This blog entry dives into co-reclamation of oil sands-degraded homelands at Fort McKay First Nation and the truths and complementary reconciliation actions that emerged from the project.
The research group that Prof. Stephen Murphy leads studies restoration and conservation generally. The projects that the group undertakes cover a wide subject area and have a variety of partners. Prof. Murphy updates us on the latest activity in his dynamic group - restoration, conservation, policy, practice, endangered species, ecology, earthworms, pollen, life, and death. What more can you ask for?
Republishing an article published in The Conversation written by SERS professor Robert Gibson.
Amendments to Canada's Impact Assessment Act are being drafted in response to a Supreme Court ruling in October 2023 where a majority of justices concluded that some aspects of the federal Impact Assessment Act reached too far into provincial jurisdiction. Drafting amendments to Canada's Impact Assessment Act will be a difficult assignment. Officials need to respect Canada's Constitution and also apply new knowledge and act on new imperatives. Challenges include not only bringing the laws into constitutional compliance but also meeting 21st-century needs for assessments and decision-making in the lasting public interest.
Professor Rob de Loë's new research program brings art and science together to improve environmental awareness and understanding. Working with contacts from Ontario's conservation authorities, he has developed several projects that use photography for environmental storytelling about key watershed processes.
In August 2022, a group of 12 students and two instructors took part in a new SERS field course titled The Ocean, Human Impacts and Sustainability. This course moved quickly through an overview of the ocean, explored human activities and impacts, particularly in the coastal zone, and then looked at some of the brilliant work that is going on to make our activities more sustainable.
Fourth year SERS student, Charlie Jou-ter Woort, explains the game they adapted to promote the learning of Canadian plants and their uses and benefits. This game was created for ERS 402, the Senior Honours Research Seminar course.
In December 2022 SERS 4th year student Emma Kirke attended the 15th meeting of the COP to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity as a youth delegate. Emma reflects on her experience at the COP, her opinion on the outcome and appreciation for the freedoms afforded Canadian activists.