Projects

Hamilton has an extremely active environmental community. As a result, there are many on-going projects that you are welcome to participate in.

They include:

• Adopt-A-Road Clean-Ups Committee-organized clean-ups of litter and dumping.
• Aerotropolis Encourage City Council to invest in urban revitalization, not suburban, energy intensive transport.
• Anti-Idling Encourage City Council to reconsider its decision not to ban idling.
• Assisting North Hamilton Neighbourhoods to Address Environmental Issues Empowering neighbourhoods to act on their own behalf and in an effective manner to address environmental issues facing their communities.
• Animal Rights OPIRG working group.
• Anti-Poverty Flyering Squad OPIRG working group.
• Brant-Hamilton Stewardship Rangers Organize projects and fund stewardship rangers.
• Columbian Working Group Raising awareness of the situation in Colombia through educational events and helping other campus groups to revoke Coca Cola's contract with McMaster University.
• Community Garden Members of the community learn about growing vegetables without the use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers and participants take home the harvest.
• Community Volunteer Action Group OPIRG working group.
• Commuter Challenge A weeklong, friendly competition between Canadian cities to see which one can cut its air pollution the most by using active and/or sustainable modes of transportation.
• Composting Facilitating backyard composting and reducing the costs of waste handling and disposal.
• Creek cleanup Lower Spencer Creek Cleanup.
• Earth Day Hamilton Eco-festival Annual environmental festival attended by thousands of youth and students.
• Eat Local Food Group OPIRG working group.
• EcoHouse EcoHouse is a place where healthy living principles are upheld and demonstrated to encourage, inspire, and support people in their efforts to reduce their impact on the environment by adopting sustainable living practices and retrofitting their homes. Open for public tours. Volunteers of all ages welcome.
• Energuide for Houses Certified Advisors will get to the root of your home performance problems and customize a home energy plan to improve your home's energy efficiency.
• Environmental Education Programs Hamilton Conservation Authority currently offers a wide range of environmental education programs, thanks to the
• Conservation Foundation of the Hamilton Region.
• Flamborough Wind Turbine Project Single wind turbine project in Flamborough west of Highway 6.
• Food Not Bombs OPIRG working group.
• Global Youth Coalition OPIRG working group.
• Green Lawns, Healthy Neighbourhoods With the help of peer gardeners and experts, this project enables the transition to a pesticide-free yard.
• The Graduation Pledge "I pledge to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work."
• Guatemala Working Group Does Canada Support Human Rights or Gross Profit? Canadian Mining in Guatemala. OPIRG working group.
• Hamilton Community Peregrine Project Volunteer Falcon Watch in downtown Hamilton during spring/summer to keep an eye on Peregrine Falcon chicks as they learn to fly above busy streets.
• Hamilton Eat Local Project (HELP) Supporting local food production and connecting Hamiltonians to locally grown food.
• Hamilton Kyoto Accord Work with Environment Hamilton to get Hamilton to commit to meeting its Kyoto obligations.
• Hamilton Vegetarian Association OPIRG working group.
• Hiking and Cycling Get outdoors and explore the many great trails in the City of Hamilton.
• Lake Erie Wind Turbine Multiple-turbine project along north shore of Lake Erie in Haldimand County.
• Land Acquisition Conservation foundation acquires natural land to protect.
• Land and stream cleanup restoration
• Land Protection Hamilton Conservation Authority protects and conserves natural lands.
• Lug-a-mug Campaign to get more McMaster students using travel mugs.
• Make it Fair OPIRG working group.
• Mobile Emissions Monitoring Project Feb 27 & 28, 2006.
• Naturally Hamilton (email link) To provide the citizens of Hamilton with information and resources that will help them to reduce and eliminate pesticide use on their lawns and gardens.
• Naturalization: Schools and Commercial Grants for naturalizing schoolyards or commercial/industrial land.
• Nature Land Sanctuaries Hamilton Naturalist Club purchases significant lands for sanctuaries.
• Non Violence Now OPIRG working group.
• The Paper Trail: A campaign to reduce the virgin paper consumption of McMaster. This project involves advocating post-consumer paper purchasing, encouraging double-siding, and making and selling notebooks from one-sided scrap paper.
• Peak Oil Tinkers OPIRG working group.
• Peer Gardening Program Help for getting lawns and gardens off chemical pesticides.
• Pitch-In Week Over 21,000 citizens picking up litter.
• Public Transit Take lessons from other cities to help develop a first-rate public transit system in Hamilton.
• Radical Change Machine OPIRG working group.
• Recycle Cycles Non-profit community bike repair workshop
• Restore the Lister Encourage LIUNA to restore Lister Block instead of demolishing/reconstructing (saves energy, waste).
• Reweaving a Life, Mexico Art of Women Weavers of Palm - Their Struggle with Poverty, Water and Pride.
• School Envirothon School-wide environmental competition partner.
• Stack Watch Stack keys to help Hamiltonians to call in concerns regarding visible air emissions from stacks in Hamilton 's industrial core.
• Student Math Action Research Team (SMART) Making Math Matter More for the Environment. OPIRG working group.
• Student Stream Stewards High school students are taught the basics of water quality monitoring and then partnered with a community organization in order to investigate a water quality issue of concern to citizens.
• Tonnes for Trees Addresses global climate change by helping individuals reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and providing free trees as an incentive.
• Transportation for Liveable Communities Organizes events to promote changes to the dominant car culture.
• Trail Clean-Ups Committee-organized clean-ups of litter and dumping & graffiti.
• Trail Development The Conservation Foundation of the Hamilton Region actively supports the movement to develop trails and corridors through the region's beautiful natural areas.
• Trees Count A community tree inventory that tells us about the health of our trees and what we need to do to protect and enhance the urban forest in our neighbourhoods.
• Tree planting - Native, program for private property Subsidized tree planting program.
• Tree planting event
• Upwind Downwind Air Quality Conference Feb 27 & 28, 2006.
• Watershed Stewardship Encouraging and assisting private landowners with stewardship initiatives on their property.
• Woodlot education Run workshops.
• Wise Water Use Helping residents use water wisely in order to preserve one of our most precious natural resources, water.
• Yard Improvement Helpline: Curb Appeal (email link) Answers to your lawn and garden questions. With simple steps, you too can transition your yard into an attractive pesticide-free landscape.
• Yellow Fish Road Program Storm drain marking program to remind people to protect our water.