The Ecohydrology Research Group hosted a successful 8th Annual World Wetlands Day Research Symposium at the University of Waterloo on Monday, February 3. It was part of more than 1,200 events held worldwide to spread the important message that wetland biodiversity matters.
World Wetlands Day is held annually to mark the day when the United Nations Convention on Wetlands was adopted in 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. The Convention is an international government agreement acknowledging the importance of wetlands and plays a central role in the wise use and conservation of these critical ecosystems.
The Waterloo symposium included research talks, student lightning talks and poster presentations from a wide array of Wilfrid Laurier, McMaster and University of Waterloo researchers and students. A distinguished lecture and keynote in the evening was delivered by Dr. Stephen Faulkner, Supervisory Research Ecologist at USGS entitled “Wetland Diversity: The Foundation of Biodiversity” which focused on the importance of wetland diversity, the spectrum of organisms they support, and their critical connection to human well-being.
A special congratulations to Kelly Tran and Nidhu Jahoda for winning the Best Undergraduate Student Poster Award and Miranda Hunter for Best Graduate Student Poster sponsored by Solinst and Aquanty. The event also featured industry exhibitor booths and networking opportunities with water researchers, professionals and enthusiasts. Additional thanks go to the Water Institute, Global Water Futures, City of Kitchener and Canadian Water Resources Association for supporting this event.
Click here for a detailed program of the event.
We would like to thank Philippe Van Cappellen, Maria Strack, Fereidoun Rezanezhad, Scott Davidson, Harriet Bigas, Bhaleka Persaud, Linden Fairbairn, Nataša Popović, Kirsten Grant, Julie Grant, and Heather Neufeld for their help in organizing the day's events.
Dr. Stephen Faulkner delivers the distinguished public lecture at the World Wetlands Day 2020 event at the University of Waterloo.