HUNTSVILLE. Ont. (Friday, Jan. 21, 2011) - The University of Waterloo and the Town of Huntsville are today celebrating the opening of the Waterloo Summit Centre for the Environment.
Doors open at 5 p.m. for the event, which offers self-guided tours of the building and its many environmental features. A reception - hosted by Industry Minister Tony Clement, Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty and University of Waterloo President Feridun Hamdullahpur - will follow. Although registration is now closed, unregistered guests are welcome to tour the facility between 5 to 6 p.m.
Researchers with Waterloo's faculty of environment will explore sustainable communities and the Huntsville Unity Plan during a panel discussion, emceed by journalist, author and Huntsville native Roy MacGregor.
The Waterloo Summit Centre for the Environment, which was used to support the G8 Summit last June in Huntsville, features laboratory space, meeting rooms and accommodation for up to 50 people. Devoted for teaching and research activities, the facility will host research fieldwork, meetings and conferences, as well as short courses and executive training courses.
"We are excited by this partnership with the Town of Huntsville," Hamdullahpur said. "The Waterloo Summit Centre for the Environment will serve as an extension to the main campus, providing a tremendous opportunity for our students and researchers to study in the environmentally rich Muskoka Region."
An ecology laboratory will be added by the end of 2011. The Northern Ontario School of Medicine will also operate a research lab in the centre, starting in spring 2011.
The town owns and manages the facility, with capital funding from various federal programs. Waterloo will lease the facility for a nominal fee, with an on-site half-time facility manager.
About Waterloo
The University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's Technology Triangle, is one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities. Waterloo is home to 30,000 full-and part-time undergraduate and graduate students who are dedicated to making the future better and brighter. Waterloo, known for the largest post-secondary co-operative education program in the world, supports enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. For more information about Waterloo, visit www.uwaterloo.ca.
Contacts:
Betty Bax, communications officer, faculty of environment, 519-888-4567 ext. 38100, 519-404-4037 or bax@uwaterloo.ca
John Morris, Waterloo media relations, 519-888-4435 or john.morris@uwaterloo.ca
Waterloo release no. 3
