Myles Sergeant recognized with 2025 Environmental Health Award

Myles Sergeant, a family physician and assistant clinical professor with McMaster University’s Department of Family Medicine, has been recognized with the 2025 Environmental Health Award. He was honoured at the Family Medicine Forum on November 7 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Jointly presented by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and the Foundation for Advancing Family Medicine (FAFM), the Environmental Health Award celebrates a family physician or resident who demonstrates outstanding leadership and dedication to environmental health issues. Sergeant exemplifies this mission with his decades-long commitment to integrating environmental stewardship into clinical practice, education, advocacy and community action.

Sergeant leads the Green Initiative at the Hamilton Family Health Team (HFHT) where he has championed sustainability practices in primary care and supported the continued use and scaling up of tools and a mentorship program to help clinics reduce their environmental impact and support their sustainability journey.

“He has found innovative, practical ways to embed sustainability into health care delivery—bringing others along with him and empowering them to take meaningful action,” says Brian McKenna, lead physician of the HFHT.

At a provincial and national level, Sergeant is co-director of PEACH (Partnerships for Environmental Action by Communities within Healthcare systems) Health Ontario, and co-lead of the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. In these roles, he has co-developed sustainability guidelines for clinical spaces in Canadian health care settings, convened committees focused on the highest-emission areas of health care, facilitated critical research on sustainable health care services and delivery, and published 16 peer reviewed articles and book chapters since 2022.

Sergeant’s impact also extends into education and mentorship. He gives approximately 60 lectures annually, including keynote talks and national conferences and presentations at international forums. He co-created the Climate Change and Health Innovation Award at McMaster, which has recognized student-led projects ranging from public composting initiatives to the creation of a carbon sink forest.

“What sets Myles apart is not just the breadth of his work but the deep alignment between his values and actions,” says Kate Whalen, a long-time collaborator and board member of Trees for Hamilton, the nonprofit Sergeant co-founded and continues to lead. Since 2012, the organization has planted more than 8,000 trees across Hamilton, focusing on areas with the greatest need for green infrastructure.

Whether mentoring students, shaping policy, or mobilizing community volunteers, Sergeant’s leadership is rooted in humility, care, and conviction. His ability to bridge clinical care, systems change, and grassroots action has inspired a growing movement toward sustainable health care across Canada.