Andrée Forest

Dedicated to campus sustainability at The University of Winnipeg, Andrée Forest has applied a steadfast approach to finding solutions for active transportation and waste management, while promoting outreach and sustainable governance as both an environmental studies student and a member of the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association executive.

Soon after arriving to study at UWinnipeg in 2009, Forest initiated a dialogue with the Campus Sustainability Office to improve waste management. Identifying bin infrastructure as an area in need of improvement, Forest researched best practices and her early suggestion to size various bins proportionally to respective waste stream volume will come to fruition this summer when all bins are replaced after a successful pilot.

Forest has a longstanding involvement in active transportation at UWinnipeg: she was an early member of the IceRiders winter cyclists, and part of the team that worked to see the UWSA BikeLab open its doors. She represented UWinnipeg at two Velo-City conferences, in 2012 (Vancouver) and in 2013 (Vienna, Switzerland).

In the areas of outreach and governance, Forest has dedicated her time to the development of the annual GrassRoutes Sustainability Festival, chairing the committee in 2013 after volunteering as an organizer for the festival’s initial three years. In 2012, Forest was selected to attend All Climate Reality Training Canada (in San Francisco) where training was offered by the Honourable Al Gore, former Vice-President of the United States and a Nobel Prize Laureate.

Forest has also invested time in exploring how student coursework could contribute to sustainable solutions. She developed a concept paper in class on adapting the award-winning Vancouver-based ‘CityStudio’ program — which nurtures collaborative projects from staff, community members and university students — with an aim to bring it here as a Master’s thesis project. A key student leader, Forest has sat on the Campus Sustainability Council for more than three years. She is also a member of the Experiential Learning Network, contributing to course development in the area of campus sustainability.

For her ongoing dedication to sustainable action, The University of Winnipeg is honoured to present Andrée Forest with the Campus Sustainability Recognition Award.