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October 30, 2025
# Climate action gets a boost: meet the 2025-26 BMO microgrant winners
Image (top row, left to right): Dr. Bill Leeming, Ala Roushan; (bottom row, left to right): Dr. Cindy Poremba, Isaac King; far right: Cristal Buemi.
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OCAD University is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025–26 BMO Microgrants from the Global Centre for Climate Action (GCCA). Generously supported by BMO, the grants will enable faculty-led research and teaching projects that advance sustainability, environmental awareness, and climate action.
This year’s full-time non-sessional faculty recipients are Associate Professor Ala Roushan (Faculty of Design), Associate Professor Dr. Bill Leeming (Faculty of Arts and Science) and Associate Professor Dr. Cindy Poremba (Faculty of Arts and Science). The program also recognizes part-time sessional Faculty of Art instructors Isaac King and Cristal Buemi for their work in sustainability pedagogy development.
**Ala Roushan —** ***Interconnected Atmospheres***
This fellowship supports the creation of an interactive data-visualization platform mapping global geoengineering sites, initially focusing on solar radiation management proposals.
By layering multiple datasets, the platform reveals how such interventions impact different regions—socially, environmentally, and culturally. The prototype will feature the Northwest Passage near Iqaluit, where rapid ice loss has made the region a debated geoengineering site.
Field research will ground the work in embodied knowledge through recordings, photos, and atmospheric measurements. The project integrates science and the humanities to make complex geoengineering debates accessible to broad publics while highlighting interconnected planetary impacts.
**Dr. Bill Leeming —** ***A Homeowner’s Journey***
This project develops a six-stage guide for homeowners undertaking sustainable home retrofits, in partnership with the Toronto Home Energy Network.
The stages move from awareness to installation and public sharing, identifying milestones and common “speed bumps” such as cost concerns and information overload.
Using case studies, the research explores what “reasonable home retrofits” look like for those with limited resources or tolerance for disruption. The goal is to foster community-driven retrofit networks and empower neighbours to support one another in sustainable home improvements.
**Dr. Cindy Poremba —** ***The Solar Playshop***
Building on prior renewable art game research, *The Solar Playshop* explores the environmental footprint of digital media by developing a modular solar-powered kit for hosting playful, low-fi media works.
Through a two-day workshop, participants will co-create and discuss playful media designed for renewable energy contexts. The project emphasizes reciprocal learning, local infrastructures, and lived climate experiences, culminating in a zine hosted on a solar server.
The initiative will inform a future SSHRC Connections proposal for a second playshop in a different climate region.
**Isaac King —** ***Incremental Change***
This sustainability-focused animation project examines how materials and processes can communicate ecological stories and relationships.
Combining classroom and outdoor site-based workshops, students will create site-specific, sustainable stop-motion animations at High Park and Tommy Thompson Park.
The title *Incremental Change* reflects both the frame-by-frame nature of animation and gradual ecological transformation. The research will culminate in an installation and presentation of findings, informing future course development in sustainable animation practices.
**Cristal Buemi —** ***Ecological Mindfulness***
Through an exploration of mindfulness and ecological approaches in animation, *Ecological Mindfulness* investigates how sustainable art practices can transform our understanding of environment and community.
The project includes site visits to Biidaasige Park/Evergreen Brickworks and Black Creek Community Farm, where students and faculty will experiment with sustainable animation techniques using natural and reused materials. The initiative integrates decolonial and land-based perspectives, culminating in installations around OCAD U and a research report to inform future curriculum development.
The BMO Microgrants are made possible through the support of BMO and the Global Centre for Climate Action, fostering creative, interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability across OCAD University’s academic community.
Congratulations to all of this year’s recipients for their inspiring contributions toward a more sustainable future.
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