Luna used design-thinking principles to develop a pilot reusable container program in Banff National Park for her KI Senior Research Project, supported in part by the KI donor-funded Knowledge Integration Experience Award which allowed her to purchase project materials and reduce the economic barrier for businesses to join the program.
Here’s how she describes her experience:
The goal of the program is to reduce the amount of single-use container waste and to validate a reusable scheme for Banff in the long run. The program is working with the municipality, over 60 volunteers are registered, and we have seven businesses on board to pilot our program in May 2021.
The approach I took was to highlight a particular environmental issue in my hometown and take it all the way from ideation into implementation. Ultimately, I want this project to be yet another successful case study of how individuals and community members can help accelerate environmental action.
To learn more about this project, please visit the Banff Isn't Disposable website.
And here's what Luna said when she won the KI 2022 Academic Achievement Award.