Wawanesa Insurance, in partnership with Canadian Colleges for a Resilient Recovery (C2R2), has announced the recipients of the 2024 Wawanesa Climate Champions: Youth Innovation Grants, distributing $150,000 to support five youth-led projects focused on addressing climate change and building resilient communities across Canada.
Each project will receive $30,000 to help fund the development and implementation of climate solutions. These projects are designed to help young Canadians address environmental challenges while working alongside C2R2 member institutions for academic and industry guidance.
This year’s recipients are:
|
Recipient(s) |
Institution |
Project Title |
|---|---|---|
|
Anamika Gupta |
Saskatchewan Polytechnic |
Prairie EcoWatt: Energy Champions of Saskatchewan |
|
Clarissa Getigan |
New Brunswick Community College |
Sustainable Greenhouse Farming: Securing Food with Resource Efficiency |
|
Dexter Guino |
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology |
Enhancing the Durability Performance of Low-Carbon Concrete using Carbon-Sequestered SCM |
|
Jeshuah Gilroy |
Holland College |
Bioremediation Approach to Neutralize Nitrous Oxide Precursors from Water |
|
Maninder Kailay and Nga Phan |
British Columbia Institute of Technology |
Supercritical CO₂ Techniques for Lithium-Ion Battery Metal Recovery |
The projects will be developed over the next year, with support from academic mentors, industry experts, and community partners.
Has Malik, provost and vice president Academic at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and C2R2 co-chair, highlighted the importance of youth leadership in climate action.
“The level of innovation and dedication from young leaders across Canada is truly inspiring,” he said. “By investing in these projects, we are supporting youth-led ideas and empowering the next generation to take an active role in shaping a more sustainable future.”
The Wawanesa Climate Champions initiative is part of the company’s broader commitment to sustainability, which includes an annual $2 million investment in community resilience. The program, which began in 2023, aims to provide young people with the resources to implement practical climate solutions.
“Canada’s youth are essential in building climate-resilient communities,” said Jackie De Pape Hornick, director of Communications and Community Impact at Wawanesa. “These grants are designed to help transform innovative ideas into action.”
In addition to supporting youth-led climate projects, Wawanesa Insurance has made contributions to wildfire research and prevention.
The company has donated $75,000 to Thompson Rivers University (TRU) to support wildfire-related research, marking the first time an insurer has contributed to studies at the institution. The funding will support a research project on community resilience, part of TRU’s broader initiative called TRU Wildfire, which addresses the challenges posed by wildfires through research and innovation.
Wawanesa has also committed more than $150,000 in community wildfire prevention grants to 12 organizations across Canada. These grants will support local initiatives focused on reducing the risk of wildfire damage, including projects to develop a mobile wildfire fuel clean-up unit, install campfire spark screens, and manage vegetation to clear brush and overgrowth.
These efforts are part of Wawanesa’s broader Climate Champions program, which allocates $2 million annually to support initiatives addressing climate change.
