The SFU Student Social Innovation Seed Fund is a joint initiative of Embark Sustainability and RADIUS that supports thoughtful change endeavours with social and environmental impact at their core. The Fund allocates sums ranging from $200-$1,500 to SFU undergraduate and graduate student social innovators. Applications for the 2018/2019 year will re-open this fall.
Five remarkable initiatives were awarded funding in the fourth round of the 2017-2018 cycle. Read about them below!
CARESEL
Founded by a team of Health Change Lab students, CARESEL is a toolkit that empowers teachers to incorporate the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) component of the new BC curriculum with pick-up-and-go lessons tied into subjects that they already teach. CARESEL allows teachers to choose the grade that they teach (ie. Grades 4-7) and the subject in which they want to promote SEL (ie. English, Science, Social Studies, or Math). They then receive activities to facilitate with their students that meet the BC curriculum requirements by merging the BC core competencies with some form of the SEL core competencies. This allows teachers to teach familiar activities that meet curricular requirements while integrating SEL, providing them with support and a way to incorporate new requirements during existing class time.
Sinulkhay & Ladders
Developed by Michelle Nahanee during her MA in Communications at SFU, Sinulkhay and Ladders is a giant 8-ft board game that promotes the Squamish practice of Chen chen stway (holding each other up) while calling out neocolonial scenarios of oppression. Its purpose is to provide a framework for developing decolonizing practices for working better together. The focus of the game is bettering Indigenous to non-Indigenous relations in professional settings, making sure we are holding each other up and not sliding down the double-headed serpent, called ‘Sinulkhay’ by Squamish.
Learn more about Michelle’s workshop trainings by visiting the Decolonizing Practices website. Also, check out this Eventbrite page for upcoming Decolonizing Practices workshops in July and August.
Tumblershare
Tumblershare is a program that aims to reduce coffee cup waste on SFU campuses through a tumbler membership service. Currently being piloted at Renaissance Coffee at SFU Burnaby, Tumblershare participants pay a $10 deposit fee for a membership card. When they visit Renaissance Coffee for a hot drink, they can exchange their card for a tumbler for their coffee or tea. Once they are finished their drink, they simply return the tumbler to the cafe and receive their membership card back.
SonoRail
When a team of Mechatronics Engineering and Business students collaborated on a project, SonoRail was invented. SonoRail is a robotic device that allows sonographers (medical professionals performing ultrasounds) to remotely control an ultrasound machine. Sonographers commonly experience Work Related Muskuloskeletal Disorders (WRMSD), including carpal tunnel syndrome and shoulder capsulitis, due to repeated application of force and sustained pressure in administering these medical tests. The SonoRail team seeks to prevent sonographers from having to sacrifice their health in order to support their patients. They are developing a device that will be comprised of two main components: an arm holding an ultrasound probe that will be controlled via a remote, and a remote control that the sonographer can use that simulates their wrist motions with the probe and the physical sensations of moving the probe.
Böues
Co-founded by 2018 RADIUS Fellow Larissa Chen and her business partner Delara Tabari, Böues is a personal care brand dedicated to creating natural body care products that work. Böues challenges existing products on the market that typically involve unnecessary chemicals, single-purpose usage, and excessive packaging. The Böues team didn’t want to use these products for themselves or see their family and friends use them. With health-conscious hygiene practices and sustainability in mind, they discovered a natural alternative: upcycling leftover beeswax and raw honey into bath and body products. Through in-person sales and digital marketing campaigns, Böues also educates people on the importance of being mindful of the impact of daily hygiene products on ourselves, our communities and our ecosystem. Stay up to date with Böues by following them on Instagram: @bouesofficial.