Applications open for Laurier’s Sustainable Hawk Fund

Nov. 8, 2021

Wilfrid Laurier University’s Sustainability Office has begun accepting applications for the Sustainable Hawk Fund, which provides $30,000 annually to grow sustainability ideas that benefit the Laurier community. The application period opened Nov. 15 and closes Jan. 14.

The fund is open to Laurier students, faculty and staff who have project ideas that align with at least one of Laurier’s Sustainability Action Plan themes, including waste, climate, engagement and diversity.  

This year, the Sustainability Office has established two new funding streams to ensure equal access to the program: one for sustainability projects led by Black or Indigenous people or people of colour or that focus on the issues related to sustainability, race and equity, with a total of $5,000 available, and another for Brantford-led sustainability projects, with $15,000 available.

The Sustainability Office is also prioritizing projects in the “seed” or “growth” funding stage, rather than established projects. 

Applicants must complete the application and a budget template prior to the deadline. A business plan, creative design and outline of the project deliverables and goals can also be included in the application.  

Once the applications are received, the Sustainability Office will identify projects that will move onto the pitching stage. The Sustainable Campus Committee, made up of staff, faculty and students, will judge pitches and provide input and feedback on the project proposals.

Since 2015, the Sustainable Hawk Fund has approved $117,000 in funding for 38 projects, with 27 projects already completed. The Sustainable Hawk Fund has supported, among other projects:

• EarthSuds, which was founded in 2017 by alumni Marissa Vettoretti and Daniel Moll to replace plastic toiletry bottles in hotels with single-use shampoo, body wash and conditioner tablets. The company has since sold hundreds of thousands of products to customers around the world.
• Sustainability Through an Inclusive Lens, founded by alumna Hillary Scanlon, which makes waste, recycling and compost receptacles accessible for people with vision loss through rubber floor signs.
• The Climate is Life mural, painted by local artist Pamela Rojas, on the Waterloo campus.
• Food Justice Garden, which replaced the decorative flowers in planters on the Waterloo campus with vegetables, in support of Indigenous students in need.