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Montréal, May 17, 2022 - Following a two-year hiatus, Équiterre and the Caisse d'économie solidaire Desjardins are re-launching the Laure Waridel Bursary, a $10,000 student bursary with mentoring by Laure Waridel, for research on the ecological transition.
Established in 2008, this twelfth edition of the Laure Waridel Bursary is open to students with a bachelor's degree who are enrolled in a master's or doctoral program or who have received a graduate or postgraduate degree within the past year.
The application deadline is July 15, 2022.
The bursary will support the chosen student in disseminating the results of his or her research and/or to develop an environmental/social project to contribute to the socio-ecological transition at the grassroots level.
To address important current issues
After a two-year pandemic break, the Laure Waridel bursary has become even more relevant amid current issues.
It seeks to address such topics as sustainable mobility, agriculture and food, which are aligned with Équiterre's strategic priorities. In 2022, a new action area has emerged: the concept of sobriety. The bursary will therefore also be open to students working on changing our overconsumption habits and reducing their harmful effects at the source.
"It’s important to support the next generation of environmentalists - the future of the environmental movement. Équiterre is proud to encourage their innovative projects for the ecological transition,” states Colleen Thorpe, Équiterre’s Executive Director.
"To make the transition work, we need to amplify solutions from all areas and we need to take action on the ground together. Social and environmental change is brought about by citizen engagement on many levels. We are the water we drink, the air we breathe, the soil that feeds us and the sum of the social links that we forge - now - for the future of our children and all living things," adds Laure Waridel, Eco-sociologist and co-founder of Équiterre.
"This bursary helps to forge links between social and environmental issues, which are fundamental to accelerating the ecological transition towards a more equitable world," states Marc Picard, General Manager of the Caisse d'économie solidaire Desjardins.
A look at some past winners and their projects:
2019: Caroline Dufour-L'Arrivée, a master’s student in Agroforestry at Université Laval, developed a practical guide for establishing community forest gardens in Quebec.
2018: Marie-Élise Samson, a doctoral student in Agronomy at Université Laval, presented a research paper on the capacity of agricultural soils to store carbon and thereby fight climate change.
Eligibility criteria
To participate, a candidate must:
Be a Canadian citizen or have Permanent Resident status;
Reside in Quebec;
Be 18 years of age or older on May 12, 2022;
Not have received a bursary from Fondation Desjardins or the Caisse d'économie solidaire Desjardins in 2021;
Be a full-time university student or be registered for a minimum of 6 months in the Fall 2022 session at an educational institution recognized by the Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur; or
Have graduated within less than one year at the time of application.
