staff are doing to advance sustainability on and off campus, and 2019 was no exception. On March 19, UCalgary held its 11th annual Sustainability Awards ceremony to recognize campus community members who contributed to sustainability excellence both at UCalgary and in the broader community. Finalists were celebrated for their ability to advance UCalgary’s Institutional Sustainability Strategy through a focus on collaboration, creativity and impact.     

Deputy Provost Florentine Strzelczyk and Vice-President (Facilities) Bart Becker hosted the ceremony to celebrate the campus community’s accomplishments. “UCalgary aims to become a Canadian post-secondary leader in sustainability through our Eyes High strategy, academic and engagement programs, administrative and operational practices, and by supporting community and industry in their aims for sustainability leadership,” Strzelczyk said at the event.

Pictured above are the 2019 Staff Sustainability Award: Group Leadership winners, Ana Pazmino, centre left, and Natasha Yee, centre right, who accepted the award on the group’s behalf from Florentine Strzelczyk and Bart Becker. The group won for their work on UCalgary’s Standardized Waste Bin Project.

“The individuals recognized at the 2019 Sustainability Awards show a remarkable commitment to sustainability and are making a difference not only at UCalgary, but in our communities, locally and globally.”

Along with student MCs Katherine Liu and Anamim Letta, the deputy provost and vice-president (facilities) presented Sustainability Award winners with a certificate and a lucky bamboo symbolizing positive energy, success, resilience and fortitude — the same attributes of UCalgary’s sustainability leaders.

This year, a diverse range of thoughtful applications were submitted in seven categories including two new categories: the Sustainability Teaching Award and the Experiential Learning Project in Sustainability Award.

“The diversity of the submissions reflects the interest, passion and concern our campus community has for sustainability, and at every awards ceremony, we are humbled by the high calibre of work that our campus community,” Becker said. “At UCalgary, we are dedicated to developing sustainability leaders, and we offer a variety of ways for students, faculty and staff to get involved.”

Congratulations to the 2019 finalists and winners. Stay tuned to UCalgary’s sustainability Facebook and Instagram pages to celebrate the winners over the coming weeks. To learn more about all the great work our students, faculty and staff are doing, as well as the many programs and engagement initiatives available on campus, visit UCalgary’s sustainability website.

2019 Sustainability Award Winners

Undergraduate Student Sustainability Award
Tina Guo, Cumming School of Medicine
Founder and co-executive director, Students Against Domestic Abuse Association

Graduate Student Sustainability Award
Asha Hollis, Cumming School of Medicine
Improved accessibility and adoption of Global Access to Medicine Guidelines to help lower prices of medicines in low-income countries while promoting sustainability.

Staff Sustainability Award: Individual Leadership
Sanjay Khulbe, Ancillary Services
Introduced the Fill it Forward initiative, in partnership with peer helpers, to reduce the number of single use water bottles and coffee cups used on campus.

Staff Sustainability Award: Group Leadership
Ana Pazmino (Facilities), Natasha Yee (PMO), Amanda Mosca (Sustainability), Mark Scharf (PMO) Sam Whyte (Caretaking), Michael Love (Caretaking), Tracy Fox (Communications), Lisa Rowson (Communications), Robin Xu (Grounds), Hardy Huang (Campus Architecture), Jo Stoynich (SCM), Barry Dick (Student's Union), Bart Becker (Facilities) and Stephen Gasser (Facilities Management)
Standardized Waste Bin Project  

Faculty Research in Sustainability Award
Sasha Tsenkova, Faculty of Environmental Design
Research focuses on urban sustainability, affordable housing, and planning for socially inclusive cities in Europe and North America

Sustainability Teaching Award (Tie)
Joe Kadi, Faculty of Arts
Teaches in Philosophy and Women’s Studies; nominated for work on block week WMST course on Ecofeminism

Houston Peschl, Haskayne School of Business
Teaches in Haskayne School of Business; nominated for course on Entrepreneurial Thinking, which teaches systems thinking and social innovation

Student Club Sustainability Award 
Emerging Leaders for Solar Energy (ELSE) (accepted by Karthi Karunakaran and Varun Bhatt)
Community Garden Solar Project; Solar Dolly (mobile solar panel used in workshops, engagement activities, etc.)

Experiential Learning Project in Sustainability Award 
Exploring Communities: Community Collabs
Dr. Victoria Fast, PhD (Exploring Communities), Ben Morin (Exploring Communities), Tyson Bankert (Building Stronger Communities),  Ariam Wolde-Giorgis (Community Engagement), Leslie Evans (Federation of Calgary Communities) and UCalgary Students in UBST 591 - Capstone in Urban Studies
An experiential learning project that partners students with community associations around Calgary to develop tactical urbanism projects

The University of Calgary’s Institutional Sustainability Strategy provides a road map for continuous improvement in our pursuit of excellence and leadership in sustainability. We aim to become a Canadian post-secondary education leader in sustainability in our academic and engagement programs, administrative and operational practices and through supporting community and industry in their aims for leadership in sustainability. Learn more about UCalgary’s leadership in sustainability.