The Ecohydrology Research Group hosted a successful 10th Annual World Wetlands Day Research Symposium at the University of Waterloo on Wednesday February 2, thanks to the efforts not only of our group but also that of wetland researchers across the University.This is the second year in a row that ERG has been partnering with the Waterloo Public Library to organize the symposium virtually.
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 virtual Waterloo symposium included a distinguished lecture, followed by a panel discussion. The distingued lecture was given by Dr. Kelsey Leonard, an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Waters, Climate and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo.
The panel discussion was central to the topic: Conserving Nature: Exploring Value Systems.
We were joined by group of panellists representing different parts of environmental research and management, from academia, government and conservation.
Heather Crochetiere is a senior specialist in ecosystem restoration at World Wildlife Foundation Canada. She holds a Masters of Environment from the University of Waterloo. She is also on the Board of Directors for the North American Native Plant Society.
Mike Morrice is the MP for Kitchener Centre, and is one of two Green party MPs currently in the House of Commons at the federal level. He was elected to this position in October of 2021, and prior to this, he founded Sustainable Waterloo Region and Green Economy Canada.
Jenna Quinn is a program scientist at RARE, a local (Waterloo Region) charitable research reserve, and oversees the research and monitoring department. She holds a Master of Science in biology and a Master of Education.
As well as our distinguished lecturer, Kelsey Leonard.
The recording for this event can be found on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb-L4qUsLgc&t=2994s
We would like to thank Philippe Van Cappellen, Maria Strack, Fereidoun Rezanezhad, Rebecca Rooney, Steph Slowinski, Claire McFarlane and Mickey Nielsen for their help in organizing the day's events.