University of Waterloo
EN-3: Student Life

Founded in 2018, Impact Alliance is a student-run club focused on mobilizing youth action on the Sustainable Development Goals. They engage students from various disciplines through workshops, training modules, digital campaigns, and larger conferences/events. In addition, WUSA Sustainability Initiative (WSI) provides opportunities for student leadership and involvement, as do the Climate Students, Campus Compost, and other clubs. There are many other active student groups that are focused on specific aspects of sustainability (https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainability/get-involved/student-groups).

The Community Garden Project is a student run initiative that aims to create a community of sustainability conscious individuals who are driven to improve food accessibility in the community while highlighting sustainability issues in food production. The garden also acts as an educational tool to demonstrate that students can grow their own produce in a sustainable and financially accessible way.

ES Coffee Shop – The Environmental Studies Coffee Shop is a student run coffee shop operated in EV1-138. The Coffee Shop is dedicated to offering premium quality coffee and foods from local shops while maintaining high environmental standards. Their coffee is Fair Trade certified and is roasted locally in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Their Policy Statement clearly recognizes and prioritizes exemplifying social and environmental leadership in operations of the Coffee Shop (p25 of the attached: https://uwaterloo.ca/environment-students-society/sites/ca.environment-students-society/files/uploads/files/ess_constitution_november_2019.pdf).The Coffee Shop is operated by volunteers, and managed by two University of Waterloo students (taken from: http://ess.uwaterloo.ca/coffee-shop/) In addition, WUSA is launching a new secondhand clothing store as a social venture to provide students with low-cost gently used items while preventing waste to landfill from clothing.

Sustainability Action Fund – The Sustainability Action Fund (SAF) supports projects and initiatives that improve sustainability at the University of Waterloo. Project funds are distributed based on a call for applications, with successful applications determined by the President’s Advisory Committee on Environmental Sustainability (PACES). Any student, staff, or faculty is able to apply to the fund. (https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainability/get-involved/sustainability-action-fund)

Numerous conferences have taken place focusing specifically on Student Engagement in the SDGs, including but not limited to the Global Solutions Conference in 2019, Canadian Conference on Sustainability in Engineering in 2020, and the SDG Impact Challenge hackathon in 2021.

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Knowledge Integration (KI) program at the University participate in an annual Knowledge Integration eXhibition (KIX) to fulfill their capstone program requirement. Since 2018, the KIX exhibits have focused on the Sustainable Development Goals. Students are responsible for selecting a topic, establishing learning objectives, designing information/activities, and ultimately producing an exhibit. The installations are displayed in the Faculty of Environment Courtyard for one week; students, staff, and faculty from across campus are welcome and encouraged to attend. In 2019, student teams created five exhibits, including installations on waste reduction and socially sustainable communities. (https://uwaterloo.ca/knowledge-integration-exhibition/kix-2019)

.): The Ecology Lab provides opportunities to engage with the University of Waterloo community, prospective students, local schools, and even internationally through their established outreach programs. They offer field and lab activities designed for students, including enrichment programs, workshops, and competitions. (https://uwaterloo.ca/ecology-lab/outreach-workshops). In addition, the Sustainability Office often hosts workshops on various sustainability skills and resources for sustainable living.

Waterloo’s Sustainability Office regularly hires multiple co-op students to assist in the coordination of events, campaigns, research projects, and program implementation. Similar roles have been hired in Plant Operations to support energy and waste management initiatives.

Multiple design teams on campus including:
1) Midnight Sun Solar Team – Founded in 1988, the Midnight Sun Team arose with the concept of a solar powered bike. Named after the natural phenomenon in the Arctic, the Midnight Sun is when the sun remains visible for 24 hours a day during the summer – the ideal situation for sustainable solar power. As the largest student run project on campus, they have moved on from bikes to designing and producing world-class solar race cars for competitions around the globe. With a team of almost all University of Waterloo undergraduates and funding from sponsors, they have managed to build and race 12 solar race cars. (http://www.uwmidsun.com/)
2) UW Alternative Fuels Team – Formed in 1996, the UW Alternative Fuels Teams focuses on technology changes in vehicles to make them more environmentally friendly, including conversions for electric vehicles. (https://uwaterloo.ca/alternative-fuels-team/)
3) Warrior Home – Formed in 2018, this student design team is focused on working with local partners do design home concepts that are affordable and meet net-zero-energy requirements. They have worked collaboratively with Habitat for Humanity Waterloo Region in the past. They compete annually in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon (https://uwaterloo.ca/sedra-student-design-centre/directory-teams/warrior-home)

Many of the above initiatives, student groups, clubs, and societies are available online on the Sustainability Website: https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainability/get-involved/student-groups