Ottawa, August 3, 2023 – Twenty-four college and institute climate champions, including institutions, groups, and individuals, were recognized through Colleges and Institutes Canada’s first ImpAct-Climate Challenge. From February to May of this year, the challenge invited college and institute students, faculty, and staff from across the country to submit ideas, actions, and projects to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on campus.
In total, over 100 submissions were received in a wide range of creative formats, including poems, photos, short videos, social media posts, infographics, and t-shirts. Winners were selected by a jury, and prizes were awarded to institutions, groups, and individuals.
“We are incredibly proud of the climate leadership our members and their students show all year round,” said CICan President and CEO, Denise Amyot. “This first-ever ImpAct-Climate Challenge is a wonderful example of that leadership. We hope that the ideas shared, and conversations held through the challenge will inspire more to act to reduce emissions.”
In total, 24 prizes were awarded:
For institutions, prizes were awarded to the institutions with the highest number of submissions based on size category. The institutional winners in each size category will receive a recognition plaque and a student bursary worth $3,000 for a student climate leader on their campus.
- In the large institution category: Centennial College
- In the medium-large institution category: Canadore College
- In the medium-small institution category: College of the Rockies
- In the small institution category: Cégep de Matane
For individuals, prizes were awarded in areas of GHG reduction identified by the ImpAct-Climate project: transportation, food, waste, and buildings or landscapes. Winners will receive cash prizes of $500, $300, and $200 for gold, silver, and bronze levels.
- Winning gold in the transportation category: Alex Baybuz from Lethbridge College
- Winning silver in the transportation category: Emily Counti from Humber College
- Winning bronze in the transportation category: Emmanuel Arsenault from Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles
- Winning gold in the food category: Charmane Sanchez from Canadore College
- Winning silver in the food category: Emiko Ohama from Thompson Rivers University
- Winning bronze in the food category: Patricia Chlystek from Cégep John Abbott College
- Winning gold in the waste category: Tanya Nadeau from College of the Rockies
- Winning silver in the waste category: Eartha Daliuag from Bow Valley College
- Winning bronze in the waste category: Sajjad Bhimani from Centennial College
- Winning gold in the buildings or landscapes category: Tanya Sogani from Humber College
- Winning silver in the buildings or landscapes category: Queensley Nnenna Uko from Thompson Rivers University
- Winning bronze in the buildings or landscapes category: Jerin Jeejo from Thompson Rivers University
- NOTE: Unfortunately, we did not receive any submissions in the Indigenous approaches category.
For group submissions, prizes were awarded to teams in three categories of CICan member institutions. Donations worth $1500, $750, and $500 for gold, silver, and bronze levels will be made to a cause of their choice.
- Winning gold in the rural category: Cégep de Victoriaville
- Winning silver in the rural category: Cégep de Matane
- Winning bronze in the rural category: Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles
- Winning gold in the urban category: Red Deer Polytechnic
- Winning silver in the urban category: Centennial College
- Winning bronze in the urban category: Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
- Winning gold in the official-language minority category: Cégep John Abbott College
- Winning silver in the official-language minority category: Cégep John Abbott College
- NOTE: Unfortunately, we did not receive any submissions from Indigenous institutions.
Congratulations to our winners!
The ImpAct-Climate Challenge is part of CICan’s ImpAct-Climate project, a five-year project to raise awareness about greenhouse gases and encourage behaviour change to reduce emissions in the college and institute sector.
About Colleges and Institutes Canada:
Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) is the national and international voice of Canada’s largest post-secondary education network. It advocates, builds capacity, and drives knowledge to strengthen Canada’s publicly supported colleges, institutes, CEGEPs, and polytechnics. With more than 95% of Canadians living within 50 km of a member institution, and thanks to its extensive reach around the globe, CICan works to future-proof communities in Canada and abroad.
We respectfully acknowledge that CICan’s offices in Ottawa are located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation.
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For more information:
Katrina King
Senior Digital Communications Officer
Colleges and Institutes Canada
Email: kking@collegesinstitutes.ca
Twitter: @CollegeCan