Blog

How might post-secondary environmental education empower Canada’s incoming generation of change-makers to engage in meaningful environmental stewardship? Beth Grant and Emma Collette, two students in the SERS Master of Environmental Studies program, are tackling this question as part of a cross-institutional team of interdisciplinary researchers partially funded through the SSHRC Partnership Development Grant and based out of the Society Environment and Emotions Lab.

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.

Nothing could stop the intrepid researchers in the Society, Environment and Emotions Lab! New babies, sleepless nights, a plague, mutant cells, one author’s inability to function in Google docs, multiple time zones, and thousands of kilometers didn’t deter Lauren Smith (SERS, PhD Candidate) from fearlessly leading Sarah Wolfe, Hanna Ross (MES 2017), and Stephanie Shouldice (MES 2015) toward completion of a long overdue SSHRC deliverable.

What is social equity and why is it important in marine conservation?

Recently, I was part of a paper by the Blue Nature Alliance involving co-authors from different countries and different organisations, with diverse knowledge and experiences including academics, practitioners and PhD students like myself. We attempted to put into words how and why equity is central for successful marine conservation research, policy and practice.

How does climate change make you feel?

After experiencing the mental health impacts of climate change firsthand during her university degree, recent ERS grad Beth Grant decided to pose this question to her peers through her undergraduate thesis project which she recently presented at the Environmental Studies Association of Canada’s annual research conference.

My name is Hanna Meili, I am a first-year student in the Environment, Resources, and Sustainability program (Honours co-op) at the University of Waterloo and I live at St. Paul’s University College. My plan is to complete two minors, one in French and the other in Biology.

Posted originally on The Conversation - April 7, 2021.

We’re all going to die. This is the repeated warning about climate change in some media: if we don’t change our ways we face an existential threat.

A self-conducted interview by Ben Muller

Meet Ben Muller, a 4th year student on co-op with SERS for the second time. This story describes the benefit of doing something twice, and how he used his experience as a student to direct his work efforts this term.

ERS 400 Undergraduate students showcase their skills

Communicating complex sustainability issues is not easy but it's needed if want to move towards a better understanding of real-world problems for grounded solutions. With the availability of technology and growing awareness of science communication, there are many ways to tell a compelling story, synthesise key information and present ideas creatively. Students in the course ‘Sustainability Approaches’ (Fall 2020) had an opportunity to do just that. “It's not an easy task to do but it's so needed in today's world.

SERS Stories had the chance to catch up with alumna Sara Ganowski. Sara completed a BES in Environment and Resource Studies (Honours Co-op, with a Joint Major in Speech Communication) in 2017 and an MES in Social and Ecological Sustainability in 2019. She now works as a Project Lead on the Smart Cities Team out of Alectra Utilities’ Green Energy & Technology Centre (GRE&T) in Guelph, Ontario.