Western University’s Climate and Sustainability Awards recognize students, researchers and community members whose work is helping to build a more sustainable future. From advancing clean-energy technologies and reducing campus waste to shaping global conversations on planetary health, this year’s recipients are driving meaningful environmental change at Western and beyond.
Two students and one faculty member received their awards on March 11.
“We’re so inspired to see the unique and impactful contributions made by members of our campus community to advance sustainability in meaningful ways,” said Heather Hyde, Western’s director of sustainability.
“This year’s Climate and Sustainability Award recipients represent the best of sustainability at Western – they are tackling everyday challenges with innovative ideas and encouraging others to do the same.”
Meet three members of the Western community whose leadership, innovation and commitment to sustainability are making a lasting impact.
For Shely Kagan, sustainability starts with small actions that make it easier for students to change their habits.
A fourth-year medical and computer sciences student and coordinator with EnviroUSC, Kagan helped launch Coat Cycle, a new campus initiative that collects used lab coats, cleans, repairs and redistributes them to students who need them.
The program was inspired by Kagan’s own experience noticing racks of unbought lab coats in thrift stores while some students struggled to access the equipment they needed. With support from the Western Sustainability Impact Fund and the University Students’ Council, she helped develop the program from concept to implementation, identifying drop-off locations and preparing the first bins across campus.
“We want sustainability to feel accessible,” said Kagan. “If you give people opportunities to learn and participate in a fun way where they get something out of it, they start changing their habits without even noticing.”
Kagan has also helped organize a series of clothing swap events through EnviroUSC, diverting more than 350 pounds of clothing from landfill while raising $850 for Anova, a London-based organization supporting women and families experiencing violence.
For Kagan, student leadership plays a key role in shaping a more sustainable future.
“We’re the future,” she said. “The habits we build on campus now will carry into our communities, our careers and our families. Small changes can slowly shift society in a better direction.”
For Nicole Redvers, advancing planetary health means bringing together knowledge systems to better understand and care for the Earth and the communities that depend on it.
A professor in Western’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, member of the Deninu K’ue First Nation (NWT) and a global leader in Indigenous Planetary Health, Redvers’ work bridges Indigenous knowledge and scientific research to address some of the most pressing environmental and health challenges of our time.
Her scholarship and policy leadership span international platforms including the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), where she serves as coordinating lead author for the health and well-being chapter in the organization’s next assessment cycle.
“From an Indigenous perspective, planetary health is about how we live in a good way on the Earth for generations to come,” said Redvers. “It’s a holistic understanding that considers not only human health, but our relationships with the land, our communities and our non-human relatives.”
Redvers was first drawn to this work after witnessing the growing impacts of climate change in her home region in the Northwest Territories, including wildfires, permafrost melt and changing seasonal patterns.
“Unless people from those regions are at the decision-making tables, it becomes very difficult for those voices to be heard,” she said. “Part of my work has been helping ensure those perspectives are included in global conversations.”
Through her research, mentorship and policy engagement, Redvers is helping shape a growing international movement focused on solutions that promote environmental stewardship, health equity and sustainable futures.
“Young people give me the most hope,” she said. “They care deeply about these issues and are willing to step up and drive this work forward.”
For Shafquat Rana, tackling climate change starts at home – literally. A doctoral researcher in Western’s Faculty of Engineering, Rana is leading a project exploring how integrated clean-energy systems can help decarbonize Canada’s residential sector.
Her research combines solar photovoltaic panels, heat pumps and thermal battery storage into a single system designed to power homes more sustainably. With support from local industry partner Magnus Homes and an interdisciplinary research team, Rana helped move the project from computational modelling to real-world testing in two newly built homes, comparing the performance of a fully electrified system with a conventional Canadian house powered by grid electricity.
“The goal of this project is to show that sustainable homes are not just an idea, but can actually be implemented and people can live in them,” said Rana.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEW9d6koBqs
The project is one of the first in Canada to test the integration of all three technologies together in a residential setting, providing valuable data that could help scale similar systems across the country.
“When we started collecting real data from the house, our whole team felt proud,” Rana said. “Once we validate the system, it can be adapted for homes in different regions across Canada.”
For Rana, the research represents an important step toward Canada’s broader climate goals.
“Even though housing represents a smaller portion of emissions, it’s something homeowners can directly influence,” she said. “Starting with small steps like this can lead to much bigger changes.”
Learn more about how Western is future-proofing our planet.
Shely Kagan
Medical and computer sciences student Shely Kagan created Coat Cycle, a recycling program for lab coats, in addition to other sustainability efforts such as clothing swaps on campus. (Brandon Watson/Western Sustainability)
Shely Kagan (Brandon Watson/Western Sustainability)
Nicole Redvers
Nicole Redvers was recognized for her scholarship and leadership in Indigenous planetary health. (Brandon Watson/Western Sustainability)
Shafquat Rana
Shafquat Rana won a Climate and Sustainability Award for her work creating a fully electrified house that links solar panels, heat pumps and thermal battery storage. (Brandon Watson/Western Sustainability)