Projects intended to lead social and environmental change have received a funding boost through IMPACT! The Co-operators Youth Program for Sustainability Leadership. Two U of G students, Émanuèle Lapierre-Fortin and Sara Wicks, were among the eight recipients of the funding.

Lapierre-Fortin was granted an extra $1,500 for her work with UoG Net Impact, which will be organizing “No Impact Week.” This event will encourage students to reduce their environmental footprint through community, lifestyle and political participation/change.

Wicks received and additional $2,500 for the “Reduce the Juice” program. Thanks to renewed funding, this alternative energy project will enable the installation of an exterior LCD sign at Waterloo Collegiate Institute to display real-time data about the production of solar energy and the associated reductions in CO2 emissions.

IMPACT! was developed in partnership with U of G’s Department of Business Professor Rumina Dhalla and was first held in 2009. The three-day, all-expense paid conference provides students the opportunity to explore sustainability solutions with like-minded peers, industry and academic leaders. 

The next IMPACT! conference will take place from September 15-18, 2011 at U of G and will feature Dr. David Suzuki. The application deadline is January 23. For more detailed information about the conference please visit the IMPACT! website [1]. 

For additional information about these projects read this news release [2].