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Project Listings
Projects are categorized into one of seven main areas of focus.
Visit each of the tabs to view a list of potential projects in each area. Students enrolled in Sustain 2A03 will have the opportunity to work individually or form groups of up to 3 members. Project groups will either select a proposed project or will develop their own project idea. If students have questions, they may contact the project champion using the contact information provided.
- Education
- Energy
- Green Space
- Health & Wellbeing
- Transportation
- Waste
- Water
Education Focus
| Project Title | Description | Contact | Project Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learning and Teaching Cardboard Construction: Creating Adaptive Devices and Engaging Community Groups | Adaptive Design Hamilton is a member of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) at McMaster University. In brief, we make sturdy, customizable furniture from layers of cardboard and school glue. We also teach others to do the same. By sharing this skill, we hope to build capacity by showing people that they have the potential to be creative and constructive while still respecting the environment. Students working on this project would learn cardboard construction techniques and then host a series of workshops engaging various community groups to help them develop cardboard construction skills. |
Alisha Sunderji e-mail: |
Project at Capacity |
Developing a Sustainability Reporting Framework and Achieving Measurable Results: A collaboration with Sustainable Hamilton, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and local Hamilton businesses |
This project will allow students to work closely with Sustainable Hamilton and the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce to create a survey that will help support the growth of the Sustainable Hamilton Reporting Initiative* (SHRI) and help guide future direction and development of the current framework. Students will then have the opportunity to interview and meet with owners and employees of several small to medium sized Hamilton businesses to discuss their understanding of sustainability, as well as challenges, opportunities and goals to creating a more sustainable business. Based on information gathered from the possible survey and follow-up interviews, students may choose to focus on one or two performance indicators** (ie waste management, energy) of a specific business and work in collaboration with them to implement a suitable solution allowing students to achieve measurable and tangible results towards improved sustainability. Students may also choose to recommend additions and/or changes to the framework for SHRI in order to help Sustainable Hamilton align the framework with the goals of local businesses as well as to develop their initiative of driving measurable progress towards sustainability for Hamilton organizations. * The goal of SHRI is to drive measurable progress toward sustainability of Hamilton businesses, institutions, non-profits and other organizations by enhancing triple bottom-line results- economic, environmental and social. |
Sandi Stride e-mail: sandi@sustainablehamilton.ca |
1 project group |
Energy Focus
| Project Title | Description | Contact | Project Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
LED Lighting Installation Pilot Study |
This project will provide opportunity for students to become involved in the investigation of LED lighting upgrades, which is currently underway at McMaster. Students may create a report of best practices for the implementation of LED lighting upgrades at McMaster University, highlighting potential problems and possible solutions. This project could entail research on LED lighting, designing a study and consultation plan, obtaining energy use data and choosing 2-3 office locations to pilot LED lighting installation. Students will have the opportunity to analyze the results of the pilot installation and provide recommendations. The above description outlines one possible avenue to provide feedback on a process for LED Lighting upgrades on campus with a focus on sustainability. Innovative ideas to achieve the desired outcome are welcome and encouraged. | Joe Emberson e-mail: embers@ppims.mcmaster.ca Mohamed e-mail: |
2-3 project groups |
| Fumehood Education Program | This project will provide opportunity for students to become involved in the investigation of improved Fumehood operation and efficiency, which is currently underway at McMaster. Students may conduct research on fumehoods to identify why they are energy intensive, how they are not being used most effectively by individuals conducting lab research and could provide solutions for these inefficiencies. This project might entail metering to obtain energy usage data and identifying costs associated. Design and implementation of an improvement plan may be conducted to engage users of fumehoods, including, but not limited to, creating resources for students (i.e. fumehood orientation guide) and educational challenges. Metering to identify improvement as a result of engagement could be conducted and best practices reported. The above description outlines one possible avenue to provide feedback on a process for improving the responsible operation of fumehoods by staff and students on campus with a focus on sustainability. Innovative ideas to achieve the desired outcome are welcome and encouraged. | Joe Emberson e-mail: Mohamed Attalla e-mail: |
2 project groups |
Green Space Focus
| Project Title | Description | Contact | Project Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
Growing the Garden: Providing Educational Resources for the Best Practices of Planting, Growing & Harvesting |
Students will work with current MTCG* collaborators to create educational resources to support the garden. Students will conduct research and provide best practices for the planting, growing and harvesting of plant species. Lessons learned will be put into practice by physically growing a select number of plants, creating educational modules for each and conducting a workshop. *McMaster Teaching and Community Garden |
Katie Ferguson e-mail: ferguk6@mcmaster.ca |
2 project groups |
| Conservation and Natural Lands Inventory (Cootes Paradise) | The Hamilton region is blessed with over 10,000 acres of conservation lands. Our committee would like to discover, based on Ministry of Natural Resources policies and parameters, how much of this land qualifies as natural habitat for wildlife and plants? How far from houses and roads do natural habitats need to be? How much area is required to be qualified as natural habitat? How much natural habitat is required for specific species to live, thrive and reproduce?
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Wayne Terryberry email: |
Project at Capacity |
Health & Wellbeing Focus
| Project Title | Description | Contact | Project Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feasibility of Beekeeping on McMaster University's campus | Students will assess the feasibility of keeping bees on McMaster's campus by researching the economic, social, and environmental impacts and benefits of beekeeping in the immediate area. Focus will be on economic organization and feasibility including implementation, budget requirements, necessary infrastructure, and hive production sales. Students will also research social impacts including health and safety, risk management and public education. This research will also be situated within the context of broader environmental issues including 'colony collapse disorder', the importance of pollinators to global food crops, sustainable beekeeping practices, and improvement of local biodiversity. | Brandi Lee MacDonald e-mail: macdonbl@mcmaster.ca |
2 project groups |
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Transportation Focus
| Project Title | Description | Contact | Project Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planning for a 4th Generation Public Bike Share System within the City of Hamilton | Building on the work of previous student research including a feasibility study, business plan and station location analysis, students will have the opportunity to develop a plan to implement a public bike sharing system as an extension of the local transit network in the downtown to McMaster corridor. The plan may include a study of the potential market uptake, analysis of station locations, and a description of implementation challenges and solutions. It is suggested that the benefits of a public bike share system for the McMaster community be included in the implementation plan. | Peter Topalovic e-mail: peter.topalovic@hamilton.ca |
Project at Capacity |
| Improving the Use of Online Tools to Support Active Commuting | Students have the opportunity to analyze current on-line tools that encourage cycling and walking to school or work, such as bike user groups, trip diary tools, bike buddy programs, and commuting friend finder tools to determine their effectiveness and applicability for the Hamilton area. Students may choose to provide an analysis of the tools in terms of potential uptake, retention, effectiveness for changing commute patterns and achieving long term behavior change. Students are then encouraged to apply thier findings to recommend a new or currently available tool that will perform the best, based on the identified metrics. | Peter Topalovic e-mail: peter.topalovic@hamilton.ca |
1 project group |
| Increasing Cycling through Promotion, Communication and Education | Students will have the opportunity to work with a class of Arts and Science students enrolled in ArtSci 3BB3 Technology & Society II to determine how to increase bicycle use at McMaster through promotion, communication and education. Students may choose to advance CanBike course offerings at McMaster University and will have the opportunity to work with the Canadian Cycling Association and CanBike to certify McMaster students as registered CanBike instructors that will then have the ability to continue cycling education to other members of the community. Through effective promotion and communication, student project champions may choose to promote CanBike course offerings using a unique marketing campaign. The above description outlines one possible avenue to encourage cycling as a form of sustainable transportation. Innovative ideas to achieve the desired outcome are welcome and encouraged. |
Katie Ferguson email: ferguk6@mcmaster.ca Michael Egan |
1 project group |
Waste Focus
| Project Title | Description | Contact | Project Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waste and Recycling Education to Internal McMaster University Staff | Students will have the opportunity to research waste reduction, recycling and practises of waste diversion at McMaster University. This information can then be used to create an educational program to McMaster staff, faculty and students. Students may choose to engage staff by conducting consultation to understand current thoughts, perceptions and suggestions for improvement and may prepare a report of experiences and recommendations. | Carlos Figueira e-mail: figueira@mcmaster.ca |
1 project group |
| Water Fountain Retrofits: An Evaluation of the Impact of Infrastructure and Proposals for Expansion | Students may choose to begin by conducting an inventory of all campus water fountains and recording their usage based on the number of water bottles saved, as recorded on the fountain's digital display. This information will help identify high-use locations which may be in need of additional refilling facilities within close proximity. Through consultation with members of the community and Facility Services, quantitative analysis from the initial inventory and research on current water fountain use, students may recommend 10 new fountain locations which will be installed by Facility Services. Students could then consult and collaborate with other groups within the community to promote the use of refillable water bottles while monitoring usage at each fountain. A report outlining the social, economic and environmental impact this initiative has had as well as recommendations for next steps will provide a summary to the internship. The above description outlines one possible avenue to support the use of refillable bottles on campus. Innovative ideas to achieve the desired outcome are welcome and encouraged. | Craig MacDonald e-mail: macdoncr@ppims.mcmaster.ca Phone #: |
Project at Capacity |
| Plastic Bottle Free: A Review of Current Policy and Proposal for Further Development with the McMaster Students Union | Students may choose to research initiatives at other institutions as well as the history of initiatives that have been undertaken and implemented to develop a broader program for McMaster to support movement to a Plastic Bottle Free campus. Students may choose to focus on the current practices of the McMaster Students Union (MSU) Plastic Bottle Free initiative and related Plastic Bottle Free Policy. From their findings, students may explore opportunities to improve and expand this program at McMaster University. The project might entail consultation regarding the MSU Plastic Bottle Free policy and working with Nabil Khaja, MSU Student Representative Assembly (SRA) Operations Committee Commissioner, to review and possibly revise/update the policy. Other opportunities may consist of identifying and recommending 10 new locations for water fountain retrofits on campus and promotion of the Plastic Bottle Free Pledge | Nabil Khaja email: Websites:
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1 project group |
| McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) Waste Diversion | Students have the opportunity to work to investigate current practices of waste diversion and disposal in the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC). Based on their findings, it is anticipated that the group will integrate new infrastructure and provide clear education to support effective waste diversion and disposal. Innovative ideas on how to increase diversion through infrastructure, education and promotion will be developed in ways that are economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. It is expected that the student group will analyze waste data provided by BFI Canada, McMaster’s single source waste collection provider. This project will support the University’s goal to decrease the total amount of waste generated and disposed of on campus and give students the opportunity to achieve meaningful and measurable results within a student-oriented building. | David Campbell email: Phone #: Websites: |
1 project group |
Water Focus
| Project Title | Description | Contact | Project Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feasibility of Building a Rain Garden at McMaster University | Students will assess the feasibiliy of building a rain garden at or realted to McMaster University by researching important factors such as soil type, drainage patterns and distance from buildings, which will be used to recommend a specific location. The feasibility report can include a focus on implementation, budget requirements and necessary infrastructure as well as the basic requirements (ie plants, infiltration) needed to build a rain garden. The research can be situated within in the context of the broader environmental issues including erosion, water pollution and diminished ground water. In addition, students can research social impacts including public education in order to promote building of rain gardens at schools with Hamilton who are eager to become eco-certified. | Kelly Pike email: kpike@hamiltonharbour.ca |
Project at Capacity |
