My first completed project as LSPIRG Environmental Researcher is a 14 page guide for students, entitled Living Green at Laurier, that provides information on how to minimize your environmental impact while at WLU. If you want to find out if you can recycle sticky notes, where bike racks are located on campus, whether to use paper towels or a hand dryer, or the environmental benefits of different food diets then this guide will no doubt be of use to you. The guide has been included on usb keys going out to first year students and will soon be available on both the LSPIRG webpage as well as WLU’s sustainability web page at www.wlu.ca/sustainability.

Currently I am finishing up a couple other projects before the end of the summer. The first is a guide that focuses on minimizing the environmental impact of organizations on campus (working groups, clubs, etc.) from green catering, to transportation, to office supplies. In addition, I will be preparing feedback on LSPIRG’s current Green Policy and possible amendments that I envision given my summer research and my policy background. In the next few days I will be finishing an environmental directory that will list contacts for all the environmental groups at WLU, UW, as well as environmental community groups in Waterloo region. This directory will help in organizing events and collaborating with other groups that share an environmental goal.

Lastly, I am working with Sarah English, the sustainability coordinator at WLU, about getting an e-waste bin (or possibly multiple bins) on campus for students to properly dispose of computers, cartridges, monitors, and other electronic waste. With good planning, this project, like the others, will be complete by the end of the August.

After four years at WLU as an environmentally minded student and a community activist on environmental issues, having access to these files would have been of great help and I’m tremendously grateful that I could spend my summer working on them for current and future WLU students as well as the community at large.

Griffin Carpenter

The selected ‘Training Facilitators’ will have a combination of skills
and experiences in the following areas: workshop facilitation,
programming, educating, public speaking, creative thinking,
communication skills, research skills, conflict resolution skills, and
an understanding of issues related to diversity and anti-oppression.
We understand that there is a wealth of different life experiences
facilitators can bring to this position – please feel free to discuss
that in your cover letter as to how your different experiences and
skills can contribute to your role as a facilitator of a diversity and
anti-oppression program.

We are also looking for an individual to coordinate the logistics of
the program. The ‘Program Coordinator’ will work closely with the
Executive Director to organize workshop schedules, keep records,
prepare training kits, set up classrooms for workshops, and assist
with other organizational tasks as needed. Occassionally, the
Coordinator will also facilitate workshops if needed.

All these positions entail honoraria of $250 per facilitator and
require a time commitment of about 30 hours of work to be completed
from Sept. 13 – 24, 2010. Training will require additional time
commitment and will be held on the following weekends: Aug. 27 – 29
and Sep. 3-5, 2010.

If you think you can be an asset on this team, please send a detailed
cover letter and resume via email to info@lspirg.ca.

*** LSPIRG seeks to create an inclusive work environment. We welcome
applications from qualified individuals of all genders and sexual
orientations, persons with disabilities, Aboriginal persons and
persons of a visible minority.

Also, if you could please please PLEEEASE invite all your Laurier folk to this event, we would be much obliged. I may have accidentally invited people that do not or no longer go to Laurier in hopes that they would invite THEIR Laurier folk. Thanks in advance!

For more information, feel free to contact LSPIRG’s Event Coordinator Hannah Swiderski at hannah.swiderski@gmail.com. Also, contact if you would like to be involved but are unable to make either of the dates.

See you there!

1. With no public transportation options connecting Waterloo and Brantford, there is a major transportation barrier between Laurier campuses. How can Parking and Transportation Resources fill this void? Investigate opportunities to bridge this gap, look into the feasibility of each transportation option and provide recommendations to solve this problem. 

1. The City of Waterloo is getting set to implement a new storm water tax. How can Laurier get ahead of the game by implementing better storm water management practices? Research the best management practices, assess their feasibility and provide recommendations on how to move forward.

1. The Laurier Waterloo campus is landscaped mostly with sod and decorative shrubs. How can the University’s Physical Resources Department develop more creative and sustainable landscaping practices while engaging the student and greater KW community? Assess current landscaping techniques and research more sustainable and/or useful alternatives as well as possible partnerships and methods of implementation. New landscaping techniques could include heritage and/or edible plants, and community gardens. 

 
To apply, please submit a one page proposal outlining your approach to one of the three presented questions, a resume, and a letter of intent including the following information: name, faculty, major, and year of study. Submit applications as e-mail attachments to erin@lspirg.ca or senglish@wlu.cano later than noon on Friday, April 9^th, 2010.

Requirements:

A) 30 hours of training sessions. These hours are accumulated by attending CCI Workshops, available each week on campus at Wilfrid Laurier. The workshops vary in time from 1 1/2 – 3 hours, and include a broad variety of topics regarding anti-oppression, creativity and social change.

B) 20 hours of community service. These hours are gained by community involvement outside of the Laurier community. This can take a number of different forms, and LSPIRG is happy to help you determine an effective way to utilize your community service hours.

Any questions regarding the program can be directed to Erin, at erin@lspirg.ca.