GUELPH, ON, July 3, 2013 /CNW/ - Today, The Co-operators announced a total of $25,060 in grants to five Canadian students who have created innovative sustainability projects. The funding, provided through The Co-operators Foundation - IMPACT! Fund, supports projects ranging in focus from sustainable food production and harvesting to transportation, climate change awareness, and green economies.

Since its inception in 2009, the IMPACT! Fund has supported students who are part of IMPACT! The Co-operators Youth Program for Sustainability Leadership as they continue work to make their campuses and communities greener and more sustainable. Through the IMPACT! Fund, The Co-operators has granted more than $275,000 to student leaders from colleges and universities across Canada.

Funding was announced today for the following:

Robert Cordy, University of Guelph
Cordy is working to educate people about how to efficiently use rain water to produce food. His grant of $5,000 will be used to create a series of open-source videos, a two-day workshop and an educational community event in the Guelph, Ontario region.

Jill Doucette, University of Victoria
An attendee of the 2009 IMPACT! Conference, Doucette plans to use her $4,800 grant to introduce a sustainability certification program for small- and medium-sized businesses in Victoria and the surrounding area.

Gracen Johnson, University of Guelph
Johnson is using her $5,760 grant to develop a series of video blog posts addressing questions of resilience. She will be focusing on the sustainability of economically disadvantaged places in Canada, specifically exploring sustainable urban design, community engagement, and social and economic policy.

Michel Scultéty-Ouellet, Université de Sherbrooke
With a grant of $4,500, Scultéty-Ouellet will create a bicycle co-op at the Université de Sherbrooke that will promote and support cycling among staff and faculty. It will provide members with a space on campus and tools necessary to maintain and repair their bicycles, and will host bike repair workshops.

Paul Wartman, University of Guelph
Wartman will use his $5,000 grant to educate and engage communities in Guelph and Mississauga in the practice of Edible Forest Gardens, a self-maintaining highly productive system of plants that produce food, medicine, herbs and flowers. Wartman will teach edible forest gardening techniques through workshops and community outreach activities.

"The IMPACT! program creates a network of students doing phenomenal sustainability work in their communities, who will become the leaders of tomorrow," said Kathy Bardswick, president and CEO of The Co-operators. "We're pleased to be able to financially support these impressive students and their projects, as we work together toward a more sustainable future."

For more information on each project, please visit http://www.impactyouthsustainability.ca/impact_fund/2013_recipients

About The Co-operators:

The Co-operators Group Limited is a Canadian-owned co-operative with more than $34 billion in assets under administration. Through its group of companies it offers home, auto, life, group, travel, commercial and farm insurance, as well as investment products. The Co-operators is well known for its community involvement and its commitment to sustainability. The Co-operators is listed among the 50 Best Employers in Canada by Aon Hewitt; Corporate Knights' Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada; and the Top 50 Socially Responsible Corporations in Canada by Sustainalytics and Maclean's magazine. For more information visit www.cooperators.ca.

SOURCE: The Co-operators