The Climate Adaptation, Resilience and Empowerment (CARE) program transforms climate action efforts, empowering students to think beyond conventional solutions, collaborate with industry partners and design innovative approaches to measure, communicate and champion the value of biodiversity outcomes to decision-makers.  

Hosted by the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph, the InnovEAT Hackathon brought together students from the CARE program on October 1st to 4th, immersing them in hands-on innovation workshops, collaborative problem-solving, and farm tours.  Students engaged in design thinking, brainstorming and solution development about how to better measure and communicate the value of biodiversity outcomes to decision-makers to support their inclusion in environmental policy and funding programs across Canada.  

Throughout the next eight weeks, CARE students will be working with community partner Alternative Land Use Services Canada (ALUS). ALUS is a national, community-driven organization that empowers farmers, ranchers, Indigenous communities, and municipalities to restore and enhance ecosystem services on their land. Through voluntary participation, ALUS supports projects that improve biodiversity, soil health, water quality, and climate resilience—creating “net new nature” across Canada. 

Students will be working on the following challenge set out by ALUS: How can ALUS effectively measure and communicate the established value of biodiversity outcomes to decision-makers—such as policymakers, program designers, and funders— to support their inclusion in environmental policy and funding programs across Canada? 

“The InnovEAT event was an unforgettable experience. Working with ALUS on streamlining their biodiversity value propositions and analytics gave me hands-on experience tackling one of the field’s most pressing challenges—how to effectively communicate environmental impact to diverse stakeholders. The site visits to Three Ridges Ecological Farm and YU Ranch were absolute highlights, allowing me to witness sustainable agricultural practices in action. Equally valuable was collaborating with such talented and diverse students from around the world, whose fresh perspectives enriched every aspect of our work. As an Environmental Policy master’s student at Sciences Po with a concentration in agriculture and food, I now have a deeper understanding of the core challenges within biodiversity work—particularly around the accuracy of metrics and the power of clear communication. These insights will directly shape how I approach sustainable food systems and environmental policy in my future research and career.”
– Stella Wertger , Environmental Policy (Agriculture & Food and Environment & Sustainability) Student at Sciences Po.

About the CARE Program

CARE is a joint initiative of Sciences Po, in partnership with The University of British Columbia, University of Guelph and University of Toronto with the support of the DRG Foundation.    

Day 1 – InnovEAT Workshops 

Building a shared foundation, Day 1 of the InnovEAT Hackathon offered CARE students the opportunity to ground themselves in possibilities and ideation.  

Emcee Tyler Zemlak from the Research Innovation Office at the University of Guelph opened the event by encouraging students to get comfortable being uncomfortable and to spend the first day practicing design thinking mindsets.  

Jonathan Parkes, a PhD Candidate and Seasonal Lecturer at Gordon S Lang School of Business and Economics, then walked students through a series of mini workshops focused on current versus desired states with community partners, the value of active listening, concept mapping, stakeholder analysis, empathy mapping and design challenge framing.  

Having set the foundation for full conceptualization of their unique challenge, Jeanna Rex, Education Lead at AFI, then led students through the ideation phase. First, having students first come up with all potential solutions to ALUS’ challenge, Jeanna then guided students through Impact versus Resource capacity, helping students hone their potential solutions into solutions that balanced quick wins with major project success.  

With a solid understanding of ALUS’ challenge, and potential solutions mapped out, Aaron Misener, Communications Manager at AFI, guided students through the final phase of the day, implementation. Working through a decision matrix, students determined the value of each of their potential solutions ideated through the previous session and practically planned one or two solutions through the prototyping and wireframing stage.  

Day 2 – Climate Action and Innovation

Day 2 of InnovEAT had students ramp up their research with support from Dr. Andrew McDougall and ALUS, by talking through different challenges.   

CARE Program students then shifted into a reflective arts and wellness activity: the Climate Ribbon Project, a global story-sharing arts ritual that transforms climate grief into climate action. 
 
Participants were invited to share what they love most that they hope never to lose to climate change, writing their words on ribbons now tied at the installation hosted at “The How To Draw A Tree” Wellness Circle on Johnston’s Green at the University of Guelph. 
 
This local version of the Climate Ribbon Project was supported by the Climate Adaptation, Resilience and Empowerment (CARE) Program, the Student Wellness Centre, and community artist Dawn Matheson. 

Day 3 – Field Trips in Regenerative Agriculture

Moving from conference rooms to the field, Day 3 of InnovEAT offered CARE students an opportunity to see innovative principles of regenerative agriculture in practice. The group visited two leading operations, Three Ridges Ecological Farm and YU Ranch, to witness firsthand how agricultural practices can actively restore ecosystems, enhance biodiversity and build resilience.  

Three Ridges Ecological Farm

Participants toured Three Ridges Ecological Farm, a working 50-acre, diversified farm located in Elgin County, ON. Owners and operators, Drake and Sarah Larsen, guided the group through the property, showcasing a compelling, real-world application of regenerative agriculture. 

Three Ridges is structured as a complex and resilient ecosystem, a deliberate choice to foster biodiversity and ecological health. The tour highlighted several innovative features for the participants: 

• Permanent Pastures for their signature pasture-based meat production. 

• Permaculture Orchards designed for sustainable, low-input food systems. 

• Native Prairie dedicated to supporting pollinators and local wildlife. 

• Constructed Wetlands which play a key role in the farm’s water management and ecological balance. 

Throughout the visit, Drake and Sarah explained that every practice at the farm is guided by their 3Rs philosophy: Relationships, Regeneration, and Resilience. The participants gained firsthand insight into how these principles translate into actionable farm management and sustainable food production. As ecologists by training, they provide a unique perspective on agriculture and the natural environment. 

This farm is providing rich natural habitat within a county (Elgin) that has the greatest concentration of Species at Risk in Canada, with seventy-seven of these species documented in the county. 

YU Ranch

Following their tour of Three Ridges, CARE Students then toured YU Ranch, operated by Bryan and Cathy Gilvesy ,which serves as a compelling, large-scale demonstration of how farming can actively create a positive environmental impact through the restoration of native prairies and the development of diverse ecosystems. 

The ranch’s approach is rooted in innovative, deliberate practices: 

• Rotational Grazing: Participants observed this key practice, which is vital for improving pasture productivity and soil health and sequestering carbon. 

• ALUS Program Involvement: The tour highlighted YU Ranch’s participation in programs like ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services), demonstrating how farmers are compensated for providing valuable public services. 

Through these methods, the ranch successfully provides essential ecosystem services such as clean water and enhanced pollinator habitats. 

Ecological abundance was evident in the sounds of insects in a tallgrass prairie pasture compared to the relative silence in the recently mown hay field next to it. The group had the opportunity to walk through a Carolinian woodlot on the property, to appreciate the healthy ecosystem and cool, clear stream flowing through it. 

The habitat provided by the ranch supports the presence of at least four designated Species at Risk. It is located on the western edge of Norfolk County, a municipality that hosts 60 Species at Risk and 221 provincially rare native species. The county also boasts the highest proportion of forested land in Southwestern Ontario. 

Less than 1% of the Carolinian habitat in Ontario is protected conservation land (such as parks), making it critical that private landowners, like the Gilvesys and the Larsens, work to sustain and enhance the region’s natural biodiversity. 

Bryan was one of the first participants to join the ALUS program and was CEO of ALUS from 2016 to 2025. He talked about the importance of putting a value on natural capital – the benefits that come from woodlots, wetlands, waters, biodiversity – so that it is not sacrificed for uses that are valued by the market. Through ALUS, agricultural landowners are compensated for the ecological services that they provide. 

YU Ranch’s success provided the participants with tangible evidence that a deep focus on environmental stewardship is both a sustainable and highly impactful model for modern food production. 

Looking Ahead

“Sustainability in our food systems translates to more than just food security and nutrition. It’s resilience, it’s conservation and it’s economic sustainability. I’m excited for the opportunity to be part of the solution! The CARE InnovEAT hackathon was more than just ideation for better food systems in Canada, it was a chance narrow down into the environmental pillar of sustainable food systems, and look at  what we can do to better monitor the value of biodiversity we achieve through our restoration efforts in agricultural landscapes and how to better translate this into, not only policy conversations but better investment into nature-based solutions. How do we get more farms to host natural systems; forests, grasslands or even wetlands, Over the next 8 weeks, I am excited to be working alongside amazing fellows from the CARE program alongside ALUS and Arrell Food Institute to solve this puzzle and put biodiversity conservation at the center of sustainable agriculture. This is an amazing opportunity to dig deep into how integrated landscape approaches enhance not only our food security and nutrition, but also contribute to biodiversity conservation and the environment as a whole!” – Keith May, International Forestry Student at UBC.

The InnovEAT Hackathon Conference served as a launchpad that CARE students will continue to work on over the next eight weeks. Broken up into four groups, students will be investigating how ALUS can better measure, communicate, and finance biodiversity outcomes to influence policy and attract investment.  

One group is focused on developing simple, credible, and low-cost ways to measure biodiversity gains using existing research and partnerships. Another is enhancing ALUS’s data collection and analysis to create richer datasets that support storytelling, impact reporting, and future biodiversity credit systems. A third group is working on scalable financing models, such as biodiversity credits and nature-based investment funds, that generate tangible returns for communities and ecosystems. The final group is crafting compelling, investor-focused communications using data, visuals, and storytelling to showcase ALUS’s real-world impact and inspire broader support. 

Check out our CARE Webpage to learn about the latest programs and projects.