Thursday, February 2, 2017

World Wetlands Day makes a splash at Waterloo

Today is World Wetlands Day, which marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on February 2, 1971.

World Wetlands Day events are taking place around the world, and events at the University of Waterloo are among them.

World Wetlands Day events at Waterloo are hosted by the Ecohydrology Research Group, Faculty of Science and the Water Institute. This is the 5^th year that World Wetlands Day events will be held at Waterloo.

The two main components of the Waterloo events are:

• A public lecture featuring Dr. Ania Grobicki​, Deputy Secretary General, Ramsar Secretariat, Switzerland, entitled "From the age of carbon to the age of water — the role of wetlands," and
• a Research symposium and poster display, with a mix of speakers from Waterloo faculty and other invited guests from a variety of organizations and research areas.

There will be a wetlands-themed photo booth as part of the reception and poster session. A full agenda is available online.

All events are being held in the Davis Centre today.

Waterloo has faculty conducting research on wetlands in all six faculties, like Professor Rebecca Rooney in the biology department and Professor Maria Strack in Geography and Environmental Management.

Canada currently has 37 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance, with a surface area of 13,086,767 hectares.

It’s not too late to order your Treat-A-Gram

A message from the Keystone Campaign

Thanks to all of the faculty, staff and retirees who have ordered Treat-a-Grams for their friends and colleagues. So far we’ve sold a total of 1,550 treats and postcards in support of student wellness!

If you haven’t visited Treat-a-Gram’s online store yet, you have until noon on Tuesday, February 7.

Keystone volunteers make it all happen - treats will be packaged by nearly 50 of your colleagues on February 13 and hand-delivered by department representatives on February 14.

Thank you for supporting Waterloo students and the Keystone Campaign!

Getting feedback is essential to improving your writing skills. The CAR offers one-on-one drop-in sessions with trained consultants who will work with you to improve your capacity to plan, write and revise your French assignments. Undergraduate students are invited to visit us during our hours of operation. We are located on the third floor of Modern Languages in the Department of French Studies. Hope to see you soon!

Why visit the CAR?

Your visit to the CAR is free and confidential, but most importantly, the help you receive is tailored to your specific individual needs. Our consultants can help you with:

• understanding the assignment
• reformulating main ideas
• refining a thesis statement
• improving grammar and style

• Consider in advance how you would like us to help you. Come prepared with questions, ideas and goals.
• Be prepared to collaborate. Our consultants are not here to fix your errors, but rather to help you develop your skills while working through your assignment.
• We ask that you come with a printed copy of your assignment.

• Wednesdays from 11:30 to 1:00 and from 1:15 to 2:45
• Thursday from 10:30 to 12:00 and from 12:30 to 2:00

This winter the CAR will be open for ten weeks from January 25 to March 23. We are located on the third floor of Modern Languages in the French Studies Department, room 332.

Au plaisir de vous rencontrer!

Feds prepare to celebrate 50 years of student government

Each week in 2017, the Daily Bulletin will be featuring content highlighting the University of Waterloo's 60^th Anniversary.

To mark its 50^th anniversary, Waterloo’s Federation of Students is taking the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments that this student union has achieved over its half-century history.

From controversial student referendums to heated sit-ins, tense board meetings to lively special events and concerts, Feds has seen its share of noteworthy moments since its incorporation on April 27, 1967.

Feds has been on a path of constant growth and development and is now one of the top student unions in Canada, providing student support with volunteer and leadership positions, part-time job opportunities and discounted services. With a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, Feds enriches the student experience through a variety of initiatives including UPASS, Student Health and Dental Plan, Student Advocacy and Representation, Clubs and Services, Orientation Week, and the operation of the Student Life Centre.

Read the rest of the article on the 60^th Anniversary website

Thursday's notes

The Library is asking University of Waterloo graduate students and faculty members to participate in a national survey on journal usage to inform collection development and negotiations. The journal usage survey, coordinated by the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) is accessed by email. The Library has already launched the survey by email to faculty members and graduate students, so if you are a faculty member or graduate student, check your inbox for the survey link.

The survey is open until Friday, February 3.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) is holding a video contest featuring graduate students from across Canada. PhD candidate Cecylia Bocovich from the Cheriton School of Computer Science has been selected as one of the 40 entrants to make it to the public voting round.

Voting is open from February 1 to February 28. The 25 videos with the most YouTube views will advance to the next round (and before you get clever with automated viewing or voting scripts, please remember those sorts of shenanigans will get her disqualified).

The next lecture in the 2016/2017 Medieval Lecture Series takes place on Thursday, February 16. Speaking will be Professor Nichola Terpstra from Victoria College at the University of Toronto. Professor Terpstra's lecture is entitled "Digital Mapping of Renaissance Florence: Tracking People, Sound, and Movement in the Pre-Modern City." The lecture takes place at St. Jerome's University Room SJ2-1002 with a reception beginning at 4:30 p.m. 

The UW Recreation Committee is selling tickets to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at Cambridge's Dunfield Theatre. The show takes place on Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. More information about tickets is available from Shirley Chatten at schatten@uwaterloo.ca.