Certificate Spotlight Series

Explore this short series to gain insights from advisors mentoring students and hear about the experiences of students completing their Certificate in Sustainability.

Featured students and alumni

Meet some of the students who have earned Certificates in Sustainability and learn about their integrative projects.

Meryn Severson with a vibrant smile

Measuring social sustainability in affordable housing

Certificate in Sustainability alumna Meryn Severson puts social sustainability into practice at Capital Region Housing.

Nikki Wa in a graduation gown with a beaming and radiant smile

Sustainability bears fruit for ALES grad

For Nikki Way, setting up a campus farmers’ market in her first year was a taste of success that influenced the rest of her degree.

Ranon Soans smiling

On the Front Lines of Urban Resilience

Certificate of Sustainability alumnus Ranon Soans is helping build stronger communities in Edmonton.

Vada Antonakis smiling

Protecting Heritage in the face of Climate Change

Certificate in Sustainability alumna Vada Antonakis headed back to school to connect the dots between heritage buildings and climate resilience.


Moussa Ali is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Alberta, graduating with a degree in business law and economics. With a passion for entrepreneurship, Moussa explores innovative ways to integrate sustainability practices into our daily lives. For his Certificate in Sustainability (CIS) integrative research project, he presents us with a short vlog exploring sustainable fashion topics. The vlog touches on issues such as the environmental burden caused by the fashion industry and how our spending habits can help limit that. He also explores using materials within homes or thrift stores to make clothing we can wear and enjoy.

Ashley Abrahart is a fourth year undergraduate student at the University of Alberta, planning to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Honours Psychology in June 2023. She is excited to begin a job with Sustain SU starting this summer, as she is passionate about sustainability and its intersection with psychology and sociology.

Outside of this domain, Ashley works in Dr. Colbourne’s lab, studying treatments and therapies for stroke. Her integrative project for the Certificate of Sustainability focuses on how sustainable initiatives are often spearheaded by women, and the reasons and rationales behind this relationship.

View Project

Headshot fo Ashley Abrahart

Meghan Grenke (she/her) is in her final year of her Bachelor of Sciences degree with a major in Earth and Atmospheric Science and a minor in Mathematics. She has a special interest in atmosphere and climate modeling and has developed a passion for sustainability and a drive to learn about global innovative sustainable practices.

Stephanie Haeubl (she/her) is an undergraduate student at the University of Alberta earning a Bachelor of Science, majoring in both Biological Sciences and Psychology. She is passionate about the long-term sustainable management of the environment and economy and is a strong advocate for increasing accessibility to environmentally conscious options for everyone. 

Meghan and Stephanie have been friends and classmates since childhood and have had the opportunity to collaborate on many projects. Their unique skill sets and educational backgrounds, augmented by the complementary partnership that they have built over the years, has led them to developing a shared integrative project for the Certificate in Sustainability. This project aims to provide a comprehensive overview of Ecobricks, their place in sustainable practices, and examples of their worldwide and local applications. 

Please follow the link below to visit their integrative project on Ecobricks!

Visit website

Meghan Grenke (left) and Stephanie Haeubl (right)

Ecobricks website banner thats says Overview and Applications

Veronica Leonard (she/her) is an undergraduate student at the University of Alberta currently wrapping up my Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Conservation Sciences with a major in Economics and Policy. For her Certificate in Sustainability (CIS) integrative research project, she conducted an interview with Leftovers, a non-profit organization that helps divert food waste. The environmental and social impacts of food waste are large-scale and preventable. Grassroots organizations like Leftovers promote a more sustainable and equitable future. We hope you enjoy this podcast interview with Suraya Hudson, the Director of Operations at Leftovers.

Dakota Sullivan (he/him) is a fifth-year undergraduate student majoring in Conservation Biology. During his post-secondary career, he has gained a strong interest in the management of fisheries and freshwater ecosystems. 

“Sustainability in Alberta’s Trapping Industry” is an integrative project that examines the environmental, economic, and social pillars of the fur trapping industry in Alberta. It is designed as an informational piece to educate the public about actions taken in modern-day fur-bearer conservation.

To share, view and comment on the original post: 

Instagram logo

Rojine McVea (she/her) is an undergraduate student at the University of Alberta studying Immunology and Infection Hon. She is passionate about operational sustainability and learning about the intersections between gender, ecological sustainability, and health using a OneHealth lens.

For her integrative project, Rojine co-founded DishZero, a by-campus-for-campus initiative that offers reusable takeout containers and mugs for the campus community to borrow for free when purchasing from vendors on campus.

DishZero aims to reduce the single-use waste associated

with takeout dining on campus by providing a dish-sharing system that is as convenient to use as its disposable counterpart.

For more information, check out the following links:

Visit website  Listen to podcast

Certificate in Sustainability Integrative Projects Playlist

The capstone integrative project gets students out of the classroom to solve real-world challenges. Check out the integrative projects playlist to see what some of our students have accomplished through their projects.


Library of Integrative Projects

The integrative projects available for viewing have been provided by past graduates of the Certificate in Sustainability. Thank you to everyone who has shared their work!

Note: If you are having issues accessing the documents below, we recommend using Safari or Google Chrome. Still not working? Instead of directly clicking on each document, right-click and open in a separate tab.