OPIRG McMaster Public Interest Research Grant
2017 Public Interest Grant
OPIRG McMaster is a student funded/student directed organization working on issues of human rights, the environment and social justice.
OPIRG McMaster’s objectives are to:
- Engage in charitable non-profit research and activities to advance the welfare of the University and general community;
- To act upon, sponsor, and publish educational studies and programs which advance the welfare of the University and general community;
- Facilitate and encourage students to develop their research and advocacy skills in order to become active and informed citizens;
- To make diverse view points available to the University and general community.
Proposals which enhance our local community’s ability to respond to the pressures associated with climate-change and environmental degradation, be they proposals which address the causes or consequences of these most pressing issues, are strongly encouraged. The preceding statement is not made to discourage proposals which emphasize other objectives within OPIRG’s mandate, but only in the interest of focusing the aims and scope of potential proposals with a useful point of reference (i.e. an example).
All applicants are required to submit proposals containing (at least) the following:
- Description of the project
- Description of how the project achieves OPIRG McMaster’s objective(s)
- Outline of the individual/group’s history, objectives, and current activities
- Preliminary budget (including specification of all other possible funders)
- Timeline of activities
The Grant is awarded in the amount of $1,000.00 (one thousand dollars) to the successful applicant.
Please see our official Public Interest Grant Policy for more details.
Congratulations to the McMaster Outdoor Classroom Enrichment Team for their winning proposal, “Immersive Environmental Education on Campus.” They intend to re-nurture and enrich a plot of Cootes Paradise forest as an outdoor classroom and picnic space for McMaster students and the wider Hamilton community to provide opportunities to learn about aspects of environmental concern, particularly public stewardship of natural areas and sustainable water management.
Award split between two groups and allocated after their participation in PIRG Talks, part of Making Connections: OPIRG’s Social Justice and Environment Week 2015.
Supporting Indigenous Women in Education brought awareness to the fundraising initiative: Moc Walk 2015 (in support of the Hamilton Native Women’s Centre), as well as the obstacles faced by Indigenous women in Canadian society.
The Student Mobilization Syndicate whose mandate is to mobilize and unite students in the shared struggle against Austerity and for a universal equitable education.
Award split between two applications.
The Bee Hotel Project: A dynamic visual education tool at the McMaster Aviary on West Campus. Congratulation to the students from the environmentally responsible Studio ART 2ER3.
Congratulations to Café Justicia Solidarity Project: Strengthening alliances with the CCDA, Guatemala.
Congratulations to Amina Suhrwardy of Hamilton Urban Beekeepers and Brandi Lee MacDonald of Three Bees Honey Co. for their McMaster Beekeeping Initiative.
Award split between two applications. Congratulations to the winners, Samantha Green, Nicole Rallis and Layla Mashkoor!
Barriers and Solutions to Active Commuting in a Sample of Patients Attending a Family Practice in Hamilton, ON
“We Don’t Need Coins We Need Change”
Congratuations to Hamilton Womyn’s Bike Fixin’ Collective for their proposal.
Julia Shulist, Geography and Environmental Studies, Level 3 for her McMaster COMPOSTING Initiative.
Congratulations to the Campus Farmstand Project, submitted by PEAS working group.